Engage Maddening Replay - DLC Edition

[Colonel M]

Hello.

Long time no see for perhaps some of you. Most of you, probably don't know who I am. Understandable, of course.

So I've been wanting to explore more with Efficiency / LTC I guess with this game. The latter is just something I'm not sure I can dedicate a ton on, but I hope to at least give more criticism / evaluation for tier lists or just for fun. For those that don't know, I have been streaming Maddening (mostly blind) and I'm currently on Chapter 23. You can see it on https://www.twitch.tv/colonelm if you want. I think most of the endgame is probably going to be warpskipped, so c'est la vie. If you want me to stream this let me know I guess. I doubt many will, but who knows.

Anyway, for this playthrough I have a lot of questions with DLC bracelets, items, and what potentially changes throughout the game. This is basically where the starting point begins. You could argue it was Chapter 4, which I understand, but the end of Chapter 6 is where we get Tiki Paralogue and the Edelgard Bracelet. I'll try to record my turn counts and a few things I've done throughout the map and the levels. I don't have levels for previous chapters and some of the turncounts are just from the top of my head. I'll correct them if possible.

For the most part the only rule is no glitches. After that, I think we're fair game.

Chapter 5 - 9 Turns

If you saw Moogle's strat, it kind of works here but it is a bit dicier. Turn 2 has about a 25% chance of failure (too lazy to math) - basically you have to either dodge the Fighter or the Ridersbane Lance Knight. I decided to go for the treasure since the Thief conveniently picks it up and Celine can grab it with Warp Ragnarok around Turn 9. This map definitely has an all hands on deck feel to it, though. Basically use everything you got.

Paralogue 1 - 6 or 7 turns

Forged Liberation +2 and Iron Lance +2. Liberation has Marth, Iron Lance has Sigurd. I also shoved Marth and Sigurd to Level 10 on Alear and Chloe.

I basically went ham on the Fighters in the right so that I can Override with Sigurd!Chloe and then just pulverize through the enemies. The weird thing is the Slim Sword Cav went for Vander - probably just because it was a convenient break, but normally AI tends to favor damage from what I've seen. After that I had Chloe basically peel towards the Energy Drop and had everyone else work towards the top. The boss, being an Archer, is rather difficult to hit, so if he's in the bush you may just need an extra turn on him. Just surround him and he's toast.

Chapter 6 - 9 Turns

You kind of let Yunaka and Alear do their own thing. I used Vander early on to try to get the Longbow bottom pulled. Etie + Vander mostly finished it off thanks to Etie having Spur Attack. Mostly worked through the middle slowly and picked off what I could throughout the middle. Once I approached the LHS, mostly was there just in time for the boss to appear towards the bottom. I surrounded him with Da Bouche nearby for Chain Attacks and then had Etie potshot with Longbow + Chloe go in for a Sigurd hit. Sadly I had to give the kill to Vander (the first break). Probably could've mathed it better to where that isn't necessary, but for the most part it's really minor. Celine was nice for a potshot here.

       Lv | HP | Str | Mag | Dex | Spd | Def | Res | Lck | SP
Alear   9 | 28 | 9 | 1 | 9 | 12 | 9 | 6 | 7 | 1029
Vander  Base (Anna Ring, not sure why again)
Framme  4 | 20 | 4 | 6 | 9 | 9 | 5 | 9 | 6 | 300
Bouche  5 | 30 | 10 | 0 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 3 | 5 | 300
Celine  7 | 23 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 6 | 8 | 12 | 558
Louis   7 | 31 | 13 | 0 | 11 | 3 | 17 | 1 | 4 | 300
Chloe   10 | 29 | 9 | 5 | 15 | 16 | 6 | 10 | 11 | 625
Clanne  2 | 19 | 1 | 8 | 11 | 10 | 4 | 7 | 4 | 300
Alfred  6 | 28 | 9 | 2 | 10 | 5 | 9 | 5 | 8 | 334 (Sharena Ring)
Etie    6 | 22 | 13 | 0 | 12 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 8 | 358 (Alfonse Ring)
Yunaka  7 | 26 | 8 | 5 | 15 | 13 | 9 | 7 | 8 | 637

Yunaka - Bond 1 w/Micaiah

Celica - Bond 6 w/Celine
Marth - Bond 10 w/Alear
Sigurd - Bond 10 w/Sigurd

Most of my Arena focus has been Alear and Chloe, mostly to keep Alear going and Chloe to keep up in level.

Available stat boosters

Seraph Robe x2
Energy Drop x2
Spirit Dust x1
Secret Book x1
Speedwing x1
Goddess Icon x1
Dracoshield x1
Talisman x2
Boots x1
Novice Book x5
Adept Book x3
Expert Book x1

Other than Boots on Alear I haven't really thought of what to do with stat boosters yet. We'll solve that as we go through.

Next I think is Tiki Paralogue. I haven't done the Paralogue maps, so this is where things get a bit hazy. I'll probably look at the maps and "study" what they do since I know if I do them later, they technically get harder.

If you want my "opinions" with earlygame units:

• Alear is Alear. Marth is just nice on here because she's probably one of the better users of it early on for boss killing. I think after this chapter I'm going to give Marth to Chloe, just to make sure she's at about 1000 SP before "the thing".
• Vander hasn't really fallen off, and I think DLC items at least give him a little more breathing room. Bond Rings and Nauton are nice, and while Silver Axe gets him doubled it does a fuckton of damage. I haven't really had to use Silver Axe except once on a miss from Iron (Chapter 6).
• Louis is another unit I think that improves earlygame with items because using Fensalir and Silver Lance is nice for huge damage. He's probably the reason why I think Sigurd is a competitive spot, but I think now that Chloe will be on Marth I can probably hotswap him with it or something else.
• Celine I think is doing best with Celica... for now. The big thing is being a Mystical is just a huge advantage, and she has innate Celica Bonds from playing. I was going to give her the Bond EXP, but she kind of didn't need it. Echo is really nice for Jean Paralogue since it can secure a KO against Sword Cav. Celine defilnitely will fall off.
• Bouche and Etie are very useful right now. They're good for what they do - Backup utility and just semi-reliable chip damage. Now that Etie has Longbow, she's going to be doing nicely for shooting 3 range.
• Clanne is mildly redundant but being redundant in Mage is good right now.
• Framme is a healer.
• Probably going to use Yunaka less this time around. I still want to potentially experiment with her more later on the funneling campaign, but it's not necessary.
• Chloe with Sigurd has been doing good, but a lot of it to me is Sigurd more than it is Chloe. Still, Chloe does like the Build + and the extra movement has been valuable for getting around and doing stuff like Override or just securing ORKOes. Her Speed is a great asset right now.

I'm probably going to forge Fensailr. I forgot it's pretty good, though its 7 Wt atm is offputting when I'm going to drop to 5 Build for Marth.

For Tiki Paralogue:

- Boosted Sigurd!Alear to 5. Inherited Canter on Alear.
- Boosted Edelgard!Alear to 5 (fighting Edelgard who saved FE).

- Boosted Marth!Chloe to 10.

- Boosted Louis!Sigurd to 5.

- Made a food. Idr what it was. I got a packed meal so it can be used with Celine.

- Gave Boots to Alear.

Edited February 23 by Colonel M

[Colonel M]

Okay redoing.

I need the new post to get everything ready. I was notified by some people that I'm still too slow (but hey, I did it blind). So here's the "revamp" of what I'm doing right now.

Prologue - 3
Chapter 1 - 4
Chapter 2 - 4, "Killed" Vander
Chapter 3 - 4
Chapter 4 - 3

Prologue - Just do what the game tells you

Chapter 1 - Really easy. Tried to maximize kills on Alear by having her kill all the Bandits.

Chapter 2 - Key is mostly getting Alear to the bottom and then have the Archer attack Framme. On the second one, you have to connect both of Vander's attacks and Alear's attacks. Vander's are a little rocky because one of them is a 50%. Vander just "dies".

Chapter 3 - Mostly pull forward with Alear and pray. Seems like the AI will go very ham on Alear in this chapter, and if you get a crit here and there the map gets easier. It's just rough because it is very intimidating to look at.

Chapter 4:

Edited February 24 by Colonel M

[Colonel M]

Chapter 5 - 3 Turns

This requires:

- Boots on Alear

- Speed Tonic on Celine

 

Something tells me I have high doubts Chloe is going to make it to midgame. She's struggling to get levels and Alear probably needs every single Arena to even hope to promote before Chapter 11. Already I'm nervous about my prospects.

 

Turn 1: Celine KOes the AK and Alear + Chloe knocks out the Archer. In hindsight I may give this to Alear instead if I find out that it's better to exp Alear. Louis dents a Sword Fighter and Vander Hand Axes the door.

 

Turn 2: Boucheron breaks the door. Celine Warp Ragnaroks to the Ridersbane Armor and Alear finishes it with Rapier. Vander and Alfred move forward with the latter chugging a Vulnerary. Louis uses Javelin on the Sword Fighter and stays nearby to pull boss and his gang. I try to position for more Chloe exp. The Fighter + Thunder Mage crash into Alfred, who survives thanks to Fortify Def. The other Mage targets The Bouche.

 

Turn 3: I have Alfred finish the extremely chipped Sword Fighter. This gives Louis a slightly stronger Override thanks to Spur Attack. I have him Override with Silver Lance to do about 16 to the boss and just massive damage to everyone else. I have Chloe get the last exp I could potentially give her. Alear uses Lodestar Rush on the remaining health bar for the boss. With Speed Tonic, Spur Attack, and Alear nearby Celine is able to safely ORKO the boss. This includes if the boss hits her with Hand Axe and Resonance, as the total damage is 21/22.

 

I'll post stats later as I had to go outside.

[Colonel M]

 

This is a crappier alternative, albeit if you use the Spirit Dust you can eat the first Hand Axe hit but have to dodge the 2nd one. With Spirit Dust, which I did not do here, Celine can ORKO with double Echo Seraphim. It's at least an alternative, albeit saving Boots might be good.

It would not let me edit the post I made recently so @mods I apologize for double post.

[Colonel M]

Okay, restart - because I am recording old chapters.
 

Listen it's Prologue.

Let me know if you find a way to 4 turn this.

Seriously.

Not much to discuss on Chapter 1. Most of it is all about rotating Vander in and out in order to get as much EXP on Alear. Alear gets a level up here.

Vander Fucking Dies

Lumera's AI will prioritize Vander and Alear. 5 Turn is an acceptable situation considering there are a few things that can go south here, but it's a pretty short map. The tutorials arguably take more time.

Turncount:
Prologue - 3
Chapter 1 - 4
Chapter 2 - 4

Total: 11

Working on Chapter 3 after I'm done eating.

[SSJDennis]

Very nice to see how chapter 2 got optimised in the past few weeks. No longer any wasted EXP on Vander. Does he retrain the chip EXP when he gets revived? Won't the new patch "ruin" the run? Thought they bugged fixed growths by accident. 

[Colonel M]

14 hours ago, SSJDennis said:

Very nice to see how chapter 2 got optimised in the past few weeks. No longer any wasted EXP on Vander. Does he retrain the chip EXP when he gets revived? Won't the new patch "ruin" the run? Thought they bugged fixed growths by accident. 

I think so, hard to really say on that because of how the maps go. Problem is the EXP bar barely goes up so I can't tell, lol.

Also no ruining for me. I have already finished Maddening. You can refer to what I posted here - 

 

Reploids had a 4 Turn clear and the Turn 1 is really where it's pivotal. You maybe can get a little slimy with Alear and EXP here, but this clear for example is reliable and the only real "failure" is missing hits. Other than that, #Frammehug.

[SSJDennis]

Any footage of this Reploids? I hear his name often, but cannot seem to find anything.

No true rigged way to get EXP on a better purpose unit? Also getting unsure if you go lowest, or most reliable lowest. If you do an aftermath video like just now, I think both can be viable. 

Does Alear have any real targets outside of being promoted by chapter 11? Can't recall her contributing much in other runs (combat wise).

[Colonel M]

On 3/12/2023 at 6:51 AM, SSJDennis said:

Any footage of this Reploids? I hear his name often, but cannot seem to find anything.

No true rigged way to get EXP on a better purpose unit? Also getting unsure if you go lowest, or most reliable lowest. If you do an aftermath video like just now, I think both can be viable. 

Does Alear have any real targets outside of being promoted by chapter 11? Can't recall her contributing much in other runs (combat wise).

I can ask him. The playlist is private at the moment. I can ask him if he's okay with others watching it (you can DM me on Serenes too - I can provide the information).

Alear is mostly to get to Chapter 11 as fast as possible - but otherwise there isn't a huge reason to.

Anyway I got Chapter 4 and 5 for everyone!

And Chapter 5!

 

[Colonel M]

Chapter 6

Rings
Marth - Alear
Sigurd - Louis
Celica - Celine
Alfonse - Alfred
Sharena - Clanne
Anna - Chloe

Micaiah (during chapter) - Hiya Papaya

Boosted Marth to Level 10 for Alear (Mercurius)
Boosted Sigurd to Level 3 for Louis (Momentum)
Sigurd Engrave Javelin, give to Chloe
Marth Engrave Iron Lance & Forge to Killer Lance, give to Louis
Gave HP Tonic to Celine
Bought Illume for Framme and Torch for Vander
Gave Fensalir back to Alfred
I also gave Folkvangr to Celine - this is important for thresholds on Turn 3.
Pet Sommie because I love him

Optional - you can Def train Alear if you want so that Yunaka doesn't have to heal Alear Turn 2, but it doesn't matter much.
 

If you've watched DLC 3 turns, you probably are familiar with this. I made some use of Alfred and Chloe to help clear the way for Vander and Louis. The nice thing about this clear is it only costs a Killer Lance forge and a couple Embeds. You could inherent Hit+ if you wanted to improve the Louis fish, but for the most part you're going to fish on the 2 turn, 3 turn, and even 4 turn because of how the boss works.

The next few chapters I have to whip up and test around. XS found some basis framework and so did Adyline. It's probably going to take my time when I'm not streaming Superstar Saga tomorrow on Twitch. I have the food prepped for the chapter I go for, so it's just a matter of careful selection of what to do for strategy and not backing away from putting Boots on Alear and putting them on Chloe instead.

Please pray for me on the latter.

[DaveCozy]

7 hours ago, Colonel M said:

It's probably going to take my time when I'm not streaming Superstar Saga tomorrow on Twitch.

Mario & Luigi yeah? Fantastic game. I started playing it on NSO with my oldest kid spectating. He's loving it.

Prayers with you.

[Colonel M]

17 hours ago, DaveCozy said:

Mario & Luigi yeah? Fantastic game. I started playing it on NSO with my oldest kid spectating. He's loving it.

Prayers with you.

That's sick man. Hope he gets to see the older games.

Okay. Chapter 5 redo. I want to promise this is the last time. Knowing someone they'll notice that I could've gotten a little extra EXP.

I'm so sorry if I sound unenthused. I really did try, and I'll be real I am super hype with Chloe right now. This kind of EXP lead will hopefully help long-term, and I know the Boots will let her slam things in an upcoming map. 🙂

I'm going to try to do Chapter 6 as quickly as possible. Might peek to see if there's some EXP squeezing I can look at, but for the most part it's Louis and Celine cooking with Alear catching up top.

[Colonel M]

Chapter 6

We are back to where we were last time.

There are a few adjustments made to get Chloe some more experience, and we take advantage of that thanks to Canter. She does make Turn 2 a little easier to handle, but other than that she did bail me for Turn 3 only because I forgot to use the Torch on Turn 2. Her and Alfred did help with keeping the enemies cleared for Louis to get into the boss and Vander to light the torch. Alear just does her own thing.

[Colonel M]

Hopefully this dish has some more spice.

We detour to Jean Paralogue. I am doing all Paralogues, but Jean's was one that a lot of us were curious about doing because, if we could get a 2 Turn, we could get the Energy Drop and the Rewarp staff from the Well before Chapter 7.

Who's ready to unleash a monster?