Anouleth's HM Playthrough

[Interceptor]

1-3 is just so much less reliant, RNG-wise, on the right side. I will probably never look at the left side of the map ever again.

Nice to see someone else say this. I feel like I've been talking to myself for the past two years WRT this point. Someone manages to get 100% perfect accuracy in all critical must-win situations on the LHS, and they think that it's awesomesauce. Sorry son, if a miss means a reset, that strategy is not The Shit<tm>, it's just plain ol' shit.

[Silith]

Yes but I never need to reset on 1-3. LHS is in my opinion better because there is much more Cexp and it slows you down by 1 turn at the most (Still being far within the optimal BEXp range)

[grandjackal]

Yet once again, 1 miss pretty much ends your adventure on the LHS. Besides, most of that "extra EXP" would only end up going to Aran since he will be needed to help out. RHS is less RNG reliant, and I don't have to give a damn about Aran.

It's a win-win.

[Interceptor]

Yes but I never need to reset on 1-3. LHS is in my opinion better because there is much more Cexp and it slows you down by 1 turn at the most (Still being far within the optimal BEXp range)

PEMN. Some of the effective hit rates in 1-3 can be pretty dicey, especially with a unit like Nolan, and there will be situations where said miss can cost you someone's life if you are pushing hard enough.

[Anouleth]

Eh, just beat 1-6 and 1-7... but I'm not too happy with my 1-6 completion. I may redo it. I took five turns for 1-6-1, 1-6-2, and 1-7, because I didn't want to do the Tauroneo-drop in 1-6-2 (Laverton went to Jill), but its a pain since even with the Robe and full HP/SPD/DEF transfers, Jill isn't really durable enough to take on the boss area, especially the archers which 4HKO her.

I'll redo them and write it up tomorrow.

[Silith]

PEMN. Some of the effective hit rates in 1-3 can be pretty dicey, especially with a unit like Nolan, and there will be situations where said miss can cost you someone's life if you are pushing hard enough.

Funny how we both went left on our efficient runs though. Not saying going right side is bad or anything but the gains are greater on the left side. I also find that when I miss in 1-3 I usually have someone else ready to fill the gap never having to risk death. I usually keep my sure killer (Sothe) ready to be the last to strike to ensure Safety.

I have to agree with Amaterasu that extra exp will likely go to Aran since he IS needed to do that map efficiently on the left side. I have to disagree that is a bad thing seeing how good Aran is.

(I edited the word Hate to Have. Sorry for the inconvenience)

Edited September 9, 2010 by Silith

[grandjackal]

I have to agree with Amaterasu that extra exp will likely go to Aran since he IS needed to do that map efficiently on the left side. I have to disagree that is a bad thing seeing how good Aran is.

You realize that I'm saying going the LHS is a BAD idea, right? I'm saying that whatever "extra" EXP there is on the LHS is going to Aran, which means I might as well be setting fire to it. I am actually advocating going the right side. Going the LHS is a waste of time where one miss means a reset, and Aran is a waste of time, effort and resources. There is absolutely nothing that would encourage me to go the LHS. RHS is easier and gets me the same amount of EXP for my team sans Aran of which we do not need to care about. Ever.

[dondon151]

The RHS is methodical. Repeat a set of actions and the only possibility of failing is a miss.

[Anouleth]

1-6 Raise the Standard

9/53 turns

I only have the numbers for after assigning BEXP in 1-7 base.

1952/1473 BEXP

Energy Drop and Seraph Robe go on Jill. Buy Mend and Hand Axe from Bargains. Forge a +5mt/20 hit Iron Axe (Rugged Axe) for Jill, forge a +5mt/10 hit Iron Sword (Sharp Sword) for Edward, forge a +2mt/10 hit Iron Knife (Iron Knife+2) for Sothe, forge a +2mt/10 hit Iron Axe (Iron Axe+2) for Jill. Buy a Bronze Sword for Zihark. Renewal goes on Volug, Resolve goes on Ilyana, who gets Master Sealed.

Basic strategy was to send Jill, Sothe and Volug into the west portion of the map. Zihark took the Armours from the north, while Edward/Nolan took as many kills in the middle as they could. I think a 4-turn strategy is probably possible without a Tauroneo drop, but it would require some luck with accuracy, especially for Jill w/Hand Axes. And she'd probably have to dodge some stuff, but many of the enemies have poor accuracy since they wield ranged weapons. Which kind of screws Volug over.

For section 2, I sent Jill and Tauroneo to the bridge, Volug to the right, and I tried to funnel as much exp as possible into Edward/Nolan. Jill/Tauro lure down enemies and pick them off until the boss appears, but I screw up my positioning and Jill can't take the kill (3 HP short), so Tauro kills. I also shove Sothe after he stops the Ballista to reach the Master Seal.

So yeah, I didn't Tauro-drop.

1-7 A Gathering Hope

5/58 turns

850/2323 BEXP

I rearranged some skills. Volug takes Saviour, Sothe takes Paragon I think. Edward and Nolan reach B. And I threw Jill a level of BEXP since she capped speed. I don't think I change anything else. I don't deploy Ilyana, Leonardo, or Meg in this fight - I need Aran since he can shove Sothe, and Laura for healing.

Turn 1

Jill rescues Micaiah, and Volug w/Savior takes her. Nolan moves next to Jill on the stairs and switches to Hammer to smash the Armours. Edward moves to cover him from behind. Aran and Zihark shove Sothe, who Knifes an Armour.

Turn 2

After his level-up, the second Armour went for Jill, so Nolan gives her the Hammer and Hand Axes the Armour. Edward finishes the Soldier, and Laura heals Nolan with Zihark protecting her. Sothe recruits Tormod and Vulneraries, Vika rescues him and moves north. Tormod kills the Soldier and Muarim devours the mage, and Volug hops down into the courtyard. Jill goes up to the Soldier and drinks a Pure Water.

Turn 3

Nolan Hand Axes the Soldier by the jail cell. Vika drops Sothe by the lower section of the ledge to counter-kill the fire mage, while Tormod attacks the wind mage above him. Volug/Muarim move near them so they can climb up. Jill moves north to be in range of the Armour.

Turn 4

Volug/Vika/Muarim/Volug/Sothe climb up the vacated ledge, dropping Micaiah in range of the seize square. Tormod kills the archer. Jill smashes the Armour, Nolan breaks open a cell to lure the myrmidon down. Zihark takes Edward's Wind Edge and lures the Armour down.

Turn 5

Zihark attacks the Armour and accidentally kills it, so Edward takes his Killing Edge and tries to kill the fighter, but misses ;_;

Sothe grabs the Master Seal, Tormod weakens the boss (lolStormSwordaccuracy), Jill finishes. Volug/Muarim/Vika grab kills, Mickey seizes.

Name     Level EXP HP Str Mag Skl Spd Luk Def Res Other
Micaiah   6    54  16   2  12  11   8  14   2   9
Edward   14    75  29  13   0  17  20  12   8   1 B Nolan
Nolan    15    95  32  15   1  14  16  11  12   5 B Edward
Laura     4    13  16   4   9   5   6   9   2  11 B Staff
Sothe    --/ 4 46  35  20   5  23  22  17  14  12 A Knife
Volug    --/15 23  49  16   3  18  19  13  13   7 
Jill     19     5  38  17   2  16  20  16  17   6
Zihark   --/ 3 37  30  17   6  22  23  11  13  11

Tormod/Vika/Muarim are going to remain at base level, so I'm not going to reproduce their stats.

Edited September 11, 2010 by Mr. Know-it-all-Anouleth

[grandjackal]

Uhhhh, I have a simple question. Why did you forge 10 hit onto Eddie's forge and not +10 Crit? I'd think crit on hte guy with Wrath would be more important.

[Anouleth]

Even with his good skill, Eddie still has imperfect hit. Tbh, Wrath hasn't even been that important. His offense is generally good enough without it, and he's durable enough that enemies don't take him down to 30% HP. But they still 2HKO ;_;

plus, it didn't occur to me. I mean, he has the Killing Edge anyway, so why bother?

Edited September 10, 2010 by Mr. Know-it-all-Anouleth

[grandjackal]

Even with his good skill, Eddie still has imperfect hit. Tbh, Wrath hasn't even been that important. His offense is generally good enough without it, and he's durable enough that enemies don't take him down to 30% HP. But they still 2HKO ;_;

plus, it didn't occur to me. I mean, he has the Killing Edge anyway, so why bother?

Well, mind showing stats of Eddie for the hell of it? That way I got a good idea on how accurate to averages he is, thus judge if that's in fact the case?

As for him being 2HKOd, I still never really found it a problem since for the most part you could easily clear out a group before that becomes an issue. Or so I found at least.

Then why bother giving him a forge in the first place? I suppose you have a point, considering by now with Wrath, he'd at least be packing 90 crit minimum with it.

Hey, you letting Eddie pack herbs along with vulneries? Measuring out the enemy's possible damage and adjusting how much health you exactly recover can help Wrath activate more often, bolstering his offense. It's still not a problem, because if you think a Wrath crit might make things dicey, just swallow down a vulnery and Wrath won't happen.

[Anouleth]

I gave him a forge because he needs it to ORKO Archers. Which is useful. I think he used it for some other stuff too, but does it matter? I mean, I'm rolling in cash. 10k. I mean, I need to make a tome forge for Tormod, and obviously some Steel forges in Endgame, but I also have another windfall and some sellables like spare tomes and skills (like Guard).

I posted stats for Eddie. 29HP/8DEF. His DEF might improve since I can start BEXPing him, but I only have enough for two levels.

[grandjackal]

Best I can tell then is just do what you're doing, since you seem to be going fine. Just remember to switch between herbs and vulneries with him.

Also, as much as I prefer not boosting Eddie's durability for the sake of Wrath manipulation, if you find yourself not needing it so much this late on...I guess you might as well. But with BEXP after he maxes Speed and HP here, he's gonna get Str, Skl and Lck.

[Anouleth]

1-8 Glory Unwanted

3/61 turns

1725/2123 BEXP

Paragon goes to Sothe. Renewal goes to Volug. Brave Sword goes to Edward, who takes two levels of BEXP for HP/STR/SKL and STR/SKL/DEF. Buy Olivi Grass for Muarim and Wind Edge for Edward. Sell Shriek, Elfire, Elthunder, Thunder, Light, Iron Bow. Forge +4mt/10 hit Fire tome. Celerity on Micaiah.

Turn 1

Nolan hits the mage, Edward takes the Soldier. Sothe gets his pretty green clothes dirty in the swamp, with Zihark pushing him further in.

Sadly, nearby Banditos have 14DEF, so no quick transformation trick for Vika. They chomp grass and Vika moves to lure the Dracoknight.

Rafiel moves right. Volug stays put, so Nailah can take the Banditos out on enemy phase. She targets the Soldier first, though.

Turn 2

Micaiah hits the Bandito so Edward can kill it. Nolan finishes the Soldier that Edward failed to crit, Rafiel Vigors them. Edward needs to head right to stop Laura from getting killed while Nolan mops up the last Mage.

Muarim shoves Vika north, and she shoves Sothe. Tormod kills the Draco. Sothe runs to the boss area and chugs a pure water.

Volug and Nailah take out the Thunder mages.

Turn 3

Tormod moves right into the swamp and finishes the Bandito that just attacked Muarim. This is to prevent him drawing the reinforcement on enemy phase. Muarim shifts and slaughters the Hand Axe Bandito. Sothe kills the priest - he needs to do this from the south, since otherwise, the Bandito will attack him from Reeds, and he won't KO.

This bit is iffy - I erronously deployed Laura instead of Ilyana, so I need to bank on a crit from Edward w/Killing Edge to kill that last Bandito - and he doesn't double :/ crazy 17AS Banditos. Zihark kills the Bandito that was harassing him.

Nailah takes out the last bandito on the RHS, Volug kills the priest.

For all that people sing the praises of Brave Sword Zihark, I don't think it's that necessary. The only people who need to ORKO Banditos are Nailah and Muarim, and they do it just fine.

1-9 One Survives

7/68 turns

1500/3623 BEXP

see the Tyrant's playthrough

Name     Level EXP HP Str Mag Skl Spd Luk Def Res Other
Micaiah   6    98  16   2  12  11   8  14   2   9
Edward   16    48  30  15   0  19  20  12   9   1 B Nolan
Nolan    16    60  33  15   2  14  17  11  12   5 B Edward
Laura     4    45  16   4   9   5   6   9   2  11
Sothe    --/ 6 24  35  22   5  25  23  19  15  14
Volug    --/15 23  49  16   3  18  19  13  13   7 
Jill     19     5  38  17   2  16  20  16  17   6
Zihark   --/ 3 46  30  17   6  22  23  11  13  11 S Sword

So, I have a Seraph Robe, three Master Seals and ~3500 BEXP on my hands. what do?

Edited September 11, 2010 by Mr. Know-it-all-Anouleth

[Colonel M]

...3 Tur-

Wow I suck.

[Anouleth]

...3 Tur-

Wow I suck.

To your credit, you have beaten me on most maps so far, and I got the idea for my strategy from your playthrough where you shoved Sothe through the swamp. And I'm certain that you will probably beat me on later maps as well. Looking at your playthrough, I think your issue is not having enough offense on the north side of the map. Because of this, you need to send Volug over there. Between the Priest, the Soldier, and the two mages, Nailah needs 4 turns on her own to clear out the RHS. Putting Tormod over there is also problematic since Muarim needs to transform on turn 3, and he can't do that if he's shoving.

But anyway, I'm keen to hear how people think I should distribute resources. I'm tempted to Robe Nolan and BEXP him, but BEXPing Edward looks nice too. I guess I could even BEXP Jill, but does she even need it?

Edited September 11, 2010 by Mr. Know-it-all-Anouleth

[Colonel M]

Judging your stats, I'd do the following:

- Put Nolan and Edward at .99. If they can hit Level 18 (though granted, I doubt it) you're probably on easy street since -2 Levels isn't a big deal. Non-doubling Nolan isn't entirely screwed in 3-12, but with Edward you have to distribute kills a bit differently while I could've just had Nolan choke three units at once. Meh, definitely put them at .99.

- Screw Jill getting BEXP, just seal the girl. Level 19 and she already has capped Spd. Just throw Paragon to help lessen the cost of BEXPing her to .99 in 3-6 if you give her Paragon.

You also beat my 1-6-1 Turncount and were able to take more in 1-6-2, though I wonder if Transfer Jill also made the difference.

[Anouleth]

If I'm going to put them at .99, I may as well finish Edward off. Kid has capped HP and SPD, and he's a point away from skill. I could take him to level 18, even, for more strength and defense.

Yeah, I was gonna just Seal Jill. BEXP would probably just go to HP/LUK/RES anyway.

Transfer Jill was a beast in 1-6-1. ORKOed everything on the map but Armours, OHKOed some Mages, could even get away with 2RKOing Armours with Hand Axe. But if I didn't have her, Sothe could probably have done the same thing.

Keep in mind I dwelled on 1-6-2 for more EXP.

[grandjackal]

-You could opt to just give Eddie one last BEXP level, then just seal him early (it saves you BEXP, he's more useful now, a bit more Def most likely will not make a difference in part 3, you can slip Resolve onto him for some Wrath/Resolve action or just Paragon)

-Boost Nolan to 99

-Dump the rest into Jill. Try to get her to promote naturally unless you have a spare Seal. Which case just bump her up to next level if you can, then seal.

Edited September 11, 2010 by Amaterasu

[Anouleth]

I have three seals, since I got the one in 1-6. So Jill is getting Sealed. And I have BEXP for level 18 Eddie and 16.99 Nolan. Who would have thought Edward would outlevel Nolan?

I'm inclined to hold off on Sealing Edward, anyway. I can't imagine he'll be particularly useful in 1-E promoted or unpromoted, so I can just BEXP to 20 and Seal in 3-6.

[grandjackal]

You reeeeaaally just don't want to let the DB keep Resolve, do you?

[Anouleth]

You reeeeaaally just don't want to let the DB keep Resolve, do you?

Well, I'm not sure. It would be pretty cool to have Wrath/Resolve Edward in 3-6. And I have transfers on nearly all the GMs, so I don't know if I even need it over there. I feel the same way about the Brave Sword. Adept is definitely getting shipped, though.

[Colonel M]

To be honest, I never found a real use for Resolve in the GMs other than Mordecai and maybe Boyd. If the DB really wants it, give it to them and transfer something money-worthy instead.

[dondon151]

I only used Resolve to buffer Gatrie's durability in 3-3, but since you have a def transfer and growths, it shouldn't be a problem.