RD Hard Mode Playthrough

[Colonel M]

I'm being sarcastic. Anyway, I am running this "blind" with the exception of growths and such. I'm basically compounding strategies of my own (probably used by others anyway) as I go.

[spoiler=Table of Contents]Part 1

1-P - 1-3 in OP

1-4

1-5

1-6 to 1-9

1-E

Part 2

2-P to 2-2

2-3 to 2-E

Part 3

3-P to 3-2

3-3 to 3-4

3-5 and 3-6

Resources
Dracoshield - Nolan
Energy Drop - Jill
Seraph Robe - Jill
Master Seal x3 - Ilyana, Jill, Nolan
Ashera Icon x2 - Sold @ GMs
Speedwing - Titania
Speedwing - Haar
Seraph Robe - Nolan
Serpah Robe - Ike
Energy Drop - Nephenee
Talisman - Titania
Dracoshield - Titania
Energy Drop - Ulki
Speedwing - 
Master Crowns - Haar

1-P

Turns - 7/7

BEXP - 30/30

Pretty simple chapter. You want Edward to activate Wrath as much as possible to clear it though (which is what makes this chapter a real gamble). I think everyone knows how this one works: get Edward to get three axes in his face and hope for a crit due to Wrath. On a dry run from before, he actually kept dodging. <_<

Micaiah (2.00) - 15 HP | 2 Str | 7 Mag | 9 Skl | 7 Spd | 11 Luck | 2 Def | 5 Res
Edward (5.30) - 20 HP | 8 Str | 0 Mag | 12 Skl | 13 Spd | 8 Luck | 5 Def | 4 Res
Leonardo (4.42) - 17 HP | 8 Str | 0 Mag | 12 Skl | 10 Spd | 6 Luck | 5 Def | 4 Res

1-1

Turns - 7/14

BEXP - 60/90

Edward might've influenced this one a little bit, but it's really The Nolan Show anyhow. Nolan with the Dracoshield might as well be invincible in this chapter. Of course he needs healing. I think Nolan took the boss kill on this one as I planned, and I had him take the Hand Axe as well. Plan went rather smoothly.

Micaiah (3.07) - 16 HP | 2 Str | 8 Mag | 9 Skl | 7 Spd | 12 Luck | 3 Def | 6 Res
Edward (5.61) - 20 HP | 8 Str | 0 Mag | 12 Skl | 13 Spd | 8 Luck | 5 Def | 0 Res
Leonardo (4.55) - 17 HP | 8 Str | 0 Mag | 12 Skl | 10 Spd | 6 Luck | 5 Def | 4 Res
Nolan (10.12) - 30 HP | 12 Str | 0 Mag | 12 Skl | 11 Spd | 8 Luck | 12 Def | 3 Res

1-2

Turns - 7/21

BEXP - 90/180

I sent Nolan up top and had Edward take on the two Soldiers. They 3HKOed him, which left him in Wrath range. Edward should be able to have a decent chance of KOing one Soldier by Turn 1 at least so long as you're equipping yourself with Steel Sword. If both are alive, use the Vulnerary. If one is alive, use the Herb to keep yourself in Wrath range. Nolan and co. took out the two Fighters, then Sothe decided to show his ass up once I cleared the other Fighter. I then had Edward, Leo, and Nolan ready to intercept the bottom route to get the items from the chest. Nolan missed with his Hand Axe, but got lucky on the Enemy Phase + Player Phase and killed the Myrmidion. Edward and Leo got the chests. Shockingly, I could've done this in 6 Turns if I ignored the damn Steel Bow.

I had to tell Sothe to clam down. He kept critting all the damn time.

Micaiah (3.29) - 16 HP | 2 Str | 8 Mag | 9 Skl | 7 Spd | 12 Luck | 3 Def | 6 Res
Edward (6.18) - 21 HP | 9 Str | 0 Mag | 12 Skl | 14 Spd | 8 Luck | 5 Def | 0 Res
Leonardo (4.51) - 17 HP | 8 Str | 0 Mag | 12 Skl | 10 Spd | 6 Luck | 5 Def | 4 Res
Nolan (11.00) - 31 HP | 12 Str | 0 Mag | 12 Skl | 12 Spd | 8 Luck | 12 Def | 3 Res
Laura (1.33) - 16 HP | 3 Str | 8 Mag | 3 Skl | 5 Spd | 8 Luck | 2 Def | 10 Res
Sothe (1.20) - 35 HP | 18 Str | 4 Skl | 20 Skl | 20 Spd | 15 Luck | 14 Def | 9 Res

1-3

Turns - 7/28

BEXP - 145/225

This chapter took a lot of resets, but it was mainly perfecting the strategy more the less. I set "Target" for Aimee and Kurth to avoid taking damage (though technically they can survive a round, Kurth almost can't die). Nolan can place himself under a risky, yet decent strategy. He can take on the Fighter + Myrmidion so long as the Myrmidion doesn't crit him. Even if the Myrmidion doubles it does 12 damage while the Fighter does about 15 max. He is severely weakened from the impact, but with Leonardo to take out the Myrmidion it was easier to cope with. Speaking of Leo, there's a mini Shove chain near the beginning. Micaiah moves, Leo moves left then down a bit (to reach the Myrmidion on the next turn) and hands Micaiah her Thani tome and then proceeds to Shove her to the right. Laura shoves Leo down, and Ilyana moves right. Sothe and Edward (though Edward isn't necessary) can take on the Fighter to the right. Turn 2 you can break the door with Micaiah + Edward. Have Eddy equip the Wind Edge just for +EXP next turn, and move Sothe to kill the Steel Bow Archer. Nolan should creep back now and heal himself with the Vulnerary. Keep Laura next to him as this is crucial to getting Aran. Nolan should proceed the next turns throwing the Hand Axe at the other Soldiers to weaken them. If you can somehow do it, keep Ilyana near you to speed up the process. Be warned though, as I'll state why below. Sothe should kill the Archer on Turn 3 and then proceed to be shoved by Edward. Micaiah moves in and Thani's the Myrmidion. This also draws in the Fighter to get bashed on the next turn by Sothe. After that, Sothe should kill the Fighter so that he draws in the Steel Lance Soldier. Then the next turn he should sit on the healing bush. Burton will hit him with the Wind Edge and SHOULD move right back to the left pillar of the Iron Longbow Archer. This turn is where things can get hectic. Micaiah could kill the Armor Knight in one shot with Thany + Sothe support, but keep in mind; she can miss the KO, which is why you will need Ilyana for that step. Have Edward + Leo Rescue-chain Micaiah, then proceed to hit the Armor with Ilyana. You can leave Ilyana out of the equation and have Sothe finish it off if you like on the Enemy Phase. Sothe should kill the Javelin Soldier. After that, Turn 7 should consist of killing the Longbow Archer with Sothe, recruiting Aran, and finally finishing the chapter. Leo moved in on the Escape Tile, so I got a little extra BEXP.

Micaiah (3.68) - 16 HP | 2 Str | 8 Mag | 9 Skl | 7 Spd | 12 Luck | 3 Def | 6 Res
Edward (6.37) - 21 HP | 9 Str | 0 Mag | 12 Skl | 14 Spd | 8 Luck | 5 Def | 0 Res
Leonardo (4.96) - 17 HP | 8 Str | 0 Mag | 12 Skl | 10 Spd | 6 Luck | 5 Def | 4 Res
Nolan (12.15) - 31 HP | 12 Str | 0 Mag | 12 Skl | 12 Spd | 8 Luck | 12 Def | 3 Res
Laura (1.88) - 16 HP | 3 Str | 8 Mag | 3 Skl | 5 Spd | 8 Luck | 2 Def | 10 Res
Sothe (1.63) - 35 HP | 18 Str | 4 Skl | 20 Skl | 20 Spd | 15 Luck | 14 Def | 9 Res
Ilyana (12.00) - 22 HP | 6 Str | 12 Mag | 12 Skl | 13 Spd | 6 Luck | 3 Def | 9 Res
Brad (7.07) - 24 HP | 10 Str | 0 Mag | 12 Skl | 10 Spd | 6 Luck | 11 Def | 2 Res

By the way, I was able to finish in 7 Turns once, but wasn't able to recruit Brad. That pissed me off a little.

Edited August 23, 2010 by Colonel M

[nflchamp]

By the way, I was able to finish in 7 Turns once, but wasn't able to recruit Brad. That pissed me off a little.

Soooooooo, is that 7 in your turn count right or are you misrepresenting things?

[Colonel M]

Soooooooo, is that 7 in your turn count right or are you misrepresenting things?

Yes. I restarted the battle and got the results shown there. In that run where I didn't recruit Brad I almost got Micaiah killed or wouldve had to go for an 8 Turn clear.

[RNG Princess]

OMG lol! I got confused when I saw the name Brad :P.

[grandjackal]

Incidentally, for 1-2 you could have sent your Draco-Nolan to the right and had Eddie go up top with Leo and Miccy right at the ledge. If Eddie doesn't land a wrathcrit, he can still pile up on the fighter approaching from the right to trap him with Nolan between the pillar, healing up. Then, Leo and Miccy finish off what Eddie chipped for them.

Point of this being, Nolan's more free to accidents on the right side since the bronze soldiers don't do jack shit to him. This lets him pull off the soldier on the ledge, which he can potentially kill the next turn, giving him free access to the ledge, bitchslapping the steel archer before Sothe even gets there (he

d have just killed the soldier blocking off the boss's room). This let's yougetEnergy Drops quicker, along with possibly getting Nolan the boss kill.

Eddie and co take care of the lower left treasure room. You're also free to ignore the wing edge, since I can safely say it doesn't effect turncount in 1-3 (compared to yours anyways, though dondon did fine without it still doing it in 6). You can save the key for 1-4's numerous and spread out chests.

It barely effects Eddie's growth (before you accuse me of changing positions on being the Eddie champion around here), you can still do this in 6-7 turns, and you get a stronger Nolan out of it while showing just how badass he can be.

Also, I didn't recruit Aran, and I doubt anyone will cry over the loss except for smash.

[Colonel M]

Yeah yeah I'm alive. This took for fucking ever to get it down pat though. @_@;

1-4

Turns- 7/35

BEXP = 225/550

7s are my lucky number it seems.

What I did:

- Forge +5 Mt, +15 Hit Iron Axe called "Bloodshed". Equipped to Brolan.

- Forge +5 Mt Iron Knives called "Green Arrow". Equipped to Sothe. Yes I was going to forge +15 Hit but I f'd up sorry.

- Created Nolan and Leo support to C.

Now this chapter was very crude on how I did it, and to be honest I didn't watch dondon's way of doing it in 6 turns yet. This is mainly because I want to see how I can do it first before I see someone else's strategy of doing the chapter. It's not really for an eggo thing, it's more so that I teach myself per se. Granted I'm sucking at low turning FE12. Anyway, I'm going to break this down on how I did it:

Turn 1 - Micaiah, Ilyana, and Nolan attack the Tiger. Nolan attacks to the right of it. Sothe moves right next to Nolan. Meanwhile, the other people 2 range the wall. Cat attacks Nolan and Nolan counters back, then the other Cat suicides onto Sothe.

Turn 2 - I have Edward 2 range the Tiger that was drawn in, then Sothe finishes him off. I believe I had Aran Shove Sothe up one square so that he draws in Agony and another Tiger. I have Nolan finish his Cat off while choking the Tigers away from my squishies. The Tigers attack Sothe and one of the Tigers on the right side of the map attack Nolan.

Turn 3 - My "mistake" that I was lucky to patch up. What I should've done was while Laura was healing, she should've taken away the Chest Key from Sothe. I screwed that one up, but thankfully I was still able to reach my goal with that fudge up. Sothe moves in and takes the chest with the 3000 Gold. Mmm, Gold. Meanwhile, Ilyana and Nolan finish off a Tiger. Micaiah uses Sacrifice to keep Nolan healthy. The last Tiger on the left side attacks Sothe and the Tiger on the right side attacks Nolan.

Turn 4 - Sothe moves onto the Beastfoe square. Nolan finishes his Tiger off with Ilyana helping him out. Aran moves toward the healing pot to recieve the Tiger. He was able to find the Master Seal too, which rocked. Reinforcements arrive.

Turn 5 - I forgot who finished off the Tiger. :/ I think it was Nolan but it could've been Micaiah or Ilyana (I'm leaning toward Micaiah). Aran has to move himself into a dangerous position again; this time with a Cat. MEOW. Sothe moves forward and Edward takes the Chest Keys. Reinforcements suicide into Sothe, success with the Cat.

Turn 6 - Edward moves full blast toward the Pure Water chest. Sothe uses a Vulnerary and moves forward. Nolan finishes off the Cat. Pain attacks Nolan on the Enemy Phase. Once again, reinforcements arrive.

Turn 7 - I have everyone chip at the boss so that Nolan can finish him off. Sothe obtains the Seraph Robe. Right on the Enemy Phase the reinforcements suicide onto Sothe.

This chapter is rough, but after figuring that out alone... it feels easier at least. Beastfoe needs to be found on the first try though; which is the biggest thing that sucks. Thank God Sothe gets a small bonus for finding items too.

Oh yeah stats:

Micaiah (4.20) - 16 HP | 2 Str | 8 Mag | 9 Skl | 7 Spd | 12 Luck | 3 Def | 7 Res
Sothe (2.98) - 35 HP | 18 Str | 4 Mag | 21 Skl | 21 Spd | 16 Luck | 14 Def | 10 Res
Edward (6.49) - 21 HP | 9 Str | 0 Mag | 12 Skl | 14 Spd | 8 Luck | 5 Def | 0 Res
Leonardo (5.25) - 17 HP | 9 Str | 0 Mag | 13 Skl | 10 Spd | 6 Luck | 6 Def | 5 Res
Nolan (14.39) - 34 HP | 13 Str | 0 Mag | 15 Skl | 14 Spd | 9 Luck | 13 Def | 4 Res
Laura (2.32) - 17 HP | 3 Str | 9 Mag | 3 Skl | 6 Spd | 9 Luck | 3 Def | 11 Res
Ilyana (12.46) - 22 HP | 6 Str | 12 Mag | 12 Skl | 13 Spd | 6 Luck | 3 Def | 9 Res
Aran (7.33) - 24 HP | 10 Str | 0 Mag | 12 Skl | 10 Spd | 6 Luck | 11 Def | 2 Res
Meg (3.00) - ...

Edited August 4, 2010 by Colonel M

[dondon151]

"Small bonus" is an understatement. It would have been cool if Sothe were at good bio when he finds both items for a 90% success rate, but that's a bit too much wishful thinking. In any case, I don't think it we should assume that Sothe is normally spending more than 1 turn finding each item, since most of the time (precisely 64% of the time, in fact), Sothe only needs to spend 1 turn finding each treasure.

EDIT: Also, Sothe ORKOs every enemy in this chapter, transformed or not. I think that the fastest strategies will aim to abuse this fact - the moment that you decided to send Sothe with everyone else on turn 1, you pretty much sealed a 7 turn completion right there.

Edited August 4, 2010 by dondon151

[Colonel M]

EDIT: Also, Sothe ORKOs every enemy in this chapter, transformed or not. I think that the fastest strategies will aim to abuse this fact - the moment that you decided to send Sothe with everyone else on turn 1, you pretty much sealed a 7 turn completion right there.

I must've been too focused on Kard missing KOes on Tigers or something (or I could've accidentally looked at Bronze Dagger, idk). When I did the first turn I also noticed that the untransformed Tiger liked to cockblock me for some reason. In the future, I'll watch the run through you had first before I do this chapter again. 6 Turns looked really hard, but then again I thought 7 was shaky until I was able to pinpoint where to put Sothe.

Well I got... 1-5. I tried doing 1-6-1 but I got kicked off the Wii.

1-5

Turns - 6/41

BEXP - 267/817

I screwed up, but thankfully Volug pro'd for me. Should've sent Sothe up north after getting the Master Seal.

Anyway, Turn 1 is pretty much "hey everyone let's gang up on these enemies!" Thankfully it seemed that the Myrmidion to the very far right couldn't reach Meg (who would've been slain by the Mage after), so I guess the miss, thankfully, was not major (fyi: Aran missed with his Javelin. Typical). Ilyana + Meg finished off the Myrmidion. Sothe took out the north Fighter. Micaiah + other scrubs took out the Fighter. Heh, scrubs. Turn 2 I sent Volug up to do his thing with the enemies on the platform. Nolan could OHKO the Mage, but I just had Meg + Leo do it so Nolan could climb up the platform, though I should've equipped Hand Axe. I had Micaiah Thani the Soldier. Shockingly hit despite only having a 67% Displayed. Sothe was moved to absorb the Mage and Fighter. Sadly I failed on the Mage (and wasted a use of Pure Water... in general) since the Mage decided to go after Nolan. Turn 3 consisted of clean up, getting the Master Seal, etc. Turns 4-6 were pretty much counterattacking and such. Honestly after Turn 1, so long as you don't zone out (and the NPCs aren't completely retarded) it's not a very difficult chapter. Also, for some reason the enemies looooove to attack Volug. They're nuts I think, but w/e.

Micaiah (4.89) - 16 HP | 2 Str | 8 Mag | 9 Skl | 7 Spd | 12 Luck | 3 Def | 7 Res
Sothe (3.33) - 35 HP | 18 Str | 4 Mag | 22 Skl | 21 Spd | 17 Luck | 14 Def | 10 Res
Volug (15.09) - 49 HP | 11 Str | 2 Mag | 12 Skl | 13 Spd | 13 Luck | 9 Def | 5 Res
Edward (7.22) - 22 HP | 10 Str | 0 Mag | 12 Skl | 14 Spd | 8 Luck | 6 Def | 0 Res
Leonardo (5.61) - Same, if needed I'll pull his stats here
Nolan (15.41) - 34 HP | 14 Str | 0 Mag | 15 Skl | 15 Spd | 10 Luck | 13 Def | 4 Res
Laura (2.65) - 17 HP | 3 Str | 9 Mag | 3 Skl | 6 Spd | 9 Luck | 3 Def | 11 Res
Ilyana (12.69) - Same, see Leo's comment
Aran (7.40) - Same, see Ilyana's comment
Meg (3.41) - Same, ...please don't ask me for her stats.

Edited August 6, 2010 by Colonel M

[Colonel M]

1-6

Turns - 6+2/49

BEXP - 2356/2356

I spent all my BEXP on Jill. Also placed the Energy Drop and Angelic Robe on her. Made a +5 Mt | +15 Hit Iron Forge called "KissODeath". Didn't buy the Wind Edge and officially slapping myself across the face for it.

I... couldn't get the 4 turn. I don't know if it was because I had Jill unpromoted or not. Perhaps someone will 4 turn it other than dondon with an unpromoted Jill though. My main problem came with the Pegasus Knight reinforcements. RRGH. Anyway, picked up Taur on Turn 2, carried him to the spot that dondon had Jill, -1 square. I had to keep her protected from the AKs, but thanks to careful shoving I lured the AKs and Myrmidion onto Sothe and Zihark on Turn 1. Dropped Taur on Turn 3, had Taur do what he had to do.

1-6-2 was the 2 Turn. I'm not even going to bother explaining this one.

I'll add more info later, but in order to preserve the Wii I have to quickly record stats. I'm not going to bother listing scrub's levels; most of them did nothing but Shove.

Micaiah (5.40) - 17 HP | 2 Str | 9 Mag | 10 Skl | 8 Spd | 13 Luck | 3 Def | 8 Res
Sothe (3.80) - 35 HP | 18 Str | 4 Mag | 22 Skl | 21 Spd | 17 Luck | 14 Def | 10 Res
Volug (15.20) - Same stats, to be honest
Taur (14.70) - 38 HP | 24 Str | 12 Mag | 22 Skl | 20 Spd | 18 Luck | 21 Def | 15 Res
Nolan (16.36) - 35 HP | 15 Str | 1 Mag | 16 Skl | 16 Spd | 10 Luck | 13 Def | 4 Res
Laura (3.09) - 18 HP | 3 Str | 10 Mag | 4 Skl | 7 Spd | 10 Luck | 3 Def | 11 Res
Jill (15.74) - 32 HP | 13 Str | 1 Mag | 13 Skl | 16 Spd | 14 Luck | 13 Def | 3 Res
Zihark (3.56) - 30 HP | 17 Str | 6 Mag | 22 Skl | 23 Spd | 11 Luck | 13 Def | 11 Res

Just a note for myself: 973 BEXP left over.

Chapter 1-7

Turns - 5/54

BEXP - 750/1723

Deployed - Jill, Nolan, Aran, Zihark, Leonardo

Got Leo X Nolan for a B. Sold the Red Gem. Bought Wind Edge. Forged +5 Mt | 15 Hit Iron Knife forge. Equipped Savior to Volug. BEXP'd Jill and Nolan to their 99 EXP.

5 Turn clear involves Jill carrying Micaiah and then Volug picking Micaiah up. Leo and Aran shove Sothe. Then, Sothe attacks the Javelin Armor Knight with his forged Knife. Zihark and Laura shove Leo to obtain Nolan's support. Nolan situates the two enemies and dodgetanks them (though I had Laura at ready). I finish off the enemies with Nolan and Zihark, then Jill finishes off the Javelin AK and Cantoes back to me. Sothe recruits Tormod, who proceeds to kill the Soldier. Maurim kills off the Elfire Sage. Volug finishes off the remaining AK. Vika Rescues Sothe. Turn 3 I dropped Sothe in front of the Fire Mage to counterattack up the cliff on the Enemy Phase. With the Knive's accuracy forge and A Micaiah, this should be a snap. I then prepare the rest of my troops to intercept the situation. I move Nolan to the AK's range. Sadly it didn't trigger his other buddies. I'm guessing once you cross a certain "line" they'll move toward you. Turn 4 I have Maurim cockblock the Elfire Mage and Archer from getting in my way, though I guess they would've done nothing to me. Tormod and Vika finish off the Wind Mage and Longbow Archer. Volug drops Micaiah off. Turn 5 I have Maurim CRUSH the boss while Nolan and Jill get the last EXP they can muster. I have Sothe get the Master Seal, then shove Micaiah to allow her to seize.

Micaiah (5.40)
Sothe (3.92)
Volug (15.24)
Leo (Support Battery)
Nolan (17.62) - 36 HP | 15 Str | 2 Mag | 16 Skl | 16 Spd | 11 Luck | 14 Def | 4 Res
Laura (3.09) - Yup, she didn't heal once sadly.  Nolan tanked it.  gg Nolan.
Aran (7.40) - Shove battery
Jill (16.21) - 33 HP | 13 Str | 1 Mag | 14 Skl | 17 Spd | 15 Luck | 13 Def | 3 Res
Zihark (3.65) - 30 HP | 17 Str | 6 Mag | 22 Skl | 23 Spd | 11 Luck | 13 Def | 11 Res
Tormod (5.11) - 34 HP | 13 Str | 17 Mag | 16 Skl | 20 Spd | 14 Luck | 12 Def | 14 Res
Maurim (19.29) - 58 HP | 18 Str | 3 Mag | 14 Skl | 11 Spd | 12 Luck | 15 Def | 9 Res
Vika (13.11) - 38 HP | 9 Str | 5 Mag | 13 Skl | 15 Spd | 14 Luck | 7 Def | 7 Res

1-8

Turns - 4/58

BEXP - 1725/2819

Deployed Zihark, Nolan, Laura, Leonardo. I think that's all you're allowed anyway. Forged +5 Mt Fire Tome. BEXP'd Nolan to .99 EXP. Bought the Olivi Grass.

Nailah solos the entire west side. Maurim and Vika shove Tormod to be attacked by the Wyvern. Then I had Nolan and Zihark play chokepoint while Volug attacks the Wind Mage and Rafiel comes closer to my side. Sothe decides to take a swim. Where I screwed up was the second turn, actually, where I accidentally shoved Tormod one too many times and got him attacked by everything. Resolve thankfully allowed him to dodge a crucial shot, but nevertheless I should've avoided it by making sure Tormod was attacked via 2 range. With the Fire forge, Tormod can ORKO the Priest, so take note of that. Sothe comes in to help, while the rest of the forces deal with what they have to deal with. Finally on Turn 4 I get a dumb miss, so I Shove-chain Rafiel and move Volug forward to be Vigored, then kill. Nailah finishes off the Bandit on the Enemy Phase.

Will give stats once I beat 1-9.

Micaiah (5.50)
Sothe (4.48) - 36 HP | 19 Str | 4 Mag | 23 Skl | 21 Spd | 18 Luck | 14 Def | 10 Res
Tormod (5.54)
Maurim (19.42)
Vika (13.11)
Rafiel (12.30)
Volug (15.30)
Nolan (18.20) - 36 HP | 16 Str | 2 Mag | 17 Skl | 16 Spd | 11 Luck | 14 Def | 4 Res
Laura (3.31)
Zihark (3.79)
Leo (5.71)

1-9

Turns - 7/65

BEXP - 1500/4319

Pulled oval's strategy. The ONLY difference is that, thanks to Celerity, I had an extra Mov point to finish this in 7 Turns. On Turn 7, just move one more space south and you'll see Jarod. Sick your Burger King on Jarod and let the hilarity ensume. Obtained the 10,000 and Pass.

Edited August 6, 2010 by Colonel M

[Colonel M]

1-E

Turns - 6/71

BEXP - 1875/3524

Got the Reaper Card, Vantage, Speedwing, and Unlock. Gave Unlock to Nailah. Forged another set of Knives for good measure, then forged a +5 Mt | +15 Hit Steel Axe and gave it to Nolan. Yes, you read this right: Nolan is the only wielder of the weapon this chapter. Volug learns how to ignore the enemies in general (Pass). Gave Nolan and Jill enough BEXP to hit .99 EXP.

Ilyana takes:

- Ashera Icon

- Blue Gem

- Resolve

- Adept

- Brave Sword

- Hammer

- Speedwing

- Savior (Equipped on her)

- Celerity (Equipped on her)

Turn 1 - A lot happens here. Sothe attacks the Soldier via 2 range. Nolan finishes it off. Volug shoves Sothe so he can be refreshed. Nailah transforms. BK attacks the Fighter. Vika uses the Olivi Grass. Jill moves next to Nolan for a support turn. Not like it matters unfortunately. Rafiel refreshes, BK kills the Archer up ahead, Nailah rescues BK, Vika moves and uses up her Olivi Grass. Ilyana moves next to Vika, then Maurim takes the grass and takes a hit for the team (as in he smokes it lol). I shove Rafiel, then end turn. Volug counterattacks the Myrmidion.

Turn 2 - Nailah kills the Soldier, then Sothe moves a space from his max allowed move (so there's N _ S). Vika gets shoved by Ilyana. Micaiah moves next to Vika. Vika transforms and ferries Micaiah to the empty square. Volug moves directly under the gap, and Muarim moves so Rafiel can refresh him and Volug. Maurim uses Olivi Grass. Rafiel refreshes, Volug moves directly next to the chest, and Maurim moves up and transforms. In case Volug missed, Jill can hit the Myrmidion. Jill moves up to the ledge (right then up then left). Nolan kills the Myrmidion. Elfire Mage hits Nailah on the Enemy Phase. Armor Knight hits Nolan. Reinforcements arrive.

Turn 3 - Tormod moves up close to the Mages and Fighter and uses the last of the Pure Water. Volug shoves the Fighter, Nailah KOes the Elfire Mage, and Maurim moves right next to Volug on the left side. I'd use the Olivi Grass just in case. Sothe moves right under the gap and obtains the Reaper Card. Vika moves to the left of Sothe. Ilyana crosses up the gap and Jill moves so that Rafiel will refresh both of them. Jill picks up Rafiel and moves to the right of Sothe. Ilyana goes under Jill. Nolan moves toward the stairs. Btw, I would've used a Vulnerary here but forgot about it. AK attacks Nolan, the Mage group and the Fighter get wiped out by the Fire forge, the Killing Edge Myrmidion suicides on Nailah, and the Elwind Mage and Longbow Archer attack Nailah. Venin Axe Fighters arrive.

Turn 4 - Normally I'd let Nolan finish off the Armor Knight, but I had to resort to a Concoction and wait and whip out the Steel Axe forge as well. I have Maurim KO the Longbow Archer, Sothe KO the Elwind Mage, Nailah drop off some Whoppers for the enemy, and have Vika + Jill kill the Physic Priest. Volug moves upward. Soldier attacks Volug, AK attacks Nolan and dies, Venin Axe attacks Nolan and Nolan counterattacks. By the way, the Steel Axe forge is clutch because it has a greater chance of 2HKOing the Fighters.

Turn 5 - Nolan moves so that he's attacked by both Venin Axe Fighters and swallows another use of Concoction. Nailah knocks on the door and BK attacks the Longbow Archer. Maurim crushes the Thief and Volug moves right under the gap. Vika drops off Micaiah and traps the Speedwing Thief. Jill drops Rafiel off. Sothe finishes off the Soldier. BK murders everything on the Enemy Phase, Nolan kills one of the Fighters and severely weakens the other.

Turn 6 - I'm sorry Jarod, but you cannot "Have it your way". BK kills Jarod off and Volug says "sup" to 3 enemies that he conveniently passes through and obtains the Vantage scroll for Brolan to use in 3-6. Jill attacks a stray Priest. Micaiah moves so that Rafiel refreshes her. Nolan finishes off his last Fighter and juuuust obtains Level 20! Micaiah moves to the seize spot and copies Marth's job.

Micaiah (5.50)
Sothe (4.87) - 36 HP | 19 Str | 4 Mag | 23 Skl | 21 Spd | 18 Luck | 14 Def | 10 Res
Volug (15.34)
Tormod (6.02) - 35 HP | 14 Str | 18 Mag | 16 Skl | 20 Spd | 14 Luck | 12 Def | 14 Res
Muarim (19.58)
Rafiel (12.70)
Nolan (20.15) - 44 HP | 17 Str | 2 Mag | 19 Skl | 16 Spd | 12 Luck | 14 Def | 6 Res
Jill (17.42) - 34 HP | 14 Str | 1 Mag | 14 Skl | 18 Spd | 15 Luck | 13 Def | 4 Res
Nailah (33.17)
Ilyana (1.00) - 24 HP | 9 Str | 13 Mag | 13 Skl | 14 Spd | 6 Luck | 6 Def | 10 Res
Vika (13.12)

By the way, general comments.

First off, I admit I was 2 above dondon's turncount, and quite frankly he had a lot of shaving. Still, consider that Jill and Nolan still need a little EXP, and I haven't seen the 4 Turn of 1-6-1 nor have I seen the 1-4 clear. Credits do go to him for a lot of the general strategies, as well as Int and Paperblade helping with their usual advice through this. I did do some things different than him thanks to growths being in play, but nevertheless I am not 100% sure if a player can whip through Part 1 in 68 Turns yet.

Secondly, the characters. The usual prepromotes are clutch in many situations that are presented. In example, 1-8 has Zihark using Brave Sword on the Bandits and 1-6 helping Sothe clear the sides of the field in 1-6-1. One that actually shocked me was how useful Tormod was. Jill, under absolute minimum turn count crunch, is going to struggle level wise in comparison to someone like Nolan who has all the time in the world to get at least up to Level 18-19. Jill is at least able to get to the levels she needs thanks to BEXP playing. Volug also looks like he suffers a bit: I didn't get S Strike after 1-E. Inb4 "Doing It Wrong".

Finally, Sothe. I understand that no one likes Sothe at all (barring RFOF and other fangirls), but I must say... what he does in regards to saving turns is something that I learned very quickly. He is super clutch, and the Knife forges were a riot to use. While I'd have to evaluate what his Part 3 looks like, hi0m being in Top... does not sound impossible at all.

Part 1 Complete. I will use another Post for Part 2.

Total Turns - 71/71

Edited August 7, 2010 by Colonel M

[Colonel M]

Part 2

2-P

Turns - dondon listed 9. Though it says Defend for "8" Turns. Noob game. @_@

BEXP - 500/500

Pretty much just a defend map. Nothing really too strategical here. Elincia got a Stun once! Oh yeah, Haar decided not to dodge today. Paperblade must be right:

[00:03:53] <@Paperblade> Dodging is for awake people!

Elincia (1.31)
Marcia (5.64)
Nealuchi (22.05)
Leanne (5.40)
Haar (11.75)

Edited August 7, 2010 by Colonel M

[grandjackal]

Doing pretty well from what I see, so congrats. However, I have one thing I have to bring up.

I saw your comment at the end of part 1 about Sothe. Suddenly I'm a girl now?

[Don Draper]

Couldn't you have just sealed Jill after initially b-exping her? She only ended up gaining an additional 2 levels anyways, and a promoted Jill would have shaved off those 2 turns in 1-6-1.

[dondon151]

First off, I admit I was 2 above dondon's turncount,

5 turns. +1 for each of 1-1, 1-2, 1-3, 1-4, +2 for 1-6-1, and -1 for 1-9. Good job though; I didn't really challenge you to lower your turncount further until you were at about 1-4. The alternate strat to 1-8 with growths was good.

Volug also looks like he suffers a bit: I didn't get S Strike after 1-E. Inb4 "Doing It Wrong".

Did you check to see how much WEXP he needed at the end of 1-E? I know that there was a bit of conscious investment that I had to do in order to get him to S strike at the beginning of 1-E that could have interfered with Nolan's CEXP gain (probably most on 1-5 and 1-8), but a couple of things (like the 18 WEXP trick in 1-6-2) you showed no indication of doing, and that's probably why you didn't get him to S strike.

Finally, Sothe. I understand that no one likes Sothe at all (barring RFOF and other fangirls), but I must say... what he does in regards to saving turns is something that I learned very quickly. He is super clutch, and the Knife forges were a riot to use. While I'd have to evaluate what his Part 3 looks like, hi0m being in Top... does not sound impossible at all.

I'm glad you're leaning towards agreeing with me =P

Pretty much just a defend map. Nothing really too strategical here. Elincia got a Stun once! Oh yeah, Haar decided not to dodge today.

I'm curious as to what you prioritized on this map. Did you attempt to rout it? If you did, did you focus the kills on a certain unit?

[Colonel M]

5 turns. +1 for each of 1-1, 1-2, 1-3, 1-4, +2 for 1-6-1, and -1 for 1-9. Good job though; I didn't really challenge you to lower your turncount further until you were at about 1-4. The alternate strat to 1-8 with growths was good.

I must've added wrong. Hm. Then again I remember I made a chart with nfl's, Int's, and your turncounts. I might've glanced at Int's more since his was the furthest right, so "eh". If I was allowed a more flexible amount of turns, I might've changed the strategies a little bit, but I guess "if it ain't broke, don't fix it".

Did you check to see how much WEXP he needed at the end of 1-E? I know that there was a bit of conscious investment that I had to do in order to get him to S strike at the beginning of 1-E that could have interfered with Nolan's CEXP gain (probably most on 1-5 and 1-8), but a couple of things (like the 18 WEXP trick in 1-6-2) you showed no indication of doing, and that's probably why you didn't get him to S strike.

Unfortunately, I didn't. As for what he did in 1-6-2, he did go out into the Fighter and two Knight's range, and he killed the Archer on the Player Phase. Then he went and killed the Soldier on the bridge. That would mean, if we didn't count the kill WEXP, he got 10 WEXP. So yeah, my bad. :/

I guess I could've left Volug right in the range of all the enemies near the Ballistae and such, but I was attempting to finish this as quickly as possible. Meh, this teaches me to watch those videos at least next time I try to do this. I'm not terribly worried about Volug missing S Strike, unless it's very crucial to the later chapters. I'm hoping he can hit S Strike by 3-6 or at least near the beginning of 3-12.

I'm curious as to what you prioritized on this map. Did you attempt to rout it? If you did, did you focus the kills on a certain unit?

Yeah, I routed it. Nealuchi initiates the attacks and then I had Marcia 2 range them (since I don't want her to get hit). Nealuchi could dodge most of the attacks thrown at him regardless, so him initiating the first strike wasn't a big deal. After Haar arrived I did my best to prioritize the kills on him, which I think I did successfully as you can see with him having 75 EXP at least.

I saw your comment at the end of part 1 about Sothe. Suddenly I'm a girl now?

Hahaha, no. I was being slightly sarcastic with the whole OMG belly shirt ordeal.

Couldn't you have just sealed Jill after initially b-exping her? She only ended up gaining an additional 2 levels anyways, and a promoted Jill would have shaved off those 2 turns in 1-6-1.

Actually, she gained 3. One in 1-6-1, one in 1-8, and one in 1-E.

I guess I could've sealed her provided I gave her the Angelic Robe and Energy Drop as planned, but I also wanted to see how an unpromoted Jill would affect turncount-wise later on, in which you can see that it didn't affect it at all. I'm not even 100% sure that promoted Jill is the reason I fell short on 1-6-1 as the biggest problem was KOing the Pegasi reinforcements and such. I'd have to watch dondon's video on this one to be absolutely sure though.

2-1 is really boring though. Fucking Ohma.

Edited August 8, 2010 by Colonel M

[Colonel M]

2-1

Turns - 9/17

BEXP - 1664/2614

Let me put this very clearly...

FUCK THIS CHAPTER!

I am dead serious. I hate this chapter more than Chapter 1 of Lunatic Mode. I think I got what I did down... I hope.

Turn 1 I had Nephenee KO the Fighter and Brom get the Steel Axe. Myrmidion doesn't move, so that's one step down. Turn 2 I have Brom attack the Archer and Nephenee finish it. The Venin Myrmidion should come after Brom. Turn 3 I finish off the Myrmidion with Brom and, since Nephenee got a dodge, I have her get the Ashera Icon. Turn 4 I position Nephenee so the Soldier and Myrmidion won't get in Brom's way. Brom 4HKOes with the Steel Axe (but make sure he does before you go on with this chapter!). Brom takes the AK halfway through his health. Nephenee twiddles her thumbs this turn and Brom attacks again. AK dies on Turn 5 Enemy Phase, Heather arrives. Turn 6 I move Brom, Nephenee goes next to Brom so Brom can shove Nephenee, but I realized that isn't necessary. However, Nephenee should trade her Vulnerary to Brom. Turn 7 have Nephenee recruit Heather and Brom start going at the boss. Turn 8 have Brom move in front of the Javelin Soldier and use a Vulnerary. Nephenee should stay away from the other Soldiers as best as she can. By Turn 9 Nephenee should be able to KO the boss. If she misses, have Brom finish it off. My run didn't have the Vulnerary and when I had Nephenee attack the boss, she missed and the boss hit her. Thankfully she dodged him and killed him on the Enemy Phase. Heather got the Concoction and the Spectre Card.

Brom (2.71)
Nephenee (2.77)

2-2

Turns - 4/21

BEXP - 1625/3537

Obtain the Talisman and w/e else I got. Pumped Neph to .99 EXP. This took me a while to figure out (remember I'm trying not to watch videos on this).

Turn 1 - Lucia can KO the Armor Knight by herself. Nealuchi uses the Laguz Stone. Leanne refreshes both of them. Nealuchi attacks the Soldier and heads out to face the bad enemies... in the dark... all by his lonesome self. Lucia finishes off her AK and Nephenee gets the Soldier kill. Blech level up IIRC. Mordecai uses his Stone and Lethe walks into range so that she is attacked by the Venin Archer.

Turn 2 - Move Heather right next to Nealuchi. Archers can be ORKOed by Nealuchi, so all systems are go. Lucia ORKOes the Javelin Soldier, Nealuchi attacks the Archer. Brom + Lethe shove Leanne and Leanne refreshes Lucia and Nealuchi. Nealuchi finishes off the Archer and Lucia equips the Wind Sword. Enemies attack her. Stupid Killer Lance Soldier crit me, so I had to use the Vulnerary on Turn 3.

Turn 3 - Nealuchi attacks the AK and de-transforms. Lucia finishes off the AK. Nephenee finishes off the Warrior. Heather moves in and kills the Mage. Now the issue at hand: the Killer Lance Soldier is alive. I have Leanne refresh Lucia and... another unit. I can't remember who. Might've been Mordecai. Anyway, had Mordecai KO the Soldier and Lucia runs up to the General. Lucia proceeds to crit the General on the Enemy Phase. Yeah, dumb luck on my side today isn't there... though to be fair on how to correct myself: Turn 2 I should've just shoved with Brom and Mordecai (I think Mordecai would miss the Killer Lance Soldier by a Mov point if he Smites Leanne). So yeah, could've fixed that. Soldier attacks Heather.

Turn 4 - Heather Knifes the Soldier and Nephenee finishes him off. Lucia 2 ranges while Lethe preps to take on the boss. Mordecai Smites Leanne and Leanne refreshes, thus able to kill and seize.

Lucia (14.16)
Lethe (21.31)
Mordecai (16.03)
Nephenee (2.75) - 33 HP | 16 Str | 6 Mag | 19 Skl | 21 Spd | 13 Luck | 15 Def | 14 Res
Brom (2.71)
Heather (7.11)
Leanne (5.80)
Nealuchi (22.13)

Edited August 8, 2010 by Colonel M

[Colonel M]

2-3

Turns - 5/26

BEXP - 5728/9265

Yes, everyone was deployed. Bought the Horseslayer, Hammer and Killer Bow since obviously they will be useful. Also bought 2 Steel Greatlances and an Iron Greatlance. I bought a Javelin but found it was probably better to equip on Danved. Found the Arms Scroll midway in the chapter, and obtained the Speedwings. Marcia holds the Horseslayer.

There is a little thing to note here: Marcia at full health survives the Bow Paladin. The Onagers, IIRC, will like to target where there are more units in general anyway. If for some reason Devdan misses, you can hit the 6 Turn button rather easily or set the Allies on "Roam".

Turn 1 - Marcia KOes the Cavalier in front of her and Cantos forward. Geoffrey KOes the Axe Cavalier. Astrid and Makalov carry Devdan and drop him off. Set Allies to Target to close into Astrid and move Kieran forward. Works like a charm.

Turn 2 - Had Devdan KO the Fighter and once again carry him forward with Makalov and Astrid. Geoffrey kills the unit on the Arms Scroll square, then Cantos onto it. Finds the Arms Scroll. Set allies to Target and put the Target on the Arms Scroll square. Kieran moves forward. Marcia moves forward as well. Geoffrey weakens the Warriors with the Short Spear on the Enemy Phase.

Turn 3 - Makalov hits the lowest Warrior and Astrid finishes him off. Geoffrey moves forward and uses his Concoction. Marcia KOes the Horseslayer Paladin and Cantoes to the trees. Devdan uses the Killer Lance and obtains a successful critical hit + hit. If he missed, I would've set the units on Roam (by the way have Devdan move before Geoffrey does obviously). Onagers target the clumps.

Turn 4 - Kieran uses Axe on Door. It's Super Effective! Geoffrey Brave Lances the Boss. Now to clarify what happens: the boss has ~50% Hit rates and 20% Crit. Assuming a crit happens, you take 18 damage. At the worst, Geoffrey can take two critical hits (and the third hit is unlikely to connect). Kind of just wait for the Speedwing guy. Boss dies on the Enemy Phase.

Turn 5 Collect my Speedwing with Marcia. Also; the Brave Lance AND Arms Scroll were sent to the Convoy. Should note that.

Geoffrey (16.04) - 38 HP | 24 Str | 8 Mag | 24 Skl | 20 Spd | 19 Luck | 18 Def | 16 Res
Kieran (11.15)
Makalov (7.21)
Devdan (9.25)
Marcia (6.26) - 35 HP | 16 Str | 6 Mag | 18 Skl | 21 Spd | 13 Luck | 16 Def | 15 Res
Asstrid (2.82)

2-E

Turns - 4/30

BEXP - 1631/1649

BEXP rammed Haar (I accidentally forgot Nephenee >_<...). Gave the following resources to the units that were leaving (that are of importance):

- Brave Lance

- Arms Scroll

- Ashera Icon

- Talisman

- Concoction

- Spectre Card

- DracoShield

- Physic (all 15 uses remaining btw)

- Short Axe

- Hammer

- Energy Drop

- Tomahawk

Yeah I fucking forgot Horseslayer. That pisses me off a little. Scratch that: A. Lot.

I really don't want to go into detail how I beat this chapter, and it's self explanatory. Give Haar Speedwing. Ludveck is lured. Rape, etc. Got Nullify as well... which I also think I forgot.

Mordecai (16.09)
Nephenee (3.22) - 34 HP | 16 Str | 6 Mag | 20 Skl | 22 Spd | 13 Luck | 15 Def | 14 Res
Haar (14.62) - 46 HP | 26 Str | 2 Mag | 26 Skl | 23 Spd | 14 Luck | 25 Def | 8 Res

Total Turns - 30/101

3-P

Turns - 8

BEXP - 3109/3109

Put Adept on Mia, gave Titania the Steel Axe and Boyd the Steel Poleaxe (...might not be a good idea in the future).

Pretty standard. I don't know if I screwed up or Skrimir screwed up since I could've swore Skrimir was 9 spaces away from the throne. To fix this, I should've let Ike attack the General and the General + the boss would've suicided on him. Just in case Skrimir was actually out of range (he had to go around the General).

Ike (11.74)
Titania (16.20)
Soren (5.43)
Mist (1.86)
Rolf (1.61)
Boyd (8.75)
Oscar (12.40)
Shinon (13.67)
Gatrie (10.17)
Rhys (3.47)
Mia (7.88)

3-1

Turns - 7

BEXP - 1509/4618

I really hate FoW.

If I have to explain this chapter I'll try to do so later. Well okay I'll try to do so now. Steel Poleaxe given to Gatrie.

Turn 1 - Sent Gatrie to get the Blue Gem. Oscar + Boyd + Rolf KOes the Sniper. Rhys + Shinon KOes the Halberdier. Soren + Ike KOes the other Halberdier. Mia and Titania choke the point.

Turn 2 Finish off the scrubby units left, and have Oscar and Titania hold choke again. Ike moves toward the boss group, etc.

Turn 3 Eliminate everything in the west barring the Sniper and the two Halberdiers hiding. One of them reveals itself.

Turn 4 Where are you Halberdier? Oh found you.

Turn 5 Gah fuck reinforcements at the worst time. I have Shinon play choke with Crossbow and Ike try to get healed by Rhys. Gatrie moves forward.

Turn 6 More of them?

Turn 7 Clear everything here.

I guess I'd have to watch dondon's video on this one. I know I pulled the lazy route, but really: the chapter is rather self-explanatory. Just push yourself to find the enemies and you should be able to clear it rather quickly.

Ike (12.35) - 45 HP | 25 Str | 2 Mag | 28 Skl | 23 Spd | 14 Luck | 22 Def | 7 Res
Titania (16.57)
Soren (5.75)
Mist (2.19) - 29 HP | 8 Str | 13 Mag | 13 Skl | 15 Spd | 17 Luck | 7 Def | 16 Res
Rolf (2.52) - 33 HP | 18 Str | 3 Mag | 21 Skl | 19 Spd | 14 Luck | 13 Def | 10 Res
Boyd (9.20) - 46 HP | 23 Str | 1 Mag | 21 Skl | 18 Spd | 14 Luck | 15 Def | 9 Res
Oscar (12.95) - 38 HP | 20 Str | 7 Mag | 22 Skl | 21 Spd | 18 Luck | 17 Def | 13 Res
Shinon (14.96) - 43 HP | 21 Str | 7 Mag | 29 Skl | 25 Spd | 16 Luck | 20 Def | 14 Res
Gatrie (11.19) - 45 HP | 26 Str | 5 Mag | 18 Skl | 21 Spd | 15 Luck | 24 Def | 11 Res
Rhys (3.94)
Mia (8.92) - 34 HP | 18 Str | 5 Mag | 27 Skl | 29 Spd | 19 Luck | 14 Def | 8 Res

3-2 Prep

I also forgot the Killer Bow (good fuck I am out of it this week). So here's what I did so far but I'm undecided. I made a separate save just in case.

- Nephenee gets Adept, Energy Drop, and a Steel Lance forge. BEXP'd up to .99.

- Mia gets a forge and BEXP'd up to .99.

- Titania gets BEXP'd up to .99, Speedwings, Dracoshield, and Talisman.

- Ike gets the Angelic Robe.

- Rhys gets Physic.

- Sold:

x2 Blue Gems

x2 Ashera Icons

x2 Arms Scroll

x1 Antidote

Which brings my grand total to around 27,225 Gold before the forges. I then sold Wo Dao and all the other Iron junk, which brought my amount to 28,779 (after Wyrmslayer). I'm going to buy the Wyrmslayer for 1800 Gold. Steel Sword forge is 4400 Gold called Lady Sword. Lance was a lot. 5300 Gold. Lawnmower is the name. I then buy 3 Steel Poleaxes, 2 Hand Axes, etc. Oh and 3 Wind Edges (though they're for Ike). I forge 2 +5 Mt | +10 Hit Axes for 2176 a piece. HaarHaar Axe and Crimson Axe. Sold the Silver Card. 11643 Gold remains.

The Battle

Turns - 3/18

BEXP - BEXP - 1875/2734

Without relying on the crit forge from Shinon, a 3 turn clear of this map is very safe and easily doable. I used Mia for this, but Ike can replicate the result too. Haar needs Celerity, and Mia / Ike need Wyrmslayer. Haar should be on the furthest right space at the beginning. Turn 1 have Ike or Mia do whatever they want. Pick her up with Haar, then Turn 2 drop her off right above Haar (Haar should use up all his move spaces). Mia should only be confronted by the Hand Axe Paladin. The boss is an easy 2HKO. Anyway, Turns 1-3 went like this aside from that:

Turn 1 - Gatrie shoves Nephenee so she can reach the Swordmaster Ike weakened. Nephenee connects the hit. Shinon goes overboard and kills the Halberdier. Oscar chips at the Swordmaster below and Titania misses with 80% Displayed.

Turn 2 - Oh and Rhys decides to miss now! WHAT THE FUCK MAN YOU HAVE 80% DISPLAYED GRRGH! I had Boyd clean up that stupid Swordmaster. The Sages were killed and the Paladin was left alive. Yeah, the Paladin can't even ORKO Mist. Pathetic.

Turn 3 - Ike kills a DracoKnight and Nephenee kills a Paladin. Titania kills a Paladin near the boss and Haar kills a DracoKnight near the boss. Oscar kills a DracoKnight as well. Go team.

Ike (12.68) - 50 HP | 25 Str | 2 Mag | 28 Skl | 23 Spd | 14 Luck | 22 Def | 7 Res
Titania (17.17) - 37 HP | 25 Str | 10 Mag | 22 Skl | 23 Spd | 19 Luck | 22 Def | 16 Res
Mist (2.41)
Oscar (13.30) - 39 HP | 20 Str | 7 Mag | 23 Skl | 22 Spd | 19 Luck | 17 Def | 14 Res
Shinon (15.18) - 44 HP | 21 Str | 7 Mag | 30 Skl | 26 Spd | 16 Luck | 20 Def | 15 Res
Rhys (4.03) - 27 HP | 8 Str | 24 Mag | 16 Skl | 14 Spd | 21 Luck | 7 Def | 25 Res
Mia (9.53) - 35 HP | 18 Str | 5 Mag | 27 Skl | 30 Spd | 19 Luck | 14 Def | 9 Res
Nephenee (4.74) - 34 HP | 19 Str | 6 Mag | 20 Skl | 23 Spd | 13 Luck | 15 Def | 14 Res
Haar (15.81)
Boyd (9.37)
Gatrie (11.19)

Edited August 14, 2010 by Colonel M

[Colonel M]

3-3

Turns - 5/23

BEXP - 3050/5784

Gave Pass to Titania. C for Mia / Ike and Titania / Mist.

Really the show is all about Titania, Haar, and Gatrie. The rest kind of did what they could. Using Ike and Shinon as weakeners and Nephenee and Mia as finishers.

Turn 1 Ike yells OPEN SESAME at the door via 2 range. The door shockingly opens. Mist moves and then is Shoved. Titania OHKOes the General and Cantos forward. Mia is put above Ike. Shinon + Nephenee finish off the Halberdier in the south. Gatrie is picked up by Haar and carried outside of the 2 range from the Hand Axe General.

Turn 2 Titaina blocks the Swordmasters. Nephenee and co clean up the other Halberdiers. Boyd handles the one in the south. Haar drops Gatrie off and an epic duel arrives at the north.

Turn 3 I Hammer the General blocking Gatrie's entryway. Haar Cantoes toward the middle. I use the Concoction w/Gatrie while right in the way of the Short Spear Halberdier blocking the supply. I finish off the Swordmasters. I kill the Senator. Titania Hammers the General and Cantoes forward again. I think I got Blossom on this turn as well.

Turn 4 More Concoction via Gatrie, though this time I didn't need it, so I finished off the Halberdier. Haar obtains the Hammerne Staff and Titania obtains the Master Seal. I charge everyone north.

Turn 5 Gatrie, Haar, Titania, Mist, and Boyd all light up the Supplies, but before that I kill the Senator for his Ashera Icon.

Ike (13.13) - 50 HP | 26 Str | 2 Mag | 29 Skl | 23 Spd | 14 Luck | 22 Def | 7 Res
Titania (17.55) - 37 HP | 25 Str | 10 Mag | 22 Skl | 23 Spd | 19 Luck | 22 Def | 16 Res
Mist (2.63)
Oscar (13.61) - 39 HP | 20 Str |  Mag | 23 Skl | 22 Spd | 19 Luck | 17 Def | 14 Res
Shinon (15.64) - 44 HP | 21 Str | 7 Mag | 30 Skl | 26 Spd | 16 Luck | 20 Def | 15 Res
Rhys (4.10)
Mia (10.16) - 35 HP | 19 Str | 6 Mag | 27 Skl | 30 Spd | 20 Luck | 15 Def | 9 Res
Nephenee (5.55) - 34 HP | 19 Str | 6 Mag | 21 Skl | 24 Spd | 13 Luck | 16 Def | 15 Res
Haar (16.08) - 46 HP | 26 Str | 2 Mag | 26 Skl | 24 Spd | 14 Luck | 26 Def | 8 Res
Boyd (9.61)
Gatrie (11.78)

3-4

Turns - 6/29

BEXP - 3159/7843

Gold - 11643 -> 30643 -> 19433

Gave Neph some BEXP so her level ends at 5.99. Promoted Haar and gave him Savior. Gave Mordecai Resolve. Ranulf got Pass.

Honestly there isn't much to explain how I did this. I even made a critical error with Ike because of the Wyrmslayer Swordmaster being a dick. A fair warning: it is probably a good idea to drop Ike on Turn 5 instead of 4 like I did.

Turn 1 Gatrie, Ike, then Mordecai Shove (+Smite) Ranulf. Ike boards "Haar Airlines" and takes off up the cliff with a Hand Axe equipped. Shinon + Nephenee finish off a Warrior, while Ranulf attacks the other Halberdier. To build support points I carried Mist with Titania. Mia stays behind to catch a Halberdier and what I was hoping a Swordmaster. Chalk up another one of my "regrets".

Turn 2 Haar moves upward. Ranulf moves forward. Clean up everything around the area.

Turn 3 I put Haar on the cliff, crossing my fingers. It pays off. Ranulf kills the Sniper arming the Ballista.

Turn 4 Rhys heals Haar. I dropped Ike off, which was probably a bad idea. I have him equip Brave Sword. To remedy this: The Wyrmslayer Swordmaster shouldn't be able to double Haar (obviously). You should probably hold off a Turn and have him kill as much as he can up there.

Turn 5 Rhys heals Ike. Ike kills the Fire Mage, and Ranulf chokes for Ike so he doesn't get confronted much again. Haar KOes the one General and moves on the seize tile. He will 2HKO (thus ORKO) the boss. Everyone moves up the cliff.

Turn 6 Mia KOes the Warrior, Haar KOes the final General, and Ike + Ranulf Seize.

Ike (13.70)
Ranulf (26.04)
Titania (17.84)
Mist (2.99)
Oscar (13.77)
Shinon (15.92)
Rhys (4.65)
Mia (10.57)
Nephenee (6.55) - 35 HP | 20 Str | 6 Mag | 21 Skl | 24 Spd | 14 Luck | 16 Def | 16 Res
Haar (1.94) - 50 HP | 28 Str | 6 Mag | 28 Skl | 26 Spd | 14 Luck | 28 Def | 12 Res
Mordecai (16.46)
Gatrie Y HALO THAR SHOVEBOT

Edited August 21, 2010 by Colonel M

[Colonel M]

I'll post stuff for 3-5 when I get a chance, but I'm looking at 3-6 and to be honest I'm puzzled a little bit. My goal was to attempt to maximize the amount of EXP Jill and Nolan can get. The problem is finding "perfect" positions for these guys. I haven't played 3-6 HM, so if someone can wave me a little help on this one, I'd appreciate it.

[Interceptor]

Nolan w/Tarvos and Beastfoe/Vantage can basically solo the entire north by himself, more or less. As long as you using Physic on him so that he can use his Player Phase aggressively to prevent attacks on Enemy Phase, and pull back to safety when needed, he should be fine. Concotions help for when he doesn't need to reach out and touch someone. Leonardo can help him out with Lugh if things are getting too dense (on untransformed guys).

That leaves the east, which is where I would send Sothe, Volug, Micaiah, Zihark, and Jill. The trick with Jill is to use other people to weaken things for her to kill, until she gets strong enough via Paragon to start beasting on her own (at which point you want her doing almost all of the work). At all times you want her to face maximum Enemy Phase: just heal her afterwards. This usually entails sending her out over the swamp river and sitting somewhere. Important note: keep close track of laguz movement in this terrain, and also be aware of how the transformation gauges work.

Have fun with it. Are you going to use the Black Knight and nerf your CEXP potential in order to save a couple of turns?

Edited August 17, 2010 by Interceptor

[Colonel M]

I know it's been a while, but can you by any chance run down what you did with Jill? As in, similar turn count by turn count? I know we discussed on IRC that I have a Def-screwed Jill, but I think +1 was all she needed to "barely" take a Cat and a Tiger. If you can't it's cool; I'm just sick of looking at puzzles if you know what I mean. If it helps I tried doing this:

Turn 1 finish off the weakened untransformed Tiger with Brave Axe, move Jill so she gets attacked by both Cats.

Turn 2 kill off one of the Cats with Jill, Canto so that she can counterattack the other Cat.

Turn 3 have her swoop right above Volug (so Volug is right above the dead tree) and somehow a Cat and Tiger attacks. With +Def, and maybe +HP, she should be able to survive. If she can't... *Me closes eyes*.

Turns 4-5 cleaning up what's left, then attempting to get attacked by both Cats on the right side.

Then the rest is just random.

Edited August 18, 2010 by Colonel M

[Interceptor]

It's been too long to remember the specifics, sorry. Nolan went north, most everyone else went east, and Jill spent a whole lot of time sitting by herself in the middle of the river. What are your resources? I had a maxed out +MT/HIT Steel Axe for my Jill, she took the Energy Drop for extra muscle, etc. Maybe it's that plus the stats that make the difference.

If you have the ability to put your save on an SD card and upload it to the Internets, I'll take a crack at your 3-6 file and see if maybe my Jill was just too much better than yours to make a level ~17 run possible.

[Colonel M]

I'll post 3-6 stuff soon (and send you the save state if I can). This is just more for me to reference for:

3-6 - 2314 / 4852

Turns - 12

EDIT: Here Int:

The files

To clarify, The third save file is a fresh 3-6. The one after that (so #4) has all the stuff that I did before starting the chapter.

Edited August 19, 2010 by Colonel M

[Colonel M]

Okay so I'm up to Turn 9 as far as figuring things out. Assuming that no stray crits enter the scene and such... it should go down like this.

Turn 1 - Nolan Crossbows the Tiger. Volug moves to reveal the two Cats on the south end of the map and uses Olivi Grass. Edward shoves Sothe to help Micaiah's aim with Thani. Meg 2 ranges the untransformed Cat up north with Wind Edge. She has 35% Displayed, so she SHOULD miss. If she hits, reset: The Ally Sniper will target the Cat instead! Fiona rescues Meg. Micaiah moves and attacks with Thani. Sothe attacks with Silver Dagger. Jill finishes it off with Steel Axe forge. She then moves 4 U 1 R. Aran moves into support range. Laura heals Sothe. Zihark blocks the A Strike Cat. Sniper weakens untransformed Tiger and the two Halberdiers KO the untransformed Tiger in the south. Zihark is healed by the Bishop. Cat attacks Zihark and Zihark fails to KO. Cat and Tiger attack Jill, and Jill KOes the Tiger on the Enemy Phase. Jill gains a level after harming the Cat. She's at 3.77 now. The two Cats attack Nolan. Nolan obtains a Level up. He's at 2.20.

Turn 2 - I have Nolan swallow a Concoction. Move Sothe to attempt to find the Brave Bow. I have Jill healed up with Laura and Micaiah. Jill KOes the southern Cat with Brave Axe then Canto 5 U 1 L. Zihark should move up, equip Killing Edge, then use Vulnerary. Target the Allies to block the south end of the map. Have Micaiah and Laura Physic Jill. Moved Volug into support range and use Olivi Grass. Fiona drops Meg off. 2 Cats will attack Nolan as well as a Tiger. Two Cats will attack Jill. Nolan should be 3.36, Jill should be about 3.95.

Turn 3 - This is tricky. 2 Physic heals are necessary for Jill this turn. Have Leo attack the Tiger IN CASE OF FAILURE TO CRIT, Zihark should move away and use a Vulnerary. Sothe should finish off the Tiger. Now for the tricky part. See where Sothe is? Both of your Physics have to land there. Shift with Volug, then Shove Sothe. Have Jill finish off her Cat, then Canto 1 D 1 R. You should be right below one of your weakened Cats. Shoot off your Physics. Nolan should just down a Vulnerary and move back 2 spaces. Nolan should be attacked by a Tiger. Volug should be attacked by a Tiger and a Cat. Jill should be attacked by a Cat. Jill should be about 5.89, Nolan should be about 3.75.

Turn 4 - Have Jill finish off her Cat that she weakened. Canto back 3 D 1 L. Have Volug heal himself or Micaiah / Laura do it; either is fine. Moved Nolan 1 U 1 R and heal. Make sure no one is anywhere near this Tiger! There should be a Tiger that is untransformed and should be at Worst Bio. Have Zihark plus Sothe team up on him. Jill should once again be attacked by a Cat and finish it off. A Tiger will attack Volug. 2 Tigers will attack Nolan. Jill should be 7.23, Nolan should be 4.45.

Turn 5 - Jill should be healed again with Physic. Jill should be able to finish off the Tiger with a single Brave Axe shot, but you can also use your Steel Axe forge since unfortunately this thing is at best bio. Canto Jill 3 D. Have Volug grass himself. Nolan should move so he is 2 spaces above the Fallen Tree on the left side of it (IIRC it's 1 D 1 R). Volug should be attacked by a Tiger and a Cat. Jill shockingly wasn't attacked by anything. Nolan should be attacked by a Tiger. Nolan should be 4.79 and Jill should be 7.89, though Level 8 is possible.

Turn 6 - Nolan should move 1 R. There are TIGERS coming at his way. Volug should stay put. Jill should attack the weakened Cat w/Brave Axe. Mine wasn't alive, so you might have to KO the Tiger instead which only requires Sothe throwing Knives at it. Assuming she moves 2 spaces up, she should move 2 D 3 R. Heal up, and have Zihark hold the chokepoint with a Storm Sword and heal himself. He should only hit ~68% of the time on one hit (it's displayed). Jill should be attacked by a Tiger + Cat. Nolan should be attacked by a Tiger. Nolan should be 5.16. Jill should be 9.37.

Turn 7 - Have Nolan move 1 R and use Vulnerary / Concoction. Have Volug use Grass. Heal Jill then have her finish off the weakened Tiger and use the Brave Axe. Move Jill so that she is attacked by the Cat in the sight range. Don't even worry about the Tiger since it likely draws another Cat and Jill might not be able to survive 2 Cats + Tiger. If she can, though, it's possible. You can have her Physic'd again if necessary. Have your allies move away. Heal Sothe. Tiger should just come out of nowhere and attack Volug. He will detransform. Cats will attack Jill. If you have 24 Spd, consider yourself lucky: you quadruple this Cat. Another Cat should attack you, but I was unfortunate and didn't see it. Due to my Jill being Def-blessed this time, she got to Level 11.33. I think she could've braced the Cats regardless. My Nolan was 5.88, but Jill was freaking 11.33.

Turn 8 - Have BK land 1 right before the Reeds and unequip Alondite. Move Nolan 2 L and Concoction. Have Jill finish off her Cat... if it's alive. Then again she shouldn't ORKO the Tiger; that might've been my problem. I have Jill finish off her Cat, then Canto back. I have it so Volug draws in the Tiger.

Turn 9 - Nolan should smash the Right Tiger with Tarvos. Move BK 2 spaces down. Jill tries to finish off the Tiger and succeeds. Volug moves one space right and grasses. 2 Cats and Tigers should attack Nolan. 2 Tigers should attack Volug.

Turn 10 - I have Nolan Physic'd then Nolan uses Tarvos. BK Shoves Nolan forward. I have Zihark Storm Sword a Tiger for Jill to finish off. Leo weakens a Tiger so Volug can Grass then finish it off on the Enemy Phase. Unfortunately Volug is short. I kill 4 Cats this turn with Nolan. Sorry, 5 Cats.

Turn 11 - 3 Enemies left. Nolan Crossbows the Cat. Jill finishes off a Cat. Volug finishes off a Tiger.

That's the part I haven't figured out yet. Keeping her there actually gets her wrecked by the two Tigers, so my guess is she will Canto back to her original position. But like I said; have to test that out.

I decided to restart this map anyway. She wasn't procing Str nor Def.

Edited August 21, 2010 by Colonel M

[Interceptor]

I know that this was already discussed on #feto, but I figured I'd post my results here for everyone else that reads this thread. I grabbed the Tyrant's RD save file and took a swing at it, using his fourth save (where everything is already configured, Jill has been promoted, etc). I only made tiny adjustments, such as giving Volug a better starting position.

With this loadout, Nolan is more than capable of handling the north basically by himself, as expected. He needs no healing help whatsoever, Concoctions are sufficient for the damage he takes, and giving up Player Phase doesn't prove to be a problem. That's how badass that this Nolan is. Leo helps a small bit by killing off and/or weakening some untransformed laguz.

Everyone else goes east. Jill requires both Micaiah and Laura in order to stay alive, because her 15 DEF and 37 HP is a serious barrier to using Jill effectively. Note that a 29mt cat and a 39mt tiger will combo to hit her for 38 damage, which means that she also needs to stay within 3 tiles of Volug, to leverage their C support and survive with 1 HP. This makes the first half-dozen turns REALLY hairy, it's hard to have an underleveled and DEF-screwed Jill face survivable combinations of enemies. All successful clears of this chapter involved heavy use of both Sothe and Volug. The former for 2-range combat, and the latter for weakening all manner of laguz (transformed or otherwise). Volug's A-Strike was actually an asset in this chapter, since it doesn't kill anything, usually.

After some false starts with dead Jills and/or Nolans because of mistakes and Fog of War shenanigans (fun fact, Nolan can't actually take three tigers in a row), I started reaching the end of the chapter consistently around Turn 11. My best Jills wound up at about level 12 or so, depending on how her intermediate stat-ups went (once she can survive 2x cat + tiger, for example, you can start being more aggressive). So for my final run, I BEXP'ed her to 1.99 in base (the Colonel has enough for this, barely), with the idea that leveling up on the first hit will be strategically beneficial.

It was. This run ended with Jill hitting level 14, about halfway to 15, and I was able to push out all the way to the island just below Lethe and Mordecai. If this is not the best possible result, it must be pretty close, because I'm not sure how much more activity I could have Jill face unless I started RNG-abusing misses and/or +DEF level-ups. The run ended on Turn 11, but since there was only one kill left to take on Player Phase, I could have 10-turned it had I simply moved Nolan one square forward from where I left him. Speaking of Nolan, he only hit level 5 in this chapter, but I wasn't 1) concentrating on maximizing his CEXP, or 2) expecting the laguz to prioritize the BK over Nolan so much. I mean, seriously?

So what have we learned?

- Being able to survive cat + tiger is vital for Jill. Ideally, you want her to be able to survive tiger + tiger at some point in this chapter, since that's what allows her to seriously let loose.

- In that vein, sitting on the Robes and Dracoshield as long as possible to guard against RNG-screwage is a smart move. Nolan can survive the north if he gets 2HKO'ed by tigers. It requires a little shake-and-bake action, but he has a superior position and can kite laguz in the river, so it's possible for him to grow into his durability.

- I have perhaps been too harsh on Sothe's performance in 3-6. Don't tell RFoF, I will never hear the end of it.

- It is somehow a desirable result if Volug arrives here with A-Strike, if you aren't using him long-term.

- Leonardo is super-useful here, even at tier 1 level 5. Who knew? His PRF weapon is just that good.