Hardest game modes in the series

[Quirino]

I'm currently playing HHM and I'm having a pretty hard time with it. I have not completed the hard mode of a game before (played RD HM, but after the Dawn Brigade levels I lost interest). I was wondering how HHM compares to other game modes.

From what I've heard, FE5, FE11 H5, FE12 H3 and FE12H4, FE13 Lunatic and FE13 Lunatic+ are the most challenging modes in the series, right? How would you rank all these modes and compare them with the modes of other games? I'd like to play the games in order of increasing difficulty and not jump in the deep with one game.

[Ϲharlie]

I actually wouldn't consider FE5 all that difficult. At least not nearly enough to live up to some of the hype it gets. I would say that FE6 hard mode was the most difficult game in the series when it was first released and still remains one of the harder games in the series. I've also heard that the Japan-only maniac mode of FE9 is pretty tough, but I haven't experienced it firsthand.

[Zaprong]

I heard FE9 Maniac mode is easy because Ike can solo it but don't quote me on that, also I agree with FE6 Hard mode.

Another really hard mode is FE13's Lunatic+, (Even when that's luck mode lol) because the early chapters are a pain.

FE11 and FE12's Lunatic' modes seems to be hell themselves, I think those are the hardest

[Logience]

Fe5.

Stupid Amalda/Conomore chapter made me stop playing altogether.

[Ϲharlie]

I heard FE9 Maniac mode is easy because Ike can solo it but don't quote me on that, also I agree with FE6 Hard mode.

I've never played maniac mode, but I'm highly skeptical of Ike being able to solo his way through. Ike would struggle to solo his way through hard mode, so I can't imagine him getting through maniac mode all by his lonesome.

[RJWalker]

FE5 is filled with bullshit traps for newbies and mechanics that are extremely unfriendly to newcomers but it's not all that hard once you figure it out. Still, it's no walk in the park.

[-Cynthia-]

HHM is generally considered easier than RD Hard Mode- maybe not having knowledge of certain things (like having restore staves and pure waters for a certain chapter) makes it more difficult for the unprepared player.

FE11 H5 seems very difficult for the first few chapters, but if you know how to forge the right things and warp staff the rest of the chapters are easy for the most part. I would say FE6 Hard Mode is more consistently difficult. FE6 is less difficult than FE12 H3 or H4. FE12 H4 probably takes the difficulty prize.

[NinjaMonkey]

FE11 H5 seems very difficult for the first few chapters, but if you know how to forge the right things and warp staff the rest of the chapters are easy for the most part.

Of course, it's easy if you skip the entire map. I bet if you played it properly (no warp), it would be a lot harder.

[PKL]

What is playing it "properly"? IS put a warp staff there, why not use it?

I think the difficulties are like this personally:

FE13 L+>>>>>FE12 L'>FE12 L>>FE13 L>FE11 H5>FE6 HM>FE10 HM>>FE9 MM>FE7 HHM

[sirmola]

FE5 has a lot more of it's difficulty drained away by using a guide or doing easy mode first than later hard modes do, because so much of the dificulty is caused by things like infinate range status staves that can be planned around easaly.

Edited May 25, 2014 by sirmola

[CT075]

I've never played maniac mode, but I'm highly skeptical of Ike being able to solo his way through. Ike would struggle to solo his way through hard mode, so I can't imagine him getting through maniac mode all by his lonesome.

i've solod hard mode with ike before, pretty much the only difficult part was chapter 17 because of the handicap

[ZemZem]

Fe5.

Stupid Amalda/Conomore chapter made me stop playing altogether.

That chapter was so much fucking fun.

Warp Sleuf/Miranda to Amalda/Conomore to recruit them, have one of them rescue them, then RUN. Go for the villages, if you can.

[Missile]

FE 13 Lunatic + but it's just a ridiculous mode and you can still break the game a bit with enough RNG abuse and the Avatar.

On the other hand, FE 12 Reverse Lunatic is nearly impossible to break and is "clever" enough.

[Jedi]

I personally think the hardest yet not BS mode is fe12s Lunatic. Its hard as hell but you have the tools and if you know the know how you can manage it

[DragonLord]

I can't say I think that FE5 is the hardest since I've never tried it, but from what I've played, it would have to be FE6 HM. I remember attempting it once, and I couldn't beat the first level without losing anyone. Then again, that was over 2 years ago, and I was a beginner to the series. I might have to try that again sometime...

[Junkhead]

I heard FE9 Maniac mode is easy because Ike can solo it but don't quote me on that, also I agree with FE6 Hard mode.

That's stupid, no he can't. Earlygame is really tough for most of your guys. You basically need Titania to carry your team through a while, otherwise the guys are 4RKO'ing. But it isn't crazy hard, either. I think it's just right, like FE6 HM or maybe FE10.

[Jotari]

That's stupid, no he can't. Earlygame is really tough for most of your guys. You basically need Titania to carry your team through a while, otherwise the guys are 4RKO'ing. But it isn't crazy hard, either. I think it's just right, like FE6 HM or maybe FE10.

Someone just recently did a Mist Solo on hard mode (at least I think it was hard mode) without much trouble at all. I reckon Ike can more than easily pull of the lunatic mode unless it has insane step up in difficulty.

[General Horace]

To be fair, Mist misses one of the harder parts of the game in the earlygame, and from what i've heard, that's the hardest bit of Maniac mode.

[Guy Starwind]

Out of the hard modes I've played I think FE11's hardest mode was the hardest. FE13 lunatic mode was kinda hard for a bit until you can play dlc chapters. Which if you have them why not play them?

As for FE5 it's not as hard as people make it out to be. I only got the chapter Xavier is in and then got bored and haven't played since. So, unless it's harder from there I'm not seeing it. Btw I played blind too.

[solrocknroll]

Fe5.

Stupid Amalda/Conomore chapter made me stop playing altogether.

Can't you just bring 15 trash units like Hicks or Dashin/units you aren't using and skip the chapter altogether by escaping with Leaf?

[Junkhead]

Someone just recently did a Mist Solo on hard mode (at least I think it was hard mode) without much trouble at all. I reckon Ike can more than easily pull of the lunatic mode unless it has insane step up in difficulty.

Manianc Mode is significantly harder than "Hard Mode". Hard Mode is a joke. One of the easiest HMs in the series, I think...around the same as FE8's HM, which actually feels more like a NM.

In MM, BEXP is much more scarce, enemies in earlygame go down in about 4HKO's and Axe-wielding enemies have almost 60% Hit on Ike, while the others are pretty obvious to cause more trouble. Titania dominates MM's earlygame, and everyone needs to be spoonfed off of her for a few chapters until they can be of any actual use.

"ike can solo the game" is such a blanket statement tend to be brought on by newer players, in my opinion, to be honest...if Ike can do it, then so can a few others before him- And better. Take a look a Titania, Jill, Marcia, Boyd (has actual 2-range) and maybe Oscar (his offense isn't the great, but he has potential).

Edited May 30, 2014 by Big Boss

[XeKr]

A lot of things are certainly possible in FE, but Ike will certainly have a very hard time in several places during a Maniac solo.

- Earlygame everyone but Titania is a complete scrub.

- C17, Ike is weighed down, and 17-3/17-4 are quite insane (Tibarn will eventually solo the latter, but Ike has to live somehow).

- Most chapters afterwards have Sleep Staves and Siege tomes which Ike doesn’t have too much Res for.

- It's certainly possible for weapon uses to be an issue given enemy density and no Canto, though there are 255 crit stuff and Aether.

Wrt the op, it’s hard to judge the difficulty of FE games since often the difficulty comes from information you initially lack (or glossed over), specific game mechanics, or figuring out RNG elements. There’s a certain “difficulty” to brute forcing through the games or puzzling out a reliable solution (this from scratch, or with a little help). Players sometimes also impose soft restrictions such as no deaths, no Warp, or no lowmanning, which can also change things.

If we were focusing on a specific playstyle and level of game knowledge, we might be able to provide more useful information wrt difficulty.

[Chiki]

I think the main problem with a maniac mode solo is the earlygame, where it takes 3-4 rounds to kill just one enemy.

[Logience]

Screw it, Maniac mode FE10 is harder.