Alastor plays and ranks the whole series! Mission Complete! ...For now.

[Nintenzero]

According to dondon151's FE6 speedrun they each have about a 10% chance of not moving because the rng that influences how they move includes the possibility to not move at all. This chapter is just really hectic and kind of dumb. There aren't any other chapters as annoying as this one except maybe one or two as far as I know, but I haven't done Sacae route.

Edited February 12, 2020 by Nintenzero

[Alastor15243]

1 minute ago, Nintenzero said:

According to dondon151's FE6 speedrun they each have about a 10% chance of not moving because the rng that influences how they move includes the possibility to not move at all. This chapter is just really hectic and kind of dumb. There aren't any other chapters as annoying as this one except maybe one or two as far as I know, but I haven't done Sacae route.

10%? Really? I got a 10% snake eyes two turns in a row?

[Eltosian Kadath]

4 hours ago, Alastor15243 said:

 

And then there's an ambush spawn right out of nowhere as Echidna spawns in, which kills Merlinus and nearly kills Lalum. Now any shopping I want to do has to be shit I can carry out of here.

One good thing about FE6 is you do not need to field Merlinus, or keep him alive to send items to the convoy, so shop till you drop.

[Alastor15243]

1 minute ago, Eltosian Kadath said:

One good thing about FE6 is you do not need to field Merlinus, or keep him alive to send items to the convoy, so shop till you drop.

Oh shit, right! Thanks for reminding me!

Honestly, I really wish there were more Merlinuses in the series. It's a really cool balancing decision to have access to your nigh-unlimited inventory space be dependent on a fragile unit who can't fight. The games that just slap it on the main character are really undermining the point of having a separate storage from inventories in the first place.

[Shadow Mir]

16 hours ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

42 HP and 16 Str at level 5 are insane, but Axe = bad and not perfect Spd at base are flaws. +5 Skl on promotion and a 50% Spd growth weakens one flaw and fixes the other. Still, he has a record of being hit or miss in peoples' opinions.

Not to mention his high Con is a double-edged sword - sure, it means he won't get weighed down much, if at all, but on the other hand - and I consider this more important - it means he's stuck relying on his own two feet to get anywhere... in a Horse Emblem game. (Only Shin can carry him after promotion)

[Boomhauer007]

Yeah this chapter is a shining example of difficulty that largely disappears if you know where enemies are going to randomly spawn, the worst kind of difficulty. 

Gonzalez is worth it on hard for the sole purpose of locking down like a third of ch21 by himself by soloing the constant wyvern spawns if he sits on a mountain tile.

[Shadow Mir]

1 hour ago, Boomhauer007 said:

Gonzalez is worth it on hard for the sole purpose of locking down like a third of ch21 by himself by soloing the constant wyvern spawns if he sits on a mountain tile.

I hard disagree just because it's Gonzales. He's too inaccurate in a game where accuracy is sorely needed. Not to mention the aforementioned fact about his needing to get places on his own in a Horse Emblem game, as well as the Hero Crest competition.

Edited February 12, 2020 by Shadow Mir

[Alastor15243]

Binding Blade Day 13: Chapter 11, Take 2

I just went all the way back through my playlogs to chapter 4 of Thracia to make sure I'm using the same naming convention for second tries of chapters. Looks like I used “Take 2” last time, so let's go with that from here on out.

Alright, now that I've calmed down, and now that I know (hopefully) every bullshit surprise this map has ready to throw at me, I'm a lot more excited about trying this chapter again. I feel like I'm planning a heist, or a big rescue mission.

Cue the planning music!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9UYXABAC06s

The plan I had last time for the first half of the map should serve its purpose again, with a couple modifications. First off, and most importantly, Roy can't afford to take the long way around to get those back houses. Honestly, no one really can, with my new strategy. At least I don't think so. I'll have to take care of those houses with my fliers some time after recruiting Thea.

...No, wait, there's an archer and axe user there. I'll have to send someone down. Probably Astore and Lot, with Saul backing them up. I should be able to ferry them back over the wall before they're in any danger.

Next, Lance is packing a hand axe now. Their accuracy sucks, but so do javelins', and the extra hit and evade against lance and axe users compared to javelins will be extremely helpful, especially since those are the WT-affected weapon types that you'd need a 1-2 range weapon to counter. Good thing they're E rank in this game.

Lugh needs to bring another tome. Taking care of the enemies on the way to the boss nearly wiped him out of those, and I'll need to have that boss taken down as soon as possible. For a while, he's gonna be the only one nearby and not too busy to fight him. The others will either be too slow or have shit to do.

Allen and Lance, same strategy as before, at least at first: rush into the town proper, start visiting houses. But once the major risks are secured, that's where the new plan comes into action: they'll be parking themselves around the house where Echidna shows up and waiting there until she does. With them blocking two of her three facings, her lackluster combat with that steel axe won't risk getting her killed by three consecutive hits from those three axe fighters come enemy phase and then an npc-phase suicide rush. Everyone else is staying the fuck away until they spawn.

Clarine rushes with the cavalry duo, ready to pounce on Klain. I know from memory he has enough time to make it over to where Thea spawns in before she arrives, but I can't remember if that was with rescue-dropping help, so I'll be having Shin over there like before to help get him there faster. I'll need a small group there to take care of the fliers if necessary, a group that can easily be air-rescued in its entirety in a single turn. If it takes as long as last time to recruit Thea, Klain will talk to her, Thea will rescue him, and Shanna will do the same for Shin. But this time, they're going over the west wall. They'll do some zig-zagging to distract them, maybe air drop Klain and Shin by the shops if they have time before they arrive, and go by those lower villages just in time to hopefully bait the attention of the second group of reinforcements. That should keep them away from our main force for long enough to stay alive.

By this point, the boss should be nearly dead, and if not, Rugter and Clarine will have arrived to back up Lugh, and Roy should be there to seize, just as we secure the last of the villages (which no matter what we're gonna make sure to do before the end of turn 14).

While I'm at it, here's my shopping list, which I'm gonna get done with the air-dropped Klain and Shin since Klain's got that white gem:

I want some more fire tomes if they have them. I'm nearly out, and that increased accuracy is something I always want to have access to, even if thunder does more damage and has a cooler animation. I also want some more healing staves, since I don't have that many extra. And if the shop has anything that Clarine can cast without somebody needing to be injured, hell yes am I buying as much of that as I can.

For weapons, I need some more javelins, hand axes, and for Shin, some bows. Everything else I'm pretty fine with, except maybe a steel sword or two if I can get one.

Alright. Let's go.

Turn 3. Absolutely everything is going according to plan. Clarine is about to get in position, and Allen and Lance are about to clear Klain's entrypoint before he shows up.

...I just thought to check this word document after accidentally calling Clarine “Priscilla”, and sure enough, I did it once before, in the last entry.

But enough about that, this place sells killer axes! No swords at all, so no steel sword buying today, but killer axes at 1k a pop! Kickass! No way in hell I'm not nabbing a couple of those!

Honestly, this feels like the sort of map where the “victory is near” theme shouldn't play just because the enemy count gets so low... because victory isn't fucking near at all, and the game damn well knows it.

Alright. Everything's going well, and Thea actually decided to move this time. Meaning I might be able to recruit Thea without bloodshed, though once those cavalry arrive, I seriously doubt they'll live unless they're programmed to retreat like the archers apparently are.

My attempt to reduce Echidna's exposure was... a massive failure. Blocking those spaces (and/or the others I blocked) meant that the spot Echidna was supposed to spawn was where an enemy spawned, and she was only spared exposure to all three by the fact that a wall of green archers separated one of them from her. Thankfully, my backup plan of baiting the axe fighters out with someone weaker worked, and Roy absorbed one of Echidna's two attackers, while the third axe fighter attacked one of the archers passing by, who, being a former hard mode unit, was tough enough to survive.

...Man, Shanna's just one space shy of being able to at least turn Thea green. Looks like I'll have to kill two of them to have Klain talk to her. Oh well. I won't be using that elysian whip anyway.

...And apparently I didn't notice last time that her name in this translation is indeed Tate, not Thea.

Yeah, looks like trying to save the pegasus knights is a lost cause. If my memory is right, the cavalry are about to spawn, and the remaining green pegasus knights are retreating in such a way that they'll be slaughtered immediately. At least I saved the archers though. ...Too bad I don't think I have any use whatsoever for a second orion's bolt. I guess I can sell it.

Yep. Cavalry arrives, right on schedule. Down go the flying ponies. But this time, I've got all the non-fliers evacuated over the wall, so I can do some good ol' flier keepaway tactics.

But they aren't going to be that necessary, because the boss is dead! Rutger got to finish him off, netting him a nice +HP, +str, +luck level up. All appreciated. Now to just finish things up here with my shopping before getting out of here. Roy's on standby to seize.

I'm taking the opportunity to sell some near-broken stuff that's been accumulating in my convoy, and I'm delighted to discover that Merlinus does in fact have canto! I kind of thought he didn't. But that helps a ton for selling multiple inventories with multiple people.

I think the bandits also stopped showing up once I saved all the villages, though I'm not keen to test that with anything breakable.

...Good call on my part, that. Since they literally just showed up the turn after I wrote that.

Right. Everything's done, and I even managed to escape before the paladin's brigade showed up at all! Now to seize, and watch the ending cutscene:

...FUCK. I accidentally pressed the B button instead of A and skipped the scene with Elphin! I'll have to look up what happens on the wiki.

...Alright. Interesting that Elphin tested Roy's character and nerve with a carefully-phrased piece of rumor... but yeah, this confirms that this whole errand in the western isles was a distraction by the chancellor to help facilitate Bern's invasion.

And I just got the hero crest, so now Lot can promote too, when I'm ready to do that.

Okay, so... thoughts on the chapter.

I'll be completely and totally honest with you guys... I... liked redoing this chapter. I didn't like having to redo this chapter, but once I actually learned about all the shit I had to do and the little time I had to do it in, I had a ton of fun planning and moving my units around, doing multiple simultaneous jobs, working and fighting on a multi-tiered tight schedule that never, ever lets you relax. At times I felt like I was playing Invisible, Inc., which is... it's a fucking high compliment, okay? That's one of the best strategy games ever made.

And while I deeply resent what I had to go through to experience this... I don't know if you actually could do something like this chapter without being needlessly hostile to first-time players in some serious capacity.

Which makes me think that what a remake of this game really needs isn't a turnwheel... but a Monado.

Imagine if you will, for a second, that Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Elibe gives Roy the power not to control time, but to see into the future. Either it's in the Fire Emblem, maybe some weird magical mishap brought about by new characters added to the remake... or hell, maybe he just inherited it from Ninian!

Regardless, thanks to that power, both in and out of gameplay, Roy frequently sees visions of the future and how things can go horribly wrong if he doesn't intervene. In gameplay, he'd see swirls of energy, like a dragon vein or like those online bonus things in Three Houses, and when you click on them, it shows you something that's going to happen in that area, and what turn it'll happen on. And maybe these could even have some sort of “bad ending” cutscenes where it shows members of your army dying in some capacity, probably using their actual death quotes and SOV-esque death-reaction quotes. But the idea is that you can see these from the preparation screen, and you can plan accordingly. If there are any more chapters like this, where they're still interesting even when you know when everything's going to happen, then that could make some fascinating and truly unique gameplay. To add icing to the cake, it would also get rid of one of the only weaknesses of the non-ambush reinforcement model, which is that it forces the reinforcements to be vulnerable to first strike. It's better than straight-up ambush spawning, but as long as the player can see them coming, the player doesn't have to be able to get the jump on them in order for it to be fair.

And the best part? It wouldn't ruin the story to add this. At least not so far, I think. I'm not sure if seeing the near future would ruin some other part of this story. But my point is giving Roy the power to see the future in a limited capacity he can't fully control doesn't turn him into a nigh-unkillable demigod who has to act like an idiot for anything bad to happen. It wouldn't work for Gen 1 of Genealogy, of course, where the plot depends on the hero being unaware so he can fail completely, but in a normal story this doesn't destroy the stakes at all. Like Ninian said when she first told Lyn about this power, being able to sense impending danger isn't much help if you can't stop it. In this version of the game, Roy can see it coming, but he's still only got one shot to do everything right. Bad things that happen in spite of Roy's powers don't have to be hand-waved with “it was his destiny because the plot arbitrarily says so” bullshit like it had to be with Byleth. Roy's failures can be human, rather than brain-dead.

So... yeah. This chapter's given me a lot to think about, honestly. Like I said, overall I'm really torn about it, but today? Today I had fun. Lots of fun. And it's helped me see a ton of potential in maps like this, as long as that disastrous first play through doesn't actually have to happen and take multiple hours.

So, that's the end of the branching path, I think. Next chapter I've got a 20 turn time limit in order to get my second holy weapon. Guess I'll find out how big of a task that is tomorrow.

[Interdimensional Observer]

3 hours ago, Alastor15243 said:

Imagine if you will, for a second, that Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Elibe gives Roy the power not to control time, but to see into the future. Either it's in the Fire Emblem, maybe some weird magical mishap brought about by new characters added to the remake... or hell, maybe he just inherited it from Ninian!

*Declares a surprise war on you and unleashes a deluge of Winged Hussars*

There is no canon, only my Bombards with "Lynwood" written on the sides. Speaking of which, fire! 

 

*Ahem* Your idea isn't bad at all, future sight isn't as powerful as time rewind. And, narratively

4 hours ago, Alastor15243 said:

It wouldn't work for Gen 1 of Genealogy, of course, where the plot depends on the hero being unaware so he can fail completely

...this could still work. Future sight never has to be perfect, Sigurd can see himself in procession outside Belhalla, he needn't see the meteors falling, nor hear Arvis's words. He could see Deidre though, but tunnel vision obscures Arvis from the picture and him saying they're fiancées. A sweet promise so dramatically to be crushed. Sigurd could just avoid concluding that if all his visions except the one with Deidre/Belhalla are blatantly bad, that the Deidre/Belhalla one is bad too. Willful ignorance.

 

 

I didn't do Larum route, but I've heard it's better than Elffin's, though the plot is the same. Elffin being playable feels better to me, even if Bartre is inferior to Echidna, and Gonzy has a much higher base level on Elffin route. Wade and Lot get two villages that give better stuff and dialogue if they visit them on Elffin route 10 too. C10 is when Thea and Klein show up with Gonz and Geese is delayed to 11, and getting the Whip and Bolt is just as bad. Elffin 11 is probably easier and with inferior design, but NPC civilians you can protect for an Energy Ring are present for a hint of uniqueness.

[Alastor15243]

11 minutes ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

...this could still work. Future sight never has to be perfect, Sigurd can see himself in procession outside Belhalla, he needn't see the meteors falling, nor hear Arvis's words. He could see Deidre though, but tunnel vision obscures Arvis from the picture and him saying they're fiancées. A sweet promise so dramatically to be crushed. Sigurd could just avoid concluding that if all his visions except the one with Deidre/Belhalla are blatantly bad, that the Deidre/Belhalla one is bad too. Willful ignorance.

That's actually... pretty clever! I hadn't thought of that!

As for Ninian, I just felt like mentioning it once I realized that kind of ability already exists in the Elibian canon.

[AnonymousSpeed]

6 hours ago, Alastor15243 said:

I'll be completely and totally honest with you guys... I... liked redoing this chapter. I didn't like having to redo this chapter, but once I actually learned about all the shit I had to do and the little time I had to do it in, I had a ton of fun planning and moving my units around, doing multiple simultaneous jobs, working and fighting on a multi-tiered tight schedule that never, ever lets you relax. At times I felt like I was playing Invisible, Inc., which is... it's a fucking high compliment, okay? That's one of the best strategy games ever made.

Chapter 11 Echidna is pretty busy and pretty fun.

6 hours ago, Alastor15243 said:

Which makes me think that what a remake of this game really needs isn't a turnwheel... but a Monado.

I kind of question whether mechanics like that would be beneficial for a game where you can already look everything up.

6 hours ago, Alastor15243 said:

Imagine if you will, for a second, that Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Elibe gives Roy the power not to control time, but to see into the future. Either it's in the Fire Emblem, maybe some weird magical mishap brought about by new characters added to the remake... or hell, maybe he just inherited it from Ninian!

No screw you Ninian sucks.

I will not allow my boy to be degraded to a pollutant of two separate gene pools.

2 hours ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

*Declares a surprise war on you and unleashes a deluge of Winged Hussars*

There is no canon, only my Bombards with "Lynwood" written on the sides. Speaking of which, fire!

 

Screw you too Lyn also sucks.

Eliwood's support with Fiora kinda sucks too so yeah Roy is adopted and Eliwood dies a virgin.

Canon.

2 hours ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

I didn't do Larum route, but I've heard it's better than Elffin's, though the plot is the same. Elffin being playable feels better to me, even if Bartre is inferior to Echidna, and Gonzy has a much higher base level on Elffin route. Wade and Lot get two villages that give better stuff and dialogue if they visit them on Elffin route 10 too. C10 is when Thea and Klein show up with Gonz and Geese is delayed to 11, and getting the Whip and Bolt is just as bad. Elffin 11 is probably easier and with inferior design, but NPC civilians you can protect for an Energy Ring are present for a hint of uniqueness.

The advantage of recruiting a level 11 Gonzales (instead of level 5) is that he can be promoted for +5 skill immediately. That has its advantages for an axe user in FE6.

[Alastor15243]

11 minutes ago, AnonymousSpeed said:

I kind of question whether mechanics like that would be beneficial for a game where you can already look everything up.

You shouldn't need a guide to not be blindsided by ambush spawns and secret time limits. Especially not when you're playing a game for the first time. This would make a first playthrough much more enjoyable, and subsequent playthroughs much more convenient. Plus, like I said, you could build a lot of very interesting new challenges around this concept that would otherwise be complete horseshit to do blind.

Edited February 13, 2020 by Alastor15243

[Interdimensional Observer]

2 hours ago, Alastor15243 said:

That's actually... pretty clever! I hadn't thought of that!

If you consider prophecy secondhand foresight, this blurry clairvoyance idea goes back thousands of years. The Greeks of antiquity told a parable of a how a king went to the Oracle of Delphi, to ask if they should invade mighty Persia. The Oracle, through a servant, received the inquiry and responded that if he invaded, "A great kingdom will fall". The king was jubilant and immediately set out to invade Persia, only to lose everything he had. The prophecy came true, just not as the king believed it would, his kingdom fell.

 

27 minutes ago, AnonymousSpeed said:

Eliwood's support with Fiora kinda sucks too so yeah Roy is adopted and Eliwood abdicates the March of Pharae shortly after Roy's victory over Bern. Eliwood accepts tonsuring and lives out the rest of his life a monk in a nearby abbey. One day, a flash of light as Eliwood prays shows itself to be St. Elimine, and she takes the living Eliwood off to salvation, owing to the purity of his soul.

Meanwhile, Roy proves debauched through adultery and wine. And when his father descends from the heavens into his bedchambers one day to chastise him, Roy is pained at his father's presence and cannot look upon him. Whilst his father was the greatest of heavenly and earthly knights, his son proves to be only the latter, despite that he tries to be the former as well. Roy is cursed by his father to feel the pain of gout whenever he lay upon or in a bed, throne or couch before the hour of ten in the darkness. Nonetheless, Roy is told he is still blessed and to rule as he brilliantly as he has.

Correction!😜 I ain't no Lyn fan, but I will stand by the quality of this support, a friendship or romance, it's still great.

I will concur the Fiora isn't exactly a good support, their similar personalities make it too bland in this instance.

 

27 minutes ago, AnonymousSpeed said:

The advantage of recruiting a level 11 Gonzales (instead of level 5) is that he can be promoted for +5 skill immediately. That has its advantages for an axe user in FE6.

Fair point. His 11 stats still average well, on Hard, and I'm a little surprised on Normal too.

Edited February 13, 2020 by Interdimensional Observer

[AnonymousSpeed]

9 minutes ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

Correction

Sorry pal, but that's fake news. Quite frankly embarrassing attempts at anti-Roy propaganda. Such lies were clearly invented and spread by those who resented Roy's newfound success and authority following his masterclass handling of the Disturbance of Bern in sad, sad attempt to fill the heads of the populace with dreams of a better yesterday that didn't actually happen, because Eliwood is okay but he's not half the "my boy" that Roy is. During Roy's rule, 401ks went up by 20% on average.

Lyn still sucks.

[Eltosian Kadath]

Bah this whole Roy's mother controversy is silly, everyone knows the cannon ending of FE7 is when the three Lords married the three Pegasister 😛

Just don't let Roy marry his cousin Lilina...

[Alastor15243]

Binding Blade Day 14: Chapter 12

Right, so, time to take care of Lord Arcardo, the paladin.

The... paladin.

...The... boss of the map... is a man... who is sitting on a horse... that is standing on a throne.

Why has it only just now occurred to me how weird that is?

But anyway, Raigh's here, and we're gonna have to make sure to recruit him for sure. Lugh needs a support partner, for one.

But also, huzzah! For the first time in the entire goddamned series, my army's been split up into multiple groups, and I have full control over who goes into which one!

Also, another castle level, which means this is probably where I meet Cath again and finally recruit her! If so... all the way on the Western Isles? Man, this girl really gets around.

...You know what I mean.

But yeah, if we see her here, at least now she's stealing from a genuine asshole and glorified bandit, rather than slandering Hector as one. I only see a couple places she can spawn in, all of them a good deal away from Roy, but she's generally been extremely easy to manipulate, so I think we'll be fine here.

Oh shit, we've got an Eclipse user. The successor to Hel. In this game it reduces HP to one and it's a siege tome, which is... terrifying to think about. But thankfully its accuracy is outrageously low. ...Almost... suspiciously low. Like that couldn't possibly be its hit value unless it ignores enemy evade entirely.

...Guess we'll have to find out.

Seems pretty straightforward. I'll put my A-listers on the left flank, and have the right flank comprise guys who I want to train up. Lot in particular should get some good exp here.

...Of course, the game waits until I press start to tell me that the boss of the map is completely different from the one that appears on the throne during prep, because the story happens afterwards and a Bern general gives him permission to flee to Etruria like a coward. Damn it.

AND NOW THE BOSS CHANGES A SECOND TIME, TO A MANAKETE!?

Mercifully, but bizarrely, the eclipse user makes his move pretty late in the turn, when it's too late to make everyone else a one-hit killer. Also, no, it doesn't look like this move ignores evade. So as devastating as the effect is... it's useless against... I'm pretty sure my entire army actually. Everyone I have can dodge that pathetic hit rate except maybe Merlinus.

I do like that the sleep staff users go last in the turn. I'm not sure how crippling the effect is, but it's nice that I have a turn to react to the randomized results.

Shin's reached C rank bows, just in time to equip a killer bow and finish off an annoying longbow archer.

There's a sniper I was initially scared of, but he doesn't seem to have any interest at all in moving. And since this is FE6 and he hasn't got any obtainable equipment on him, I'll save him for later if I have time. Right now I'm charging forward with my cavalry and Lugh, exploiting the bottleneck right by the band of axe fighters to make sure all but one of them have to engage me in melee, despite a few having hand axes. This doesn't work too well, because even with a steel sword, Lance can't one-round these guys like Allen can.

I got some nice treasure, like a blue gem, an elysian whip, a brave bow... good stuff all around. I've got enough for Miledy and someone else right now, and I hope I'll have enough for her, Tate and Zeiss. If I can get Tate off the ground, having a falco knight will be fun. Their animations are cool.

I'm in luck! Since I took care of all the unlocking on the east end super quick, Cath's running straight to the nearest thief thing her poor electronic mind can think of to do: the door to the boss. Right by Roy.

The boss room has a sleep staff user, one who's way more accurate against Lance than the previous one was against Tate.

I got Raigh, and I'm starting to build his supports with Lugh. Unfortunately, I don't have any dark tomes for him, and I'm not keen to waste that juicy nosferatu tome just for the sake of fighting mooks. Looks like he'll have to wait a bit to fight.

And we've finally recruited Cath! I'll be nice to have another backup thief, but really, she's not much better than Chad was. Her stats are identical to what they were when she showed up way back at the beginning of the game.

Alright, I've got 8 turns left. This has been an absurdly easy chapter so far. I've plugged up the stairs in the boss room, so now I've just got to get Priscilla, Rutger and Tate (who got caught up dealing with a shaman behind a wall) over to the throne room so that Rutger can finish off the boss with the wyrmslayer Roy's holding, and hopefully promote.

...Yep. Yet again more ludicrously powerful reinforcements. Honestly, my concerns about beating this level without unlocking the gaiden chapter feel... kind of silly now. That would actually be the bigger accomplishment here. There's a level 15 warrior here with THIRTY EIGHT ATTACK POWER. These reinforcements are not fucking around.

I'm sure I could kill them, but the reward would be minimal for the danger involved, honestly. Especially once they all congregate in the throne room.

Rutger slaughtered Ein in a single turn, and he's thiiiiis close to finally hitting level 20. Honestly, I think I'm gonna try and score him a kill on one of these mercenaries before I seize. I've still got 5 turns left anyway. Might as well make Rutger a swordmaster!

Success! Two levels on this map, and both of them boosted defense! Totally worth waiting for them! Alright, now he's ready to kick even more ass.

Honestly, that insane 30% crit rate from the swordmaster class was pretty tempting all this time. There are some classes where early promotion barely has any point, and then there are some where I can understand the temptation. Until I've actually played the game though, and understand what I'm dealing with, I'm not risking making him too weak to face some future danger. He's stronger now than he would have been at this moment in the game if I had promoted him early, and that's gonna stay true forever now. I'm less than halfway through the game, he's been doing great for all of it, and now it's nothing but reaping the benefits of late promotion from here on out.

…

...He, uh...

...Rutger has the highest defense stat of my entire army now. His defense is at 14. One more than my blessed Allen. WOW. He barely even needs it, so that's... appreciated, but kind of crazy.

Now let's see if we can score any more of these promoted enemy kills before we go. A 1-use thunder tome let me do only one attack with Lugh, and combined with a crit from Shin with the killer bow... let's see who I can try to feed this warrior to...

Let's give it to Lot!

...For HP and Luck.

...Yeah, I'm starting to think Lot might not ever make it over that hump. I may be able to salvage him with some of these stat boosters I've got lying around, though... and I would still love someone who can use Armads.

...Which I appear to be getting... next chapter!

Sweet!

Anyway, this map was... well, the reinforcements coming from behind was nice, but honestly, it wasn't very hard at all. But hey, a least it didn't make me restart it. And in fairness, those reinforcements were really cool. Like I said before, they're exactly the sorts of things Thracia needed on basically all of its escape chapters: genuinely dangerous enemies it wouldn't be realistic to fight off for any extended period of time. If this game had escape chapters, I imagine they could actually be really, really fun.

But anyway, tomorrow, it's on to the second gaiden! I think I remember this mostly, actually. Looking forward to seeing if I'm right!

Edited February 13, 2020 by Alastor15243

[Eltosian Kadath]

22 minutes ago, Alastor15243 said:

But thankfully its accuracy is outrageously low. ...Almost... suspiciously low. Like that could't possibly be its hit value unless ignores enemy evade entirely.

Its such an embarrassingly bad weapon due to that accuracy. I think the only time I've seen its hit rate be above zero is thanks to WTA, and legitimately its best use is on walls...

[Shadow Mir]

41 minutes ago, Alastor15243 said:

And we've finally recruited Cath! I'll be nice to have another backup thief, but really, she's not much better than Chad was. Her stats are identical to what they were when she showed up way back at the beginning of the game.

See, this is one complaint I have about this game. I mean, I would expect someone who required talking to them three times over multiple maps to actually be worth it... but instead, she’s outclassed by units you’ve had for a while. Even with hard mode boosts, she’s still far worse than Astol.

[Alastor15243]

3 minutes ago, Shadow Mir said:

See, this is one complaint I have about this game. I mean, I would expect someone who required talking to them three times over multiple maps to actually be worth it... but instead, she’s outclassed by units you’ve had for a while. Even with hard mode boosts, she’s still far worse than Astol.

Agreed. I was honestly hoping she scaled in level and stats with the other enemies on each map. Well, she gave me three free lock picks for the trouble, so... guess it was worth it.

[Interdimensional Observer]

1 hour ago, Alastor15243 said:

Right, so, time to take care of Lord Arcardo, the paladin.

The... paladin.

...The... boss of the map... is a man... who is sitting on a horse... that is standing on a throne.

My problem is more his name. Arcardo? Maybe it's a real name, but to me, it sounds like misromanization of "Alucard", given Japanese has its L/R thing. And I don't think he is worthy of the name.

 

1 hour ago, Alastor15243 said:

Also, another castle level, which means this is probably where I meet Cath again and finally recruit her! If so... all the way on the Western Isles? Man, this girl really gets around.

She can also show up in Etruria, Sacae or llia, and Bern's almighty castle, she must be hiding something from us. Maybe her backstory is a lie and she is actually a ghost of a great thief inhabiting an unassuming young girl's body, with plans to reestablish their plunder empire forever. Or, she is the young heir to Elibe's premier travel agency, a spoiled brat who if she ever gets caught, mommy lovingly bails out via bribes to her captors.

 

1 hour ago, Alastor15243 said:

...Yeah, I'm starting to think Lot might not ever make it over that hump. I may be able to salvage him with some of these stat boosters I've got lying around, though... and I would still love someone who can use Armads.

What, Echidna not good enough for you? Crappy growths as most FE6 prepromotes do have, and fragile. But good Skl and Spd with Swords as a backup for accuracy, Killers are only -2 AS for her, and B Axes at base gives her a good shot at Armads.

[Unknown Gamer11]

2 hours ago, Alastor15243 said:

I got Raigh, and I'm starting to build his supports with Lugh. Unfortunately, I don't have any dark tomes for him, and I'm not keen to waste that juicy nosferatu tome just for the sake of fighting mooks. Looks like he'll have to wait a bit to fight.

There should have been a Flux tome in one of the chests this chapter, did you end up getting that one?

[Alastor15243]

2 minutes ago, Unknown Gamer11 said:

There should have been a Flux tome in one of the chests this chapter, did you end up getting that one?

I got all the chests, so I guess I forgot I found it. I'll have to check next chapter.

Edited February 13, 2020 by Alastor15243

[Jotari]

I don't think Roy necessary needs a monado. Just have the game warn him that there are reinforcements on his tail and that they have to move quick. Or even as you suggested, make it a literal escape map.

Not that future sight is bad idea. Just that the same thing could be achieved without magic.

I think you found Chapter 12 easier than I typically do. Maybe I have an irrational fear of corridors.

Edited February 14, 2020 by Jotari

[AnonymousSpeed]

4 hours ago, Eltosian Kadath said:

Bah this whole Roy's mother controversy is silly, everyone knows the cannon ending of FE7 is when the three Lords married the three Pegasister 😛

I wish it wasn't canon, but it probably is.

 

2 hours ago, Alastor15243 said:

...The... boss of the map... is a man... who is sitting on a horse... that is standing on a throne.

High art.

 

2 hours ago, Alastor15243 said:

And we've finally recruited Cath! I'll be nice to have another backup thief, but really, she's not much better than Chad was. Her stats are identical to what they were when she showed up way back at the beginning of the game.

 

1 hour ago, Shadow Mir said:

See, this is one complaint I have about this game. I mean, I would expect someone who required talking to them three times over multiple maps to actually be worth it... but instead, she’s outclassed by units you’ve had for a while. Even with hard mode boosts, she’s still far worse than Astol.

1 hour ago, Alastor15243 said:

Agreed. I was honestly hoping she scaled in level and stats with the other enemies on each map. Well, she gave me three free lock picks for the trouble, so... guess it was worth it.

The point of Cath isn't to be an incredible thief. She's there to be a replacement in case your other thieves died.

 

2 hours ago, Alastor15243 said:

Success! Two levels on this map, and both of them boosted defense! Totally worth waiting for them! Alright, now he's ready to kick even more ass.

Honestly, that insane 30% crit rate from the swordmaster class was pretty tempting all this time. There are some classes where early promotion barely has any point, and then there are some where I can understand the temptation. Until I've actually played the game though, and understand what I'm dealing with, I'm not risking making him too weak to face some future danger. He's stronger now than he would have been at this moment in the game if I had promoted him early, and that's gonna stay true forever now. I'm less than halfway through the game, he's been doing great for all of it, and now it's nothing but reaping the benefits of late promotion from here on out.

I'm just saying, Rutger could have promoted earlier, gotten +3 defense, have already been enjoying the benefits of his promotion gains, and still be gaining levels after promotion at a comparable rate.

 

1 hour ago, Eltosian Kadath said:

Its such an embarrassingly bad weapon due to that accuracy. I think the only time I've seen its hit rate be above zero is thanks to WTA, and legitimately its best use is on walls...

There are some beefy walls in FE6.

[Boomhauer007]

4 hours ago, Alastor15243 said:

...Rutger has the highest defense stat of my entire army now. His defense is at 14. One more than my blessed Allen. WOW. He barely even needs it, so that's... appreciated, but kind of crazy.

 I've had him max defense (with a dracoshield), he's just gross as a unit.

3 hours ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

What, Echidna not good enough for you? Crappy growths as most FE6 prepromotes do have, and fragile. But good Skl and Spd with Swords as a backup for accuracy, Killers are only -2 AS for her, and B Axes at base gives her a good shot at Armads.

9 con is brutal, literally every axe is speed loss.