The Lunatic Club

[Emerald Ink]

Well, I didn't notice anything like Hawkeye or Luna+ on the scramble enemies, but maybe I didn't look hard enough. Regardless, I am completely incapable of using them to farm seals at this point in time, because they're still damn difficult. I'm probably going to end up wasting a bunch of experience in chapters 9-12, but I'm not sure if that can be entirely helped unless I bring Panne and Nowi along and keep them in the back and let them level grind via dual strikes.

[Czar_Yoshi]

That's because there aren't any Lunatic+ Skills in the Scramble maps. The only DLC maps with L+ skills are Apo (all difficulties) and FP3 (Lunatic+).

The Revenants die really easily to Bows, especially if you have Pass/have two units fighting side by side.

Edited May 8, 2014 by Czar_Yoshi

[Emerald Ink]

They may die easily to bows, but I still drop like a rock if they so much as look at me funny.

[PuffPuff]

Can't buy Second Seals post-cht.6. If you want them in any sort of bulk quantity before post-Cht.12, you're at the mercy of the RNG (Merchants, Rift Doors and Outrealm villages).

You can buy them from Streetpass.

[Kuroi Tsubasa Tenshi]

You can buy them from Streetpass.

Which is only remotely reliable if one has a friend or a second 3DS and game with which to manipulate the system.

[Czar_Yoshi]

They may die easily to bows, but I still drop like a rock if they so much as look at me funny.

The purpose of Bows is to avoid Counter, Vengeance, and EP encounters. If you can't retaliate at 1-range, you'll never take more than 4 battles on an EP, 3 if you stand against an ally and 2 if you stand against an ally and a wall. Since you'll never damage the four that are sitting in front of your units, you won't have to worry about any Counter/Vengeance they may have. The AI doesn't recognize the presence of skills so you don't have to worry about it moving a fresh one out of the way to make room for a hurt Vengeance one. As long as you can heal off the damage the few that can reach you do every turn (you have easy convoy access and their hitrates stink), you can tank them all day.

[dudedudedudeo]

Starting my Lunatic Plus, No-grind. Woot.

So Far, beaten Chapter 1. My current stats are:

Chrom - Level 1 (No changes)

Lissa - Level 4

Str - 1

Mag - 6

Skill - 4

Spd - 4

Lck - 10

Def - 3

Res - 5

Frederick - Level 2

Str - 14

Mag - 2

Skill - 12

Spd - 11

Lck - 7

Def - 14

Res - 4

Matthew - Level 5 (+Speed/-Luck)

Str - 9

Mag - 7

Skill - 7

Spd - 12

Lck - 5

Def - 7

Red - 4

Sully - Level 2 (No Changes)

Virion - Level 2 (No Changes)

Running into Chapter 2 now,

[Quirino]

Alright, having finished FE4, I decided to play another FE game together with FE7 HHM, and I would like to tackle Lunatic in Awakening, first lunatic run.

I always have a non-grinding principle and I will play classic mode, because I simply don't like the idea of casual mode. How many units should I seriously be training in that case? I've had trouble in the past distributing my EXP over too many units and based on what I read so far of FE13-L, I better not do that. Also, how seriously should I take skill building in this mode? In both my normal and hard mode runs I usually did some random reclassing and receive some random skills, didn't actually plan on which skills I wanted to acquire for each unit.

Will it be required to plan these things or will it be possible to go in blind for a first time player? Unlike my HHM run, I will not ask for what units to use, I'd like to find that out for myself (just go with my best units from previous runs). Another question I'd like to have answered is if it is recommended to promote as soon as possible or if it is better to reclass to unpromoted classes a few times prior to promoting? Both seem to have their advantages and disadvantages, I still haven't found out for myself what works best. Some advice on this as well?

That should give me enough info to start a run!

edit: An +def/-luk MU should work fine right? I usually go +spd/-luk, but I think the prior option may seem safer on this option -.-

Edited May 12, 2014 by WindMage25

[Czar_Yoshi]

Charging in blind... Will work, as in you'll probably make it through if you're stubborn enough. It's not recommended unless you're looking for something to beat your head against, though. I restarted twice on my first Lunatic run due to poor money management/class paths.

Recommended number of units to train: one or two work pretty well as long as you have enough firepower for the final boss, I wouldn't try for more than 6 first gen units excluding Olivia. Four children is a decent number to aim for, including Lucina and Morgan.

Skill building: fortunately the most useful skills all come in pretty good classes (Tactician, Merc, Hero). Never go through a class "just to get a skill", only use classes if they either offer a skill you want and are good, or are your preferred endgame class. Examples of bad classes include anything slow, and especially anything slow with a Beast weakness.

[XeKr]

Alright, having finished FE4, I decided to play another FE game together with FE7 HHM, and I would like to tackle Lunatic in Awakening, first lunatic run.

I always have a non-grinding principle and I will play classic mode, because I simply don't like the idea of casual mode. How many units should I seriously be training in that case? I've had trouble in the past distributing my EXP over too many units and based on what I read so far of FE13-L, I better not do that. Also, how seriously should I take skill building in this mode? In both my normal and hard mode runs I usually did some random reclassing and receive some random skills, didn't actually plan on which skills I wanted to acquire for each unit.

Will it be required to plan these things or will it be possible to go in blind for a first time player? Unlike my HHM run, I will not ask for what units to use, I'd like to find that out for myself (just go with my best units from previous runs). Another question I'd like to have answered is if it is recommended to promote as soon as possible or if it is better to reclass to unpromoted classes a few times prior to promoting? Both seem to have their advantages and disadvantages, I still haven't found out for myself what works best. Some advice on this as well?

That should give me enough info to start a run!

edit: An +def/-luk MU should work fine right? I usually go +spd/-luk, but I think the prior option may seem safer on this option -.-

I think 3-4 combat pairs is pretty balanced for a first run, but it depends on who you decide to use and how much onesided the pair is.

Skill building helps, but it’s not going to be a big deal if not grinding. For the easiest time you should just go with synergistic reclasses, like with common weapon ranks.

Definitely reclass first as possible. But bear in mind the limited number of Second Seals in no-grind runs (by the time they’re consistently buyable, you’ll want to be almost promoting). Still try to stay unpromoted until you need the boost from promo gains.

+Def/-Luk is generally recommended to phase out Frederick’s use faster, as he has little longterm potential here (besides as a pocket unit or for forged effective damage). Generally, the less you rely on him, the easier you’ll find the mid and lategame. However, bear in mind earlygame is still the hardest part and Frederick is very good there.

[Czar_Yoshi]

Definitely reclass first as possible. But bear in mind the limited number of Second Seals in no-grind runs (by the time they’re consistently buyable, you’ll want to be almost promoting). Still try to stay unpromoted until you need the boost from promo gains.

Promotion boosts should be the least of your worries, it's the caps that matter. If you don't promote until Cht.16, you'll have around 7 chapters of capped stats under your belt.

Promoting is also necessary to give you more room for levels without using up Second Seals. I always promote my Avatar as soon as I get Cht.8's Master Seal, or before Cht.7 if I get an early one from Anna.

[Quirino]

Hmm, 3-4 pairs with no more than 6 parents seems fine to me, just about what I'd planned! And the skill building tips look fine! Because it's my first run, I think I'll do every DLC once (it'll not be a complete no grinding run, but at least no repeating maps) to make life a bit easier for myself (and because I want to do Apotheosis no matter what :p). Hope I can manage!

[XeKr]

Promotion boosts should be the least of your worries, it's the caps that matter. If you don't promote until Cht.16, you'll have around 7 chapters of capped stats under your belt.

Promoting is also necessary to give you more room for levels without using up Second Seals. I always promote my Avatar as soon as I get Cht.8's Master Seal, or before Cht.7 if I get an early one from Anna.

I found I rarely hit unpromoted caps with first gens (maybe Panne) unless doing multiple reclasses, which I never find enough Second Seals for. Capping stuff means obvious diminishing returns, and you should clearly promote. When I say “stay unpromoted” I mean you should usually reclass asap and promote at like 12/20 instead of 12/10 (though this is still workable). There’s a lot of advice out there that says promote asap since you have unlimited leveling overall, but in no grind runs that tanks your exp gain and longer term potential. I suspect this is why there exists a prevalent belief that most other first gens besides Avatar aren’t viable lategame, even though they all are.

I also tend to promote Avatar with the first Master Seal, since that leaves the first/second (Renown/C8) Second Seals to others like Chrom or Panne for an early reclass, giving more competent combat units in total. Veteran compensates. The earlier the reclass, the easier it is to keep up (and surpass to some extent) the stat curve, even in Lunatic. Internal level is lower, exp gain is faster, secondary weapon rank is better, eventual promotion comes faster, etc.

Hmm, 3-4 pairs with no more than 6 parents seems fine to me, just about what I'd planned! And the skill building tips look fine! Because it's my first run, I think I'll do every DLC once (it'll not be a complete no grinding run, but at least no repeating maps) to make life a bit easier for myself (and because I want to do Apotheosis no matter what :p). Hope I can manage!

That's actually a pretty fun run imo and you can afford a (much) larger team in that case. Especially since more chapters, is more combat, is more supports points, is more children Paralogues, and so on. Plus the DLC classes level so fast, plus Paragon, etc.

Edited May 13, 2014 by XeKr

[ILoveLucy]

Beat Lunatic+/Classic 3 times. I am about to try it with the asset Speed and the flaw defense. Should I do it? Defense as a flaw makes it near impossible, but postgame-wise low defense means Vantage/Vengeance is easier executed. BTW, for the most optimal Olivia!Lucina!Morgan, and MaMU which asset/flaw is the best? (I'm planning on ending her on Sorcerer or Sage after grabbing ALL skills). I am planning on either having an asset/flaw of speed/luck, speed/strength, or speed/defense. I think I'm going to utilize the VV strategy.

Edited May 13, 2014 by ILoveLucy

[CurleyMustache]

Sup, long time lurker, first time poster :p

Just started my first lunatic run(classic), I only finished the game once back when it was released(hard&classic), so I don't remember all the details. Whatever, I'm kinda stuck at chapter 2, no weapons from eventtiles and I didn't get any levelups except on MaMU, +str/-lck, his current stats are:

Lvl 8 Hp 25 Str 11 Mag 8 Skl 11 Spd 12 Lck 2 Def 10 Res 7

That's good enough isn't it? I forgot to pass the elixir over to Chrom so I have to trade it with Virion which kinda sucks, but it should still be managle, right?

Since this will be a optimized run with DLC and Apo in mind, I have some questions:

What pairings are considered best? I wanted to pair MaMU up with either Tiki for a manakete Morgan(not so sure about it though) or Cordelia for 2 insane children, and Severa and maybe Morgan should end up as physical units, but which ones? ChromxOlivia should be fine as far as I know, Inigo physical and Lucina whatever? I'm completely clueless about the other children, so I would appreciate it if you could help me out.

Thanks in advance!

[Czar_Yoshi]

For Cht.2, pair Fred and Avatar, attack the Merc in the forest with Thunder, and have everyone else get out of the way to the left. Chrom can stand on a forest to distract that Barb on the mountain and finish it with help from Miriel and Virion. Just keep trying until you get enough Dual Strikes to reach the fort on turn two, once you're there the chapter is in the bag.

Lunatic with grinding isn't very special outside the first four chapters and your pairings won't make much of a difference. There's a pairing thread floating around for postgame/Apo pairing advice in general.

That said, if you want Manakete Morgan use Nowi or Nah. Tiki!Morgan messes up the rest of your pairings pretty badly.

[CurleyMustache]

Thanks for the advice, I tried several strategies before, including yours, never expected it to work if I just have enough luck with dualstrikes/guards/dodges, seems a bit stupid to me but it worked, that barb always went straight to MaMU instead of Chrom, weird AI is weird. Chapter 3 is way easier so far, feels more like strategy. I actually didn't want to grind until postgame, but with optimized pairings for postgame I should still be able to finish lunatic or are there any issues with this plan?

Gonna check those pairing threads, thanks. Imo, FE10 HM was better(but I still have to see mid/endgame, so w/e)

[XeKr]

Thanks for the advice, I tried several strategies before, including yours, never expected it to work if I just have enough luck with dualstrikes/guards/dodges, seems a bit stupid to me but it worked, that barb always went straight to MaMU instead of Chrom, weird AI is weird. Chapter 3 is way easier so far, feels more like strategy. I actually didn't want to grind until postgame, but with optimized pairings for postgame I should still be able to finish lunatic or are there any issues with this plan?

Gonna check those pairing threads, thanks. Imo, FE10 HM was better(but I still have to see mid/endgame, so w/e)

I feel obligated to point out: If you go to the mountain instead of the fort, you should be able to reliably survive without much luck. But iirc it’s complicated to save everyone else; you have to do clever transfer drops and such.

As Czar_Yoshi said, Pairing don't make too much of a difference, since you can beat the main game without children if you want. Though some children are simple to recruit/train/use and make things easy (some the opposite). The different Pair Up bonuses are probably more important, so you want synergistic ones there if possible.

If you choose to go that route, Nowi!Morgan is probably one of the easier ways to beat the main game if you pass Veteran and keep reclassing to Manakete.

Edited May 14, 2014 by XeKr

[Quirino]

One more question, on a no-grinding 3-4 pairs run in Lunatic, how many reclasses should I approximately keep in mind? I don't know about the amount of XP in this mode and I guess I'll not get as many levels as in normal/hard mode, so reclassing too often would seem a bit foolish to do.

[Czar_Yoshi]

One base reclass, one early promoted reclass and then one promoted reclass later in the game seems to work well for Veteran units. You can go through more if you like, but it gets extremely slow after the second promoted reclass.

[Quirino]

Fair enough. I've one final question (for real this time :p), I kind of already asked it before, but I've never done skill building too seriously before. I'd just randomly reclass units on normal and hard mode and they'd just acquire some skills. Are there any (general) guidelines for skill building in Lunatic and Lunatic+ as well (which I'd like to try after Lunatic)? I'm a little worried I won't give characters good enough skills and especially for later (more serious postgame) gameplay, I'd like to start working on being able to give characters good skill builds.

[CurleyMustache]

Skills depend on a character's roles, like lead, support, rallybot. I'm in chapter 17 (lunatic classic) so far and Veteran is the best ingame skill by FAR. For postgame, Galeforce is always nice to have, any type of -faire skill(only if you use 1 weapon type). For offensive units, always at least 1 proc skill like Luna, Vengeance(best paired with Vantage and 1-2 range weapon), Sol etc., don't worry too much about ingame skills, after you pass chapter 4 you can grind with DLC, and if you play without DLC, chapter 2-3 are considered the most difficult chapters ingame on lunatic(+), everything afterwards is way more manageable, rescuing Ricken and Maribelle can be a pain though.

[Stargirl]

I'm back into my Lunatic playthrough after a small break. Ch. 6 was a breeze once I plugged up some enemy openings. Ch. 7 looks alright, although wyverns make me a little uneasy with their movement and defence.

[Czar_Yoshi]

Skillbuilding: focus mainly on the classes that perform well and out of those choose the ones that give the most useful skills, namely Mercenary (AT saves piles of money and gives you forges for endgame) and Hero (Sol lets you tank like a boss). Once you have two or three decent skills, switch to a class that's purely for stats (Paladin and Dark Knight work nicely after Beastkillers are no longer a threat).

Cht.7: stand on the mountain tiles, equip swords, use pairup and the Wyverns won't be able to touch you. It's a great place to start training Chrom if you've been neglecting him, Falchion has 15 mt against them. Wyverns also don't get mountain boosts so no need to worry about your accuracy.

[Emerald Ink]

I'm on chapter 10 and I think I'm gonna take a break from my current Lunatic run for a while. As satisfying as it is to actually finish a map on this difficulty, I'm not sure if I'm having a whole lot of actual fun with it. I think I'll start up another file on normal or hard and go through that for a bit.