Do I need to buff Marth before the end? (Lunatic)

[Gaia093]

I finally picked up the game again and got past Chapter 20, which was my biggest roadblock ever in Fire Emblem last time I played.

Since I played FE3 a few years ago, I sort of know what to expect for the final boss/chapter, but I'm wondering if I'm going to need Marth at all combat-wise (it's my first FE12 run). Currently, he's LV 19 and sucks, but since this is Lunatic he triple sucks. I've still got time to boost him via items and such, but I'd much rather spend those on better characters if shunning Marth isn't going to make the endgame significantly more difficult.

Thanks!

Edited August 8, 2019 by Gaia093

[-Cynthia-]

It's very difficult to take on Medeus on Lunatic without using Marth unfortunately, and he needs pretty high stats not to get one rounded. I think it might be possible to beat Medeus by rigging Aura crits or sacrificing units but yeah you might want to give Marth some stat boosters.

[Gaia093]

Thank you. I guess I have no choice but to invest in him then. Most of the goodies from the Secret Shop on Chapter 21 will have to go to Marth. Oh well, can't hurt to have another okay character, I guess.

[Eltosian Kadath]

The big stats to note here is you need 27 speed (note exactly Marth's capped speed plus the binding shield bonus) not to be doubled, a combined 61 Hp and Defense not to be one shot, he has 40 defense, and 30 resistance, and 99 HP. As for other potential options, the 0% growth Lunatic Reverse no crit rigging run relies on stuffing stat boosters on Palla, reclassing her to Swordmaster with a forged Levin Sword Triangle attacks to deal with him. Rigging magic crits is also a common strategy, but unless you use some speed bond/speed potions/ rainbow potions on a capped speed magic wielder Medeus doubles and kills them (and if they have less than 61 combined HP and Defense they are one shot). Good Luck I hope you make it through.

[Gaia093]

Thank you for the additional details.

I finished Chapter 21 and Marth is now at a point where he can reach max Strength, Speed and enough PV/Defense with a Bond item of each type. Since I've barely even used the ones I got throughout the playthrough, there's enough to spare, so thankfully I'll be able to use the permanent stat boosters on other characters whose usefulness is less situational. And who knows, maybe Marth will even get his max stats naturally before the final chapter - he's at LV 25 currently.

Thankfully I also still have an intact Again staff and three uses on the Rescue staff, so with a bit of luck I should be able to pull this off when I get there and finish the game with everyone recruited and alive. We'll see. First, there's a couple more hellish-looking maps to deal with.

[Gaia093]

Just updating to say I finished the game. Unfortunately my Marth did 1 less point of damage than in playthroughs I've seen (23 instead of 24) because his sword mastery was still at B, which I failed to consider. It wasn't much of an issue, though, since I managed to keep another two allies ready to strike with Mercurius and Gradivus, so the total damage ended up as a neat 23+3+69+4=99.

Fun game overall. Out of the late game chapters, 20 and 22 were definitely the worst ones for me, whereas 23 actually felt really easy, 21x was annoying yet simple and 21 was quite doable beyond figuring out a smooth start. Now I guess I'll read the conversations I missed via Bond Drop and play the Gaiden/DLC chapters, then that'll be a wrap. I appreciate the game suggesting I go for Reverse Lunatic but that's gonna be a thanks, no thanks.

Edited August 11, 2019 by Gaia093