Grandjackal's FE13 HM Playlog!

[Interceptor]

Sure, just hit reply on this post and copy it out. I suggest using a fixed-width text editor like TextEdit or Notepad if you want to preserve the alignment.

                   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

[grandjackal]

Alright then, thank you.

*Fixes it about*

Ok, so it's not completely alligned, but it's readable and looks like a table. I really don't wanna go back and edit every single last one, so just accept the last update is how it goes down. Sorry about all of that mess, didn't even realize.

[grandjackal]

The barracks got me a Reeking Box. Wonderful.

Thankfully, the enemies crowding the shop with the Strength and Def tonics cleared out so I was free to stock up on a few.

Chapter 8

That Lonqu support does wonders for Miriel. She pretty much marches down the left side of the map without fear. I do have to use a Magic Tonic for the Dark Mages though. I give my Pegasi a Def tonic, and Cordelia an Str Tonic.

The pegasi's initial move is to take care of the nearby Myrm and Dark Mage, Sumia of whom could ORKO the myrm if she wanted to while Cordelia has to attack from 1-2 range. I'd prefer to kill the Dark Mage as opposed to the Myrm since melee allows me to blow it up at my leisure. However, Sumia has more important things to do, namely fly down and smoke the Cavalier with the Steel Lance. This allows Miriel to use her full move down and kill the Fighter still without being in range of the Cavalier. Kellam's nice enough to chip in to smack the Dark Mage, so I have nothing to really fear in the next turn. As for Nowi and Gregor, I would LIKE to use Gregor, but it's clearly stupid in the face of Nowi. I have her park near the left village with Gregor in her pocket, in range of a cavalier and a Dark Mage. Gregor was gracious enough t happily smoke the Dark Mage on enemy phase, so that helps him out at least. This lets him safely kill the Cavalier while having enemy phase on everything else in range (Since Sumia came down and killed the Dark Mage).

The Strength Tonic allows Cordelia at base Str to 2RKO the chasing Myrm with a Javelin, allowing him to stop being a problem in one turn. Miriel comes down to assist Gregor, and once I get down to the lower portion of the map I switch to Fred (Elwind mage needs taking care of) so that Cordelia can get in range. From there, the map's pretty easy.

To my annoyance, Panne and Vaike did very little. In fact, all that occured with them was Panne moving Vaike in range to kill a Dark Mage.

Could have done this chapter in 4 turns, but hte lack of Nowi's 6 move being prevailant kept me from getting the left village (something that was shortsighted on my part). This wound up getting Panne a kill she frankly would never get normally, along with Miriel. Sumia was going to get the boss kill anyways.

Turns: 5

Panne and Vaike get B Support!

Kellam and Cordelia get C Support!

Nowi and Gregor get C Support!

Levels

Lvl   HP STR MAG SKL SPD LCK DEF RES WExp                 Support
             Avatar 18.52 31 12 14 12 18 16 10 7  E Sword, B Tome      S Chrom, C Fred
             Chrom 12.08 27 13 3 14 17 13 13 4   B Sword             S Avatar
         Frederick 7.47 35 16 2 16 13 9 16 3   B Swd, C Axe, S Sumia, C Avatar
             Vaike 8.64 34 12 0 12 7 8  8  0   C Axe, B Sully, C Panne
             Sumia 9.29 24 10 4 14 17 13 7  7  C Lance              S Fred
             Miriel 10.64 25 0 14 11 11 12 5  7  C Tomes, C Sully, C Lonqu
            Cordelia 8.76 26 9 3 13 12 10 9 8 C Lances, C Kellam
             Panne 9.36 31 10 2 11 13 9 9 5  C Vaike
             Gregor 11.20 31 13 0 13 11 8 10 2 C Swords, C Nowi

This map is kinda lousy. A lot of exp gets focused into one person, so there wasn't much exp to be gained here aside from like 3 people (namely Miriel, Gregor and Sumia. Normally, it would be Nowi getting the exp, but I'm making bad decisions this playthrough).

So, now I have a MASSIVE problem. Namely: Panne is nowhere near level 10 for the appropriate chapter: chapter 9. I can't even blame Vaike for it, Panne just couldn't find the action. Because of this, I can't reclass her for a chapter she would normally really hate. As for Vaike? Well, Vaike sucks. Of course he wouldn't hit level 10. So now, Chapter 9 is going to be a little problematic.

Speaking of Gregor, why am I using Vaike again? Vaike would have to get 9 speed just to tie, and from what I can see, unless I get 2 in the next two levels, that's not going to happen. He's less durable, less Strength (though I'm pretty sure I'm screwed), his only real argument is that he'd have more HP and a built support (Which chances are no support out there would actually help him sine his start is just that blegh). Gregor just shows up and straight outclasses him. I feel like I should have just had Panne train up on her own, changed her class, then stuck her with Gregor.

This chapter was pretty even between Sumia and Cordelia. Only real issue between them is that Sumia at least holds the possibility of doubling Myrms. Everything you see here Cordelia could also do, so she'd probably be level 9 or perhaps more if you did what I did with her instead of Sumia.

Cordelia did not get a speed level. Considering no Frederick, this is kind of annoying. Will have to buy a Speed Tonic for her next chapter.

So I had a thought. 11 Speed is kinda ass. He already has both mercenary skills, so there's no real reason to keep him as a Mercenary. Should I change Gregor to a barbarian or a Myrm? Barbarian gives him a big Atk boost, but only gains +1 Speed (Still not great) and loses his weapon rank. Myrmidon skills aren't the best, he loses a bit of durability and isn't as rewarding since he has no axe rank for when he goes Hero eventually, BUT it gives him actual speed that works, and he keeps his Sword rank.

You guys have thoughts on that?

Edited April 3, 2013 by grandjackal

[Bryan]

I'd probably tend to say barb, because axes> swords. Go through berserker and pick up axefaire and then reclass to hero.

[MercuryHg34]

If you plan to keep using Vaike and not use Lon'qu then I'd suggest Myrmidon. Otherwise, Barbarian seems like the better choice.

[grandjackal]

If you plan to keep using Vaike and not use Lon'qu then I'd suggest Myrmidon. Otherwise, Barbarian seems like the better choice.

Lonqu makes for a terrific support bot when not used seriously. He's doing wonders for Miriel. Gregor no matter what is going to have to depend on Speed Tonics for now. Probably will pair hm up with Cherche.

Anyways, point being that you don't have to train Lonqu seriously for Lonqu to be awesome and useful. I'll probably be using him for a while.

Edited April 3, 2013 by grandjackal

[grandjackal]

Chapter 9

Oh, I knew this map was gonna be fun. No flying Panne? Stuck with a mutltitude of rather immobile units in this shitty starting position? At least two units that are absurdly bad? Yeah...

Surprised I managed to get 5 turns. I probably could have gotten 4 if I was willing to move Fred forward a bit more on turn 3, but alas I was cautious on account of not wanting Tharja to crit him. Considering I had to use a Defense Tonic on Vaike just so he could actually do stuff without dying, I was a little on tilt. Seriously, Elfire Mage+Wyvern equaled certain death for my shitty Fighter. Even more annoying was that with that Mage, I was a kill away from Wyvern with Panne. 1 kill! I get t the south to kill the guys formerly harassing Libra, and they go after the guy who is huge and can double them thanks to a Gregor support! Well, at least Gregor got some training...But I really would have appreciated that going to Panne.

I abused the hell out of the Seperate thing to get the most movement I could out of Panne and Nowi so that Gregor and Panne could actually get somewhere this century, while once I got south I handed Avatar over to Gregor cause it dawned on me that that would actually be pretty awesome. I recruited Libra turn 1, and I killed the boss turn 4 with Fred's Mighty Hammer. Really, once you get past the first nightmare, the rest of the map is basically Fred with a Hand Axe. Except for when you're bringing in Tharja.

You could probably save a turn with use of a Rescue Staff on like Mirabelle after Ricken moved her forward, moved Chrom with some flying unit down to recruit Libra turn 1, then trade the Rescue to him to Rescue Fred then go nuts, but that's a bit bonkers. Still, 5 turns is still leaving a bad taste in my mouth.

Fuck you, Vaike. Also, this was not a fun chapter for Avatar.

Turns: 5

Got two sparkly spots. Libra gained Wexp, and Fred picked up a Slack Bow. At least the WEXP is helpful.

Lonqu and Miriel gained B support!

Lvl   HP STR MAG SKL SPD LCK DEF RES WExp                 Support
             Avatar 18.60 31 12 14 12 18 16 10 7  E Sword, B Tome      S Chrom, C Fred
             Chrom 13.08 28 13 3 15 17 14 12 4   B Sword             S Avatar
         Frederick 8.35 36 17 3 16 13 9 17 3   B Swd, C Axe, S Sumia, C Avatar
             Vaike 9.25 35 13 0 13 7 9  8  0   C Axe, B Sully, C Panne
             Sumia 10.35 29 11 4 15 18 13 8  8  C Lance              S Fred
             Miriel 11.62 26 0 15 11 11 13 5  8  C Tomes, C Sully, B Lonqu
            Cordelia 8.76 26 11 3 13 12 10 9 8 C Lances, C Kellam
             Panne 9.71 31 10 2 11 13 9 9 5  C Vaike
             Gregor 1.87 35 16 0 8 12 8 8 2 E Axe, C Nowi

Fred's still going strong. This chapter had another important boss kill for him. It's also then I realize I had 3 reclass dependent characters before him. Vaike I'm starting to think should be warming my bench. Know I won't miss him.

Vaike. 6 levels. 1 Speed. 6 levels. 2 Def. I'm not even that impressed by his Str.

If you're wondering where Sumia and Cordelia's sudden jumps came from, I gave one the Seraph Robe and the other the Energy Drop.

Gregor's not feeling too bad about the class change. The +3 Str somewhat makes up for his lost sword rank cause 16 Str still hits like a truck.

Glad to have Libra and Tharja on the force. Can't wait to have Lifetaker+Renewal Noire again. That is fun incarnate.

Edited April 4, 2013 by grandjackal

[eclipse]

You're missing a closing CODE tag.

(I'm still following it, and taking notes; that kind of Vaike was par for the course for me)

[grandjackal]

Ahh, thanks or catching that.

[General Horace]

Your stat boxes are still a bit messy. I don't know how you're doing them now, but as mentioned, its a lot easier to line everything up in notepad and copy paste it directly than in the postbox onsite, although I think its something else entirely because you're missing your unit column.

As for the previous boxes, it kind of looks like you're using tab to space them out (which is generally a nono) although i could be wrong. I've screencapped your chapter 9 stats below in notepad, and listed here below to see if it looks similar to what your's look like before/after posting them. Its a little different than Interceptor's format, but I think its a little tidier.

[spoiler=picture]

UNIT             LEVEL    HP ST MG SK SP LC DF RS WEXP                  SUPPORT
Avatar           18.60    31 12 14 12 18 16 10 07 E Sword, B Tome       S Chrom, C Fred
Chrom            13.08    28 13 03 15 17 14 12 04 B Sword               S Avatar
Frederick     ??/08.35    36 17 03 16 13 09 17 03 B Swd, C Axe          S Sumia, C Avatar
Vaike            09.25    35 13 00 13 07 09 08 00 C Axe                 B Sully, C Panne 
Sumia            10.35    29 11 04 15 18 13 08 08 C Lance               S Fred
Miriel           11.62    26 00 15 11 11 13 05 08 C Tomes               C Sully, B Lonqu
Cordelia         08.76    26 11 03 13 12 10 09 08 C Lances              C Kellam
Panne            09.71    31 10 02 11 13 09 09 05                       C Vaike
Gregor           01.87    35 16 00 08 12 08 08 02 E Axe                 C Nowi

On a more related note, I'm interested to see how Gregor will turn out with this reclass, its not something i've done or seen yet (only theoryemblem) so hopefully it works out.

Edited April 4, 2013 by General Horace

[grandjackal]

I'll try this out, Horace. Thanks. I tried realligning with Word, but it just seems serenes wants to exaggerate everything. That and I was tired when I made the recent posts. Thing with Notepad is that I run a really outdated Mac. Yes, this piece of wood can't even run Notepad.

Paralogue 4

I'm pretty sure you could do this map faster, but I really hate using Keys for some reason. Because of this, I did weird ass Rescue shenanigans towards the end with Libra just so I could use only one key on a chest towards the end while still being able to kill the Thief who gets the Weapon Scroll. I really did not want that fool to run.

Sumia was fast enough with a Fred support to double the Myrm at the start, but there was also an Archer in reach who does pretty lethal damage considering the enemies nearby. I probably forgot to use a Defense Tonic, but I had Fred just Silver Lance him instead out of safety. Sumia saw plenty of action anyways. I cleared him out so Cordela could bring Chrom close enough to Anna for turn 2 recruitment, though I now see that if I had used Rescue, I could probably have recruited her turn 1, then had her pull out the Rescue from the Convoy and bring someone else up front and had someone at the boss pretty much near turn 1. Hindsight's a bitch though. I actually redo the chapter trying to find various ways around, but the positions on this map are kinda crappy. I even did the 1 turn Anne recruitment, but due to how choked this map is, it didn't come with much use outside of maybe more exp.

Normally I just have Tharja take two turns to clear out the left side on her own/with Libra's assistance, but I didn't get much on her since I was a bit scattered/I had Miriel who sucks and needed protection so I had to have Tharja hold back. The left side went pretty smoothly though. Vaike finally hits level 10 and gets Zeal, and is step 1 towards turning Vaike into a Critbot (Something I noticed: Vaike's the only person who can stack all of the Crit boosting skills, namely Zeal, Gamble, and Wrath). Just need to reclass him to a Barb now so that I can get to Gamble, something that will go well with my team's numerous Solidarities and Anathemas. Oh, also, 7 levels and only 1 speed. This game loves me.

Panne also got level 10. Hooraaaay.

I think I'll stick with my redo game because A. It got Avatar to 20 without the boss kill, and B. It was more rewarding for Tharja though she still didn't see all that much action. Vaike isn't levle 10, but he's close enough. Miriel gets a sparkly spot for another Ladle. Luck be a Ladle tonight!

Barracks gives me a Superior Edge, a boost between Sumia and Sully, Hector's Axe, a Str and Def boost for Panne (Fistpump), and a useless convo between Gaius and Lonqu.

Gregor and Avatar gain C Support!

Vaike and Panne gain A Support!

Levels

UNIT             LEVEL    HP ST MG SK SP LC DF RS WEXP                  SUPPORT
Avatar       20/01.00    37 16 18 16 22 17 12 09 E Sword, B Tome       S Chrom, C Fred, C Gregor
Chrom            13.35    28 13 03 15 17 14 12 04 B Sword               S Avatar
Frederick     ??/09.15    37 17 03 17 13 09 17 03 B Swd, B Axe          S Sumia, C Avatar
Vaike            09.98    35 13 00 13 07 09 08 00 C Axe                 B Sully, A Panne 
Sumia            11.23    30 11 04 15 18 13 09 08 C Lance               S Fred
Miriel           12.22    27 00 15 12 12 13 05 09 C Tomes               C Sully, B Lonqu
Cordelia         08.98    26 11 03 13 12 10 09 08 C Lances              C Kellam
Panne            11.04    33 12 02 12 15 10 10 05                       A Vaike
Gregor           02.87    36 17 00 08 12 08 08 02 E Axe                 C Nowi, C Avatar
Libra           ??/03.06    41 15 16 14 15 11 11 18 C Axe C Staff
Tharja            10.73    25 04 11 05 12 03 12 07 D Tomes
Anna           ??/01.76    36 12 17 23 22 26 08 10 C Swords D Staffs

Avatar promotes. Good times were had. Quite the record for me to. Promoted before chapter 10?

Gregor got in an unrealistically good amount of tag teams with Avatar considering they had no support going. I am definitely not complaining though as he's now halfway to D rank, and getting exp under his belt.

Sorry to say I'm probably about to drop Lonqu for Anna, as she'll probably be a more effective support for Miriel until Henry shows up...I'm gonna be so mad when Henry shows up.

As for Panne, I'm actually thinking on not class changing her. I mean, I WANT to, but Vaike's a fuckhead. That speed (Whenever he decides to start growing any) can be kinda fixed with Panne's speed support. She makes use of the Str and Def at least.

Thinking of giving Anna the Weapon Scroll for C Staffs. Imagine that magic with Physic. Also helps that 2 Fortify users lategame is absolutely hilarious.

Tharja was given a Dracoshield. It allows her to currently recover any damage given to her physically considering the magic boost Libra gives, so as long as she hits with Nosferatu, physical enemies don't actually hurt her.

EDIT: SUCCESS! Thank you Horace, you're a lifesaver!

Edited April 4, 2013 by grandjackal

[grandjackal]

Chapter 10

Chapter 10 is a pretty easy chapter, and with Rescue shenanigans, you can do it in 3 turns. I did it in 4, cause I messed up my positioning and wound up with a Fighter blocking the boss.

Really this is just a farm map, just get what kills you can. There's a good amount of it to be had. Had Avatar go it alone (I wanted Miriel to support Anna for the Mag, and Gregor support with Lonqu because Lonqu actually allowed him to double), still almost got a level. Got all the thieves.

Interesting thing: Was able to give Miriel a Def Tonic, and it let her take on two Hand Axe barbarians at the same time. Got her a good amount of exp.

I finally reclassed Vaike. Before everyone asks why I didn't reclass Panne, I have two reasons. First off: I'm using Vaike and Vaike sucks. He needs the speed more than Panne needs wings. Panne's still good without wings anyways, I'm not really missing all that much (though Flight is still better). If I were using a better coupling, like say PannexGaius, I would not have this problem. I also wouldn't have this porblem if I weren't using 4 class change dependent characters. Second: Vaike needs the speed. He thankfully proc'd his second speed level at 10, so now he has 11+5, which is actually fairly workable (if it works for Miriel...). So, since he's now actually capable of combat, I can actually switch out relatively safe. I probably won't even reclass Panne in this game, seeing as Fred's so near it.

Oh, speaking of Fred, he got the boss kill. He will be level 10 by the next chapter.

Turns: 4

Libra and Tharja gained C support!

Barracks gave nothing.

Levels

UNIT             LEVEL    HP ST MG SK SP LC DF RS WEXP                  SUPPORT
Avatar       20/01.79    37 16 18 16 22 17 12 09 E Sword, B Tome       S Chrom, C Fred, C Gregor
Chrom            14.25    29 14 03 15 17 14 12 05 B Sword               S Avatar
Frederick     ??/09.67    37 17 03 17 13 09 17 03 B Swd, B Axe          S Sumia, C Avatar
Vaike            01.00    38 13 00 12 11 10 07 00 C Axe                 B Sully, A Panne 
Sumia            13.53    32 12 04 16 20 13 09 08 B Lance               S Fred
Miriel           13.16    27 01 16 12 12 14 06 09 C Tomes               C Sully, B Lonqu
Cordelia         08.98    26 11 03 13 12 10 09 08 C Lances              C Kellam
Panne            12.18    34 13 02 12 16 10 11 05                       A Vaike
Gregor           03.89    37 17 00 09 12 08 08 02 E Axe                 C Nowi, C Avatar
Libra           ??/03.40    41 15 16 14 15 11 11 18 C Axe C Staff     C Tharja
Tharja            11.50    26 04 12 05 12 03 12 07 D Tomes     C Libra
Anna           ??/02.25    37 12 17 23 23 27 08 11 C Swords D Staffs

So Vaike. How does it feel, having Sumia caught up with your Strength stat?

Speaking of Sumia, behold the B rank! How many Silver Lance uses do I have? Hmm, 16 is a pretty healthy number.

Chrom needs to support someone else so he can get levels rolling again. Want Lucina by the time she shows up to be mega buff.

Fred will pretty much get a Second Seal at about the time he's ready for it. Perfect.

Gregor has grown a lot of nothing since he became a Barbarian. Kind of annoying me.

[eclipse]

Vaike the Critbot

Technically, male MU/Morgan does it better (they can also get Prescience). Realistically, Vaike does a fine job of it.

[grandjackal]

Technically, male MU/Morgan does it better (they can also get Prescience). Realistically, Vaike does a fine job of it.

They do give that aura, but the issue is that it takes them a lot longer to get all those other skills. For Vaike, Zeal+Gamble+Wrath is a very natural progression.

Chapter 11

Pair up MU with Anna. Pair up Olivia wth Chrom (Position reasons only). Give Anna a Magic Tonic. Rescue Chrom. Dance Anna. Move onto fort and switch to Avatar. If you were wondering how to pull Gangrel on turn 1, there's your answer. I was able to double him too, thanks to a speed tonic.

....That's the story of the chapter, really. Avatar basially asks Plegia "Do you even lift?" and the answer was not good enough. Hell, if Anna decided to chip in on both dual attacks, I could have ORKOd Gangrel. The force is strong in this one.

Huh, did other stuff happen? Yeah I guess. Vaike actually managed to stop sucking, and with a Ward from Libra, Fred was able to solo the right side of the map quite comfortably. Miriel did absolutely nothing, and Gregor got super close to D rank. He also is not gaining speed, something I'm all too familiar with. Vaike had the Killer Axe and was packing around 44% even though he was near no one in particular. He'd have 41% crit at base, so maybe his support had something to do with it. If there was Anathema and Solidarity nearby, he would have around 71% if that were the case. Keep in mind: Morgan is coming in as a level 10 Tactician, and Henry has yet to join my team. I also don't have Gamble yet.

So in short, Tonics. That is all.

Turns: 4, but you can do it in 3 if you have a flying Panne and a Thief because I was trying to get to the other chest, and wound up keeping the enemy Thief alive because of it.

Avatar and Anna gained C Support! An awesome support, if I do say so myself.

Vaike and Panne gain S Support!

Levels

UNIT             LEVEL    HP ST MG SK SP LC DF RS WEXP                  SUPPORT
Avatar       20/05.10    30 18 21 20 25 20 14 12 E Sword, A Tome       S Chrom, C Fred, C Gregor, C Anna
Chrom            14.55    29 14 03 15 17 14 12 05 B Sword               S Avatar
Frederick     ??/10.48    38 18 03 18 14 09 18 03 B Swd, B Axe          S Sumia, C Avatar
Vaike            03.84    40 14 00 13 12 12 09 00 C Axe                 B Sully, S Panne 
Sumia            14.27    33 12 04 17 21 13 09 08 B Lance               S Fred
Miriel           13.16    27 01 16 12 12 14 06 09 C Tomes               C Sully, B Lonqu
Cordelia         09.10    27 11 03 13 13 11 10 09 C Lances              C Kellam
Panne            12.18    34 13 02 12 16 10 11 05                       A Vaike
Gregor           04.48    38 17 00 10 12 09 08 03 E Axe                 C Nowi, C Avatar
Libra           ??/04.37    42 15 17 15 15 12 12 19 C Axe C Staff     C Tharja
Tharja            11.50    26 04 12 05 12 03 12 07 D Tomes     C Libra
Anna           ??/02.89    37 12 17 23 23 27 08 11 C Swords D Staffs

That's not a typo. Avatar jumped 4 levels in one chapter. One of those levels involved ripping Gangrel's head off with the strongest of breezes. Welp, I have Ignis now, and am only 10 levels away from Rally Spectrum.

Fred got lucky on a shining spot, gaining about 25 exp. Not that he really needed it. Anyways as you can see, he is now level 10 and ready for a class change. Now I like Dual Guard on him since he has pretty good Defense, but for the sake of Cynthia I should probably let Sumia run the show for now so that I can class change them both some time soon. Want Cynthia to inherit a good Rally I imagine. Might even go Dark Pegasus for Sumia so that Cynthia can go Falcoknight after I drop her mom out of my team for her.

Lookat all the speed Gregor's not gaining. Just my luck that the two characters I wanted t use get speed screwed badly.

On the other hand, I'm not entirely regretting the reclass for Vaike. He's now able to at least double some things, and he is quickly on his way to Gamble thanks to his fast leveling speed. On the other hand, it did cause me hesitation this chapter. So, he's starting to recover. Just hope he starts gaining speed for no reason, I've been screwed so bad.

Look at how close Libra is to level 5. Sure, I'm about to break my other Rescue staff, but not only is the next map small, but they become buyable after it. Bigger issue though is that I'm not finding much space for Tharja to level. The idea of he couple is to get them to promoted 15 real quick so that Noire can be a super ridiculous sustain machine. Noire's recruitment may have to wait it seems...

[grandjackal]

Chapter 12

This is where the game starts teaching you that it's about to start throwing massive numbers of relatively competent enemies at you, and you best be able to bring the noise. Well, noise brought.

I derped pretty huge on this chapter. Notably I could have been more conservative of Rescue uses in chapters like Paralogue 4, so that I could have more mobility in this cramped space of a map. I also forgot a single enemy in the corner, so that cost me a turn. All things said, you could probably do this in 4 turns, but I wouldn't berate a player for 5-6 turns. This map doesn't offer a lot of breathing room.

I actually brought Olivia into the fight, cause why not? I don't really have that many people being used at the moment. She helped out, all things considered.

As for my movements, I had Tharja chug a Magic and Def tonic, gave Vaike a Def tonic, along with Chrom and Anna (can't always rely on anna's avoid, Chrom wasn't supporting anyone cause I'm stupid and pairing Cherche with Gregor). Also, Sumia got a Def tonic, Fred got a Speed Tonic. I had Anna move as far as she could while not being in suicidal range, and then Rescued Sumia+Fred, and had Sumia fly over to the right side Bow Knight for Fred to double, having pretty consistent rates for Sumia to double, landing me a kill. This makes the right side of the map a lot less annoying, cause that punk packing a bow makes things pretty dangerous for Sumia. I sent Tharja and Libra to deal with the lower left group of enemies, and though Tharja didn't double and was having a pretty decent chance to miss, she wasn't in excruciating danger. If worst came to worst, I could just switch to Libra if I needed to.

Anna had to deal with a good number of armors and a couple cavs, and luckily her evasion with an Avatar support was so high that she was facing around the 30s displayed. A tad risky, but odds were in her favor since she was 3RKOd and there were only 6 enemies that could have attacked her. She got some great leveling in this chapter, and even got Lucky 7. Man, this skill is perfect on her.

Vaike threw down a bit as well,having taken his Hand Axe to smack around the Bow Knight group on the left side once I started dealing with the boat. I had Sumia with a Javelin and Fred with a Steel Axe to deal with the majority of them. The boss was more a problem since he was pretty tough skinned for Sumia. If there's one thing Sumia can't really do, it's deal with bosses (Fred can't either at this point in the game).

A Barb Gregor I found does in fact have utilic use: He allows Cherche to OHKO Armors with her Hammer here, so she doesn't even need to double. Her base level is fairly low, so this gives her some excellent exp. Unfortunately this also means Gregor didn't see much action.

Turns: 6, though if I payed attention to the last enemy, it would have been 5. You can do it in 4 though, but that might take a bit of luck considering how dense this chapter is.

No supports this time.

Sparkle spot gave me a Superior Edge

Barracks shows me that Lissa is fairly social, though I did actually get something useful for once: A boost in the relationship between Tharja and Avatar.

Levels

UNIT             LEVEL    HP ST MG SK SP LC DF RS WEXP                  SUPPORT
Avatar       20/05.30    30 18 21 20 25 20 14 12 E Sword, A Tome       S Chrom, C Fred, C Gregor, C Anna
Chrom            15.93    30 15 03 16 18 14 12 06 B Sword               S Avatar
Frederick     ??/11.04    39 19 04 19 14 10 19 03 B Swd, A Axe          S Sumia, C Avatar
Vaike            07.71    45 14 00 16 14 14 11 01 B Axe                 B Sully, S Panne 
Sumia            17.48    36 14 04 19 23 15 11 08 B Lance               S Fred
Miriel           14.36    28 01 17 13 13 14 07 10 C Tomes               C Sully, B Lonqu
Cherche         14.05    33 16 02 15 14 09 18 03 C Axe              
Panne            12.56    34 13 02 12 16 10 11 05                       A Vaike
Gregor           04.98    38 17 00 10 12 09 08 03 E Axe                 C Nowi, C Avatar
Libra           ??/04.62    42 15 17 15 15 12 12 19 C Axe C Staff     C Tharja
Tharja            15.47    34 05 14 07 14 07 14 08 C Tomes     C Libra
Anna           ??/05.12    39 13 20 25 24 30 09 13 C Swords D Staffs

Note that Cherche has replaced Cordelia. Yes, she gained 2 levels. Considering it only takes 5 kills to do that, it's not that hard.

In fact, a lot of the characters that were struggling for levels here kinda made it up. Cavaliers and Armors lean on the slower side of things, and promoted enemies are starting to show up. This chapter gave Vaike the room to apologize for his assness up until now. His speed is now usable, as is his durability. That bieng said, he's still not THAT fast on his own, so I still can't really give Panne her Wyvern. He's getting close to 10 though for dat Gamble. Once he gets that, I'll stop caring because he'll have like 50 crit for no reason.

Fred had a lot of sparkle spots that gave him exp, but even then it wasn't a whole level's worth. It is definitely possible to get him to level 10 by the time you get this chapter's Second Seal. Let that be known, son.

Sumia's getting close to promotiooooooon. Quite good thing too, means she's close to her promoted 5 skill (I like to wait till 20 for units I actually want to use long term). Considering you can get Cynthia fairly early, this is pretty cool. Only problem is Fred. That level 5 is still gonna take a while.

Tharja got that action in. Now I'm a bit more confident.

Then there is Gregor. Seriously guys, this isn't even a screwed thing, I've never gotten impressive speed out of this big guy. However, it's hard to disagree, that this guy is still an awesome support. Be it class change or promotion, he can basically fill any weakness a character might have (as noted with Cherche above).

Huh. Interesting thing. Fred if he reclasses to General will have 20 Str and Def. This gives a pretty ridiculous support of +7 Str and wtf +9 Def to Sumia. He does lose giving that +1 Move though. He gains some HP and Durability though, but loses -1 speed (he's going to be slow anyways, and his support still boosts it to a fair 20, more one she promotes which will be fairly soon). Most units in chapter 13 can't even really dent 20 Def (ignoring how many bows there are in this chapter, especially since Sumia here is practically the best unit you can find to send up and 1 turn the boss if we're going to get that dirty). That being said, losing that 2 move sucks pretty bad. If he were doing things other than pairing with Sumia, he might prefer something like Paladin. Defender would do him big favors.

Oh right, stat boosters! Uhh, I gave Thara a Dracoshield and a Robe. Seeing as she has no real problems with her speed or her magic, giving her more durability can only make her better. Also, Goddess Icon. Don't act like she doesn't appreciate that.

That being said, Sumia and Fred are still going strong. Not seeing problems yet. Just need to decide on a reclass. I really want General, but...

[eclipse]

Uhhh. . .I'm confused.

Huh. Interesting thing. Fred if he reclasses to General will have 20 Str and Def. This gives a pretty ridiculous support of +7 Str and wtf +9 Def to Sumia. He does lose giving that +1 Move though. He gains some HP and Durability though, but loses -1 speed (he's going to be slow anyways, and his support still boosts it to a fair 20, more one she promotes which will be fairly soon). Most units in chapter 13 can't even really dent 20 Def (ignoring how many bows there are in this chapter, especially since Sumia here is practically the best unit you can find to send up and 1 turn the boss if we're going to get that dirty). That being said, losing that 2 move sucks pretty bad. If he were doing things other than pairing with Sumia, he might prefer something like Paladin. Defender would do him big favors.

Paladin gives Aegis, Great Knight gives Defender. However, both are useful (as Fred's RES stinks, and I'm not gonna turn down more Dual Guards). Which one were you gonna aim for?

[grandjackal]

Uhhh. . .I'm confused.

Paladin gives Aegis, Great Knight gives Defender. However, both are useful (as Fred's RES stinks, and I'm not gonna turn down more Dual Guards). Which one were you gonna aim for?

That's kind of the problem. All of his reclass choices come with a tradeoff.

Staying as a Great Knight gives Defender. Great if he's going to stay a support bot the rest of the game, but it's a shitty skill to pass down to Cynthia since she won't have balling defense.

Going Paladin is the best for him as it gives him the best of both worlds, but the support bonuses are weak for Sumia herself, and again Defender isn't that great a skill for Cynthia.

Going General is the best all around since it gives Sumia the support bonuses she needs, and Rally Def is awesome to pass down to Cynthia, but that 5 move and lack of +1 Move support can somewhat hamper things.

Gryphon gives +1 Move and has Deliverer which is awesome to have AND to pass down, but the bonuses are things Sumia already has, and Fred becomes seriously fragile as a Gryphon (35 HP and 13 Def is definitely not what he has now). 18 speed and his weapon mastery makes him an offensive monster, but that's what you have Sumia for if you're really dying for a doubler.

So, I don't really know what I want to go for. I originally set out for General. Hmmm...guess I set out to show if it's worth a damn, might as well follow through with it, right?

[eclipse]

That's kind of the problem. All of his reclass choices come with a tradeoff.

Staying as a Great Knight gives Defender. Great if he's going to stay a support bot the rest of the game, but it's a shitty skill to pass down to Cynthia since she won't have balling defense.

Going Paladin is the best for him as it gives him the best of both worlds, but the support bonuses are weak for Sumia herself, and again Defender isn't that great a skill for Cynthia.

Going General is the best all around since it gives Sumia the support bonuses she needs, and Rally Def is awesome to pass down to Cynthia, but that 5 move and lack of +1 Move support can somewhat hamper things.

Gryphon gives +1 Move and has Deliverer which is awesome to have AND to pass down, but the bonuses are things Sumia already has, and Fred becomes seriously fragile as a Gryphon (35 HP and 13 Def is definitely not what he has now). 18 speed and his weapon mastery makes him an offensive monster, but that's what you have Sumia for if you're really dying for a doubler.

So, I don't really know what I want to go for. I originally set out for General. Hmmm...guess I set out to show if it's worth a damn, might as well follow through with it, right?

Sure, why not? This is the place to test your theories!

[grandjackal]

So, I 1 turned chapter 13. That wasn't fun, even though it's doable with Sumia and Fred (Don't think Cordelia has a reliable support by now...I think? Eh, could probably rely on the Killer Lance). Who here wants me to do this without 1 turning it?

As a note, I'm looking ahead a bit to see Morgan and Lucina. One interesting thing with Morgan is that Chrom gives him Rightful King, and since Morgan starts off as a level 10 Tactician, there is no reason to promote him since Rally Spectrum doesn't stack. So it's best for him to inherit Ignis, then go into a different class. Most likely one that has activatable skills.

[Blademaster!]

Paladin's give defender(+1 all stats in pair up). Great Knights give Dual Guard+

[Redwall]

As a note, I'm looking ahead a bit to see Morgan and Lucina. One interesting thing with Morgan is that Chrom gives him Rightful King, and since Morgan starts off as a level 10 Tactician, there is no reason to promote him since Rally Spectrum doesn't stack. So it's best for him to inherit Ignis, then go into a different class. Most likely one that has activatable skills.

The upside with inheriting Rally Spectrum is that it frees up Avatar to actually get to attack during player phase. Even if Morgan is stuck hitting Rally during most player phases, he can still be extremely productive during enemy phase seeing as his base stats should be pretty serviceable. Granted, I've not played much Hard mode, but making Morgan use Rally during player phase and kill things during enemy phase seems fine especially since he has Veteran. Reclassing to Merc and giving him a Levin Sword might be fun; Armsthrift means it will last a while, and Rightful King + Sol means he can tank through anything once he reaches Lv 5 Hero.

[grandjackal]

The upside with inheriting Rally Spectrum is that it frees up Avatar to actually get to attack during player phase. Even if Morgan is stuck hitting Rally during most player phases, he can still be extremely productive during enemy phase seeing as his base stats should be pretty serviceable. Granted, I've not played much Hard mode, but making Morgan use Rally during player phase and kill things during enemy phase seems fine especially since he has Veteran. Reclassing to Merc and giving him a Levin Sword might be fun; Armsthrift means it will last a while, and Rightful King + Sol means he can tank through anything once he reaches Lv 5 Hero.

Yeah, was thinking Merc, will gladly take that suggestion.

As for Rally Spectrum, my issue with waiting to inherit it is that lategame I feel that Avatar is just kinda bad in actual combat. A good majority of the game he's good due to fast leveling, but he does hit a roof imo. Morgan doesn't really have this issue, so it be better later on if he were on the frontlines instead of Avatar, who has Spectrum to keep him or herself useful.

Though I suppose after 15 I could always reclass her to Sorcerer, since Nostanking would actually be good with her, also would put some meat on her bones.

[grandjackal]

Chapter 13

So I didn't bother with a 1 turn using Rescue staffs. However, I did it in 2 turns anyways so Rescue doesn't even really save you that many turns. In fact, you could probably Dance and kill the boss turn 1 anyways.

This chapter is deceptive since it has a lot of enemies, but really it's a boss kill and the boss is like...Right there. Just get what exp you can. Not much to say really.

As for how I did it, I basically had Gregor team up with Cherche, downed a Speed and Def Tonic, then flew him up to a fort with a Hand Axe. Took out a couple guys. Sumia and Fred naturally went north, Fred going man mode and blowing up everyone in the immediate vicinity with the recently aquired Silver Axe and Sumia's help (Silver Axe for the Warrior there). Sumia then aimed up the bridge and had her attack the boss while Fred chipped in. Even if you fail to do it player phase, the boss is always the first to attack it seems so you kill him the beginning of enemy phase anyways. Fred needed no tonics cause all he had to do was kill everyone on the ground floor. He had the offense thanks to Sumia, and due to being a General, he was definitely not going to die. Not with 20 Def and 41 HP on a Forest tile.

Everyone else basically scrambled for kills. Not much to say.

Turns: 2

Lucina gets C Support with Chrom and Avatar!

Cherche and Gregor gain C Support!

Tharja and Libra gain B Support!

Barracks: Only useful thing was that Gregor and Panne got a relations boost.

Levels

UNIT             LEVEL    HP ST MG SK SP LC DF RS WEXP                  SUPPORT
Avatar       20/05.74    30 18 21 20 25 20 14 12 E Sword, A Tome       S Chrom, C Fred, C Gregor, C Anna
Chrom            16.33    31 15 03 17 19 14 12 06 B Sword               S Avatar
Frederick     11/1.67    41 20 04 20 13 10 20 05 A Lance, A Axe          S Sumia, C Avatar
Vaike            09.04    47 16 00 17 15 15 11 01 B Axe                 B Sully, S Panne 
Sumia            18.56    37 15 04 20 23 15 11 08 B Lance               S Fred
Miriel           14.36    28 01 17 13 13 14 07 10 C Tomes               C Sully, B Lonqu
Cherche         14.16    33 16 02 15 14 09 18 03 C Axe              
Panne            12.72    34 13 02 12 16 10 11 05                       A Vaike
Gregor           06.36    40 17 00 10 14 10 08 03 D Axe                 C Nowi, C Avatar, C Cherche
Libra           ??/04.85    42 15 17 15 15 12 12 19 C Axe C Staff     C Tharja
Tharja            15.67    34 05 14 07 14 07 14 08 C Tomes     C Libra
Anna           ??/05.12    39 13 20 25 24 30 09 13 C Swords D Staffs
Henry            12.86     29 06 14 15 09 10 13 05 C Tomes

Now, to welcome Lucina!

[codep

Lucina 10.00 31 13 07 17 19 15 11 06 C Swords

Veteran, Dual Attack+, Charm, Aether[/code]

Hey, 13 Str works for Anna right now, and unlike Anna, Lucina's Parallel Falchion is basically a Silver Sword that slays dragons. Everything else is looking pretty good.

Now if only I didn't have 50 billion people that also wanted Reclassing...

I also fully accept Vaike and Gregor's apology for now...I'm going to be so mad at Henry for a good while.

Edited April 6, 2013 by grandjackal

[eclipse]

Code tags broken again

My (negligible) personal experience with Henry is that he needs to down several Speedwings, 'cause his base Speed bites when you get him.

[grandjackal]

Eh, it's just Henry. Easy fix.

Recruiting Morgan

This chapter was a mess, and I admittedly got by on luck. However, this chapter is pretty demanding for Speed, something my team lacks. However, I also had a fair amount to put the odds in my favor, what with the numerous amounts of Solidarity, Hex, and Anathema. However, it was still real messy.

Recruiting Morgan is a simple task. Put a flier in the upper right slot, fly Avatar to him, talk, then swap whoever you want on. I was stupid and linked him to Cherche when I should have just tagged him with Avatar so that Avatar could essentially act again the next turn while supplying double Solidarity. Instead like an idiot, I did the exact opposite and paired him with Cherche (thinking I could fly after, even though I attacked with Morgan...), and had him attack a mage, and put him in range of a Swordmaster that could double him (lucky Cherche block let him live). In fact, I was in danger of getting doubled by every one of them as I have like 2 people that could avoid him. Avatar was like the only guy who could double the boss and kill.

Normally you want to be very aggressive with this map so you can block the spawnpoints, another reason the General change kinda annoyed me. With Sumia getting the chest on the lower right by killing the thief (after killing the sage, Javeln+Steel Axe let me bypass the Sage before an Arcwind counter), I could have moved up and blocked a staircase of a very annoying mage.

Vaike hits level 10, and is now officially the Critbot. He's never rocking less than 50% Crt with that Killer Axe, and Anathema+Solidarity can only make it even better. Even though I couldn't double Gryphons, I was able to critbomb them. This allowed me to avoid a counter on a very dangerous Gryphon that comes down at you from the left side. They are triggered by engaging the Sage team nearby them, to which I had Anna deal with (again, if I had used Avatar instead of Morgan, I could have added to her safety with a support, but instead I am dumb. A Levin Sword pretty much cleared that group out.

I didn't reach the stairs in time, and it got me about 2 waves of reinforcements (to which the the first wave wasn't in range, and the other wasn't a danger to me as Fred was blocking the stairs). Things got pretty chaotic. Amusingly, Henry wasn't in all that much danger, because he was fairly tanky and had Ruin. The +1 Speed from Miriel kept him safer, but he was still in a fair amount of danger. He saw an unnatural amount of action. You'll see what I mean in his levels...

I moved too slowly here, so I know that I definitely lost turns. My team relied too much on luck as opposed to speed, and I paid for it here. Although, I did get Morgan immediately! I'd gladly pay that price. Probably should have used Lucina....

Turns: 7

Barracks got me some great stuff for once. A Tiki Tear, and an increase in Gregor and Cherche's relations! That last one I can't imagine what the chances were, but it's my lucky day for sure.

Morgan gains C Support with Chrom, Avatar and Lucina!

Avatar and Anna gain B support!

Miriel and Henry gain C Support!

Levels

UNIT             LEVEL    HP ST MG SK SP LC DF RS WEXP                  SUPPORT
Avatar       20/08.01    42 19 22 22 27 21 15 15 E Sword, A Tome       S Chrom, C Fred, C Gregor, B Anna
Chrom            16.86    31 15 03 17 19 14 12 06 B Sword               S Avatar
Frederick     11/2.10    42 21 04 20 13 10 21 05 A Lance, A Axe          S Sumia, C Avatar
Vaike            11.85    50 18 01 19 16 16 11 01 B Axe                 B Sully, S Panne 
Sumia            20.00    39 16 04 23 25 17 11 08 A Lance               S Fred
Miriel           14.54    28 01 17 13 13 14 07 10 C Tomes               C Sully, B Lonqu, C Henry
Cherche         15.63    34 17 02 15 15 09 19 03 C Axe              C Gregor
Panne            14.18    36 13 02 13 17 11 11 06                       S Vaike
Gregor           06.96    40 17 00 10 14 10 08 03 D Axe                 C Nowi, C Avatar, C Cherche
Libra           ??/06.02    44 16 18 16 15 13 12 20 C Axe C Staff     C Tharja
Tharja            16.24    35 05 15 07 14 07 14 08 C Tomes     C Libra
Anna           ??/06.52    40 14 22 25 25 30 10 12 C Swords D Staffs
Henry            16.35     32 08 15 16 12 11 15 06 C Tomes C Miriel

Of course, meet Morgan!

Morgan 11.72 31 12 14 16 18 14 10 10

Veteran, Rightful King, Solidarity, Ignis

C Chrom, C Avatar, C Lucina

So I'm probably going to go Mercenary with Morgan which will make him basically into Lucina with more Magic for Levin Swords later (he's not taking Anna's, that's for sure). He has the option of Dark Mage for more Anathema, and then later can go into Sorcerer for Vengeance. His speed shouldn't be that big a problem seeing as he has 3 wonderful speed supports ready to give him a chance. Basically it's between Nosferatu and Vengeance vs more solid durability and Sol. His durability as a Dark Mage is only slightly worse than as a Merc, so at the end of the day it'll probably be better going Dark Mage. That being said, going Merc into Bow Kngiht would offer him more move, and would also grant me a Move support for later. Hmmm...Probably gonna go with Dark Mage now that I think about it, but would love to hear thoughts.

The fact that Vaike and Gregor have been speed screwed this entire time and then Henry, the one person who's so slow he can't even really make use of speed blessing, gets speed blessed. I am so fucking mad right now.

Libra creeps ever closer to 15...

One good thing about the Vaike pairing when he goes Barb is that he does give Panne +5 speed around this time. Having 27 speed is pretty damn good. She's very close to Beastslayer too, andI'm about to have a chapter that is super stupid with cavaliers and Gryphons most notably. Considering Vaike just got Gamble, I guess I see no reason not to get that next quick level.

Fred is pretty much 3 levels away from being forgotten for the rest of the game, but I'll see how long he can go. If I can get him to 10 or maybe even 15 for Pavise, I'll probably reclass him to Paladin.

As for Sumia, she is finally ready to promote. The difference between Falcoknight and Dark Rider is pretty negligeable statistically. The difference is the weapon rank. Her magic is too pitiful to really make use of Rescue (even when paired up with a good magic support, it would come out to....6 with a tonic). While not much better as a Dark Rider, it does give her an actual option when going up against her greatest bane: Armors. She doesn't really wanna be upclose to them, and the 1-2 range spears are pretty pitiful against them. Being able to at least bypass their defense with actual damage helps. I'll see if it even helps me save on Hammer uses. So I'm heavily considering Dark Rider. Cynthia will probably go Falcoknight since thanks to Fred she'll probably be more able to knuckledust.

As for Yarne's chapter....Uhhhh, that'll probably have to wait. Yarne's chapter is pretty hardcore, and Yarne has no problem waiting. Vaike and Panne are leveling fast, so his bases are going to be super swole by the time I get him.