Low Tier Run-Through Retry

[StinDuh]

So I had tried this around July of last year, but then August came and I went in Marching Band Camp and then school started, and I had no time to finish it. However, with Summer just around the corner, I am confident I will be able to complete the challenge this time. So for everyone who missed my first go at this(which is probably most people), here it is. It left off in chapter 14, where you could see I was not doing so hot. It can be interesting if you like to read comments on how awful I am. I'm changing the rules/guidelines a tad bit so that I'm not left completely unarmed again. So here is the run down of the play-through:

-I will again be using the No Seth Tier List. I used it in the first try, so I'll use it again.

-Ephraim Hard Mode will be used to ensure the most difficulty

-The units in tiers "Bottom" and "Low" will be focused on(See more below).

-No tower/ruins/arena

-Promotion to the accepted "worst" class for all units(most of which have been per-determined in the last run, but I'm willing to accept suggestion on changes. See below).

-Efficiency/Low Turn Counts are of consideration.(This became a huge problem last time; apparently, 45 turns on a chapter was not acceptable for "low turn counts" :P)

-^That being said, absolutely no RN Abuse

Further explanation of the big stuff:

Units Out:

Alright so here is how my unit choosing will go:

-If a unit in the "Bottom" or "Low" tier is available, the unit must fight.

-The lowest units have priority, so if there happens to be a map where the Units Out are less than the number of available bottom/low units, the lower units have to fight.

-On maps I deem it necessary, I may use one or two more units than in the bottom/low tier. Just in case I don't think it's possible to complete the chapter otherwise.

Probable Promotions:

Amelia: Kinght->Great Knight

Ewan: Mage->Mage Knight

Marissa: Assassin

L'Arachel: Mage Knight

Knoll: Druid

Neimi: Sniper

Ross: PirateFighter->Warrior

Gilliam: Great Knight

Feel free to discuss these, none are set in stone. Also, this is a new ROM of FE8 with no previous saves, so I can't use the super trainees. Otherwise, those would be the classes for Ross, Ewan, and Amelia.

Oh and if I strike out a name in the Units Out, it means the unit was Forced but I didn't use them. That's really just important for the beginning chapters.

Alright. So. Here goes nothing.

Prologue:

Units: Eirika, Seth

Turns: 4

Notes: ....Yeah nothing special. Eirika leveled up:

Name   Lv Class HP Str Skl Spd Lck Def Res WeaponRank
Eirika 2  Lord  17  5   8   10  6   4   1   Sword: E

Chapter 1:

Units Out: Eirika, Gilliam, Seth, Franz

Turns: 19

Notes: Eirika only fought one fighter at the beginning before Gilliam arrived and the three reinforcements in the Southeastern corner while Gilliam fought the boss. Killing the boss was difficult because of his defense and Gilliam's low skill.

Name    Lv Class  HP Str Skl Spd Lck Def Res WeaponRank
Eirika  4  Lord   19 6   8   11  7   5   1   Sword: D
Gilliam 7  Knight 28 10  6   3   3   10  4   Lance: C

Chapter 2:

Units Out: Eirika, Gilliam, Ross, Moulder, Vanessa, Franz, Garcia, Seth

Turns: 9

Notes: Vanessa was used to rescue/drop Ross and Garcia. Moulder was used as a healer only for Ross. I wasn't able to rescue the south village. Whoops.

Name    Lv Class  HP Str Skl Spd Lck Def Res WeaponRank
Eirika  5  Lord   20 6   8   11  8   5   1   Sword: D
Gilliam 8  Knight 29 11  7   3   3   10  4   Lance: C
Ross    3  Journy 16 7   2   4   10  3   2   Axe: E

Edited May 6, 2012 by StinDuh

[Lord Raven]

19 in chapter 1 is too high even if you're just using low turns as a "consideration" -_- you can get a solid 6 since you have gilliam

there's a 5 chapter strategy that requires some RNGing on the initial seed

Edited May 6, 2012 by Lord Raven

[Gryz]

My opinions on the promotion paths:

Ross: I would say Fighter is the worse option.

Pirate: +1 Speed, +1 Defense, Water Walk

Fighter: +1 Skill, +1 Res, +1 Con

Ewan: I would go Shaman -> Druid instead.

Mage gains 1 more speed than Shaman and Mage Ewan can use Thunder without AS loss. Meanwhile, Shaman Ewan loses 1 AS from Flux.

Sure, Shaman gets 2 more magic, but Thunder has 1 more might than Flux so it's only a +1 attack lead for Shaman.

I think General is worse than Great Knight for Gilliam and Amelia due to the lower move. And the extra Con that General gives to Gilliam actually hurts more than helps since it makes it impossible for anyone to pick him up.

[StinDuh]

19 in chapter 1 is too high even if you're just using low turns as a "consideration" -_- you can get a solid 6 since you have gilliam

there's a 5 chapter strategy that requires some RNGing on the initial seed

I play as I go and I don't restart if I don't get a low turn count. Gill has some lack-luster skill, matched with his low speed and many of the units in chapter one are axe-wielders, making his attacks less often and less powerful. His low luck, along with many of the units wielding axes, made him more susceptible to getting hit. I kept him in the fray the entire time, but most of my turns were spent healing him with vulneraries. The hardest thing about this run through is healing. The first healer and only healer in the tiers is L'Arachel, and she isn't recruited until chapter 11. Ewan and Knoll come are recruited even further after that. It isn't that I just didn't fight, it's that I couldn't fight or my men would be obliterated. I'm not throwing Gilliam up against the boss, who does more damage than Gilliam, while Gilliam has less than half his HP. So yes, I realize 19 is a little high, but there's nothing I can do about it now anyway.

My opinions on the promotion paths:

Ross: I would say Fighter is the worse option.

Pirate: +1 Speed, +1 Defense, Water Walk

Fighter: +1 Skill, +1 Res, +1 Con

Ewan: I would go Shaman -> Druid instead.

Mage gains 1 more speed than Shaman and Mage Ewan can use Thunder without AS loss. Meanwhile, Shaman Ewan loses 1 AS from Flux.

Sure, Shaman gets 2 more magic, but Thunder has 1 more might than Flux so it's only a +1 attack lead for Shaman.

I think General is worse than Great Knight for Gilliam and Amelia due to the lower move. And the extra Con that General gives to Gilliam actually hurts more than helps since it makes it impossible for anyone to pick him up.

Either route with Ross going to Warrior is about the same. I hadn't taken Water Walk into account, and +1 Skill and +1 Resistance do seem worse than the Pirate gains. Fighter it is

[dondon151]

Either route with Ross going to Warrior is about the same. I hadn't taken Water Walk into account, and +1 Skill and +1 Resistance do seem worse than the Pirate gains. Fighter it is

using low tier units doesn't mean that you have to use them in the worst way possible

why don't you just not give gilliam lances or something

[StinDuh]

using low tier units doesn't mean that you have to use them in the worst way possible

This came up in the last thread, too. I designed the run through to be pretty difficult. I just want it to be a real challenge

why don't you just not give gilliam lances or something

I can't give a knight anything else?

[Gryz]

Why not have Eirika attack the boss? It apparently wasn't against the rules to have her fight in that chapter. I mean, there really is not much strategy with Gilliam playing coin-flipping games with the boss.

[StinDuh]

Why not have Eirika attack the boss? It apparently wasn't against the rules to have her fight in that chapter. I mean, there really is not much strategy with Gilliam playing coin-flipping games with the boss.

Focus is on the lower tier units. At the point that I have enough units to have a proper team, I won't use her. I want to keep the integrity of using the lowest tier units.

[Gryz]

I dunno, personally, I would allow all units on the map to be used (with maybe banning Seth) and then just have the lower tier units get the first dibs on deployment slots. By going out of your way to cram exp into the sucky units, I think it is kinda ignoring why these units were tiered low in the first place. I think it would increase the challenge. Characters like Gilliam and Neimi now have to directly complete with better units for exp and won't be overleveled when the better characters get rotated out.

[dondon151]

I can't give a knight anything else?

you missed the point

if you're going to be sandbagging units by using them in the worst way possible, then why don't you not give units weapons or something? surely that's more challenging!

in short i'm pointing out that your process of decision-making is mostly idiotic

Edited May 7, 2012 by dondon151

[Colonel M]

Come on, you know what's better than shooting yourself in the foot once?

...Shooting... yourself in the foot... twice... yeah...

Just stick to optimal promotion. You're using the worst of the worst to begin with, don't spiral that far down the drain.

Edited May 7, 2012 by Colonel M

[StinDuh]

I dunno, personally, I would allow all units on the map to be used (with maybe banning Seth) and then just have the lower tier units get the first dibs on deployment slots. By going out of your way to cram exp into the sucky units, I think it is kinda ignoring why these units were tiered low in the first place. I think it would increase the challenge. Characters like Gilliam and Neimi now have to directly complete with better units for exp and won't be overleveled when the better characters get rotated out.

you missed the point

if you're going to be sandbagging units by using them in the worst way possible, then why don't you not give units weapons or something? surely that's more challenging!

in short i'm pointing out that your process of decision-making is mostly idiotic

Come on, you know what's better than shooting yourself in the foot once?

...Shooting... yourself in the foot... twice... yeah...

Just stick to optimal promotion. You're using the worst of the worst to begin with, don't spiral that far down the drain.

I like my way of doing this. If you don't like it, do it yourself. I want to use the worst promotions because I want it to be extremely difficult. I want to only use the lowest tiered units because I want it to be extremely difficult. Yes, it is slightly counter-intuitive to the tier-list, but I don't necessarily agree with LTC playing anyway, so that really isn't of concern to me. I wanted a play-through using only the accepted worst units, and for that I use the tier list.

Anyway, finished another chapter.

Chapter 3:

Units out: Gilliam, Ross, Neimi, Seth, Eirika, Moulder, Garcia, Vanessa, Colm, Franz

Turns: 20

Notes: I used Colm to open the chests. No reason not to. This chapter proved pretty painless. Nothing really special to talk about.

Name    Lv Class  HP Str Skl Spd Lck Def Res WeaponRank
Gilliam 11 Knight 32 12  8   3   3   13  4   Lance: B
Ross    6  Journy 19 9   3   6   12  5   2   Axe: E
Neimi   2  Archer 18 4   6   6   5   3   2   Bow: D

...Gilliam hasn't gained a single point of speed.

Chapter 4:

Units Out: Gilliam, Ross, Neimi, Eirika, Artur

Turns: Didn't get a chance to check before the last monster was killed.

Notes: Eh... nothing special. Gill didn't have to worry about weapon triangle disadvantage for once. Ross leveled up to ten during this chapter and now is a fighter.

Name    Lv Class   HP Str Skl Spd Lck Def Res WeaponRank
Gilliam 12 Knight  33 12  8   4   3   13  4   Lance: B
Ross    1  Fighter 24 14  6   8   14  5   4   Axe: C
Neimi   3  Archer  19 5   7   7   6   3   4   Bow: D

Chapter 5:

Units Out: Gilliam, Ross, Neimi, Eirika, Natasha

Turnts: 16

Notes: Wasn't able to save all the villages. Was able to get the Draco-shield though.

Name    Lv Class   HP Str Skl Spd Lck Def Res WeaponRank
Gilliam 15 Knight  36 13  9   4   4   16  6   Lance: A
Ross    5  Fighter 27 18  8   9   14  5   5   Axe: C
Neimi   5  Archer  20 7   7   9   7   3   4   Bow: D

Damn. Gilliam leveled faster than I expected.

Edited May 7, 2012 by StinDuh

[Parrhesia]

Problem is that you're using an LTC tier list to judge the worst units possible without trying for an efficient turncount. If you're playing slowly and can get him those first few levels, Ross is a solid fighter, and Gilliam's at least competent. If turns weren't an issue, then they wouldn't be low-tier.

[Progenitus]

"I don't necessarily agree with LTC playing anyway" =/= "I am not playing for any semblance of efficiency"

Although I would say that if you are using a different measuring stick to judge efficiency, you should probably refer to a different tier list to pick your low tiers. For example, Gilliam is going to be your best unit by far (your levels already give that away), and in a tier list with different standards, Gilliam is closer to lower mid or even mid (I would also argue that Neimi as Ranger and Colm support is also lower mid or mid, but given your choices an unsupported sniper Neimi does really suck). Gilliam is low tier in an LTC tier because such a tier assumes the player is fielding competent units who are capable of not dying just like Gilliam, but also have better offense and mobility, whereas it is a much different story when you are fielding really bad units.

Edited May 7, 2012 by Progenitus

[StinDuh]

Problem is that you're using an LTC tier list to judge the worst units possible without trying for an efficient turncount. If you're playing slowly and can get him those first few levels, Ross is a solid fighter, and Gilliam's at least competent. If turns weren't an issue, then they wouldn't be low-tier.

"I don't necessarily agree with LTC playing anyway" =/= "I am not playing for any semblance of efficiency"

Although I would say that if you are using a different measuring stick to judge efficiency, you should probably refer to a different tier list to pick your low tiers. For example, Gilliam is going to be your best unit by far (your levels already give that away), and in a tier list with different standards, Gilliam is closer to lower mid or even mid (I would also argue that Neimi as Ranger and Colm support is also lower mid or mid, but given your choices an unsupported sniper Neimi does really suck). Gilliam is low tier in an LTC tier because such a tier assumes the player is fielding competent units who are capable of not dying just like Gilliam, but also have better offense and mobility, whereas it is a much different story when you are fielding really bad units.

Look, when I say I will be playing semi-efficiently, it means that I'm not going to hole my units at choke-points with healers behind them as they take each enemy unit one by one. The higher turn counts come mostly from how often I have to heal my men as they're completely outmatched. Take Chapter 6 for example, which has proven to be the hardest chapter yet, mainly because it's such a wide open map, and because I want the Orion's Bolt and I'm trying to do it quickly. I strive for lower turn counts, but sometimes it's just not plausible because I am blocked by the goal. As I get further in the game, this gets especially hard when even my "good" units start to go down the drain. I specifically remember the difficulty and high turn count of the Grado Keep chapter just because of all of my units were targeted by the many sleep, silence, or beserk staves, and then attacked by the other units. The units in tiers are not only there because they aren't good in LTC runs; they're literally far inferior, even if they become higher leveled than what is normal. I actually think that Ross is a worthy character to use in normal run-through of the game because he does end up pretty good if you want him, and he doesn't need Valni-attention to get him up to speed with the other units. I sometimes use Ewan and I rarely ever use Amelia because they're just hard units to train and make them good. The other units I plan to use are low on the list partly because they come so late in the game. I will probably be using only Gilliam, Ross, and Neimi for a long time before I get another usable unit. That's what makes it hard. When I get those units, I'm not going to let Gill/Ross/Neimi dominate the team. I need a well-balanced team for the duration of the game, and three units is not a well-balanced team.

Anyway, I digress. I strive for low turn counts, even if it doesn't look like I do. Also, I finished chapter 5x, but since none of those characters matter anyway, no reason to recap(i just had Orson dominate anyway, no reason in taking up unnecessary time).

I'm working on chapter 6 right now, but it's proving to be a bitch as I try and complete it without letting someone die.

Chapter 6:

Units out: Gilliam, Neimi, Ross, Garcia(died), Franz(died), Seth, Eirika

Turns: 8(low enough?)

Notes: This chapter was extremely difficult. Trying to get to the boss quick enough while not getting someone required a lot of luck and the loss of two other units while trying to help keep Neimi alive. Garcia, Franz, and Seth were all unarmed, but they all saw battle, so I couldn't strike them out. Even Seth was pretty close to dying here. I was finally able to get to the boss, kill him, and save the civilians, as well as keeping my three shitty units.

Name    Lv Class   HP Str Skl Spd Lck Def Res WeaponRank
Gilliam 15 Knight  36 13  9   4   4   16  6   Lance: A
Ross    11 Fighter 30 20  9   12  16  9   7   Axe: B
Neimi   5  Archer  20 7   7   9   7   3   4   Bow: D

Yeah, Ross was the all-star of this CHapter. He gained five levels...

Chapter 7:

Units Out: Gilliam, Ross, Neimi Eirika

Turns: 16 (not as low as last time, but... well I did my best, okay)

Notes: This chapter, though taking longer, was a lot easier than Chapter 6. It took the longest to just get around the corner. All the trees and stuff got in the way and provided the mercenaries more avoid to dodge my attacks. But there weren't as many close calls in this chapter.

Name    Lv Class   HP Str Skl Spd Lck Def Res WeaponRank
Gilliam 17 Knight  37 15  10  5   5   17  6   Lance: A
Ross    14 Fighter 32 20  9   12  18  10  8   Axe: A
Neimi   6  Archer  20 7   7   10  8   3   5   Bow: C

Edited May 8, 2012 by StinDuh

[Progenitus]

My intention was to actually defend your playthrough. I apologize if I came off harshly or perhaps my post was worded poorly.

[StinDuh]

My intention was to actually defend your playthrough. I apologize if I came off harshly or perhaps my post was worded poorly.

Oh, my bad. I guess I'm used to people speaking down about it, so I just assumed :P Thanks though! Haha.

Chapter 8:

Units Out: Gilliam, Ross, Neimi, Forde, Kyle, Ephraim, Eirika

Turns: 28(Many of which were spent just killing the boss)

Notes: I sent Gilliam and Neimi North and Ross west. In retrospect, it might have been smarter to switch Gill and Ross because Ross was more efficient in killing the boss(double attacked and did more damage + weapon triangle advantage) but was trapped behind the walls fighting mercenaries who out-fought him. I dunno, if I had switched them, I probably could have shaved off 5 or so turns. Stupid me. When the Ephraim trio showed up, I just had one of them rescue Ephraim and flee East. Then they just sat there. And about that whole "Those three units are going to be completely over-leveled thing"....

Name    Lv Class   HP Str Skl Spd Lck Def Res WeaponRank
Gilliam 20 Knight  40 16  11  6   7   20  6   Lance: A
Ross    19 Fighter 32 20  12  13  21  11  10  Axe: A
Neimi   9  Archer  21 8   8   12  11  3   5   Bow: C

Yeah. I'd say Gill and Ross are a little bit over-leveled....

Edit:

Shit. Just realized Eirika was holding the Orions Bolt when I chose Ephraim's route... Well... dammit!

Chapter 9:

Units Out: Gilliam, Ross, Neimi, Amelia(recruited),Ephraim

Turns: 32, though many were just getting Ephraim to the throne... I should have him follow closer to the action next seize goal.... I'll have to remember that.

Notes: I recruited Amelia, the lowest tiered unit on the list. Yay? I guess it's another unit that can fight(sort of). The chapter was pretty easy. The sleep staves also contributed to the higher turn count. Also, despite having a Knight Crest from chapter 7, I haven't promoted Gilliam yet so that there isn't too giant a performance gap. Still need to train Neimi, and now little bitty Amelia.

Name    Lv Class   HP Str Skl Spd Lck Def Res WeaponRank
Gilliam 20 Knight  40 16  11  6   7   20  6   Lance: A
Ross    20 Fighter 37 20  12  14  21  11  10  Axe: A
Neimi   10 Archer  22 8   9   12  11  3   5   Bow: C
Amelia  2  Recruit 17 4   3   5   6   2   3   Lance: E

Edit: Used a Speedwing on Gilliam before chapter 10. His speed is now 8.

Chapter 10:

Units Out: Gilliam, Ross, Neimi, Amelia

Turns: 10(well it was a defend chapter :P)

Notes: I decided the easiest way to do this was hole up in the northeast corner and just defend for 10 turns. Since it wasn't a route chapter or a seize chapter, and this chapter would take ten turns no matter what, who cares, eh? Anyway, I didn't get the Knights Crest from keeping the knights alive or the hero crest from the south village, but whatever. Gerik comes with one in a couple chapters anyway. It will probably be at that point that I promote both Gill and Ross. The next Knight Crest(for Amelia) is at chapter 14, and I don't even know if Amelia will be promotable by then anyway. Well... to hell with it. Stats:

Name    Lv Class   HP Str Skl Spd Lck Def Res WeaponRank
Gilliam 20 Knight  40 16  11  6   7   20  6   Lance: A
Ross    20 Fighter 37 20  12  14  21  11  10  Axe: A
Neimi   11 Archer  22 9   10  12  11  3   5   Bow: C
Amelia  2  Recruit 17 4   3   5   6   2   3   Lance: E

Apparently I didn't use Amelia at all during that chapter... No freaking wonder she's the lowest tiered unit.

Oh God. Chapter 11 is the impossible chapter. I just looked at my strategy for completing it last try... it involved promotion of Gilliam, Ross, and Neimi, as well as about 5 other random people as shields, and the death of Dozla AND L'Arachel(which will not be happening). I don't think anyone will mind if I go Valni up Neimi a couple levels? I don't think anyone cares at all.

After one floor of Valni:

Name    Lv Class   HP Str Skl Spd Lck Def Res WeaponRank
Neimi   15 Archer  25 11  11  15  13  4   7   Bow: B

It didn't even make that much of an impact.

Edited May 10, 2012 by StinDuh

[Progenitus]

the only real way to make neimi usable is promote her to ranger ASAP and have colm support (and she actually becomes decent). Seeing as how you don't have the orion's bolt or colm fielded...

[StinDuh]

I do have the Orion's bolt, but Neimi is going sniper..... Know what, to hell with that rule she's going ranger.

Crap. I remember now. I left it in the hands of Eirika...Gunna gameshark myself one. No big deal.

Dear god...Chapter 11. I broke a bunch of my rules. This chapter is absolute hell. But I made it out with Neimi, Gilliam, Ross, Amelia, and L'Arachel alive.... Summary:

Chapter 11:

Units out: Ross, Gilliam, Neimi, Amelia, L'Arachel, Dozla, Forde, Kyle, Seth, Duessel, Colm, Ephraim(saw battle, but did not fight, no weapons)

Turns: 11(well. That's a coincidence.)

Notes: Yeah so I had to bring all those guys because my units kept getting blindsided through the fog. Forde, Kyle, Seth, and Colm died. I also used savestates..... But seriously, this chapter would have been impossible otherwise. L'Arachel is alive(which is better than my last low-tier run), so I'm happy. Also, Gilliam was promoted to General, Neimi was promoted to Ranger(she was level 15).

Name       Lv Class      HP Str Skl Spd Lck Def Res WeaponRank
Gilliam    2  General    45 18  14  11  8   22  9   Lance: S, Sword: E, Axe: E
Ross       20 Fighter    37 20  12  14  21  11  10  Axe: A
Neimi      2  Ranger     28 14  13  17  14  7   11  Bow: A, Sword D
Amelia     2  Recruit    17 4   3   5   6   2   3   Lance: E
L'Arachel  3  Troubadour 18 6   6   10  12  5   8   Staff: D

Okay.... It would probably be a good idea to train Amelia now.

Chapter 12: The Lesser of Two Evils

Units Out: Gilliam, Ross, Neimi, Amelia, L'Arachel, Ewan, Marisa Ephraim

Turns: Like... 27 or something.

Notes: This would have gone a lot faster if I wasn't an idiot an armed Gilliam better. I split my team up and sent Gilliam East and Ross, Neimi, L'Arachel, and Amelia West in hopes of training Amelia a bit. It kinda worked, until I realized that Gilliam's weapons had all but turned to shattered steel. Thankfully his defense is way above what it should be. He was surrounded down on the east bridge for awhile until I had Ross and Neimi round north, after routing the mages and such, and help him out. Once I got Gilliam equipped with one of Neimi's extra iron swords, I was good to go. I then sent Ross over to recruit Ewan, while Gilliam and Neimi took charge of the north. Then I recruited Marisa and defeated the boss with Ross, Gil, and Neimi. Oh and I got a Guiding Ring that will pretty much be used the moment L'Arachel reaches level ten.

Name       Lv Class      HP Str Skl Spd Lck Def Res WeaponRank
Gilliam    5  General    47 20  16  13  9   23  10   Lance: S, Sword: E, Axe: E
Ross       20 Fighter    37 20  12  14  21  11  10  Axe: A
Neimi      4  Ranger     30 16  13  19  15  8   11  Bow: A, Sword D
Amelia     5  Recruit    18 6   4   6   7   2   3   Lance: E
L'Arachel  4  Troubadour 19 7   6   10  13  5   9   Staff: D
Ewan       2  Pupil      16 3   3   6   5   0   3   Anima: E

Marisa did not go up a level during this chapter.

Chapter 13:

Units out: Gilliam, Ross, Neimi, Amelia, L'Arachel, Ewan, Marisa, Ephraim, Natasha, Gerik, Tethys

Turns:20(not bad!)

Notes: Although my turncounts are way lower than last time, my units are far more underleveled. I need to stop having Gill, Ross, and Neimi just solo the maps. Maybe I should do what I did last runthrough and Valni up Amelia and Ewan to their second tier... Ya know what... Yeah... I'll do that. Oh anyway. The most trouble with this chapter was the pegasus knights, but I was able to strategically pick them off with Neimi and Gilliam. Cost me a couple turns. But. Eh. Neimi's defense is lacking. Hard. And I promoted Ross to Warrior. I contemplated Hero, but I decided that Hero was superior to Warrior, even if Warrior gets range. I doubt I'll be using bows with him that much either since he's usually on the front lines(or IS the front line). Okay anyway. Stats:

Name       Lv Class      HP Str Skl Spd Lck Def Res WeaponRank
Gilliam    6  General    48 21  16  13  9   24  11  Lance: S, Sword: D, Axe: E
Ross       3  Warrior    42 23  14  15  22  15  13  Axe: S, Bows: E
Neimi      6  Ranger     31 16  14  20  16  8   12  Bow: S, Sword C
Amelia     6  Recruit    19 6   4   6   7   4   3   Lance: E
L'Arachel  4  Troubadour 19 7   6   10  13  5   9   Staff: D
Ewan       4  Pupil      16 5   3   6   5   0   5   Anima: E
Marisa     5  Myrmidon   23 7   12  13  9   4   3   Sword: D

Alright. Lets Valni Amelia and Ewan to level 10.

After two very short bouts in the Tower:

Name       Lv Class    HP Str Skl Spd Lck Def Res WeaponRank
Ewan       1  Mage     22 7   8   12  9   1   10  Anima: D
Amelia     1  Cavalier 23 7   9   9   10  6   5   Lance: D, Sword E

Time for Hell Chapter 2: Chapter 14

Chapter 14:

Units Out: Gilliam, Neimi, Ross, Ewan, Amelia, Marisa, L'Arachel, Ephraim

Turns:40Idon'twanttotalkaboutitokay

Notes: My strategy for recruiting Rennac/beating the chapter was as follows: Gilliam, Neimi, Marisa, and L'Arachel take the left, Ross, Ewan, Amelia, and Ephraim on right. Ross essentially solos the right, stopping at the door to save himself from the berserk staff. Neimi and Gilliam, with the support of Marisa and L'Arachel, go up the left, attacking and continuing. Neimi opens the door, and she and Gill block the way west so Rennac cannot go further. After clearing out the area of mages and shamans and other hazards(this is what took so long), L'Arachel recruits Rennac and takes him on a tour to get open the chest. The member card was given to ephraim so he could easily get to the supply and the secret shot at the same time. I bought a bunch of Killer Weapons. Anyway... stats!

Name       Lv Class      HP Str Skl Spd Lck Def Res WeaponRank
Gilliam    8  General    50 21  17  13  10  26  12  Lance: S, Sword: D, Axe: E
Ross       7  Warrior    46 25  16  16  25  16  14  Axe: S, Bows: E
Neimi      2  Ranger     32 17  14  21  17  8   12  Bow: S, Sword C
Amelia     1  Cavalier   23 7   9   9   10  6   5   Lance: D, Sword E
L'Arachel  6  Troubadour 21 7   7   11  15  5   11  Staff: C
Ewan       3  Mage       23 7   8   12  10  1   10  Anima: D
Marisa     9  Myrmidon   27 10  15  15  12  4   6   Sword: D

Is anyone still reading this

Sometimes you just have to cut your losses and move on. Knoll died in chapter 15

Chapter 15:

Units Out: Gilliam, Ross, Neimi, Amelia, L'Arachel, Ewan, Marisa, Eirkia, Saleh, Innes, Ephraim(he attacked once), and Knoll(who died from reinforcements).

Turns: Forgot to check but a freaking lot.

Notes: I sent Ross up to help out Innes and Saleh fight the pegasus knights up top(Ross rescued Eirika). Everyone else just stayed in the bottom corner until the reinforcements arrived. I used Ephraim/Reginleif to help kill the Paladin that came along with those reinforcements, and Knoll ended up getting killed by one of the Cavaliers. Then Gilliam, Neimi, and Ross just finished everyone else off... This map sucks. I am putting in extra care to train in the next couple chapters.

Name       Lv Class      HP Str Skl Spd Lck Def Res WeaponRank
Gilliam    9  General    51 22  17  14  11  27  12  Lance: S, Sword: D, Axe: D
Ross       8  Warrior    47 25  17  17  26  16  14  Axe: S, Bows: E
Neimi      9  Ranger     40 19  15  22  18  8   13  Bow: S, Sword C
Amelia     2  Cavalier   23 7   10  9   11  6   5   Lance: D, Sword E
L'Arachel  7  Troubadour 22 7   8   11  16  5   12  Staff: C
Ewan       4  Mage       24 7   8   13  11  1   11  Anima: C
Marisa     11 Myrmidon   28 12  17  16  13  4   6   Sword: C
Innes      3  Sniper     32 15  14  16  15  10  10  Bow: A

Rennac has not yet leveled up.

Edited May 27, 2012 by StinDuh

[StinDuh]

Chapter 16:

Units Out: Gilliam, Neimi, Ewan, Marisa, L'Arachel, Innes, Ross, Rennac, Amelia, Ephraim

Turns: Something around 30

Notes: Eh it was just annoying with the long range magic users. Essentially I just sent Neimi up to bait them all out and then sent everyone to take them out when their long range magic was depleted. Pretty straight forward. Marisa got some level ups. I'm gunna promote her at lvl 15. My units are horribly underleveled.

Name       Lv Class      HP Str Skl Spd Lck Def Res WeaponRank
Gilliam    10 General    52 22  18  14  13  28  12  Lance: S, Sword: D, Axe: D
Ross       10 Warrior    48 26  19  17  27  18  14  Axe: S, Bows: E
Neimi      11 Ranger     41 20  16  23  19  8   15  Bow: S, Sword B
Amelia     6  Cavalier   26 8   11  10  13  8   7   Lance: C, Sword E
L'Arachel  9  Troubadour 24 7   9   13  17  6   13  Staff: B
Ewan       6  Mage       24 9   8   14  11  2   12  Anima: C
Marisa     14 Myrmidon   31 12  19  18  15  5   7   Sword: C
Rennac     3  Rogue      29 11  17  19  6   10  11  Sword: B
Innes      5  Sniper     33 15  16  18  16  10  10  Bow: A

[Espinosa]

Looking good. You're several chapters away from the end, but Neimi is already capable of doubling the final boss and Garm!Ross is only 1 speed point away from doing the same. Might as well get L'Arachel to A staves ASAP and just skip those assassination chapters.