Lunatic+ playlog/guide/walkthrough - COMPLETED

[Interceptor]

85 turns...I would never have the patience for that lol. Roughly how much gametime did that take? :o

Not as long as 85 turns would imply, really. The floor was cleared of reinforcements and non-boss reachables by the main force within roughly 12 Turns or so (last wave is on Turn 9), and the remainder of the time was spent either opening chests or bombing Sorcerers. Opening chests was over pretty quickly, so the last 60+ Turns were literally just this:

• Target someone with Laurent
• End Turn
• Mash Start
• Repeat

Which goes by pretty quickly. The reinforcement Sorcerers never move, there are no counter-attacks to worry about, and they cannot possibly bother Laurent's durability (they have crappy HIT and only 39mt). It's like Dance abuse, except you get to kill things.

[PKL]

Oh I see. I was thinking you spent like 3 hours in the chapter. >_> I'm looking forward to Ch23 the most. I recall me having to reset quite a lot in that map due to the plethora of enemies and most of them deciding they like to have counter...ugh. Unfun times with no bow users. I seriously hate that map so much. That one and chapter 2 are the stuff of my nightmares.

[Interceptor]

Ch23 is probably going to be pretty boring from a strategic standpoint. There are way, way too many enemies to do much except pick a corner and turtle. I may keep Louise/Chrom out of the fight, since it's easier to wall against the forcefield than it is in a corner or in a wide open space.

I have a tentative plan to use Laurent to fight the 2-range enemies, since he can battle an unlimited number of comers as long as someone is bodyblocking for him. Enemy attack power is now getting to the point where my bow-users could potentially kill themselves if they keep clearing space on Enemy Phase. It would have been an issue in Ch20 if Laurent didn't house 13 guys all by himself, so that bedtime story is perhaps worth another telling.

[Interceptor]

Updated with Ch22. Laurent once again showing off, like a boss. I like how this random experimental unit that I've never used before in any playthrough ever, turns out to be my lategame MVP in Lunatic+.

[spoiler=Chapter 22: An Ill Presage]

There are only twelve non-boss enemies in this chapter, but they've got legendary weapons or illegal (brave) forges, and in terms of stats... well, they've been hitting the gym. Couple that with the Lunatic+ skills, and we've got something of a heavy lift. It's time to smash the piggy bank, and put your spare change to work. I have over 76k gold on my file (thanks, Armsthrift!), so this won't be a problem.

Preparations: Acquire a Brave Bow (Nergal's team), and forge max mt on it. Then forge max mt on a Nosferatu tome. You don't need bonus HIT or crit on these right now, but if it turns out to be necessary later, you can add to the forges without penalty.

Deployment: Avatar, Lucina, Morgan, Miriel, Gregor, Laurent, Olivia, Lissa. Plus any excess utility that you think you may need.

It's hard to give specific movements for this chapter due to variances in skills and player stats, but here's the general deal:

• The enemies here are grouped into three teams, and won't aggro you until either 1) you get in range of one of them or 2) during Turn 3 Enemy Phase. Aversa never moves.
• Doubling is very important here: don't forget about SPD tonics. You need at least 49 SPD to double all of the right-side enemies (because there's an Assassin and a Yewfelle Sniper), and 44 SPD for the left-side ones. The northern group is trickier due to having a Swordmaster with 51 modified SPD (!!!), but Yewfelle can get someone like Lucina or Morgan to 56 SPD for doubling if needed.
• If someone with a Brave weapon has Luna+, be careful. Those guys will tear people apart.
• The Bow Knight on the LHS is a huge jerk. Not only does he have absurd reach and a Brave Bow, but he'll have Bowbreaker too. Be careful.
• Speaking of Bowbreaker, Lucina and Avatar also have this skill, so it's useful to use them as point-(wo)men for the job on Turn 1. Not just for the avoid, but also for the added hit chance.
• If you set up a good Turn 1 Enemy Phase, with Dual Strikes and forges, the rest of the map is academic. You have two turns to clean up the leftovers before the top group will come to play.
• Don't forget about your Rally skills.

I used Rally STR (Morgan) and Rally MAG (Lissa) before starting. Each side has a physical and a magical attacker, so it worked out.

First, I sent Laurent + Lucina to the west. With Lucina's MV, you can make it to the only person who will bother to attack you at 1-range: the Gungnir Paladin. Attack with your forged Nosferatu, and there's a high chance that the two of them will clear out the whole LHS by themselves, assuming you have a strong weapon on Lucina. Even if they fail (because of Aegis+ or lack of DS activations), it's an easy clean-up. Next, I sent Louise to the RHS, with the Brave Bow and Miriel as a support. They were able to take down the Yewfelle Sniper and Valflame Valkyrie without a problem, leaving only two enemies for the next Player Phase (which is like shooting fish in a barrel).

The top group was handled by drawing the two mages on the end to their maximum range into the waiting arms of bow-users, and then I just collapsed onto the remaining War Cleric and Swordmaster. The whole business was wrapped up by Turn 4 Player Phase, and then it was just a matter of running up to assassinate Aversa, who gets turned into road pizza by all the Bows in this army.

Turns: 5

Heroes: Louise & Miriel

           Level HP ST MG SK SP LK DF RS Wlvl
Louise     10.38 75 38 27 34 40 42 41 24 A Swd, A Bow
Chrom       5.32 43 21 3  24 22 20 18 8  A Swd, E Lnc
Gregor      3.02 80 44 4  37 30 22 27 9  E Axe, A Bow
Miriel      2.38 63 8  35 37 43 30 21 39 A Stf, A Tme
Lucina      4.23 80 40 17 42 43 49 37 21 A Swd, A Bow
Morgan     13.37 80 49 24 41 42 47 39 25 A Bow, E Axe
Olivia     26.64 36 12 9  26 26 22 12 7  D Swd
Laurent     4.43 80 22 35 42 35 45 37 32 A Tme

Supports   S - Louise|Chrom, Gregor|Miriel, Laurent|Lucina
           A - Louise|Frederick/Miriel, Gregor|Lissa, Chrom|Morgan
           B - Louise|Lissa/Lucina/Morgan, Chrom|Lucina, Lucina|Morgan
           C - Chrom|Lissa, Laurent|Gregor/Miriel/Louise

Laurent and Lucina, S-rank! Fun fact: Laurent has 100% Vengeance activation with Lucina Pair-up. <3

[Kuroi Tsubasa Tenshi]

At this point I don't think any of the remaining maps will pose any real threat to you.

Ch23 is probably going to be pretty boring from a strategic standpoint. There are way, way too many enemies to do much except pick a corner and turtle. I may keep Louise/Chrom out of the fight, since it's easier to wall against the forcefield than it is in a corner or in a wide open space.

I doubt it'll matter to your strategy, but I thought I should mention that Rescue Staves are disabled entirely until the force field comes down.

[Interceptor]

At this point I don't think any of the remaining maps will pose any real threat to you.

Agreed. I just did a dry run of Ch23, and basically I am kicking sand in Lunatic+'s face at this point. Everyone except Gregor is basically at their offensive ceiling, and ready to fight Grima. Just going through the motions, now.

I doubt it'll matter to your strategy, but I thought I should mention that Rescue Staves are disabled entirely until the force field comes down.

The second part helps, at least. One of the useful tactics I found useful in my first few runs, was to use Lissa and Miriel to help Morgan and Avatar Rescue-bomb anything that's potentially dangerous to Laurent, so he can Nosfertank everything else. He and Lucina have a totally ridiculous 94% Dual Strike chance.

[Interceptor]

Updated with Ch23. Enemies got completely smoke-showed.

[spoiler=Chapter 23: Invisible Ties]

LAURENT

Preparations: Reclass Lissa to a Falcon Knight, and make sure to have sufficient Rescue/Physic uses for two healers.

Deployment: Laurent, Lucina, Miriel, Gregor, Lissa, Morgan, Olivia.

The enemy layout here favors Laurent in the same way that Cervantes and crew did in Ch20: a high number of units that will attack from 2-range (Assassins, Sorcerers, Zerks/Generals with 1-2 range weapons), and thus are not a Counter threat. It's a perfect environment for Nosferatu tanking, although the placement is very particular (there are pockets of 1-range enemies, and reinforcements can be problematic). You'll need to use Avatar, Morgan, and Gregor to do some surgery.

Start by running Avatar and Chrom towards Validar; we want to kill him and drop the Barrier as soon as possible, so that Rescue staves are usable again. Pair Lucina and Laurent (with capped SKL and SKL tonics, they now have a 94% Dual Strike chance with Laurent as the Lead unit), and attack the Silver Lance General from the lower right. This will leave LxL in range of two Assassins, two Sorcerers, a Tomahawk Zerker, and a Hero, all of which they will obliterate like a fist of an angry god. Have Morgan kill the Sorcerer on the bottom edge of the map, and everyone else should retreat outside of enemy range.

Next Turn, bring down the Barrier. At this point, LxL should maneuver such that 1) no more than one 1-range Counter enemy can get to them, and 2) be in range of as many other enemies as possible. Laurent can easily kill any target, so if there are two Counter enemies, just kill one. Meanwhile, use the rest of your army to stick-and-move down bottom: kill someone, perhaps using Dance as well, and Rescue people back to safety. All of the enemies crammed down bottom have 1-range, which is perfect for the bow-users. Loop Avatar into the fray once you are able. Keep Basilio and Flavia far out of range of anything.

Reinforcements arrive via stairs: Turn 4 right side, Turn 5 both sides, Turn 6 both sides. Block the stairs if you don't want to fight them. There are no more reinforcements after Turn 6, so just take out Validar. He is a pain in the ass because of his skill set (Dragonskin, Vengeance, Renewal, two Lunatic+ skills), but he will not move, so just take your time chipping away at his health bar and watch out for counterattacks.

Turns: 8

Heroes: Lucina & Laurent

           Level HP ST MG SK SP LK DF RS Wlvl
Louise     10.82 75 38 27 34 40 42 41 24 A Swd, A Bow
Chrom       5.44 43 21 3  24 22 20 18 8  A Swd, E Lnc
Gregor      3.28 80 44 4  37 30 22 27 9  E Axe, A Bow
Miriel      3.61 64 8  36 37 44 30 21 39 A Stf, A Tme
Lucina      5.42 80 41 17 42 43 49 37 21 A Swd, A Bow
Morgan     14.47 80 49 25 41 42 48 39 26 A Bow, E Axe
Olivia     27.31 37 12 9  27 27 23 12 7  D Swd
Laurent     8.52 80 24 38 42 37 45 39 34 A Tme

Supports   S - Louise|Chrom, Gregor|Miriel, Laurent|Lucina
           A - Louise|Frederick/Miriel, Gregor|Lissa, Chrom|Morgan
           B - Louise|Lissa/Lucina/Morgan, Chrom|Lucina, Lucina|Morgan
           C - Chrom|Lissa, Laurent|Gregor/Miriel/Louise

Lucina and Morgan both have capped all of their important offensive parameters; they don't need to level up anymore. Louise is short two points of STR and then she's done. Laurent is far off of his caps, so he'll probably continue to see the majority of whatever combat is left before Grima.

[Kuroi Tsubasa Tenshi]

The second part helps, at least. One of the useful tactics I found useful in my first few runs, was to use Lissa and Miriel to help Morgan and Avatar Rescue-bomb anything that's potentially dangerous to Laurent, so he can Nosfertank everything else. He and Lucina have a totally ridiculous 94% Dual Strike chance.

Aha, so you've adopted that strategy now. Rescue-bombing (plus gross abuse of Galeforce and Sol) is basically what I did the majority of my large team run, although with a non-Sorc Avatar as the main combat tank/fist of angry god.

Fun thing about Validar is picking up Luna+ is actually kind of helpful, because it overrides Vengeance and makes combat with him more predictable. Counter is typically a pain for me, because it usually prevents me breaking out the powerful melee weapons, but seeing as how you've got bows...

[Shengar]

While some consider Laurent to be worthless because he lacked Galeforce access, your playthrough completely show how badass he actually is. Bravo!

Will you ever make an extra guide for the remaining children's Paralogue?

[Interceptor]

I've actually finished the game on this file, so I'll posted a triple-threat update once I do the write-ups and record the stats. Last two chapters were over in about 45 seconds.

Aha, so you've adopted that strategy now. Rescue-bombing (plus gross abuse of Galeforce and Sol) is basically what I did the majority of my large team run, although with a non-Sorc Avatar as the main combat tank/fist of angry god.

Fun thing about Validar is picking up Luna+ is actually kind of helpful, because it overrides Vengeance and makes combat with him more predictable. Counter is typically a pain for me, because it usually prevents me breaking out the powerful melee weapons, but seeing as how you've got bows...

I did a little bit of Rescue-bombing in Ch20, but it really seems to pay off with a Sorcerer. Unfortunately it doesn't work in Ch24, because there are tons of 1-range guys with flight, so that'll be a standard clear.

Didn't think about the proc order, that's pretty amusing how Luna+ makes him less dangerous. Funny thing about my particular Validar fight, is that he didn't spawn with Hawkeye, so he was basically toothless. 0% listed HIT against Laurent's Tomebreaker. Lulz.

While some consider Laurent to be worthless because he lacked Galeforce access, your playthrough completely show how badass he actually is. Bravo!

Will you ever make an extra guide for the remaining children's Paralogue?

Nobody is more surprised at Laurent's prowess than me, really. I had him slotted for nothing but a utility bomber.

I don't think that I will do the other child Paralogues, no. This guide was for Lunatic+ completion, and having to marry people off would just slow advancement down and impact the reliability of clears. All of my potential parents are pretty much at base level. But a lot of the same concepts that worked in the story would probably work in the other child Paralogue chapters. Bows, Rescue-bombing, Nosferatanking, turtling, etc. I mean, I did Laurent's map sight-unseen, having never actually beaten it before.

[Interceptor]

As promised, updated with a triple-threat:

[spoiler=Chapter 24: Awakening]

There are too many fliers and 1-range enemies to repeat the Nosferatu strategy from the last chapter, so this will be a standard clear.

Preparations: Put defensive tonics on your primary combatants (DEF, RES, HP), and make sure that everyone has Elixirs. These enemies really hurt.

Deployment: Avatar, Laurent, Lucina, Morgan, Miriel.

The defensive zone for this map is the center of the bottom edge of the map: a three-tile-wide forested area protected on the top by a wall. Getting into position here will give you only two 1-range enemy facings, plus whoever can shoot over the wall. It's important to limit facings here, because some of the Wyvern Lords have 60+ mt. Taking Luna+ into account, it only takes a couple of those guys to really ruin someone's day.

The enemies have a clear mobility advantage here, so it's important to get into position quickly. Morgan with Lucina's +MV bonus can just barely make it to one of the starting bottom Paladins (kill him), and LaurentxMiriel can sneak in below him to Rescue AvatarxChrom, who can just make it far enough to kill the Valkyrie on the bottom edge to the right. After Enemy Phase, a Wyvern Lord will have moved next to Avatar, so kill him with Morgan from the left, slide Avatar all the way to the right (healing if necessary, otherwise just shoot something), and finally Miriel moves to take Avatar's place and dump Laurent to her right (purpose of this is to clog up space and prevent a Pass enemy from sneaking in).

Next Turn, rejoin Laurent and Miriel, move Morgan to close up the hole, and now your defensive position is set. Just sit here and fire away, healing as needed. Use Laurent to preemptively kill dangerous Hawkeye/Luna+ enemies from afar with Mire. All of the enemies will eventually make their way to you, boss included, so there is no need to move. Combat gets pretty easy once they run out of guys with 1-2 range weapons.

Turns: 14

Heroes: Louise & Chrom

           Level HP ST MG SK SP LK DF RS Wlvl
Louise     13.41 77 39 27 36 40 45 41 27 A Swd, A Bow
Chrom       6.25 44 21 3  24 23 20 19 8  A Swd, E Lnc
Miriel      4.19 64 8  37 38 44 30 21 39 A Stf, A Tme
Laurent    10.11 80 26 39 42 38 45 41 34 A Tme
Lucina      5.81 80 41 17 42 43 49 37 21 A Swd, A Bow
Morgan     16.21 80 49 25 41 42 48 40 26 A Bow, E Axe
Olivia     27.31 37 12 9  27 27 23 12 7  D Swd

Supports   S - Louise|Chrom, Gregor|Miriel, Laurent|Lucina
           A - Louise|Frederick/Miriel, Gregor|Lissa, Chrom|Morgan, Lucina|Morgan
           B - Louise|Lissa/Lucina/Morgan, Chrom|Lucina
           C - Chrom|Lissa, Laurent|Gregor/Miriel/Louise

Morgan and Lucina built to A-rank, just in time for Endgame. These can be considered the FINAL STATS for my team, as I am done leveling up.

[spoiler=Chapter 25: To Slay a God]

The only characters that matter going forward are Morgan and Lucina, so I am skipping this chapter. If you need extra EXP, a useful clearing technique is to send your unit left or right to the mountains, which allows you to fight only fliers for a while.

Preparations: Feed Lucina a SPD Tonic and give her your forged Brave Bow.

Deployment: Lucina, Lissa, Miriel, Olivia, Anna.

Lucina with a Brave Bow will paste Aversa like a booger under a chair. This team exists solely to get her there (Lucina is the easiest to make this work, since she has high SPD and a +MV Pair bonus). On your first and only Turn (note that this can be done in fewer steps, this is just a RNG-proof version):

• Use Miriel to Rescue the Lissa/Lucina Pair as far north as possible.
• Anna Rescues Olivia north.
• Lissa moves 11 squares south of Aversa, Rescues Olivia.
• Olivia Dances Lissa.
• Fly north, Switch to Lucina, and hit Aversa for 4x59 damage. Note that it doesn't even matter if Aversa has Aegis+, she still dies on the third hit.

Take that, bitch.

Turns: 1

Heroes: None

[spoiler=Endgame: Grima]

It's on like Michelle Kwan.

Preparations: Put offensive tonics on Lucina and Morgan (STR, SKL, LCK), and MAG on Laurent. Blow the dust off of the Parallel Falchion and equip Lucina with it. Give Morgan your Brave Bow.

Deployment: Lucina, Morgan, Miriel, Lissa, Olivia, Anna, Avatar, Laurent, Basilio.

On Turn 1, use Laurent + Olivia to kill off one of the five guys blocking Grima (pick one without Aegis+) with Mire. You'll need 39 MAG for a Berserker, and 45 MAG for a General. One less with Special Dance. Get to that MAG target with whatever means are needed (Dusts, Rally MAG, Pair-up, whatever). Move everyone else as far north as possible, un-paired, staying out of enemy range. Make sure to get Morgan and Lucina (Paired) towards the top. End Turn.

Turn 2, hit the Morgan/Lucina pair with a Rally STR. Run them through the hole that Laurent made, and attack Grima with Morgan using a Brave Bow. He will do 13x4 damage, with 16 damage Dual Strikes from Lucina. Math nerds will note that this is an overkill ORKO on Grima, and Lucina can miss a proc or whiff a hit and still get the curb stomp. If you fail to kill Grima, just Rescue Olivia up there and Dance for the kill shot.

FIN. Roll credits.

Turns: 2

Heroes: Lucina & Morgan

And that's the ballgame. There were some bumps along the way, but in the end, Lunatic+ cried uncle. Hopefully anyone trying to conquer it in the future, can follow in my footsteps and get the same sort of results.

My last content update for this thread is going to be a retrospective. I'll post it later.

Edited August 14, 2013 by Interceptor

[1% critted]

GG

[PM ME MARIANNE ART]

I can't beat chapter three. If I can just beat this, I will curb stomp the rest of the game from grinding. I tried following the guide, but Miriel doesn't have a weapon, and only Fred and MU have any training at all. No matter the skills and their partners, neither can survive an enemy alone without insane luck, but by then the other side is approaching too fast for me to beat. Please help me.

[Interceptor]

Why doesn't Miriel have a weapon? Did you break Thunder already? What do your stats look like? Avatar + Kellam should be able to do some Turn 1 Enemy Phase damage.

[Redwall]

if you take out the left side quickly (or even slowly), you can open the door, take out the Knight, and pick off the advancing RHS enemies one by one by forcing them to engage you in the hallway.

Edited August 14, 2013 by Redwall

[PM ME MARIANNE ART]

Why doesn't Miriel have a weapon? Did you break Thunder already? What do your stats look like? Avatar + Kellam should be able to do some Turn 1 Enemy Phase damage.

MU took her fire. Thunder broke from the water trick and C2. Stats are 12 STR, 9 MAG, 11 SKL, 11 SPD, 6 LCK, 16 DEF, and 8 RES. Avatar + Kellam leaves Fred screwed epicly, but I think if I fight in the hallway, I can probably do it. I'm thinking Fred+Kellam at the entrance, and MU+Miriel can stand behind them.

[Interceptor]

MU took her fire. Thunder broke from the water trick and C2. Stats are 12 STR, 9 MAG, 11 SKL, 11 SPD, 6 LCK, 16 DEF, and 8 RES. Avatar + Kellam leaves Fred screwed epicly, but I think if I fight in the hallway, I can probably do it. I'm thinking Fred+Kellam at the entrance, and MU+Miriel can stand behind them.

That's not too bad, you have solid DEF on Avatar. I agree that fighting in the hallway is probably your best bet. Shame about the tome, Miriel is useful for weakening things here. Don't forget that you can get some DEF for Frederick from the cavs if you need to.

It's fine to low-man a bit or feed a lot of kills to Frederick, since you're going to be grinding anyway.

[JSND Alter Dragon Boner]

I kinda want to try a Spotpass less version of your strats lol

[Interceptor]

I've been thinking about that, but the first problem is going to be the distinct lack of Levin Swords, which are pretty important for training the sword-users. You get one, from Renown, but then it's no mas until Ch11.

[shadowofchaos]

Congrats!

What about Future of Despair/Future Past 3? That DLC actually gets Lunatic+ skills for enemies on the respective mode.

[Interceptor]

You know, I actually own all of the DLC, but I haven't played any of them except for CoY 1 and Harvest Scramble. I've never been much of a post-game person, I just like running the main story.

[Da Bear]

Congrats!

What about Future of Despair/Future Past 3? That DLC actually gets Lunatic+ skills for enemies on the respective mode.

Grind everyone to death -> win

[1% critted]

[Junk]

I could never do this

[Nobody]

Congratulations, that was a really impressive playlog. The only time I beat lunatic+ was abusing nosferatu and the RNG, which is far less reliable (and quite lame).