Life's FE9 Run

[Life]

Basically, I'm going to do a pretty detailed log of FE9. There's a couple things I want to test since it's been a long time since I've played this game properly. Like I want to see for my own eyes how good Stefan really is and whether or not he deserves to go higher (since I think he should). Other stuff I'm going to test is Muarim vs. Makalov and Calill vs. Geoffrey. That's about it.

Obviously, Hard Mode. No bands will be available, though.

Turn Count:

P: 4 (4)

1: 3 (7)

2: 5 (12)

3: 4 (16)

4: 3 (19)

5: 6 (25)

6: 9 (34)

7: 7 (41)

8: 8 (49)

9: 8 (57)

10: 12 (69)

11: 6 (75)

12: 9 (84)

Prologue: 4 turns

Prologue is the same old, 4 turn clear. Ike finishes off Boyd, stands next to Greil with 13 HP and proceeds to 3RKO Daddy. Ike also receives an amazing level up (everything minus Skl and Lck) so maybe he won't end up Str screwed like my last Ike.

Ike      2.57  |20| 6| 2| 6| 8| 6| 6| 1|

Chapter 1: 3 turns

Ike manages to pull in more Str and somehow criticals the first Fighter on the map. Which is nice because that lets Oscar get the Steel Sword without having to run back for it. After that, careful placement of my units and two lucky brother boosted crits by Oscar allowed Ike to seize in 3 turns with the Seraph Robe in Titania's inventory.

Ike      3.32  |20| 7| 2| 7| 8| 6| 6| 2|
Titania  1.28  Base
Boyd     2.48  Base
Oscar    3.82  Base

Edited June 8, 2011 by Life

[Life]

Chapter 2: 5 Turns

Base Oscar is boss enough to solo the northern Myrmidon and Fighters, even if he blocks every shot with his face. He does so while Ike, Boyd and Rhys blast their way east and north. Once Titania joins, it's a sprint up to the boss while Ike almost gets himself killed by the Steel Axe Fighter (2x16 Att would kill Ike). Ikanau dies on Turn 5 to a combination of Ike and Titania.

Ike      4.84  |20| 8| 2| 7| 8| 6| 6| 2|
Titania  1.28  Base
Boyd     3.48  |30| 8| 0| 5| 7| 5| 6| 0|
Oscar    5.21  |28| 6| 1| 6| 9| 6| 8| 0|
Rhys     4.44  Base

Chapter 3: 4 Turns

It's kinda disappointing that Shinon is unable to ORKO level 4 Fighters in his first chapter without a crit. That guy got a major upgrade between FE9 and FE10. However, he is a very nice brick wall of fuck so I'll let him off the hook for right now. Plus he attracts enemies away from Ike.

Aside from that, it's a rush chapter. You need to kill the boss in 6 turns to end the Chapter but Ike needs to speak to Marcia in order to recruit her later. In all honesty, it shouldn't take more than 4 turns if Titania grabs a dropped Hand Axe on Turn 2 by killing its owner. Shinon and Gatrie took out the ground forces while Ike made his way up to Marcia.

Ike      5.25  |21| 9| 3| 7| 9| 6| 6| 3|
Titania  1.80  Base
Shinon   1.12  Base
Gatrie   9.84  Base

[Florete]

Fixed or Random?

Also, what exactly do you mean by "semi-efficient?" I'm pretty sure you could have cut off a turn each in chapters 1, 2, and 3, but your goals may not care about that.

Other than the ones you've mentioned already, do you have a full team you plan to use?

[Life]

Fixed or Random?

Also, what exactly do you mean by "semi-efficient?" I'm pretty sure you could have cut off a turn each in chapters 1, 2, and 3, but your goals may not care about that.

Other than the ones you've mentioned already, do you have a full team you plan to use?

Random.

Semi-efficient means that I'm trying to go beneath the BExp limit and then possibly a little more. I'm more of a turtle player and while I may not be dondon style fast, I can beat the game pretty quickly.

Team is probably going to be Ike, Boyd, Oscar, Titania, Jill, Reyson and then the people that I mentioned (Stefan, Makalov, Muarim, Calill, Geoffrey). Everyone else who is fielded will be there because I think that they're best for a reason. This will be more prominent in Endgame if I bring in Lucia and Bastian to up Geoffrey's crit rates (Geoffrey has the Killer Bow at base so this will be interesting) against Calill. But the team isn't finalized.

Ironically, Calill supports with Geoffrey and happens to be Geoffrey's better support since his other contender is Elincia. And is probably Calill's 2nd best support too.

[Life]

Chapter 4: 3 Turns

I used to own the official guide for FE9 from Nintendo Power and it clearly mentioned that this chapter was hard and that huddling in the corner was the way to go.

...PWHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Gatrie and Titania take a total of NO DAMAGE from basically everything on the field before Gatrie thought that it might be a good idea to gain defense in a level up along with a bunch of others. Ike uses this chapter for more self improvement and everyone else AKA Titania stomps it easily while getting a near perfect level-up. Maijin hits the ground thanks to Titania on Turn 3.

Ike       6.17  |21|10| 3| 7| 9| 6| 7| 3|
Titania   2.40  |34|13| 4|14|15|12|12| 8|
Shinon    1.24  Base
Gatrie   10.38  |32|13| 0| 7| 6| 5|15| 0|
Soren     1.56  Base
Rhys      4.67  Base

Chapter 5: 6 Turns

Left team was Shinon, Boyd and Oscar. Shinon absorbs most of the possible attacks while Boyd and Oscar improve themselves greatly (hell, they want it). Shinon actually turned out to be incredibly key, killing when I wanted him to and doing significant chip for easy Oscar and Boyd kills at other times.

The right side was even funnier. Gatrie and Titania wouldn't take damage and Ike's sporting something like 15 Atk with just an Iron Sword. I used the opportunity to funnel kills into Ike and Soren to level them up as much as possible. Soren then moved a little back northwest to help out SBO but Ike's Str kept growing. And Titania got the boss kill like usual.

Ike       7.63  |22|11| 3| 7|10| 6| 7| 4|
Titania   3.13  |34|14| 4|15|15|13|12| 9|
Boyd      4.77  |31| 8| 0| 5| 7| 6| 6| 0|
Oscar     6.72  |29| 6| 1| 7|10| 6| 8| 0|
Shinon    1.53  Base
Gatrie   11.22  |32|13| 0| 7| 6| 5|15| 0|
Soren     3.08  |18| 0| 8| 9| 8| 5| 2| 8|
Rhys      5.23  |22| 0|11| 9| 6| 7| 1|14|

Chapter 6: 9 Turns

This chapter never used to annoy me much before this run but when your Boyd is only level 4 and can't hit shit with a Hand Axe, you get pissed pretty quickly.

The goal of this chapter is to shovel as many kills down Soren's, Boyd's and Oscar's throats before escaping on Turn 9 for max BExp. Titania cleared out the left side Merc and Steel Bow archer while everyone else dealt with the two Axe Knights (Ike needed to dodge a 48 to live from the Iron Axe because he liked blocking lances and axes with his face) and a bunch of soldiers. After that, Titania helped Ike and Soren down the right side while Boyd and Oscar ATTEMPTED to destroy the left bridge. They failed but gained enough Exp so that I won't bitch that much. All in all, pretty good effort.

Oh and Ike still hasn't missed a Str level up. This reminds me of my Hector that gained 9 Spd in 9 levels. And Ike took a Seraph Robe while Boyd got a Speedwing (he needs it now).

Ike       9.21  |31|13| 4| 7|10| 7| 8| 5| Seraph Robe
Titania   3.83  |34|14| 4|15|15|13|12| 9|
Boyd      5.98  |32| 9| 0| 5|10| 6| 6| 0| Speedwing
Oscar     7.66  |30| 7| 1| 8|11| 7| 8| 1|
Soren     4.55  |18| 0| 8| 9| 9| 5| 2| 9|
Rhys      6.00  |23| 0|12| 9| 7| 8| 2|14|

[Life]

Chapter 7: 7 Turns

First things first. Ike goes north, recruits Mia and the pair of them pick the northern enemies to bits. Before the reinforcements, of course.

The rest of the team all moved west to begin with. Titania KO'd the thief on Turn 2 (netting her 21 Exp for that kill) while Boyd/Oscar/Soren cleaned up any leftovers. Once Shinon and Gatrie appeared, Soren and Oscar finished off the reinforcements while Boyd unlocked the chests. Ike and the terrible twosome (S&G) mowed through Balmer's men and Shinon landed a critical to ORKO Balmer (I was trying to weaken him for an Oscar kill). It's a joke that IS gives you 11 turns to finish with max BExp; I ran out of shit to kill halfway through Turn 6.

Ike      10.68  |31|14| 5| 8|10| 7| 8| 5| Seraph Robe
Titania   4.36  |35|15| 5|15|15|14|12| 9|
Boyd      7.30  |34|10| 0| 6|10| 6| 7| 2| Speedwing
Oscar     9.03  |31| 9| 1| 9|11| 8| 9| 3|
Shinon    2.14  |33|10| 6|15|14|10|10| 6|
Gatrie   12.09  |33|14| 0| 8| 6| 5|15| 0|
Soren     5.76  |18| 1| 8|10| 9| 6| 3|10|
Rhys      6.67  |23| 0|12| 9| 7| 8| 2|14|
Mia       6.73  Base

Edited June 2, 2011 by Life

[Life]

Chapter 8: 8 Turns

The amount of BExp I dumped into Mia and Boyd is hilarious. Both were sitting at level 10 at the start of the chapter and Boyd has a forged Iron Axe called the Destroyer. It's ready to ORKO Armours and OHKO Mages.

That being said, this chapter was a nightmare. I kept restarting because my goal was to kill basically every enemy on the screen. But I kept forgetting an Elixir on Boyd, certain moves for Ike, Mia and Rhys... it sucked. Either way, Boyd basically solos the left side, Ike and Mia take the right, Titania goes south and Oscar and Soren clean up the kills. Once Ilyana got recruited, she picked up a couple of potshots here and there. As for level ups, both Boyd and Titania had absolutely epic ones (5+ stats with Boyd's being everything but Mag/Res).

Ike      12.22  |32|15| 7|10|11| 7| 9| 6| Seraph Robe
Titania   5.08  |36|16| 5|16|16|15|12| 9|
Boyd     12.43  |38|13| 0| 9|12| 8|11| 3| Speedwing, Forge
Oscar    10.74  |32| 9| 1|10|11| 9|10| 3|
Soren     6.92  |19| 1| 9|11|10| 6| 3|11|
Rhys      7.40  |23| 0|13| 9| 7| 9| 3|14|
Mia      11.54  |24| 9| 0|11|15| 9| 8| 3|
Ilyana    6.77  Base

Money: 1009 G (714 - 2205)

BExp: 1246

MVP: Boyd

The numbers in the brackets is how much I gained from the chapter minus the amount that I spent. You start Chapter 8 with 2500 G in the bank, just for information.

Edited June 2, 2011 by Life

[Life]

Chapter 9: 8 Turns

Topped off Soren's, Ilyana's and Oscar's levels with BExp. I also brought the mages up to level 8 which turned out to be a 0 stat level up for Soren and a great level up (Str, Mag, Def...) for Ilyana. Soren better turn out better. I also forged a 5+ Atk, 5+ Hit and 1- Wt lance called the Trident. I gave it to Ike because that thing is going to Marcia ASAP. I'm now officially out of gold (375 G left after selling the Red Gem I got in the last chapter) but since I'm going to receive twenty grand next chapter, I'm not really complaining.

As for the actual chapter, there's a bunch of goals. Ike needs to recruit Marcia who appears in the top right hand corner on the start of Turn 4 but then get down to Kotaff's spot for the Turn 8 seize. In addition, the two houses in the top left hand corner contain a Restore (useful but not needed) and a Talisman (more money). Neither are necessary but an extra four grand never hurt anybody. Titania led Mia, Soren, Rolf and Rhys along the beach in order to catch the Brigand before she turned south and left them there. Everyone else moved immediately south with Ike hanging back in order to recruit Marcia on Turn 7. Oscar and Boyd punched through the guards while Titania weakened Kotaff for a Boyd kill.

Ike      13.08  |33|16| 7|10|12| 7| 9| 7| Seraph Robe
Titania   5.50  |36|16| 5|16|16|15|12| 9|
Boyd     14.93  |40|15| 1|10|14| 8|12| 3| Speedwing, Forge
Oscar    12.19  |34| 9| 1|11|11| 9|12| 4|
Soren     9.11  |21| 1|11|12|10| 6| 3|11|
Rhys      8.34  |23| 0|14| 9| 8|10| 4|14|
Mia      12.50  |25|10| 0|11|15|10| 8| 3|
Ilyana    8.77  |21| 2|10|11|10| 6| 4|11|
Rolf      1.84  Base
Mist      1.79  Base
Marcia    5.33  Base                      Forge

Money: 20375 G (22500 - 3134)

BExp: 993

MVP: Boyd

I'm keeping a save here for purposes of checking Arms Scroll stuff. Kotaff drops the first of two in the game so it makes sense to keep a save after this chapter.

Edited June 2, 2011 by Life

[Life]

Chapter 10: 12 Turns

I didn't do much in preparation for this chapter but did forge another Iron Lance (5+ Mt, 10+ Hit) called the Halberd (halberds are closer to lances than axes, fyi). Titania held it for this chapter but it's not really hers (she just needed it to 2RKO Danomill properly). Nothing else really happened (aside from the selling of the Talisman). Oh and a bit of BExp was handed out.

As for what went on, max BExp requires a 12 turn sneak attack. It's possible to achieve 12 turns while MGSing the place and grabbing the two best treasures (Short Axe and Statue Frag) while unlocking the cages for Neph, Brom and Keiran. It just takes a lot of planning, a couple of Smites and Ike needs to be able to survive Danomill's Steel Lance. If you want more treasures, Oscar needs to be promoted (he can then pick up Mordi and has 9 move). Oh and Titania got another level up from another boss kill. Titania is a goddess, simple as that.

Ike      13.35  |33|16| 7|10|12| 7| 9| 7| Seraph Robe
Titania   6.07  |37|16| 6|17|16|15|13|10| Forge
Oscar    12.19  |34| 9| 1|11|11| 9|12| 4|
Marcia    5.33  Base                      Forge
Lethe     3.00  Base                     
Mordecai  2.00  Base                     
Volke    10.00  Base                     

Money: 18652 G (4000 - 5723)

BExp: 2005

MVP: Ike

Edited June 2, 2011 by Life

[Life]

Chapter 11: 6 Turns

Since we've got a long trip at sea ahead, a couple of important preparations were in order. Nephenee was giving enough BExp to hit level 12 along with the Halberd and an Arms Scroll to hold (testing out the Arms Scroll on her once she hits D Lances), Marcia got a major BExp dump and Mia got an Iron Sword forge (5+ Mt, 10+ Hit) called the Epee. She might keep it but it might go to Zihark/Ike instead.

The chapter itself is hilariously easy. Lethe and Marcia strolled north to recruit Zihark and grab the Killer Lance, Ike, Boyd and Nephenee stayed back to finish the nearby enemies and take the Dracoshield and everyone else charged northwestern to the Arrive square. Titania lured Mackoya out at the end of Turn 4 and a bunch of units ganged raped him on the next turn with Mia finishing him off. The only real notable thing that happened was D staves for Mist. Whole ordeal took 6 turns.

Ike      13.57  |33|16| 7|10|12| 7| 9| 7| Seraph Robe
Titania   6.56  |37|16| 6|17|16|15|13|10|
Boyd     15.42  |40|16| 2|11|14| 8|12| 3| Speedwing, Forge
Oscar    14.31  |34| 9| 3|13|13| 9|12| 4|
Soren    10.82  |22| 1|12|12|10| 6| 3|11|
Rhys      8.84  |23| 0|14| 9| 8|10| 4|14|
Mia      13.79  |25|10| 0|12|16|11| 8| 3| Forge
Ilyana    9.91  |21| 2|10|11|10| 6| 4|11|
Mist      2.34  |16| 1| 4| 4| 7| 6| 2| 8|
Marcia   11.17  |24| 8| 1|10|14| 5| 9| 8| Forge
Lethe     3.32  Base                     
Keiran   13.11  |30|11| 2|11|12| 9|10| 1|
Nephenee 12.22  |23|10| 3|12|14| 8|11| 7| Forge
Zihark   10.68  Base                     

Money: 13348 G (0 - 5304)

BExp: 1132

MVP: Lethe

Edited June 2, 2011 by Life

[aku chi]

Nephenee was giving enough BExp to hit level 12 along with the Halberd and an Arms Scroll to hold (testing out the Arms Scroll on her once she hits D Lances),

Be prepared for a long wait. I don't think there is any real downside to giving Nephenee the Arms Scroll immediately. If you have Nephenee use a Steel Lance at least 1/3 of time, it will take less uses to go from D->C than from E->D, to say nothing of the advantages of an earlier D rank in and of itself.

[Florete]

Be prepared for a long wait. I don't think there is any real downside to giving Nephenee the Arms Scroll immediately. If you have Nephenee use a Steel Lance at least 1/3 of time, it will take less uses to go from D->C than from E->D, to say nothing of the advantages of an earlier D rank in and of itself.

But Nephenee has an easier time doubling with Iron and for now he only has Iron forges. So I'd say the wait is a good idea.

[Radiant Dragon]

Be prepared for a long wait. I don't think there is any real downside to giving Nephenee the Arms Scroll immediately. If you have Nephenee use a Steel Lance at least 1/3 of time, it will take less uses to go from D->C than from E->D, to say nothing of the advantages of an earlier D rank in and of itself.

Well, Iron Lance forges are superior to Steel Lances, and Nephenee should reach D lances naturally before Chapter 14 (if not, she should be close and it's not like she's highest priority for our first Steel forge anyway), so there's little point giving her the Arms Scroll now if she's not going to do anything with the extra rank.

I'd say it's worth giving her the Arms Scroll immediately in Normal or Maniac mode however, since Steel forges are available much earlier there.

[aku chi]

Well, Iron Lance forges are superior to Steel Lances, and Nephenee should reach D lances naturally before Chapter 14 (if not, she should be close and it's not like she's highest priority for our first Steel forge anyway), so there's little point giving her the Arms Scroll now if she's not going to do anything with the extra rank.

In my experience, Nephenee is unlikely to reach D Lances naturally before C16, but I'm interested to see how it goes in Life's run.

And there's little pointing in waiting to give Nephenee an Arms Scroll. Even if you just sprinkle in a few Steel Lance uses, Nephenee will reach C Lances around the same time. I suppose it doesn't matter much if you plan to give Nephenee exclusive access to a max-mt Iron Lance forge, because it is superior to Steel Lances, Nephenee is unlikely to make good use of the D-rank Knight Killer or Heavy Lance due to their weight, and she is an unlikely candidate for the first couple Steel forges.

[Life]

Be prepared for a long wait. I don't think there is any real downside to giving Nephenee the Arms Scroll immediately. If you have Nephenee use a Steel Lance at least 1/3 of time, it will take less uses to go from D->C than from E->D, to say nothing of the advantages of an earlier D rank in and of itself.

For the record, I was the one who advocated sticking the Arms Scroll on her ASAP and having her use Steel 20 times between Chapter 11 and 13 (tier list and my AS thread). But Fox said that it's better to give her Iron Lances (which I don't agree with personally) and have her double. So we'll see if that works but Neph wasn't doubling in Chapter 11.

[Florete]

For the record, I was the one who advocated sticking the Arms Scroll on her ASAP and having her use Steel 20 times between Chapter 11 and 13 (tier list and my AS thread). But Fox said that it's better to give her Iron Lances (which I don't agree with personally) and have her double. So we'll see if that works but Neph wasn't doubling in Chapter 11.

Did you even respond to that? I was wondering if you'd missed it.

Anyway, to double in Ch 11, Neph would like at least 13 AS, which she reaches on average at 11. With Steel at that level, she'd be down 3-4 points. So yeah.

I actually am not really sure Neph needs an Arms Scroll at all unless you want her to use the Killer Lance before promotion (promoting will bring her rank up to C if lower). She should reach D naturally before Steel Forges are available, and at that point as long as you use Steel as much as possible she should reach high enough on her own. The only possible thing you might want to use an Arms Scroll on her for is the Ch 16 Silver Lance.

[aku chi]

For the record, I was the one who advocated sticking the Arms Scroll on her ASAP and having her use Steel 20 times between Chapter 11 and 13 (tier list and my AS thread). But Fox said that it's better to give her Iron Lances (which I don't agree with personally) and have her double. So we'll see if that works but Neph wasn't doubling in Chapter 11.

You can do both. Just because you give Nephenee an Arms Scroll immediately doesn't mean you need to glue a Steel Lance to her hands. If an Iron Lance lets you double something that the Steel Lance doesn't: use the Iron Lance. Or, if you have a forged Iron Lance, only use the Steel Lance when that can get the job done just as well. More options are always > less options. The only potential downside is getting C Lances later, which is only the case if you use fewer than 10 Steel Lance uses on your path to C Lances. If you use the Steel Lance more than 10 times, an early scroll is more advantageous all around.

[by the way, I'm not suggesting that you should change your playthrough, just weighing in on the optimal time to give Nephenee an Arms Scroll.]

I actually am not really sure Neph needs an Arms Scroll at all unless you want her to use the Killer Lance before promotion (promoting will bring her rank up to C if lower). She should reach D naturally before Steel Forges are available, and at that point as long as you use Steel as much as possible she should reach high enough on her own. The only possible thing you might want to use an Arms Scroll on her for is the Ch 16 Silver Lance.

You vastly overestimate the speed at which Nephenee can gain weapon ranks. D Lances (sans Arms Scroll) by C16 is optimistic. The C16 Silver Lance is so far out of reach as to be laughable (plus, using an Arms Scroll to get a weapon inferior to a Steel Lance forge seems like a big waste). How confident are you about the auto-C Lances on promotion bit?

Edited June 2, 2011 by aku chi

[Life]

I actually am not really sure Neph needs an Arms Scroll at all unless you want her to use the Killer Lance before promotion (promoting will bring her rank up to C if lower). She should reach D naturally before Steel Forges are available, and at that point as long as you use Steel as much as possible she should reach high enough on her own. The only possible thing you might want to use an Arms Scroll on her for is the Ch 16 Silver Lance.

Couple of mistakes here.

1. Neph wants an Arms Scroll to pull her out of her damage rut quickly. The goal is C Lances by the start of Chapter 14 for that Killer Lance and the Short Spear.

2. If Neph can't double with Iron (I'm going to put that one to the test), your entire theory washes down the toilet very quickly. Neph will not reach D Lances without doubling in both Chapter 11 (she failed there) and Chapter 13 (still to come) and she might not be the best person to field against the Ravens (she needs Wrath to sport any sort of offense because she's just missing the 3HKO on them) which gives her only 2 chapters.

3. Neph's not using that Silver Lance for a long time. If you've been training Titania's Lance rank (I haven't been), Titania gets it. With an Arms Scroll, Devdan gains a lot of offense very quickly. An Oscar or Marcia that promoted in Chapter 13 might be able to use it (probably Marcia since she can actually do something in the desert. Neph's not getting that lance, plain and simple, and the Arms Scroll shouldn't be used only to gain access to that lance.

Edited June 2, 2011 by Life

[Florete]

1. Neph wants an Arms Scroll to pull her out of her damage rut quickly. The goal is C Lances by the start of Chapter 14 for that Killer Lance and the Short Spear.

Why? She's not helping to clear 14 or 15 any faster with or without those. 14 needs a competent mounted unit and 15 needs fliers/mages. By the time Ch 16 comes along, I'm sure you can afford to give her a Steel forge, and she should be promoting soon, if not already.

2. If Neph can't double with Iron (I'm going to put that one to the test), your entire theory washes down the toilet very quickly. Neph will not reach D Lances without doubling in both Chapter 11 (she failed there) and Chapter 13 (still to come) and she might not be the best person to field against the Ravens (she needs Wrath to sport any sort of offense because she's just missing the 3HKO on them) which gives her only 2 chapters.

Use these. Extra: Steel Lance weighs 13.

3. Neph's not using that Silver Lance for a long time. If you've been training Titania's Lance rank (I haven't been), Titania gets it. With an Arms Scroll, Devdan gains a lot of offense very quickly. An Oscar or Marcia that promoted in Chapter 13 might be able to use it (probably Marcia since she can actually do something in the desert. Neph's not getting that lance, plain and simple, and the Arms Scroll shouldn't be used only to gain access to that lance.

Uh, okay. Notice that this only hurts her claim to an Arms Scroll and I definitely was not advocating using one for this purpose.

Edited June 2, 2011 by Red Fox of Fire

[Life]

Why? She's not helping to clear 14 or 15 any faster with or without those. 14 needs a competent mounted unit and 15 needs fliers/mages. By the time Ch 16 comes along, I'm sure you can afford to give her a Steel forge, and she should be promoting soon, if not already.

Uh, okay. Notice that this only hurts her claim to an Arms Scroll and I definitely was not advocating using one for this purpose.

Fox, you completely missed the point here.

If Nephenee wants to be not useless (or rather, not mediocre) for the rest of the game, she wants C Lances by the start of 14. C Lances lets her use weapons that are actually good (aside from forges). Stuff like the Laguz Lance (comes in 14, usable in 15), Killer Lance (comes the chapter before) or the Short Spear (the one back from Chapter 6 which shouldn't be broken yet). Not a silly Iron Lance forge.

Nephenee trots a fine line between mediocre and good. And it all rests on her weapon ranks. They're not as easy to gain as you'd like to think, it's just that most of the good weapons come by the time that the early growth units (Oscar/Boyd/Mia...) have those ranks.

Edited June 2, 2011 by Life

[Florete]

Fox, you completely missed the point here.

If Nephenee wants to be not useless (or rather, not mediocre) for the rest of the game, she wants C Lances by the start of 14. C Lances lets her use weapons that are actually good (aside from forges). Stuff like the Laguz Lance (comes in 14, usable in 15), Killer Lance (comes the chapter before) or the Short Spear (the one back from Chapter 6 which shouldn't be broken yet). Not a silly Iron Lance forge.

And what does she do with them? I didn't miss your point, you missed mine. If Nephenee isn't helping the team, why give her an Arms Scroll? She is not doing anything more than possibly clearing an enemy out of the way in Ch 14 to clear the map.

For the record, that Short Spear usually is broken for me by that time. It's also pretty heavy and less accurate (though more accurate than Javelin). Killer Lance relies on the crit because it is otherwise weaker than forged Iron. Laguz Lance is more likely to be used by Marcia and/or Jill to clear Ch 15.

[aku chi]

Fox, you completely missed the point here.

If Nephenee wants to be not useless (or rather, not mediocre) for the rest of the game, she wants C Lances by the start of 14. C Lances lets her use weapons that are actually good (aside from forges). Stuff like the Laguz Lance (comes in 14, usable in 15), Killer Lance (comes the chapter before) or the Short Spear (the one back from Chapter 6 which shouldn't be broken yet). Not a silly Iron Lance forge.

I'm with Red Fox of Fire here. None of that really matters in Chapters 14-16. With 6 mov, Nephenee will fall behind in Chapters 14 and 16 (the best she can do is help accomplish some secondary objectives), and we shouldn't (go out of our way to) kill any laguz in C15. C17-1 is the first chapter after C13 where Nephenee's contributions can realistically help us clear the chapter.

I'm not sure that Nephenee gets auto-C Lances when she promotes, but if she does: the only real advantage of an Arms Scroll for Nephenee is to wield Steel Lances from the get-go, which isn't important if you're giving her exclusive access to a max-mt Iron Lance forge. She'll also be closer to B rank (for the Spear) and A rank post-promotion, but that's small potatoes.

Edited June 2, 2011 by aku chi

[Life]

And what does she do with them? I didn't miss your point, you missed mine. If Nephenee isn't helping the team, why give her an Arms Scroll? She is not doing anything more than possibly clearing an enemy out of the way in Ch 14 to clear the map.

For the record, that Short Spear usually is broken for me by that time. It's also pretty heavy and less accurate (though more accurate than Javelin). Killer Lance relies on the crit because it is otherwise weaker than forged Iron. Laguz Lance is more likely to be used by Marcia and/or Jill to clear Ch 15.

Nephenee is using that time to not become obsolete. If she isn't sporting C Lances by the end of Chapter 16, it's a much better choice to bench her in favour for Devdan. End of story. If she is but she requires a shitload of BExp at this point (start of 17) because she sat out 14 ~ 16, compounded with the BExp she needed in the first place to raise up from level 7 to 12 for Chapter 11, she's not worth anything good and deserves to drop like a stone. And I should still switch to Devdan.

Edited June 2, 2011 by Life

[Florete]

How confident are you about the auto-C Lances on promotion bit?

100%.

Additionally, the character's weapon ranks will be increased to their promoted class's bases (if they were originally lower).

I also saw it happen on my latest transfer run. It's NM so I BEXP'd her like mad. I don't remember what she had before promotion, E or D, but I never used an Arms Scroll on her.

Nephenee is using that time to not become obsolete. If she isn't sporting C Lances by the end of Chapter 16, it's a much better choice to bench her in favour for Devdan. End of story. If she is but she requires a shitload of BExp at this point (start of 17) because she sat out 14 and 15, compounded with the BExp she needed in the first place to raise up from level 7 to 12 for Chapter 11, she's not worth anything good and deserves to drop like a stone. And I should still switch to Devdan.

Why? A strong Steel forge is going to be largely better than the C rank Lances as it is. Plus Neph starts giving Devdan a run for his money by like 18/0. And I never said she should be sitting out 14 and 15, just that she isn't helping clear them. If she's being used, she'll definitely be deployed for the self-improvement.

Edited June 2, 2011 by Red Fox of Fire

[Life]

Why? A strong Steel forge is going to be largely better than the C rank Lances as it is. Plus Neph starts giving Devdan a run for his money by like 18/0. And I never said she should be sitting out 14 and 15, just that she isn't helping clear them. If she's being used, she'll definitely be deployed for the self-improvement.

It's not about the Steel forge. It's about the utility option of those lances. The Short Spear shouldn't be broken if you conserve your good weapons for a while. The Killer Lance is begging to be stuck on her thanks to Wrath.

And it doesn't matter that 18/0 Nephenee gives Devdan a run for his money. It matters how she gets there. She's already BExping 5 levels to start with. If she has to BExp another 3 or more, she's not worth the effort. Period. It's basic economics. That BExp can go to much better places than to Nephenee just to make her "give Devdan a run for his money".