early dracoshield

[destinyshand]

I have just started playing Shadows of Valentia and have used the DLC to get my units (aside from Alm)  to their second tier classes (Gray- Myrmidon, Tobin- Sage, Clive- paladin, Python/Kliff- Sniper, Faye/Silque- Saint, Lukas/Forsythe- Knight, Clair- Falcon Knight) and want to know what levels I should be before trying to get the Dracoshield in act 1? 

[LoneStar]

I mean there are videos of people getting the Dracoshield without excessive grind. If you're units are already at mid game level strength I don't see why you can't just defeat Desaix and get the shield. Obviously you attack power would need to be high enough so you can penetrate his defenses, which I assume they would be at the level you're probably at. I vaguely remember but you're suppose to bait Slayde out to some other part of the map an manipulate his AI so you don't kill him instead. Like I said there are videos of people doing this if you look for it.

[Jotari]

I'm not sure if grinding even helps. The Dracoshield's gains are so high that you're still probably going to be dealing 1 damage with each character. It's all about perseverance and dealing that 1 damage over and over. Though high grinding will at least increase your defense and let more characters stay in the game longer.

[Punished Dayni]

Your best bet is having high enough crit to increase your damage, regardless of who's dealing it.

It's why Excalibur tends to be recommended, but Windsweep could be good because it 's on the Iron Sword, prevents Desaix from attacking and adds crit. There's also a Steel Sword that you'd have to forge so that combat art option's out. Steel Bow adds 8 might with Heavy Draw so that could contribute too.

I hadn't grinded near as much and have pulled it off mainly using Mage Kliff or Tobin with the rest keeping him in place after getting Slayde out of the way but alive

Edited October 7, 2022 by Punished Dayni

[Shanty Pete's 1st Mate]

As others have said, the levels don't really matter. Instead, it's about having a plan. "How do I distract Slayde, while keeping him alive?" "How do I keep my bosskill healthy?" "How do I keep Desaix from healing himself back up?"

Honestly, whether or not you get the Dracoshield, it sounds like you're team's strong enough already that you've basically won the game. Or at least the western half of it.

[Jotari]

2 hours ago, Punished Dayni said:

Your best bet is having high enough crit to increase your damage, regardless of who's dealing it.

It's why Excalibur tends to be recommended, but Windsweep could be good because it 's on the Iron Sword, prevents Desaix from attacking and adds crit. There's also a Steel Sword that you'd have to forge so that combat art option's out. Steel Bow adds 8 might with Heavy Draw so that could contribute too.

I hadn't grinded near as much and have pulled it off mainly using Mage Kliff or Tobin with the rest keeping him in place after getting Slayde out of the way but alive

I don't think you have the ability to forge in chapter 1. You could go to the Fane of Raman using the DLC (or what other name they give, clearly it is the Fane of Raman) to get high powered weapons though.

[LJ_Reflet]

You don't need to grind, it really is more of a matter of having a plan and strategy of luring Slayde away and manipulating his AI, while simultaneously bombarding Desaix with a myriad of 1-damage hits and 3-damage crits. It's really annoying and takes a LOT of time and planning, but it's very doable.

What you can do, actually, is clear out the map little by little, then retreat from the map. When you go back to restart the chapter after retreating, the enemies you killed will still be gone and only the enemies you haven't killed will remain. When it's just Slayde and Desaix leftover, you can take your plan of action much easier.

The main things to note and what I usually do to defeat Desaix and get the Dracoshield:

• The enemy AI in SoV will always prioritize self-healing when their HP is low, so they will retreat and try to find their way to a supplies tile rather than go for another hit. If the path to the supplies tile is blocked in any sort of way, then that's when they'll target your units instead, so keep an open path to supplies.
• Open the gate on the far right side of the map and lure Slayde in that part of the castle
• Get Slayde's HP low enough so he'll start to escape, but block any opening leading to the supplies tile where Desaix starts off
• Try to lure Desaix into the chokehold right in front of him, then surround him with your units so he's trapped and cannot move.
• Always have a healer ready next to anybody standing adjacent to Desaix

There are probably several other ways to do it, but this is how I usually do it lol.

[Jotari]

51 minutes ago, LJ_Reflet said:

What you can do, actually, is clear out the map little by little, then retreat from the map. When you go back to restart the chapter after retreating, the enemies you killed will still be gone and only the enemies you haven't killed will remain. When it's just Slayde and Desaix leftover, you can take your plan of action much easier.

Don't try to do it without doing this. Clear out all the enemies, retreat, then go for it. The reason being is that Alm automatically calls a retreat if you don't clear the map in (I think it's) 50 turns. And it will probably take close to that number, depending on how many misses or crits you get. If you spend some turns killing all the enemies on the map first, then you're very likely going to wind up retreating when Desaix's on his last 10 or so HP.

[Captain Karnage]

I did it once without any guides and it was a pain

The easiest way is to block Slade with someone who won't kill him, but can consistently get him to below 50%hp so he automatically retreats and you can work on chipping the main boss

[Kruggov]

I have also done it by luring Desaix to a wall, having Gray tank him from a healing tile (he died a few time, forcing me to Turnwheel), and having everyone else grind him into dust (it took me something like 15 turns, thanks to Desaix regenerating). Menwhile Forsyth is the perfect person to tank Slayde with, as he is tanky enough to hold Slayde off yet not damaging enough to seriously threaten the guy.

It was annoying but very much doable even without retreating.

I assume it's also doable in original Gaiden, but more difficult because you don't get Faye (and thus don't get early Physic) and because Dracoshield doesn't tank Desaix' speed into nothingness.