Easiest route on maddening mode?

[Fire Brand]

Assume you can recruit as much as you like. 

[NinjaMonkey]

Surely it would be Crimson Flower, given that it's the shortest at only eighteen chapters.

[Boomhauer007]

Lol Crimson Flower has a case for the hardest of the four, no idea how it's tied for first in the poll.

I don't see how it's anything but Azure Moon. It has by far the easiest early game with Dedue being an actual tank and Sylvain being handed the lance of ruin in chapter 5. Speaking of being handed things, you can get every relic in this route and are literally just handed Failnaught. You have probably the strongest group of characters of the three, with really Ashe being the only weak link.

Azure Moon has by far the easiest endgame too, with a single use of retribution largely trivializing the siege spam that would otherwise make the level difficult. Chapter 13 is probably the only really challenging chapter, but that's the case in every non Crimson Flower route.

[De Geso]

Azure Moon is the only route that has early game tanks and consistent high damage.

54 minutes ago, NinjaMonkey said:

Surely it would be Crimson Flower, given that it's the shortest at only eighteen chapters.

You mustn't have played CF on Maddening - the lower number of chapters just means that there is a greater difficulty increase between each chapter.

[Ari Chan]

Crimson Flower late game can be very brutal especially the last chapter with all the hyperbuffed Falcon Knight spawning everywhere, also it doesn't help that those big machine thingy keep getting buffed up if you don't end the chapter fast, also BE early game sucks the most. 

Silver Snow is definitely the hardest though, you lose your main lord and it gets extremely tough towards the end, chapter 21 being the most ridiculous since you're surrounded by a sh*t ton of Flying Monsters and Falcon Knight that ORKO everything they touch unless you can dodgetank.

I'm having a hard time deciding between Azure Moon and Verdant Wind as the easiest Maddening route, guess I'll go with Verdant Wind because multiple Bow Users + Warp earlygame are very nice to have.

Edited October 7, 2019 by Ari Chan

[Stroud]

Hmm. From what I read here I get the feeling that Azure Moon is the case of the easiest. I don't know about the Endgame.

I actually don't find the cards dealt in BE that bad though. Some just do not seem to be that obvious how to use them the best way. And of course a missing tank at the beginning hurts a bit if you want to bench Edelgard even more. 

I almost did just fine with the Characters I had from the beginning. Only that you have to know what to do to prepare for the Timeskip chapter. And the last Map can be tedious, but you have a good time preparing for it. What was a bit sour for me was all the Miracle floating around, because I used a lot of Vengeance. I don't know if other final maps have this too?

 

[Shadow Mir]

2 hours ago, NinjaMonkey said:

Surely it would be Crimson Flower, given that it's the shortest at only eighteen chapters.

Not even close, considering that the Black Eagles have no tank unit, which makes the Early Game Hell even worse than it already is, among other factors.

My answer is Azure Moon.

[Gregster101]

My heart tells me that Verdant Wind would probably be one of the easier routes on Maddening, if only cuz you'll always have Lysithea early on as a get out of jail card for the Death Knight.

[Fire Flower]

At the very least for Crimson Flower, you do not need to do the hell that is Chapter 13 Chasing Daybreak chapter that is present on all the other routes.

[Ari Chan]

Come to think of it, it seems like I overestimated Azure Moon’s late game difficulty since most of the chapters (if not all) are very susceptible to cheese starts (Warp + Stride + Dance Battalion). While Verdant Wind’s 2 last chapters are impossible to abuse these starts, and the dubstep level is actually very hard to beat.

Should’ve voted for Azure Moon as the easiest maddening route.

[Wuzzy]

Crimson Flower is by far the hardest, yes it's the shortest but having less chapters means the difficulty spikes a lot more in between to make up for the lack of chapters. Chapter 13, 14, 17 and 18 are really difficult chapters (moreso 13, 14 and 18 imo with Bow Knight/Wyvern Lord spam in the first 2, and FalconKnight/Golem spam in the latter). Also doesn't help that Byleth and Edelgard are your only true tanks for the majority of the game until Ferdinand, Caspar (not worth using imo due to low starting speed and has mediocre bulk growths) and Petra (when dodge tanking becomes more reliable) get online, and even then, Edelgard needs to use an Iron Sword for the majority of the early game for more AS. Less paralogues in CF route (you don't have access to Hilda/Cyril, Lysithea/Ferdinand, Rhea, Mercedes/Caspar paralogues) which means less exp overall since paralogues follow chapter exp, not aux battle exp. Silver Snow also has the disadvantage because you don't have a lord character to invest in, which makes it harder but still not as challenging as CF.

Azure Moon is the easiest, said it many times but to recap... Easiest early game (Dedue, Annette's Rally, Dimitri w/ Tempest Lance and Felix), access to good exclusive battalions (Kingdom Cavalry, BL Dancers, Kingdom Archers, Royal Guard, etc.), and the highest amount of paralogues for more exp and battalions (Goneril Valkyries and Fraldarius Soldiers come to mind). Also quite easy to cheese a few maps as well (Chapter 18, 19, 21 come to mind). Verdant Wind is also pretty easy with automatic Lysithea and a lot of solid Bow users for chip but, the early game is a lot more challenging compared to BL squad.

Edited October 7, 2019 by Lunarly

[Altrosa]

5 hours ago, Shadow Mir said:

Not even close, considering that the Black Eagles have no tank unit, which makes the Early Game Hell even worse than it already is, among other factors.

My answer is Azure Moon.

The tank is supposed to be Edelgard, and Ferdinand has a budding talent in heavy armor, so yes and no since they lack an obvious damage sponge, like Dedue, but do have units who grow into that role. 

But I also say Azure Moon would be the easiest. The units you have are well balanced and fill every core role you need, and none of the church units you decide to grab vanish after the time skip. It’s, at least, the most approachable of the paths on maddening. 

[Shadow Mir]

14 minutes ago, Altrosa said:

The tank is supposed to be Edelgard, and Ferdinand has a budding talent in heavy armor, so yes and no since they lack an obvious damage sponge, like Dedue, but do have units who grow into that role. 

The problem with that (referring to having to pray that Edelgard and Ferdinand can grow into my damage sponges) is that if I get unlucky, then I'm screwed even harder than a Dedede player going against Megaman. Not to mention that Silver Snow takes the former away from me, which leaves me in a similarly terribad position.

Edited October 7, 2019 by Shadow Mir

[Altrosa]

20 minutes ago, Shadow Mir said:

The problem with that (referring to having to pray that Edelgard and Ferdinand can grow into my damage sponges) is that if I get unlucky, then I'm screwed even harder than a Dedede player going against Megaman. Not to mention that Silver Snow takes the former away from me, which leaves me in a similarly terribad position.

More or less why I said they are “supposed” to be your tanks. Actually, Ferdie having the heavy armor talent is likely just so you can fall back on him in Silver Snow if you need to get a tank into your team. 

Edelgard promoting into a lord feels almost like a trap the more I consider it, considering her personal options. 

[kremelover]

Azure Moon.  You get the most hero's relics for free.

[Dark Holy Elf]

11 hours ago, Boomhauer007 said:

I don't see how it's anything but Azure Moon. It has by far the easiest early game with Dedue being an actual tank and Sylvain being handed the lance of ruin in chapter 5. Speaking of being handed things, you can get every relic in this route and are literally just handed Failnaught. You have probably the strongest group of characters of the three, with really Ashe being the only weak link.

 

Sylvain's a free recruit on every route though.

Anyway I don't think the earlygame differences are that big (in particular I think the tanking differences between the PCs are definitely being exaggerated here) so it'd probably come down to the differences in their Part 2's. Haven't played enough of the maps there on Maddening to judge, though I will say that on Hard I thought VW's last maps were the easiest; Shambhala is by far the easiest of the "final two" maps of the four routes and the swamp isn't that great either since you have so many more fliers than your opponents; the only real notable foe I recall besides the boss was the Bolting mini-boss and there's more Bolting on several other endgame maps. Plus you get Immortal Corps on that route which is ridiculous. So I guess that's my tentative vote.

[Shadow Mir]

8 minutes ago, Dark Holy Elf said:

Sylvain's a free recruit on every route though if you play as a female Byleth.

Fix'd for accuracy. And because there are those of us who prefer to play as a male.

[KelluPato]

Azure moon, you get some top tier units right off the bat

[MisterIceTeaPeach]

On 10/7/2019 at 4:21 PM, NinjaMonkey said:

Surely it would be Crimson Flower, given that it's the shortest at only eighteen chapters.

This "argument" is truly interesting, but a bit incomplete. 

At least the quality should be reconsidered as well... 

 

That said I have not played BE yet, but I am fairly sure, it could be easily the hardest route because it features the weakest party imo. There is no real tank like Dimitri, Dedue or a powerhouse like Hilda in the party. Edelgard is powerful, but less tanky than Dimitri and slow. Furthermore she has the worst fixed promotions for not being mounted. She really needs to become a wyvern rider to have her uses. The magic users are mediocre. Dorothea has not the offense power Lysithea has and Linhardt is statwise worse than Marianne and Mercedes although he has access to warp at least.

However it will become worse when church route will be taken Because Seteth will be worse than Edelgard for being underleveled. 

 

My ranking without recruitments from easiest to hardest:

 

Golden Deers < Blue Lions << Black Eagles <<< Church

Edited October 8, 2019 by Ingrid Brandl Galatea

[Ivan Tridelan]

2 hours ago, Ingrid Brandl Galatea said:

This "argument" is truly interesting, but a bit incomplete. 

At least the quality should be reconsidered as well... 

 

That said I have not played BE yet, but I am fairly sure, it could be easily the hardest route because it features the weakest party imo. There is no real tank like Dimitri, Dedue or a powerhouse like Hilda in the party. Edelgard is powerful, but less tanky than Dimitri and slow. Furthermore she has the worst fixed promotions for not being mounted. She really needs to become a wyvern rider to have her uses. The magic users are mediocre. Dorothea has not the offense power Lysithea has and Linhardt is statwise worse than Marianne and Mercedes although he has access to warp at least.

However it will become worse when church route will be taken Because Seteth will be worse than Edelgard for being underleveled. 

 

My ranking without recruitments from easiest to hardest:

 

Golden Deers < Blue Lions << Black Eagles <<< Church

While I agree BE have the roughest start due to nobody having sufficient bulk, your comparisons are a bit off. Hubert would be the more appropriate comparison to Lysithea (Dorothea is more a secondary healer + secondary mage), Lindhart has Warp and Restore (Marianne does not) and I'd argue that other than Magic for more healing and range the stats on your healers are largely irrelevant.

Edelgard IMO is comparable to Dmitri, her promotions prioritizing bulk instead of more offense and Dmitri's fixed promotions are foot-based as well

Hilda takes a while to be a powerhouse, and Petra can become a powerhouse herself so I'm not sure about your comment there.

The real problem with BE is Caspar sucks, Ferdinand and Petra take quite a while to get going, and they have no immediate bulk (Dedue/Raphael) to tank in front at the start. BL have Dedue to tank in the hardest part and GD have 3 natural archers (Claude, who also gets the best natural promotions, Leonie and Ignatz) which is big in the beginning where people want to avoid getting countered.

[Johnzin]

I am doing BE early game rn. On Ch 10. Going for CF so easier early game since I get to train Edel and Hubert without regrets. But it honestly is not that hard. Peg!Edel & Peg!Petra is far better than flying Ingrid by far. I thought I was going to miss Dedue, but byleth can soak up a little bit of damage too. And Ferdie can soak up damage as long as he can dodge a few times a chapter. 

I havent completed all 4 routes to provide experience, but I would assume Silver Snow would be really hard, because you get Seteth on Ch 13 and shouldnt be training Edel and Hubert as much. Who can soak up damage/fly or chip hard with 3 range magic. 

Thats excluding Ch 21, which i found the hardest of all final maps. By far. 

Edited October 8, 2019 by Johnzin

[Altrosa]

Crimson Flower also has the issue of Flayn bouncing out of your team when you are already dealing with limited EXP gains.

Lindhardt’s crippled from not having access to Gremory, as his attack prowess is garbage despite warp utility. He’s as good of dancer material as Dorothea, if only for her having access to the better final class.

Petra also has the same potential but slow build quirk as Ferdinand if you direct her to becoming your main flyer. 

I actually took full advantage of Byleth’s budding talent in white magic and made her a holy knight on my CF run, and I would not have won those last maps without her. 

[Shadow Mir]

18 minutes ago, Altrosa said:

Lindhardt’s crippled from not having access to Gremory, as his attack prowess is garbage despite warp utility. He’s as good of dancer material as Dorothea, if only for her having access to the better final class.

Bold: What about his 3 base charm and 20% growth that make it such that he's likely not gonna win even with the +5 you get from dance practice?

[Altrosa]

26 minutes ago, Shadow Mir said:

Bold: What about his 3 base charm and 20% growth that make it such that he's likely not gonna win even with the +5 you get from dance practice?

Tea and the same level of pre-planning as your other units.

Though it would absolutely be a pain in the ass if you aren’t pushing NG+ renown and need those limited hours to boost everyone’s motivation, but turning Dorothea into a better mage unit could be more worth it than Lindy-heal botting and Dorothea dancing every turn. 

The other option is dark mage and working for fiendish blow, but I don’t think encouraging Death Knight action on maddening (without Lysithea, at least) is the best idea. 

 

[Dark Holy Elf]

7 hours ago, Ingrid Brandl Galatea said:

That said I have not played BE yet, but I am fairly sure, it could be easily the hardest route because it features the weakest party imo. There is no real tank like Dimitri, Dedue or a powerhouse like Hilda in the party. Edelgard is powerful, but less tanky than Dimitri and slow. Furthermore she has the worst fixed promotions for not being mounted. She really needs to become a wyvern rider to have her uses. The magic users are mediocre. Dorothea has not the offense power Lysithea has and Linhardt is statwise worse than Marianne and Mercedes although he has access to warp at least.

 

Dimitri (and Raphael for that matter) have a mere +1 base defence on Edelgard/Ferdinand/Caspar. Only Dedue is meaningfully more tanky, and that's mostly his personal at work.

Dorothea's offensive power is adequate (mine has been pulling OHKOs on frailer enemies for much of the game on Maddening, and she's not RNG blessed) and she has Thoron, Physic, and later Meteor with its linked attacks everywhere. IMO she's one of the best magical units, along with Mercedes; the stat differences between the mages are not significant (they almost all start with 10-11 mag and 7 spd, and the growth spread is not that wide) so skillset comparisons are where it's at.

1 hour ago, Altrosa said:

The other option is dark mage and working for fiendish blow, but I don’t think encouraging Death Knight action on maddening (without Lysithea, at least) is the best idea. 

 

Fiendish Blow is from Mage, not Dark Mage; every magic user should pick it up as it's pretty much their best skill.