Life's AAAA Rank Run (FE4)

[Life]

I've tried to make this topic three different times. All failed. Maybe 4th's the charm.

Anyway, welcome to my AAAA Rank Run, brought to you by Life. Here, I'm going to try and record the entirety of my AAAA rank run and comment on certain stuff. I orginally had verbal commentary but my voice on my computer's shitty built-in microphone sounds as appealing as a dead chipmunk that had a meeting with an 18 wheeler so I decided to scrap that completely. Deal with it.

Prologue:

Completed in 12 turns.

Chalphy -> Jungby: 6

Jungby -> Evans: 6

Levels gained: 18

Stats 'n Stuff:

Person      Level   HP  Str  Mgc  Skl  Spd  Lck  Def  Res   Gold   Rings
Sigurd      *8.87   38   16    0   12   13    7    9    3   6000   
Noish        5.24   34   11    0    8    8    4    9    0   3000   
Alec         4.56   33   11    0   10   10    5    8    1   6000   
Ardan        4.29   36   14    1    5    4    3   13    0  12500   
Fin          2.61   33    9    0    8   10    8    8    0   3000   
Cuan        *5.15   35   17    0   11   11    5   10    3   1000   Speed
Midir        4.03   34   10    0    8   11    3    7    0   3000   
Azel         3.10   31    0   12    7   11    2    3    7   9500   
Lex          6.92   34   10    0   10   11   10   11    0   6000   
Ethlin       3.76   30    6    8   11   13    8    4    6   5000   

Part 1:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hqdsRAAtawY

1:25 - Alec doesn't attack this Brigand because Ardan will be targeted on the enemy phase.

2:29 - Sigurd could have dodged this shot with the Steel Sword equipped but he ORKOs the Brigand and I wanted to save money.

4:05 - Alec and Noish are going down the middle path rather than helping Sigurd out with Jungby. Their goal is to get to the central village ASAP.

6:54 - I have Sigurd attack at this point so that he can dodge the counter even with WTD.

7:39 - Azel could just as easily attack the Hand Axe Brigand that Lex chipped at in order to fight and kill all three Brigands but he won't survive the Enemy Phase. It doesn't matter since Azel gets all three kills anyways.

10:04 - Cuan equips the Steel Lance here to bolster his Evd, even at the cost of losing the ability to counter from 1~2 range.

10:26 - Sigurd won't be chased by the three Brigands near Cuan at this spot, allowing the Exp to go to someone else.

11:24 - By moving here, none of the Brigands target Fin on the enemy phase. In fact, one of them even goes north to intercept Noish and Alec. This doesn't happen if Fin is in range.

Prologue - Part 2

Prologue - Part 3

Prologue - Part 4

The rest will go up when... I'm not bored? Sometime tonight for sure.

[Paperblade]

edit: nvm you responded to me on irc

I would watch this but I can't watch FE for extended periods of time without getting bored

Edited November 28, 2011 by Paperblade

[Life]

I would watch this but I can't watch FE for extended periods of time without getting bored

And there's no music.

I'd love to add audio to it (essentially a playlist of songs I like) but no clue how.

[Paperblade]

Most (probably all actually) media editors should let you add your own music

[Life]

Most (probably all actually) media editors should let you add your own music

But then I have to remake the movies and that takes FOREVER.

[Izzak]

I hope you finish this soon

I never make an AAAA rank in FE 4( maximum is AABB)

[Life]

Oh yeah, might as well mention this.

Pairings!

AyraxHolyn

AideenxMidir

LachesisxBeowulf

SylviaxArdan

FuryxClaude/Noish (undecided)

BrigidxLex

TiltyuxLevin

With the exception of Fury, they're static. You can discuss but don't try changing my mind.

[Integrity]

Do Fury/Noish. Noish is prettier.

[eclipse]

Seconding Noish, because I think he's cool.

(sorry, can't really discuss gameplay mechanics)

[Life]

I'm actually going to go with Claude. Not to rebel but I talked it over on #feto and with Integrity on MSN and Fee gets B Staves and can use magic swords (AKA Thunder will get passed down to her).

[Psych]

I'm a bit curious to see why you're gonna be doing Briggid Lex and Sylvia Ardan. I presume Briggid Lex for Patty Elite, but I'm not sure about Sylvia.

[Life]

I'm a bit curious to see why you're gonna be doing Briggid Lex and Sylvia Ardan. I presume Briggid Lex for Patty Elite, but I'm not sure about Sylvia.

Ambush is the correct answer. Well, Ambush + Sleep Sword in the arena. Patty and Leen will fly through the arenas.

[Chiki]

You should probably restart Prologue. 11 is possible without RNG abuse. If you're a fan of RNG abuse, 10 is also possible with a sibling crit btw. Ethlin and Sigurd.

[dondon151]

You don't need to absolutely low turn every chapter to meet the A rank requirement for turns. If anything, it's a worse idea in general because you run the risk of dying and permanently hurting your survival score (not an issue with savestates, but the principle is there).

Edited November 28, 2011 by dondon151

[Integrity]

Plus fewer turns = less killing, and more killing = more better.

To a point, obviously.

[Chiki]

You don't need to absolutely low turn every chapter to meet the A rank requirement for turns. If anything, it's a worse idea in general because you run the risk of dying and permanently hurting your survival score (not an issue with savestates, but the principle is there).

I am well aware of that. I'm only talking about the Prologue, though. It's an easy chapter and survival isn't really an issue in such a short and easy chapter.

The extra 1/2 turns would really help for extra exp abuse, and I think he'll need all the exp abuse he can get.

But maybe that's just me.

Plus fewer turns = less killing, and more killing = more better.

To a point, obviously.

It's possible to rout the map.

Edited November 28, 2011 by Jushiro

[Life]

I am well aware of that. I'm only talking about the Prologue, though. It's an easy chapter and survival isn't really an issue in such a short and easy chapter.

The extra 1/2 turns would really help for extra exp abuse, and I think he'll need all the exp abuse he can get.

But maybe that's just me.

That is just you. Balcerzak has a run logged on SF and I'm a couple levels ahead of him even though I'm also a turn back. That being said, he cleared the game with a commanding Tactics lead (273/399 taken) so I'm not worried about cutting a single turn here or there.

Besides, I'm busy milking the arenas for all they got. I currently have Ardan, Noish, Alec and Ethlin stuck at the final round with Azel clearing the arena, Fin and Midir working on it and Sigurd/Cuan untouched. It's kinda ridiculous.

[Balcerzak]

Part 2:

1:52 - Ethlin gains more EXP from kills than from healing.

6:30 - Jungby Seize

12:48 - Cuan grabs the village's money and Spd Ring simply so that he can pay for Ethin's future expenses with staves.

13:00 - Alec takes this village because there's nobody else to take it. He should be fine for money for the rest of the game.

1) You don't need to worry about Ethlin getting kills. Trust me. Return staff spam alone will definitely see her top off in Ch3. If you lend her the Elite Ring at any point, it's a done deal no worries at all. That said, here at least, and probably other places, the other people able to take the kills probably also didn't need it (Finn here, don't remember whoever else).

2) I always wondered why the enemies here didn't disappear upon the seize, like they usually do in later chapters. It's really a good thing they don't though, as the extra XP is useful.

3) Cuan probably will want to keep some money for himself, if you want to try to get him some extra levels with the Elite Ring at some point. However helping Ethlin finance her repairs is also good use of it once he's done with it.

4) You probably could have left this village for Azel, and had someone with a pony collect the top one later. That should have let Azel stick around for more kills. I did like seeing him go down to the middle, instead of along the top, as it seemed to afford him more flexibility and lower chances of death than how I did things, but I think you wasted a bit of potential.

Part 3:

2:02 - Lex probably didn't really need that kill, as innate Elite practically guarantees he has no worries, but it may not have been possible to set up the attacks in reverse order for Noish to get it.

6:35 - I love FE4's questionable AI. Not only does that archer attack Midir who can counter, but if it was going that route it didn't even try for Azel, who it probably could have killed.

Part 4:

Boss kill - I probably would have fed it to Cuan, as Sigurd has all the time in the world to hit 30, but his bro here has a time limit, and will never cap level without significant abuse, if ever. Still, nothing worth losing any sleep over.

Very solid prologue play all around, looks good. Your Azel came out a little shorter on XP than mine did, but your Ardan came out higher. Both of these two are somewhat problem cases, at least until Azel promotes, so it bears keeping an eye on managing them in particular.

AyraxHolyn

AideenxMidir

LachesisxBeowulf

SylviaxArdan

FuryxClaude/Noish (undecided)

BrigidxLex

TiltyuxLevin

Very solid pairings. I somewhat question Ayra x Holyn, as he doesn't offer anything spectacular aside from overkill Skill and HP, but Ayra's kids make do with just about any dad, and at least the swordfighters share move making the pairing easy. I might have considered Ayra x Dew, because Sol seems like it would be better than Luna, and Bargain is always useful, but it's your run, so it's your pairings. Jamka would have been potentially interesting for early Continue and Charge, making it somewhat similar to my Ayra x Noish which worked well, but that would have been a little unfortunate for Ska's sword inheritance (not that he really needs anything).

I'm actually going to go with Claude. Not to rebel but I talked it over on #feto and with Integrity on MSN and Fee gets B Staves and can use magic swords (AKA Thunder will get passed down to her).

I was interested to hear feedback if you did choose Fury x Noish, but having used Fury x Claude, I do have to admit it was very solid. Having Warp on a mount was useful on at least one occasion for sure, probably more. If nothing else, having the flexibility that, if you needed it you could do it, was pretty nice. I'm pretty sure I made good use of other B staves as well, like Recover too. As far as magic swords, I think most of my Fee's picked up Fire Sword in Ch7. I don't recall any pressing need for 1-2 range in Ch6, and I probably stuffed her with a Javelin just in case, because Fee can inherit almost every unused Lance and Sword (and should, for extra money from selling them if nothing else). Pegs usually have enough speed that I don't worry so much about the Avoid lose, and I like to have Delmud and Celice with Magic swords as well, so they usually get Thunder and Wind in some order. That said, you could always give somebody Leaf's Light Sword too, I guess, though I really do find it convenient for feeding him levels on the armors at Lenster.

[Life]

1) You don't need to worry about Ethlin getting kills. Trust me. Return staff spam alone will definitely see her top off in Ch3. If you lend her the Elite Ring at any point, it's a done deal no worries at all. That said, here at least, and probably other places, the other people able to take the kills probably also didn't need it (Finn here, don't remember whoever else).

I've never gotten Ethlin to even promote before so this is something that I'm worried about. This is more me judging my own skill.

3) Cuan probably will want to keep some money for himself, if you want to try to get him some extra levels with the Elite Ring at some point. However helping Ethlin finance her repairs is also good use of it once he's done with it.

Cuan can always grab easy money in Chapter 1. Like the far south village. But I'll definitely keep this in mind (who know, I might give him the Voltz kill).

4) You probably could have left this village for Azel, and had someone with a pony collect the top one later. That should have let Azel stick around for more kills. I did like seeing him go down to the middle, instead of along the top, as it seemed to afford him more flexibility and lower chances of death than how I did things, but I think you wasted a bit of potential.

Upon thinking it over, I think you're right. This is something I flat out didn't think about. Would have sent Alec north in that case.

2:02 - Lex probably didn't really need that kill, as innate Elite practically guarantees he has no worries, but it may not have been possible to set up the attacks in reverse order for Noish to get it.

Oh, this kill. No, the problem was that Noish was on the square that Lex needed to be on (Lex needed that forest). That was something I was going to mention in part 3's comments.

Boss kill - I probably would have fed it to Cuan, as Sigurd has all the time in the world to hit 30, but his bro here has a time limit, and will never cap level without significant abuse, if ever. Still, nothing worth losing any sleep over.

Now that you mention it, I really think I mishandled this one. It's little things like this that make a difference.

Very solid prologue play all around, looks good. Your Azel came out a little shorter on XP than mine did, but your Ardan came out higher. Both of these two are somewhat problem cases, at least until Azel promotes, so it bears keeping an eye on managing them in particular.

Appreciated, Baller. You'd be proud with my arena management (Azel and Noish have already cleared that fucker).

[Othin]

Personally, I've gotten great results with both FuryxClaude and FuryxNoish. Definitely the two pairings I'd recommend most for Fury, with Levin being so much better paired with Tiltyu. I've thought Noish was more fun, personally, but Claude is probably the better of the two, so good call.

Edited November 29, 2011 by Othin

[Life]

Well... Chapter 1 preparations are done so here are the final stats. I haven't done the repairing stuff yet though. Hence the Speed Ring still on Cuan.

Person      Level   HP  Str  Mgc  Skl  Spd  Lck  Def  Res   Gold   Arena  Rings
Sigurd     *11.09   41   18    0   13   15    7   10    3   24340    *    
Noish        7.94   36   13    0    9    9    4   10    0   19500    *    
Alec         6.80   34   12    0   11   10    5    9    1   18540    7
Ardan        6.55   38   15    1    5    4    3   13    0   23000    7
Fin          5.07   35   12    0    8   10   10    8    0   13920    7
Cuan        *7.87   38   18    0   11   11    5   11    3   19340    *    Speed
Midir        5.81   35   10    0    8   11    4    7    0   13000    6    
Azel         6.08   32    0   14    7   12    2    3    7   27000    *    
Lex          8.40   35   12    0   10   11   10   12    0   10500    4    
Ethlin       6.08   31    7    8   11   14    9    5    6   25300    7    

Couple things to note.

1) After Cuan sells the Speed Ring and tosses the money over to Ethlin, she'll have maxed money and he'll have a bit for himself.

2) Bal couldn't clear the arena with Noish but he did manage to do it with Fin so we're still about even.

[Izzak]

Oh yeah, might as well mention this.

Pairings!

AyraxHolyn

AideenxMidir

LachesisxBeowulf

SylviaxArdan

FuryxClaude/Noish (undecided)

BrigidxLex

TiltyuxLevin

With the exception of Fury, they're static. You can discuss but don't try changing my mind.

Brigidx Lex maybe the lamest pair ( even elite for patty)

Lex is better for ayra

Where's is jamka?????

Jamka is good for aideen, brigid, why don't you use him

[Life]

Brigidx Lex maybe the lamest pair ( even elite for patty)

Lex is better for ayra

Where's is jamka?????

Jamka is good for aideen, brigid, why don't you use him

THE STUPID, IT BURNS MY EYES!

The idea with an AAAA rank is that I need to gain over 1000 levels over the course of the game. Elite is wasted on the swordkids mostly because I have no doubt that they'll max their level by the end of the game (what with the Arena tossing out about 3 levels a single run). As such, Lex needs to mate with either Brigid or Sylvia. Not Ayra.

Midir is actually a better husband for Aideen since Lester now gets Pursuit. Jamka doesn't have Pursuit. End of argument.

[Izzak]

THE STUPID, IT BURNS MY EYES!

The idea with an AAAA rank is that I need to gain over 1000 levels over the course of the game. Elite is wasted on the swordkids mostly because I have no doubt that they'll max their level by the end of the game (what with the Arena tossing out about 3 levels a single run). As such, Lex needs to mate with either Brigid or Sylvia. Not Ayra.

Midir is actually a better husband for Aideen since Lester now gets Pursuit. Jamka doesn't have Pursuit. End of argument.

Maybe you're right ( I am very stupid)

Patty doesn't seem to be very hard to train, so pair Lex with brigid seem waste, pair lex with slyvia (i think) better for you

[Integrity]

Corple doesn't need Elite (staffspamming!), and Leen can just grab the Ring.