Balcerzak's FE4 AAAA attempts

[Balcerzak]

Chapter 3:

Chapter 3:

.

Turn 6: Seize Madino.

Turn 14: Seize Silvail.

Turn 29: Seize Orgahill.

Name: Arena Lv.XP MHP STR MAG SKL SPD LCK DEF RES Money Equip
Sigurd:   A★ 24.05 56 23  1 19 17 10 15  5 46260  (Skill Ring, Barrier Ring, Life Ring)
Noish:    A★ 21.14 47 20  6 16 14  9 19  5 33865
Alec:     A★ 20.89 42 20  7 18 21  5 15  7 37405  (Shield Ring)
Ardan:    A★ 18.10 48 23  0  7  6  4 21  0 37275  (Pursuit Ring)
Azel:     A5  18.45 42  2 20 11 17  3  5  8 25165
Lex:      A★ 23.58 47 23  1 17 16 11 25  3 48195
Cuan:     A★ 26.05 60 27  1 18 16  8 23  4 34680  [Gae Bolg, Silver Lance, Iron Lance]
Fin:      A★ 20.09 44 24  1 18 18 20 14  4 32845  [steel Lance, Javelin, Silver Lance]
Ethlin:   A★ 30.00 44 23 10 23 24 11 20 11 34080  [Light Sword, Iron Blade, Silver Blade]
Midir:    A★ 20.12 45 21  1 13 20  4 14  3 23560  (Speed Ring)
Aideen:   A5  26.78 41  9 24 12 17 27  8 11 13255  (Bargain Bracelet)
Dew:      A4  14.67 35 11  1 13 19 17  8  1 24500
Aira:     A★ 19.72 42 16  1 25 22  5 12  1 32780  (Power Ring)
Jamka:    A★ 19.15 48 17  0 14 15 11 11  1 33965
Dierdre:  A★ 30.00 44  2 23 11 13 11  5 25  2700  [Circlet]
Holyn:    A★ 20.18 48 22  3 26 23  2 17  4 10600  (Elite Ring)
Lachesis: A★ 20.14 36 16  8 12 17 14 11 11 38985 
Levin:    A★ 18.58 43  3 14 17 25  8  9 10 32440
Sylvia:   A★ 13.40 36  4  4  5 12  8  2 12 40355  (Leg Ring)
Beowulf:  A6  16.40 41 16  0 15 14  3 11  0 36485
Fury:     A★ 17.55 37 17  2 13 20 10 14 11 41595
Briggid:  A★ 17.48 45 25  0 23 22 11 15  9 31500
Tiltyu:   A★ 10.03 34  0 11 20 14 13  2 10 20500 (Magic Ring)
Claude:   A5  25.25 38  0 24 16 17 14  5 22 14085

Turns: 102/399

XP: 370/1000

[spoiler=Love Fortunes]Noish: in love with Aira

Lex: Sylvia is on his mind

Azel: has Aideen on his mind

Aideen: in love with Midir (become lovers turn 5)

Midir: in love with Aideen

Ayra: in love with Noish (become lovers turn 9)

Jamka: is fond of Aideen

Dew: has Aideen on his mind

Levin: is fond of Sylvia

Sylvia: is fond of Levin

Lachesis: is fond of Beowulf

Beowulf: is fond of Lachesis

Fury: has Levin on her mind

Tilytu: has Claude on her mind

Claude: has Tiltyu on his mind

Man, Aideen is really gathering some attention to herself. Quite the heartbreaker, she'll end up being.

Edited March 17, 2011 by Balcerzak

[Anouleth]

It's really amazing that you got Dierdre, Cuan and Ethlin to such a high level.

[FionordeQuester]

Nah, Dierdre is actually pretty easy to level up to 30. Between the Magic Ring, Prayer, and the Warp Staff, it'd be more incredible to me if she DIDN'T hit Level 30.

Ethlin has the Light Sword and staves to help her out with experience, and her Critical skill does wonders in the Arena.

Cuan on the other hand is definetly more of a struggle, but, since he's a solid unit with 1-2 range, it's not THAT inconcievable that he edges his way into 30, especially if you let him hold on to the Elite Ring constantly.

Edited March 5, 2011 by FionordeQuester

[Balcerzak]

Did some playing around, may have discovered my final working strategy for Chapter 4.

Amusingly enough, aside from the obvious (staffers, Lex, Sigurd). Syvlia is now my third highest leveled unit, behind Midayle and Dew(!?).

Monopolizing the civilians does amazing things.

Full details, as always with the full update.

[Balcerzak]

Chapter 4:

Chapter 4:

.

Turn 14: Seize Thove.

Turn 24: Seize Silesia.

Turn 29: Seize Zaxxon.

Name: Arena Lv.XP MHP STR MAG SKL SPD LCK DEF RES Money Equip
Sigurd:   A★ 28.52 60 24  1 22 17 10 16  5 40560  (Skill Ring, Barrier Ring, Life Ring)
Noish:    A★ 25.03 50 22  6 18 14  9 20  5 39905
Alec:     A★ 25.24 46 21  7 21 22  7 16  7 45705  
Ardan:    A★ 23.08 52 25  1  8  9  4 24  3 33655  (Pursuit Ring)
Azel:     A★ 24.11 47  9 25 13 21  4 11 11 43715
Lex:      A★ 27.10 50 24  1 18 16 11 25  3 49180  (Return Ring)
Cuan:     A-- 26.05 60 27  1 18 16  8 23  4 34680  [Gae Bolg, Silver Lance, Iron Lance]
Fin:      A-- 20.09 44 24  1 18 18 20 14  4 32845  [steel Lance, Javelin, Silver Lance]
Ethlin:   A-- 30.00 44 23 10 23 24 11 20 11 34080  [Light Sword, Iron Blade, Silver Blade]
Midir:    A★ 26.24 47 23  2 15 23  4 14  4 44540  (Speed Ring)
Aideen:   A4  30.00 45 10 25 12 20 30  9 11 14045  (Bargain Bracelet)
Dew:      A★ 26.10 44 22  8 21 27 21 18  6 18800  (Power Ring)
Aira:     A★ 25.10 47 22  1 30 30  6 15  4 41140
Jamka:    A★ 24.24 52 23  0 17 18 11 14  4 38965
Dierdre:  A-- 30.00 44  2 23 11 13 11  5 25  2700  [Circlet]
Holyn:    A★ 25.04 54 24  4 27 23  3 18  4 50000
Lachesis: A★ 28.87 39 27  8 20 22 15 18 12  2000  (Return Ring)
Levin:    A★ 23.96 48  4 23 26 30  8  9 16 40750
Sylvia:   A★ 25.31 41  4  6  6 12 11  2 18 21820  (Leg Ring, Knight Ring)
Beowulf:  A★ 23.56 44 21  0 27 23  4 14  4 37780
Fury:     A★ 26.06 40 20 10 17 26 13 19 16 36095 
Briggid:  A★ 24.50 51 26  2 26 23 16 15  9 46500
Tiltyu:   A★ 25.50 49  4 20 24 26 24  7 15 19500  (Magic Ring, Elite Ring)
Claude:   A4  30.00 42  0 25 16 19 16  6 23  2005

Turns: 131/399

XP: 504/1000

Completed Pairings:

Midir x Aideen

Noish x Ayra

Beowulf x Lachesis

[spoiler=Love Fortunes]Ardan: has Tiltyu on his mind.

Alec: has Tiltyu on his mind.

Lex: in love with Sylvia.

Azel: fond of Tilytu.

Holyn: fond of Brigid.

Jamka: fond of Brigid.

Dew: has Tilytu on his mind.

Levin: is fond of Sylvia.

Sylvia: in love with Lex.

Fury: fond of Claude.

Brigid: fond of Holyn.

Tilytu: fond of Levin.

Claude: fond of Fury.

I think that covers most everything needed for the update.

[Mekkah]

Very nice to see everyone promoted, especially Tiltyu, Ardan, and Dew. This run convinces me how silly it is (or was) to rank units according to their contributions in a ranked run, since the EXP rank always turns it into a a team's game, where everything is centered around the weakest units rather than the strongest. Juggernauts like Lex and Sigurd are intentionally held back, so you never really get to see their awesomeness other than the occasional emergency nuke and in the arena. It turns their amazingness into "they are so awesome they COULD have done this, but since I have 500 other mouths to feed we're going to gum this enemy down with a Tiltyu/Dew combination".

Wonder if Ardan is going to make it to 30. I've always found Ardan an acceptable unit in the arena thanks to him being "fast" and getting Pursuit for free, as well as being able to use bows after promotion which turns some battles int jokes.

[Balcerzak]

Very nice to see everyone promoted, especially Tiltyu, Ardan, and Dew. This run convinces me how silly it is (or was) to rank units according to their contributions in a ranked run, since the EXP rank always turns it into a a team's game, where everything is centered around the weakest units rather than the strongest. Juggernauts like Lex and Sigurd are intentionally held back, so you never really get to see their awesomeness other than the occasional emergency nuke and in the arena. It turns their amazingness into "they are so awesome they COULD have done this, but since I have 500 other mouths to feed we're going to gum this enemy down with a Tiltyu/Dew combination".

Wonder if Ardan is going to make it to 30. I've always found Ardan an acceptable unit in the arena thanks to him being "fast" and getting Pursuit for free, as well as being able to use bows after promotion which turns some battles int jokes.

Thanks, I've been working hard on that. I do tend to agree with your current point, in that you basically want to apportion pretty much 1 kill per unit per turn, with 2 kills on those behind the curve once you've obtained your dancer, and 0 kills on strong units (unless threat of death). However, it also seems clear that I'm going to end up far above and beyond the XP threshold, already having fulfilled half though quota, so there is probably quite a bit more flexibility for Sigurd, Lex, etc. to flex their muscles that I'm purposely choosing not to exercise. It also almost certainly depends on who you're pairing people with whether or not you have to restrict their capabilities as well. I do seem to remember the Nico video run did a lot more charging through, and a lot less non-Arena leveling than I am, and a lot more Sigurd/Celice skip-clear of enemies upon seizing. That said, trying ranked tiering would still be a nightmare, IMO.

As for Ardan... I don't think I gave him quite enough XP in Chapter 2, or 3. He's going into Ch 5 at a deficit compared to the curve, due to a shitty Ch 4 (mountains :(), and his movement type won't help him in the desert. With better planning, he probably could have got to 30 (I don't doubt Paperblade's did, as he was gonna be a daddy), but I think I'll count my blessings if I can get Ardan to 29, and call it quits there. I probably should have exploited his additional weapon options as well, but swords just seem better for most tasks. Giving him Axes or Lances seems dumb, but I guess Bows could have their use... Would have given him the KO on Pamela, for sure.

Also, I hope to have Chapter 5 done before the end of the week.

Edited March 21, 2011 by Balcerzak

[Renall]

This run definitely proves that the arena's not the roadblock it appears. Granted, you're RNG manipulating, but hey, you do what you gotta do to get Sylvia through.

[FionordeQuester]

The Arena's pretty simple actually. It's just a matter of checking the future enemies stats on this site, and manipulating your level ups accordingly.

[Balcerzak]

Chapter 5:

Chapter 5:

.

Turn 8: Seize Lubeck.

Turn 13: Seize Phinora.

Turn 33: "Seize" Velthomer.

Name: Arena Lv.XP MHP STR MAG SKL SPD LCK DEF RES Money Equip
Sigurd:   A★ 30.00 62 24  1 22 18 10 16  5   940 [Hero Sword, Thunder Sword, Leg Ring, Elite Ring, Life Ring, Skill Ring, Barrier Ring, Silver Sword]
Noish:    A★ 30.00 52 24  6 18 17 10 21  5 31345 [steel Sword, Steel Sword]
Alec:     A★ 30.00 50 24  7 22 22  8 20  7 43565  
Ardan:    A★ 29.06 58 25  2  9  9  4 26  3 47940
Azel:     A★ 30.00 50  9 25 15 22  6 12 11 35555 [Elfire]
Lex:      A★ 30.00 50 25  3 18 16 12 25  5 44180 [Return Ring]
Cuan:     A-- 26.05 60 27  1 18 16  8 23  4 34680 [Gae Bolg, Silver Lance, Iron Lance]
Fin:      A-- 20.09 44 24  1 18 18 20 14  4 32845 [steel Lance, Javelin, Silver Lance]
Ethlin:   A-- 30.00 44 23 10 23 24 11 20 11 34080 [Light Sword, Iron Blade, Silver Blade]
Midir:    A★ 30.00 49 24  2 16 23  5 15  4     0 [speed Ring, Hero Bow, Killer Bow, Silver Bow, Iron Bow, Steel Bow]
Aideen:   A6  30.00 45 10 25 12 20 30  9 11 35990 [bargain Bracelet, Recover, Warp, Libro, Silence, Sleep, Restore, Live, Live]
Dew:      A★ 30.00 46 22  8 22 27 22 20  6     0
Aira:     A★ 30.00 49 23  2 30 30  8 15  4 30040 [steel Blade, Iron Blade]
Jamka:    A★ 30.00 55 25  0 18 20 12 15  4 30395
Dierdre:  A-- 30.00 44  2 23 11 13 11  5 25  2700 [Circlet]
Holyn:    A★ 30.00 59 25  4 27 23  4 19  4 47450 [slim Sword]
Lachesis: A★ 30.00 40 27  8 20 23 16 18 12 21160 [Prayer Sword, Earth Sword, Return Ring, Return Staff, Relive]
Levin:    A★ 30.00 55  4 24 27 30  9 12 17 23800 [Elwind, Holsety, Fire, Thunder]
Sylvia:   A★ 30.00 42  5  9  7 12 14  2 18 50000 [iron, Slim, Knight Ring, Defender, Slim, Iron, Iron]
Beowulf:  A★ 30.00 49 21  0 29 24  6 15  4 20125 [silver Sword, Wind Sword, Cutter, Clipper, Steel Sword]
Fury:     A★ 30.00 43 21 10 18 28 13 21 16  3620 [Hero Lance, Thief Sword, Javelin, Shield Ring, Power Ring, Slayer, Slim Lance, Iron Lance, Iron Lance, Steel Lance]
Briggid:  A★ 30.00 56 27  2 27 24 22 15  9 29290 [steel Bow, Ichival]
Tiltyu:   A★ 30.00 52  7 22 24 27 26  7 15  6810 [Thunder, Magic Ring, Pursuit Ring, Wind]
Claude:   A6  30.00 42  0 25 16 19 16  6 23    50 [Reserve, Valkryie]

Pawn Shop: Thoron, Aura, Iron Axe, Hand Axe, Hero Axe

Item Shop: Steel Axe, Silver Axe

Turns: 164/399

XP: 591/1000

Completed Pairings:

Midir x Aideen

Noish x Ayra

Beowulf x Lachesis

Lex x Syvlia

Claude x Fury

Levin x Tiltyu

Holyn x Briggid

[Psych]

You said something I just felt like correcting.

"Since I'm not pairing Azel, no one can inherit Elfire."

Sety can inherit Elfire regardless of his parents. Well, someone has to buy it to pass it down, but you get what I'm saying.

Though I guess since Claude is his father, you can't. :/

Levin!Sety can have it though.

Edited March 27, 2011 by Psychedelica

[Tables]

Sety can inherit Elfire regardless of his parents. Well, someone has to buy it to pass it down, but you get what I'm saying.

And who can buy Elfire? ...Azel can. And... er, Promoted Levin? I think that's it... you can't buy a weapon you can't wield.

[Paperblade]

(I don't doubt Paperblade's did, as he was gonna be a daddy)

Yeah, for Corple and Leen. >_>

My gen 1 levels were much lower but like my entire gen 2 hit 30.

[FionordeQuester]

Wow, congratulations on how well you leveled up your characters. Seriously, I'm very impressed. Although, I do wonder, what's the point of having the Silver Sword on Sigurd if you already have the Hero Sword?

[Balcerzak]

You said something I just felt like correcting.

"Since I'm not pairing Azel, no one can inherit Elfire."

Sety can inherit Elfire regardless of his parents. Well, someone has to buy it to pass it down, but you get what I'm saying.

Though I guess since Claude is his father, you can't. :/

Levin!Sety can have it though.

I forgot about Levin!Sety due to the fact that I wasn't producing him. Consider my statement amended to "With my pairings, no one can inherit Elfire."

Yeah, for Corple and Leen. >_>

My gen 1 levels were much lower but like my entire gen 2 hit 30.

Heheh, yeah, and base stats are so important to staffbots and dancers. ;) [i sort of forgot that for a moment, I guess.]

Also, this is good to hear (gen 2 levels), and consistent with other information I've seen.

Wow, congratulations on how well you leveled up your characters. Seriously, I'm very impressed. Although, I do wonder, what's the point of having the Silver Sword on Sigurd if you already have the Hero Sword?

Noish can't buy the Silver Sword, even with minor Odo Holyn!Patty can't wield it, Lakche doesn't really want it over Steel!Blade, Delmud's already getting one, Nanna has Prayer Sword which is nearly as good damage-wise and has the edge survivability-wise, Fee can't use Silver Swords, and Leaf's fate was decided a long, long time ago.

Celice will either sell the Silver for cash, or when he hits promotion level, he'll begin to main the Silver Sword, giving the Hero Sword to Delmud or Patty (both after she gives him another).

[Mekkah]

I laughed at "Why are you talking to me? You have to kill him! It's part of the plan! Didn't Alvis tell you?".

Everyone but Ardan hitting 30 was pretty amusing as well.

Just wondering, are you aware of the Fury poking trick on Reptor's army? I thought you were going to do it when I saw Fury head towards his army along with Sigurd after picking off some Meteor mages, but then she went south as if she didn't have wings at all. :( All you have to do is attack one guy (can be a Sniper or something) and Reptor's army starts moving. I don't know if it would've helped anything at all and it won't be the difference between making or not making AAAA since you pretty much capped EXP while tactics is lenient, but it might have been more prudent. Well, you probably couldn't have done the roundabout trick with Sigurd, but it's not like he was in any hurry to get to the castle. He even walked back to provide leadership.

[Balcerzak]

I laughed at "Why are you talking to me? You have to kill him! It's part of the plan! Didn't Alvis tell you?".

Everyone but Ardan hitting 30 was pretty amusing as well.

Just wondering, are you aware of the Fury poking trick on Reptor's army? I thought you were going to do it when I saw Fury head towards his army along with Sigurd after picking off some Meteor mages, but then she went south as if she didn't have wings at all. :( All you have to do is attack one guy (can be a Sniper or something) and Reptor's army starts moving. I don't know if it would've helped anything at all and it won't be the difference between making or not making AAAA since you pretty much capped EXP while tactics is lenient, but it might have been more prudent. Well, you probably couldn't have done the roundabout trick with Sigurd, but it's not like he was in any hurry to get to the castle. He even walked back to provide leadership.

Oh wow, yeah it would make sense they aggro when attacked instead of needing to have the proximity trigger. Well don't I feel a little foolish now. Still, good to learn and know.

At any rate, good news, this weekend has a double update. I present to you

Chapter 6:

Chapter 6:

.

Turn 9: Seize Ganeishire

Turn 12: "Seize" Sophara (aka Recruit Johalva).

Turn 17: Seize Isaac.

Turn 23: Seize Rivough.

Name: Arena Lv.XP MHP STR MAG SKL SPD LCK DEF RES Money Equip
Celice:   A-- 22.28 58 19  9 20 15 17 16 11    84 (Leg Ring, Elite Ring, Life Ring, Barrier Ring)
Skasaha:  A--  3.72 32 11  0 15 14  7  8  0  8138
Lakche:   A--  3.26 32 10  0 15 14 14  9  0  8138
Lana:     A--  6.20 33  7 12  8 12 18  3  7  5599 (Bargain Bracelet)
Delmud:   A--  6.08 33 15  1 10 10 13  8  0  7628
Lester:   A--  4.10 32 12  3  9 11 16 10  0  8099 (Speed Ring, Skill Ring)
Oifaye:   A-- 16.57 41 17  9 18 16  8 18  8  5000
Julia:    A--  1.80 24  0 11  8 11  5  3 14  7000
Fee:      A--  4.40 28 10  1 10 16 10  9 10 22367 (Shield Ring, Power Ring)
Arthur:   A--  2.70 32  1  9 10 11  8  3  6 11561
Johalva:  A-- 12.46 42 16  0  7 16  5 14  1  5000

Turns: 187/399

XP: 630/1000

Celice needs to learn how to share XP with the rest of the team. His new pony will just have to teach him.

[julystork]

Balcerzak: why did you pair Lex & his Elite with Sylvia?

[Renall]

I think the idea was that it's for Leen's sake, to help her exp up? Not that he's likely to have any problems making the exp rank. It's hardly the worst idea, I mean Leen always wants more defense and Lex's axes are always lost anyway.

[Balcerzak]

Balcerzak: why did you pair Lex & his Elite with Sylvia?

I think the idea was that it's for Leen's sake, to help her exp up? Not that he's likely to have any problems making the exp rank. It's hardly the worst idea, I mean Leen always wants more defense and Lex's axes are always lost anyway.

Exactly this. Everything I had seen previously had Sylvia's level tending to peg out at the high teens, and Leen in the low-mid twenties (though IIRC Marthur managed to cap her), so I was initially nervous about losing a lot of potential dancer levels. Seeing now that with persistence in Prayer mode (which requires a certain 'right' amount of HP/Def growth) and a steady diet of civilians it was actually possible to 'naturally' cap Sylvia, I may have reconsidered the pairing.

That said, it's a pairing I'd never done before, and the idea was interesting to me. I suppose the other viable option would have been using Lex!Ayra and Noish!Fury or something, as with my Celice!Blitz of Chapter 6 the Odo kids are looking a little smaller on the XP than anticipated. I still maintain the opinion that they'll recover well, and soon though.

But yeah, there was only so far I could get with preliminary planning and idea crafting (though I admit I could have taken it another level and done a detailed stat benchmark for optimal Arena clears, which I did not do, preferring to sort of wing the Arena segments through trial and error). Some insights you I can only pick up after sitting down and actually playing through it.

[Paperblade]

Celice: A-- 22.28

Holy overkill captain!

[Mekkah]

I have to wonder whether Celice's early pony is really worth him swallowing nearly an entire chapter's worth of EXP. There were several times when Sigurd would have reached the gate at the same time you ended up seizing it even if he had Ardan-level movement. Add the arena, and that Ch10 and the Final chapter have quite a few enemies that Celice is tailor-made to kill, and he will probably end up level capping while he's still used in combat. Only time will tell, I suppose, and as you said you can always revert to your old save.

I definitely enjoyed this video though. Celice ORKOing at range with Thunder Sword is pretty hilarious.

[Balcerzak]

Chapter 7:

Chapter 7:

.

Turn 9: Seize Yied

Turn 15: Seize Melgen

Turn 19: Seize Darna

Turn 23: Seize Alster

Name: Arena Lv.XP MHP STR MAG SKL SPD LCK DEF RES Money Equip
Celice:   A★ 24.06 60 25 11 22 17 18 19 15 36784 (Leg Ring, Life Ring, Barrier Ring)
Skasaha:  A★  8.76 37 14  0 20 17  9 10  0 37198
Lakche:   A★  7.84 37 12  0 19 16 14 10  1 39638
Lana:     A1  13.35 40 10 13 12 15 25  5  7 10599 (Bargain Bracelet)
Delmud:   A★ 11.56 40 21  1 15 12 14  9  1 28128
Lester:   A★ 10.28 38 12  4 13 15 21 14  0 28599 (Speed Ring, Skill Ring)
Oifaye:   A★ 18.63 42 18  9 19 16  8 18  8 22500
Julia:    A★  8.41 30  1 17  9 14  8  4 18 27500
Fee:      A★ 13.00 34 13  4 11 23 15 14 12  7057 (Shield Ring, Power Ring, Elite Ring)
Arthur:   A★  7.60 37  2 11 14 16  9  3  7 32061
Johalva:  A★ 15.51 45 17  0  8 16  5 16  1 22500
Leaf:     A★ 10.37 41 16  4 15 11 13 15  4 41718 (Speed Ring)
Fin:      A★ 22.22 46 24  1 19 19 21 15  4 34842
Nanna:    A★ 11.00 37 13  4 12 12 16  9  4 33023 (Return Ring)
Shanan:   A★ 16.26 43 19  0 25 25 10 15  4 22500
Patty:    A★  5.79 39  7  1 11 11 15  3  1     0
Aless:    A★ 11.52 46 16  4 13 13  8 12  5 20460
Leen:     A★  9.40 37  6  3  3  8  9  6 10 28883 (Knight Ring)
Tinny:    A★  6.00 35  1 10 13 14 10  2  6 44855 (Magic Ring, Pursuit Ring)

Turns: 210/399

XP: 725/1000

Not having fond memories of the Desert chapter, I do my best to get it over with ASAP. I meet with astounding success in this department.

[Mekkah]

Very nice. I'd always been sending Celice straight west from home, never realizing there was a route that took less time. Might do that in my 0% playthrough, though mine doesn't have a horse or Leg Ring currently so it might not be faster after all. I always found your "freshly joined PCs seperated from the group" tactics interesting and different from mine so I was really looking forward to what you'd do with Shannan/Patty and the Lenster group. I was not disappointed, though I won't even try to imitate Patty's Sleep Sword antics. Leaf attacking one of the Mage sisters before being Returned by Nanna was my favourite.

[Silvercrow]

I'm pretty sure that if Celice isn't promoted, going straight west is just as fast if not faster. Don't quote me on that, though.

Also, the reason Critical > Moonlight Sword on Ayra's kids isn't just because of crit being better in the first place, but also because it can proc in conjunction with Meteor Sword, whereas Moonlight Sword cannot.

Nicely done, though.