FE4 terrible pairings AAAA run

[quasimopho13]

If you've really played so much FE4 that you're now resorting to bad pairings for new fun, maybe you should check out the many hacks out for the game? Genealogy of Neir is a good starting one.

Shin's is also awesome! A ton of new and really good (not just viable) pairings. Tank Fee with Sol from Arden was crazy. Plus give her a fire sword with a magic ring and she goes nuts on the field!

[Chiki]

Apparently, if you catch Silvail under 20 turns, Bridget and Fin don't even have to stand next to each other.

[MartyTheDemonSlayer]

Yeah, the love growth is +10, but I don't want to waste too many turns in chapter three so I probably want to utilize the adjacent bonuses as well as the quick growth. I think that the amount of turns taken to pair Briggid and Fin will actually be beneficial for my exp rank though, since I can fight off a bunch of extra waves of pirates in the time it'll take to pair them. Since pirates are weak, it'll be a nice opportunity to level up weak units like Dew and Arden, as well as to spread some money to whoever needs it. This means I'll probably try to go really fast and not focus as much on experience in the first three chapters to make up for the lost turns. I'm still in the process of planning the run though, so my strategies might change.

[sirmola]

Aideen x Dew: Should be alright. Rana can staff bot her way to thirty, and with bargain Lester will be able to afford the pursuit/elite ring no problem to gain levels. Him lacking inheritance is unfortunate though, he'll be using that iron bow for a while.

Aira x Claude: Hopefully with astra and Aira's growths the kids won't be terrible? At least they'll have decent resistance, so maybe that'll give them some utility in chapter 10 and endgame?

The steel bow that brigid comes with is avalible in the chapter 7 shop if not passed down, bot the other one is not available until chapter 8, so you want paval to NOT inherent brigid's steel bow.

As for aria's kids, they actually get the highest possible luck with this pairing, so they will make even better dodgetanks than usual, and they can be decent with magic swords (ulster gets 3 mag on promotion). You may wish to reload chapter 6 until they all get good initial luck rolls.

Edited July 20, 2014 by sirmola

[MartyTheDemonSlayer]

@quasimopho I think sword skills are only inherited by foot sword users, so in the current set up dew and holyn aren't passing those down. A substitute run would be an interesting challenge. It would be harder in terms of exp, but easier in terms of turn count, since I wouldn't have to waste any time in gen one with pairings and Celice/Leif/Aless are all you need to complete gen 2 maps quickly anyways. Maybe after this play through I'll try a subs AAAA run.

[gringe]

However, the substitute characters have barely any skills, let alone useful ones and generally low growths. Also the subs will suck, but won't be unusable due to conversation stat buffs.

I've done this before. It's worth a try for people who've played FE4 a million billion times, but ultimately it doesn't feel as fulfilling since you have so little control over inheritance.

[MartyTheDemonSlayer]

Anyways, I've finished the prologue. Here are the videos, and in my commentary I explain my choices/strategy.

Part 1:

Part 2:

[Mekkah]

Interesting concept. For commentary, I would recommend turning down the game volume a few notches compared to your voice. Right now, they are both rather loud.

[MartyTheDemonSlayer]

Thanks for the feedback on the videos, I will take that into account. The next chapter should be up within the next few days, all that remains to do is fix a few errors in the notes I took and then I can record.

[Psych]

Honestly you might want to skip to the second generation? The first generation's pairings don't change your strategies very much so idk it's just watching the same stuff all over.

[MartyTheDemonSlayer]

Now that I think about it, that's probably a good idea. I guess I'll just make posts showing the few things I do differently in the first generation, and resume with making videos in the second generation. That'll also help me get there faster, since I don't have to record every move I make so that I can replicate everything for the recording.

Edited July 29, 2014 by MartyTheDemonSlayer

[MartyTheDemonSlayer]

Just a brief progress update. Am starting chapter two. Not much out of the ordinary happened in the first chapter.

[spoiler=Chapter 1]Turns: 25
Arena: Everyone cleared, except of Alec, Arden, Lex, Dew, and Ethlin, who made it to the final fight, and Aideen who obviously couldn't do anything
Unusual strategies: None
Improvements: Lex could have cleared the arena with the hero axe, but I decided to save a turn instead of letting him do this, since he has elite anyways
If I allocated Alec more EXP he might have had a chance to clear the arena. The turn count could be reduced a fair bit, but then Deidre wouldn't have a chance to clear the arena.
Levels:
Everyone is on track, except for Alec, who is quite a bit behind, and Arden, who is slightly ahead
Unusual tactics:

None

[General Horace]

It'd be cool if you posted unit levels at the very least at the end of chapters so we have SOME idea where the exp is going per chapter.

[MartyTheDemonSlayer]

I'm already into chapter two and don't have saves from chapter one, but I'll be sure to do that in the future.

Edit:

And chapter two is done in 32 turns. Not very fast, but I took a bit of time to be able to clear arenas/staff spam.

Here are the levels of my units:

[spoiler=Levels]Sigurd: 19.57
Noish: 14.55
Alec: 12.92
Ardan: 10.09
Azel: 10.86
Lex: 15.64
Cuan: 16.57
Fin: 15.22
Ethlin: 20.04
Midir: 16.72
Aideen: 11.55
Dew: 9.01
Aira: 13.58
Jamka: 15.6
Deirdre: 30.0
Holyn: 15.67
Lachesis: 15.89
Levin: 10.32
Sylvia: 5.56
Beowulf: 12.70
Fury: 9.12

Not amazing levels, but not terrible either. Some units like Lachesis, Jamka, and Deidre are really far ahead, but others like the cavaliers, dew, arden, and azel are lagging a bit behind. I'm really not all that concerned because next chapter I will have to waste a bunch of turns pairing Briggid and Fin, so I should be able to sink a bunch of exp into those three. Deirdre warp spammed the whole chapter to reach thirty, Lachesis relive spammed lex (which is why he didn't gain much exp, he was at the castle, but he has elite so he'll catch up fine), then with a give from dew managed to clear the arena with the elite ring. The villages were given to Midir, Beowulf, Alec, and Noish so they can afford the elite ring next chapter. The bargain ring went to Holyn, which would normally be unneeded, but Holyn will be married of to Lachesis and as such I'm really concerned about Delmud. He will have no inherited skills, though due to holy blood his stats should be solid. If Delmud has the bargain ring he'll be able to sell and buy items for the same the price, which means he will be able to buy both the pursuit and bargain rings and sell them off without losing any money, which should leave him with no trouble clearing arenas. Aideen is the typical candidate, but since she's paring up with dew, Rana will have bargain anyways.

My plan for the rest of the generation is to strengthen weaker units on the pirates in chapter three, then blitz the rest of the generation with my well trained army to hopefully end up with a respectable turn count.

Edited July 31, 2014 by MartyTheDemonSlayer

[MartyTheDemonSlayer]

Finished chapter three in 50 turns. Fin and Briggid paired up at some point earlier, but I decided to grind a bit more on pirate reinforcements to build love points and get experience. It is a lot of turns, but the experience requirement for the AAAA rank is much tougher than the turn requirement, so I don't mind the sacrifice. Also, all my units are promoted/will promote at the start of the next chapter (except Dew), so I'll be able to complete the remaining Gen 1 maps quickly. Fin promoted in time for gen 2, Ethlin maxed her level, Cuan only got to level 24. Altenna will inherit a silver lance, steel lance, and javelin, Leif will inherit just a silver blade. Most other resources will have to go to weak children.

[spoiler=Levels]Sigurd 24.94

Noish 20.48
Alec 20.23
Ardan 20.23
Azel 17.80
Lex 21.84
Cuan 24.11
Fin 20.2
Ethlin 30.0
Midir 22.32
Aideen 21.65
Dew 13.85
Aira 20.04
Jamka 20.31
Holyn 20.39
Lachesis 23.18
Levin 17.35
Sylvia 11.98
Beowulf 19.95
Fury 17.33
Briggid 19.74
Tilityu 14.95

Claude 28.50

Edited August 2, 2014 by MartyTheDemonSlayer

[General Horace]

Its generally a better idea to not give Fin as much exp as you did here in Gen 1, since he can catch up in Gen 2 pretty easily. Other starved units like Azel and Dew and usually the Chalphy Cavs need the exp quite a bit. I think he can still hit level 11 or so with minimal exp and arenas.

[MartyTheDemonSlayer]

This is the first time I'm trying to get an A rank, so I'm probably making a few mistakes. I didn't give Fin a huge amount of kills, and he didn't fight at all in chapter three. The reason he got so high is that he used the elite ring in both the chapter two and three arena, which boosted his level by a lot. It probably would've been a good idea to feed a few of the kills elsewhere, but Dew to the pirate farming while Fin and Briggid paired up everyone is rich enough to afford anything they'll need and have no problem hitting thirty, with the exception of Dew and maybe Sylvia. Azel, Noish, and Alec all manage to promote and hit level 24 or so after the chapter four arena. Strangely enough, having to waste turns pairing Fin and Briggid was a blessing in disguise, because I play fast enough to get within the turn limit anyways and it compensates for my poor exp distribution.

[General Horace]

I good way to get dew levels in future runs is to give him the lights sword and elite ring in chapter 3, he can actually solo the cross knights pretty easily

[MartyTheDemonSlayer]

I was busy for a few days, but now I've completed chapter four.

[spoiler=Chapter 4]

31 turns. Even with the constraints I put on myself I think I could be completing the chapters much faster and with more exp, but the turn requirement is super lax and I'm having no problems with exp, so I can't be bothered to redo anything since I should hit my goal of the a rank regardless of potential optimizations. Sylvia might not be able to hit thirty, but I can miss a few levels. I got dew levels by feeding him a bunch of kills as he ran to the bridge and Sylvia saved every villager. She could be a few levels higher if I planned arena prayer abuse better, but unfortunately I made the mistake of not sending her back until really late, so I would've had to waste turns to take advantage of the castle healing. In terms of cash, everyone should be able to afford whatever they need in the next chapter. Aira x Claude, Noish x Sylvia, Dew x Aideen, and Lachesis x Holyn have all been completed, and the other pairings are close to being ready. Soon I'll be able to start on the main part of the run.

[spoiler=Levels]

Sigurd: 29.39

Noish: 26.37

Alec: 25.81

Ardan: 24.75

Azel: 25.0

Lex: 27.2

Midir: 27.26

Aideen: 26.33

Dew: 24.35

Aira: 25.26

Jamka: 25.54

Holyn: 25.07

Lachesis: 30.00

Levin: 25.75

Sylvia: 22.04

Fury: 27.19

Brigid: 25.20

Tilityu: 30.00

Claude: 30.00

[General Horace]

wow i'm really surprised Tiltyu level capped in chapter 4! I honestly struggle to make her hit 30 after chapter 5. What's your secret?

[MartyTheDemonSlayer]

I had so much time in chapter three that she got a bunch of kills and managed to clear both the chapter three and chapter four arena with the elite ring. Besides that I had her warp spam her way thirty. It's somewhat expensive, but once she hits thirty she doesn't need money for elite anymore, and I'm not passing too much down to Tinny anyways. Obviously getting her promoted by the beginning of chapter four wouldn't be viable in a play through where you aren't forced to waste time in chapter three. I guess in chapter five you could try using a bit of warp spam to have her reach thirty, since that's a really quick exp method. In this playthrough I'm not letting staff users get any kills, since staffs give them all the exp they need, saving everything for physical units. In the first generation it isn't necessary, but in second gen it might be needed for some units (lol Holyn!Nanna.)

[General Horace]

Yeah, I find I never have enough money to get her elite and warp, but the Bank of Dew could definately help in that regard.

On the other hand, how is Aideen not level 30? (not that she'll have much of a problem)

[MartyTheDemonSlayer]

Pretty much the only purpose for Dew is spreading money out. I guess if worst comes to worst you can always dedicate a few villages to her. Aideen just hasn't had much time with the warp staff I guess.In chapter two Deidre was spamming it, chapter three she ran out of money and I was more concerned with spreading money out to buy the elite ring, and chapter four Tilityu had it. I kinda just put off training her because I knew it would be so easy in the end. She'll get warp back in chapter five and spam to thirty. Dew giving Lana bargain will be really convenient, even if the pairing won't be great for Lester.

Edited August 9, 2014 by MartyTheDemonSlayer

[MartyTheDemonSlayer]

Finally got motivated to play again, and finished the first generation. Everyone hit 30 except for Sylvia, who was at 27, and Arden Dew and Briggid, who were at 29. Although by doing multiple trials of maps I could have done better in terms of both exp and turns, I'm more than on track to hit both benchmarks, so I saw no real need to redo anything. Chapter five was completed in 27 turns.

[spoiler=Inheritance notes]

Jamka x Tilityu:

Jamka passed down a skill ring. Arthur doesn't strictly need it, but it will help him due to Jamka's lowish skill and nobody else could afford it. Tilityu is passing down the shield and speed ring, due to being able to afford them. The shield ring might help Tinny clear some arena battles by not getting outright one shotted, and nobody else really needed the speed ring.

Arden x Fury

Arden passes down nothing. Fury passes down a bunch of weapons and no rings.

Sylvia x Noish

Sylvia passes down the knight ring, Noish doesn't pass anything down.

Aideen x Dew

Aideen passes down restore, libro, warp, relive, and live, dew passes down nothing.

Holyn x Lachesis

Holyn passes down bargain, pursuit, barrier, iron blade, steel blade, and a silver sword. Delmudd will really need the help. Lachesis passes down prayer sword, silver sword, iron sword, live, and return. Most of that is probably unnecessary.

Aira x Claude

Aira passes down a bunch of swords, Skasha gets nothing.

Briggid x Fin

Patty will get nothing, Briggid passes down the killer bow, an iron and steel bow, and the Ichival

Sigurd

Sigurd passes down a hero sword, elite ring, leg ring, light sword, magic ring, and life ring.

From now on I'll be making videos, since my run will now be somewhat unusual.