Eltosian Kadath

My last update was fairly recent, but I just unlocked the potential of the last of my 4 star units, and discovered that my unit count was off by one because of it. Thankfully how I organized the list let me identify the missing unit as: 62. Leon: True Heart New Units: 132. Fiora: Defrosted Illian 151. Seth: Silver Knight 197. Libra: Fetching Friar 218. Brady: Daunting Priest New Total: 280

Not as much. Pairup gives you extra stats based on the class, person, and support level of the partner, and can get perfect blocks whenever their gauage fills and enemies attack (note that 0 hit or 0 damage attacks can still waste your perfect block), and they get an extra 5 crit dodge. Not being paired gives you access to attack stance which gives lets an adjacent ally get a half damage attack immediately after your first attack (note if they have a brave weapon this effects the attack stance too), additionally you gain hit, avoid, crit, and crit dodge based on support levels with adjacent characters (no support is +10 hit, and supports improve this). Generally being paired up improves your ability to take hits, and not being paired lets you use attack stances to dish out more damage (and simply get more actions). A lot of places online will advise you always be paired, but often attack stance is better, it just depends on the situation. Sure, you get a lot of great units early on (except in Revelations), and while child characters can be good, they don't necessarily outshine your first gen units. In Conquest you are far more restricted with how much xp you can get, so focusing on a core team from the start can be a good idea. If you are worried about supports, you can grind those up even in vanilla Conquest (using castle battles), and Revelations is probably the best route to grind up supports in anyway. No, but their excuse for child characters is nonsense, this time involving them being sent to these baby growing hyperbolic time chambers called the deep realms.

Are you talking about the 4 maps that were given out in promotional events? Unfortunately you might be out of luck there, the way they were added externally means you would need to find someone that ripped a rom from one of the game carts with these promotional prizes, and unfortunately these were rare enough that I do not know if that ever occurred, and even then there would probably be technical difficulties getting a translation patch to work with it. There are still the 5 maps you can unlock through standard gameplay.

Its clear that story took a back seat to gameplay with this entry, so none of them are considered particularly good. I will give a very rough idea of what you are getting into but its hard to compare. Birthright (The Hoshidan side) has a far more traditional by the books Fire Emblem story, and is nominally the least bad, but also most boring. Conquest (The Nohrian side) tries something more interesting, but clashes with expectation and quality by forcing Corrin to always be the pure, righteous, and naive good guy, plus some story beats that were shoehorned into the two main routes fall particularly flat in this entry Revelations (Don't take a side) is a mess. It has to carry the burden of multiple nonsensical plot contrivances that are needed for this route to exist without unraveling the other two and they come across very poorly. Perhaps these feel less awful and egregiously bad without the context of the other routes, so playing it first might mitigate the poor quality of the story a little, but otherwise it is the worst of the three. Conquest has the best gameplay of the three, especially on hard and lunatic. Birthright has this odd habit of chapters that can be hard if you don't go straight for the objective (in which case they are trivial), and has a bit of a difficulty spike around chapter 23 (although two of the chapters afterwards are trivial if you go straight for the boss). Revelations is famous for its gimmick maps, which gives it incredibly inconsistent gameplay that could be awful or amazing depending on how you like the maps gimmick, the next map could be the opposite. This is an interesting idea, I've done something similar with Sacred Stones when I finally went back to tackle their hard difficulties, and seeing how the stories interlaced was interesting to see. If you do this I would be kinda curious what your take on the story is seeing them side by side like that.

Time to go old school with Slaves to Armok: God of Blood Chapter II: Dwarf Fortress - A game so incompletable that the creators speculate they will not finish creating it in their lifetime (don't worry the most recent release is always available for free on their website). Often simply refereed to as Dwarf Fortress, this iconic inspiration for mine craft is one of the most ambitious games out there, with the origional main mode starting with you managing an small group of dwarfs trying to carve out a new future in a wild procedurally generated world. This game is brutally difficult and extremely complex. For an example of the game's complexity, an overview of how to create a steel battle axe is hidden in this spoiler box due to length You will probably loss your first few games... horribly, so just remember the old Dwarf Fortress motto: Losing is Fun!. So go out there and have some fun with the everlasting Dwarf Fortress 😛 .

Odd as this sounds I find a simple extra challenge like a PMU, all one gender run, an all infantry run etc. can spice things up just enough to keep burnout from being an issue.

Sorry about cramping Oboro's style, but I want to see Ryoma become a better role model for his kid by becoming a Spear Master so Ryoma marries Oboro to become a Spear Master.

If she is undertrained go with the long range on this one, but if you have trained her heavily, and have SS light I'd go with the Rex Aura If you haven't trained her I would go with the long range, but if she is trained go with her own tome. Now if she is both trained, and strength blessed enough to get more than 10 strength I'd go with the Rex Flame for her (the lowering of speed that results from its 13 weight and +3 speed isn't worth the +1 damage)

There is one point where she tracks the enemies to their secret base, but that's her largest contribution to the main story. The conversation between Lyn and Hector on the boat in Hector modes is still one of my favorite moments in that game, and while it doesn't push the story per se, it gives you insight into both of their characters.

I like to wait for 20 with my main units, as you can reach 20/20 with a lot of the conquest crew, but I think sometime after level 15 is fairly normal. Backpacks are an exception as you don;t expect them to see combat so promoting at 10 is the norm for them.

Or inherited from Elise. On a related note 26 Mozu Average Strength at level 15/15 (switched to archer at level 5) + 4 Quick Draw + 5 Bow Faire + 2 A Rank Bow + 1 A Rank WTA + 8 Crecent Bow -19 Defense x2 Brave Effect 54 Damage This is a very easy kill for a Sniper. And if you are worried about the reduced damage effect don't worry the only other enemy in the room with the specific enemy mentioned is a harmless healer you can use to wipe the debuffs away with.

One thing to pay attention to is what the terrain tiles are called. If I remember correctly Ike and the Black Knight start on cover tiles that give +10 defense, so if you let him come to you,and don't charge at him you gain a huge advantage. Additinally make sure Ike has one of your Nihils so you don't have to worry about the Black Knight's Eclipse.

Ena's Blood Tide skill is the main thing she is used for, and it can make it a lot easier to get through some of the endgame bosses. Kurthnaga is basically an endgame Est whose main job is to give those that leave the Royal Laguz behind (and don't have a plan for dealing with endgame) a chance, if they suffer through training him. Despite units being forced into the tower, only Ike and Micaiah are force deployed on the endgame maps, so you can bench Sothe and Sanaki if you do not want to babysit them. That being said if you have any siege tomes left you might find some use for Sanaki and Micaiah after the blessing. Rafael tends to be better if you play at a fast pace as he can dance the 4 people around him on 1st turn, where as Reyson needs to use a Laguz Gem (not to be confused with a Laguz Stone) on 1st turn, but once he does he has better mobility, flight, canto as well as the 4 person refresh for the whole chapter.

Part 30 The Pax Ryuuji...or Pax Azura ? Lets start with something a bit overdue. After the relationship grinding was done I had less DV to spend on frivolous things, like siege weapons, but I had just enough to recruit Flora before the end. Now 27 is an easy 1 turn clear, and with a little luck I managed to finish endgame in one try. Lets start with the meal for 27 Anankos' lower resistance led to a magic approach, and the defense helps the mages survive. The speed flair is nice as well. Now onto the story. I guess this is supposed to be the same face as is on the ceiling dragon, but I think I would have preferred they be more consistent, either have this Anankos' form be the full statue, or have ceiling dragon always be a giant head. Once Anankos has enough control over this stone vessel to talk, Ryuuji immediately starts criticizing the way he has toyed with humans. Anankos' question has a lot more merit than it seems. Our own humanocentric perspective make it seem obvious why Anankos shouldn't toy with humanity, but Anankos is a Dragon, a creature with a longer life span, capable of creating superior tools (see the legendary weapons), with foresight/wisdom beyond our own (see prophetic song and Isana's prophetic message from draconic communication). From a draconic perspective humanity might not reach a level of sapience sufficient to make the morality of this action clear, with humanity being more analogous to an intelligent animal, having the ability to make more primitive tools, and make conclusion based on perception in ways that are more limited than Dragons. Now linguistic analysis is the best argument for human sapience from draconic perspective, but we do not know enough about dragon languages to make any solid judgement, and we may be in fuzzy Koko the gorilla situation. This sounds an awful lot like humans are a domesticated or selectively breed animal that dragons use for entertainment. This turn in the conversation towards Anankos' mortality and well being with jealousy directed towards the human race does strike me as odd. I guess this could be his lament towards the decline of the ancient dragons as a whole. With the Rainbow sage dead, and the ancient texts claiming other Ancient Dragons have thrown off their mortal flesh, Anankos may well be the entire race at this point (unless you start counting hybrid offspring) This existential lament ending in a scream that rips his stony facade apart. And then Ryuuji decides to abandon diplomacy in favor of driving the ancient dragons extinct. Anankos is insulted by the attempt before the plot gives Ryuuji his 11th hour Yato upgrade. and promises to make the avatar his avatar. As a part of him did make Ryuuji. The villain uses this devastating blast that does nothing because this is a cut scene, but gets Ryuuji to beg for that 11th hour Yato upgrade everyone can see coming a mile away, and then speak of the devil The holy weapons that are sitting on the bench all start to glow And the Fire Emblem finally arrives Now everyone is able to be deployed this map, but with a one turn starting position is a bit important. The big things are Nina in the front, Azura able to reach someone that kills a General that is in the way, and Elise, Ophelia, and Ryuuji being close enough together to rally. So Azama rallies Elise, Ophelia, and Ryuuji; then Silas rallies Elise, Ophelia, and Rhajat. Them Sakura range chips a General in Nina's flight path, for Ryuuji to pair with Rhajat for the kill on it. Then Azura dances Rhajat to let Ryuuji get in the opening blow on Anankos. I was kinda hoping he would have a less generic battle quote with Ryuuji. Elise then pairs with Nina to get in the next blow, for Ophelia to warp in with a lightning attack stance to finish him and level to boot . Yeah I know Anankos, these one turn clears are kinda boring, but at least endgame shouldn't be as anticlimactic. With Ryuuji having his 11th hour power boost its only fair Anankos gets the same, so he brings in Garon the slime Father of Nohr, last of the royal living corpses. The faithful little slime servant arrives to his master's desire for power with delusions of grandeur But Anankos has to remind him that he is merely a powerade And like any good energy drink gets consumed Honestly I am burnt out on the evil undead parent's death impacting their children plot point. This is about the fourth times its come up in 5 chapters and it is so done to death that they brought it back to life only to do it to double death. I mean he is the final boss of Birthright, and penultimate boss of Conquest, which makes for a lot of power. And then things fall apart. He reminds me of Full Metal Alchemist's Pride in this image (the manga/brotherhood version) And his full blown dragon form is literally blowing the roof off this joint And an unexplained black hole appears to up the stakes by having the floating island of Valla being suck in. With this colossal monstrosity to blame. ... I do wonder how he eats with that sphere in his mouth all the time. So we go through that same Darkest Hour cliche we went through before the Yato upgraded # But now its the power of friendship to save the day ...Roll Credits...please So onto the map, I have to leave 3 units out, and with 2 Maids, 2 Malig Knights, and 2 Kinshi Knights it makes sense to me to leave behind one of each. The first obvious bench is Felicia, now that Sakura has tome breaker she is entirely redundant. Next Nina gets the bench, she has felt gimped by her weapon ranks (and the superiority of Tomes over any melee weapon) for most of this run, and her cripplingly low health is what cinched her place on the last bench. The hardest decision for benching was Mitama, Oboro edges her out mostly due to her debuffing capabilities, and potentially high damage from skills, although Mitama's shining bow was made this close. The only tonic I bothered with was a rainbow tonic on Ryuuji Revelations then pulls a jerk move by having the enemies spawn in at the start of first turn to keep you from making an informed decision on where to deploy your units So I start by having Caeldori pair with Azama to kill the Sorcerer, and get danced to cripple the Berserker, for Ophelia to get the warp kill. Soleil gets a Beruka pairup to take down the Adventurer. Elise and Oboro wipe the Paladin out from range while staying only in Dark Knight range, while Sakura gets a Ryuuji pairup to draw in the Bow Knight. A Berserker and Sorcerer spawned in. Rhajat pairs with Ophelia to start getting some Anankos stopping gauge on Ophelia to kill first the Berserker, and finish the Sorcerer after a dance and Soleil chips it (she had an unlucky miss to not get the kill herself). Elise then grabs a level on the Wyvren Lord kill. Meanwhile Silas finishes the Bow Knight, and Oboro grabs the Dark Knight kill. Selena then Hammers the General. Sakura heals Selena afterwards, and I get ready to take out his right claw. An Adventurer and Paladin spawned in this turn. Soleil repeats her turn one performance on the Adventurer, and Elise grabs the Paladin kill thanks to an Oboro attack stance. Now I use every rally and dance boost Ryuuji to get in there to start Breaking Anankos' hand. The claw breaks enemy phase for a Ryuuji level. A Dark Knight and Wyvern Lord spawn, Oboro levels killing the Wyvern, Elise chips the Dark Knight, and Ophelia warps in to grab the kill and level. Everyone else is just heading over to Anankos' left claw. At this point I got tired of these images empty of enemies and started taking them from start of turn instead of end of turn. So I have Elise pair with Oboro to kill the Bow Knight from melee, and then dance her out of claw range. On the other side Selena cant quite reach the General, so Ophelia warps in for the kill. So Ophelia starts by vaporizing that new Berserker, and should be able to enemy phase the Sorcerer. Next I work on the claw. She blocks the hit with her guage, but only manages to get two hits. Next I move Selena back as far as she can to rally Ryuuji's strength So he kills it. Fortunately the Anankos parts don't get an attack the turn they spawn in, so Selena is safe With the head revealed I stop worrying about the reinforcements and go for the throat, preparing to strike it next turn. I give Ryuuji all of the rallies but it isn't quite into kill range, and with how hard that head hits I really need a gauge up, and none are quiet ready for it so enemy phase I manage to land all these hits leaving it crippled And Ryuuji gets an Azama rally, just in case, and levels on the kill. And I entirely forgot there was another part to this fight. In my defense the last time I faced him was back when the DLC was relatively new, and this time I was battling him during a camping trip away from the endless information the internet can offer. I am in dire straits at this point with reinforcements pressing in. Thankfully best mage Ophelia manage to crit kill both the Sword Master, and Fakcon Knight with a full gauge for enemy phase to salvage things in the east, and earns herself a well deserved level. With Ophelia dealing with one side alone I have the luxury of using multiple people to deal with the Oni without risking damage. Fortunately the Anankos core has summoning sickness And Ryuuji starts the assault ...55...Ok I don't think I like skill bane anymore. Fortunately I am rather lucky with hits on this dodgy sphere. Fortunately the Core uses his far worse magic to attack, so I start adding some more attacks into this Accuracy is terrible, but I think that is unavoidable with this monster. Lightning might be better in the short term here, but I am expecting this to drag on, and she needs to clear her debuffs, not add them. Again luck is on my side and have a hit. Beruka heads west to chip and distract the Spear Master. Ophelia switches to Rhajat to let her fill the gauge with some lightning safely, but Selena has to finish it with a dual club for a level (and adds a Silas pairup to get some gauge). Azura levels dancing Ophelia closer to Anankos. After some healing from Azama, and with a full gauge I have Ophelia start adding her attacks to the core Seeing 70 is refreshing at this point. Elise switches to lightning so her gauge will fill on player phase to survive enemy phase. She manages to get a level, but with three capped stats her levels are looking terrible. Ryuuji continues this process of wearing down Anankos, and manages to be lucky enough to hit with both. Everyone else just pulls back, as I should be able to find a way to finish this on next turn. But things end a little early as Elise lucks her way into a hit with the exact damage needed to end this. ...That should have taken 2-3 more turns with the hit rates I was seeing, but we are triumphant! And Azura has her vengeance at last. He really was the keystone of her plans. After some well earned royal rejoicing we jump to an unspecified point in the future, when the pathway between Valla and the surface world reopens Where Ryuuji is becoming the official, and recognized King of Valla. The new King of Nohr, and new King of Hoshido have granted Valla generous concessions of land, ostensibly to help rebuild Valla. Ryuuji has helped tie these three thrones together, and make them stronger. His diplomatic efforts brought them together, and the war he led against the throne he now holds made them whole. Despite the festivities an old traitor, and hater of royalty slinks away into the distance An excellent question, one would think she would want her birthright, but she has grown comfortable in the role of that power behind the throne, and besides she can always give him the gift of one of her magical mind influencing songs. A fair question on Ryuuji's part And she reveals its ancient draconic origins. Someone like Azura. And she will be their to help write the song of Ryuuji and Azura as I do like the image of her face hiding a sun, either rising or setting. The King of Nohr and Hoshido and their respective royal families come together to usher in an age of peace. Despite the animosity and wounds they have suffered, Ryuuji has turned this from a dream into a possiblity Stay tuned for the final sendoff of this LP, a final look at all the units, and my final thought on Revelations.

New Units: 11.Ylgr: Breaking the Ice 53. Gray: Wry Comrade 194. Gaius: Candy Stealer 195. Donnel: Village Hero 197. Olivia: Blushing Beauty 199. Henry: Twisted Mind 205. Virion: Elite Archer 217. Nah: Little Miss 218. Cynthia: Hero Chaser 221. Corrin(M): Dream Prince 234. Saizo: Angry Ninja 247. Hana: Focused Samurai New Total: 275

If you have two units that can take hits there is a chokepoint in the right that lets you hold the line with just two, and with two healers now you could try turtling with most of your forces there. You might want to use the Master Crown to early promote one of your guys to get you through this rough section. If have Olivi grass you can have Volug do normal transformations for better stats, although you will have to pay attention to his gauge then. One option with Taurneo is to have him use the master crown, take some javelins and hand axes and vulneraries, and have him head one ledge down to devastate the left, but you might need those resources elsewhere. Being down your best unit you are probably going to have to take it slow. Good Luck, I hope this is enough to get you through 3-12, but if not you can try adding some additional information and we can see where that gets you.

She isn't a glass canon, her absurdly high health and high speed make her easily able to take a hit even with low defense. Her high damage and crit rate make her one of the best attack stance partners, which can let you pack a serious punch (and tends to get her surrounded by units that want her attack stance naturally protecting her). Now she isn't a wall, if you want to expose her on enemy phase, you want a lot of setup like a good defensive pairup, plus defensive aura(s) and/or defensive rallies, although she will probably kill anything that she can counter so you should plan for that. Tomes are great, especially the Tomes you get from Ophelia's chapter.They are 1-2 range weapons without speed loss, and without the skill/crit restriction like the other magic weapons. Lightning is amazing, a brave weapon at C rank is devastating (especially with it letting you double attack stance hits without stats loss). The Horse Spirit's +3 speed, defense, and resistance can add critical bulk, or let you reach a vital speed tiers, and at D rank you can reach for it with a Corrin or Maligknight for potential extra tanking capabilities. The Calamity gate gives a mage control over the weapon triangle they otherwise wouldn't have. I am curious who you would suggest using against ninja then. Niles perhaps?

What makes the Selena-Subaki pairing great is the Selena-Caeldori support. There are some notable differences, and Caeldori being the spitting image of Severa's mother is not only addressed but central to their support.

Conquest doesn't get hard until after your units are starting to promote, and even before that the foot axes don't need much investment to be on par. Arthur really needs a bronze axe, preferably forged, for him to be alright early on. The only reason Charlotte doesn't start good is her low level start, feed her enough kills to catch her up, and she is a good unit (I find its usually close to promotion time for her to get there without dedicated training). The difficulty of Conquest is far more back loaded, unlike most Fire Emblems where it is front loaded, so training infantry axes during the easier early game to get some extra power in the difficult late game seems perfectly reasonable. Which reminds me I generally suggest +Speed/-Luck for Corrins. Speed is just such a generally good stat that aids in both offense, and defense, and the -Luck is far less of a penalty with the first stat booster being a goddess icon, and the +10 crit avoid of dragon stones and bronze weapons as options for dealing with the times you would otherwise want higher luck.

Its a real mixed bag. They have a lot of varied maps, but the gimmicks can be hit or miss, and brings back some from the other routes. It lets you recruit all of the main Fates characters, barring some of the Corrin sexuals, but despite doubling the roster the deployment slots are generally the same or fewer. The starting levels of units are somewhat random and inconsistent. One of the most egregious examples is in chapter 16, which has you get a lv 4 promoted, a lv 17 unpromoted, a lv 13 unpromoted, and a lv 11 unpromoted unit, with enemies that are either level 15 unpromoted or 3 promoted generally. Difficulty wise I don't think its any more difficult than Birthright, although there are a couple of annoying sections, the worst of which is probably chapters 16 and 17, where they act like the other routes end game chapters and do not let you save between them (and force you to baby sit some seriously under-leveled recruits). Without pointless grinding your army will be just about reaching lv 15 promoted by the end, so if you are finding things too difficult, there is plenty of room to grind and make it more manageable. It has some issues storywise, but I don't think its much worse than the other routes. If you liked the rest of Fates it is probably worth it. I am actually doing a screenshot lets play of a Lunatic difficulty Revelations Pick My Unit run on these forums if you end up not getting it (or are curious about it, but do not care about spoiler).

You will miss out on nothing, it is safe to leave her behind.

While they suck they aren't useless, they give +10 crit avoid, and are very accurate, so against some high crit or high avoid enemies they may be your best bet, and they can be easily forged to reach more reasonable damage. I have always seen it as the foot axe don't get good until they promote. The other axe wielder like Wyverns are fine as is. There are some benefits to doing them later, as the children's starting level scales with where you are in the story, and if you are far enough they come with free promotion items that send them from level 20 unpromoted to what ever scaled promoted level they should be (so free promotion and xp for them), but the paralogues get really hard if you wait too long, and Shadow Mir's warning about doing Ignatius's paralogue early (if at all) should not be ignored. I prefer to have units upaired as much as I can, as it lets you get extra hits (for half damage) from an adjacent ally with an attack stance, it gives you more actions per turn, and having units start the turn unpaired lets you take full advantage of the amazing mobility option that come about by having the option to freely pairup. If units start unpaired they can move to pairup, then have that other unit move and then transfer their partner to another (who if they haven't moved can move that first unit even further) and get an attack stance with their action, or separate, or switch to let the one that paired act, or after switching transfer their former partner to take advantage of an attack stance hit, or the ability of an unpaired unit to transfer units out of a pairing to then either switch to let them act, or separate them out to a strategic position, or just maintain mobility. Being Paired does let you take a lot more hits, as it not only gives you regular and predictable perfect blocks, but it also lets you ignore enemy attack stance hits; it also lets you reach important stat benchmarks, which can be critical, but do not ignore the value of being unpaired. I just wanted to emphasize this as it is the most important thing that hasn't been mentioned in your recap.

Sorry meant to get this out way earlier, but I have been distracted, and lost two versions of this. I have also been debating about getting a little into some thematic and metatextual analysis of the story in Valla, and almost started my discussion with Gunter and with a response to Armchair General, but after the last version got deleted I decided to save it for the very end instead, as it is a bit of a departure in style and tone from the previous way I portrayed the story segments. I have finished the gameplay a while ago so hopefully I can finish up my write-up soon. Even in this route it feels like he lacks the prominence he should. The gimmick of his chapter almost overshadows him, especially when he is using a weapon that makes him useless after the first hit. Both the assassination, and Sumeragi himself hasn't been mentioned in about 20 chapters, so it all coming back now feels a bit out of the blue, and the other revived characters come across as more memorable, and meaningful. They really should have had one of the earlier Arete chapter (like the first one where her name is still ???) feature the disguised Sumeragi instead, to bring back the mystery of the assassin, and give him a little more chance to interact and get to know this new form for him. Thanks for adding the battle quote I couldn't get in this PMU. Part 29 Heavy is the Head that Wears the Crown (chapter 26) This chapter looked a lot more difficult than it was, with units that have some key capped stats and some overlapping ranges. I did have one reset where an Adventurer managed to dodge a hit in the 70s, one in the 80s, and even a low 90, while the flier he targeted failed to dodge his hit. Now I give everyone a defense and strength meal with a great flair that gives magic as well Now onto the story. We are entering the throne room a chapter early. Now Ryuuji suggest he take the lead as An interesting idea, but unprecedented for Fire Emblem. When some weapon is required to kill an enemy it either needs to deal all the damage (Gharnef and the Starlight tome; Julius and the crusader weapons, Reydriek and the Blaggi sword (Ok Luna procs, and some cheese with stealing a range weapon onto him for thief staff shenanigans also kinda work)) or get the killing blow (Duma and the Falchion or Nosferatu, and Ashera and the Ragnell) As amusing and trolly as this is, it does come across as very disingenuous when this room will be full of enemies the moment the chapter starts. ...Sorry the faces are just way too similar. Gunter has setup a rather crafty trap here as his argument is perfectly reasonable and believable. Unfortunately for him Ryuuji has laid such a solid foundation of trust, and diplomacy throughout this game, that even Azura seems trustworthy even when he starts pointing towards the far more suspicious actions of Azura. But as soon as Scarlet starts entering the discussion he mentions the flowers. And Ryuuji concludes that Gunter must be the triator for knowing about it, having forgotten he mentioned the flowers in Gunter's presence back in chapter 17. To be fair to the writers I only caught that on a second run through Revelations, and it does emphasis the importance of this evidence, but a simple edit of not having Gunter in the scene when he mentions it would have closed this plot hole entirely. Gunter continues trying to undermine Ryuuji's authority with believable arguments, but Gunter has also forgotten about Ryuuji mentioning the flowers as well and goes full villainous monologue mode. The utter contempt Gunter shows for Ryuuji... And when asked how long he has been the traitor From before the game began. And his motive: Just brutal. ... Ryuuji needs an adult. But despite the open animosity and really creepy vibes he still believes in Gunter for the perfectly reasonable reason that and if that manipulation can be broken... but Now onto the gameplay. Everyone can be deployed on this chapter, so no bench warmers to worry about. There are two big gimmicks to this map. First there are infinite reinforcements that spawn from these tiny lakes, but can be stopped for a limited time by using Dragon Veins to freeze them. Second, there are special terrain tiles that follow and surround Azura and Ryuuji representing some parental protection from beyond the grave. These tiles give 20% healing and 40 extra avoid to the player only, but do be warned they still count as terrain tiles that can activate enemy skills (most notably the General's natural cover). I start this chapter by having Ophelia take out a Dark Knight from range for a level, and gets shelter away from the range of a capped strength General by Beruka. Next Silas grants a defense rally to Elise, and Selena, so Soleil pairs with Elise (to avoid attack stances) and she enters the range of a Maid and Sorcerer to the west, and obstructs the Sorcerer from being able to target Selena (with her handaxe). I then try to let Felicia tome breaker the other Drak Knight, but miscount ranges, so Sakura is in range as well. Ryuuji pairs with Rhajat to improve her tanking capabilities further with his terrain, and she draws the enemies in the southeast. Finally Mitama activates the dragon vein in the starting area, and everyone else pulls out of range. Beruka switches to Ophelia to wipe out the General that moved down, then Caeldori trades the Horse spirit onto her, and Silas adds a defense rally for safe measure. Then Silas gets a dance to grab a level killing the crippled Dark Knight. Extra paranoia leads me to get Sakura in position to add her aura to Ophelia, but gets some healing from Azama first, but I forgot to save me buying fresh staffs, so he has to trade with Sakura for a one use staff to heal her on the winning run. In the west Selena kills the Maid, and Elise switches to Soleil to let her kill the Sorcerer for a level (and trade Selena to her handaxe for enemy phase). In the east Felicia grabs the kill on the injured Berserker, and Mitama finishes the Hero, with Rhajat attack stances just in case. Then Oboro hits the Adventurer from one side, and Rhajat from the other for the kill, letting Nina loot the first chest. Enemies are really starting to press in with the Bow Knights in the west, Paladins in the east, and Wyverns across the line. So Rhajat moves north and gets a lightning crit kill on one of the Paladins. Next Nina cripples the Wyvern Lord in front of Rhajat by using the disrobing gale to double, but is a few damage short of the kill, so Felicia gets it. Oboro pairs with Mitama to reach the other Paladin from range to cripple it, but the last hit comes from another group, so lets look at the Bow Knights. First Sakura kills the Wyvern Lord that lunged Caeldori to clear some space for Azama to kill the Bow Knight that attacked Sakura, and Ophelia lightnings to death the one that couldn't reach. Caeldori then pairs with Silas, which gives him exactly enough attack to kill the Paladin Oboro attacked and debuff from range. I end up letting Azura dance Ophelia to let her switch to the far bulkier Beruka (even if the next hit will get blocked). In the south west I have Selena draw in an Adventurer with a handaxe, with Elise's personal skill boosting her. Next turn Soleil kills the Adventurer, and Selena advances. Next Rhajat repeats her lightning crit kill on the Paladin that was on the other side of the wall in the east for a level. Then Caeldori beast killers the Bow Knight (that tried to give a Dark Knight an attack stance against Oboro), and Oboro beast killered the Dark Knight claiming both a level. Next Sakura dealt with the Wyvern that lunged Azama. Felicia then chips the General that moved down, and Azama nabs a staff from her to heal Caeldori. Then Nina puts a hammer I bought before the chapter to good use by finishing the General. Finally Beruka lures in the other General with a full guard gauge ready. Next turn I start with a double dragon vein, as Ryuuji and Elsie activate them on opposite sides of the map. The change in terrain now leaves Elise open to a General hit so Selena blocks the space with a hammer. Caeldori positions herself to bait in a Bow Knight with the sunrise katana, and a rally from Azama. Then Felicia trades back with Azama to heal up Oboro, which lets her attack and debuff the General that attacked Beruka without risk of death (it missed anyway). Then Beruka hits it with an armorslayer, which drops it far enough that Sakura can kill it without risking a counter attack, and levels to boot. I end up using Azura's terrain to boost the avoid of Sakura, and Beruka while letting Nina move closer to the western chests. Selena levels killing the General enemy phase. Then Azama levels by trading for Caeldori's beast killer, to remove a Bow Knight. Caeldori gets in position to enemy phase a Wyvern Lord, and Felicia heals her (she has been a bit unlucky with her dodges). With an Oboro chip and debuff, Beruka kills the General after hitting it the armorslayer, and a dance to do so again for a level. I then try to take advantage of Sakura's new tomebreaker skill (and heal Beruka), but I notice Selena can take the Dark Knight hit as well, and she can draw one of the Adventurers (by having it join an attack stance), so both end up in range to lure, and I separate Soleil from Elise to have more attacks in Selena's vicinity next turn. Nina nabs the south western chest. Finally I have Ryuuji ready to draw in a General with a dragonstone+. So a group of 4 Great Knights spawn in the northwest, and the lake in the starting area thaws, so Mitama activates the Dragon Vein there again. Elise kills the Dark Knight with a lightning to avoid the bow attack stance for a level, and Soleil kills the adventurer. Nina then nabs the western chest. Ryuuji manages to hit both enemy and player phase, so the General dies. Caeldori then tries to draw in an Adventurer, with and Azama rally (Felicia heals him before doing so). Beruka then gets in position to draw two Paladin, with Azura adding her terrain, the stats from a dance, and even voice of peace, plus a Sakura aura. The Great Knights are pressing in, so Selena, Elise, Soleil, and Nina pull back a little, as Mitama, and Oboro approach from the south. Azama uses the beast killer to take out one of the Paladins that Beruka drew. Caeldori take down the Adventurer, but there was a little complication that the third Paladin moved in attack stance position with the Adventurer. So Beruka moves to trade for the beast killer (and chip the other remaining Paladin a little). After a dance she hits the Paladin near Caeldori with a Beast killer, but she is still a point short of doubling, so Felicia has to finish it with the beast killer attack stance. Sakura then kills the remaining Paladin. Ryuuji is simply advancing. Two Great Knights headed towards the center, and two went south. So Oboro, and Mitama range chip one, earning Mitama a level. Selena doesn't have the health remaining to kill one, so she chips the other with a handaxe, and lets Elise trade equips the hammer onto her for Soleil to kill one with the armor slayer and Selena attack stance. I then have Nina kill the one Oboro debuffed for a level. Sakura then cripples one of them for an easy kill with Azama. Azura then dances Azama for a level, and he chips the other with a bolt naginata, for Caeldori to move in and trade for Azama's sword catcher for the kill and level. Finally Beruka and Ryuuji each bait in the remaining Generals. Next turn Ryuuji ignores the General in front of him to activate a dragon vein. A Wyvern Lord went with the General in the center, so Azama chips it from range to give Felicia the kill for a level. Then Azura pairs with Sakura to give Felicia a dance, but things get a little complicated as I didn't count on her terrain letting the General activate natural cover. The general has a 1-2 range weapon equipped, so my magic attacks have to finish it in a hit, so my initial plan was to chip with the armor slayer with Beruka and let Felicia kill with the attack stance, but that extra damage reduction forces me to get creative, so Beruka chips with a lunge to then let Felicia transfer and switch to Ophelia to nab the kill. In the west I have Soleil with a Nina pairup, and Elise aura ready to draw in the Adventurers, with Caeldori moving in to flank them. Ryuuji levels enemy phase killing the General, and Soleil levels enemy phase on the handaxe chip. Just wanted to emphasis the only Spy weapon use of the playthrough, and the Adventurer does die to this, leaving just one. Everyone else surround the Adventurer, and Silas gete the kill for a level. Elise then heads back to reactivate a dragon vein The Maids decided to move, so Beruka and Felicia take one down, while Sakura and Azama take down the other. Next turn Mitama activates the last dragon vein, and at this point with only the boss left this chapter is effectively over, but I still have treasure to loot, and I want to get the last of my units to get there level 15 skill. Usually I wouldn't bother, but it doesn't feel fair that some people won't get a chance to see their unit of choice with a full kit, and this is basically the last chance, as chapter 27 is an easy one turn, and endgame doesn't even let me deploy everyone. So I am going to grab all the loot, and boss abuse (he has a melee weapon, I have 2 shelters and a dancer, and he only switches weapons if I leave a unit in 2 range). I am going to jump to where something interesting happens. Of course Ryuuji does. This optimistic belief in the face of seemingly insurmountable adversity is Ryuuji's most consistent character trait. The possessed Gunter continues to be absolutely vicious. Beruka is the only one to level during the boss chip, but just as he stops giving xp These guys show up. The dragon veins have worn off at this point leading to easier access to xp for those in need of their level 15 skills, so lets jump straight to the levels. And I save the last level for the Gunter kill as reinforcements are steaming in. I try to get Felicia to level 35 on the attack stance hit, but he has no extra xp left to give, and it isn't keeping her from getting a new skill anyway, so no big loss. Despite Gunter repeatedly stating that he is Anankos him addressing Anankos at the end gives away the lie. It makes these continued claims, and impotent insistence of immortality come across as sad attempt to convince himself. Azura's mind song has left Gunter vulnerable to Ryuuji's persuasion I buy him teaching Ryuuji discipline, control and even to let go, but teaching Ryuuji to laugh? Is there some comedic scene involving Gunter that I am just not remembering, or never landed with me due to the subjectivity of humor? While Ryuuji seems has broken Anankos' control, it just drives him to this dramatic attempt at suicide. Breaking the precedent set in the last chapter Sakura, and Elise manage to save his life with magic healing, despite Elise no longer being able to heal. This isn't the first time the ability to class change ends up conflicting with the story due to magic healing; by my count this is the 3rd in the main story, and 4th if you include the paralogues of this PMU. I am reminded of one oddity that showed up in Mitama's paralogue, which to my regret I forgot to mention during the write-up, in part due to missing the image of it. At the end during the story moment she heals using her map sprite, but having class changed her to a class unable to use staves her map sprite just disappeared, which by far made it the most egregious of this weird disconnect between the gameplay and story. Gunter begins to tell his sorrowful tale that act as his motivation, he snubs the slime father's gift and tragedy upon tragedy is inflicted upon him in retaliation. This built within him a righteous resentment of royalty due to this blatant breaking of trust and abuse of power, and made him the traitor he is. The future royals respond in a way that emphasizes why this kind of abuse of power will likely occur in the future. Xander's comment makes it clear that his take away is not about the morality of his father's action, but instead about the public's perception of royalty. Ryoma's response might be interpreted as the start of some consequentialist moral assessment, but again it is more about perception; its the impression he left that Ryoma talks about, leaving this uncomfortable distance between Garon's actions and their consequences and/or morality. Gunter claims he only took care of and befriended Ryuuji as a means of revenge. The impression I get (especially from his Conquest supports) is that this is how it started, but it seem as if that grew into something more genuine over the years (until he started becoming Anankos' vessel). Ryuuji seems to agree with me, and then he give out the harsh truth to Gunter. Next time we finish this game.

Beorc get their Mastery skills when they promote to a third tier class, so and Laguz have to use Satori Signs at level 30+, so there kinda aren't any.

Tauroneo and Ilyana aren't with them when they return as well. Everyone does return before the very end. It was more to emphasis her frailty, even with capped stats. If she is 4 points below her speed cap she dies. If she is collectively 9 below her health and defense cap she dies even with cover. There are units you can use against him that can take more than one hit. There are units you can use against him that are physically able to double him. If you give Ike a blessed wyrmslayer you can have a unit that still deals effective damage, has a speed cap that makes it possible to double him, and that can take more than one hit (with night tide). Caineghis deals more damage than her maximum possible damage output during a single round at base without considering anything you do to improve that (supports or blood tide), and can take more than one hit from him. Transformed Giffca deals the same as her maximum possible damage during a a single round at base without considering anything you do to improve that (transfers, supports or blood tide), and can take more than one hit from him. Trying to convince a player new to Radiant Dawn that using Ilyana against that boss is a good idea, is setting him up for a bad time. Also do not dismiss Kurthnaga, grinding him up can be the only option for those that have made terrible decisions regarding who to send, and what to bless. Also if someone new to Radiant Dawn is reading this do not ignore Kurthnaga and Ena's support abilities (especially Ena's) during the brief time you have them, as they are a way for them to meaningfully impact that battle, even if they are unable to do anything directly.