Grandjackal, Blindly Stumbling Around Tear Ring Saga!

[grandjackal]

I'm not gonna do a playlog exactly, as I'm not sure if it bores people or anyone reads my stuff. I don't do the typical screenshots into hilarity things cause I'm lazy and prefer the more gameplay aspects of things, so I won't bother with that if it bores people too much.

However, I will just kinda throw up some brief things I find interesting or generally have questions with cause I literally have 0 clue what I'm getting myself into with this game. I can say I love it so far though. I love that the game throws me a bunch of units, and that none of them are necessarily unusable trash (so far. Only just beat chapter 2, and my force is already a healthy size). I always like that cause sometimes I don't like playing purely LTC. Sometimes I just wanna have fun. Made further cool by the fact that it's a bit like oldschool Marth FE games where you can do whatever the hell you want as long as you don't interrupt Ronin's path and can clear his way to the throne in time. I really love this game so far and I'm not even that far in. Also while I've never used them? I LOVE Amulets. Basically just an extra life for a character for a just in case. imagine these could be used for interesting strategies along with generally just making things less frustrating.

As for Espinosa who asked me about Narron, I think at least early on, it doesn't really make a difference. Raffin generally does the job well enough (chapter 2 at least, again I'm not far). Just an issue of if you want Lee with Physics to make things less annoying, or if you want to feed Narron early so he has more time to kick ass. I guess the issue is whendo you really NEED Narron? Cause apparently there's this guy named Zeek? From what I hear, he's godlike anyways, so...

As for my thoughts on the characters thus far.

Ronin: I'd like him more if there are maps where he actually gets to kill things. Like chapter 2 he was just a chess piece. At least this game has route maps, so I won't have to worry about it. He strikes me as pretty good though so far.

Kreiss: Arkiss's speed advantage isn't really big enough at the start, so Kriess's damage and durability matters more (and he's more active in chapter 1 because of it). I like him so far, because he's pretty muscular. I read up a bit, and am I right in that I should train him anyways for some unit later?

Arkiss: Eh, he's ok. I recall hearing something about him leaving though? That kinda turns me off him immediately. Haven't really been feeding him kills, but he still proves useful. He can at least catch sword bandits, and 2RKOs so he was a nice help in chapter 2 since he could help feed Julia.

Garo: It's frustrating that such a good stats character is just handed to you, and then they stick him with 4 move. That's a load of BS. Like, that 4 move so far has rendered him useless. Literally seen no action so far. Not causeI didn't want to, but because he couldn't reach any of it. Was it really necessary to hit him with 4 move?

Sasha: With that strength? No. I don't care how apparently amazing she becomes, I'm just gonna skip it.

Kate: Haven't had much, but she at least seems useful at first. With the ability to use a bow along with a melee weapon (With armorslaying no less), she at least sounds useful early on. Hear she grows terribly though.

Lee: Holy shit, Lee has 21 magic this early in the game, so I can actually one shot certain enemies, and he's fast enough to double most. I try to avoid it, but just knowing I have that in my pocket is delicious. Also, comes with a free Libro? Gives me a Defense Staff? Delicious!

Barts: Strikes me as ok, but apparently he has an accuracy problem later n the game and I should only bother with Samson seriously?

Esther: She appears to be kinda mediocre, and I'm not too sure how much I would want to depend on growths (are hers ok?). Not sure how she promotes. I do notice Life or Death though...I'm kinda using her unknowingly because I like Cecile, and she strikes me as similar (sans the awful speed base). Am I being big fool?

Julia: I like her, cause of Killer Edge acc, along with very dependable speed. Durability isn't that hot, but I can live with everything else. Help that her first level got me +Str. Ooh, learns Continue pretty early. Me like.

Raffin: Pretty solid guy, since he's pretty tough at the start. The fact he starts with a weapon like Needle Spear is hilarious, along with that he can 2 shot the boss. He becomes a wyvern rider, right? Winner in my book. Also, auto-Canto.

Thinking I might use Barts anyways. Anything I should know? I also got Plum and Lan's Mirror, because I wanted to make absolutely sure. There's a lot of secrets in this game, and I don't wanna miss 'em. Some help would be appreciated.

[BBM]

You should probably train Kreiss if you want to get everything, yeah. Make sure to read the Lateena recruitment thing fully because it's pretty complex. Also, Garo is kind of meh when you're using a full team, but when you have a small team, Garo's high stats are pretty useful even with his low move.

Zeek pretty much stomps everything, but don't depend too heavily on him. Esther is kind of mediocre. Sasha becomes quite good later, but there are other growth units early on to feed your EXP to who aren't as much of a headache to raise, so I don't like her much either. Barts isn't really very much worse than Samson, so use Barts if you like him.

Latepick Narron is still very good, but he then comes at a time where you get a lot of other good units, and getting him then also costs you Lionel. Lee is pretty cool, and in a vacuum he's quite good, but at the end of the day he makes you choose between Narron and Lionel, which sort of sucks.

Julia is okay, but her STR is unreliable and she's pretty flatly outclassed by Shigen and Vega.

This game is kind of like FE9 in some ways in that you get a lot of good mounts. It kind of leaves foot units in a cruddy spot because of that, to the extent that very few are useful if you're going to be using a lot of mounts. If you're tired with all the mounts, I'd maybe recommend getting Lionel instead of Narron in C12.

[Icon of Sin]

You don't really NEED Narron, but he certainly helps a lot and makes a really good choice for the chapter 3 Knight Proof. Even with a huge level lead, Paragon will make him gain experience at a great rate. Meanwhile Zeek has an even better start but leaves midway in the game. Raphin's always there and even gets wings though.

Kreiss needs to be trained if you want to recruit Leteena. However, you WILL need to choose Ezekiel to keep her longer than a few chapters. Keep in mind that getting her involves a rather long chain of events, costs a few rare items, and is generally not that worth it. Rebecca may be recruited instead and, while she's not as good, it's not like you really need her with Renee around the corner, on top of Plum and Lyria acting as Clerics and Dancer/Singer.

Arkis only becomes an enemy if you take the southern castle in chapter 25, which is taking the hard option for chapter 26. Going the north one will make him stick around.

IIRC, all thief type classes (Thieves, Pirates, Bandits, Hunters and Chiefs) have 4 Movement. He's alright in a pinch though.

Kate is mostly average, rather than terrible. She does gain a mount, which you might like.

Samson is generally agreed to be superior to Barts, but if he strikes your fancy, by all means, use him. He's a fairly good unit and his accuracy issues can be fixed with Charge. Samson has better growths and skills, but assuming you used him a bit, Barts should at least have a bit of a level lead.

Esther has ok growths but her strength is really her skillset. She promotes into a Paladin, using a Knight Proof. Roger accomplishes the "Ambush Wrath" gimmick faster and with less effort, however.

Julia's ok, but keep in mind that Vega has a good custom sword and Shigen is a forced swordfighter. Both also tend to be stronger with the same weapons while still be blazing fast.

As I mentionned in my unit review, Raphin is pretty much a weird mix between Oifaye and Dean. Great start, still gets good experience and ends up as a Dragon Knight with Ambush.

The thread I made that got pinned should cover a good bunch of secrets, though I'll admit it's pretty annoying to find yourself in this mess. FEWoD also has a fairly good section on TRS even if your Spanish skills are unexistant like mine.

In general, most enemies will remain hilariously slow even late in the game, so Speed shouldn't be as critical as in FE12 for example.

Edited January 30, 2013 by Doga Blockovich

[grandjackal]

You don't really NEED Narron, but he certainly helps a lot and makes a really good choice for the chapter 3 Knight Proof. Even with a huge level lead, Paragon will make him gain experience at a great rate. Meanwhile Zeek has an even better start but leaves midway in the game. Raphin's always there and even gets wings though.

I'm gonna try not using both, see how that works out.

Kreiss needs to be trained if you want to recruit Leteena. However, you WILL need to choose Ezekiel to keep her longer than a few chapters. Keep in mind that getting her involves a rather long chain of events, costs a few rare items, and is generally not that worth it. Rebecca may be recruited instead and, while she's not as good, it's not like you really need her with Renee around the corner, on top of Plum and Lyria acting as Clerics and Dancer/Singer.

Fair enough. I'm still gonna use Kreiss. Always had a soft spot for the red cav.

Arkis only becomes an enemy if you take the southern castle in chapter 25, which is taking the hard option for chapter 26. Going the north one will make him stick around.

Duly noted.

IIRC, all thief type classes (Thieves, Pirates, Bandits, Hunters and Chiefs) have 4 Movement. He's alright in a pinch though.

Well that's a baffling decision they made.

Kate is mostly average, rather than terrible. She does gain a mount, which you might like.

Hmmm....Might use her in that case.

Esther has ok growths but her strength is really her skillset. She promotes into a Paladin, using a Knight Proof. Roger accomplishes the "Ambush Wrath" gimmick faster and with less effort, however.

Skillsets in this game weird me out cause I'm so unused to just gaining skills by leveling. Do I need to stay unpromoted to gain certain skills?

Julia's ok, but keep in mind that Vega has a good custom sword and Shigen is a forced swordfighter. Both also tend to be stronger with the same weapons while still be blazing fast.

Well, nothing stopping me from using all of them. I read that there are route splits?

The thread I made that got pinned should cover a good bunch of secrets, though I'll admit it's pretty annoying to find yourself in this mess. FEWoD also has a fairly good section on TRS even if your Spanish skills are unexistant like mine.

I'll be sure to check it out then. Thanks.

In general, most enemies will remain hilariously slow even late in the game, so Speed shouldn't be as critical as in FE12 for example.

I really wish FE goes away from that aspect. Just kills any and all enjoyment from the game and just turns it into a stress test.

EDIT: Also, I've been having an issue, and I wonder if anyone has had the same. Basically at times the game just decides to chug, and then disables my buttons for an amount of time before I can use them again. Anyone else had this issue? Cause it is getting REALLY annoying.

Edited January 30, 2013 by grandjackal

[Icon of Sin]

Skillsets in this game weird me out cause I'm so unused to just gaining skills by leveling. Do I need to stay unpromoted to gain certain skills?

Well, nothing stopping me from using all of them. I read that there are route splits?

I really wish FE goes away from that aspect. Just kills any and all enjoyment from the game and just turns it into a stress test.

For some characters, yes, such as Sasha's Gale/Elite and Samson's Awareness. For other characters, such as Narron's Blazing Wind, you may have to promote them early. If the class is not mentionned, then it does not matter. Another thing to keep in mind : the later you promote your units, the more levels they can get. Promoting a unit at level 12 means his level cap will be 32 without a Super Proof, while promoting all the way to 20 means the cap will be 40. This also affects event promotions like lords and Raphin. Units that don't promote have a cap at 30.

The only one is for chapter 26. Both have a similar gimmick of enemies attacking you without you being able to counter them normally since they're hidden. However, 26A is a simple outdoors map while 26B pits you against thieves stealing weapons and an enemy Arkis, all this while indoors.

I can't say for sure but Berwick Saga seems even less stat growth oriented. Perhaps Othin could share some insight on this. Of course, a translation project for this game might happen when you have children or even later.

[Espinosa]

Aren't Rebecca and Leteena mutually exclusive? There should be no reason to go to the trouble to recruit the latter, even in a recruit all runthrough.

About Zeek; you might as well solo the early chapters with him since you picked Lee over Narron if turns are of importance to you (I'd advise against going for turns when playing blind since it's a better idea to know where everything is first and how the maps play out), though I'd give Raffin as much experience as I can because that's a lasting character (which cannot be said about most other earlygame guys).

Also, which one of Julia vs. Xeno does everybody prefer? I have a tendency to drop the former on my runs, but I'm sure that better luck with strength procs on the early maps would make me reconsider.

[grandjackal]

So I'm having an issue that is purely interfering with my ability to play this game. Namely that at times the game just chugs, or the game just stops having the ability to process anything. Like I'm at a loading screen and it keeps checking for save data which never loads up neither as new file or as one of my saves. While this is going on, I also can't use buttons like the game just is unable to process anything.

Anyone else had this issue? Cause this is getting annoying really quick. Had to restart the game twice so far just trying to buy a damn hammer.

[Icon of Sin]

Also, which one of Julia vs. Xeno does everybody prefer? I have a tendency to drop the former on my runs, but I'm sure that better luck with strength procs on the early maps would make me reconsider.

While I know Julia can get a level lead by the time he joins, I usually used Xeno a lot more.

So I'm having an issue that is purely interfering with my ability to play this game. Namely that at times the game just chugs, or the game just stops having the ability to process anything. Like I'm at a loading screen and it keeps checking for save data which never loads up neither as new file or as one of my saves. While this is going on, I also can't use buttons like the game just is unable to process anything.

Anyone else had this issue? Cause this is getting annoying really quick. Had to restart the game twice so far just trying to buy a damn hammer.

Considering you play with the patched game on a Mac, perhaps the issue might be related.

Can you give more details. What chapter does this happen? Are you saving on the map in a certain spot? What is your emulator and what version do you have?

Perhaps you'll have to play the game unpatched.

[grandjackal]

Considering you play with the patched game on a Mac, perhaps the issue might be related.

Can you give more details. What chapter does this happen? Are you saving on the map in a certain spot? What is your emulator and what version do you have?

Perhaps you'll have to play the game unpatched.

I do not have it patched, i happens at any given time, often multiple times during a chapter. I'm not saving on maps at all, my emulator is pcsx, and I don't have reloaded version.

[BBM]

I think psxfin (it's something like that) worked best for me.

[grandjackal]

I think psxfin (it's something like that) worked best for me.

Does it work on mac?

Also, does anyone know the exp formula for this game? It seems like I am leveling pretty fast.

Edited January 30, 2013 by grandjackal

[grandjackal]

So I beat chapter 7, and was given 20K gold for no reason. The gold amount and prices in this game are absurd. I feel like I don't wanna spend cause I don't know how expensive later portion things can get.

Suppose I should give thoughts...

Chapter 3 is Raffin is a boss time. Give mirror boost, give a Javelin, watch him turn everything into food while he slowly becomes beef over time.

I hate chapter 4 in how it's basically on the whim of Roger. If I wasn't recruiting him, I'd just stab him in the nuts with the Rapier and call it a day, but alas I'm a nice guy that wants a Troubadour. I used Yaymarsha's mock run as an example, only to find Roger went left instead of right. Otherwise, it's dead simple. Also yay second Farheal staff. Again, glad I got Lee on my team.

Chapter 5 is pretty easy to figure out. Only had Zeek save Marj's ass (or at least saved the pendent), and otherwise it's a very simple chapter. Again, Raffin is a gigantic boss. Dismounts, but can still use spears indoors? Dude, Raffin is ridiculous. He doesn't even need Narron's help.

Chapter 6 is the silliest map I think I've ever seen. I'm spawned right next to enemy ballista, eliminating the entire point of them, and then met with the world's most ridiculous chokepoint. Did not recruit Norton. Lee can ORKO the boss, unless you count Barts just smacking him with a Hammer, if by some RNG god blessing you ever hit him with the damn thing.

Chapter 7 is only annoying because of the woodshooters (this game has tanks, what is this cracked out nonsense). That one with the Gatling Bow is fucking stupid, and I'm glad I had a pendent on Marj. I dodged the fatal hit so I saved the pendent use, but I can't imagine how else you deal with this stupid thing. All things considered, you can at least reach the throne by turn 5. Getting hte boss's fat ass off it is another thing, because Swordbreaker makes the job a lot more annoying. Lee again seems to be the best answer, with help from Marj if necessary. You can also risk it and have Barts just knock him the fuck out by one shotting him with a Hammer, but you don't wanna whiff and end up wasting uses of that Swordbreaker, do you?

Character thoughts

Barts: Barts is the bomb. I don't care if his acc sucks in the future, he is an ass kicker in the now. He's one of the few presently that can say he kills anything he looks at. His damage output is just that good. Even if he misses, he still does enough damage that anything can gum down what he messed up. I think maybe I got lucky with Def because he's lie level 9 right now having had 7 Def for a level or 2, and it's helped. It kinda helps him against crits, considering his luck is abysmal. When I finally realized he had 1 Luck this entire time, I reeled back a little.

Estelle: Unless her promotion gains are off the hook, there's no real reason to use her over let's say Arkiss. She's currently about to hit level 10, but I can say I got a bit lucky on stats. Her Agility i usable now in the least, as is her Str. I ay have given her a Weaponlvl+, but it grows kinda well on it's own. Still, mounted killer edge.

Julia and Vega: The two are very very similar, but that weapon Vega has just barely edges it out since Julia has no real way to answer it back. Vega can ORKO things, Julia can't. Maybe I just need to buy her a Steel Sword...Been kind of a cheapskate so far.

Kreiss: I have been getting unlucky concerning his speed, and it kinda blows when you consider that Raffin could be doubling with a Javelin. Kreiss still isn't bad, but goddamn does Raffin overshadow him hard. Raffin is just that good, every other cav just feels like they aren't helping and are just feeding off the scraps that Raffin leaves like everyone else.

I gave Kreiss the Canto scroll, and I gave Ronin the HP+ booster. Luck+ has yet to go on anyone (now thinking about it, Barts would love it). Not sure what to do with this Super Proof. Will be promoting Estelle ASAP simply cause I wanna see her bonuses. If Kreiss were growing normally, he normally wouldn't have to worry much.

[Espinosa]

The weapons are pretty damn expensive in this game, but you needn't really buy a whole lot unless you grind in random encounters as Holmes.

Also, does anyone know the exp formula for this game? It seems like I am leveling pretty fast.

Othin posted different calculations and how certain skills are activated in some other thread a while back, but I don't remember where it was. We should put up a calculations section. It's on pegasusknight, if you can read it.

The enemy bow users get pretty annoying in this game, but there are many ways to dispose of them. High defences help against the multistrike ones (having Marj bait one is a bad idea) and you can often destroy them before they can get to you, even if you're pressed for turns.

Raffin doesn't stay on horse for very long and Zeke doesn't stay in another sense of the word, so training Kreiss might pay off if you want some mounted units with Canto. Sun, Mintz, Rofarl, Roger, Leonhart, however, are all better (not to mention Narron).

[grandjackal]

The weapons are pretty damn expensive in this game, but you needn't really buy a whole lot unless you grind in random encounters as Holmes.

Othin posted different calculations and how certain skills are activated in some other thread a while back, but I don't remember where it was. We should put up a calculations section. It's on pegasusknight, if you can read it.

The enemy bow users get pretty annoying in this game, but there are many ways to dispose of them. High defences help against the multistrike ones (having Marj bait one is a bad idea) and you can often destroy them before they can get to you, even if you're pressed for turns.

Raffin doesn't stay on horse for very long and Zeke doesn't stay in another sense of the word, so training Kreiss might pay off if you want some mounted units with Canto. Sun, Mintz, Rofarl, Roger, Leonhart, however, are all better (not to mention Narron).

I'll keep that in mind. Any notable purchases I should keep in mind?

As for Marj, I wasn't luring it with Marj, I was tryng to kill it with everyone else but 16 Def is damn hard to pierce physically. Only Needle Lance form Raffin could do anything, and he failed to crit. Then it moved to attack Marj. Generally nothing wanted to take that stupid thing's attack because there was still an armor knight there, so I was thinking anything else would still get killed by the combo.

I'm not bothering with Zeke since he's a case of stone cold stupid, and Raffin I know gets a dragon to ride because he wasn't ridiculous enough. i'll keep it up with Kreiss though, although I do have Estelle ready to promote in 1 level.

Raffin is currently level 12 on my team, trying to get him to 18 for that skill of his before promotion (or does it matter?). How good is a promotion for Barst if I ever find a hero crest? I imagine the immediate response will be Vega, but I'm just wondering.

[Icon of Sin]

Raffin is currently level 12 on my team, trying to get him to 18 for that skill of his before promotion (or does it matter?). How good is a promotion for Barst if I ever find a hero crest? I imagine the immediate response will be Vega, but I'm just wondering.

No class mentionned for Raphin, so he can get it as either class.

+3 HP, +1 Mov, +2 everything else not named Mag and Luk. Vega can wait a bit if you want his level 35 skill.

http://fea.fewiki.net/fea.php?game=ts1

[grandjackal]

Good to know, thanks much.

Lol the undead are somehow more pathetic than in FE8. At least Eselle and Kreiss will be promoting now. Barts is 3 levels away from CHARGE.

Ok, route split. I have no idea what events lay ahead, so what should I do?

Also, did a test of the first Ronin batle after the split. That chapter is annoying. Pole Axe AND a Gatling Tank? Exists just to piss me off, along with the fact that everything is packing a shield. Still, can be done in 6 turns. This leaves the issue with Narcus, seeing as not only does he take WAY more time to recruit, but that Dark Mages show up on turn 7 and are insanely powerful as they're basically packing Nosferatu. Is it even worth it?

I would highly recommend the Agi+ on Kreiss, because that's like the only problem he has. Brings his speed up to par, and when it combines with 11 Str, 36 HP and 9 Def, that's pretty awesome. Estelle can learn Life or Death on this map, and post-promotion she is a LOT better since her promotion gains are incredible. Only 6 levels away from Elite.

That being said, Roger's still a pretty cool dude. The difference between them isn't much, so what with Elite coming in, I'd probably use Estelle more in the long run, though Roger still has a sick series of skills. Once he hits 18, I imagine he'd be pretty good as well. '

I think Mahter's kinda average. What's your opinion on the pegasus knight?

Can't believe Raffin promotes next chapter. This game's about to lose it's nuts.

[Icon of Sin]

Good to know, thanks much.

Lol the undead are somehow more pathetic than in FE8. At least Eselle and Kreiss will be promoting now. Barts is 3 levels away from CHARGE.

Ok, route split. I have no idea what events lay ahead, so what should I do?

Also, did a test of the first Ronin batle after the split. That chapter is annoying. Pole Axe AND a Gatling Tank? Exists just to piss me off, along with the fact that everything is packing a shield. Still, can be done in 6 turns. This leaves the issue with Narcus, seeing as not only does he take WAY more time to recruit, but that Dark Mages show up on turn 7 and are insanely powerful as they're basically packing Nosferatu. Is it even worth it?

That being said, Roger's still a pretty cool dude. The difference between them isn't much, so what with Elite coming in, I'd probably use Estelle more in the long run, though Roger still has a sick series of skills. Once he hits 18, I imagine he'd be pretty good as well. '

I think Mahter's kinda average. What's your opinion on the pegasus knight?

Can't believe Raffin promotes next chapter. This game's about to lose it's nuts.

The more troublesome monsters come later. You have Dracozombies piercing defenses, Opi dividing at a rapid rate, Golems with massive HP and Defense and Gargoyles with a decent combination of movement, defense and speed.

Should stay with Runan :

Raphin (promotion), Maharaj (obtains a fairly valuable item plus supports with Meriah), Plum (dance ability)

Should go with Holmes :

Yuni (chests), Xeno (supports, some training), Mahter (avoids Frau killing herself on you), Roger, Mel (both need to stay together and Mel can get a Magic staff)

Most of the others shouldn't be that important, though a bunch of people can get supports. For Runan's route, I'd suggest adding Kreiss, Arkis, Estelle, Kate, Norton, Zeek and Raquel. Holmes should get Barts, Vega, Garo and Thomas.

You have no idea how painful that chapter was in a draft with only Runan, Kreiss, Mahter and Norton as combat units. Take it slow if you don't mind. Recruiting Narcus allows him to recruit Bud later and then Rishel, a fairly valuable mage, so I would suggest to recruit him. Keep in mind he will steal half your gold and you'll need 10K for next chapter to get a Dragon Flute.

The first route split gives you access to the Pilum in the Welt castle town shop. It's quite probably the best physical 1-2 range in the game and I strongly suggest you to invest in a few of those.

Mahter's alright, but after Raphin promotes, she does stay in his shadow more often than not. She's still handy to have around, though. Unless you train Sasha, she's your best bet for a second flyer since Frau starts at a low level and Verna flies for a map and a half.

Is he close to get some more skills?

[grandjackal]

Should stay with Runan :

Raphin (promotion), Maharaj (obtains a fairly valuable item plus supports with Meriah), Plum (dance ability)

Should go with Holmes :

Yuni (chests), Xeno (supports, some training), Mahter (avoids Frau killing herself on you), Roger, Mel (both need to stay together and Mel can get a Magic staff)

Most of the others shouldn't be that important, though a bunch of people can get supports. For Runan's route, I'd suggest adding Kreiss, Arkis, Estelle, Kate, Norton, Zeek and Raquel. Holmes should get Barts, Vega, Garo and Thomas.

You have no idea how painful that chapter was in a draft with only Runan, Kreiss, Mahter and Norton as combat units. Take it slow if you don't mind. Recruiting Narcus allows him to recruit Bud later and then Rishel, a fairly valuable mage, so I would suggest to recruit him. Keep in mind he will steal half your gold and you'll need 10K for next chapter to get a Dragon Flute.

The first route split gives you access to the Pilum in the Welt castle town shop. It's quite probably the best physical 1-2 range in the game and I strongly suggest you to invest in a few of those.

Mahter's alright, but after Raphin promotes, she does stay in his shadow more often than not. She's still handy to have around, though. Unless you train Sasha, she's your best bet for a second flyer since Frau starts at a low level and Verna flies for a map and a half.

Is he close to get some more skills?

Thanks again, man. I'll keep Narucs in mind then.

No worries about Pilums, I got me a few.

Raffin is dangerously close to Gale.

[Icon of Sin]

Thanks again, man. I'll keep Narucs in mind then.

No worries about Pilums, I got me a few.

Raffin is dangerously close to Gale.

His contributions as a unit when you do get to use him are minimal (his duplication averages his stats and his target's, rather than an exact duplicate), but he's indeed quite influential. If you still have some of your Gold bags left, leave them to Runan and use them after chapter 9. Keep in mind you get your money back when you recruit him way later.

Excellent.

He's close to get his Dean face on then.

[grandjackal]

Well, I used all of my gold bags, so, that was something I couldn't help. I didn't know this fucker would take half my gold till you mentioned it. Oh well. Ronin doesn't need to spend a lot of gold anyways. Next time I play through, I'll mind my gold bags until AFTER I talk to this chucklehead. Good thing I sent half my fortune Holmes's way.

So. Plum got kidnapped by some pervert, I bought a flute for 1oK, and I killed the chapter 2 boss a second time. Think I could go with another update.

The chapter where Mintz first shows his face I did not bother to wait for him to get to the castle. I'll be damned if I'm going to suffer the AI. REAL easy chapter that you can 6 turn. I doubt Mintz or that Renee person saves 2-3 turns, so whatever. Had Billford attack a mercenary to chip for Kate (Narcus chapter was REAL nice to her, as I had Zeke choke the sand road, while eventually Kate shot down whatever was weakened and eventually even took on the arch knights. Unfortunately, I unwittingly made Zeke huge. Did not know he had Elite). I'd suggest sending Kate or the Thunder Sword Holmes's way. That first fight is annoying without a good ranged option, especially with the ranged fighters in the boss's room and the Scissor Axe bandit.

Character thought updates.

Ronin finally starting to see action. His bases thankfully are pretty good. Got Continue, so that'll help. Can't say much though, he's a lot like Marth, just better at fighting. His defense is atrocious though. Hope I find a Def+ soon.

Kreiss: Promotion did not help him much, cause his promotion gains are awful. Still had to give him the Agi+ (though in fairness, no one else cares). With that though, he's basically Raffin status. Well, until Raffin promoted. Still, Kreiss can pull his weight on the ground now that Raffin is busy elsewhere.

Kate: God her growths suck, but like Ronin her bases are at least pretty usable, especially for her job of just chipping things. I am kinda mad that I put effort into her in Narcus's chapter, then they just throw me Sharon who is superior in every way...

Lee: ....Yup, still awesome.

Raffin: His speed was starting to hurt a little, but then he promoted and everything was k. Seriously, Raffin is out of control. He might not be straight retarded like FE8 Seth or something, but it's kinda silly that I now have FE10 Haar on my team. Oh well. At least I had to actually put effort into using him to make him good at this point in time.

Estelle: Kinda the opposite of Kreiss, in that promotion saved her ass and is now awesome. She's not super durable, but her weapon level access (another problem Kreiss has) lets her use better weapons, so she's quite good on offense (though clearly no Raffin). She's a good middle ground I would say. She now has Life or Death, and soon will have Elite. With her pretty good growths, she should be flying by quite soon.

Julia: I kept her with Ronin and let her have the Thunder Sword. Thankfully with her speed and acc, she puts it to good use. However, the mistake was letting her stay with Ronin. Holmes would have greatly appreciated the Thunder Sword more. Then again, I could have just sent them Kate...or fielded Thomas in that one battle, but even then that would have been dumb. Fuck 3 move. Also, I had a Fire Dragon. That also solved my problems. So yeah, she doesn't really have a problem vs the other two swordsmen because she can use this while they're busy mauling face up close. That, and in fairness there's a lot more armor in Ronin's route.

Barts and Sason: People say that Samson is better, well to note that by the end of the chapter, Barts was 14 and Samson was 7. To compare.

14 Barts: 39 HP, 12 Str, 7-8 Skl, 14 Agi, 7 Def, 2-3 Lck, 5-6 with Luck+, 9-10 Wlvl, 6 Mov

Samson: 32 HP, 9 Str, 10 Skl, 13 Agi, 6 Def, 4 Lck, 10 Wlv, 5 Move

Barts is pretty much better in every imaginable way. Even if one were to say the wins are minor, I could promote Barts right now and I have no reason not to, plus I'm also about to get Charge. Samson getting Gale in 7 levels is nice, but Bartz is whipping his ass in the meantime. Samson does have his strengths though, namely taking no exp to get as good as he is, but he still has room to grow since his base level is relatively low. Samson has better growths overall, so eventually Samson will start winning thanks in part to great bases and fast leveling, along with the beauty that is Gale.

Still, I see no reason not to use both. The both of them are awesome. Just Barts has been blowing up fools for longer.

Vega: Ehhh, Vega's iffy to me. His sword is awesome because it doubles as a shield, but it kills uses quick. Without crits, his offense is kinda typical FE Myrm, and generally isn't ORKOing stuff Julia isn't. Can't say I'm the biggest fan, but I'm sure his skillset will win him over eventually. Starting off with Sol (or whatever it's called in this game) is pretty cool, and his sword does indeed kick ass.

Marju: Yaaaay, Maric clone!

Roger: It's funny how he's prepromoted, yet he basically shows up and is comparable to the other cavs. He's ok for now I guess. Nothing really makes him stand out at the moment.

Katri: YES! Oh my god, FE3 dragon mechanics+being a super boss transformed. Eeeeee! Love that she even has AoE damage! Helped out when I had no range outside of lolHolmes for his first chapter against this obnoxious bandits in the boss's room. Though...I feel like I shouldn't abuse it, like something bad happens if I do, or I run out somehow. There any downside to doing this?

Xeno: Reminds me of Raven. He's putting in work too. His starting chapter is oh so nice to him. If he had like Steel walking into Holmes's first, he'd probably be the best guy there next to Barts. I'mma use the chipper fellow.

Meriah: Yaaay Linda clone!

Holmes: His start is.....meh. Being stuck with a Longbow (I didn't think to buy him an iron) kinda sucks, because that thing is hefty as hell. Even then though, the bowmen of this chapter are actually kinda fast (or at least the one in the boss room is. 6 speed?), so I doubt he'd be helping much even then. He's such a weird character, cause he has Lockpick. He got me the Hero Proof in the end.

Shigen: I know his sword revives him, but god the acc is awful, and it weighs a ton for a sword. He does have the most Str of the myrms though, so I'mma be giving him that Silver Sword. Maybe he'll pick up then...Cause gawd that Dullahan is awful for actual combat purposes.

I like the route split here in this game, as it feels like one route can go jack off the cavs while the other route gets to actually have fun, so when I return to group back up it won't feel like such a one sided game. In the least, I got to have fun with non-mounted units.

So, anything I should know? Also, how do I recruit one of the other guys from the original 4 pick? I recall hearing that happens, just not sure how. Thought I'd do so just walking back.

Edited January 31, 2013 by grandjackal

[BBM]

If you play this game again, get Narron and Zeek and post whether or not you still think Raffin is the best. Their stats just blow Raffin out of the park.

Also, you must have gotten a bit lucky with Julia's STR if she's got the same ORKO potential as Vega. Vega has +2 STR base over her and a (slightly) better growth. And Shigen only has +1 STR base over Vega and equal growth, so eh.

Shame you skipped out on Mintz. He probably won't save many turns single-handedly, but his class is pretty good, so he's pretty good too. Rennie is probably the best of the Bowfighters in the game, but you already have Holmes and he's forced and pretty decent anyways. And Lionheart is good too.

As for Mahter, she's pretty good. I personally like Frau more, but she comes underleveled and Sun joins at the same time and is easier to raise.

And yeah, make sure to stock up on Pilums; they're great.

As for recruiting from the four again, you can pick him up at Welt. I'd recommend Narron or Lionel. Ruka is pretty bad and Ezekiel is outclassed by Lionel as far as Sergeants go and outclassed by Barts and Samson as far as axe-users go.

Edited January 31, 2013 by BBM

[grandjackal]

If you play this game again, get Narron and Zeek and post whether or not you still think Raffin is the best. Their stats just blow Raffin out of the park.

I'm not using them on purpose BECAUSE they're braindead good (they aren't even necessary to get by...So far).

Also, you must have gotten a bit lucky with Julia's STR if she's got the same ORKO potential as Vega. Vega has +2 STR base over her and a (slightly) better growth. And Shigen only has +1 STR base over Vega and equal growth, so eh.

The difference still isn't that big. +1 for Julia isn't that farfetched around the time Vega joins, and a Steel Sword is similar to Shramm. It's still a might difference of 2, but 16 mt isn't making any bigger difference. Like neither are ORKOing without crits. To be honest, I think they're both pretty meh.

Also, Julia learns Continue pretty quick for what it's worth.

Are their promotion gains different? I might look into that, seeing as that info isn't on the main site.

Shame you skipped out on Mintz. He probably won't save many turns single-handedly, but his class is pretty good, so he's pretty good too. Rennie is probably the best of the Bowfighters in the game, but you already have Holmes and he's forced and pretty decent anyways. And Lionheart is good too.

Mintz looking at his stats seemed to be incredibly average. Life or Death with Charge seems wonky if Charge is the same Charge from FE4 and 5.

As for recruiting from the four again, you can pick him up at Welt. I'd recommend Narron or Lionel. Ruka is pretty bad and Ezekiel is outclassed by Lionel as far as Sergeants go and outclassed by Barts and Samson as far as axe-users go.

I'd probably go Lionel. 6 move is always welcome, Holmes's team could do with a lance user, and his bases look pretty good.

[BBM]

Zeek

Well with Zeek, unlike Orson, the more you use him the more difficult he becomes to fight when he returns as an enemy. He goes from being pretty chumpy if you don't use him at all to pretty difficult if you abuse him.

Shrug, maybe I just got unlucky with Julia. IIRC she didn't gain her first STR level for me until like level 6 or 7. But yeah, the strongest point Vega and Shigen have going for them over Julia is their swords. Julia does get an event where she learns Dragon Saint (Astra) though.

Wow, can't believe I forgot about Charge when talking about Mintz. Charge is amazing in TRS and is part of why Mintz is good. In TRS it's an active skill that lets you initiate extra rounds of combat if your SPD is higher than your enemy's SPD (and TRS enemy speed is not that good, for the most part).

Edited January 31, 2013 by BBM

[grandjackal]

Well, I'm avoiding using him at all, so it's merely a bonus knowing he's not necessary on top of it.

No, Vega's bonus is that his sword is awesome. Shigen's sword is trash. It's nice that it revives him if he dies, but you shouldn't be having that happen in the first place, and probably WOULDN'T happen if you weren't using a heavy and inaccurate sword. His benefit is that he has the most strength, so the Silver Sword is basically his. That, and his growths are better than the both of them. Julia's strength to the two of them is early Continue, so she has more to proc off of for offense overall. When you consider Continue paired with Rising Dragon, she's basically the critbot of the 3. Basically to me it's like this.

Julia: Procbot

Vega: Awesome Sword

Shigen: The Solid One

I'd imagine Vega's actually the worst of them if you let his sword break. Good thing there's repair hammers in this game. Would gladly pay 8K to bring Shramm back to full. Damage reduction, good might AND mad crit? Yes please!

Oh, Charge is an activatable? Well that's awesome....Still not gonna miss Mintz.

[Espinosa]

You just wait for the sperm monster-filled maps, you'll see why they gave Shigen that sword. Also good for dragon-sponging.

Also, you cannot repair Prf weapons. Vega is still one of the best foot units out there easily.

Edited January 31, 2013 by Espinosa