Be honest. How much do you grind on Lunatic/Lunatic+?

[Carter]

Then wouldn't you just play Normal/Hard...?

I play on all, and I'm saying that when I do play Lunatic, I make sure I'm a lot stronger than them. I'll admit though, I only played Lunatic to get Lunatic+. I'll never play it, but I did it because it looks nice when I start a new file and it asks me what difficulty (it kinda sound weird but that's how i play games; I just try to make it look nice). I've played lunatic only about twice, once for unlocking Lunatic+, and then the other time just because I was bored.

[Lapistier]

I have yet to Lunatic but im pretty sure i would grind like a rusty old cog.

This, basically. I've attempted Lunatic a couple of times but always get stuck on Chapter 2. If I ever manage to get past that part, I'm going to grind until I can play through the difficulty without raging incoherently.

[Shadow Mir]

I haven't played Lunatic yet, but if I did, I'd probably grind like a rusted cog, because if a difficulty's gonna cheat, I'll just cheat back rather than take that lying down.

[Gaia]

I grind on Lunatic. Like, I grind for hours on end. I had almost all the units I used maxed by Chapter 16.

Like this guy:

[xcel]

On my current Lunatic+, I decided to not grind "as much." Most of my units are Level 20 in their base class, Avatar being a notable exception with 2 second seals. I'm on Chapter 11 but it's a decent challenge where I still need to use good strategy and can't steamroll my way through.

Then I'm reminded why I like to grind when Avatar is sitting on a fort, a Counter Fighter spawns and returns back 30 damage, and a 31% Sage hits and kills him, when so many other 50% hits missed. I hate RNG.

[Czar_Yoshi]

I grind on Lunatic. Like, I grind for hours on end. I had almost all the units I used maxed by Chapter 16.

Like this guy:

Is it bad that I can tell, just by glancing at that, that you're using +Skl/-HP?

[Gaia]

Is it bad that I can tell, just by glancing at that, that you're using +Skl/-HP?

Yes. Because it's actually +Skl/-Def.

[Czar_Yoshi]

I thought DFs have 39 base Def...?

Oh right. Nevermind.

[LordFrigid]

On Lunatic, I normally don't do DLC maps before postgame. Three things I don't mind doing though: I don't have any qualms with taking advantage of the random Risen skirmishes (sort of a "take what the RNG hands you" approach. Unless it hands a killing blow to a unit ); I don't mind taking Renown Awards (though I only have up to Gradivus...and don't use the majority of the weapons anymore, bar Celica's Gale on turn 1 of Ch. 5); and I don't mind using the Water Trick in the Prologue. Most of the skirmishes I actually skip over...but occasionally you get one like a flier-less enemy team at Breakneck Pass that's just too good to pass up.

[spoiler=Boring Progress Details]

No-grind definitely gets easier as you play through it more, though.

My first playthrough was literally Frederick-dependence until ch. 6 or so, then Avatar-dependence for the rest (the majority of which was Sorcerer!Avatar). Heck...I dropped Mercurius on Frederick for Ch. 5 on that one.

On my current one, Frederick played an important role in Chapters 2 and 5 (and he used a Bronze Sword in both), but otherwise sat on the sidelines or acted as safe poke for kill-feeding. Sumia got Galeforce before Chapter 13 (I wanted to see how an early Galeforce!Lucina worked out...doing ok so far), partially with the help of the aforementioned flier-less skirmish at Breakneck Pass (Javelins ftw). I used Stahl because I was considering using Cynthia (again, early Galeforce deal), and getting an S-Support for Cordelia would get earlier access to her Paralogue...this had the happy side-effect of giving Cordelia a modest amount of defensive bulk, allowing her to almost singlehandedly deal with all the reinforcements on ch 14...I've never done a full rout on that chapter before this run. I decided to give Virion another try...and even though he's about as slow as a snail caught in molasses at the South Pole, I'm finding that bows (particularly Longbows...*drools*) are well worth it. I'm trying to train up Chrom, but I've never really been good at that for w/e reason. Between training all of those units, my Avatar is in the unusual postion of being fairly on par with everyone else.

So, from my point of view...progress has been made. I LOVE having to think/strategize about what I'm doing, it all comes down to your personal style & preferences though.

Never played Lunatic+ ... I'm not sure if I ever will. I'll have to think some more on that...

Edited April 3, 2014 by LordFrigid

[PuffPuff]

Grind all the characters! I grind and I don't care. What's funny is I grinded most of my units to level 20 in their base class and I'm still getting killed on Paralogue 1 lol. Granted I'm not using actual strategy but those are minor details.

Edit: this is on lunatic+. Damn those counter enemies.

If I were to ever touch that mode, I would play it on casual. Everything else I play on classic. It's so gratifying to see people I hate die permanently.

I grind all the time. The main purpose though, is to make sure the kids are super strong, and I won't have to do much leveling them up.

And in the beginning at chapter 5, right when the DLC gate thingy opens, I grind for so much. And to me, it only makes it more fun for me to play the game, it actually doesn't suck the fun out (like some of you may think). I love crushing enemies that are MUCH weaker than I am.

Indeed.

But the skirmish enemies are strong as the incredible hulk on Lunatic.

I played Lunatic once. I grinded.

No regrets. Game was still tough. Severa's paralogue was brilliant.

The difficulty surrounds you too much. I hate it.

[TheFreshestSlice]

The difficulty surrounds you too much. I hate it.

Same. I miss Hard Mode. Still, once started...

[arvilino]

I never grind on Lunatic(or use Nosferatu), in my opinion I'd feel might as well play a lower difficulty setting. Plus I enjoy coming up with strategies to beat the chapters so the extreme strength of the enemies in cases can be interesting to overcome with good positioning, getting certain skills before a chapter,etc. I really like how the game puts pressure on the player that even turn 1 is very important provided you didn't grind past the enemies strength which differs to other entries in the series(well excluding new mystery).

Edited April 3, 2014 by arvilino

[Tables]

I haven't played Lunatic yet, but if I did, I'd probably grind like a rusted cog, because if a difficulty's gonna cheat, I'll just cheat back rather than take that lying down.

How does Lunatic 'cheat'? Granted, it's earlygame is pretty nasty - but you can't grind for that outside of water trick anyway - but beyond that, it's not exactly doing anything unfair. Enemies are strong, and have good skills. Lunatic+ I can possibly see it possibly as an argument, since it can easily throw essentially impossible combinations (i.e. incredibly luck dependent) at you repeatedly, but Lunatic isn't really anything but a tough but fair difficulty (again beyond earlygame).

[TheFreshestSlice]

How does Lunatic 'cheat'? Granted, it's earlygame is pretty nasty - but you can't grind for that outside of water trick anyway - but beyond that, it's not exactly doing anything unfair. Enemies are strong, and have good skills. Lunatic+ I can possibly see it possibly as an argument, since it can easily throw essentially impossible combinations (i.e. incredibly luck dependent) at you repeatedly, but Lunatic isn't really anything but a tough but fair difficulty (again beyond earlygame).

Well I almost agreed with you, until I remembered the fact that every random encounter is boasting units with 280+ combat rating from Chapter 4 onward.

[Tables]

Well I almost agreed with you, until I remembered the fact that every random encounter is boasting units with 280+ combat rating from Chapter 4 onward.

Well firstly, remember that skirmishes are grinding. Choosing to grind because encounters you would only see while grinding are too strong is circular and, uh, weird. Secondly, they aren't that strong that quickly - unless you're grinding in the first place, which again, is a circular argument. I'm not sure if it's known what enemy strengths are based on, but it's either your units stats (most likely your unit with highest rating), or how many battles you've beaten up to that point, both of which will only get especially high if you grind.

Lunatic does limit your grinding options, - it makes it close to impossible sans DLC, actually (since it's be kinda unfair to make extra content you've paid for impossible or unrewarding to play). In terms of making a tough but fair difficultly, I feel that's the right move to take.

[TheFreshestSlice]

Well firstly, remember that skirmishes are grinding. Choosing to grind because encounters you would only see while grinding are too strong is circular and, uh, weird. Secondly, they aren't that strong that quickly - unless you're grinding in the first place, which again, is a circular argument. I'm not sure if it's known what enemy strengths are based on, but it's either your units stats (most likely your unit with highest rating), or how many battles you've beaten up to that point, both of which will only get especially high if you grind.

Lunatic does limit your grinding options, - it makes it close to impossible sans DLC, actually (since it's be kinda unfair to make extra content you've paid for impossible or unrewarding to play). In terms of making a tough but fair difficultly, I feel that's the right move to take.

No, they start out that strong, right out of Chapter 3 with no grinding even being possible before that. Also, while encounters are technically grinding, that isn't circular to the topic, which wasn't about the fairness of grinding, but about the rating itself. It would be circular if I said it wasn't a fair rating because it was difficult. Not if I said it was unfair because I said it super charges enemies well above what anyone could feasibly do before Chapter 25 right after Chapter 3.

[xcel]

No, they start out that strong, right out of Chapter 3 with no grinding even being possible before that.

Actually I think it's after Chapter 4. Current L+, I saved after beating Chapter 3 and returned to play it a day later. Loading the save file spawned 2 Risen battles but they were about level 10 base class (Dark Mage and Wyvern rider boss iirc, I was surprised to say the least). I'd say those hax Risen battles spawn after you gain access to the Outrealm Gate, probably because you have access to (easier) grinding.

Edited April 4, 2014 by xcel

[Skynstein]

You can only grind on skirmishes below Lunatic but even in Hard I find them impractical since the mages come with overpowered tomes early on and can two-shot your units. Also only useful to grind your stronger units since they come at the level of your strongest units.

Lunatic skirmishes not only come with high power but also give 1 exp each Risen so you can't use them for grinding. Considering the purpose of the game, I find it to be adequate.

[Airship Canon]

You can only grind on skirmishes below Lunatic but even in Hard I find them impractical since the mages come with overpowered tomes early on and can two-shot your units. Also only useful to grind your stronger units since they come at the level of your strongest units.

Lunatic skirmishes not only come with high power but also give 1 exp each Risen so you can't use them for grinding. Considering the purpose of the game, I find it to be adequate.

Lunatic(+) Skirmish comes at lethal levels of power [much, much, much higher than Hard-- L+ Double Skirmish is about the closest thing to Apoth without being Apoth] but give full EXP.

The bonus box is what only gives 1 EXP.

[PuffPuff]

Lunatic does limit your grinding options, - it makes it close to impossible sans DLC, actually (since it's be kinda unfair to make extra content you've paid for impossible or unrewarding to play). In terms of making a tough but fair difficultly, I feel that's the right move to take.

Indeed. The DLC episodes do treat you better and that difficulty doesn't change in "Infinite Regalia" and "Apotheosis".

Apohs' don't change as it would be unmanageable without a better Limitbreaker like Limitbreaker+ (Exceed Caps by 20), and Infinite Regalia is babyish compared to the normal chapters (Lunatic/Lunatic+).

Actually I think it's after Chapter 4. Current L+, I saved after beating Chapter 3 and returned to play it a day later. Loading the save file spawned 2 Risen battles but they were about level 10 base class (Dark Mage and Wyvern rider boss iirc, I was surprised to say the least). I'd say those hax Risen battles spawn after you gain access to the Outrealm Gate, probably because you have access to (easier) grinding.

The Skirmishes are manageable after Chrom gets to his 40ish stats. But even in that state, he died 20 times even after giving him Tonics and that I've been healing him with the Gravius and using it. You nearly have to break you renowed weapons to get through them. (Was in the way of the Second Seal shop) Although it is possible to get through one or two of them right after you gain access to the gate. Manageable only at ch5 and end of game. Unless you grinded in DLC that is. DLC only treats you better on Lunatic only because you paid for the content. But for everything else...your only asking for punishment.

Edited April 5, 2014 by Dark_Huntress

[TheFreshestSlice]

Actually I think it's after Chapter 4.

If you say so, I've ignored them from the start, as I already heard how they can be.

[xcel]

If you say so, I've ignored them from the start, as I already heard how they can be.

Yeah I don't bother with them either, at least not until my units can pummel them back to where they came from.

[Czar_Yoshi]

Lunatic Risen are strong, but not invincible- I did a no-DLC Lunatic Classic playthrough and stomped over 100 squads of Risen, using only them and main chapters for exp. It was kind of ridiculous early on because once they promoted I needed Lethality procs to kill them in anything resembling a timely manner and healing items are a no-go due to cost, but once I got my skills together they got swatted like flies. I at least had enough leeway at the start to go without support boosts and train another unit behind my Avatar, so if I didn't do that and took a dedicated support L+ Risen might be doable (with a lot more patience). I'll have to try it sometime.

[PuffPuff]

Lunatic Risen are strong, but not invincible- I did a no-DLC Lunatic Classic playthrough and stomped over 100 squads of Risen, using only them and main chapters for exp. It was kind of ridiculous early on because once they promoted I needed Lethality procs to kill them in anything resembling a timely manner and healing items are a no-go due to cost, but once I got my skills together they got swatted like flies. I at least had enough leeway at the start to go without support boosts and train another unit behind my Avatar, so if I didn't do that and took a dedicated support L+ Risen might be doable (with a lot more patience). I'll have to try it sometime.

*flips hair*

Of course.

Lethality. I've forgot that they don't have Dragonskin. But...pair that with Luna and it should be good as Lethality alone isn't good due to it's very low activation rate!

Edited April 5, 2014 by Dark_Huntress

[Airship Canon]

Indeed. The DLC episodes do treat you better and that difficulty doesn't change in "Infinite Regalia" and "Apotheosis".

Apohs' don't change as it would be unmanageable without a better Limitbreaker like Limitbreaker+ (Exceed Caps by 20), and Infinite Regalia is babyish compared to the normal chapters (Lunatic/Lunatic+).

The Skirmishes are manageable after Chrom gets to his 40ish stats. But even in that state, he died 20 times even after giving him Tonics and that I've been healing him with the Gravius and using it. You nearly have to break you renowed weapons to get through them. (Was in the way of the Second Seal shop) Although it is possible to get through one or two of them right after you gain access to the gate. Manageable only at ch5 and end of game. Unless you grinded in DLC that is. DLC only treats you better on Lunatic only because you paid for the content. But for everything else...your only asking for punishment.

Scaling Apoth wouldn't be anywhere near unmanageable.

The difference between Lunatic and Normal is around 10 points at max.

Apoth is about 20 points UNDERTUNED.