Maybe I'm just spoilt by other FE games now but...

[Jotari]

It's pretty much the RNG screwing over Jaffar, Nino, or Zephiel in some instances. Pretty brutal chapter overall imo.

That's what I thought. But I think Jaffar is the only one in any real danger since he fights so many more enemies. Nino is stuck in a little corner with a mage. She has an elixer she uses when low on health and will kill the mage after a couple of turns but I don't think she's in any risk of dying. As soon as she's killed that made though she walks right into the boss' Bolting which will 1 hit kill her with relatively good accuracy. You should be able to get to her in time. Likewise Zephiel only faces one fighter from what I can recall, that your pressured to get to him in time for (and I'm quite sure you can stop even that fighter from getting there if you're quick enough) and though I wasn't able to see the stats, he missed a lot and Zephiel could tank a hit and kill him. The next enemy is a Hero though who can double Zephiel and 1 round him, but likewise, you should be able to get there in time. Jaffar on the other hand is a completely different case/ He gets swarmed by dozens of enemies, some of which have very low hit but most of them have at least 50%. He has three elixers which he'll probably use but he only has a certain number of uses on his killing edge so I could easily see the player getting pure unlucky and having him die without them being able to do anything. Nino and Zephiel not as much.

Edited February 13, 2015 by Jotari

[Jedi]

You're right, my memory is a tad foggy I apologize.

[feplus]

if your only criterion for passable chapter design is that it can be "reliably completed," that's a really low bar.

you are basically telling me that i have no right to complain about genesis leaving zero options for reliable and quick clears.

1. That isn't the only criterion; I listed others. Interesting and threatening enemy composition, secondary objectives, unique map conditions, and imposing meaningful player choice are important too. Genesis satisfies on all of those counts.

2. You have every right to complain. I don't think you have a right to consider the map bad based on your criteria. You like maps that allow for reliable quick completions. Genesis is not about speed. It wants you to go slow. The developers want you to go slow. It doesn't satisfy your personal preference for LTC-friendly maps, but it's quite a jump from "This map doesn't jive with my challenge run playstyle" to "This map is one of the worst in the series."

EDIT: Regarding BBD, I believe both Nino and Jaffar are at risk of death; the enemy monk Nino faces has a displayed critical hit rate of 1, if I recall that right. They're both optional recruits though.

Edited February 13, 2015 by feplus

[Paper Jam]

I think what makes BBD so dependent on the RNG is that most of the enemies that Jaffar faces are Fighters armed with Swordreavers or Swordslayers, and if I remember correctly, each one has about a 40 or 50% chance of hitting him.

[dondon151]

jaffar's main problem in battle before dawn, aside from the swordreaver fighters (why do they have swordreavers anyway), is that if his HP isn't full but also not low enough to cause him to use an elixir, he'll run straight into a pile of enemies with 2-range and die.

[-Cynthia-]

I never found BBD too problematic myself. There is a low chance Jaffar will die before you get there, but most of the problems on this chapter can be solved just by moving quickly (paladin rush go...just like most FE7 chapters).

Genesis is kind of annoying, but it does throw enemies with decent stats against the player for once so I'll give it some credit there at least.

[Vorena]

I have never had an issue with Nino dying before. I believe she gets 3HKO'd by the enemy monk. Maybe once due to me taking too long to get to her and she decided to use an Elixir in Ursula's range. Though you have plenty of time to reach her. Most issues were always with Jaffar dying because he was left with like 17 HP on enemy phase and that was not enough to heal. So, he attacks a swordreaver/slayer and dies on enemy phase. The fastest you can ever reach Jaffar is by turn 6 I believe since the AI tends to sent him towards Zephiel. Zephiel I think was never really in any risk of dying, but I recall it being sort of tight getting one of my units in range of the incoming bottom left reinforcements. He can handle a singular fighter (until he gets off the pillar to heal).

But yeah, that chapter is too RNG relent to have a satisfactory clear on the chapter. I had a similar issue with Ch.23 as well since Pent tends to die randomly to Wyvern Riders. There is nothing I can do to safe him from 3HKOs to his face unless I throw a weaker flying unit in face of two bow users and the wyverns themselves to divert fire from Pent.

Edited February 14, 2015 by Vorena

[Irysa]

Battle before Dawn would be so much better if you got the Warp staff then instead of at CoD. :\

[Sniper Knight]

I always thought Genesis was fine. It was one of the more challenging maps, but it requires you to actually plan ahead and use extreme caution. Eight deployment slots isn't really that bad, and you can easily fit several competent fighters/staff users in those slots. The Berserker is much more tedious, but you can still wait for the enemy thieves to get the items first, and kill them afterwards. However, I also find the Berserker very, very tiresome if I'm trying to get both the Wolf Beils. If not, two combat units + a staff user can finish that chapter perfectly fine.

Battle Before Dawn really was fine, with the exception of Jaffar. His tendency to charge into a horde of Swordreavers/Swordslayers was awful, and if you were even slightly unlucky with RNG, he'd end up dead before turn 4. Getting to Nino in time isn't too hard, however, and Zephiel will stay on his pillar with +20 avoid unless he needs to heal. It's mainly Jaffar that's susceptible to unlucky RNG. That being said, I personally find this chapter incredibly annoying and unfair, because every other time I play it, RNG screws me over, but that's only my personal experience, and maybe I'm just really unlucky.

FE7 is harsh about slot deployment, but not entirely unreasonable. Just my two cents.

[Jotari]

Genesis gives you eight deployment slots but you only really get to choose between six characters since Hector and Hawkeye are forced (granted, both still useful characters, but the inability to move them, Hawkeye especially, is annoying). Throw in a thief to open chests and a staffbot to cure status effects and you're left with only a choice of four units. I think that's a tad bit unreasonable. I think think two groups of five would have made things much easier. I've only played the Berserker once but I had absolutely no trouble on it. I stormed through it and only missed like one item. You might only get two units but the enemies in this level really shouldn't be a problem since they're designed to fight a level 20 Hector so the promoted unit you have backing him up will no doubt annihilate them with ease, alongside Hector's usually fantastic stats.

[feplus]

Question I feel I should know the answer to but don't: does GBA rescue staff allow you to rescue NPCs?

[X-Naut]

Battle before Dawn would be so much better if you got the Warp staff then instead of at CoD. :\

Or the Rescue staff in Unfulfilled Heart instead of Hammerne.