What's Allowed in a TRUE Iron Man?

[TheChoZenOne]

Hello everyone. So I been practicing for my true divine pulseless iron man on  Maddening difficulty. (You may have seen me streaming recently the Blue Lions Route on Maddening with a 3 divine pulse rule xD)

 

My question for you guys is, (as I prepare to take on the ULTIMATE challenge and iron man Three Houses on MADDENING) is this....

 

Are Ashen Wolves allowed? That's it. I feel they aren't particularly broken like say, Fates DLC (witch, dark flier, dread fighter, lodestar, great lord, vanguard, grandmaster class, etc.) and they definitely don't make the game feel any easier on a difficulty as unforgiving as TH Maddening. But I want you guys to decide for me if I am allowed to use them. I want this Iron Man to be the most LEGIT iron man possible. Where no one can make an excuse like "oh this was tainted cuz HER DER DLC!! You used that one DLC auxillary map once, HER DER TAINTED RUN!!" 

 

Lol. So to make sure it's as legit as possible, I am doing it on a non NG+ file, No dlc items or dlc aux battles allowed. No DLC classes. And of course, no divine pulses allowed.

Now here's the question, can I use Ashen Wolves or not? 2nd question can I use them in their DLC canon class or not? Depending on the communties' answer, I will add it to the rules for this iron man. Thank you for reading this!! Have a great day!! And look forward to the iron man when I stream it later this month. 😁

 

(For now I will continue streaming my Blue Man Group Maddening Run as practice)

[indigoasis]

If it were up to me, you should use all the DLC that you can. Use every advantage that you can get. Maddening isn't going to be forgiving, so neither should you. 

[TheChoZenOne]

12 minutes ago, indigoasis said:

If it were up to me, you should use all the DLC that you can. Use every advantage that you can get. Maddening isn't going to be forgiving, so neither should you. 

Thank you for the feedback!! I will decide when I start the run soon!! 😁

[Shanty Pete's 1st Mate]

I don't see using the Ashen Wolves, or any other DLC-related resources, as undermining the credibility of an Ironman run. So long as you don't reset the game, it's an Ironman. Whichever other rules or restrictions you wish to apply are up to you.

That said... good luck with ambush spawns.

[LoneStar]

Like people are saying Ironman is just not resetting the game. I guess there can be an argument for Divine Pulse abuse, but the game is balanced around it with the ambush spawns. The only things from the DLC that are busted is the Chalice and Dark Flier to an extent, but you haven't been abusing the Chalice.

[TheChoZenOne]

23 minutes ago, Shanty Pete's 1st Mate said:

I don't see using the Ashen Wolves, or any other DLC-related resources, as undermining the credibility of an Ironman run. So long as you don't reset the game, it's an Ironman. Whichever other rules or restrictions you wish to apply are up to you.

That said... good luck with ambush spawns.

I see. Just wanted to make sure it's a entertaining and fair iron man chllanege is all haha. Thanks for the feedback and.... I will try my best 😭

 

13 minutes ago, LoneStar said:

Like people are saying Ironman is just not resetting the game. I guess there can be an argument for Divine Pulse abuse, but the game is balanced around it with the ambush spawns. The only things from the DLC that are busted is the Chalice and Dark Flier to an extent, but you haven't been abusing the Chalice.

Yeah definitely not using Chalice, and dark flier I will try to avoid if you feel its broken. Thanks for the tip!! 👍

[Jotari]

If I remember correctly, Maddening itself didn't even exist until the DLC was released. So if Ashen Wolves aren't allowed, then Maddening itself shouldn't be allowed XD

[TheChoZenOne]

31 minutes ago, Jotari said:

If I remember correctly, Maddening itself didn't even exist until the DLC was released. So if Ashen Wolves aren't allowed, then Maddening itself shouldn't be allowed XD

Good point!! XD

[lenticular]

The best version of an ironman is the one that you think you will have most fun with. There isn't a Central Ironman Committee that determines a single codified set of rules that everyone must adhere to if they want it to be a "true" ironman.

I do think that using the Ashen Wolves would make the game a little easier than not using them, though. Partially because they're good units, but mainly because they're extra bodies and are also free to recruit. If you're really keen on doing the hardest possible ironman then I'd probably say not to use them, but if using them seems like more fun than not, then I'd say to use them.

[TheChoZenOne]

39 minutes ago, lenticular said:

The best version of an ironman is the one that you think you will have most fun with. There isn't a Central Ironman Committee that determines a single codified set of rules that everyone must adhere to if they want it to be a "true" ironman.

I do think that using the Ashen Wolves would make the game a little easier than not using them, though. Partially because they're good units, but mainly because they're extra bodies and are also free to recruit. If you're really keen on doing the hardest possible ironman then I'd probably say not to use them, but if using them seems like more fun than not, then I'd say to use them.

LOL Thank you for the feedback!! Personally I didn't want to at first. But with how hard and unfair maddening is, its a fair trade to use them I'd say, as well as not really havung any one to use if someone dies since I won't be using NG+. Plus I love them!! 😆

Edited November 7, 2021 by TheChoZenOne

[Jotari]

2 hours ago, lenticular said:

I do think that using the Ashen Wolves would make the game a little easier than not using them, though. Partially because they're good units, but mainly because they're extra bodies and are also free to recruit. If you're really keen on doing the hardest possible ironman then I'd probably say not to use them, but if using them seems like more fun than not, then I'd say to use them.

One could say the same about out of house recruitment in its entirely (this isn't an argument against your statement, more a natural extension of its idea).

Edited November 7, 2021 by Jotari

[Dark Holy Elf]

One consideration for an Ironman run in 3H is that any character you recruit has their level set to one which is reasonably appropriate for the current chapter (in most cases, Current Chapter multiplied by 2, subtract 1). One nice thing about the wolves is you can recruit them for no cost at any point, so you might want to keep some of them unrecruited so you can grab one as a replacement if another unit dies. IIRC you can't grab them after the timeskip, though.

Interestingly, though, Anna can be grabbed after the timeskip, and continues to level in this regard. I definitely recommend leaving her unrecruited in case you need her lategame, since otherwise you get no new recruits, ever, after chapter 13 (although you can at least raise some other backup units via adjutant duty).

[TheChoZenOne]

5 hours ago, Dark Holy Elf said:

One consideration for an Ironman run in 3H is that any character you recruit has their level set to one which is reasonably appropriate for the current chapter (in most cases, Current Chapter multiplied by 2, subtract 1). One nice thing about the wolves is you can recruit them for no cost at any point, so you might want to keep some of them unrecruited so you can grab one as a replacement if another unit dies. IIRC you can't grab them after the timeskip, though.

Interestingly, though, Anna can be grabbed after the timeskip, and continues to level in this regard. I definitely recommend leaving her unrecruited in case you need her lategame, since otherwise you get no new recruits, ever, after chapter 13 (although you can at least raise some other backup units via adjutant duty).

I actually originally was gonna do this, this is a very good idea, yes!! I will keep this in mind, thank you for the tip!! 😁 I appreciate it!!