Is Awakening harder than people say or am I just terrible?

[Rukathesoldier]

So I recently got Awakening and I'm playing on hard mode and classic. I'm at chapter 5 and there are Risen at several spots on the map. I can't fight the Risen without someone dying and I get the same result when trying to play chapter 5. It just seems so hard. So is Awakening harder than everyone says or am I just bad at the game? Also, does anyone have any advice on how to progress?

[Integrity]

risen skirmishes get pretty tough pretty quick on difficulties over normal so don't worry too much if you stop being able to clear those

IMO it's best to just start fe13 on normal mode - the mechanics of the game are a little different from previous ones so you just might not be in the groove. it is easier, truth be told, but that relies on abusing some mechanics you're probably not used to abusing.

i can try to give you progression tips if you're set on continuing but i'd have to know a lot more about how you play and what your team's like to give you pointers

[DragonLord]

Well, to be honest with you, Awakening's hard mode is equivalent to some of the normal modes in the other games. I see you've played Sacred Stones, and I can't recall the difficulty in that game. I agree with Integrity, try normal mode classic, to get more used to it.

Make sure you are using Frederick to lure out the Risen and weaken them, and use the weaker units to finish them off. There's also the idea of DLC grinding, but I wouldn't suggest that. I feel it takes away from the challenge. Good luck to you anyway.

[Rukathesoldier]

Well I just got the game so I don't have any DLC. I guess I'll try Normal mode but I don't really like how on the easiest difficulty of FE games always have such annoying tutorials.

[Integrity]

you can turn off every tutorial in the options menu the second you take control in prologue

incidentally that enables all the mechanics before the tutorials tell you about them

[Roivann]

Well I just got the game so I don't have any DLC. I guess I'll try Normal mode but I don't really like how on the easiest difficulty of FE games always have such annoying tutorials.

You can turn off the tutorials in the in-game options menu.

[Ryo]

I assume the deaths in C5 came from trying to save Maribelle and/or Ricken. You should first get the Rescue staff from the paralogue where you recruit Donnel. It'll make the chapter much easier. If you think the skirmishes are too hard, just leave them be for the moment.

I also agree that you should play normal first for reasons already stated above, but also because enemy reinforcements (at least in Hard+ IIRC) spawn right before the enemy phases, and will likely kill your weaker units. There's so way you can expect that if you have never played it before. (The game does give you warnings at times, but you don't know where and when they'll come.)

Edited December 28, 2014 by Ryo

[Rukathesoldier]

you can turn off every tutorial in the options menu the second you take control in prologue

incidentally that enables all the mechanics before the tutorials tell you about them

You can turn off the tutorials in the in-game options menu.

Thanks for that.

I assume the deaths in C5 came from trying to save Maribelle and/or Ricken. You should first get the Rescue staff from the paralogue where you recruit Donnel. It'll make the chapter much easier. If you think the skirmishes are too hard, just leave them be for the moment.

I also agree that you should play normal first for reasons already stated above, but also because enemy reinforcements (at least in Hard+ IIRC) spawn right before the enemy phases, and will likely kill your weaker units. There's so way you can expect that if you have never played it before. (The game does give you warnings at times, but you don't know where and when they'll come.)

No. The problem was just that every once in a while an enemy would attack one of my weaker units or one that was low on health from a previous fight and I never let a character die in FE.

[Ryo]

No. The problem was just that every once in a while an enemy would attack one of my weaker units or one that was low on health from a previous fight and I never let a character die in FE.

Can you provide your units' stats? Maybe someone can give you a good advice based on that. It's kinda hard not knowing who's your stronger unit and who's weaker.

[Rukathesoldier]

So I just finished the Prologue on Normal. It was too easy. There was no challenge and wasn't very enjoyable. On Hard I would feel accomplished when I beat a chapter. I figured Normal wouldn't be too easy and I was getting nowhere in my Hard save so I deleted it. I regret that now because Normal is too easy. I wish there was something in between those two difficulties.

[Integrity]

well no shit the prologue on normal is really easy bro :P the difficulty ramps up, peaks around midgame, and then drops off. it's the same way with pretty much every fire emblem.

No. The problem was just that every once in a while an enemy would attack one of my weaker units or one that was low on health from a previous fight and I never let a character die in FE.

seriously, if you think normal's going to be too easy and hard too hard, split the difference and do hard/casual. casual mode is amazing.

[KMT4ever]

I remember that I had a tough time with Chapter 5 Hard during my first run. The only thing I can say is to maximize the damage you inflict on the first turn, especially on the guys nearest Maribelle and Ricken. Pair up as much as possible, especially those two. I used Sumia to quickly fly Chrom up the first cliff while Sully and Stahl rode up the path directly. When the wyvern riders fly down use Virion, Falchion, and Ricken's Elwind to kill them off fast. After that it should be easy. You could also use Rescue, but that's boring.

For Awakening as a whole, it's a little hard to adjust from the normal modes of other games, especially the reinforcement spawn times. However, I found my second Hard run to be ridiculously easy in comparison to the first. Just keep plugging away and you'll catch on to how it works. The Risen are tough early on, but as you level up they become more manageable. Note that the location they spawn at affects their level, so later in the game you can just wait for them to appear on earlier places.

[eclipse]

Ah, Risen skirmishes! See if you can retreat, get a few more chapters under your belt, and return. If you're facing a mostly-physical team (the Risen's map sprite is a physical unit), Chapter 3's Defense tonics should help. Strength Tonics are great if you want to kill things faster. Don't be afraid to use whatever inventory it takes to kill stuff (like Frederick's Silver Lance).

Lastly, check this out. When things get tough early-on, I throw supports out the window, and pair up based on what class the other unit is. One of my favorite pairs just for killing things is Sumia/Kellam - the defensive bonuses he provides helps to keep her alive, while she can transport him around and plop him down where needed.

[CT075]

doing risen skirmishes makes the game even more ezmodo anyway

(also normal mode is pretty dumb until you get to like chapter 9 or 10 anyway)

[Czar_Yoshi]

So I recently got Awakening and I'm playing on hard mode and classic. I'm at chapter 5 and there are Risen at several spots on the map. I can't fight the Risen without someone dying and I get the same result when trying to play chapter 5. It just seems so hard. So is Awakening harder than everyone says or am I just bad at the game? Also, does anyone have any advice on how to progress?

It takes some getting used to. Once you figure out how to keep your units out of battles where they have a chance of death (hint: look at the enemy ranges, and play with the bottom screen set to full instead of simplified so you can see their stats) Hard is pretty easy. But until you can do that, it'll be an RNG fest.

Normal mode actually does have a difficulty curve. It's going to start off easy and get a little harder, and was designed to show you clearly when you make mistakes without punishing you much for them.

Edited December 29, 2014 by Czar_Yoshi

[Sentacotus]

Another thing about doing Normal first is that you'll get a sense of the maps, unit placement, and where the recruitable people are. I'll be honest I played my first playthrough on normal and since I was used to playing the old FE games I never used the pair up function until about Ch 13 because I was so used to the rescue function penalizing you and quite frankly I thought the pair up thing was kinda difficult to understand at first (for me the trick was learning which unit would be doing the fighting if I instructed them to pair up). So yeah that mechanic gets some getting used to but is pretty much necessary in playing higher difficulties. Another thing about Hard mode is that enemy reinforcements appear and move on the same turn unlike in Normal where they just appear. (I'm unsure about that last one someone check me on that).

[Rukathesoldier]

Well here we go again. I've beaten chapter 5 on Normal now and I've done Paralogue 2 but now I'm stuck on chapter 6. I keep getting swarmed by enemies. Does anyone have any advice on what to do or which units I should bring? I'm starting to feel really stupid having to ask for help with what many call the easiest Fire Emblem.

[Ryo]

Well here we go again. I've beaten chapter 5 on Normal now and I've done Paralogue 2 but now I'm stuck on chapter 6. I keep getting swarmed by enemies. Does anyone have any advice on what to do or which units I should bring? I'm starting to feel really stupid having to ask for help with what many call the easiest Fire Emblem.

Oh yeah, one more thing that can differ this game from some others: the maps are designed so that you will be swarmed by enemies, a lot. The smaller map sizes in general doesn't help, so expect that in virtually every map from this point.

Frederick and Kellam can be excellent tanks in C6, but beware of the dark mages, and obviously, the boss. Pair others up with them when possible for defense boosts. Depending on how well you have trained them, Miriel and a magically-strong Avatar can pretty much kill anything on this map due to the enemies' low resistance, as long as you don't leave them exposed to physical damages (especially Miriel). You may want to bring both Lissa and Maribelle for healing purposes.

Edited December 29, 2014 by Ryo

[Rukathesoldier]

Well I just beat it. Didn't change my strategy or even the units I brought.

[The Geek]

I think that Awakening's early chapters are actually pretty hard in comparison to most FEs, since it isn't entirely populated by axe users that your sword-wielding Lord can cut through in an instant. It's really once you get to Chapter 6-7 or so that the game starts to become easy.

[Ownagepuffs]

Well here we go again. I've beaten chapter 5 on Normal now and I've done Paralogue 2 but now I'm stuck on chapter 6. I keep getting swarmed by enemies. Does anyone have any advice on what to do or which units I should bring? I'm starting to feel really stupid having to ask for help with what many call the easiest Fire Emblem.

You should never be afraid to ask for help or feel stupid for doing so. No one started as a god.

[Rukathesoldier]

You should never be afraid to ask for help or feel stupid for doing so. No one started as a god.

That makes me feel much better. Thanks.

[Beauty Beast]

If you get into more trouble in the future, try and fight the bonus teams and have your characters gain supports.

I recommend fighting mist, her team is pretty weak.

[Florete]

To answer the topic question: A huge part of Awakening being easy is knowing it. Being able to abuse the game's mechanics goes a long way towards making it easier, more so than any other FE imo.

Just don't be afraid to use Pair-Up.

[raz0r]

Try finishing the game on Normal. Awakening is nothing like the previous Fire Emblems. Awakening doesn't require, but it is recommended to reclass for ideal skills that come come with each class, for example: Galeforce (if you kill an enemy the character with Galforce can strike or move again) cannot be obtained by most units if you stick with their original class, you need to use a Second Seal.

Skills can be passed down to children.

I have also held the same philosophy as you to never let a character die and play on classic. Mostly because it forces me to think twice and not think of the characters as expendable. In essence, beat Awakening on Normal so you can get a feel for the game and enjoy the story. Beat it a second time on Normal this time focusing on stats and skills. Then run a Hard Mode File. You'll understand by chapter 15 of the second run on Normal what you were doing wrong and will pay more attention to the skills of the enemy. if you need some information on skills and classes go here:

http://fireemblem.wikia.com/wiki/List_of_Skills_in_Fire_Emblem:_Awakening

http://fireemblem.wikia.com/wiki/List_of_Fire_Emblem:_Awakening_Classes

If you need tips on which character should reclass, google and dig around there for a few ideas or post here.