screenshot Shuffled-Skill-Tree Double-Blind Revelation Run (Latest Episode: 11B Part 1)

[shadowofchaos]

The translation always makes me laugh when combined with Japanesey words.

English is a weird language.

Like, suffixes after country names I've never been aware of like "jin" and "dan".

I mean, wouldn't have been easier to say "Fuuman"?

Moving on...

Man, Replicate and Life and Death.

Edited November 2, 2016 by shadowofchaos

[ajmiam]

Episode 7B:  "What A Twist!" (part 1)

 

Spoiler

 

Chapter 11: "Mutual Enemies"
 
Preparations
 
          
 
This is the same as the Mokushu Ninja Village map from Birthright Chapter 10, just without the Dragon Veins and (hopefully) the spike traps.  Also, our army starts out surrounded in the middle instead of being mostly against the left.  The enemies consist of about half Ninjas and half a mix of other classes (Samurai, Spear Fighter, Diviner, and Archer).  The generic Samurai continue their bizarre trend of losing a point of Speed from each chapter to the next...

     
                                   
 
There are a few pretty scary enemies on the map.  The boss Kotaro's Speed and damage output are incredible, and there are a total of 4 generic Master Ninjas on the map in addition to him, all with Poison Strike!  3 of them are around Kotaro; the last one is in the northwest corner.  Let's hope they don't charge after us and we can clear the weaker enemies out first.
 

                    
 
But even more worrisome than those enemies, are the allies...Saizo, Orochi, and Reina start southeast of our army, and I'm a bit worried about their well-being.  Saizo's stats are OK for this point in the game, and Reina's are quite good; however, Orochi's are downright awful.  She will get doubled and dealt over 30 damage by the first ninja that attacks her.  Hopefully, I can gain control of all three of them by just having Andrea talk to Saizo; otherwise, Orochi's not going to last long.
 


In fact, shadowofchaos warned me that an ally could die on the first turn, and advised me to use a Rescue staff.  I think I see what could happen:  if the Ninja I highlighted in red charges at the allies, Orochi might attack it on Ally Phase and die. I have a plan for how to prevent it, and I might not need to use Rescue at all!  Here's the formation I start with (deploying everyone but Hana and Gunter):


 
Hayato gets paired with Jakob in Bold Stance so he can get half the benefits of Life and Death and none of the downside.  Sakura is paired with Subaki because she'll need to fly over to the east on Turn 1.  Let's see if my plan works...
 
Pre-Battle Start Story
...But first, some more plot!  
 
     
 
 
We see that Kotaro is holding Kagero prisoner and mocking her for ending up as bait in a trap.
 
          
 
Kagero protests that Mokushu is supposed to be an ally of Hoshido, but Kotaro responds, as in the other routes, that he hopes to take over Hoshido when Nohr wins the war.
He warns Kagero that she is better for him alive now...but that could easily change.  Kotaro sends in a generic Ninja to take Kagero out of his sight, and Kagero says:
 

 
Uh, is she going to try to blow herself up like Saizo?  Hopefully not.
 
     
 
No, she's just extremely disappointed that she failed in her mission to deliver a message from Ryoma...considering that Yukimura said Ryoma was missing back in Chapter 8, that could be important...maybe saying what happened to him?

    
 
Anyhow, Saizo, Orochi, and Reina reveal that they are indeed here to save Kagero and are about to search the area.
 
          
 
Reina is, well, extra-psychotic this time.  Her voiced words over that first line of dialogue above are "I can barely contain myself!" and that second line...yeah.  She's officially the Hoshidan version of Peri if Peri was obsessed with screams instead of blood.  Even Saizo notices her odd...fascination.
 
     
 
Meanwhile, Andrea notices Saizo, and Azura very clearly spells out that we're supposed to talk to him, just as I suspected and prepared for.  Let's go!
 

 
Battle Start
 
     
 
Rinkah pairs up with Hinata to give him extra Strength and Defense, since he's about to need it.  Unfortunately, this action reveals a spike trap under our army.  Thankfully, the trap has its own self-clearing Dragon Vein that Andrea can hit if I need.
 

 
Jakob and Hayato take out the Ninja southeast of us, and another spike trap triggers.
 
          
 
Hinata puts his Dual Katana to use, injuring this Ninja due south of the start and dodging the counterattack.  Mozu moves southeast to a woods tile and finishes the Ninja off.  Phase one complete, now for phase two.
 
          
 
Subaki carries Sakura to the east, Azura sings for him while staying out of danger, and Subaki flies Sakura down so she can Freeze the Ninja I marked in red earlier.  Thankfully, the Freeze hits.  Her position also allows her Quiet Strength to reach Mozu, who might have to face a scary Dual Strike on enemy phase from an Archer and Samurai south of the start.  Sakura herself will be eating a club hit from the nearby Oni, but should survive.
 

 
I also have Takumi carry Andrea down southeast before separating, thus getting her closer to Saizo.  Finally, I have Kaze pair up with Oboro and move the two of them southeast to join the rest of our army.
 
     
 
Surprisingly, the Archer and Samurai attack Hinata instead of Mozu, knocking him low but not low enough to die.  Sakura dodges a 17-damage club swing from the Oni.  
 
          
 
Ally phase, Reina flies way, way over to the east and makes mincemeat out of a poor Samurai.  Saizo very conveniently moves towards us and debuffs the Oni that attacked Sakura (who happens to be his wife in another timeline, my Birthright file).
 
     
 
Orochi decides to be a COMPLETE IDIOT and attack the Oni from point blank range (since Saizo was occupying the only reachable square 2 away), losing 80% of her HP on the retaliation.  At least she didn't get critted.  Whew.  Anyway, it's our turn again and all our friends are still alive.
 
          
          
 
Turn 2, I immediately have Andrea talk to Saizo.  She tells him we're here to help and promises to save Kagero for them.  Saizo, thankfully, believes us quickly and relays the message to Orochi and Reina, so we recruit all three of them at once.  Excellent!

(As a side note, you cannot recruit Saizo by talking to him with Kaze.  Guess the developers didn't think that through.)
 
               
 
Afterwards, I just clean up some of the nearby enemies and heal, while bringing Azura south and Reina west to keep the group close together.  With Saizo attacking on Ally Phase and then again on Player Phase, it's like he got an extra turn!
 
To the West
 
     
 
Jakob, who is basically my physical tank at this point in spite of being a Butler, uses the Fruit Knife to heal and baits some Ninjas from the southwest (marked in red above).  I also take the opportunity to Replicate Hinata.
 
          
 
The first Ninja who attacks Jakob gets wrecked in one round.  The second barely survives due to the Steel Shuriken's Strength drop.  That's OK, Rinkah pummels him next turn.  In addition, I clean up some of the spikes.  However, it turns out, annoyingly enough, that the spike traps can re-trigger and reappear, and have to be cleaned up again, so I mostly ignore the spikes from this point on.  They don't hinder movement, at least.
 
     
 
I do a bit of healing, and Sakura hits Level 10, unlocking a new mystery skill (Rally Luck until end of map).  Jakob baits another enemy group, and we see Bold Stance's drawback in action, but it's not too much here.
 
     
     
 
Just some more baiting and cleanup to the west...I notice that Saizo's combat forecast facial expressions are way too similar.  I think the first one is the "good attack" expression and the second is the "bad attack" expression.  Can you spot the difference in his face?  (I went with the first attack, not the second, of course.)
 
     
          
 
Meanwhile, Reina gets a 4% crit on an Archer I was trying to save for Mozu, and Hayato utterly incinerates this Oni (the damaged caused by Oboro was not necessary, but done for experience).
 

 
I pair up Azura with Hinata to move her west, and this trap reappears.  Really, game?
 
     
         
 
Anyhow, next I have Mozu move north and bait the Master Ninja.  She's supported by Saizo for Speed so she doesn't get doubled.  Still, she loses over half her HP in the encounter.
 
               
 
The Master Ninja takes quite a bit of teamwork to take out, but we get him.  One down, 4 more to go!  Now it's time to head east.  Thankfully, there don't seem to be any reinforcements on this map.  Also, Rinkah gets quite a nice level up on a Dual Guard, giving her Strength again and even Resistance!

 

Continued in next post

Edited January 17, 2017 by ajmiam

[ajmiam]

Episode 7B:  "What A Twist!" (part 2)

Spoiler

 

Clearing the East
 
     
 
Once everyone moves to the east, we carefully bait the northwestmost Spear Fighter using Saizo without aggroing the Master Ninja.  Next, a small team takes out a lone Ninja in the southeast after Takumi baits him.  And finally, I bait the Master Ninja using Jakob, in Bold Stance, supported by Kaze (for a good reason!)  The MN takes the bait and gets hit by both counterattacks.
 
          
                                   
 
This lowers his Defense by 6, but severely injures Jakob.  However, it's safe for Jakob and Kaze to attack again due to the Dual Guard gauge.  Take a look at the MN's Defense after that second attack...it lost an additional 3 Defense to Kaze's attack, but not Jakob's.  This is interesting.  I'd heard some rumors that once a unit suffers a stacking debuff caused by a character with Inevitable End, any further debuffs on that unit will also stack, even if inflicted by characters without Inevitable End.  However, as you can see, only Kaze's debuffs are stacking on this Master Ninja.  In any case, this depletes the MN's HP and Defense enough for Rinkah to come in for the kill.
 
          
 
...Oops, she missed.  No problem, Andrea can get him.  And she gets a very nice level up for it!  (It's odd, though, that her Strength and Magic are so close despite the Magic boon and Strength bane.  I guess her growths are initially biased towards Strength, and the boon/bane combo is barely compensating for that.)
 
          

For Master Ninja #3, we get to do something cool.  Jakob and Kaze attack him through the impassable Thick Woods, then Azura sings them out of the way.  Mozu moves in to bait an attack and retaliate with WTA.  
 
          
 
Then this jerk comes in and heals the Master Ninja...no matter, Mozu attacks him twice next turn for the kill...and she finally gets out of E-rank Bows!
 
     

Master Ninja #4 again goes down to the Jakob + Kaze pair with a little help from Mozu.  The MN dies on an attack that would have been fatal for Jakob if not for the Guard Gauge.  Jakob hits Level 15 for his last new skill until he reclasses.
 
               

All that's left now besides Kotaro are a couple of harmless Shrine Maidens and an Archer.  The Archer would be a problem since his attack range stops at the edge of Kotaro's.  I bait him in a creative way, however, having Subaki fly Takumi into the area with the chest to initiate an archer's duel.  Takumi has to back out after one turn, as the enemy has a healer and he doesn't, but this does coerce the Archer south enough to attack Oboro next turn, after which Hayato incinerates him.  With that threat out of the way I have Subaki fly Saizo to the chest.  Reward:  a Master Seal!  Alright.
 
          
 
To safely take care of the healer behind Kotaro, I just have Subaki fly Saizo over more woods and attack from the rear.  Now that the boss's only source of healing is gone, it's simple for Jakob to park himself in the boss's range, counterattacking on Enemy Phase and using the Fruit Knife twice on each Player Phase thanks to Azura's singing.  Kaze's Inevitable End isn't necessary for this to work, but sure helps speed things along.
Two turns pass of nothing but using the Fruit Knife, and counterattacking, and now it's time...
 
                         
 
"My name is Saizo." (actual voiceover)  "You killed my father.  Prepare to die." (not actual voiceover)  

Can Saizo avenge his father?
 


BOOM.
 
          

I didn't specifically plan it so Saizo'd learn Inevitable End by killing Kotaro, but it sure seems poetically appropriate.  Anyhow, this chapter was easier than it looked, and I managed to save everyone without using a Rescue!  (It would have been much harder if the enemies were actually aggressive instead of letting me play wait-and-bait.)  Stage complete...
 
 
 
 
OR
 
IS
 
IT????
 
Kotaro has been taken down, but he had one last ninja trick up his sleeve:  freezing my 3DS when I opened Miiverse to take a picture of the post-chapter cutscenes!  >___<  Therefore, nothing you saw above actually saved.  It took 4 hours to play, "record", and write all of this, and I got a successful run through the entire chapter.on the first try, so I'll be redoing this chapter offscreen rather than "re-recording" it.  My apologies....
 
To mitigate the odds of system errors destroying another chapter playthrough, I will be downgrading the difficulty to Lunatic Casual so I can make battle saves every so often.  However, I will only restart from a battle save in case of a technical difficulty; if I lose a unit, I'll still treat the whole chapter as failed and retry it from the very beginning.  (Unless it's an offscreen replay of a chapter due to technical difficulties, like this one.)  Thus, this change in difficulty won't affect anything you viewers see.
 
The post-Chapter 11 cutscenes will be covered in Episode 8A.  During the offscreen fight, I'll make every effort to ensure that Sakura, Saizo, and Jakob hit the skill-earning level thresholds they reached in this episode.  However, the levels of the other characters may end up slightly different from what they were at the end of this attempt.
 
==================
Summary:
Army Size:  18 (12 Birthright, 1 Conquest, 5 Neutral) (+Saizo, Orochi, and Reina, and *spoiler alert* Kagero joins once the chapter's over) 
Retries: 2 (0 this episode; retrying due to technical difficulties does not count!)
Skills Found:  25/110 (+2 more next episode)
Enemy Skills Found: 3/6
 
Unit Summary:
Reina LvP1 Kinshi Knight [Vengeance] [Winged Shield]
Jakob Lv15+ Butler [bold Stance] [underdog] [Defense +2][???]
Azura Lv?? Songstress [inspiring Song] [Poison Strike]
Andrea Lv?? Nohr Princess [Heartseeker] [Dragon Fang]

Mozu Lv?? Archer [Aptitude] [Duelist's Blow] [bowfaire] [Rally Resistance]
Subaki Lv?? Sky Knight [Vengeance] [Winged Shield]
Kaze Lv?? Ninja [Locktouch] [inevitable End]
Hayato Lv?? Diviner [Potent Potion] [Life and Death]

Takumi Lv11 Archer [bowfaire] [Rally Resistance] 
Sakura Lv10+ Shrine Maiden [bowbreaker] [???]
Saizo Lv10+ Ninja [Locktouch] [inevitable End]
Hinata Lv?? Samurai [Camaraderie] [Replicate]

Oboro Lv?? Spear Fighter [Grisly Wound] [Foreign Princess]
Kagero Lv10 Ninja [Locktouch] [inevitable End]
Rinkah Lv? Oni Savage [Armored Blow]
Orochi Lv? Diviner [Potent Potion[

Hana Lv7 Samurai [Camaraderie] 
Gunter Lv4 Great Knight [Voice of Peace] [Pass]
 
Current Skill Tree Key:

Spoiler

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

 
Skills Coming Up Next:

Spoiler

Maid/Butler Lv15:  The only skill that affects damage by exactly 20 points.
Monk/Shrine Maiden Lv10:  The hardest difficulty, minus three letters.

 

 

Edited January 17, 2017 by ajmiam

[ajmiam]

Episode 7B (Addendum)

Spoiler

 

Replaying Chapter 11 had its benefits.  I got to see some of the flaws in my play and find ways to improve it.  The turn-1 strategy I outlined above only succeeded due to good luck (Hinata can die if he doesn't dodge any attacks).  Here's a safer one:

 

          

 

First, I have Jakob and Hayato take out the Ninja just southeast of the start, as before.  Then, Mozu and Takumi take out the ninja due south of the start using a pair of Dual Strikes.  Those are the only enemies who actually threaten the ally group (as the Ninja I froze in my initial run isn't actually aggressive and won't move towards the allies unless we enter their range).

 

     

 

Next, I have Hinata pair up with Andrea and he separates so she encloses the Archer and Samurai in that small area, protecting Jakob and Hinata from being attacked more than once.

From this point, it's pretty easy.  Reina actually flew west instead of east, and Saizo and Orochi stayed put until I talked to them.

 

I managed to distribute EXP much more evenly than before, leveling up Hinata, Oboro, Takumi, Jakob, Saizo, Mozu, Kaze, Sakura, and Rinkah at least once each.  Saizo, Jakob, and Sakura each reached the skill-learning thresholds they did in the initial attempt.

 

     

 

Saizo didn't get to personally avenge his father in this case, but Mozu getting both a level up AND a weapon rank up by killing Kotaro isn't bad!

 

Also, I'll go ahead and post the end-of-chapter storyline here since I already have the images.

 

     

 

Sakura finds where Kagero was held prisoner--inside of a cave.  Kagero is shocked and a bit outraged to see us...

 

     

 

...but she quickly changes her tune when Sakura explains that no, she's not a traitor, and Saizo tells her we came to rescue her.  Having already gotten some allies on our side, it seems like it's getting easier to persuade more of them to join us!  Well, Hoshidans anyway.  Nohrians might be even less likely to trust us now, given the makeup of our band....

 

         

 

Ryoma isn't missing (so Yukimura was wrong about suspecting us); he's meeting up with some rebels in Cheve to help them out and launch an invasion of Nohr.  Must be Scarlet's group, just as in Birthright.

 

    

 

We decide to go after him, since Andrea thinks he might know what Izana meant by seeing the dragon (and Ryoma's a darn fine unit in his own right, as well).  Takumi tells us we'll be taking a boat.  I wonder, will there be a fight on the boat, as in Birthright?  (The save game screen kinda gave away the next chapter title, and I'm quite sure from that the answer is "yes.")

 

=============

Here're Kagero's starting stats:

 

 

How convenient that she starts at Level 10!  But, she doesn't have any equipment yet.  Makes sense, Kotaro wouldn't exactly let her hold onto a shuriken while she was imprisoned.

 

Unit Summary (a proper one, this time)

Reina LvP1 Kinshi Knight [Vengeance] [Winged Shield]
Azura Lv16 Songstress [inspiring Song] [Poison Strike]
Jakob Lv15 Butler [bold Stance] [underdog] [Defense +2][???]
Andrea Lv13 Nohr Princess [Heartseeker] [Dragon Fang]

Mozu Lv13 Archer [Aptitude] [Duelist's Blow] [bowfaire] [Rally Resistance]
Kaze Lv12 Ninja [Locktouch] [inevitable End]
Takumi Lv12 Archer [bowfaire] [Rally Resistance] 
Sakura Lv11 Shrine Maiden [bowbreaker] [???]

Subaki Lv11 Sky Knight [Vengeance] [Winged Shield]
Hayato Lv11 Diviner [Potent Potion] [Life and Death]
Hinata Lv11 Samurai [Camaraderie] [Replicate]
Oboro Lv11 Spear Fighter [Grisly Wound] [Foreign Princess]

Saizo Lv11 Ninja [Locktouch] [inevitable End]
Kagero Lv10 Ninja [Locktouch] [inevitable End]
Rinkah Lv9 Oni Savage [Armored Blow]
Orochi Lv7 Diviner [Potent Potion]

Hana Lv7 Samurai [Camaraderie] 
Gunter Lv4 Great Knight [Voice of Peace] [Pass]

 

 

Edited January 17, 2017 by ajmiam

[ajmiam]

Episode 8A:  "Socially Awkward Prince(ss)"
(Note:  Please read Episode 7B Addendum above if you haven't, as I put the post-Chapter 11 plot there instead of here like I said before.)
 

Spoiler

Skills Found
 
One of the very few stats Jakob is lacking in is Resistance.  Normally, Tomebreaker would help cover that weakness, but being a randomized run, the odds that he would learn it are low.  However, he manages to continue in his trend of being incredibly OP, and finds another skill that helps protect him against magic damage!  Now we've found all 3 of the "Blow" skills that provide protection on Player Phase (Duelist's, Armored, and Warding) and we're only about 1/4 through the skill tree.
Sakura gets a skill that'll let her dish out serious hurt...eventually.
 
          
 

 
Castle
 
Nothing exciting to build this time, so I save up my DVP.  Hopefully the Level 2 shops show up soon.  
 
     
 
Some of our units do need better equipment.  First of all, Kagero doesn't have anything!  Luckily, we've found so many shurikens and daggers as treasure, enemy drops, and castle pickups that we don't even need to buy her anything.
Secondly, though Reina came equipped with a naginata, she doesn't have any bows, so I get her one.  I also buy her a Javelin to cover any cases where she needs to be able to counterattack from 1-2 range on enemy phase.
 
I also have Orochi try to cook a meal with Wheat, which leads to a sequence of paradoxes:
 
     
 
First, she finishes the cooking with an "As I expected!" voice clip, then promptly complains that she screwed up.
 
     
 
Then it turns out the "messed up" cooking was delicious...but it gave a worthless flair bonus!  (Hayato does not get the bonus.  Remember, he's not a child, he's a grown man.)
 
Unit Comparison
 
Since we have a few units that share classes, I figure I should show how they differ.
 
         
 
Among our three Ninjas, Kaze is an extreme case.  His Speed is through the roof and his Res is extremely good, but his Defense is a point worse than Azura's and his Luck is also very concerning!  Still, he should be an excellent mage-killer and Player Phase double-attacker/debuffer.  Saizo's quite balanced.  Kagero has an edge over Saizo in Strength in exchange for quite a lot of Skill.  This makes her a bit less reliable than Saizo, but I plan concentrate on using her and Kaze (I don't think I need 3 ninjas) because I haven't really used her before.  And if she manages to pick up an A support with Andrea, that'd be a nice bonus for...certain reasons.
 
    
 
Takumi's a lot less powerful when you take away his Fujin Yumi, isn't he?  Mozu has nearly the same Strength and Skill as him, and better Speed, but at the cost of less HP and Defense.  So, I need to be careful with her.
 
Supports
 
Hinata & Takumi C:
 
          
          
 
Hinata wants to start a swordfighting tournament, but Takumi isn't all that enthused.  Takumi also takes issue with Hinata's informal tone, as Hinata tends to yell and address Takumi like a best friend rather than royalty.
 

 
You're one to talk, Takumi!
 
Rinkah and Oboro C:
 
     
 
Uh-oh, Rinkah...Oboro's on cleaning duty, and your messy eating is making her bust out That Face.  I do not envy your situation right now.
 
     
 
Will Oboro be able to tame the savage Rinkah?  Find out next conversation!
 
Takumi and Sakura C:
 
          
          
 
Can I just say this entire conversation resonates with me on a personal level?  Also, learned a new word.  Highfalutin: Noun.  Pompous or pretentious.  Pronounced "high-falootin'"
 
Saizo and Rinkah C:
 
          
     
 
Evidently, Saizo plays FE on Casual, whereas Rinkah plays on Classic. 
 
Chapter 12:  "Frozen Sea"
 

         
 
OK, game.  Let's compare the chapters of Birthright and Revelation so far.  Starting in Birthright Chapter 7 and Revelation Chapter 8, the two routes have gone Fort Jinya->Wind Tribe->Izumo->Mokushu->sea chapter.  I really expected more Valla chapters by this point in the game, and getting a second Conquest unit by this time.  Anyhow...
 
     
 
The game cuts to a scene showing we've caught a ferry from the local port and we're well on our way to Cheve.  Sakura tells Andrea she should relax, and Andrea heads in to her cabin for a nap, but is interrupted by Jakob saying...
 


...that things are going well, which means they're about to go to crap, aren't they?
 
    

Yup.  Some dark clouds appear, and suddenly the boat lurches to a stop (accompanied by screen shake).  The boat...
 
     

has run into an enormous patch of ice, covering the entire nearby sea!  At least the boat isn't sinking.  But now that we're motionless, someone flies in at us...
 
     

It's Camilla.  She's glad to see we're all right, but apparently...
 
          

Garon ordered her to kill us!  And though she claims to still love Andrea, she is unwilling to disobey her father's orders.
 
     

Flora then reveals herself as the cause of all the ice and snow, blowing Andrea away when she tries to talk to Camilla.  Wow...that's some ridiculously powerful magic there, especially when you consider that ocean water is salty and thus extra-hard to freeze.  She ought to have some whole-map cold attack, or something!
 
          

We learn that Flora's fighting us for the same reason as in Birthright:  Garon threatened to kill not only her, but her entire tribe, if she did not.  Jakob begs her to return to her senses and recall her oath of loyalty to Andrea, but it doesn't work.
 


Camilla then delivers us one exceptionally creepy line before the battle begins.  Well, two, this line and one she voiced slightly earlier ("I love you too much to let you go on").  Wow, it's disturbing the way she keeps up her smotheringly affectionate personality even when she's trying to kill Andrea.  At least she didn't grab Andrea's cheeks like she does in Birthright....
 


TO BE CONTINUED
 
========
Summary:
Army Size:  18 (12 Birthright, 1 Conquest, 5 Neutral)
Retries: 2
Supports Viewed This Episode:  Rinkah & Oboro C, Hinata & Takumi C, Sakura & Takumi C, Rinkah & Saizo C
Skills Found:  27/110
Enemy Skills Found: 3/6
 
Unit Summary
Reina LvP1 Kinshi Knight [Vengeance] [Winged Shield]
Azura Lv16 Songstress [inspiring Song] [Poison Strike]
Jakob Lv15 Butler [bold Stance] [underdog] [Defense +2] [Warding Blow]
Andrea Lv13 Nohr Princess [Heartseeker] [Dragon Fang]

Mozu Lv13 Archer [Aptitude] [Duelist's Blow] [bowfaire] [Rally Resistance]
Kaze Lv12 Ninja [Locktouch] [inevitable End]
Takumi Lv12 Archer [bowfaire] [Rally Resistance] 
Sakura Lv11 Shrine Maiden [bowbreaker] [Luna]
 
Subaki Lv11 Sky Knight [Vengeance] [Winged Shield]
Hayato Lv11 Diviner [Potent Potion] [Life and Death]
Hinata Lv11 Samurai [Camaraderie] [Replicate]
Oboro Lv11 Spear Fighter [Grisly Wound] [Foreign Princess]

Saizo Lv11 Ninja [Locktouch] [inevitable End]
Kagero Lv10 Ninja [Locktouch] [inevitable End]
Rinkah Lv9 Oni Savage [Armored Blow]
Orochi Lv7 Diviner [Potent Potion]

Hana Lv7 Samurai [Camaraderie] 
Gunter Lv4 Great Knight [Voice of Peace] [Pass]
 

Current Skill Tree Key:

Spoiler

MTAzO1Y6NzE7VjoxMjtIOjEzO0g6NzI7SDo3MztIOjQxO1Y6NTU7Vjo2ODtWOjE0O1Y6MTY7SDoxMDc7SDoxNztIOjg0O0g6ODM7SDo4MTtIOjEwOTtIOjI5O0g6NTA7VjoxMTtWOjM5O0g6Mjg7SDo1MztIOjE4O0g6Nzk7VjoxMTI7SDo5MDtIOjU3O0g6MjA7SDozNztIOjYzO1Y6Njc7VjoxMDA7SDoxMDI7SDo1NjtWOjE5O1Y6NzY7SDoxMDg7SDoxMDY7Vjo3ODtWOjQyO0g6NTk7SDozNDtIOjk5O0g6MTA1O1Y6ODtWOjk0O0g6ODU7SDo0OTtWOjExMTtWOjMxO0g6MjU7SDo4NjtIOjc7SDo2MTtIOjYzO0g6OTE7SDo5MjtIOjY2O1Y6OTY7VjozNjtIOjI2O0g6MTE1O0g6ODg7SDoxNTtIOjI0O0g6ODI7SDo4NztIOjQ4O0g6MjtIOjIyO0g6NDU7SDo2MDtIOjQ0O0g6NzA7SDozMDtIOjUwO0g6OTU7SDo5ODtIOjU4O0g6MTEzO0g6MzI7SDoxMTQ7SDoyMztIOjYyO0g6MTE2O0g6Mzg7SDo0O0g6ODk7SDoxMDQ7SDo5MztIOjM1O0g6NzU7SDo0MDtIOjY7Vjo2OTtWOjc3O0g6NzQ7SDo4MDtWOjQzO1Y6OTc7SDoxMDE7SDoxMTA7SDo2MTtIOjY1O1Y6NTE7Vjo0NztIOjUyO0g6Tw==

 

 

Edited January 17, 2017 by ajmiam

[ajmiam]

Episode 8B:  "Cold Feet"

Spoiler

 

Chapter 12:  "Frozen Sea"
Preparations
     
 
This is a very odd map.  We have our army spread over 4 ships in the ice-covered sea.  There are plenty of enemies scattered over the ice, as well as quite a few (including named characters) on ships in the north and south.
 
          
 
A significant portion of the enemies are promoted.  Several Berserkers are scattered on the ice and the ships, and they look frighteningly strong.  The Sorcerers, while durable, are not quite as scary offensively.  They actually LOSE a point of Mag and Skill compared to their non-promoted counterparts!  What??
 
Also, I'm noticing a pattern on this route...the promoted enemies seem to have the "normal" skills they'd have by that point (except for bosses which can have more), and the unpromoted enemies lack skills entirely.
 
     
 
We've also got Camilla, Flora, Selena, and Beruka to deal with.  Camilla and Flora, both on the northern ship, look quite dangerous; their Strength is almost as high as the Berserkers'!  Selena and Beruka aren't big threats, as their stats are similar to those of the unpromoted enemies.  They start on the southern ship.  As Flora is the only character marked as a boss, and the mission ends when we defeat her, I'm not sure we'd even need to fight Camilla's retainers.  (However, the Berserker on their ship is carrying a Master Seal, which I want.)
 

 
However...there's something strange about the way these ships work.  As you can see, the enemy I highlighted can walk up from the ice onto the ship, but Takumi can't get down from the ship onto the ice.  Enemies can get off their ships  onto the ice, but our units cannot (except fliers).  Maybe there's some way to get down...like our units will find a rope ladder or something...we'll have to see once the battle begins, I guess.
 
     
 
Another oddity to keep in mind:  there's actually a row of squares that's mostly hidden by each of the ships (first pic).  So the squares that look adjacent to the ships on the northern side (second pic) are actually 2 away.
 
     
 
I choose to bring the team pictured above on the left.  Azura is left out, but she's actually overleveled compared to our team, so don't worry about her EXP.  I left out Saizo, as I mentioned I would, and my worst remaining units.  As for starting positions, I decide that however this chapter works, it'll be safer if my army is together.  Rather than start with the default positions of everyone spread out over the 4 ships, I choose to pair up everyone on the left side (where Andrea starts) and make sure each ship gets a flier and a healer.  That's Hinata, Oboro, Kaze, Reina, Kagero, and Sakura on the north ship; and Jakob, Hayato, Mozu, Subaki, Takumi, and Andrea on the south ship.  Let's fight!
 
Hold it!  Before the battle begins, Azura has something to say:
 
          
 
Oh, it's a waiting game?  You could have spoken up before I deployed my troops, you know.  At least bringing everyone together should make it easier to hunker down and defend our ships.
 
Battle Start
 

 
The music is No Justice, which snaps the string of 4 Justice RIP maps in a row.  Well, still "Justice" in the song title.  I would have expected Dark Wastes as a callback to Conquest Chapter 8.
 

 
Like I said, fliers can leave the ships, but for some reason they can't drop ground units onto the ice.  Even though there's a grounded enemy standing right there.  Huh.  I guess Kaze didn't bring his ice skates, so he'd just be slipping and sliding everywhere, whereas the enemies knew about the attack plan and geared up their feet accordingly.  Or maybe Kaze is afraid of falling through into the ocean, whereas Flora's ice spell is protecting her tribalists from the same fate.  I guess you could say our army has "cold feet" about getting down onto the ice.
 

 
For the first turn, I just bait and attack whatever units I can reach.  After that, they all come charging at us (slowly, with halved movement until they reach the ships) so I just have to fend them off for a while.
 
          
 
There are three types of generic unpromoted enemies:  Fighters, Outlaws, and Dark Mages.  The Fighters are fairly easy to deal with, as either Mozu or Hayato (with a Speed-granting pair up) can one-round them, and Hinata does fairly well against them.  Outlaws aren't easy to one-round because of their Speed, but are fairly fragile.  Dark Mages can dish out serious hurt to some of my low-Res units, like Takumi, but are also extraordinarily outmatched by Kaze.  I take out a few enemies and...

 

 
WAIT, WHAT.  I just noticed, the combat animations show my units standing on the ice, even though they can't move there!
 
Anyway, my troops on the north boat has a generally easy time of it, as they're only being attacked from the north.  The southern boat has to contend with foes to both its north and south.
 
     
 
Speaking of the southern boat, Turn 3 rolls around, and a Berserker is just about to board it from the north while we've already been boarded from the south.  I look at some combat forecasts and conclude...he's way, way too dangerous to handle right now.  Yes, Jakob--who has 21 Luck and is paired up, mind you--is at a 10% risk of being critted.  Who knew Gamble could be so scary?
 
          
 
So, I come up with a solution.  Have Sakura, on the north ship, Freeze the Berserker.  This gives the south ship time to clean up the enemies that had boarded it last turn from the south.  Next turn, the tag team of Mozu and Andrea can bring the moose-head down.
 

 
Also, my Archers get to make use of Rally Resistance for the first time as we fight some Dark Mages.
 
Turn 5 there's a bit of a calm, so I bring Reina down to the southern ship just in case.  At the start of Turn 6, we get some good news:
 
     
 
The Dragon Veins have finally appeared.  They will raise sections of the ice so our units can finally walk on it.  This Vein, as well as a couple of others, will connect all of our ships except the southeast one.  There are also Veins that connect the northeast ship to the southeast ship, the northeast ship to Flora's ship, and the southwest ship to Selena and Beruka's ship.  I decide to hit the pictured Vein to unite the army, then head south to pick up the Master Seal.  However, before hitting the Vein leading to the retainers' ship, i notice Beruka can just reach the southernmost of the starting ships, so I bait her into getting utterly wrecked by Hinata:
 
          
 
Good thing sinking the ship isn't an actual attack she can do.  
 
    
 
Anyway, my army splits into two squads at this point.  One squad goes north to hold this spot against some reinforcements that have appeared on Flora's ship and are slowly but surely making their way west across the ice bridge to us....  
 
      
 
...while the other squad clears the southwest boat.  This boat does contain a Berserker, but he's much less of a threat because he has a Hand Axe and can't crit.  Reina wears him down over a few turns, getting healed by Jakob, and then Takumi finishes him off, netting us the Master Seal.
 
     
 
Selena, unlike Beruka, senses Camilla's distaste for fighting her own family, but still insists on attacking us.  No matter, Takumi downs her as well.  
 
     
 
We've managed to clear the southern ship!  We start to move away and...really, game?
 
OK, I'm pretty sure these reinforcements are endless, as they appear in a consistent pattern, always two at a time every couple turns, on Flora's boat or this boat.  But it's hard to tell for sure since they don't have Void Curse (this being a route that allows grinding) and the rate at which they appear is slow.  Seriously, a ship big enough to hold dozens of Nohrian soldiers, and they come out to fight us at a rate of, like, two every twenty minutes?  Looks like our army isn't the only one with cold feet.
 
Nohrian commander:  All right, troops, the enemy has been spotted.  Let's move out and take 'em on!
Fighter:  With all due respect, sir, it's way too cold out there.
Dark Mage:  Yeah!  What if we get hypothermia?
Commander:  (Hippo-what-ia?)
Other Commander:  (It means he's a big fat cry baby.)
Commander:  Listen up, maggots!  We warned you this would be a chilly operation!  So don't think you can cry to me because half of you showed up without pants and the other half showed up wearing a leather...thing whose neckline was cut with a berserker's axe!
Dark Mage:  Sir!  These outfits are standard issue...they're the only ones we've go--
Commander:  Standard issue?!...you've got to be...how the FRICK do we expect people to take us seriously when our MAGIC users are running around flashing their pretty muscles that they DON'T EVEN USE??  Remind me when we get back to lodge a formal complaint with our army's uniform department.
Other Commander:  N-noted, sir!
Commander:  Right, then...since no one seems to be volunteering to go out there and help our princess, I guess we'll have to do it the hard way.  Eeny meeny miney mo...
 
Anyhow, having to fend off reinforcements approaching us from behind slows the southern squad down a bit, so it doesn't meet back up with the northern squad until Turn 20.  
 
     
 
Now we can advance east across the large ice bridge.  Camilla is equipped with a Hand Axe, which proves to be her downfall as I purposely park Takumi at the very edge of her range...
 
*hides bow behind back*  "Hey, you!  Get over here and fight me, you Nohrian scum!."
 
     
 
Don't look now, Camilla, but I wrote "Gullible" on the underside of your wyvern's left wing.
 
          
 
Anyhow, it's now time to advance to Flora's ship.  Kaze leads the charge against the Sorcerers, who do no damage to him with Rally Resistance in effect (1 or 3 damage, depending on tome, when it's not in effect).  Things do get a little dicey when one of the Sorcerers charges at us...and his Berserker friend comes in to back up a (meaningless) Dual Strike.
 

 
We fall back for a turn, after which Sakura Freezes the Berserker, giving Kaze and Kagero plenty of time to soften him up slightly while the rest of my army takes out a few reinforcements:
 
                    
 
There!  I think that softened him up slightly.
 

 
Jakob finishes the job.  Poor guy...had his body temperature reduced to 0 one turn and his Defense reduced to 0 on the next....
 
That's our last major obstacle before Flora, as we can fight her without stepping into the range of any more Berserkers.
 
           
         
 
Takumi attacks Flora on Player Phase, after which Jakob heals him.
 
           
 
They trade blows again on Enemy Phase, with a Berserker stepping in behind Flora to perform a useless Dual Strike.  But his approach is of no concern, as the ever-precise Takumi shoots her down for good on my next turn.  Stage complete!
 
     
 
Post-Chapter Storyline
 
          
 
Having lost, Camilla immediately surrenders her life to us.  Her retainers urge her to retreat, but she reveals why she was so adamant about fighting us.  Garon threatened her--his very daughter--with death if she refused!  Messed up indeed.
 
          
 
But if Camilla is willing to give her life to us anyway, how about if she uses it to help save the world?  Our army could also keep her safe from her father.  Andrea realizes this, and implores her to join our group...despite the apprehension of some of her comrades.
 
          
 
We can't tell her all that we're up against now, but Flora notices Andrea's Yato glow, and concludes that our aims are indeed heroic, as the sword matches one spoken of in ice Tribe legends.
 
     
 
With Camilla joining us, we also get Selena and Beruka as a package deal.  Awesome!  (I didn't use either of them much in my Conquest playthroughs, so I'll make an effort to use them here.)
 
          
 
Flora can't help us right now.  Her tribe doesn't know much about dragons, and she needs to get back to her people and protect them from Garon's wrath.  She urges for us to keep fighting for peace, for her tribe's well being in addition to our other causes.
 
Whoa, whoa, whoa, timeout.
 
Birthright Flora:  My tribe failed to kill the Hoshidan army, so we'll all be put to death and I can't face that.  Better incinerate myself!
Revelation Flora:  My tribe failed to kill the Hoshidan army, but we can hide out and avoid being put to death.  Better get back to my people and make sure they're safe!
 
Hmm.  Does one of these lines of thinking sound a bit more reasonable to you?  Also, that's some blatantly inconsistent characterization.  Wonder if different teams worked on these different paths....
 
          
 
With Flora's defeat, the ice dissipates.  Our ships begin moving again, and we sail on to Cheve.  Andrea and Camilla share a nice sister bonding moment, but Camilla catches the Hoshidan royals eavesdropping on the conversation.  Like I said, they are wary about letting her join....
 
          
 
Anyway, once Camilla realizes Azura is among us, they reconnect a bit and Camilla tells us about some of the hate and conflict that poisoned the Nohrian court while they were growing up (which I think is also brought up in some Conquest supports).  Apparently Azura suffered a lot of it before she was kidnapped.  I'd hate to imagine, but what if her guardians had let her get taken on purpose....
 
          
 
Finally, the Hoshidan royals agree to accept Camilla into the group...for now...but admit that full trust will have to be built gradually.  Quite a reasonable and mature sentiment, especially coming from Takumi.  They accept her in spite of her making a very ill-timed joke that also shows off her creepy devotion once again....
 

Final thoughts:
Well, this chapter was kind of fun.  Hunkering down and defending for 5 turns was an interesting change, and not such a long interval that I grew bored.  However, it did have some annoying parts--primarily, the endless reinforcements.  Would it have been too much to ask for the reinforcements from the southwest ship to stop once I defeated all the enemies on that ship?  The reinforcements weren't even a threat, as they kept trickling in only 2 at a time; they were just a speed bump, probably adding 5-10 turns to the count.  Also, I wish Azura would tell us about the map gimmicks before the Preparations screen instead of after.
 
In terms of difficulty, the generic unpromoted enemies were only mildly threatening, as were the Sorcerers...the Berserkers, however, were like bosses in their own right.  I'm extremely glad that I bought that Freeze staff for Sakura.  
 

I believe I've heard this chapter can be finished in 1-2 turns, which is certainly plausible if you put fliers on the northeast starting ship.  However, I didn't attempt it.

In terms of story...well, I already said my piece.  I definitely, definitely prefer Flora's character 100% more on this route.
 
And...Hooray!  For the first time in 5 chapters, we get Conquest characters!  I definitely didn't expect Camilla's group to be the first one we recruit, though.
=========
Summary:
Army Size:  21 (12 Birthright, 4 Conquest, 5 Neutral) (+Camilla, Selena, Beruka)
Retries: 2 (0 this episode)
Skills Found:  27/110 (+4 more next episode)
Enemy Skills Found: 3/6
 
Unit Summary (the +s denote levels gained this episode)
Camilla LvP1 Malig Knight [???] [???]
Reina LvP1 Kinshi Knight [Vengeance] [Winged Shield]
Azura Lv16 Songstress [inspiring Song] [Poison Strike]
Jakob Lv16 (+1) Butler [bold Stance] [underdog] [Defense +2] [Warding Blow]

Takumi Lv15 (+3) Archer [bowfaire] [Rally Resistance] 
Andrea Lv14 (+1) Nohr Princess [Heartseeker] [Dragon Fang]
Mozu Lv14 (+1) Archer [Aptitude] [Duelist's Blow] [bowfaire] [Rally Resistance]
Kaze Lv14 (+2) Ninja [Locktouch] [inevitable End]
 
Oboro Lv13 (+2) Spear Fighter [Grisly Wound] [Foreign Princess]
Sakura Lv12 (+1) Shrine Maiden [bowbreaker] [Luna]
Kagero Lv12 (+2) Ninja [Locktouch] [inevitable End]
Subaki Lv12 (+1) Sky Knight [Vengeance] [Winged Shield]

Hayato Lv12 (+1) Diviner [Potent Potion] [Life and Death]
Hinata Lv12 (+1) Samurai [Camaraderie] [Replicate]
Saizo Lv11 Ninja [Locktouch] [inevitable End]
Selena Lv10 Mercenary [???] [???]
 
Beruka Lv9 Wyvern Rider [???]
Rinkah Lv9 Oni Savage [Armored Blow]
Orochi Lv7 Diviner [Potent Potion]
Hana Lv7 Samurai [Camaraderie] 

Gunter Lv4 Great Knight [Voice of Peace] [Pass]
 

Current Skill Tree Key:

Spoiler

MTAzO1Y6NzE7VjoxMjtIOjEzO0g6NzI7SDo3MztIOjQxO1Y6NTU7Vjo2ODtWOjE0O1Y6MTY7SDoxMDc7SDoxNztIOjg0O0g6ODM7SDo4MTtIOjEwOTtIOjI5O0g6NTA7VjoxMTtWOjM5O0g6Mjg7SDo1MztIOjE4O0g6Nzk7VjoxMTI7SDo5MDtIOjU3O0g6MjA7SDozNztIOjYzO1Y6Njc7VjoxMDA7SDoxMDI7SDo1NjtWOjE5O1Y6NzY7SDoxMDg7SDoxMDY7Vjo3ODtWOjQyO0g6NTk7SDozNDtIOjk5O0g6MTA1O1Y6ODtWOjk0O0g6ODU7SDo0OTtWOjExMTtWOjMxO0g6MjU7SDo4NjtIOjc7SDo2MTtIOjYzO0g6OTE7SDo5MjtIOjY2O1Y6OTY7VjozNjtIOjI2O0g6MTE1O0g6ODg7SDoxNTtIOjI0O0g6ODI7SDo4NztIOjQ4O0g6MjtIOjIyO0g6NDU7SDo2MDtIOjQ0O0g6NzA7SDozMDtIOjUwO0g6OTU7SDo5ODtIOjU4O0g6MTEzO0g6MzI7SDoxMTQ7SDoyMztIOjYyO0g6MTE2O0g6Mzg7SDo0O0g6ODk7SDoxMDQ7SDo5MztIOjM1O0g6NzU7SDo0MDtIOjY7Vjo2OTtWOjc3O0g6NzQ7SDo4MDtWOjQzO1Y6OTc7SDoxMDE7SDoxMTA7SDo2MTtIOjY1O1Y6NTE7Vjo0NztIOjUyO0g6Tw==

 

Skills Coming Up Next:

Spoiler

Mercenary Lv1:  An adjective that describes most people, excluding people who have lost a hand or somehow gained an extra hand.
Mercenary Lv10:  My air is better than yours!
Wyvern Rider Lv1:  One letter off from someone who wrecks ancient burial sites.
Wyvern Rider Lv10:  A kitchen fixture, or one in charge of tracking the amounts of things.

 
I apologize for the long stretch between episodes once again.  I do enjoy writing these logs--and based on the view count it seems like at least 60 people are regularly viewing them--but making them takes at least 5x as long as playing the chapters just for myself would.  Also, I have other, unrelated projects I need to allocate much of my spare time to, so I can't dedicate entire evenings to this very often.  I'm thinking I should try to summarize more and perhaps split long chapters into multiple chunks so there isn't quite as big a delay between updates.  
 
The people who manage to put out these logs every 1-2 days seriously amaze me....

 

 

Edited January 17, 2017 by ajmiam

[shadowofchaos]

Your images never cease to amaze me. Especially that Luna.

[ajmiam]

I'm curious, has anyone managed to solve all (or most) of the upcoming skill clues so far without peeking at the answers?  I'm sure some of them were much easier than others....
 
Moving on...
Episode 9A:  "Crunchy and Good With Ketchup"
 
 

Spoiler

 

Skills Found

     
 
Mercenary gets a couple of decent skills.  Air of Superiority can be situationally helpful, and Evenhanded is a sizable damage boost.  Given Selena's nice 15 Speed, it'll often be +8 damage instead of +4, especially if I give her a +Speed pair up.
 
Wyvern Rider's skills are excellent!  Tomebreaker complements the class's high Def/low Res stat distribution, and Counter is just very powerful when they're baiting enemies.  Counter kind of makes logical sense...if you take a swing at a wyvern from close range, it might just take a chunk out of you with its teeth in return.  As the old saying goes...
 

 
Here's what our newest team members look like with their randomizer-selected skills:
 
          
 
Camilla's stats are the same as they were when she joined in Conquest Chapter 10, and even 3 chapters later...they're still really good!  Selena and Beruka are a bit under-leveled (but have decent bases, especially Selena's Speed and Beruka's Defense).  I do a couple of challenge maps to get them some experience.
 
Challenges
 

 
The first map (Mozu's village) is a bit interesting, as a Cavalier near our starting position spawns with a Killing Edge.  I play it as safe as I can, sending Andrea in to bait him and giving her all the protection I can muster.
With Dodge +10 from the Dragonstone and Dodge +10 from Andrea being paired up, the Cavalier has a mere 4% crit chance (below 3% when hit rate is taken into account.)
 

          
 
OF COURSE he crits.  But thanks to Jakob's Evasive Partner and Sakura's Quiet Strength, Andrea lives through it.  It pays to be paranoid!
 
     
 
What's more, she gets her revenge with the retaliatory attack by proccing Dragon Fang, oneshotting him.  Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons, indeed!
 
The second challenge map (the town in Izumo, now completely ice-free even though we only half-cleared it during Chapter 10) is pretty standard fare.
 
Castle
 
We picked up so many weapons from Chapter 10 that I'm able to outfit our new units pretty well without buying anything new!  Here are Selena and Beruka, with their new weapons plus their stat gains from the challenges:  (Note that
'PegasusSlayer" is just a forged Iron Sword.)
 
     
Stat gains for Selena (+1 level):  +1 Spd, +1 Def, +1 Res
Stat gains for Beruka (+2 levels):  +1 HP, +1 Str, +1 Def, +1 Res
 
We get a couple interesting lines from characters at the ore mines.  Beruka's line at the amber spring highlights her extremely tough childhood, while Reina delivers a slightly disturbing line made much creepier by the cackling voice clip that accompanies it:
 
     
 
Supports
 
Brace yourself, we've got quite a few--some from the last chapter and some from the challenge maps.
 

 
It should be noted that Andrea and Jakob could now S Support if I wanted them to, but I think I will decline.  Jakob is close to S-Ranking Azura, and their supports are pretty decent, so I think I will pair them up.  Andrea, I think, will end up marrying either Leo or Silas.  Why?  They're both characters who I like.  Also, Leo with a +Mag Avatar would result in a child capable of incredible magical destruction!  Marrying Silas, however, would let me obtain the unit capable of the greatest possible amount of statistical destruction....
 
Andrea & Mozu B
 
      
 
Uh, yeah...Mozu definitely deserved to start the game at level 5 at least, not level 1.  She's a lot tougher than she looks.  Anyway, the talking about hunting again reminds her of her lost past, so Andrea offers to teach her something new to give her something to look forward to.
 
Jakob & Takumi C
 
     
 
Well, Jakob's rudeness towards most non-Avatar people starts to show through finally.  Yes, anyone who's followed this run would know that Jakob's statement is a lie; he's quite a powerhouse on the battlefield.  (Bold Stance certainly helps.)  Anyway, Takumi gives up trying to practice with Jakob...for now.
 
Oboro & Kaze C
 

 
Oboro finds a mouse in the pantry she just organized and puts on her game face, roping Kaze into helping to catch it.  Perhaps he could leave out some food laced with a knockout poison...the ancient ninja technique known as Inedidible Bread!
 
Hinata & Oboro C
 
     
 
Hinata realizes his hair is getting too long and plans to cut it...Oboro, thankfully, intervenes before he makes his already-irregular hairdo any worse.  Hinata wants his hair to look more like Takumi (which, considering they both have ponytails, would only require it to be smoothed out a bit).  After that they get into a bit of a heated discussion over who's cooler and more loyal to Takumi...which Oboro wins on virtue of being the one holding the scissors.  This conversation does reveal that Oboro has been Takumi's retainer for longer than Hinata.  Wonder if we'll find out about how they met....
 
Mozu & Subaki B
 
     
 
Subaki's generally impressed by Mozu's knowledge of herbal remedies and food storage, which somehow didn't make it into the books he studied.  And now he's interested in learning more from her not just for his own ego's sake but in order to help out around camp!
 
Supports Unlocked After 1st Challenge Map
 
Selena & Beruka C
 
          
 
Selena challenges Beruka to a duel of strength but they end up getting into a duel of psychiatry instead, where they both realize that their outward appearances (Selena's confidence and Beruka's stoicness) are really masking some deep emotional issues...actually a pretty good support.
 
Beruka & Oboro C
 
     

Hooray, the first cross-nation support!  Beruka notices that Oboro is being especially hostile to her compared to our other new Nohrians (as evidenced by Oboro's constant game face through this conversation).  Oboro explains that it's because Beruka's an assassin, and her parents were killed by a band of assassins while on a routine trip to Nohr.  This triggers some recollection in Beruka, but she quickly stops talking...despite Oboro's emphatic demands that she speak up!
 
Supports Unlocked After 2nd Challenge Map
 
Selena & Beruka B
 
     
 
A cute little scene of them making up and talking through their issues some more.  It's nice to see that Beruka has someone who considers her a friend!
 
Jakob & Selena C
 

 
Jakob showing off his coldness again.  Selena, who went and bought more things than she could carry, asks Jakob for help but he refuses.  (Makes me wonder how this support line is supposed to end up with the two of them in an S-Rank....)
 
Oboro & Hayata C
 
     
 
Oboro tries to talk to Hayato, but he's actively avoiding her...and actually seems to be quite terrified of her!  Perhaps she accidentally scared the poor kid with her game face?
 
Andrea & Saizo C
 
     
 
Andrea catches Saizo spying on her, and he explains that due to her Nohrian upbringing he doesn't trust her.  Apparently he's watching her all the time.  Even when she sleeps?  Even when HE sleeps?
 
Andrea & Hinata C
 
     
 
Andrea finds Hinata doing some training and tries to find out what's going on...he tries to write it off as nothing special, but turns out to be a really bad liar, so she knows something's up...just not what.  
 
Andrea & Hayato C
 
     
 
This support teaches us what Hayato's charms actually are.  They're spells written down on pieces of paper that affect whoever holds them or reads them or something.  He plans to send a charm back to his Wind Tribe village.  Andrea suggests he write them a letter too, to check in with them, but he has no experience writing letters.  Then Andrea somehow seems surprised when he asks her to help him with the letter, but she agrees to do so.

Chapter 13:  "A Lost Peace"
 

         
 
The map point says "Destroyed Town".  Foreshadowing much??
 

 
Yes, as we get there we see that the stage where Azura sang for Garon in the other two routes has been utterly ruined.  No groans of increasing discomfort in this path, I'm afraid.
We turn around to see a couple of familiar faces from the other routes staggering at us from behind, after which they collapse...
 


It's Kaden and Keaton, and they seem seriously injured!  Kaden lets out a very pained mewl as he warns us to run away.
 


At Camilla's urging ("Poor thing!"), Sakura heals them both, and they start to explain what went on.
 
     

The town falling apart by itself?  Invisible forces??  I think we know exactly who's behind this.
 
               
 
Anyway, Keaton notices that we're not from either kingdom...or, actually, we have members from both kingdoms.  I guess he gets out enough to see how Hoshidans and Nohrians dress.  We explain that we're an independent faction trying to end the war, and both of the beast-shifters eagerly decide to join us!
 
So it seems from all this that Kaden and Keaton were both in Cyrkensia at the same time.  Neither one seems to bear any ill will towards the other or towards either kingdom.  So just think...if we'd only been fortunate enough to run into both Keaton and Kaden in Conquest, perhaps they'd have both joined and we wouldn't have had to fight the the Kitsune Tribe and kill Kaden later on in that route...and vice-versa in Birthright.  So much tragedy that could have been avoided if only fate were more kind.  But they're both here now, safe and sound (as I'll do everything I can to keep them alive through this whole ordeal, just like the rest of my army).
 
 
 
They introduce themselves to us but before we can talk too much, we hear that a clash has broken out between Hoshidans and Nohrians in another part of town...and Xander and Ryoma are among them!
 
          

Each one blames the other for the destruction.  
 
          

 
Azura picked up on who the real enemy is, and now Andrea does too...nearly cursing herself to death for the 3rd time in the process.
 
     
 
But even when Andrea points out a group of five Vallite soldiers in the plaza between them, the two crown princes fail to notice the group and keep threatening each other.  (This might be a minor plot hole--we know Ryoma could see Vallites before, as he landed a few blows on the swordsman in Chapter 5.  But maybe the Vallites are too far away, and the princes are too focused on staring down each other, for them to see the Vallites.)
 
If those two won't pay enough attention to what's really going on around them, I guess we'll have to show them by fighting the invaders ourselves.
 


TO BE CONTINUED....
 
========
Summary:
Army Size:  23 (+Kaden, Keaton) (13 Birthright, 5 Conquest, 5 Neutral)
Retries: 2 (0 this episode)
# of Supports Viewed This Episode: 13
Times Andrea Nearly Forgot the Valla Curse: 3 (1 this episode)
Skills Found:  31/110
Enemy Skills Found: 3/6
 
Unit Summary
Camilla LvP1 Malig Knight [Tomebreaker] [Counter]
Reina LvP1 Kinshi Knight [Vengeance] [Winged Shield]
Azura Lv16 Songstress [inspiring Song] [Poison Strike]
Jakob Lv16 Butler [bold Stance] [underdog] [Defense +2] [Warding Blow]

Takumi Lv15 Archer [bowfaire] [Rally Resistance] 
Andrea Lv15 (+1) Nohr Princess [Heartseeker] [Dragon Fang]
Mozu Lv14 Archer [Aptitude] [Duelist's Blow] [bowfaire] [Rally Resistance]
Kaze Lv14 Ninja [Locktouch] [inevitable End]
 
Oboro Lv13 Spear Fighter [Grisly Wound] [Foreign Princess]
Sakura Lv13 (+1) Shrine Maiden [bowbreaker] [Luna]
Hinata Lv13 (+1) Samurai [Camaraderie] [Replicate]
Kagero Lv12 Ninja [Locktouch] [inevitable End]
Subaki Lv12 Sky Knight [Vengeance] [Winged Shield]
Hayato Lv12 Diviner [Potent Potion] [Life and Death]
Saizo Lv11 Ninja [Locktouch] [inevitable End]
Selena Lv11 (+1) Mercenary [Evenhanded] [Air Superiority]
 
Beruka Lv11 (+2) Wyvern Rider [Tomebreaker] [Counter]
Rinkah Lv9 Oni Savage [Armored Blow]
Orochi Lv7 Diviner [Potent Potion]
Hana Lv7 Samurai [Camaraderie] 

Gunter Lv4 Great Knight [Voice of Peace] [Pass]
 
 

Current Skill Tree Key:

Spoiler

MTAzO1Y6NzE7VjoxMjtIOjEzO0g6NzI7SDo3MztIOjQxO1Y6NTU7Vjo2ODtWOjE0O1Y6MTY7SDoxMDc7SDoxNztIOjg0O0g6ODM7SDo4MTtIOjEwOTtIOjI5O0g6NTA7VjoxMTtWOjM5O0g6Mjg7SDo1MztIOjE4O0g6Nzk7VjoxMTI7SDo5MDtIOjU3O0g6MjA7SDozNztIOjYzO1Y6Njc7VjoxMDA7SDoxMDI7SDo1NjtWOjE5O1Y6NzY7SDoxMDg7SDoxMDY7Vjo3ODtWOjQyO0g6NTk7SDozNDtIOjk5O0g6MTA1O1Y6ODtWOjk0O0g6ODU7SDo0OTtWOjExMTtWOjMxO0g6MjU7SDo4NjtIOjc7SDo2MTtIOjYzO0g6OTE7SDo5MjtIOjY2O1Y6OTY7VjozNjtIOjI2O0g6MTE1O0g6ODg7SDoxNTtIOjI0O0g6ODI7SDo4NztIOjQ4O0g6MjtIOjIyO0g6NDU7SDo2MDtWOjQ0O1Y6NzA7SDozMDtIOjUwO0g6OTU7SDo5ODtIOjU4O0g6MTEzO0g6MzI7SDoxMTQ7VjoyMztWOjYyO0g6MTE2O0g6Mzg7SDo0O0g6ODk7SDoxMDQ7SDo5MztIOjM1O0g6NzU7SDo0MDtIOjY7Vjo2OTtWOjc3O0g6NzQ7SDo4MDtWOjQzO1Y6OTc7SDoxMDE7SDoxMTA7SDo2MTtIOjY1O1Y6NTE7Vjo0NztIOjUyO0g6Tw==

 

 

 

Edited January 17, 2017 by ajmiam

[SoloCross]

...Now I really wish we got a map with Kaden and Keaton trying to defend Cyrkensia.

[ajmiam]

...Now I really wish we got a map with Kaden and Keaton trying to defend Cyrkensia.

 

...Well, this gives me an idea!  I was already planning to add a condition to this map's objective, but I'll incorporate this as well.

 

Speaking of which, if anyone wants to spice things up, you can suggest additional conditions for me to add to the map objective during any of the upcoming chapters, as long as they're reasonably doable/not extremely tedious, and especially if they fit thematically with the chapter story!  Except Chapter 17.  I already have a special condition reserved for that one....

 

 

 

For this episode I've decided to do something different:  I'll put the Preparations in its own part and explain my battle plan, and the next update will contain the execution of the plan.  This way, I won't know how well the plan works out before I tell you all what it is.

 

Episode 9B Part 1:  "A Bridge Too Short"

 

 

Spoiler

 

 

          

 

This map is vaguely donut-shaped.  We start in the south, and the Vallite enemies we need to defeat are in the center across the river.  There's a pier leading very close to the center, but it falls one square short.  And just look at those enemy counts!  44 total foes from 3 different factions, and we're right in the middle of it!

 

 

The boss is a Berserker all the way in the center-north, guarded by a couple of Wyvern Riders, a Mercenary, and a General.  The rest of the enemies on that platform are Hoshidan or Nohrian.  Hmm...it would be cool and realistic to see those two factions fight each other there, but somehow I don't think that will happen.

 

This Berserker, unlike the one in Chapter 7, can actually fight back from range, as he has a Hand Axe.  I'm not sure he'll be smart enough to equip it before we approach, so we might get a free Player Phase to wail on him with 2-range weapons.

 

 

Going up the left side would pit us against Nohrian foes, including Xander who is boasting a staggering 26 Defense.

 

 

The right side, on the other hand, pits us against Ryoma and Scarlet.  Scarlet doesn't move, so she could in theory be taken out from a distance, but Ryoma is incredibly dangerous.  Before pair ups, only 4 members of my team (Camilla, Kaden, Azura, and Kaze) can avoid being doubled by him.  Camilla's at weapon disadvantage, and the other three are a bit too fragile for my liking.  If we did get past them, we could use a Dragon Vein to lower the water, making the "bridge too short" in the south-center become just far enough.

 

(Also it's weird that Scarlet has Lunge; I don't think she can use it, as she's immobile.)

 

I believe that routing the Hoshidan and Nohrian armies would go against the spirit of what Andrea is trying to do, which is to make peace with them by showing them the true enemy--the Vallites.  Therefore, my goal for this chapter will be to take out the enemies in the middle while inflicting only minimal casualties among the two terrestrial nations.  In addition, SoloCross wishes Kaden and Keaton had gotten a chance to defend Cyrkensia, so I'll be giving one of them the honor of finishing off the boss.  The objective for this map will be:

 

 

(After completing the map in this manner, I will probably go back and see how I fare fighting the two princes, just out of curiosity, but it'll be the initial victory that I'll save.)

 

 

The map's special mechanic should help us out here.  The dark brown pieces of debris are moveable.  (Good thing, or we'd never get out of our starting area.)  Any character can pick up a piece, at which point it becomes an inventory item that the character can set down at a later time.

 

     

 

Even if the Hoshidan and Nohrian forces aggressively head for us, we can completely lock them out of this south-center area by using the debris to cover just two spots--the ones marked with Xs.  Sadly, there's an immobile Knight standing on one of the spots...he'll have to go, nothing we can do about that.  Once we seal off the area, we can begin letting Camilla and Beruka ferry our units across the water to the center-north.  In theory.

 

 

There are lots of painful cuts I have to make on the Select Units screen.  I really wanted Kagero, Hinata, and Mozu to get in some fighting, but I really need the power and flight of Camilla, the healing utility of Sakura and Jakob, and the accuracy of Saizo (compared to Kagero) so I don't have a lot of flexible slots.  

 

We do get Kaden and Keaton as required deployments.  Conveniently, their levels are above average for our team.  Keaton has far and away the highest HP in the army, and Kaden is actually tied with Camilla for second place!  So, they should be quite useful here.  However, I might not use them much in future battles since I used them heavily on their respective routes.

 

 

 

Will my plan work?  Will the objective I set for myself turn out to be completely unfeasible?  Find out when I start the battle in the next update!

 

Edited January 17, 2017 by ajmiam

[ajmiam]

Just a small update...

If you saw the team composition I chose, you were probably internally screaming something like "WHY DIDN'T YOU DEPLOY SUBAKI AND REINA, YOU IDIOT?? THEY'RE FLIERS TOO!" (At the very least, this is what I was screaming to myself about halfway through playing this chapter.)

Nevertheless, I did it on the first try...it took all kinds of thinking outside the box and some dumb AI exploitation, but I managed to reach the Berserker boss without killing more than 10 non-Vallite enemies, and defeat the boss with Kaden. In fact, I only took out 3 Nohrians...and 0 Hoshidans! But it's a bit too late for me to write up the full summary today, so look for it tomorrow evening if all goes according to plan.

[ajmiam]

Episode 9B (Part 2):  "Unexpected MVP"

 

Spoiler

Step 1:  Seal Off Starting Area
 
Wasting no time, I begin to put my plan into action from Turn 1.
 

 
Jakob picks up the debris pile, which takes up a space in his inventory.  Its description helpfully tells us what we can do with it.  But like any item, our units can trade it...
 

 
...so he hands it off to Keaton, who, with an assist from Azura, rushes ahead for a 5-space gain.  That's just enough yardage to place the block on the right-hand space I marked with an X earlier, sealing that side off and blocking enemies from approaching us from the east.  All on Turn 1!  Also, take note of that Spear Fighter Keaton blocked off.  He's important.
 

 
The enemy phase begins, and I realize things will be slightly more complicated than I expected.  Though most of the enemies are the typical "I won't bother you if you don't enter my range" type, about a dozen of them are aggressive and will try to reach our team however they can, like this Archer.  For those on the Hoshido side, this means heading north and west to eventually cross the plaza, head down the Nohrian side, and engage us from the west.
 

 
Fortunately, on Turn 2 I'm able to have Camilla weaken this Knight and Selena slay the Knight's armor (along with the rest of him).  This clears the way...
 

 
...for Keaton to pick up another obstacle from the dock and, with a song from Azura, hand it off to Saizo, who places it from the south into the space the Knight was occupying.  That's both sides sealed off!  On the Enemy Phase, an opportunistic Outlaw shoots Saizo from over the wall, but neither of them die in the exchange, so it's of no consequence.
 
Hoshidans Defeated: 0, Nohrians Defeated: 1
 
Step 2:  Defeat General
 

 
Turn 3, I scrunch everyone into the safe space between the obstacles, out of the range of 2-space attacks.  All except for Saizo, who goes to the north end of the dock, encouraging the Vallite General to attack him with a Spear.
 

 
The pair up bonus from Beruka's attack keeps him alive, and the battle fills his Guard Gauge, so I attack with him on Player Phase to stack another defense drop.  The attack also triggers Saizo's Pyrotechnics skill, which I always forget about.  Whoops!  Good thing Saizo can't kill himself with it!  Next, I have Azura Sing Saizo out of the way so Takumi can get a shot in.
 

 
Fun fact:  The additional Defense drop from Inevitable End contributed 8 damage, which is exactly the amount Poison Strike would have done.  Fun fact 2: Takumi's attack power is just so darn high that neither Inevitable End nor Pyrotechnics actually mattered here.
 

 
With the biggest threat in the north plaza out of the way, Camilla flies up to engage the other enemies there.  This Vallite fighter, along with two Nohrian cavaliers, attack her and promptly die.  I would say "Counter helped here", but the way the math worked out, that's a lie; she didn't need it to one-round all these guys.  Still, I managed to get a shot that looks pretty cool, with something vaguely resembling a jet of fire coming from the approximate area of Camilla's wyvern.
 

 
Selena gets a 6-stat level up off a Dual Guard.  I can only assume that her quote is an Awakening reference that goes over my head.
 
Hoshidans Defeated: 0, Nohrians Defeated: 3
 
Step 3: ???
 
Now comes a bit of floundering where I'm not sure exactly what to do.  See, after Camilla baited and defeated those enemies, a bunch of melee attackers (including a Swordmaster) started moving south from the Hoshidan side to the plaza, threatening anyone who would land there.  A Cavalier with a Javelin also rushes onto the plaza from the Nohrian side.  So I pulled Camilla back to safety, hoping the enemies would vacate the plaza to try to get to us, but they didn't budge because all of our units are totally inaccessible to them now.  At this point, I think that maybe if I can clear out the ranged units east of the starting area, I can have Camilla and Beruka fly over there and bait the melee attackers into heading southeast.  Then Camilla and Beruka could fly to the plaza and beat the boss before the enemies get back there.  
 

 
To that end I purposely move Jakob into the danger zone on the right--still on the "safe" side of the obstacle, but within the range of 2-space attacks.  It's marked as a danger zone because if the Spear Fighter (the one I indicated in that pic on Turn 1 where Keaton is placing the obstacle) moves out of the way, ranged attackers will be able to attack from his former spot and hit Jakob.   What happens instead is an epic AI failure...
 

 
...the Spear Fighter's AI is too dumb to move away from our characters, so he just stands there, blissfully unaware that he's blocking the ranged units from reaching my army!  However, the aggressive ranged units still move towards this area, as they could theoretically hit Jakob if the Spear Fighter were to move.  I pass turn 10 times without moving anyone, and every aggressive ranged enemy on the map finds itself caught in a 5-unit pileup behind the Spear Fighter.  (This includes the Cavalier with a Javelin that was on the plaza a few paragraphs ago.)  The Spear Fighter isn't on my team, but I'd totally give him an MVP award for protecting us from those enemies!
 
So this gets all the ranged units out of our way, but what about the melee enemies?  There are still 5 of them there, threatening...and while I could defeat them all and we'd be under the casualty limit I imposed, it might buy other units time to converge on the plaza.  So I find a way to completely avoid them...
 
Step 4:  Win
 

 
I send Beruka west to grab an obstacle from this thicket of enemies, and Sakura Rescues her back before they can attack her.  
 

 
Now, since the inside of the plaza is accessible only through a passage 1 tile wide, I send Camilla (carrying Selena) and Beruka (carrying Kaden) directly into there.  (In that first shot above, you can see the melee units I was trying to avoid.)  Beruka drops the obstacle behind herself, locking herself and the other three inside.
 

 
Now we just need to take out two Vallite Wyvern Riders, and our path to the boss is clear.  Selena dispatches them easily.  She'd have an excellent matchup against them anyway, but Air Superiority makes their hitrates downright embarrassing.  She'd have an even better matchup if she had used the Wyrmslayer, but I completely forgot she was carrying it.  Oops.  Speaking of mistakes, I carelessly let Camilla get attacked through the right wall by a Master Ninja.  Good thing that wasn't an Archer!
 

 
Now for the Berserker.  Just as I suspected, he's not smart enough to equip the Hand Axe until we're already in his range, so we get a round of free attacks on him from range.  (The Silver Axe combined with Gamble would give him a double-digit crit rate against our units...shudder...so glad I don't have to deal with that.  All 4 of our units up there can survive a Hand Axe hit.)
 

 
One more Dual Strike next turn to weaken him.  A bit overeager, Kaden gets an inconsequential crit.   ("My turn!")
 

 
His actual turn comes and he chomps away the Berserker's last few hit points.  Victory is ours!  Kaden got his revenge on the Vallites who destroyed this beautiful, friendly town, and we inflicted only 3 non-Vallite casualties out of our limit of 10!

 

Due to the lateness of the hour as I'm typing this, the end-of-chapter storyline and unit summary will appear in the next update.

Edited January 17, 2017 by ajmiam

[SoloCross]

That was awesome!

The spear fighter might not be as epic as the 3-13 archer, but he definitely was a MVP for this chapter.

[ajmiam]

Episode 9 Final (Post-Chapter 13 Storyline)

Spoiler

 

 
We've taken down the real enemy, but the two crown princes are still going at it, neither one wanting to back down for fear of looking weak.
 

 
So, Azura forcibly calms them down, by singing her song.  Apparently it's the opposite of the song she sings to give people extra turns.  Anyway, no 3D animated cutscene for this, just a few blue splashes swirling around her.
 

 
This temporarily renders the princes and their armies incapable of fighting, giving Andrea a chance to talk to them.  The song also exhuasts Azura a little bit, but it's nothing major (no eerie purple hands or anything).  Xander starts to leave the battlefield, but Andrea and Camilla run after him to try to reason with him....
 

 
She tells him to rendezvous at the Bottomless Canyon when the light and dark skies switch places (presumably so they can travel to Valla and take on Anankos, though of course she can't say that).  Xander is suspicious as usual.  But at least he doesn't question what Andrea means by "skies change", so I'll give him credit for being smarter than Yukimura.
 

 
Xander also refuses to answer Andrea's question about "Go find the dragon", the phrase Izana taught us.  How rude!
 

 
We have better luck with the Hoshidan prince.  Ryoma's also suspicious of us and unwilling to listen at first.  However, Scarlet sees something trustworthy in us.  She also thinks Ryoma ought to trust Andrea on principle since they're siblings, after all (well, sort of).  This seems to be convincing enough for Ryoma, who finally decides to listen to us.  We explain as much as we can.
 
]
 
Ryoma won't join our army now, as he has to go home and let everyone know what's going on (as well as pick up Hinoka, who's just hanging out back there).  
 
Sakura notes the large amount of...influence Scarlet seems to have over Ryoma, teasing the ship that never really happens due to the sad lack of supports.
 

 
Before Ryoma leaves, Andrea questions him about "the dragon".  Ryoma doesn't know of any particular dragon, but advises us to seek the advice of the Rainbow Sage.  Ah, just as we did in the other two routes!
 

 
Camilla notes that the Sage only speaks with very powerful people, and only four are known to have visited him so far:  Sumeragi; Garon (hopefully before he got replaced with his slimy doppelganger); Xander; and...someone whose name we don't know.  Mysterious.  Perhaps we'll find out later, after meeting with the Sage ourselves....
 

Skills Coming Up Next:

Spoiler

Kitsune Lv1: The Beast version of the villain of "The Dark Knight Rises"?
Kitsune Lv10:  A typical skill for this class line, just two skill slots early
 
Wolfskin Lv1:  +2 to a stat Rinkah is infamous for lacking
Wolfskin Lv10:  Of the two Nohrian "Blow" skills, the one that isn't shaped like a rotated Sol
 

 

Episode 10A:  "LEVIN Weaponry"

Spoiler

 

Skills Found
 


The two beast-shifting classes are odd.  Since they both have Beastbane, and they're the only classes that can use Beastbane, the skill is guaranteed to wind up right back in both of these class lines, so the odds we'd see it by now are pretty good.  And we do.  Kaden, in a strange sort of twisted normality, gets another standard skill from his class line--Grisly Wound, which is a very nice pickup for the early-midgame.  Keaton, meanwhile, is set to be an all-out attacking powerhouse with Strength+2 and Savage Blow!  Wow, so 3 of the 4 instances of "20% damage" skills wound up in classes with highly restricted availability (Songstress-Poison Strike, Kitsune-Grisly Wound, and Wolfskin-Savage Blow).  And we've found the 4th one!  (Spear Fighter-Grisly Wound)
 
Sadly, as mentioned before, I don't plan to use the two beast-shifters much if at all for the rest of the run, so their skills probably won't see much action.
 
Castle
 

 
A couple more interesting quotes from resource-gathering spots.  Bonding over food?  It's a start.  Also, nice to see some more of Beruka's developing maturity and conscience.  I'm really happy I'm starting to use her now; her character seems more interesting than most.
 

 
It's about darn time!  We finally get to upgrade our weapon and staff shops to Level 2.  I have plenty of DVP saved up for this, so I go ahead and upgrade all four.  Unfortunately we haven't really been getting any money these past few chapters, so we've only got 10000G to spend (left over from the challenges we did before Chapter 13).  That's enough to get only 2 or 3 really good weapons.
 


However, I do go ahead and do the thing I've been planning to do for a while:  buy a Levin Sword for my +Mag avatar.  I have to admit, I never really knew how the weapon got the name "Levin" Sword until I noticed something about it:
 
 
 
(Actually, it probably is a coincidence.  I checked on the wiki and the sword has appeared in other games and its Might isn't always 11, so I really have no clue where the name comes from.  It doesn't even sound like the Japanese name, which just means (and sounds like) "Thunder").
 

 
In addition, after taking a peek at the enemy composition of the upcoming chapter, I choose to purchase a Pike-Ruin Club for Beruka.  Hmm...is it just me or are the WTA-effective weapons, like, really powerful?  I mean, if you get one of each, then you have super-effective damage at your disposal for any enemy using one of the three main melee weapon types, which is probably well over half of them.  Dealing a little more damage and getting an accuracy boost from WTA is reasonable; dealing 20 extra damage is kind of ridiculous.  And these WTA-effective weapons are only D-rank, like the beast- and armor-effective weapons from Nohr!  At least the WTA-effective weapons cost a fair bit more (compare to 2500G for a Hammer or Beast Killer), but then again, these weapons only appear on the two routes where, given enough patience, you have as much gold as you want at your fingertips.  Hmm...the lack of these weapons is yet another factor to make Conquest harder than the other two routes by far.
 
Supports
Only 4 this time...the Saizo and Kaze was unlocked by finding them talking on the castle grounds.
 
Camilla & Selena C
 

 
Dang, Camilla, you really have a knack for leaping from "affectionate" to "excessively creepy" at the drop of a hat.  All Selena wanted was for you to say she was her favorite retainer, but I think you took it a bit far....
 
Andrea & Takumi C
 

 
In Support-land, Takumi still doesn't trust Andrea (even though in Story-land, he's pretty much stopped showing any signs of suspicion).  Anyway, when he refuses to talk to her, she suggests he teach her archery, giving them a common interest to bond over.  He reluctantly agrees, but warns he expects nothing less than perfection from her.
 
Saizo & Beruka C
 

 
Yup.
 
Saizo & Kaze C
 

 
Ah, the ninja bros.  In contrast to the Andrea & Azura supports, I think I unlocked this one later than the game intended, so please excuse the corrections I had to make for the conversation to make sense.  Anyway, Saizo's mad at something beyond Kotaro, it would seem.  Maybe Nohr for attacking Hoshido?  Valla for desecrating a peaceful town?  Or maybe, like Kaze, the fact that he wasn't able to stop Andrea's kidnapping in the first place?
 
Chapter 14:  "Orders"
 

         
 
It's time for our second "Meanwhile, back at Castle Krakenburg" scene of the game since the path split....
 

 
Iago says hello to the returning Xander, which Xander finds unusual.  Funny:  Iago's voice clip in the second image is "Why, yes!" as if to say he knows he's a rude jerk and doesn't care.
 
Anyway, he berates Xander for returning without killing or bringing back Andrea, then lets Xander go on his way.
 

 
Iago then discusses his concerns about Xander's loyalty with Hans.  Apparently news of Camilla's desertion has reached them, and they're worried it will happen again.  At least here the walking thumb says one thing sensible:  Xander would never betray Nohr.  Of course, in this case, helping Nohr may not mean Xander will do what Hans and Iago want....
 

 
Elise overhears them and decides that if Camilla is with Andrea, then she ought to help too.  Remember, back in Chapter 9, Camilla said they would have to act when the time is right....
 

 
Meanwhile, Xander has a little walk-and-talk with Leo, who is highly worried about Garon's recent behavior.  Xander insists Garon is just stressed out by the war, but Leo asks him to see for himself:
 

 
...I think the Empty Vessel broke.  Perhaps the shock of Camilla joining Andrea caused fake Garon and/or Anankos to have a nervous breakdown and develop the Shouting-Out-Your-Evil-Plan-For-No-Good-Reason syndrome that all too frequently plagues villainous characters.  Who knew slime monsters could have neurotic disorders?
 

 
Leo discloses his previous meeting with Andrea, when she warned him some hidden force was controlling Garon.  He didn't believe her at first, considering her a traitor, but now her words make a lot more sense given Garon's irrational and frightening behavior.  Leo even goes so far as to suggest that they should suspend the war against Hoshido until they figure out what's going on.
 

 
...Xander, this retort makes no sense.  If your father wants you to destroy your kingdom, then you have to betray one or the other, you've got no choice.
 

 
But he does say to gather troops and march to the Bottomless Canyon for the rendezvous Andrea specified.  To fight...or to help?  We're not sure yet.  Maybe he is willing to ally with us, and just wanted to make his intentions unclear in case Garon or one of his two slimeball cronies overheard.
 
Dia
 

 
Scene change, as our army has arrived at Port Dia.  But before we can catch a ferry, our way is blocked by a Nohrian force...
 

 
...led by Silas, who's been ordered to put Andrea down.  And he's willing to go through with it, even though he's supposedly Andrea's (former) best friend!  As in the other two routes, Andrea doesn't remember him (not for now, at least).
 
So, we've got a fight on our hands.  But with impeccable timing, some help shows up!
 


 
It's Elise!  After sneaking out of the castle, she's somehow managed to follow our trail all the way here.  Andrea and Camilla warn her that it's too risky for her to be here (and unlike Camilla, she hasn't failed a mission and so could technically return home).  
 

 
But Elise insists, believing that if Camilla trusts Andrea, then Andrea must be in the right, and probably needs Elise's help.  Eventually Andrea agrees to let her join the group.
 

 
We get treated to another adorable 3D animated cutscene, similar to when we recruited Sakura.  Elise is just so perky and positive!  Definitely one of the sweetest royal siblings.
 

 
As part of the package deal with Elise, we get her retainers Effie and Arthur, who introduce themselves in typical fashion for them.  Sorry, Effie, but there's no way to inflict damage barehanded without a Counter skill, and the randomizer game that to the wrong class for you.
 

 
Anyway, Andrea reminds us to hurry, and then it's time to fight.
 

 
TO BE CONTINUED
 
=================
Summary:
Army Size:  26 (+Elise, Effie, Arthur) (13 Birthright, 8 Conquest, 5 Neutral)
Retries: 2
# Supports This Episode: 4
Times Andrea Nearly Forgot the Valla Curse: 3 (0 this episode)
Skills Found: 35/110
Enemy Skills Found: 3/6
 
Unit Summary
Camilla LvP1 Malig Knight [Tomebreaker] [Counter]
Reina LvP1 Kinshi Knight [Vengeance] [Winged Shield]
Azura Lv16 Songstress [inspiring Song] [Poison Strike]
Jakob Lv16 Butler [bold Stance] [underdog] [Defense +2] [Warding Blow]

Takumi Lv15 Archer [bowfaire] [Rally Resistance] 
Andrea Lv15 Nohr Princess [Heartseeker] [Dragon Fang]
Kaden Lv15 (+1) Kitsune [beastbane] [Grisly Wound]
Keaton Lv15 Wolfskin [strength +2] [savage Blow]

Mozu Lv14 Archer [Aptitude] [Duelist's Blow] [bowfaire] [Rally Resistance]
Kaze Lv14 Ninja [Locktouch] [inevitable End]
Sakura Lv14 (+1) Shrine Maiden [bowbreaker] [Luna]
Oboro Lv13 Spear Fighter [Grisly Wound] [Foreign Princess]

Hinata Lv13 Samurai [Camaraderie] [Replicate]
Selena Lv12 (+1) Mercenary [Evenhanded] [Air Superiority]
Kagero Lv12 Ninja [Locktouch] [inevitable End]
Subaki Lv12 Sky Knight [Vengeance] [Winged Shield]

Hayato Lv12 Diviner [Potent Potion] [Life and Death]
Saizo Lv11 Ninja [Locktouch] [inevitable End]
Beruka Lv11 Wyvern Rider [Tomebreaker] [Counter]
Rinkah Lv9 Oni Savage [Armored Blow]

Orochi Lv7 Diviner [Potent Potion]
Hana Lv7 Samurai [Camaraderie] 
Gunter Lv4 Great Knight [Voice of Peace] [Pass]
 
Current Skill Tree Key:

Spoiler

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

 

 

Edited January 17, 2017 by ajmiam

[ajmiam]

Episode 10B Preparations

Spoiler

 

 
The site of our next battle is the port town of Dia, well-known for being the venue of one of Conquest's toughest early missions, Chapter 10.  As was the case then, our army arrives in the north and there are enemies to our south, west, and east.  There are villages to visit, turrets to fire from, a few destroyable walls, and a Dragon Vein in the southeast that could clear all the water.  But the similarities end there.
 
For starters, we're not fighting the Hoshidan army...we're fighting Nohrians.  Cavaliers/Paladins, Knights/Generals, Fighters, and a few Outlaws and Mercenaries comprise the enemy force.  Unfortunately the two Ballistas haven't had their damage output improved at all, so now that it's 4 chapters later in the game, they'll barely scratch our foes.
 

 
Another change is that for new recruits, we have a different set of Nohrian princess-and-retainers:  Elise instead of Camilla.  And their levels are low, even lower than Selena and Beruka who joined two chapters ago.  But they're actually slightly stronger than when they joined in Conquest, so you can tell that the developers tried to make them appropriately leveled for the battle, but came up short.  Effie's stats looked like they might be passable, especially that Defense, but then I saw her Speed and realizee she'd get doubled by every enemy on the map that isn't a Knight or General.  I guess Effie and Arthur will mostly be pair-up partners.  I could try to have them finish off enemies for EXP, but I used them a bunch in Conquest and don't plan to use them very often in this run.
 

         
 
We're also fighting Silas, in contrast to Conquest, when he was on our team.  Here, he's stationed on a boat at the south of the map, guarded by a pair of immobile Knights and a couple of other enemies.  Take a look at his stats...I'd heard people say his base stats are amazing in this route, and if the stats he has as an enemy are equal to his join bases, then I'd have to agree.  39 HP is MONSTROUSLY good for Level 18 unpromoted--it's only 11 points less than his ending HP as a Lv20 Great Knight in my Conquest file, not counting the Seraph Robe I gave him.  Also, Level 18 unpromoted.  That's a higher level than anyone in my current army except prepromotes!
 
     
                                  
 
There are a couple other familiar faces hanging out in this map:  Benny and Charlotte!  Benny's in the southeast with some other Knights and Generals, and Charlotte's on a ship in the southwest.  Benny is 5 levels higher than Charlotte.  Odd...but it was the same in Conquest, actually.
 

 
It looks like we'll get to recruit them, and, as Elise explains, we need to do this by having her (specifically) talk to them.  I suppose as she's a Nohrian princess and they're Nohrian border guards, they feel some loyalty to her, so that makes sense.  But Elise had better be very persuasive, else Charlotte's Unmask skill will make her go SPLAT.
 
So, with this being one of the more unique and challenging maps of Conquest, our special and unique objective on it in Revelation is...
 

 
Rout the Enemy?  Really?   Let's fix that.
 

 
There.  Much better.  Now it's kind of like a role reversal, as we have to break through the enemy defenses and reach the two recruitable enemies in a time limit (the same duration Chapter 10 Conquest lasts).  
 

 
The plan will be to deploy the army as shown above, and head down the center, then split up.  Elise will head to Benny first, then I'll try to set up a chain of units to transfer her west towards Charlotte.  It might be tough, but I think it's possible.  We shall see...
 
Next update will contain the battle!

 

Edited January 17, 2017 by ajmiam

[ajmiam]

Episode 10B:  "Pony Express"
 

Spoiler

This is going to be quite in-depth coverage of this battle, just because of the sheer number of important decisions I had to make in order to pull off the challenge I set for myself.  (To review, my goal is to recruit Charlotte and Benny within the first 11 turns, then finish the chapter normally.)
 
Chapter 14:  "Orders"
 
Battle Start
 
Music is...No Justice again?  I really expected Dark Wastes to make its return from Conquest Chapter 10....
 
Turn 1
 
Our most immediate concerns are a pair of Cavaliers due south of the start and a triangle of Paladins east of those.  Thankfully it's possible to get into range of some but not all of the Paladins, so I go ahead and do that...
 

 
...using Andrea supported by Jakob.  A song from Azura lets them move into position, baiting and blocking off the enemies in this choke point.
 

 
This lets Hayato safely incinerate this Cavalier over the wall with a Dual Strike from Andrea.
 

 
I then use some pair ups/separates to bring the rest of my army down, and have Beruka start hacking this wall down to give us an alternate route forward.
 

 
Enemy phase, Andrea takes 8 damage from the remaining Cavalier and eliminates him with a Dragon Fang.  This leaves the space open for a Paladin to move in and attack.  I fear I miscalculated and she'll die, but she lives at 3HP (thanks Evasive Partner)!
 

 
Meanwhile a few enemies scattered about the map, such as this Cavalier, start moving towards us, but most of them stay put.
 
Turn 2
 

 
We need to get through these Paladins that are blocking the way, while still being alert of the Cavalier that's sneaking up from behind.  Hayato takes out the northmost, injured Paladin.  Oboro gets a Strength boost pair up from Arthur and severely wounds the middle Paladin at the cost of taking severe damage herself.  With Grisly Wound, that adds up to 27 damage, just enough for Andrea to strike him down with the Levin Sword.
 

 
Andrea then gets a song from Azura, letting her double the final Paladin, setting him up for Selena to take him down.  Whoo!
 

 
Next orders of business include: letting Beruka break down the barrier to bait the Fighter just southwest of us; sending Hinata to bait the incoming Cavalier from the north; and healing my seriously injured party members.
 
The Fighter attacks Beruka...
 

 
Yay for Counter!
 
Turn 3
 

 
The encroaching Cavalier from the north is easily disposed, as is the Fighter that attacked Beruka.
 
Now to take out the Paladin visible southwest of the Fighter, I need Kagero to weaken him and Andrea to Levin him for the kill.  But this leaves Kagero in range of another Fighter, which she is disastrously weak to.  I solve this by building a 3-sided unit wall around her, at the cost of letting the Paladin wipe Andrea's full Guard Gauge since she attacks him from melee range (the space directly to the Paladin's right).  Unfortunately I lost the snapshot for that little sequence of events.
 

 
Finally, Elise patches up Oboro so she can bait the Outlaw from just southeast of the start and strike back with a Javelin toss.
 
Turn 4
 
A General, with 27 Defense, has started to advance towards our team from the southeast, along with the Outlaw.  Unfortunately both of my effective-weapon users, both of my ninjas, and one of my magic attackers are on the west, somewhat out of position.  
 

 
But Oboro inflicts a grisly wound upon the General, weakening him enough for Hayato to take him out.
 
Now I really need to commit units to one side or the other.  I had originally planned to have Elise head east first, but after counting spaces it turns out she's slightly closer to Charlotte than Benny, so I send her west instead.  Further, we need more firepower in the east, so I send Kagero in that direction.  Takumi and Beruka separate to maximize their firepower; Kaze pairs up with Elise to improve her movement; and Azura sings to let Oboro take advantage of her full Guard Gauge to bait an Outlaw near Benny.  End of turn, here's the situation:
 

 
Turn 5
 

 
On the east I notice that when the Outlaw attacked Oboro, Benny moved next to the Outlaw for a (useless) Dual Strike.  This gives me an idea:  move Oboro down to hopefully lure Benny down as well.  If Elise is busy going to the west, maybe I can draw Benny south and then west as well, reducing the movement required later!  The rest of the team moves towards Benny as well, Hinata baiting a Knight using his Dual Katana.  (Enemy phase result:  Hinata dodges and inflicts 10 damage on the Knight.)
 

 
Unfortunately the plan of baiting Benny didn't quite work; a Mercenary went in with the Outlaw for the Dual Strike instead.  But at least the Outlaw died.
 

 
On the west, there are a couple pockets of Mercenaries and Fighters to our north and south.  I have Beruka and Takumi take down this Mercenary (featuring an unnecessary crit)...
 

 
...and then Jakob and Andrea (in Bold Stance) eliminate the Fighter (featuring another unnecessary crit) while simultaneously getting into a formation for Elise to safely stand in the middle.
 

 
Come enemy phase, a Mercenary from the south utterly obliterates himself on Jakob, and another from the north attacks Beruka and gets Counter'd for big damage.
 
Turn 6
 
The situations:
 

 
On the west, there are 4 enemies nearby and I manage to take them all out in 4 attacks:
 

 
Beruka transfers Kaze to Selena, allowing Beruka to engage the Mercenary in Attack Stance and finish him off...
 

 
This also gives Selena the speed necessary to double and kill an Outlaw...
 

 
Jakob and Andrea eliminate this Fighter...
 

 
...and Takumi and Selena team up to wipe out the other Outlaw.
 
Meanwhile over on the east...
 

 
Hayato incinerates this Knight...
 

 
...clearing the square to let Kagero wreck this Mercenary...
 

 
...and after receiving a heal from Sakura and a song from Azura, Oboro heads towards Benny.  (The poor Mercenary in her way will get by a 20x2 attack on enemy phase.)  Meanwhile, Hinata and Effie head back towards the center of the map to set up a unit chain that will eventually convey Elise to Benny.
 
Turn 7
 

 
The appearance of an Outlaw reinforcement just southeast of Benny throws a wrench into my plans, as I'd hoped to use Oboro as bait and pull him closer to Elise.  But after Oboro pops back west for some healing and another song, she can bait the Outlaw into attacking her and drawing Benny into a Dual Strike, thus still moving him closer to Elise.
 

 
The Outlaw that appears in the west is no problem, dying in a single round of combat with Jakob and Andrea (and they were going to move to that spot anyway!)  Afterwards, Beruka moves into position, letting Elise draw close enough to reach Charlotte on the next turn.  Of course, when I'm approaching Charlotte I have to be careful not to bait her into attacking and killing herself, so my units move towards her but stay just out of her range.  They are close enough to bait the Mercenaries near her, though, with one attacking Beruka and hurting himself.  (It sure is a good thing that Elise has more Movement than the enemies she's recruiting this chapter!)
 

 
A General that has somehow made his way all the way from the east side to the north-center is also cause for concern.  I send Selena (who's wielding the Armorslayer) back to eventually take care of him.
 
Now, enemy phase on the east side:


 
...Well, crap!  Benny didn't actually run in to help this Outlaw with a Dual Strike.
 
Turn 8
 

 
Whew!  Finally, Elise gets to talk to Charlotte.
 

 
Charlotte is rude to us but changes her tune once she realizes she's talking to Eilse (and the offer of a pay raise probably didn't hurt).  "OH!  Did I do that?"
 

 
It might be scary for the Mercenaries to see their former comrade turn on them suddenly...unfortunately, her hit rate is so awful (Steel Axe, WTD, and freakin' Gamble) that I don't even risk an attack with her.  Instead, I use her to transfer away Beruka and separate after Takumi shoots the injured Mercenary.  (Jakob took out the uninjured one.)
 


Meanwhile, Selena (who has just enough HP to survive one attack and just enough Dual Guard gauge to survive a second) starts taking chunks out of the General.  
 


In the southeast, Oboro nails a 73% to take out the Outlaw and simultaneously lure Benny towards her.  Since she's equipped with a Javelin, there's no risk of accidentally doubling or critting and killing Benny.
 


Just a few minor adjustments, and now the Pony Express is all set up.
 


Enemy phase, all goes great.  Selena prevails over the General, and Benny moves in to swat Oboro for some minor damage.  
 
AND
 
THEN
 
GUESS 
 
WHAT
 


...a pair of freakin' Cavaliers spawns right next to Benny with the worst timing in all of recorded history.  Sure I could convey Elise to him this turn and have her talk anyway..but she'd be dead before the next turn.  And since Oboro damaged Benny, he's in no condition to survive two Cavalier attacks, so having Elise pair up with Benny after talking (yes, that's possible) isn't a choice either.
 
Turn 9
 


After a minute of panicking at that development, I collect my thoughts and find a solution.  Sakura Freezes the upper Cavalier, and Oboro one-rounds the lower one.  So I guess things weren't that bad after all.  Not sure what I'd have done if the 93% Freeze missed, though.
 
And now, the moment I've been preparing for:  the Pony Express makes its delivery!
 





 
Elise-to-Beruka-to-Selena-to-Hinata-to-Effie-to-Hayato-to-(replica)Hinata(who gets a sing boost)-to-Kagero-to-Benny.  39 squares traveled in 1 turn!
 

 
Questionable.  Try saying that after you promote.
 

 
Benny warms up to Elise quickly when she pegs him as a gentle giant.  (Never mind that in some of her supports she thinks Benny eats mountains....)  Anyway, with him on our side, Elise makes amends for Oboro hurting him earlier.  And our self-imposed objective is complete, with 2 turns to spare!
 
Clean-up
 
There are still about 8 enemies left, including Silas and the two immobile Generals guarding his ship.  We also have to visit all the villages, so let's handle that now, warning them about the battle that's already been going on for hours and is nearly over by this point:
 
Southeast village:

 
Um...walk the CAT?  I don't think that tends to work very well...
 

 
But I won't complain about a free Master Seal.
 
Southwest village:

 
...Really, game?  Couldn't have given me this before I dropped 3300G on one myself?
 
Northwest village:

 
Northeast village:

 
Long-range healing staves are always nice.
 
As far as the remaining enemies go...none of them are really a huge deal.  Hinata Armorslays one of the Generals guarding Silas, and Kagero 3-rounds the other.  Hey, Inevitable End got to trigger finally!  All it did was ensure that the third attack would overkill the General by a margin of 11 damage instead of 3.  Value!
 


 
As for Silas himself...Kagero unceremoniously two-rounds him (in a single turn due to Azura's song).  It really helps that she got a Str+Spd surge for this chapter.
 
(If Silas's heart were in it, he'd have equipped the Javelin by default rather than making the same mistake as the Berserker last chapter and allowing a bunch of free 2-range attacks.)
 
With Silas down there's only one Cavalier left, but just as I'm closing in on him, a bunch of reinforcements (including a Paladin) appear.  Ugh!  At least the EXP yielded by the extra enemies contributes to some very nice level-ups:
 

 
Aww, Beruka.  You're such an adorable little B.A.
 
With the last wave of reinforcements taken care of, we can finally lock in our victory.
 

  

Continued into next post due to image limit...

Edited January 17, 2017 by ajmiam

[shadowofchaos]

I do always appreciate your silly humor. I lurk and follow this even if I don't post, yo.

[ajmiam]

...Continued from previous post
 
Episode 10B:  "Pony Express"

Spoiler

 

 
With Silas defeated, Andrea realizes he wasn't trying all that hard to kill them...
 

 
Of course the reason is because, as we already know from the other two routes, Silas was her best friend as a child.  On one occasion, when he snuck her out of the castle she was forbidden to leave in order to have a picnic with her favorite meal (Blecch!), they got caught.  The guards tried to execute him, but Andrea begged them not to.  He was banished from the castle, but became a knight in the hopes of seeing her again.
 

 
Now, having failed to kill Andrea, Silas is in the same boat Camilla was a few chapters ago.  Andrea makes him the same offer as she did for Camilla, and he is all too happy to accept.  Nice!
 

 
A bit of meta-awareness on Azura's part as we finally catch the ferry to take us from Dia to Notre Sagesse, home of the Rainbow Sage.
 

 
Elise is extremely excited to meet her (step)sister that she didn't even know existed before!
 

 
The two royal families get together with Azura for a little reunion, and Azura gives off one of her few full smiles of the game.  Aww!
 

Final thoughts:

The story for this chapter was pretty formulaic, but nice.  It's really sweet to see the two little sisters bonding with each other and with Azura!

 

As for the gameplay, in a vanilla run with no random skills or special challenges, I think the only hard part would be surviving the initial onslaught of three Paladins.  The rest is pretty standard wait-and-bait Birthright style fare.  The only remaining bits that are slightly tricky are getting to Charlotte and Benny without luring them into killing themselves on your units and without leaving Elise exposed after talking to them.

 

The special objective I set for myself was quite difficult, and without the added firepower of skills like Bold Stance, Grisly Wound, Counter, and (especially) Life and Death, I'm not sure I would have had enough time to pull it off.  It would have been very close.  The skill randomizer has definitely been kind to my army early on!  For a vanilla run, a 13- or 15-turn limit to recruit Charlotte & Benny might be more reasonable, though I'm sure an expert could pull it off in 11.  (Perhaps using more fliers, to skip directly to Charlotte's boat, would be a good idea.)

===========
Summary:
Army Size:  29 (+Charlotte, Benny, Silas) (13 Birthright, 10 Conquest, 6 Neutral)
Retries: 2 (0 this episode)
Times Andrea Nearly Forgot the Valla Curse: 3 (0 this episode)
Skills Found: 35/110 (+4 more next episode)
Enemy Skills Found: 3/6
 
Unit Summary:
(This was a fairly EXP-rich chapter, as you can see from all the leveling up below.  I count a total of 24 level-ups across 12 units.)
 
Camilla LvP1 Malig Knight [Tomebreaker] [Counter]
Reina LvP1 Kinshi Knight [Vengeance] [Winged Shield]
Azura Lv18 (+2) Songstress [inspiring Song] [Poison Strike]

Silas Lv18 Cavalier [Voice of Peace] [Pass]

Jakob Lv18 (+2) Butler [bold Stance] [underdog] [Defense +2] [Warding Blow]
Takumi Lv16 (+1) Archer [bowfaire] [Rally Resistance] 
Andrea Lv16 (+1) Nohr Princess [Heartseeker] [Dragon Fang]
Oboro Lv16 (+3) Spear Fighter [Grisly Wound] [Foreign Princess]

Kagero Lv15 (+3) Ninja [Locktouch] [inevitable End]

Kaze Lv15 (+1) Ninja [Locktouch] [inevitable End]

Sakura Lv15 (+1) Shrine Maiden [bowbreaker] [Luna]

Hinata Lv15 (+2) Samurai [Camaraderie] [Replicate]

 

Kaden Lv15 Kitsune [beastbane] [Grisly Wound]
Keaton Lv15 Wolfskin [strength +2] [savage Blow]

Hayato Lv15 (+3) Diviner [Potent Potion] [Life and Death]

Benny Lv15 Knight [???] [???]

 

Selena Lv14 (+2) Mercenary [Evenhanded] [Air Superiority]

Beruka Lv14 (+3) Wyvern Rider [Tomebreaker] [Counter]

Mozu Lv14 Archer [Aptitude] [Duelist's Blow] [bowfaire] [Rally Resistance]
Subaki Lv12 Sky Knight [Vengeance] [Winged Shield]

Saizo Lv11 Ninja [Locktouch] [inevitable End]

Charlotte Lv10 Fighter [???] [???]

Arthur Lv9 Fighter [???]
Rinkah Lv9 Oni Savage [Armored Blow]

 

Effie Lv8 Knight [???]

Elise Lv7 Troubadour [bold Stance]
Orochi Lv7 Diviner [Potent Potion]
Hana Lv7 Samurai [Camaraderie] 

Gunter Lv4 Great Knight [Voice of Peace] [Pass]

Current Skill Tree Key:

Spoiler

MTAzO1Y6NzE7VjoxMjtIOjEzO0g6NzI7SDo3MztIOjQxO1Y6NTU7Vjo2ODtWOjE0O1Y6MTY7SDoxMDc7SDoxNztIOjg0O0g6ODM7SDo4MTtIOjEwOTtIOjI5O0g6NTA7VjoxMTtWOjM5O0g6Mjg7SDo1MztIOjE4O0g6Nzk7VjoxMTI7SDo5MDtIOjU3O0g6MjA7SDozNztIOjYzO1Y6Njc7VjoxMDA7SDoxMDI7SDo1NjtWOjE5O1Y6NzY7SDoxMDg7SDoxMDY7Vjo3ODtWOjQyO0g6NTk7SDozNDtIOjk5O0g6MTA1O1Y6ODtWOjk0O0g6ODU7SDo0OTtWOjExMTtWOjMxO0g6MjU7SDo4NjtIOjc7SDo2MTtWOjYzO1Y6OTE7SDo5MjtIOjY2O1Y6OTY7VjozNjtIOjI2O0g6MTE1O0g6ODg7SDoxNTtIOjI0O0g6ODI7SDo4NztIOjQ4O0g6MjtIOjIyO0g6NDU7SDo2MDtWOjQ0O1Y6NzA7SDozMDtIOjUwO0g6OTU7SDo5ODtIOjU4O0g6MTEzO0g6MzI7SDoxMTQ7VjoyMztWOjYyO0g6MTE2O0g6Mzg7SDo0O0g6ODk7SDoxMDQ7SDo5MztIOjM1O0g6NzU7SDo0MDtIOjY7Vjo2OTtWOjc3O0g6NzQ7SDo4MDtWOjQzO1Y6OTc7VjoxMDE7VjoxMTA7SDo2MTtIOjY1O1Y6NTE7Vjo0NztIOjUyO0g6Tw==

Skills Coming Up Next:

Spoiler

 

Lv1 Knight:  A triangle or pentagon, for instance, but not a square or hexagon.

Lv10 Knight:  A very strange skill for Iago to have in Conquest considering his mere 13 Luck.

Lv1 Fighter:  An exhalation that is very sure of itself.

Lv10 Fighter:  A 10-point increase to two opposing values.

 

 

 

 

Edited January 17, 2017 by ajmiam

[ajmiam]

Episode 11A:  "Old Sage, New Tricks...?"

Spoiler

 

Skills Found
 
So, no lie.  I pulled up the randomizer to look at the new skills and revealed the Level 1 Fighter skill, and went "Wow...that's really nice."  Then I remembered I had Charlotte in the party and she was Level 10, so I went ahead and revealed the Level 10 Fighter skill*...and started cracking up maniacally!
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

You know how axes are supposed to be the least accurate weapon type?  Not anymore!  I think Charlotte took offense to me badmouthing her hit rate last chapter, and way way overcompensated for it.  I mean...what are the odds that two accuracy-boosting skills would end up together...and in quite possibly the class that appreciates them the most?!

Knight skills are fine, especially for a tanky class, but nothing special.
 
*I'm going to admit I have no idea where "Hit/Avo +10" shows up in the actual game. This site listed it as an enemy skill, which is why the randomizer categorizes it as such, but I haven't seen it on any enemies in Birthright or Conquest. Maybe it only appears in Paralogues or DLC? Anyway, it does exactly what it says (I tested to make sure it works).

Castle

Benny, I thought you like it when people see your gentle side!

 

With Charlotte having ridiculously good accuracy, I decide to buy her a Great Club. Dat 55 Crit.... The weapon is surprisingly inexpensive, with a base price of 1900G (reduced by a sale from Camilla working at the store).

Supports
 
Apparently the average support point gain my unit pairs are achieving is enough for 1 conversation every 2-3 chapters, because even though we did a lot of fighting, there's only 1 support available now in contrast to the THIRTEEN of 'em 2 chapters ago.  Of course, part of the problem is that my units weren't always paired up with a compatible support partner last chapter.
 
Selena & Kaze C
 

Selena calls Kaze suspicious...because he really worries her, or she's just trying to get him to lose his cool?  But Kaze calmly fires back a smart retort, and Selena ends up being the one to lose her composure and run off.  Ha!
 
New Unit
 

I really did not expect that Silas would keep his massive 39HP total when he became playable!  I figured that was a boosted Lunatic value, and we'd get him with his Normal-difficulty boss stats.  Looks like it's actually the opposite of that, as his stats as a boss on lower difficulties are lower, but his join stats according to the Wiki are equal to his Lunatic boss stats, with no mention of said join stats being lower on other difficulties.  Wow!
 
Sadly, however, I used Silas extensively in my Birthright and both Conquest playthroughs, so he'll mostly be riding the bench as other units get the spotlight in this playthrough.
 
Chapter 15:  Rainbow Sage
 

There was a chapter with this exact name before in both Birthright and Conquest, wasn't there?  A nice piece of consistency.  I wonder how the Sevenfold Sanctuary will be set up this time....

 

 

We've arrived in Notre Sagesse for real this time.  No more delays, no more distractions.

 

 

We pop in to visit one of the villagers, a hunched-over old guy, and ask him what he knows about the Rainbow Sage.

 

 

Now, this is suspicious...isn't it a bit convenient that an unknown old man near the Rainbow Sage's temple just happens to recognize the Yato?  I know this guy looks different than the Sage did in Birthright and Conquest, but I wouldn't be surprised if this guy is the Sage in disguise.

 

 

Anyway, he tells us to go to the top of Mount Sagesse and climb the Sevenfold Sanctuary to find the Sage, but warns us it'll be hard.

 

 

So off we go.  The royal siblings begin their hike up the mountain.  (Where's the rest of the army?  Scouting ahead...or lagging behind?)

Also, the old guy had warned us that few people even make it up the mountain, much less through the Sanctuary, but the path looks generously wide and gradual, so I can't say I understand WHY.

 

 

Takumi complains, Camilla is...Camilla, and Elise nearly falls over...

 

 

...but the Sanctuary is in sight.  (Assuming we've found the right building.)  Time to head in and take on the trials!

 

Preparations

 

     

 

The map terrain is the same as in the other two routes.  Our army starts at the bottom room out of seven, and there are stairs leading up on the left and right.  Either way, we go through two rooms unique to that side, then the paths rejoin and we go through two more rooms to reach the boss.

 

 

As for the enemies, that's changed.  The other two routes each had a gimmick.  Birthright's enemies each had a particular stat maxed out at the cost of another key stat being set to 0, making them mostly easier than they look.  Conquest's rooms had enemies with tricky weapon/skill combinations, but each room, for the most part, had only one weapon type on its enemies, making it easy to pick a unit to counter them (usually Camilla).  Here, the gimmick is...that there is no gimmick; it's a mix that includes Generals, Diviners, and a number of other enemy types.  This chapter looks a bit trickier than its equivalent on either of the other routes.  Physically/magically mixed enemy groups are tough to defend against, and we can't take out all the enemies on Player Phase because some of them are too far from the stairs.  So, we'll have to bait them, and be very careful about how we do so.

 

 

(This chapter made me realize that for all I and others rag on the silly Dark Mage outfits, Hoshidan spellcasters are fairly immodest as well.  Behold, the Diviner uniform that consists of the top half of an open jacket with no shirt underneath!)

 

 

Anyhow, the goal of this chapter is to climb to the top, take out an Onmyoji illusion, and seize the square he (I think it's a he?) is standing on.

 

 

With this chapter being about acquiring knowledge, I'll add a nice simple self-imposed objective that encourages spreading combat EXP around.  There are 30 enemies so this shouldn't be too tough.  It'll keep me from relying on only a few units.

 

Let's go with...this team:

 

We're constrained to only 9 units this time, in contrast to the 12 we could use the last 3 chapters.  What is up with this game and its recruitment limits?  Anyway, I go with several familiar faces (including Kaze whose big Res stat is about to be very important).  I also bring Charlotte along, as she's a new unit I didn't use much in Conquest and she's just itching to dish out some beatings with that shiny new Great Club of hers.

 

Start the fight, and...the boss talks to us, which I didn't expect.

 

 

But not to explain a gimmick, just telling us what we already know.

 

TO BE CONTINUED

 

===========
Summary:
Army Size:  29 (13 Birthright, 10 Conquest, 6 Neutral)
Retries: 2
Times Andrea Nearly Forgot the Valla Curse: 3 (0 this episode)
Skills Found: 39/110
Enemy Skills Found: 4/6
 
Unit Summary:
 
Camilla LvP1 Malig Knight [Tomebreaker] [Counter]
Reina LvP1 Kinshi Knight [Vengeance] [Winged Shield]
Azura Lv18  Songstress [inspiring Song] [Poison Strike]

Silas Lv18 Cavalier [Voice of Peace] [Pass]

 

Jakob Lv18  Butler [bold Stance] [underdog] [Defense +2] [Warding Blow]
Takumi Lv16  Archer [bowfaire] [Rally Resistance] 
Andrea Lv16  Nohr Princess [Heartseeker] [Dragon Fang]
Oboro Lv16  Spear Fighter [Grisly Wound] [Foreign Princess]

 

Kagero Lv15  Ninja [Locktouch] [inevitable End]

Kaze Lv15  Ninja [Locktouch] [inevitable End]

Sakura Lv15  Shrine Maiden [bowbreaker] [Luna]

Hinata Lv15  Samurai [Camaraderie] [Replicate]

 

Kaden Lv15 Kitsune [beastbane] [Grisly Wound]
Keaton Lv15 Wolfskin [strength +2] [savage Blow]

Hayato Lv15  Diviner [Potent Potion] [Life and Death]

Benny Lv15 Knight [Odd Shaped] [Good Fortune]

 

Selena Lv14  Mercenary [Evenhanded] [Air Superiority]

Beruka Lv14  Wyvern Rider [Tomebreaker] [Counter]

Mozu Lv14 Archer [Aptitude] [Duelist's Blow] [bowfaire] [Rally Resistance]
Subaki Lv12 Sky Knight [Vengeance] [Winged Shield]

Saizo Lv11 Ninja [Locktouch] [inevitable End]

Charlotte Lv10 Fighter [Certain Blow] [Hit/Avo +10]

Arthur Lv9 Fighter [Certain Blow]
Rinkah Lv9 Oni Savage [Armored Blow]

 

Effie Lv8 Knight [Odd Shaped]

Elise Lv7 Troubadour [bold Stance]
Orochi Lv7 Diviner [Potent Potion]
Hana Lv7 Samurai [Camaraderie] 

Gunter Lv4 Great Knight [Voice of Peace] [Pass]

Current Skill Tree Key:

Spoiler

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

 

 

Edited January 17, 2017 by ajmiam

[ajmiam]

Episode 11B:  "Uninvited Guests" (Part 1)

Spoiler

Hmm...the image insertion tool in the new forum does not seem to want to cooperate, as I keep getting JavaScript errors.  Therefore, this episode will instead be available at the following link:

 

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1tmKSKVzFhhTYM3HpRruWWg0aN_mlvnKaU2ywE8nnhFg/edit?usp=sharing

 

Please let me know if you have trouble viewing it.

 

I will post its conclusion sometime this weekend if all goes well.  Thank you for viewing!

 

[ajmiam]

Episode 11B:  "Uninvited Guests" (Part 2)
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1ycq2BpMXsHpPeVgGPYTG78RQ4nhdQFXbxosWU4I4v-g/edit?usp=sharing

(Once again, please let me know if the link isn't working properly.)

 

I said one weekend...it took one month?!  My apologies, but one thing led to another and I got distracted with IRL things and a few side projects...including a random-skills Conquest Lunatic Classic run that I'm doing just for fun, using the same settings on the shuffler.  (I might post brief summaries of its progress alongside the log of this run.  Spoilers:  Lunatic Conquest is still hard; the randomized skills make it easier in some ways but harder in others.)

To anyone who's still following this, thank you for your patience. :)

In any case, I will announce if I decide to abandon this playlog.  It's not an extremely high priority for me at the moment, but I do wish to continue making it; I just can't promise speedy updates.

[SpearOfLies]

The randomness make this let's play very exciting. I'm currently at chapter 16 too. I'm taking my time to train my unit while making sure have everyone can have hoshidan-nohrin marriage pair and try give class that benefit most for the unit growth rate and personal skill.

 

I will follow this to see what crazy shit will happen. I don't care if I need wait a year.