Is it just me...

[Gaggle of Geese]

So yeah... I'm on chapter 3 in FE4, and this game seems really hard. Is it just a matter of adjusting my tactics? I'm not used to fighting in wide open area repeatedly. Or maybe it's the RNG? Do I just suck? Am I underleveled?

Has anyone else found this game really hard? Because if not, I may be doing something wrong.

[Shin]

FE4's not terribly hard, a bit of a pickle at times though. A little info on your characters and the details on how you're stuck would be nice. FE4's fairly unforgiving in unit placement, if one unit's vulnerable, everyone's going to try and take them out.

[The Envoy of the Beginning]

Or maybe it's the RNG?

The RNG in FE4 is different from the RNG in the FEs that you are used to. FE4 (and FE1-3 and 5) uses a 1-RN system in which what you see is really what the accuracy is. FE6-11 uses a 2-RN system for attack accuracy which is explained here.

EDIT: If you find FE4 very hard, then I'm just waiting to see your reactions to FE5 or FE12 Lunatic.

Edited January 24, 2011 by BLS

[Scarlet]

Yeah, I'm going to echo the others and say that the game can be a bit tricky sometimes, but it isn't terribly hard overall. Some of the bosses are a bit ridiculous though, like Thorhammer!Blume in chapter 7.

Unit placement is key in FE4. Enemies usually come at you in large numbers, but your units are not exactly more durable than in other FEs - they have more HP, but weapons also do a lot more damage. So you have to lure enemies towards your group in smaller quantities when possible and position your units so that they aren't exposed to more attacks than they can reliably survive. Remember that mounted units can canto back into formation after an attack, and be especially careful with mounted enemies, as they can do the same.

Also try not to overuse certain units, but rather spread the experience across all units you want to use (which should probably be all first generation units minus Arden) - unlike most other FEs, you cannot just take a godly unit and let it do everything alone. You actually need most of the units you have, so they need to be at a suitable level to deal with the enemies. They also need the experience to have a shot at winning in the arena, which nets them even more experience and gold. To accomplish this, try to give the Elite Ring to the lowest level people that otherwise have trouble catching up, like Lachesis, Dew, Azel or Tiltyu. Possibly also Aideen if you want to promote her earlier.

[Mekkah]

Like many FEs, this game can be hard for first-timers. Then later you look back and you wonder how you ever had trouble.

In Ch3, you have the trouble of 3 different "armies" coming at you. If you want to, you can ignore the Lance Knights to the left and the Armor Knights to the right, and go for a fast seize on Madino Castle. This will also kill those small armies.

First thing that's important is to make sure everyone is well equipped, especially your mounted units. I recommend Relive and Return (both Ring and Staff) on Ethlin, Silver Sword on Sigurd, Silver Lance on Cuan, Hero Lance on Fin if you trained him, and of course Hero Axe on Lex (you might've missed this one). These alone are enough to give the army there trouble. If your mounts alone cannot handle it, then bring along Holyn, Ayra and Jamka, and don't forget to make turn 1 and 2 diamonds around Sylvia to make the most of her, too! Aideen can come out of the castle using Libro as well (the last boss of Ch2 dropped it).

A great trick in FE4 is that if you lure one enemy of a pack, the rest will come to you too. This can be abused with the Bow Knights there, for example.

There isn't much to say about the actual fighting. Keep squishy units out of the attacking lines, surrounding them might not always work given the ranged enemies around there. Try to maximize your amount of kills during a turn. Leaving enemies at low HP just gets them healed on enemy phase. Send up someone to deal with the ballistae up there.

After you manage to seize Madino, use Ethlin's Return staff to warp back Sigurd and most others, leaving only a few guys behind (you'll see why later). Ethlin should go with Sigurd after you Returned enough guys. Make sure Aideen goes north to Madino. Put someone who can double the Javelin Cavaliers with his own ranged weapon (Javelin Sigurd or Fin usually works), preferably ORKOing, but keep them out of range of their leader for what will be obvious reasons. Talk to the leader with Lachesis. Then storm Shagaal's castle. Return people to the home castle when he's almost or completely down and go upwards to intercept the pirates. The crew that was already there should handle the Dragon Knight assault and the pirate squad that comes in quickly (mind the Leg Ring Warrior). I usually have my nonmounted juggernauts like Holyn stationed there.

[Paperblade]

So yeah... I'm on chapter 3 in FE4, and this game seems really hard. Is it just a matter of adjusting my tactics? I'm not used to fighting in wide open area repeatedly. Or maybe it's the RNG? Do I just suck? Am I underleveled?

Has anyone else found this game really hard? Because if not, I may be doing something wrong.

It would help to see what characters/levels/items you have, since it's really easy to miss a few nice characters and items that make the game much easier.

[Smiley Jim]

It would help to see what characters/levels/items you have, since it's really easy to miss a few nice characters and items that make the game much easier.

I would like to see your current party/swag list as well.

Anyway, Aira and Holin are somewhat easy to miss, most notable Aira, who in order to recruit, you have to seize the castle that she is near(don't worry about her disappearing, she is linked to Verdane, not Genea.), which is difficult in itself as Aira can ORKO anybody you have if Astra goes off. I recommend using Alec to lure her away from the castle as he has Nihil and can't get ORKO'd. At which point you want Sigurd to sit his ass on the throne, then FINALLY you can talk to Aira. I mean, how would any FE4 noob know to do THAT?

Holin is also somewhat easy to miss because you have to win 7 consecutive arena matches to actually get him. And even if you DO get to him, he still has Luna and good stats.

Here are some of the easy-to-miss items:

-Silver sword(need to have Sigurd talk to Alvis in BotHK or vice versa)

-Hero axe(need to bring Lex to the end of a stretch of land southeast of Verdane castle with an iron axe in his cube)

-Bargain ring(need to get it from a town south of Aphony that will be destroyed on turn 17-18)

-Pursuit ring(need to bring Ardan to an obscure stretch of beach south of Heirhine. Not an easy task as Ardan has 5 move.)

-Knight ring(need to keep all three of Lachesis' knights alive in DiA, which is hard enough as they are almost as suicidal as the soldiers in Ch17 of FE7)

-Wind sword(need to bring Dew to Blaggi tower)

-Defender(need to have Sylvia enter a specific village in DitS, which can glitch unless you reset)

-Holsety(need to have Levin enter Silesia castle)

As for anything else, remember to raise all your units equally(you can skip Ardan if you want, as his mobility gets him nowhere fast), as another guy said, as this isn't the kind of game where you can solo it with just one guy, especially with all the shit trying to kill you(unlike, say FE7, where I can beat the game with just Hector and my AA'd Raven and Oswin.), and make sure they are properly equipped, too.

Recommended cube items

Sigurd: Silver sword, Return ring

Cuan: Silver lance, Javelin

Fin: Hero lance, Javelin

Lex: Hero axe, Hand axe

Ethlin: Relive, Return staff, Light brand

Aira: Iron blade, Hero sword

Holin: Steel blade, Thunder sword

Levin: Elwind, Holsety(when you get it)

[deleted35362]

I never thought FE4 was hard except the first time I tried chapter 1. I beat it

on my second try.

The reason why I couldn't stand that game is that it's so tedious. It takes too

long, and it just doesn't seem worth it.

[Gaggle of Geese]

Alright, it's not that hard after all. I beat Chapter 3, and I just got to Chapter 4. I think my main problem was trying to rush. I think it's best to take things slow when you need to. I was just worried about my LevinxFury pairing.

I missed the Wind Sword. Damn. Also, I didn't bother keeping Lachesis's knights alive. I can post my units, their levels, and their equipment in just a second. It's hard to give the equipment to the units that need it, since all the good stuff costs so damn much.

Sigurd--Level 20(45). Silver Sword, Steel Lance

Noish--Level 11(55). Steel Sword, Speed Ring, Iron Lance

Alec--Level 13(85). Iron Lance, Slim Sword

Ardan--Level 9(24).Steel Sword, Pursuit Ring, Return Ring, Cutter

Midir--Level 15(7). Iron Bow, Steel Bow

Levin--Level 13(90). Elwind

Holyn--Level 17(16). Iron Blade, Silver Sword, Thunder Sword

Azel--Level 10(9). Thunder, Magic Ring, Elfire

Jamka--Level 14(93). Killer Bow, Silver Bow, Leg Ring (GOD FUCKING DAMMIT ARDAN NEEDS THAT)

Claude--Level 23(40). Reserve, Valkyrie

Beowulf--Level 18(40). Steel Sword, Elite Ring, Clipper

Lex--Level 22(14)(Promoted). Hand Axe, Hero Axe, Silver Axe

Dew--Level 2(40). Iron Sword

Lachesis--Level 9(87). Prqyer Sword, Live, Thief Sword, Earth Sword

Aira--Level 13(67). Steel Blade, Hero Sword, Silver Blade

Fury-- Level 10(53). Slim Lance, Iron Sword

Tiltyu--Level 8(16). Tron, Thunder

Sylvia--Level 4(90). Slim Sword

Aideen--Level 16(45). Relive, Warp, Libro, Sleep

Brigid-- Level 16(16). Steel Bow, Ichival

That's my party. I hardly use Dew at all because he's all but useless in battle. It hasn't been terribly difficult so far, but dealing with the Cross Knights was quite difficult, and it can be hard to get enough funds for Azel, Aideen, and Ardan. Not that they need that much, but yeah.

[Pitbuller26]

Jamka--Level 14(93). Leg Ring (GOD FUCKING DAMMIT ARDAN NEEDS THAT)

Sylvia wants it more than Ardan.

Edited January 26, 2011 by pitbuller26

[Narga_Rocks]

Sylvia wants it more than Ardan.

Yeah. Ardan wants to nap in the castle. Trust me, he told me himself.

Anyway, for a first playthrough I definitely recommend going slow and being careful. After a playthrough or two you can start speeding up and one day go as fast as Aquilae, but until then better stick with slow and steady. Then you can be like me and cut your turncount in half on your second playthrough.

[Paperblade]

Your team seems underleveled to me. Have you been doing the arena?

[Gaggle of Geese]

Your team seems underleveled to me. Have you been doing the arena?

Whenever I can, as far as I can go. With some characters, that isn't very far. I just promoted Beowulf this chapter, and a few other characters are getting up there. As long as most of the characters are at higher levels than the enemies, I figure it's good, and I can beat most opponents anyway. I don't know, does anyone think I should start over or something?

I was originally planning on giving the mov ring to Azel, but upon thinking about it, Sylvia does seem like the better choice. Also, which two partners can Claude pair up with and pass down the Valkyrie staff to someone who can use it? And can anyone recommend a good pairing for Brigid? The site recommends Dew, but I almost never use him...

[Silvercrow]

Also, which two partners can Claude pair up with and pass down the Valkyrie staff to someone who can use it? And can anyone recommend a good pairing for Brigid? The site recommends Dew, but I almost never use him...

Claude has to be paired with Sylvia or Fury for the Valkyrie Staff to be available again. Honestly though, as long as you're even remotely careful, you won't need it, so don't worry about it too much if you don't want to pair Claude.

Briggid is pretty difficult to screw up, since Faval will get everything he needs from her and Patty will more or less never be good at combat regardless. Another option besides Dew is Holyn, who gives Faval solid growths and Patty Moonlight Sword, which gives her a chance of possibly maybe doing some damage to something.

[Narga_Rocks]

Briggid is pretty difficult to screw up, since Faval will get everything he needs from her and Patty will more or less never be good at combat regardless. Another option besides Dew is Holyn, who gives Faval solid growths and Patty Moonlight Sword, which gives her a chance of possibly maybe doing some damage to something.

Also it gives Patty B Swords at base. Meaning she can borrow hero swords for the arena to make it easier to gain HP. And Moonlight sword will save money when using Sleep Sword on arena enemies she can't defeat any other way. My Dew!Patty frequently did 1 hp damage to stuff in the arena with it, causing her to break it on every enemy. Rather expensive. But each moonlight saves over 10 uses, which saves a ton of money.

[Silvercrow]

You know that after Sleeping someone you can just press B and switch to a crappy Iron Sword or something right?

It helps speed up the arena and I guess save a bit of cash in the long run, but you don't actually have to finish entire enemies with the sleep sword...

[Narga_Rocks]

You know that after Sleeping someone you can just press B and switch to a crappy Iron Sword or something right?

That doesn't reset the battle to the start? Strange. I'd think leaving a fight in the arena would make you have to start that battle from the beginning.

[Silvercrow]

No, it just pauses the battle. You can switch weapons and continue.

[Narga_Rocks]

No, it just pauses the battle. You can switch weapons and continue.

Interesting. I should take advantage of that.

In any case, I've used both Dew!Patty and Holyn!Patty, and I like the second more.

Plus it overkills Faval's skill so he's much more accurate earlier on with that 70 hit weapon.

[Gaggle of Geese]

Chapter 4 is going well. Correction: it WAS going well, until Jamka and Levin died right after Silesia, and I hadn't saved in ages.

God dammit.

By the way, the event that boosts Levin and Fury's love points is the conversation between Fury and Sylvia, right? Because I secured their pairing right after capturing whatever that castle is in the far northeast of the map.

[Silvercrow]

The one I was thinking of happens after capturing Silesia, but whatever works.

Also, am I the only one that saves every turn?

[Narga_Rocks]

Chapter 4 is going well. Correction: it WAS going well, until Jamka and Levin died right after Silesia, and I hadn't saved in ages.

God dammit.

By the way, the event that boosts Levin and Fury's love points is the conversation between Fury and Sylvia, right? Because I secured their pairing right after capturing whatever that castle is in the far northeast of the map.

Well, the Fury and Sylvia convo actually boosts both their love points for Levin. And Sylvia by more than Fury.

There's an auto-marriage convo between Levin and Fury after conquering....one of them castles in chapter 4. Don't care to look up which one. If neither of them are married yet, that convo is available and will result in marriage.

[Pitbuller26]

And confirming FuryxLevin is canon. (lets pretend FE5 doesn't exist for this post)

[Integrity]

There's an auto-marriage convo between Levin and Fury after conquering....one of them castles in chapter 4. Don't care to look up which one. If neither of them are married yet, that convo is available and will result in marriage.

That's the one after Silesia Silvercrow keeps referencing.

[Narga_Rocks]

That's the one after Silesia Silvercrow keeps referencing.

I was informing the guy that thought it was the sylvia fury convo. I know silvercrow is talking about the same convo as I was talking about.