Awakening Hard mode playlog

[Interceptor]

OP updated with Chapter 6.

[spoiler=Chapter 6, Foreseer]

Another day, another Rout. I'm putting the kibosh on serious Donnel training this time; he'll get what he gets, I really need to work on his support so at least the Dual Attacks are consistent. Plus, Linde has some ground to make up. Prior to beginning, I bought a pair of fresh javelins, fed Sumia a DEF tonic (she needs it), and gave Donnel a STR tonic (also needs it). Keys for this chapter: get to the boss quickly, recruit Gaius, pick up the Skill book, and fight at 2-range whenever necessary.

Sully and Chrom take the left side, due to Chrom's starting position. The pair does not double Gaius, so I position SullyxChrom such that 1) they can javelin-kill a barbarian, 2) kill two mages on EP, and 3) get Gaius to sit on a Pillar so that he doesn't die. They have such absurd ORKO potential because of crit and Dual Strike, that this is no problem at all. Turn 2, Chrom recruits Gaius (who runs to a waiting Stahl, for a ferry to the chest room), gives Sully a stronger weapon and drops her south of him (this sets up another Enemy Phase kill for her). They mostly hold the line here and get kills for themselves.

Sumia and Fred take the right hand side. I want to have Sumia face as much combat as possible (but since she faces WTD on two Axe-guys, this is what the DEF tonic is for: so that she survives if they both hit), so she flies with Fred down to a pillar and blasts a barbarian with a javelin. She can end up taking a lot of damage here, but won't die even if everything hits her, and it's a lucrative Enemy Phase if she gets a few kills (and with doubling and 50%+ Dual Strike, she will). After surviving the onslaught, she flies towards the boss and tags out for Fred, who can repeat the same thing next turn with Hand Axes (facing lance users now). Ultimately this gets them to Validar range on Turn 3.

Last but not least, Linde holds the middle with Kellam, Donnel, both healers, Panne, and Stahl. In other words, the usual bit where I dedicate half of my army towards keeping the dumbass Villager alive. Long story short, I do manage to get him a complete level, although Linde does the majority of the heavy lifting.

The chapter ends on Enemy Phase, Turn four. I ended up giving the boss kill to Frederick, intentionally, since Validar is worth a great deal of EXP. Gaius had no trouble reaching the chest in time.

Turns (Chapter/Total): 4/46

Heroes: Frederick & Sumia

Funds: 6812G

                   Lvl   HP STR MAG SKL SPD LCK DEF RES WExp                 Support
             Linde 14.82 29 14  14  8   17  9   12  9   D Sword, C Tome      STACK OVERFLOW
             Chrom  9.99 27 10  3   11  10  10  11  5   C Sword              S Sully, C Lissa
         Frederick  6.24 33 13  2   16  12  7   16  6   D Swd, B Axe, A Lnce B Sumia, C Linde
             Sully 12.89 28 12  2   13  11  13  11  3   C Sword/Lance        S Chrom
             Sumia  7.16 21 9   4   16  17  10  5   10  C Lance              B Fred
            Donnel  5.86 20 5   0   5   6   15  5   1   D Lance              C Kellam/Linde
            Kellam  5.50 21 10  0   7   5   3   12  2   D Lance              C Chrm/Don/Linde
             Lissa  5.43 19 3   9   6   6   9   4   7   D Staff              C Chrom

Fred got two levels and finally scored Luna. Donnel had a good level-up and finally hit D lances. Thanks to the rumble in the middle, Linde built C supports with all three of Donnel, Lissa, and Kellam.

I noticed your Lissa gained several levels. Are you training her or just using her as needed? It sucks that Donny is slowing you down. I think you should give him a nice forge if you're going to train him . You're a good tactician there's no way I can 6 turn paralogue 2 on HM.

I'm not specifically training Lissa to use as a combat unit, but I do make use of the free staff EXP pool whenever I can. She has come in handy a few times, and I would like to have a second Physic user once Libra shows up (just in case). I was going to forge something for Donny, but Kellam and Tonics got him where he needed to be, which is D Lance for Iron and Javelins. That ought to make things easier.

Thanks for the kind words, but you're no slouch either, you know; I've seen your drafts. Definitely you can six or even five-turn Para2 HM if you use Sumia.

I was wondering that too, is it usually better to use Anna as your primary healer once you recruit her, or is it better to use Lissa/Maribelle/Sage Miriel/others?

I will certainly be using Anna heavily just due to her RNG-proof goodness, but she starts at D-rank Staves, so I need a backup one or two just in case I have to do a tricky maneuver. Might not have to, but it doesn't cost much to train Lissa, and I'd rather be prepared and not need her rather than need her and be up the creek without a paddle.

In your playthrough, I suggest making Donnel a fighter. Making him a merc in mine gave less than favorable results in my run, and honestly I think he is better off as a Fighter just for more durability.

Also, have fun with Nowi. She pretty much becomes unkillable by chapter 16 by anything that isn't a counter warrior.

I'll definitely try this out. I don't have any axe users in the army aside from Fred, so it fills a need anyway. I don't feel like Armsthrift is worth it, and both paths lead to Hero anyway, so there you go.

N.O.W.I. is my indulgence in this runthrough. She was clutch in Lunatic, so I expect her to be an unstoppable badass in HM. Glad to hear that it'll work more or less just as well.

Speaking of Fighter Donnel, save an Arms Scroll for him so that he can have Hand Axes immediately.

I can't think of anything better to use an Arms Scroll on, so I'll probably wind up doing this. It will avoid the awkward Ladle phase.

[MercuryHg34]

I use the ladle just for kicks

[Interceptor]

OP updated with Chapter 7:

[spoiler=Chapter 7, Incursion]

Rout. Keys to this chapter: use Player Phase to efficiently remove 2-range threats, do the majority of the work with Swords on Enemy Phase, and watch out for the Hammer barbarian. I don't bother deploying anyone but my primary three pairs, since it's too hard to protect healers (I use items instead). It's relatively easy to focus down the archers and the Hand Axe guy due to the mobility of Sully/Fred, and the reach of Linde.

It's actually possible to 2-turn this map if you can kill the Boss on Enemy Phase. For my team, it required that either Chrom get double procs of Dual Strike (only Sully could double the boss), or Sully equips the Killer Lance and lands a crit. I didn't consider it important enough to burn the Killer for, so I just took my chances with the Dual Strike (got one of two) and just finished the boss as the last enemy on Turn 3 once Cordelia showed up.

Donnel wasn't able to get in any kills here because it was too hard to avoid him getting murdered, but he did proc a Dual Strike behind Linde, and built up a lot of support points, at least.

Turns (Chapter/Total): 3/49

Heroes: Linde & Donnel

Funds: 12,209G

                   Lvl   HP STR MAG SKL SPD LCK DEF RES WExp                 Support
             Linde 16.79 31 16  15  9   19  9   14  10  D Sword, C Tome      STACK OVERFLOW
             Chrom 10.96 28 11  3   11  11  11  11  6   B Sword              S Sully, C Lissa
         Frederick  6.90 33 13  2   16  12  7   16  6   D Swd, B Axe, A Lnce A Sumia, C Linde
             Sully 14.19 29 14  3   15  13  15  12  4   B Sword, C Lance     S Chrom
             Sumia  7.16 21 9   4   16  17  10  5   10  C Lance              A Fred
            Donnel  5.96 20 5   0   5   6   15  5   1   D Lance              C Kellam/Linde
            Kellam  5.50 21 10  0   7   5   3   12  2   D Lance              C Chrm/Don/Linde
             Lissa  5.43 19 3   9   6   6   9   4   7   D Staff              C Chrom

FredxSumia is now A rank. They've already started consistently Dual Striking for each other, and this will just reinforce that. It's starting to become useful, since Fred is no longer overpowering people, and sometimes faces 3HKO situations with ordinary weapons. Linde is running out of headroom; I will need to either reclass or promote her soon. Looking at Chrom's stat distribution, I feel like I should play 11 as my lucky number. Sold a bunch of garbage that I don't need anymore.

Sumia was relatively useless in this chapter, due to axes and bows everywhere, but it's time to check in on one of the reasons that I started this playlog in the first place. A small chart here speaks a thousand words:

                   Lvl   HP STR MAG SKL SPD LCK DEF RES WExp                 Support
             Sumia  7.46 21 9   4   16  17  10  5   10  C Lance              A Fred
          Cordelia  7.00 25 9   3   13  12  9   8   8   C Lance              Nobody

[MercuryHg34]

Now we're getting somewhere! I was always rooting for Sumia deep down, and now comes the ultimate challenge to see which one comes out on top!

It's a shame Donnel is holding you back so hard, too.

[Lord Raven]

Looks like Cordelia's 3 Def and 4 HP could do something for her that Sumia's 3 Skl/5 Spd can't.

[grandjackal]

Looks like Cordelia's 3 Def and 4 HP could do something for her that Sumia's 3 Skl/5 Spd can't.

I would pay more attention to that speed, actually. Enemies are starting to gain 10-11 speed. 14 AS is not what it used to be.

Also, Fred gives Sumia +6 Def, wheras Cordelia has to look elsewhere. Funny thing is though that with her best defensive support off the bat (Kellam), she's still more defensive, so yeah we can clearly state she is more durable. Even my not as screwed in defense Sumia (seriously, 6 levels and not a single proc?) with her support is merely comparable.

You would think a +6 Def would be more impressive.

[Interceptor]

Now we're getting somewhere! I was always rooting for Sumia deep down, and now comes the ultimate challenge to see which one comes out on top!

It's a shame Donnel is holding you back so hard, too.

I think at this point, it's clear that Cordelia is going to wind up better as a combat unit (barring unforeseen difficulties in training, of course). The battle of Sumia v. Cordy is probably going to come down to 1) how much you value Sumia's earlygame, and 2) how much of a negative you think it is to train her over someone like Fred.

Looks like Cordelia's 3 Def and 4 HP could do something for her that Sumia's 3 Skl/5 Spd can't.

Indeed. Stats like DEF have increasing returns in this game, and throwing a Tonic on Cordy could have some nice returns on her effective durability, especially once the Kellam support gets going in a few chapters.

I would pay more attention to that speed, actually. Enemies are starting to gain 10-11 speed. 14 AS is not what it used to be.

Also, Fred gives Sumia +6 Def, wheras Cordelia has to look elsewhere. Funny thing is though that with her best defensive support off the bat (Kellam), she's still more defensive, so yeah we can clearly state she is more durable. Even my not as screwed in defense Sumia (seriously, 6 levels and not a single proc?) with her support is merely comparable.

You would think a +6 Def would be more impressive.

I am not at all concerned about the SPD. Cordelia has a 60% SPD growth, and many enemies still have <10 SPD on Paralogue 3. Ch 8 has 10 SPD Cavs (a problem if she doesn't proc on level-up), but Axes/Mages are still easy doubles, and Myrmidons are a stretch even for Sumia. Once Ch 8 is over, it's irrelevant, because that's when SPD tonics are unlocked. I'll probably post Paralogue later.

In the meantime, take a look at this comparison:

                   Lvl   HP STR MAG SKL SPD LCK DEF RES WExp                 Support
         Frederick  6.90 33 13  2   16  12  7   16  6   D Swd, B Axe, A Lnce A Sumia, C Linde
             Sully 14.19 29 14  3   15  13  15  12  4   B Sword, C Lance     S Chrom

Fred still has Silver Lance access and B Axes, but suppose that I hit Sully with a Master Seal right now (perhaps making her a Paladin). Is there any doubt who would be the superior unit for this army? We're not even at midgame yet.

EDIT: with regard to Donnel, by the way, the one redeeming thing about his pair-up with Linde is that she is probably the one unit in this army who doesn't care who her partner is. Her SPD and offensive power are so high that she easily ORKOs almost everything, and has enough natural durability to survive as long as she doesn't face massive damage. Donnel's SKL/LCK bonuses are terrible, and his STR/DEF bonuses will be almost as equally terrible on Linde (who primarily uses magic), but I expect that it will inhibit her less than it would the others.

Edited April 3, 2013 by Interceptor

[aku chi]

I've been thinking a bit about supports for the Pegasus Knights. Have you considered Cordelia x Stahl? That seems to be a match made in heaven. Stahl gives Cordelia Str and Def (3 to start and 6+ in the long run) and some Spd for Cordelia to double the fastest enemies. Cordelia gives Stahl the two stats he most wants: Spd and Res - and plenty of it (8+ in the long run)! You would want to have trained Stahl some at this point, however (Chrom, Avatar, Sully, Sumia, and Lon'qu are all helpful supports for Stahl early).

As for Sumia, pairing her with Frederick early seems to work wonders, but Fred eventually needs to be benched. A thought: promote Sumia to Dark Flier and pair her with Henry! Henry gets much needed Spd (5 to start and 8 in the long run) and helpful Mag and Res to boot. Sumia gets much needed Mag and Def (and Res after Henry promotes). Henry joins just as the game is entering its easiest stretch, so building up a new support from scratch is definitely doable. The lategame potential for Sumia x Henry is fantastic. Galeforce Sumia kills and enemy and advances Henry to solo most of the map with Noseratu.

[Interceptor]

I didn't think about it before I started, but looking at how good that Stahl was with Linde (even at base level), it's been on my mind lately. It ought to work on Cordelia for basically the same reason that it works with SumiaxFred, and in fact they would basically be a lategame version of that wombo combo (with better combat stats all around). At this point though, Stahl has no training whatsoever. While Kellam doesn't either, he's 3 levels ahead and also has two stats at 10+ already; if I should manage to get +4 DEF on Kellam by the time I can Master Seal him to General, that's an extra +2 DEF that he's giving from his base stats. It's hard for me to leave that on the table, since a tanky Pegasus Knight has some serious potential, IMO.

I like your Sumia idea, but one purpose of this playlog is to see how far Frederick can make it, so I'm reluctant to bench him once he falls behind. I want to see how he does at all stages of the game, played seriously. I figure that Sumia gives him the best chance of getting as far as possible.

[Interceptor]

OP updated with Paralogue 3.

[spoiler=Paralogue 3, A Strangled Peace]

First, a little housekeeping: stock up on STR/DEF tonics for the future, and rename Donnel's Iron Lance to "Horio Crutch". Linde also has another Aura tome.

Rout. Keys to this chapter: secure the Blessed Bow kill everything, and get someone to the boss quickly in the meantime. The boss is in an annoying location on this map (Mountain), and packs a Silver Lance and Elixir with high SPD, so he's a tough target.

LindexDonnel take the closest enemies near the village, since they have the least mobility. SullyxChrom cross the bridge and handle the majority of the enemies on the western edge of the map, and CordeliaxKellam do what they can in the south forest (later helping out west). For the boss in the southeast corner, I need someone who double him with WTA. I don't have one of those people, so I'll be sending SumiaxFred with a Killer Lance instead. Doubling with WTN and a high Dual Strike/crit chance is Close Enough™.

I had to do a lot of unpaired fighting in this chapter, due to some movement constraints. The downside of fighting like this is that you lose the Pair Up bonuses, but in exchange you can piggy-back a little further than normal if not attacking, and you maintain the support and Dual Strike/Guard bonuses during Enemy Phase. This tactic allowed me to get CordeliaxKellam to face combat in the first Turn that they couldn't otherwise, fly SumiaxFred a little closer to the boss than normally possible, and to draw a Barbarian to Chrom on the last turn that would have been ordinarily out of range.

Managed to earn my Robe, Log, and Ladle. I let the villagers keep their bow.

Turns (Chapter/Total): 4/53

Heroes: Chrom & Sully

Funds: 11,909G

                   Lvl   HP STR MAG SKL SPD LCK DEF RES WExp                 Support
             Linde 18.13 32 17  17  11  21  11  15  10  D Sword, B Tome      B Donnel + others
             Chrom 12.28 30 13  3   12  13  11  13  6   B Sword              S Sully, C Lissa
         Frederick  7.18 34 14  2   17  12  7   16  6   C Swd, B Axe, A Lnce A Sumia, C Linde
             Sully 14.81 29 14  3   15  13  15  12  4   B Sword, B Lance     S Chrom
             Sumia  8.23 22 9   4   17  18  11  5   10  C Lance              A Fred
            Donnel  6.44 21 6   0   6   7   16  6   2   D Lance              B Linde, C Kellam
          Cordelia  8.33 26 10  4   14  13  9   9   8   C Lance              One-way Chrom obsession
            Kellam  5.66 21 10  0   7   5   3   12  2   D Lance              C Chrm/Don/Linde
             Lissa  5.43 19 3   9   6   6   9   4   7   D Staff              C Chrom

Donnel still gets 2HKO'ed by everything, but he's almost dealing double digit damage now to people with crappy DEF. He also upgraded to a B support with Linde at the end of the chapter, so maybe I'll start seeing some consistency in Dual Strikes, that will allow a little more creativity with his training. Cordy landed her SPD proc on level-up, so she's All Set™ for the duration of the journey.

[Interceptor]

Ch8 was easier than I thought it would be, so here's a bonus update to the OP:

[spoiler=Chapter 8, The Grimleal]

Rout… in the desert! Keys to this chapter: get Nowi out of danger, keep 2-range weapons handy at all times, and secure all three village items (Rescue, Second Seal, Master Seal). The desert is lousy with mages, relatively light on axes, completely barren of archers, and the terrain situation isn't good for foot units. In other words, it's Pegasus Time™.

Deployments: LindexDonnel stay near the starting location to fight what they can, with LissaxMaribelle nearby for healing and visiting the Rescue village. SullyxChrom go the only place they can, which is down the middle where there are Plains instead of desert, rocking a Javelin. CordeliaxKellam divert a bit to the western side in order to take care of the two mages and the barbarian (if she uses Player Phase to attack the axe-guy, on Enemy Phase all three will die). Nowi and Gregor Pair Up and start fighting their way towards the Master Seal village (she 2HKOs and ORKOs with Gregor, so this is straightforward). Finally, SumiaxFrederick coast right down the center, using the Separate trick to get some extra distance.

Once Cordy wraps up her assignment, she swings around to help Nowi secure the village. SumiaxFred and SullyxChrom make their way south, wrecking everything in their way with Javelins. Sumia takes an Elwind directly to the face (zero effs given), makes a brief stop to pick up the Second Seal, and then swings back around to ORKO the boss in a completely overkill fashion with a Killer Lance (it was a legit 2HKO, but she got the crit anyway, and blew him away). Chrom mops up the remaining targets on Enemy Phase. Fin.

I got four turns, but five turns is likely if you aren't able to get some critical mass combination of dodges or "Gregor Time!" with Nowi, since after a few hits she will need to heal herself. Although Cordelia being in the neighborhood is extremely helpful here, since she has two Player Phases to donate to the cause and can cover a kill or two. Nowi easily got 2 levels here.

Donnel managed to kite a barbarian for a while and net a kill on him. Linde got nothing but support points. Meh.

Turns (Chapter/Total): 4/57

Heroes: Chrom & Sully

Funds: 11,909G

                     Lvl   HP STR MAG SKL SPD LCK DEF RES WExp                 Support
               Linde 18.13 32 17  17  11  21  11  15  10  D Sword, B Tome      B Donnel + others
               Chrom 13.18 31 14  3   13  14  11  13  6   B Sword              S Sully, C Lissa
           Frederick  7.24 34 14  2   17  12  7   16  6   C Swd, B Axe, A Lnce A* Sumia, C Linde
               Sully 16.14 31 14  4   16  15  16  13  5   B Sword, B Lance     S Chrom
               Sumia 10.33 24 9   5   19  19  13  6   12  C Lance              A* Fred
              Donnel  7.25 22 6   1   7   8   17  7   3   D Lance              B Linde, C Kellam
            Cordelia  9.43 27 11  5   15  14  9   9   8   C Lance              C Kellam
              Kellam  5.77 21 10  0   7   5   3   12  2   D Lance              C Cordelia + others
               Lissa  5.63 19 3   9   6   6   9   4   7   D Staff              C Chrom
No One Will Interfere  5.15 20 6   0   3   4   9   4   3   -                    C Gregor
              Gregor 10.10 30 12  0   13  11  8   10  2   C Sword              C N.O.W.I.

I chose not to advance SumiaxFred to S-rank for now, to leave open the option of marrying her to someone else in the future. The only drawback is the loss of +10% Strike, +3% Guard, and +5 HIT, which I don't consider to be a significant handicap, since I am not relying on miracles in this playlog.

Got a SKL, LCK, and a bunch of SPD tonics here, just in case I need them later on.

[grandjackal]

Yeah, Chapter 8 is a 1-A sort of chapter.

I find it amusing that you are not only wanting to use Cordelia harder, but even with a pretty screwed Sumia you have somehow gotten her higher level than mine.

Guess I'm more concerned with getting Fred to level 10 faster. Then again, I tend to think of getting the best skills for the kids too much. Come on man, think of that sick Rally Cynthia could have.

[Interceptor]

Er, how is Sumia pretty screwed? She's 2 DEF behind her simple average there, and -1 on STR, but she's blessed in four other stats, like RES and SPD for example. Sumia is one more SPD proc away from giving Fred an extra +1, which is nice. At least I have an Energy Drop now to "fix" her STR if I really needed to.

[grandjackal]

Er, how is Sumia pretty screwed? She's 2 DEF behind her simple average there, and -1 on STR, but she's blessed in four other stats, like RES and SPD for example. Sumia is one more SPD proc away from giving Fred an extra +1, which is nice. At least I have an Energy Drop now to "fix" her STR if I really needed to.

Her Res and Speed are good to the point where being blessed in those stats don't really mean much. Considering most threats are physical in nature, I would prefer not having such low Def, and the -1 Str is still an annoying thing.

My opinion though, won't bash you for your thoughts.

By the way, never use Vaike as a serious unit. I'm sure you already know that, but it bears repeating.

[MercuryHg34]

I use Vaike, I found that his strengths came in his absurd... strength (for lack of a better word) and surprisingly high skill (in my game at least), along with the usual durability in high HP. In my experience Vaike got by just fine without being fast since he 1-shot everything he touched without crits and had a high crit without killer weapons either. Eventually he started doubling, but it was really just icing on the cake at that point..

I can see why you would dislike Vaike though, as he isn't contributing much on your team and the other flaws he has universally still stand as well.

[Interceptor]

OP updated with Chapter 9.

[spoiler=Chapter 9, Emmeryn]

Another day, another desert Rout. Keys to the chapter: recruit Libra and Tharja, eliminate archer threats to the fliers, get a Hammer to the boss, and finish the chapter before reinforcements show up. I stocked up on a lot of Tonics (RES and MAG this time) plus Javelins prior to beginning.

Right near the start, there's an archer in a dangerous position. He can OHKO Sumia (even with Fred) and severely injure Cord, so he has to die. Problem: you need flight to get there, at least 20mt with a 1-2 range weapon in order to kill him cleanly and counter the mages, plus a strong enough DEF/RES + HP combination to survive said mages and other assorted bad guys. Solution: CordeliaxKellam with a STR tonic. Fred is passable at this, but the sands slow him down the following turn, and I need him for the boss (Hammertime), so Corde it is.

SullyxChrom have two people to recruit, so I run them down the side of the wall (where the tiles are Plains rather than Desert), while LindexDonnel and NowixGregor toy around with a couple of enemies near the beginning (they are going nowhere fast due to the terrain here).

Cordelia takes a lot of damage, but she houses everything that attacked her. For the rest of the chapter, she just finishes off weakened enemies (or ones that can't retaliate). Fred makes his way towards the boss, Hand Axe ready (for the archers), and runs in for the turn 3 Hammertime. I position ChromxSully so that Libra recruits himself, and then just set up a Separated situation for Tharja to whiff an Elthunder for her subsequent recruitment. Wyvern Rider helpfully suicided on Chrom during Enemy Phase for a four turn clear.

Turns (Chapter/Total): 4/61

Heroes: Frederick & Sumia

Funds: 8,859G

                     Lvl   HP STR MAG SKL SPD LCK DEF RES WExp                 Support
               Linde 18.13 32 17  17  11  21  11  15  10  D Sword, B Tome      A Donnel + others
               Chrom 13.83 31 14  3   13  14  11  13  6   B Sword              S Sully, C Lissa
           Frederick  8.14 35 14  2   17  13  7   16  6   C Swd, A Axe/Lance   A* Sumia, C Linde
               Sully 16.34 31 14  4   16  15  16  13  5   B Sword, B Lance     S Chrom
               Sumia 10.53 24 9   5   19  19  13  6   12  C Lance              A* Fred
              Donnel  8.12 23 7   1   8   9   18  7   4   D Lance              A Linde, C Kellam
            Cordelia 11.09 29 12  6   15  15  10  10  8   C Lance              C Kellam
              Kellam  5.83 21 10  0   7   5   3   12  2   D Lance              C Cordelia + others
               Lissa  6.03 20 3   10  7   6   10  4   7   D Staff              C Chrom
No One Will Interfere  5.70 20 6   0   3   4   9   4   3   -                    C Gregor
              Gregor 10.10 30 12  0   13  11  8   10  2   C Sword              C N.O.W.I.

Frederick's combat is REALLY teetering on the edge at this point. He's starting to take real damage from enemies, and struggles to ORKO without powerful weapons. About the only thing that he has left is doubling (thanks to Sumia), but her Dual Strikes are very weak for the same reason that his primary attacks are (low STR). I think that this train will be stopping soon.

N.O.W.I couldn't accomplish much here due to the terrain, and Linde was once again on babysitting duty, but I was able to get a level into Donnel, by virtue of the fact that he can actually take a hit or two now, and is relatively safe as a the Lead unit if I am careful. LindexDonnel is finally at Rank A. Don is almost a real person now.

Her Res and Speed are good to the point where being blessed in those stats don't really mean much. Considering most threats are physical in nature, I would prefer not having such low Def, and the -1 Str is still an annoying thing.

My opinion though, won't bash you for your thoughts.

By the way, never use Vaike as a serious unit. I'm sure you already know that, but it bears repeating.

I suppose, but for now the 2 DEF wouldn't make a huge difference for her (it's so low that it doesn't tip the scales as often), and 1 STR is also not a big deal. She's already tinking things with an Iron Lance on Dual Strikes at this point; bad is bad. At least the RES allows her to ignore mages, and she'll be giving extra SPD to Fred soonish. Although the fact that overkill SPD/RES/SKL isn't that great, is one of the reasons why Cordelia is the better Peg.

I'd trade my Donnel for your Vaike. At least he can hurt things. Or take a hit.

[Interceptor]

OP updated with Paralogue 4.

[spoiler=Paralogue 4, Anna the Merchant]

This Rout map is enemy-dense, with narrow passageways everywhere and impassable walls; it's not a great battleground for the fliers. Keys for the chapter: recruit Anna, secure the important treasure (Arms Scroll, Killing Edge, Large Bullion… we don't care about Mend), and find a way to deal with the fast/moving/2-range boss. Battle prep: give a MAG tonic to Libra (to extend his Rescue range), and feed Nowi the Seraph Robe and some DEF/RES Tonics.

I am not interested in babysitting two units, so this chapter will be used to make Nowi an instantly viable combatant. I clear out the entire right hand side, give her a Door Key and some heals, and let her and Gregor handle it themselves. The durability boosters were given to her so that she can survive six attacks (three mages, two archers, one barbarian) on Enemy Phase. Since Nowi 2HKOs and counters everything, I can heal on the move with her. This turns out to be Super Effective™, as you'll see in the stats, since she gained five levels easily.

Sumia will be my boss-killer for this map, since while she has WTD with a Killer Lance, she doubles and 4HKOs when Paired with Fred. I overload the left-hand side in order to clear a path for SumiaxFred to get there (at full health), opening chests along the way with Gaius and Anna. I recruit Anna on turn 1 by Rescuing her with Libra (I needed the +2 MAG for the extra range), Talking with Chrom, trading Anna a Rescue staff, Pairing Up with Sully, and then having Anna move forward and Rescue Libra (not for any movement reasons, but to get him out of enemy range). CordeliaxKellam stay behind in order to deal with the myrms, barbs, and the mage. Donnel is able to ORKO mages now, so he's very nearly a useful unit.

I won't bog this write-up down with the gritty details; suffice it to say that I let the enemy Thief open the Arms Scroll chest for me, before OHKO'ing him with Nowi on Turn 6. Sumia was easily able to handle the boss the turn before, thanks to Fred weakening him first with a Hand Axe on Enemy Phase.

Turns (Chapter/Total): 6/67

Heroes: Gregor & Nowi

Funds: 17,949G

                     Lvl   HP STR MAG SKL SPD LCK DEF RES WExp                 Support
               Linde 19.09 32 17  18  12  22  11  15  10  D Sword, B Tome      A Donnel + others
               Chrom 13.98 31 14  3   13  14  11  13  6   B Sword              S Sully, C Lissa
           Frederick  8.81 35 14  2   17  13  7   16  6   C Swd, A Axe/Lance   A* Sumia, C Linde
               Sully 16.85 31 14  4   16  15  16  13  5   B Sword, B Lance     S Chrom
               Sumia 11.91 24 9   6   19  20  14  7   12  B Lance              A* Fred
              Donnel  9.01 24 8   1   9   9   19  8   4   C Lance              A Linde, C Kellam
            Cordelia 12.59 30 12  6   16  15  10  10  8   C Lance              B Kellam
              Kellam  6.42 22 10  0   8   6   3   13  2   D Lance              B Cordelia + others
No One Will Interfere 10.32 31 10  1   6   7   11  7   5   -                    B Gregor
              Gregor 10.50 30 12  0   13  11  8   10  2   C Sword              B N.O.W.I.
               Libra  1.91 39 14  16  13  14  10  11  16  C Axe/Staff
                Anna  1.56 36 12  17  23  22  26  8   10  C Sword, D Staff

Lots of support upgrades this chapter, due to fighting in such close proximity. Sumia hit both 20 SPD and B Lances, which will help the combat of both her and Fred. Donnel is C Lance now, and only a level away from reclass. Lissa is now retired; never did manage to get her to C rank staves.

I was considering not training N.O.W.I after all, since I have a lot of combat units, but Para 4 just made it too easy.

[Interceptor]

Double-header update: OP now has Chapters 10 and 11.

[spoiler=Chapter 10, Renewal]

It doesn't get much more straightforward than this Kill Boss map. The fastest that anyone can run to the boss (no Rescue-skipping) is four turns, even for an 8MV unit, so that time can be spent on getting EXP into people. There aren't even any archers or mages to worry about here.

I happened to send CordeliaxKellam up the first path, SullyxChrom (my boss-killers, since Chrom doubles with Swords) in the middle, NowixGregor and LindexDonnel along the bottom, and Sumia playing free agent and hunting down the Thieves (a OHKO with a Steel Lance, usually).

Turns (Chapter/Total): 4/71

Heroes: Chrom & Sully

Funds: 17,949G

                     Lvl   HP STR MAG SKL SPD LCK DEF RES WExp                 Support
               Linde 19.35 32 17  18  12  22  11  15  10  D Sword, B Tome      S Donnel + others
               Chrom 15.06 32 16  3   13  14  12  14  6   A Sword              S Sully, C Lissa
           Frederick  8.87 35 14  2   17  13  7   16  6   C Swd, A Axe/Lance   A* Sumia, C Linde
               Sully 18.67 33 15  4   18  15  17  15  5   B Sword, A Lance     S Chrom
               Sumia 13.87 24 10  6   19  21  16  8   12  B Lance              A* Fred
              Donnel  9.49 24 8   1   9   9   19  8   4   C Lance              S Linde, C Kellam
            Cordelia 14.32 32 13  7   17  16  11  10  9   B Lance              B Kellam
              Kellam  7.25 23 10  1   8   7   3   13  2   D Lance              B Cordelia + others
No One Will Interfere 11.15 33 11  1   6   7   11  7   5   -                    B Gregor
              Gregor 10.60 30 12  0   13  11  8   10  2   C Sword              B N.O.W.I.
               Libra  1.91 39 14  16  13  14  10  11  16  C Axe/Staff
                Anna  1.56 36 12  17  23  22  26  8   10  C Sword, D Staff

I probably have too many units being trained here, but I'll keep this going until it seems like it will be detrimental. The nice part about spreading out the EXP so much, is that I haven't used a Seal on a single person yet.

LindexDonnel is now S-rank. I threw up in my mouth a little. I think that it's safe to call Donnel an actual unit at this point; he still gets 2-3HKOed, but is not doubled, and sometimes doubles himself for halfway decent damage. He ought to be reclassable soon.

[spoiler=Chapter 11, Mad King Gangrel]

It's not entirely clear to me why there are two treasure chests randomly in the middle of a battlefield. Keys for this chapter: get to Gangrel and Rout before reinforcements arrive, secure both chests, and watch out for the two promoted enemies.

Nowi is borderline doubling and needs some EXP, so I am hitting her with a SPD Tonic and having her battle the big pack of mages in the lower right portion of the map; with Olivia helping her to get there sooner. If you blast her with a shot of Ward before she goes, everything down there (Sage included) barely scratches her. Just as before, this strategy is very lucrative, since it allows me to send the entire rest of my army to the left/middle to deal with the enemy Hero and the impossibly-fast 24 SPD Gangrel.

This is a four-turn for no other reason than that's how long it takes to get Anna to both chests. The battle is basically over by Turn three, realistically.

Turns (Chapter/Total): 4/75

Heroes: Gregor & Nowi

Funds: 17,949G

                     Lvl   HP STR MAG SKL SPD LCK DEF RES WExp                 Support
               Linde 19.95 32 17  18  12  22  11  15  10  D Sword, B Tome      S Donnel + others
               Chrom 15.33 32 16  3   13  14  12  14  6   A Sword              S Sully, C Lissa
           Frederick  8.93 35 14  2   17  13  7   16  6   C Swd, A Axe/Lance   A* Sumia, C Linde
               Sully 18.76 33 15  4   18  15  17  15  5   B Sword, A Lance     S Chrom
               Sumia 16.33 27 12  8   21  23  19  8   13  B Lance              A* Fred
              Donnel  9.49 24 8   1   9   9   19  8   4   C Lance              S Linde, C Kellam
            Cordelia 15.32 33 14  7   18  16  11  10  10  B Lance              A Kellam
              Kellam  7.49 23 10  1   8   7   3   13  2   D Lance              A Cordelia + others
No One Will Interfere 15.06 38 14  4   8   8   14  9   9   -                    A Gregor
              Gregor 11.16 31 13  0   14  11  8   11  2   C Sword              A N.O.W.I.
               Libra  2.37 40 14  16  14  15  10  11  17  C Axe/Staff
                Anna  1.90 36 12  17  23  22  26  8   10  C Sword, D Staff

Corde and Nowi both upgraded their supports to A-rank. I also finally bit the bullet and made S-rank SumiaxFrederick; Sumia is getting strong in her own right, so Fred can serve as Support bot and/or arrow pincushion if he happens to fall off a cliff.

[RNG Princess]

You have the RNG godddess ;3; Now you will save 2 turns per map at the cost of 3000G. Bye Lissa hi Libra and Anna. Oh i'm glad Donnel is getting to be a good unit. I'm very surprised with Nowi, she is very good I like how clutch she was in chapter 11. Now Sumia and Frederick will switch roles still I think they are a great pair.

[Interceptor]

OP updated with Chapter 12; it's a doozy.

[spoiler=Chapter 12, The Seacomers]

I promoted Linde to Grandmaster. I thought about reclassing to something else first, but Veteran should be good enough to keep the EXP flowing, and I'd like to get Rally Spectrum sooner rather than later.

This chapter is Rout, with several promoted enemies; there's a big difficulty spike here. But before I get into the chapter's strategy, I'd like to share this specially-modified chart, which has my best combatants listed, adding in their support and other stat bonuses.

         HP ST MG SK SP LK DF RS 
   Linde 36 20 21 19 24 17 17 12
   Chrom 32 21 3  17 18 13 19 6
Frederick 35 15 2  19 20 8  16 12
   Sully 33 16 4  19 21 23 16 5
   Sumia 27 18 8  22 26 19 14 13
Cordelia 33 19 7  18 18 11 17 10
N.O.W.I. 38 23 9  16 16 14 23 16

Notice how Nowi is beating the snot out of the rest of the army, so long as she doubles. This is with only two real chapters worth of training (Paralogue 4 and Ch 11). She wants a SPD Tonic for this chapter (some of the Cavaliers have 13 SPD), but once her normal SPD gets past the tipping point, she's going to be ORKO'ing and never dying. The only unit that comes close to this is Chrom (against physical), and he can't counter at 2-range. Cordelia may begin approaching this eventually, but it depends on some good level-ups.

Anyway, as you can probably guess, I'm going to use Nowi heavily as a front-liner. If you blow apart one of the Knights blocking the two-wide spot near the start, re-move Nowi with Dance, running her as deep as possible (need to Rescue Olivia after that), you can actually get her into a position where she is in aggro range of:

• 10 Cavaliers (she ORKO's 100% of them)
  
• 5 Knights (67% ORKO, due to crits and Gregor Time)
  
• 1 Bow Knight (2RKO)
  
• 1 Silver Lance Paladin (from the ship, 3-4RKO)
  

… and they are completely incapable of killing her. All of the Cavaliers plus people with 2-range weapons either tink or deal 1-2 damage. Only the Steel Lance Knights actually injure her (4 damage), at less than 50% displayed hit. The Paladin with the Silver Lance admittedly does 9 damage at 59% listed hit. Which would be a problem if there were, say, four of those guys. I don't even bother using a DEF tonic here.

This allows me to focus fire on the left with more units. CordeliaxKellam and ChromxSully are going to fight the majority of that knot of mounted units on the immediate left (facing a Paladin, two Knights, and four Cavaliers), since both of them have enough durability to reasonably survive without DEF tonics. Cherche can hang a little bit back in order to ORKO the Beastkiller Knight on Enemy Phase (need this later for the hard targets). There are two lonely Knights on the right that Nowi won't draw over, so I send LindexDonnel to deal with them.

And so it goes. There are a few small tactical decisions that need to be made here (kill the Elixir Bow Knight with Player Phase before he heals himself or trades to other people, use Beastkiller on the tough Paladins, promote Sully to Paladin herself mid-chapter for the stat bonuses and to draw out the left-side Bow Knight, use Rescue on Olivia to get her into good Dance spots etc), but this is otherwise a by the book clear. Donnel finally manages to hit level 10 at some point, so I dumped my Second Seal and made him a Fighter (not going to take my chances with Merc, he's far enough behind as it is).

Whew. That was a short, but extremely active chapter.

Turns (Chapter/Total): 4/79

Heroes: Gregor & Nowi

Funds: 39,589G

                     Lvl   HP STR MAG SKL SPD LCK DEF RES WExp                 Support
               Linde  1.38 36 20  21  14  24  11  17  12  D Sword, B Tome      S Donnel + others
               Chrom 16.89 32 16  3   14  15  13  15  6   A Sword              S Sully
           Frederick  8.99 35 14  2   17  13  7   16  6   C Swd, A Axe/Lance   S Sumia, C Linde
               Sully  2.93 42 20  5   21  17  18  19  12  B Sword, A Lance     S Chrom
               Sumia 17.10 28 12  8   21  24  20  8   13  B Lance              S Fred
              Donnel  1.00 34 16  1   14  14  20  12  5   D Axe                S Linde, C Kellam
            Cordelia 17.38 35 15  8   18  17  13  11  10  B Lance              A Kellam
              Kellam  7.55 23 10  1   8   7   3   13  2   D Lance              A Cordelia + others
No One Will Interfere 21.63 45 18  7   13  10  15  15  11  -                    A Gregor
              Gregor 12.24 32 13  1   15  11  8   11  2   C Sword              A N.O.W.I.
               Libra  2.37 40 14  16  14  15  10  11  17  C Axe/Staff
                Anna  2.85 37 12  18  24  22  27  9   10  C Sword, D Staff

I wish I had been able to reclass Donnel sooner than this; Hammertime would have been useful. C'est la vie. No supports after this chapter, not even NowixGregor for some reason. Speaking of Nowi, she is technically four-levels SPD-screwed at this point, although it's not any kind of problem at the moment because of supports/Tonics.

Promotion round-up: Linde to Grandmaster, Sully to Paladin, Donnel to Fighter. Dropped my Arms Scroll on Donnel.

You have the RNG godddess ;3; Now you will save 2 turns per map at the cost of 3000G. Bye Lissa hi Libra and Anna. Oh i'm glad Donnel is getting to be a good unit. I'm very surprised with Nowi, she is very good I like how clutch she was in chapter 11. Now Sumia and Frederick will switch roles still I think they are a great pair.

N.O.W.I. is amazing; if you liked her performance in Ch11, you'll probably sign up for her fan club in Ch12.

[Blademaster!]

You can't unlock the next level of support in consecutive chapters it seems. The points to unlock the support will build, but you can't raise the level until you do another chapter.

[Interceptor]

OP updated with Chapters 13 and 14.

[spoiler=Chapter 13, Of Sacred Blood]

This is a straightforward two-turn chapter; all that's required is to get someone up to the boss that can handle them. Everyone else gets a couple turns to take whatever kills that they are able to.

I sent LindexDonnel; since she doubles and hits RES, it's very easy to take out the boss. Turn 1 gets her close (and a bunch of kills), Turn 2 she can fire up at the bridge, and during Enemy Phase the boss will helpfully commit suicide on her.

Meanwhile, I fly SumiaxFrederick to the west fort to tank a few hits and maybe get some EXP into Fred (too many bows for Sumia to be the Lead unit). SullyxChrom and CordeliaxKellam each take out one of the bottom archers (so that Cord can stay out), and share the axe/sword guys left in the bottom part of the map. Nowi kills off a Myrmidon at the bottom of the east ramp with the help of Olivia, and positions herself to take out an axe guy on Enemy Phase. Turn 2 Player Phase finds everyone finishing off whatever they can. Fin.

Turns (Chapter/Total): 2/81

Heroes: Linde & Donnel

Funds: 35,229G

                     Lvl   HP STR MAG SKL SPD LCK DEF RES WExp                 Support
               Linde  1.38 36 20  21  14  24  11  17  12  D Sword, B Tome      S Donnel + others
               Chrom 16.89 32 16  3   14  15  13  15  6   A Sword              S Sully
           Frederick  8.99 35 14  2   17  13  7   16  6   C Swd, A Axe/Lance   S Sumia, C Linde
               Sully  2.93 42 20  5   21  17  18  19  12  B Sword, A Lance     S Chrom
               Sumia 17.10 28 12  8   21  24  20  8   13  B Lance              S Fred
              Donnel  1.00 34 16  1   14  14  20  12  5   D Axe                S Linde, C Kellam
            Cordelia 17.38 35 15  8   18  17  13  11  10  B Lance              A Kellam
              Kellam  7.55 23 10  1   8   7   3   13  2   D Lance              A Cordelia + others
No One Will Interfere 21.63 45 18  7   13  10  15  15  11  -                    A Gregor
              Gregor 12.24 32 13  1   15  11  8   11  2   C Sword              A N.O.W.I.
               Libra  2.37 40 14  16  14  15  10  11  17  C Axe/Staff
                Anna  2.85 37 12  18  24  22  27  9   10  C Sword, D Staff

And now, finally, enter Lucina:

                     Lvl   HP STR MAG SKL SPD LCK DEF RES WExp   
              Lucina 10.00 31 14  4   16  15  15  13  6   C Sword

She is not quite as strong as her father, but has solid stats and should be able to contribute immediately with that hax PRF Sword of hers.

I build Lucina's C supports, upgrade NowixGregor and CoredeliaxKellam to S-ranks, and go shopping for Dragonstones, Rescue staves, and a bunch of other little things while I am at it.

[spoiler=Chapter 14, Flames on the Blue]

Defeat Commander. Strictly speaking this can be one-turned (doesn't even require Rescue: clear an enemy with Cord, forged Hammertime the boss with FredxSumia), but there's no real value in it. The treasure chests on this map contain a medium Bullion, Recover staff, and a Second Seal. I only really care about the Seal. The plan is to take one Enemy Phase worth of kills, and then end it on Turn 2.

NowixGregor handle the west ship (I break a hole first, Dance, and then get her deeper so that she can kill one of the promoted enemies), with SumiaxFred hovering over the water to deal with mages and stay in position for the boss kill. LindexDonnel handle the east ship, which largely cannot hurt Linde due to the high DEF coming from Donnel's support. Finally, I have Cordelia fly over the southwestern ocean to fight Peg Knights, and SullyxChrom on the southern ship to clear a path to the Second Seal chest.

On Turn 2, clean up whatever that I am able to. I have Anna Rescue Olivia to herself, get Danced, and then open the Second Seal chest. I decide not to use a chest key on either of the other items. FredxSumia land on the west ship to kill the boss; NowixGregor were on standby to finish him off in case they didn't get any procs (but they did, so it wasn't necessary). Not a complete Rout, but a lot of enemies took a digger, so we'll call it a good day's work.

Turns (Chapter/Total): 2/83

Heroes: Linde & Donnel

Funds: 35,229G

                     Lvl   HP STR MAG SKL SPD LCK DEF RES WExp                 Support
               Linde  6.17 40 23  23  14  26  14  19  14  D Sword, A Tome      S Donnel + others
               Chrom 18.15 34 18  4   14  15  15  16  6   A Sword              S Sully
           Frederick 10.24 37 15  2   18  14  7   18  6   C Swd, A Axe/Lance   S Sumia, C Linde
               Sully  4.10 43 21  7   23  18  20  20  12  B Sword, A Lance     S Chrom
               Sumia 18.96 29 12  8   22  24  21  9   14  B Lance              S Fred
              Donnel  1.66 34 16  1   14  14  20  12  5   D Axe                S Linde, C Kellam
            Cordelia 19.48 37 16  10  19  19  14  12  10  B Lance              S Kellam
              Kellam  7.62 23 10  1   8   7   3   13  2   D Lance              S Cordelia + others
No One Will Interfere 24.17 50 20  7   16  12  16  15  13  -                    S Gregor
              Gregor 12.83 32 13  1   15  11  8   11  2   C Sword              S N.O.W.I.
               Libra  2.37 40 14  16  14  15  10  11  17  C Axe/Staff
                Anna  3.53 38 13  19  25  23  28  9   11  C Sword, D Staff

Frederick finally hit level 10; I don't know what to do with him at this point. I have a Second Seal that he can use now, but Dual Guard+ is also pretty good if I can power my way up to level 15. I would have liked to train Donnel or Lucina, but that chapter was no good for units that couldn't take a lot of abuse.

You can't unlock the next level of support in consecutive chapters it seems. The points to unlock the support will build, but you can't raise the level until you do another chapter.

I guess that this makes sense. I'd like to know how it works specifically, eventually, but it took a long time to get the data for Radiant Dawn.

EDIT: I'm not sure which chapters to do next, now. I'm going to skip the children paralogues for now (if I even do them at all; the children suck), and keep going with the main story.

Edited April 6, 2013 by Interceptor

[eclipse]

MAYBE grab Morgan, otherwise motor on through~!

[MercuryHg34]

I'd say Morgan is worth it, but everyone else can wait for post-game if you even care about that. Taking the time to train more than Morgan will slow you down even more, when the point is to see how "briskly" you can beat the game using Donnel.

[Interceptor]

Just an FYI, since Morgan is both 1) a Villager and 2) gets a third of his bases from Donnel, I have to warn you that he's pretty bad. Here are his stats at this point in time:

         Lvl   HP STR MAG SKL SPD LCK DEF RES WExp   
Morgan 10.00 33 11  11 8   12  13  8   7   C Lance

Still think that I ought to pick up another project? :P

EDIT: the one saving grace is that I can pass Aptitude to him, and Veteran as well if I'm not going to Tactician him.

Edited April 7, 2013 by Interceptor