Just finished Hard, should I do it again on Hard or move on to Lunatic?

[absolutemint]

This is my first time playing a Fire Emblem game and I loved it. Hard/classic mode was extremely difficult for me in the beginning as I had no experience in srpg, but it got less rough (I didn't need to reset a billion times each map) towards the end.

Now I am planning on replaying this amazing game, and plan to do it in a completely different way with a different main team and character couples this time around.

So the question is, should I replay this game on Hard mode or try my hand at Lunatic?

I heard that in Lunatic, I would have to abuse Frederick in the early levels, and that is my main turn-off. Also, keep in mind that if need be, I am willing to pay cash to use DLC maps if I need to grind a few levels when the going gets rough.

[Scarlet]

If you want to have more leeway experimenting with characters, you may want to stick with Hard for this playthrough. The gap in difficulty between Hard and Lunatic is considerable, and yeah, you probably won't get around abusing Frederick early on unless you abuse a tanky avatar instead.

[IceBrand]

Unless you know the game mechanics to the fullest, then by all means. Prepare for several trial and errors.

Edited February 2, 2014 by AllAroundGamer9

[Tables]

Not abuse Frederick, but use him. The earlygame in Lunatic is extremely tough, and while the are multiple paths to victory, most of the simplest ones involve Frederick getting a decent proportion (probably 25-40%) of the kills until around chapter 4.

I would say, go for a second run on Hard, but limit yourself in some way. Try to avoid ever grinding, or don't use Second Seals, or something, just to make the experience a little different and help you think differently about what you're doing.

[IceBrand]

Also lunatic chapter 2 is just plain cruel.

[Czar_Yoshi]

Hard -> Lunatic is a considerable jump. If you want to play around and experiment to find what works, by all means stick with Hard- even if you can take a full team through Lunatic, it's very slow/difficult to keep training them without DLC once you run out of chapters for exp.

[absolutemint]

Ok so basically I should only play Lunatic if:

- I am prepapred to rely on Fred at least in the beginning

- I am confident in my knowledge of this game (which I'm not, considering I only cleared once on Hard)

- I am prepared to grind a lot to keep my characters' level high enough

[Moira]

I'd say try hard again, but you can easily answer the question by trying the first few chapters on lunatic (if you can get past some of them). The difficulty bar starts high, so if you can handle those levels well enough, lunatic might be the better option. Grinding can be useful, but don't let it take the fun out by making it too easy. It's ultimately up to you how much of an edge you want your characters to get at certain points to adjust the difficulty. And try to use Frederick as sparingly as possible, every exp your other units get (mu and Chrom) is valuable, but you will definitely need Frederick.

[Shadow Mir]

I'd recommend Hard again, since I doubt you'd be ready for Lunatic after just one playthrough.

[absolutemint]

Alright thanks everyone! I think I'll just do Hard again to familiarize myself with different playstyles, and then I'll try Lunatic.

[XCr4zyX]

Yes. Its is a nice challenge (for me at least) to make the jump to lunatic. You dont HAVE to abuse Frederick in the first few chapters, there is a strat that feeds most of the Exp to MU. By chapter 5, MU should be around level 10-15. This is a DEF+ LUCK- MU by the way. & After your 2nd playthrough on Hard you should jump to lunatic. (then lunatic+ if you want to rage like never before) Good Luck! And happy fire embleming.