Conquest Generics Lunatic

[Garrett]

Hey there, everyone! My first topic here.

I've started a recent playthrough of Fates: Conquest on Lunatic. I'm only using the female Avatar, Azura, and Niles from the story cast. Only time I use other characters is during the chapter when they're recruited, like Nyx, or when I'm building their supports to unlock the Paralogue maps. The rest of my army will be captured generics and specific Bosses. Having a blast with it so far -- it's been very different to any run I've done before!

I've got a few questions I'm hoping someone can answer for me though.

I'm just about to start on Chapter 13, having rounded out a team that just about managed to scrape past Ryoma in Chapter 12 without deaths, and I got to thinking about the scaling of some Bosses I'd be interested in capturing from the Paralogue maps. When would it generally be best to tackle these? Nichol, for example, is one Boss I'm interested in because he'll play similar to Camilla and his stats and growths are good.

I'm also wondering who the best candidate for Great Lord would be? The only female Boss who can be captured that I saw who can change class is Daniela, whose sadly locked to Birthright. I could recruit her through the logbook, but that kind of defeats the purpose of the run. Are there any generic female units anyone is aware of who'd make for a good candidate with a good layout of Skills? Or should I use it on my female Avatar? Since support bonuses are a non-issue with generics, I'm thinking that Skills like Charm and Dual Striker could be quite useful for this run.

As far as my units are concerned, here's what I've captured and used so far, if you're interested.

• Chapter 9: Haitaka (MVP so far), Samurai (Quick Draw)
• Chapter 10: Oni Savage (Lunge), Pegasus Knight (Darting Blow)
• Chapter 11: Samurai (Armored Blow), Shrine Maiden (MY FIRST HEALER!!)
• Chapter 12: Sod all. I barely crawled to the escape point. In hindsight, a Ninja would have been nice.

Edit:

• Chapter 13: Wyvern Knight (Quick Draw), Diviner (Malefic Aura)

The Oni Savage from Chapter 10 is dragging along at a snails pace. He's just about quick enough not to be doubled, and his defences are so bad he'd die from a double at any rate. I'll be benching him -- Chapter 14 has Kumegara, so I'll nab him. Going to grind out support levels next and see about the Paralogues.

• Sophie's Paralogue: Nichol (Guy's instantly one of my top tier characters), Wyvern Lord (Str. +2, Lunge. This guy has incredible bases; aside from luck, he's comparable to Xander)

Even though I nabbed that Wyvern Lord I still missed out on a solid recruit in Sophie's Paralogue, who was my first choice after Nichol, and that was a Strategist with great bases. Poor Skills, though Inspiration would've been awesome to work towards. I'll have to keep my eyes peeled; good Magic users seem to be in short supply, and my female Avatar has been Magic screwed this run. The Diviner I picked up in Chapter 13 is doing okay, but I'm definitely lacking a magical powerhouse.

Edited April 3, 2020 by Garrett

[Hanes]

4 hours ago, Garrett said:

When would it generally be best to tackle these? Nichol, for example, is one Boss I'm interested in because he'll play similar to Camilla and his stats and growths are good.

I don't know much about Fates, but it would seem just like whenever you think they would be very needed, like if for example you need a good tank or a flier or something for a chapter then pick 'em up there. Still if Nichol is as good as you say then you should get him ASAP no? Maybe one or two chapters later.

Also, that idea of a playthrough is so interesting! Wow

Edited April 2, 2020 by This boi uses Nino

[eclipse]

Great Lord - yourself.

An Apothecary would've been helpful IMO.  The tonic bonuses are pretty sweet.  If you're concerned about funds, grab an Oni Savage, and turn them into free weapons Blacksmith.

Anyway, there's some staffbots on Chapter 19 (I think) that might interest you.  There's a really good rallybot on Chapter 22 or so.

Above all, check SKILLS.  Lunatic gives some really funny things to the enemies.

[Eltosian Kadath]

7 hours ago, Garrett said:

 

I'm also wondering who the best candidate for Great Lord would be? The only female Boss who can be captured that I saw who can change class is Daniela, whose sadly locked to Birthright. I could recruit her through the logbook, but that kind of defeats the purpose of the run. Are there any generic female units anyone is aware of who'd make for a good candidate with a good layout of Skills? Or should I use it on my female Avatar? Since support bonuses are a non-issue with generics, I'm thinking that Skills like Charm and Dual Striker could be quite useful for this run.

Well here is a list I made of female generics that have skills, and their base class from a quick look through the information from the good wiki. Hopefully this helps, but nothing jumps out as particularly good to me, other than maybe Demoiselle to make males (which will be a vast majority of your army) in charm range even tankier.

Spoiler

Chapter 14: Darting Blow (Sky Knight)

Chapter 17: Lock Touch (Shrine Maid)

Chapter 18: Demoiselle (Maid)

Chapter 20: Axe Breaker (Falcon Knight)

                      Lunge (Priestess)

                     Armored Blow (Falcon Knight)

                    Air Superiority (Kinshi Knight)

                    Trample (Falcon Knight)

Chapter 22: Elbow Room (Falcon Knight)

                      Lance Faire (Falcon Knight)

Chapter 24: Pass (Falcon Knight)

                      Air Superiority (Kinshi Knight)

                      Aegis (Falcon Knight)

                      Bow Breaker (Kinshi Knight)

                      Darting Blow (Falcon Knight or Kinshi Knight)

Chapter 26: Demoiselle (Maid)

                      Demoiselle & Live to Serve (Maid)

Paralogue 2: Camaraderie & Darting Blow (Falcon Knights)

Paralogue 5: Resistance +2 (Strategist)

Paralogue 15: Darting Blow (Sky Knights*)

Paralogue 18: Demoiselle (Troubadour*)

Invasion 2: Demoiselle (Maid)

                    Seal Speed (Maid)

                    Darting Blow (Falcon Knights)

                    Counter (Maid)

Invasion 3: Seal Strength (Strategist)

 

*might promote if you play the chapter late enough

 

[Garrett]

5 hours ago, This boi uses Nino said:

I don't know much about Fates, but it would seem just like whenever you think they would be very needed, like if for example you need a good tank or a flier or something for a chapter then pick 'em up there. Still if Nichol is as good as you say then you should get him ASAP no? Maybe one or two chapters later.

Also, that idea of a playthrough is so interesting! Wow

It's been a nice change of pace. I'd definitely do it again!

Their stats tend to be average and their growths poor outside very specific cases. Most of my strategies involve a choke point and a wall. Chapter 10 involved a lot of controlled falling back, and striking out only when Haitaka and my Avatar were healthy. My second Samurai came with Armoured Blow and learned Dualist's Blow a level later, so he's great on the player phase. Add a Nohrian Blade for extra beef. Haitaka with Strong Riposte does well on Enemy Phase, and I picked up a Healer pretty quick.

I'll have to grind out the supports to unlock the Paralogues and have a good look at stats and Skills.

4 hours ago, eclipse said:

Great Lord - yourself.

An Apothecary would've been helpful IMO.  The tonic bonuses are pretty sweet.  If you're concerned about funds, grab an Oni Savage, and turn them into free weapons Blacksmith.

Anyway, there's some staffbots on Chapter 19 (I think) that might interest you.  There's a really good rallybot on Chapter 22 or so.

Above all, check SKILLS.  Lunatic gives some really funny things to the enemies.

I'm targeting Senno from Paralogue 20, who is an Apothecary. I've also reclassed my Shrine Maiden into a Witch for two levels to grab Witch's Brew. The Tonics are already seeing a lot of use, as is the Mess Hall. Now if only I could keep Jakob living there.

I know about Rallyman. I'm thinking of putting him through Grandmaster when I get him for Rally Spectrum to sync well with his existing Skills. I have an Oni Savage, so I'll maybe run him through Blacksmith first. Thanks for that!

2 hours ago, Eltosian Kadath said:

Well here is a list I made of female generics that have skills, and their base class from a quick look through the information from the good wiki. Hopefully this helps, but nothing jumps out as particularly good to me, other than maybe Demoiselle to make males (which will be a vast majority of your army) in charm range even tankier.

  Reveal hidden contents

Chapter 14: Darting Blow (Sky Knight)

Chapter 17: Lock Touch (Shrine Maid)

Chapter 18: Demoiselle (Maid)

Chapter 20: Axe Breaker (Falcon Knight)

                      Lunge (Priestess)

                     Armored Blow (Falcon Knight)

                    Air Superiority (Kinshi Knight)

                    Trample (Falcon Knight)

Chapter 22: Elbow Room (Falcon Knight)

                      Lance Faire (Falcon Knight)

Chapter 24: Pass (Falcon Knight)

                      Air Superiority (Kinshi Knight)

                      Aegis (Falcon Knight)

                      Bow Breaker (Kinshi Knight)

                      Darting Blow (Falcon Knight or Kinshi Knight)

Chapter 26: Demoiselle (Maid)

                      Demoiselle & Live to Serve (Maid)

Paralogue 2: Camaraderie & Darting Blow (Falcon Knights)

Paralogue 5: Resistance +2 (Strategist)

Paralogue 15: Darting Blow (Sky Knights*)

Paralogue 18: Demoiselle (Troubadour*)

Invasion 2: Demoiselle (Maid)

                    Seal Speed (Maid)

                    Darting Blow (Falcon Knights)

                    Counter (Maid)

Invasion 3: Seal Strength (Strategist)

 

*might promote if you play the chapter late enough

 

That's awesome, thanks! That Maid with Demoiselle definitely looks the best of the bunch. I'm mostly baiting enemies atm so an aura, Charm or otherwise, would definitely be nice. I'll maybe be able to do more damage on the Player Phase when I nab myself Kumegara? 

[Garrett]

Got all the supports worked out except for Xander, who I've yet to recruit. The named Bosses you can capture are infinitely better than any of the generics I've been using up until now. Here's how my main four look at the minute:

• Haitaka: Basara. HP, 41. Str, 24. Mag, 5. Skill, 22. Spd, 20. Luck, 12 (+15). Def, 15 (+5). Res, 13 (+5). Skills: Rally Defence, Strong Riposte, S. Defence, Swap, Veteran's Intuition. All-around great unit. He's been vital in all my battles thus far and I don't see that changing anytime soon. He's equipped almost exclusively with a Guard Naginata.
• Nichol: Malig Knight. HP, 36. Str, 20 (+2). Mag, 17. Skill, 16. Spd, 17. Luck, 11. Def, 19. Res, 16. Skills: Str +2, Lunge, Savage Blow. Great mobility and damage regardless of range. Gave him a Bolt Axe and have watched most things melt ever since. I'd definitely pick this guy up again.
• Kumagera: Oni Chieftan. HP, 40. Str, 25. Mag, 15. Skill, 15. Spd, 14. Luck, 5 (+15). Def, 22. Res, 14. Skills: Countermagic, Darting Blow, Certain Blow, Seal Resistance, Veteran's Intuition. My Player Phase damage and Enemy Phase presence increased massively when I recruited this guy. The first battle he took part in was Soleil's Paralogue. I walled off certain points in order to funnel the opposition towards Kumagera, and he held his own for three turns with nothing more than a Horse Scroll and 3 Vulnerary, as my healer was busy elsewhere. The only thing I can honestly say bad against this guy is his absolutely horrible Luck. Veteran's Intuition helps patch that thankfully, so it can't even be called a complaint.
• Zhara: Lodestar. HP, 40. Str, 19. Mag, 1. Skill, 24. Spd, 21 (+3). Luck, 18. Def, 18 (-1). Res, 10. Skills: Countermagic, Sol, Pass, Dancing Blade, Charm. Pass actually gels really well with Aura Skills like Charm. I tend to advance slowly on this run and make liberal use of characters like Haitaka and Kumagera who have bulk. Pass lets Zhara slip behind an enemy and, if positioned right, he still gives my guys the Charm bonus. Sol has a flat Skill chance percentage to activate and right now Zhara's sitting just below 1/4.

The rest includes a Vanguard who began his career as a Quick Draw Samurai, a Dread Fighter who began as an Armoured Blow Samurai, an Onmyoji healer who came to me absolutely naked in the Skills department, a Diviner whose about to get benched, and a Wyvern Lord who was a buddy of Nichol. He's a flying tank but he'll be getting benched in favour of Gazak.

[starburst]

On 4/2/2020 at 6:08 AM, Garrett said:

I know about Rallyman. I'm thinking of putting him through Grandmaster when I get him for Rally Spectrum to sync well with his existing Skills.

I find it redundant, but it is your call.
In the same map, you also have two Lancers with three rallies and Amaterasu.

Make sure to check this thread:
Conquest Captured Units Database

[Garrett]

6 minutes ago, starburst said:

I find it redundant, but it is your call.
In the same map, you also have two Lancers with three rallies and Amaterasu.

Make sure to check this thread:
Conquest Captured Units Database

Now this'll be useful. Thanks!

[Garrett]

Sad news.

My first recruit, the ever present Kazuma with Quick Draw whom I envisioned as an Iaido specialist and Haitaka's subordinate, fell in battle. His Diviner buddy, who was one battle away from being benched regardless, also fell in the same fight. Forrest's Paralogue has a lot to answer for. I didn't know about the reinforcements that spawn at the stairs at the top of the central corridor, and I was busy engaging another group to the right with my other units when they graced me with their presence. So they threw themselves into the breech. The turn they bought was all Kumagera and Haitaka needed to take up the slack, whilst Nichol, Zhara, and my Avatar finished off the original group.

There is one silver lining however. I captured Gazak! Which is why I wasn't too cut up about losing two units. Bribed him, slapped a Great Club on him, sunk two levels into him to learn his class Skills, namely Gamble, and then promoted him to Berserker. Mr. Scar Face, for a mere two levels worth of investment and the measly cost of a Master Seal, has a frigging critical hit chance of 94%!!

Yeah, I've now got a beat stick, and his name is Gazak. I can't wait to introduce him to Takumi later on.

[Garrett]

Just got Chapter 17 done and dusted, with Saizo surviving for the very important Speedwing reward. There's just enough units available in this chapter to provide me with a solid attacking force whilst keeping Saizo trapped in the first room by walling him in with your own units.

Said force consisted of my Avatar, Niles, Azura, Haitaka, Kumagera, Zhara and Nichol. Niles and Azura provided quick healing options when needed, though my Healers further back had Psychic staves just encase.

A lot of slow advancement and rapid retreating done. Kumagera and Haitaka with Beruka's Axe and an Iron Lance +2 had just enough attack power under the effects of Zhara's Charm to one-shot a Master Ninja, and my Avatar had enough Speed to Double the Machinist reinforcements. Had to reset twice on account of poor judgement, especially around those Lunge-equipped Swordmasters, though the second reset came down to an unfortunate critical on Niles. Master Ninja hit with only a 5% chance and down Niles went. That run had been going good as well.

That said, I noticed a very nice recruit amongst those Master Ninja, whom I immediately made into a Dread Fighter. He took a small hit to Speed and Skill as a result, but his Skills more than make up for it. Here's how he's looking:

Ren: Dread Fighter. HP, 30. Str, 18. Mag, 3. Skill, 18. Spd, 19, Lck, 7. Def, 14. Res, 21. Skills: Movement +1, Poison Strike, Grisly Wound, and Locktouch.

I can foresee him being very useful against beefier enemies. With Shuriken he can hit at range to lower their defences, and with his two combat Skills, he'll do 40% HP damage after battle he initiates. With two Levels under his belt he'll pick up Even Keel and Iron Will, which'll make him an effective Mage killer. Probably the best non-Boss generic I've recruited this run.

[Garrett]

Up to Chapter 19 cleared now, and I took the time to finish off Ophelia's Paralogue as well, and I suspect those two combined will be giving me nightmares for a spell. That Kitsune map is absolute madness on Lunatic! Whoever thought it was a good idea to give Kitsune the Pass Skill? Combine that with a shifting Illusion mechanic that stopped me targeting some of them with attacks, said developer needs a swift kick between the legs.

Haitaka, with his Beast-killing spear, was the leading man, as usual, though Kumagera came a close second. Starting to see a trend developing here. Carved a path through the middle of the first northward group, and abused pair-up attacks with Haitaka's grossly powerful attack. Even if the attacking unit could only do chip damage, Haitaka's follow-up did the business. Niles killed the final one in the northward group with a Hunter's Bow. Kumagera, meanwhile, baited the western group and slowed them on the bridge. With a Defence pair-up, Arthur's axe, and a Speed Tonic, he was able to tank everything including Beastrunes. I could have reduced most of the damage to zero with a Defence Tonic, but I've found that enemies tend to ignore my Tank if they can't do damage to them.

It was like watching Zhang Fei at the Battle of Chang Ban in Dynasty Warriors.

Ophelia's map was the main target however.

Senno was the main goal of Ophelia's Paralogue. That said, he doesn't have anything unique to speak of Skill-wise. He can Replicate eventually, and deal ridiculous damage with Spendthrift, but he gets no unique Skills on any difficulty. His stats are merely average as well regardless of the time you recruit him. Captured him regardless -- as a Mechanist, he'll at least be able to use a Spy's Shuriken.

The villages offered amazing rewards, however, so I repeated it until I nabbed them all with no casualties. Calamity Gate will be invaluable to deal with later Ninja shenanigans. Inevitable End can't stack if they can't hit you. I already have a Horse Spirit on account of rewards, so a second will help immensely. My first was used mainly with Kumagera to shore up his Speed to stop faster foes doubling him on Enemy Phase, but now Nichol can benefit as well. Speaking of Nichol, the only complaint I have about the guy is his Magic growth. It's only 35%. Even as a Dark Falcon his growth is only 50% -- thankfully, the two levels he got as one for Skills netted him an upgrade each time. The +2 Speed turned him into a good doubler as well. Depending on how his levels go between now and netting Trample -- he's already Level 12 -- will determine whether he gets that Spirit Dust or not. My Avatar could benefit as well.

End goal for Nichol, though, is Grandmaster and Ignis. He has the Strength and Magic to use it the most effectively.

[Garrett]

I finally found a good use for Candace other than being a situational healer or a pair-up bot. Chapter 20 threw a lot of fliers at me, and having a second bow user with good Strength -- I fed her a Heavy Blade scroll a fair few chapters ago to capitalize on it -- certainly helped matters. The combination of physical classes and magical classes had me stumped for a while on this Chapter, especially considering most of the characters I've been using aren't exactly blessed in the Resistance department.

Niles is the exception with over 30, whilst my Avatar has 26 with a Dragonstone (30 with the Dragonstone+). The closest to them is Nichol with 20, though Haitaka with his forged Hexclock can withstand a few hits. I deliberately limited the number of units I took into this Chapter to make positioning with the winds easier, and ended up settling on ten. Avatar (N. Noble), Azura (Songstress), Niles (Adventurer), Haitaka (S. Master), Nichol (M. Knight), Kumagera (O. Chieftain), Zhara (Lodestar), Gazak (Berserker), Nanoha (Onmyoji), and Candace (Adventurer).

What I ended up doing was blitzing the right-hand side of the map first. Nichol ferried Zhara over to the three Spearmen there, and he made quick work of them with a Dual Katana. By the time the fliers were approaching, the winds split my team; Avatar, Haitaka, Nanoha, and Candace went to the patch below the right-most treasure chest, whilst everyone else was blown to the bridge just below and slightly to the left, which was immediately above where the fliers rested. Paired Candace with Nanoha, moved to the right corner, and walled her in with Haitaka below and my Avatar safely equipped with a Dragonstone to her left. Candace has poor Speed -- only 14 -- but Nanoha beefed her resistance to the point the S. Master with a Bolt Naginata went after my Avatar instead. The second team destroyed the fliers' on Player Phase courtesy of Niles' critical damage and Gazak's critical hits. I then waited for the winds to carry my team onto Fuga's platform, which also moved me clear of the Onmyoji reinforcements that had been about to crash my party.

Gazak more than showed his worth once there. He scored a critical at around 80% on Fuga for 60 damage!

From there, it was simply baiting out the rest. You don't have to worry about the winds there; a little to the right, or  little to the left to avoid them as needed. Hayato still remained with his HP-halfing staff however, but Niles paired with Nichol gave Hayato only a 43% hit rate. Popped a Dragon Vein to move Hayato further up into the island with two pillars in the centre. This left it, so I could bait out his staff without worrying about tripping aggro on any other enemies. Niles dodged all three as well, and from there it was a simple case of dealing with the enemies on the top-left island.

I would've liked to Capture the Kinshi Knight that appeared with Trample, as I feel she would have made a good Great Lord given her stats, but Niles was on the other side of the map at the time and I didn't relish having to rinse and repeat. So I didn't add anything new to my roster, sadly.

[starburst]

16 hours ago, Garrett said:

I deliberately limited the number of units I took into this Chapter to make positioning with the winds easier, and ended up settling on ten.

How many units are there in your roster? For challenge, I only deploy ten units and no royals for the entire game, thus I felt identified with your situation in this chapter. However, I think that your party composition was inadequate, specially when you can capture anything you want.

In particular, you need stronger 2-range units (bows and tomes) to blow up things on Player Phase. I would have also thrown a Grisly Ninja Master into the mix. A trained Sorcerer should be able to one-round any enemy bar The Kid or the Sky Knights, while a trained Sniper should one-round any enemy bar the lancer with the Guard Naginata. Enemies here hit super hard, true, but you are not supposed to tank, you should be able to wipe any area on Player Phase.

[Garrett]

7 hours ago, starburst said:

How many units are there in your roster? For challenge, I only deploy ten units and no royals for the entire game, thus I felt identified with your situation in this chapter. However, I think that your party composition was inadequate, specially when you can capture anything you want.

In particular, you need stronger 2-range units (bows and tomes) to blow up things on Player Phase. I would have also thrown a Grisly Ninja Master into the mix. A trained Sorcerer should be able to one-round any enemy bar The Kid or the Sky Knights, while a trained Sniper should one-round any enemy bar the lancer with the Guard Naginata. Enemies here hit super hard, true, but you are not supposed to tank, you should be able to wipe any area on Player Phase.

I've been targeting specific units I've seen on prior standard runs, such as Bosses, and keeping an eye out on those enemies with unique Skills they couldn't get outside their own class. At the moment, I'm using roughly 12-14 units. My entire roster sits at 53 per the completion of Chapter 20, but that's obviously counting story characters. The pool I'm drawing from currently sits at 21. 18 of those are captured units.

Haitaka, Kumagera, Nichol, Zhara and Gazak are my mainstays, and have served as my army's spine. Add my Avatar, Azura, and Niles to that. The rest, at the minute, have been a toss-up between a few examples. I nabbed a Sorcerer -- Fritz -- with Inspiration, plus a Great Knight with the same Skill. My main Healer is an Onmyoji -- Nanoha -- whose been in my roster since after the Sevenfold Sanctuary map. No unique Skills, but her Magic, Speed and Resistance growths have been solid, but she lacks Defence and the HP required to trade blows. I also nabbed a Cavalier with Trample, whose seen a fair bit of use, and is now a Paladin. His speed isn't anything to write home about, and it probably didn't help that I sunk a few Vanguard levels into him to even out his Defences, but he absolutely kills on the Player Phase. There's a solid Hero with Armoured Blow in there as well who've I've been neglecting, and a few units I've benched as I came across better. Those include a Dread Fighter with Armoured Blow, a Pegasaus Knight who saw time as a Dark Falcon, and I lost two units on Forrest's Paralogue who'd seen some investment. There's also an Oni Savage whom I promoted early to get Salvage Blow for quick money.

As far as the Player Phase goes, I've been golden. Kumagera and Haitaka have had solid Defensive growths, so the Enemy Phase hasn't been too bad either. I definitely need a solid Magic user however. Outside my Avatar, Nichol as a Dark Falcon is the best I have at the moment.

[Garrett]

Chapter 21 was quite easy. Nichol has been my highest levelled unit throughout this run, and by the time I went into this Chapter he'd got both Trample and Galeforce through careful use of Heart Seals and levels. Equipped with the Brave-effect Lightning tome -- and a Rally Magic from Nanoha -- he could kill the Golems in one round of combat, and then act again without having to rely on Azura's Song.

Gazak and Kumagera could kill those coming from the rear, whilst Haitaka and my Avatar were the tip of the spear pushing up the stairs. Zhara provided increased damage with Charm. As said, Nichol was killing and then acting again. Slow going in parts, sure, but I was never in danger.

Nothing to Capture in this Chapter.

That said, I took a peek at Chapter 22. There's an Onmyoji there beside Sakura with Tomefaire and Shurikenbreaker. If I were to give that guy a Calamity Gate, he'd make for a very good Ninja killer.

Can you guess what my goal has become?

[Garrett]

Chapter 22 presented me with an interesting dilemma, and what I ended up doing was going with a very offensive force on the left flank whilst Azura, alongside Haitaka and Ren (D. Fighter), held the right flank alongside a few others -- my Inspiration Great Knight got a rare outing, and that Skill alone helped the defensive front no end. It went swimmingly, for the most part. A couple runs fell afoul of Sakura triggering the Dragon Vein and splitting my characters -- usually those on the right -- which inevitably resulted in at least one death unless your name was Kumagera.

Nichol broke through the wall on the left and took out the trailing member of Hana's force. Galeforce allowed him to retreat, with his attack triggering Hana's movement. None of my units under Mess Hall bonuses, Tonic boosts, or even the dulcet tones of Azura had a hope of doubling Hana unless your name was Haitaka, but Zhara had the bare minimum of Speed with a +1 from the Mess Hall not to be doubled himself, so he did for Hana with a little help from my Avatar. They were pretty much the only two of my units on the left who could even hit Hana, as Haitaka was busy turning things to paste on the right.

Ren baited everything on the right slowly and whenever the fliers arrived as reinforcements, Haitaka took over with help from Senno.

Nichol, meanwhile, made very good use of a Calamity Gate to kill the Launchers. He then challenged Yukimura himself with help from Candace as a pair-up bot. She gave him the necessary Speed to double Yukimura, though I'll admit the crit he got off Aether on its second hit was the best bit of luck I've had in a while. From there, it was a simple matter of dealing with the reinforcements. Kumagera showed his mettle when, in a moment of madness that I feared would come back to haunt me, he was attacked by an Axe Splitter Blacksmith. This was followed up by two others. Thought the big guy was done for! But he held in there. The effort left him only 2 HP, but he walked it off.

The main goal, however, was a certain reruit.

Mizuki: Level 10 Onmyoji. Str, 0. Mag, 26. Skill, 20. Spd, 22. Lck, 8. Def, 12. Res, 19. Skills: Tomefaire, Shurikenbreaker.

All I need do is give that dude a Calamity Gate and I've got me a Ninja killer! Whoo!

Incidentally, I've noticed one thing about almost all the characters I've recruited: they have absolutely horrible Luck stats! Either from bad growths, or poor bases. Even the Bosses weren't spared this treatment.

[Garrett]

Got the morning off somewhat unexpectedly, so I gave Chapter 23 a try. Fielded Mizuki after bribing him to my team, outfitted him with a Calamity Gate, and he immediately made an impact. Haven't got many solid Magic units other than Nichol and my Avatar, so having someone else who can flex a little Magical muscle is a nice change of pace.

In fact, I've noticed that about Conquest in general. The route appears to lack especially good Magic cannons. There's Elise and Leo, of course, but Odin always turns out meagre for me. And Nyx I always find to be fragile. Haven't experimented much with Ophelia, I'll admit. But my Avatar always ends up as my best Magical class even without a Magic boon.

After identifying Rally Man and the two Spear Fighters with various Rallies, I waited for the mobile units to come to me. Captured Rallyman -- he's called Kento in my game -- and held my units back a little, without triggering the four Snipers to the right of the central Forts. Ferried Nanoha across the gap with Nichol outside range of the Ballistas and Hinata's team -- there's about 4 tiles where you can't be attacked -- and from there slowly dispatched the units atop the wall. Nichol's got Galeforce and had just enough Magic with a Tonic and Rally Magic courtesy of Nanoha to ORKO the Snipers using the Brave-effect Lightning tome, all without Pair-Up, and all without fear of reprisal. Had he been attacked they would have one-shotted him. With Galeforce refreshing his movement he could escape back to safety without issue. Once the Snipers and Basara were taken care of, he turned to the matter of dealing with Oboro's team. He didn't have the Speed naturally to double the Paired-Up Spear Masters -- he was lacking by two Speed. So I ferried Azura over, set her beside Nanoha in one of the safe tiles, and had her Sing for Nichol to make up the difference. Calamity Gate + Rally Magic + Tonic + Dance ticked all the boxes, and the wall was thusly cleared. I think Nichol got attacked only twice this entire time, and that was by one of the two Basara on the far right when he missed with a Bolt Lance.

Hinata's team was a little less straightforward and required me to spend one of my remaining two uses of my Entrap stave. Candace pulled the Paired-Up Spear Masters with Rally Luck, Defence, Resistance, and Amaterasu, who was thusly weakened for Capture by Niles -- he's called Hidetora, in my game. Nichol, meanwhile, had been using his prior strategy to thin out the numbers so Hinata's team was susceptible to a rush. Haitaka, paired with Candace for a needed Speed Boost, KO'd Hinata in one round, my Avatar weakened the second Rallying Spear Master for Capturing -- Masahiko in my game -- and that was that. Nichol had to eat a Ballista bolt from Takumi to clear out the remaining Sniper, but Ballista can't KO you in Fates regardless,  so this wasn't a worry. It wouldn't have killed him anyway -- he has 40 HP, and it left him with 5 HP. Sweet!

Takumi's small group was dealt with rather handily by my Berserker Gazak in a Pair-Up with Niles for the Speed boost. Armed him with Arthur's Axe, had Haitaka Rally his Defence, increased his Speed further with Azura's Song, and marched him up the stairs to battle. He critted Takumi right out of the gate and ate all three subsequent attacks. Had he not killed Takumi outright, and had to eat a counter, he would have died from the ensuing attacks. I had planned to use one of my remaining three Rescue, but that critical lot me save it.

All-in-all, Galeforce on a sufficiently strong unit kind of breaks this Chapter. Got it done first attempt, no resets. Zhara, with Niles or Candace as a Pair-Up for movement, could have moved past the Snipers on the wall and targeted the Basara sitting on the stairs, and I could have then used Rescue to bail him out. Opted against this however -- Nichol was by far the safer bet.

Edited April 14, 2020 by Garrett

[Garrett]

I remember why I hate Chapter 24 so much. I had a few attempts where someone -- either my Dread Fighter, my main Healer, or once even Haitaka -- fell to an onrush of fliers appearing at my flanks.

The strategy I ended up going with was a controlled blitz at the start and a lot of defending towards the end, followed by a similar case of what Nichol did in the previous Chapter to force certain groups to come to me. Ren, with his Resistance, was able to Tank the Onmyoji on the little island near the middle with Haitaka offering good chip damage with his forged Hexlock. I timed it so that the Kinshi Knight reinforcements along the bottom left had the added movement the moment they appeared, so they could reach my units instead of flying about freely unchecked, and baited them out with Kumagera. On the next turn those two fell to Kumagera and Zhara. The three that appeared a couple turns later with Silver weaponry were dealt with by Gazak safely equipped with Arthur's Axe.

The group that appears from triggering Setsuna's group was a little more tricky and it was this specific onslaught that tripped me up a few times, as there could be upwards of 11 Kinshi Knights rushing me at once. In the open this resulted in a death or two. So, I Paired my frailer units up -- Nanoha, Niles, Candace, Senno, for example -- and set up a defensive perimeter in the bottom right of the map. Nichol, as a flier, sat in a Pair Up with Haitaka. Kento (aka Rallyman) was walled in and only had to move two squares to the right or left to hit everyone with Rally, and he could do just that with Azura's help. A Speed Tonic and Speed Mess Hall bonuses ensured none of my units were getting doubled, whilst the Rally's used kept them beefy enough to survive without issue. Haitaka equipped with his Hexlock ate three Bolt Naginata attacks and survived, Kento took two arrows, one of them slipped into my group thanks to Pass -- planned though -- and attacked Mizuki, who lacked the Speed to double or be doubled. This was the Pass wielding K. Knight that I ended up Capturing, as Niles was Paired Up with Mizuki.

Got to think about Endgame.

The Kinshi Knights were dead and I had a free turn to heal up before Setsuna's group arrived. Usually, I'd sit Niles on the bridge to the left to Tank the mages, but he got unlucky drawing out Azama's Hexing Rod before I triggered Setsuna's group. All my higher end Resistance users -- Niles, Nanoha, Senno -- had eaten a Hexing Rod, but Candace managed to draw out the remaining three without being hit, which saved Ren for later. Sadly, she lacked Niles natural Speed. So, I lured them past the bridge using Ren, whilst Gazak one-shotted Setsuna. The Oni Savages and Onmyoji got mopped up on the Player Phase, and I was finally free to set my sights on Hinoka and Azama.

Azama was a non-issue. Rallied up with Kento and Nanoha, Nichol had 27 attack x2 with his Bolt Naginata. Boom. Hinoka, meanwhile, was savaged by Gazak. His Certain Blow negates her high avoid nicely and his high critical is a potent combination. He's now two-for-two in regard to Hoshidan royals he has fought. With a Dual Club he might also do for Ryoma! We'll see.

That said, I did not enjoy this Chapter at all. Its far too open for my tastes. Usually, there's a choke-point of some kind where you can funnel enemy units into a kill box of sorts. That isn't the case here. The added movement of the Kinshi Knights, especially with 1-2 range weapons, is ridiculous. I had to constantly watch my movement so that my weaker characters weren't getting killed.

[Garrett]

I took one look at Chapter 25 and more-or-less said "screw that". All those units with Inevitable End did little other than give me a headache, so instead of slogging through it all I took the swift road to victory and focused on cutting off the head of the snake. That said, I did save an additional file should I decide to attempt it traditionally. I went the way I did because I'd easily surpass the 20 turn limit imposed on Ryoma's movement clearing the map of enemies, as I prefer slow and careful as opposed to swift and precise, and my Avatar had a good chance of killing him anyway. She's been one of my best units alongside Kumagera and Haitaka.

That's right, this became the Kireina vs. Ryoma show.

She was level 18 going into the fight and had capped her Speed at 32 in her native Nohr Noble class. A Speed Tonic and Mess Hall bonuses put this at 36 -- she wasn't getting doubled, but she wasn't doubling either. The flair from the mess hall increased her Defence as well, and I fed her a Defence Tonic for good measure. Ryoma at best hit her for 6 damage, with a hit around the 60 range when I initiated the attack, and he had a critical percentage of 7. Prior to the fight I gave Kireina the Practice Katana for its +5 Speed. I then waited patiently until Turn 21.

Pulled back to the screen and used Kento to Rally through the wall. I fed Kento one of my remaining Paralogues as a Grandmaster to pick up Rally Spectrum. That +2 was actually helpful. Tobias, who is my Paladin, sheltered him clear, and he was then transferred and dropped off safely. Azura with Amaterasu could heal through Ryoma's damage easily enough. This meant Kireina had enough Speed with the Yato equipped to double Ryoma, and she had an 8 percent critical hit.

My luck was in. After a few misses on both sides -- Ryoma with Rend Heaven, Kireina with Dragon's Fang -- she hit the numbers magnificently! A critical Dragon's Fang scoring 42 damage! YEHAA! Dropped the lobster to 2 HP. From there, he fell to a Levin Sword hit.

Missed the extra Gold and a Silence Staff, but I won't lose sleep over that.

[starburst]

On 4/16/2020 at 5:05 PM, Garrett said:

I took one look at Chapter 25 and more-or-less said "screw that".

I know the feeling, mate. Yet, you could have at least gotten the 10.000 Gold (it takes 8-10 turns.) It is more a matter of Entrap or Freeze than anything else. You are not supposed to tank the section, but to advance and kill the Spies before they see you.
With a heavily doped Nohr Noble Cornflakes like in your case, Mjölnir is a better bet. You do not even need to double Ryoma, Draconic Hex and the critical hit do the trick. This was so consistent that I had to let her teammates grab the gold before facing Ryoma, otherwise Corrin would kill him in four or five turns and force me to restart (to reach the gold.) 🙃

Edited April 19, 2020 by starburst

[Garrett]

On 4/18/2020 at 5:17 PM, starburst said:

I know the feeling, mate. Yet, you could have at least gotten the 10.000 Gold (it takes 8-10 turns.) It is more a matter of Entrap or Freeze than anything else. You are not supposed to tank the section, but to advance and kill the Spies before they see you.
With a heavily doped Nohr Noble Cornflakes like in your case, Mjölnir is a better bet. You do not even need to double Ryoma, Draconic Hex and the critical hit do the trick. This was so consistent that I had to let her teammates grab the gold before facing Ryoma, otherwise Corrin would kill him in four or five turns and force me to restart (to reach the gold.) 🙃

Mjolnir's on Nichol, sadly. Though in hindsight it would likely have saved me a good deal of gold. Though Senno is a Gold Bar factory.

I left a save at Chapter 25, so I'll probably go back and attempt it when I clear the game. Kireina can survive against Ryoma indefinitely if I wanted to actually grab the treasure. Just park her at the bottom and let Azura heal through the wall. Having started Chapter 26, that Silence Staff I missed would have been nice. One staff I have in abundance though is Freeze. Other than using it twice early on, and once a couple chapters back, I've still got them in abundance. Used Silence, or Entrap, in their place, and even then I treated them like a valued rescourse. I also picked up an extra Freeze from the Lottery. Rally + Tonic + Mess Hall meant that my Galeforce Nichol could one-round almost anyone, weaken anyone nearby with the Malig Knight Skill, and then retreat back to safety.

I'm having a good time on Chapter 26 though. Really challenging my thought process.

Taken a few swings at it so far and my latest got to the room outside Iago where Hands has his backside parked. Opted against spending my sole remaining Entrap on him. Nichol would have killed Hans but sadly missed -- his To-Hit was 97%. He had also eaten a Hex Rod courtesy of Iago which came down to forgetfulness on my part, and I also forgot Hans had Countermagic. So down Nichol went and I had my fourth reset. All because I got cocky, saw that the end was in sight, and got forgetful. Got a solid strategy though that's using everything at my disposal, Skills and Freeze included. Never used Shelter so much in all my life. I'm actually fit to get to the bottom room consistently without Iago hitting anyone with a staff, or having the Maids going wild. Haven't figured out the left room completely yet, but I have a thought that involves my Grisly Wound Master Ninja (the former Dread Fighter).

It's just a matter of time at the moment.

[Shadow Mir]

On 4/14/2020 at 7:11 AM, Garrett said:

Got the morning off somewhat unexpectedly, so I gave Chapter 23 a try. Fielded Mizuki after bribing him to my team, outfitted him with a Calamity Gate, and he immediately made an impact. Haven't got many solid Magic units other than Nichol and my Avatar, so having someone else who can flex a little Magical muscle is a nice change of pace.

In fact, I've noticed that about Conquest in general. The route appears to lack especially good Magic cannons. There's Elise and Leo, of course, but Odin always turns out meagre for me. And Nyx I always find to be fragile. Haven't experimented much with Ophelia, I'll admit. But my Avatar always ends up as my best Magical class even without a Magic boon.

Honestly, I could say that of Fates in general - good mages are as rare as hen's teeth. Pretty much every mage has some serious issue (Orochi is slooooow and lacking nearly everywhere that's not Skill or Magic, Hayato comes underleveled in Brirthright, Rhajat is inaccurate, Nyx is cripplingly overspecialized [ergo, magic and speed are her only good stats], Odin has the opposite problem, and Sakura and Elise need to promote first, and even then I find Priestess better for the former). It's a far cry from Awakening, where magic ruled the roost, that's for sure.

[Garrett]

54 minutes ago, Shadow Mir said:

Honestly, I could say that of Fates in general - good mages are as rare as hen's teeth. Pretty much every mage has some serious issue (Orochi is slooooow and lacking nearly everywhere that's not Skill or Magic, Hayato comes underleveled in Brirthright, Rhajat is inaccurate, Nyx is cripplingly overspecialized [ergo, magic and speed are her only good stats], Odin has the opposite problem, and Sakura and Elise need to promote first, and even then I find Priestess better for the former). It's a far cry from Awakening, where magic ruled the roost, that's for sure.

I agree completely. Sakura and Elise always end up one of my better units, but that's almost always mid-to-late game. Orochi was at least salvageable in my last Brithright run, which had me use a male Corrin with Knight as his secondary. She could grab Wary Fighter that way, making her abysmal Speed a moot point. Gave her the Snake Spirit for good measure.

The lack of amazing magic units is one of the reasons Mizuki and, to a lesser extent Nanoha, have impressed me this playthrough; especially since they happen to be true generics, and not one of the captured Bosses with great growths. Nanoha was the Shrine Maiden I recruited back in Chapter 11. Two levels as a Shrine Maiden, two as a Dark Falcon, and then promotion into an Onmyoji. Her Defence sucks, but her Skill is decent, her Magic rivalled Mizuki's upon his recruitment, and she gets Speed almost every level up. Mizuki meanwhile makes things melt. Calamity Gate or Mjölnir = dead.

Agreed, though. Awakening was incredible. When I'm done with this run of Fates, I'll maybe revisit it.

[Garrett]

Chapter 26 just soured my mood for tonight.

Got the first room cleared, cleared out the second full of mages, killed off the bottom room without a hitch sans Hans, the Knights, and the two Maids, and then began to work on Hans himself. Managed him, the Knights, and the Maids and even got the reinforcements at the bottom without a hitch! Manoeuvred Niles into position to open the door to Iago, Rallied up Zhara (armed with Counter Magic) and attacked. What does Iago go and do? Critical hit! 11%. BOOM! Zhara melts. My highest Luck unit who can realistically turn Iago into paste, and he gets critted!

You want to know the other sickening bit? The run was flawless! Up until that point, I hadn't been in Iago's range once! I killed the entire top, right-hand side, and bottom of the map whilst dancing just on the edge of his range. His first foray into battle, and he offs one of my best units. Next time, I'm handing him over to Gazak, and we'll see how he handles a Great Club to the face!

[starburst]

3 hours ago, Garrett said:

Got a solid strategy though that's using everything at my disposal, Skills and Freeze included. Never used Shelter so much in all my life. I'm actually fit to get to the bottom room consistently without Iago hitting anyone with a staff, or having the Maids going wild.

 

1 hour ago, Garrett said:

You want to know the other sickening bit? The run was flawless! Up until that point, I hadn't been in Iago's range once! I killed the entire top, right-hand side, and bottom of the map whilst dancing just on the edge of his range.

Do not fixate on Iago's staves, mate. It is completely predictable, just write down the order or memorise it (1= Freeze, 2= Enfeeble, 3= Silence, 4= Hex), then divide the turn by 4 and do the maths (like you would on a clock, but using 4.) While you should only risk paper units like Azura or the healer to take a Hex, 90 % of your party can take the other three status effects without much issue. The one turn to watch is when to face the Sorcerers; it cannot be on a turn of the form {3} if your are using a magical unit for you will be Silenced, and it should definitely not be on a turn multiple of 4, or you will be hexed. So, just wait one or two turns and face it on a turn of the form {1}. This room should only take you one Enemy Phase and one Player Phase to wipe, anyway.
The effect range is very limited in the southeastern area of the map, which is exactly where you will face most Enemy Phases.

I usually bait Hans and his bodyguards (they all move together) and kill them in one Player Phase, but you can Entrap one or all of them. In both cases, it is key to have as many unpaired units as possible, to take advantage of Attack Stance and mitigate Freezing surprises, and to check their skills before every attack. Mark the attack range of the southern reinforcements, so that they move once without hitting you. They all should be gone in one Player Phase (they are actually very easy in comparison to Hans and his show guys.) Sorcerers and Lightning are a Godsend here.

 

3 hours ago, Garrett said:

Haven't figured out the left room completely yet, but I have a thought that involves my Grisly Wound Master Ninja (the former Dread Fighter).

Most of the time, I leave the left side of the map untouched, but if you need the Experience or the Spy weapon, a cheap way to do it is to let the Maid Entrap you, then open the door to the main room and Rescue the unit to the southern room (where you faced the General-Berserker army.) This way, the Faceless and the mobile Stoneborn will chase you, and you can decide how to kill them.
Then it is a matter of Guard Bar manipulation against the immobile Stoneborn. Remember, the Stoneborn in the hall will hit the unit who kills the Stoneborn closest to the southern door. Make sure that your unit can take the hit or that it will be blocked. Again, check their skills and their damage before every attack.

Edited April 19, 2020 by starburst