Am I a bad FE Player or?

[HF Makalov Fanboy Kai]

you aren't bad, your just not experienced, nothing is impossible, so just learn from your mistakes, ask the fourms for help, look at stats more and JUST DO IT, MAKE YOUR DREAMS COME TRUE, YES YOU CAN!~

i'm sure we all look forward to you improving yourself.

[TheSilentChloey]

:/ I know that the game mechanics (i.e Pair Up) were not present in hard mode when I tried (and nearlly killed my Robin).

[eclipse]

:/ I know that the game mechanics (i.e Pair Up) were not present in hard mode when I tried (and nearlly killed my Robin).

Did you have the tutorials on? If you turn them off, Pair-Up is available immediately.

[HF Makalov Fanboy Kai]

Did you have the tutorials on? If you turn them off, Pair-Up is available immediately.

i had no idea cause i never had the tutorials on, huh, you learn something new everyday.

[Loki Laufeyson]

Yeah i turn tutorials off every time i play. Pair Up even on that stupid Premonition level. (i play Hard/Casual all the time)

[Shadow Mir]

Did you have the tutorials on? If you turn them off, Pair-Up is available immediately.

Aren't the tutorials not shown automatically on hard mode?

[TheAstraWolf]

Prologue- Easy so no issues there

Chapter 1- It isn't hard but be careful with reckless moves, due to the fact that most of the times you need to heal your characters and you will be using Lissa. Which means she will be wide open if you do this without extra reinforcements near her.

Chapter 2- Use but don't abuse Frederick here due to most enemies being able to hit hard even on strong units. Also if you have bad luck like me, don't do any foolish risk, like attacking with low hit rates or underestimating the boss that sometimes will have "7%" cit rate and will kill you with a crit still.

Edited December 31, 2015 by SSL01

[TheSilentChloey]

Did you have the tutorials on? If you turn them off, Pair-Up is available immediately.

I believe that I had them turned on. I must have really, really bad luck. Now that I think about it my strategy might not have been the best (+spd -luk avatar) I sould have tried it playing normal first before dipping into hard mode.

[Czar_Yoshi]

+Spd is a really good asset though. Being able to double stuff for securing KOes is really helpful for stopping yourself from being mobbed.

Testing strats for higher difficulties on lower ones doesn't work, though. You're almost guaranteed to get blindsided by something that's not present lower down that you didn't prepare for- always test your strats on the difficulties you want to use them on, and if things get too rocky, reset and tweak your strat a little.

[TheSilentChloey]

There was a guy not too long ago who used a +HP/-Lck Chrom!Morgan. Despite having exactly the same mod total as any other Chrom!Morgan (or a Cord!Morgan, for that matter), he managed to have not a single one of Morgans mods greater than +2. Lack of a weakness isn't a strength when also coupled with lack of a strength.

So then how in the world does a +def -lck Robin make a +4 def Morgan? Wouldn't that count for something as being a strength?

+Spd is a really good asset though. Being able to double stuff for securing KOes is really helpful for stopping yourself from being mobbed.

Testing strats for higher difficulties on lower ones doesn't work, though. You're almost guaranteed to get blindsided by something that's not present lower down that you didn't prepare for- always test your strats on the difficulties you want to use them on, and if things get too rocky, reset and tweak your strat a little.

I think it was more of a strategical error on my part. That and I figured that +spd would actually help in those first chapters. I guess I should stick to +def instead, at least then the bad guys will do less damage.

[Thor Odinson]

In the end offensive mods usually win against defensive mods, as long as it's not incredibly terrible defense (Apo even lets you get away with that if you max out to cap) Having a very high +str/mag/spd and adequate def is usually better than high def but mediocre offense.

+4 is good, but it's not super great on a defensive stat esp if that's your best stat. On FeMU I run Berserker!Basilio!Morgan with +str/-res and that gives +8str alongside +4def, for example. If you want Chrom as a husband, +6 is the highest mod you'll get on your Morgan, and I'd recommend either str or spd for that.

So then how in the world does a +def -lck Robin make a +4 def Morgan? Wouldn't that count for something as being a strength?

I think it was more of a strategical error on my part. That and I figured that +spd would actually help in those first chapters. I guess I should stick to +def instead, at least then the bad guys will do less damage.

+spd is still the second best earlygame asset with a better endgame. What +spd does is lets you double early, so your offensive capabilities raises significantly. I ran +spd once and got fast enough to double in chapter 1 after a pairup, which made chapter 1 feel significantly easier than when I ran it first time with +str (my personal favorite build)

Edited December 22, 2015 by Thor Odinson

[TheSilentChloey]

In the end offensive mods usually win against defensive mods, as long as it's not incredibly terrible defense (Apo even lets you get away with that if you max out to cap) Having a very high +str/mag/spd and adequate def is usually better than high def but mediocre offense.

+4 is good, but it's not super great on a defensive stat esp if that's your best stat. On FeMU I run Berserker!Basilio!Morgan with +str/-res and that gives +8str alongside +4def, for example. If you want Chrom as a husband, +6 is the highest mod you'll get on your Morgan, and I'd recommend either str or spd for that.

+spd is still the second best earlygame asset with a better endgame. What +spd does is lets you double early, so your offensive capabilities raises significantly. I ran +spd once and got fast enough to double in chapter 1 after a pairup, which made chapter 1 feel significantly easier than when I ran it first time with +str (my personal favorite build)

Like I said it was a strategical error to go into hard mode with +Spd. I should have tried Normal first to see if it was workable or not.

Edited December 22, 2015 by TheSilentChloey

[Thor Odinson]

Like I said it was a strategical error to go into hard mode with +Spd. I should have tried Normal first to see if it was workable or not.

It isn't, though. +def is pretty overkill on hard. +spd IS a good earlygame asset as well as a a great lategame asset. Being #2 earlygame asset is still very good. When I said I felt my earlygame got easier with +spd, I meant that in context of Lunatic, too. If it's capable of being a relatively easy asset, only losing to def and winning against pretty much everything else (arguably +hp?) on Lunatic earlygame, it should be one of the best on hard.

For hard mode, positioning matters a lot more than your initial asset/flaw. You need to work on that instead of worrying about asset flaw, as far as hard mode goes.

Edited December 22, 2015 by Thor Odinson

[TheSilentChloey]

It isn't, though. +def is pretty overkill on hard. +spd IS a good earlygame asset as well as a a great lategame asset. Being #2 earlygame asset is still very good. When I said I felt my earlygame got easier with +spd, I meant that in context of Lunatic, too. If it's capable of being a relatively easy asset, only losing to def and winning against pretty much everything else (arguably +hp?) on Lunatic earlygame, it should be one of the best on hard.

For hard mode, positioning matters a lot more than your initial asset/flaw. You need to work on that instead of worrying about asset flaw, as far as hard mode goes.

Yeah and I stuffed it up big time :/ I'm probably the worst player that there is if I can't even get through Normal without losing a unit.

[Thor Odinson]

Yeah and I stuffed it up big time :/ I'm probably the worst player that there is if I can't even get through Normal without losing a unit.

Don't worry too much about it if this is your first FE. FE has a learning curve. I'd recommend religiously checking enemy range and not letting your units take on too much at a time unless they're seriously overlevelled.

[TheSilentChloey]

Don't worry too much about it if this is your first FE. FE has a learning curve. I'd recommend religiously checking enemy range and not letting your units take on too much at a time unless they're seriously overlevelled.

Even with that I still end up losing them...I haven't yet in my current F!Robin Normal run, but I haven't even got to the difficult chapters yet. At least not the ones that give me the most trouble.

[Czar_Yoshi]

So then how in the world does a +def -lck Robin make a +4 def Morgan?

+Def as an asset gives 4 Def, 2 Lck and 2 Res. Chrom has a -1 Def mod, so you wind up with +4 total. +HP as an asset gives 1 Str, 1 Mag, 2 Lck, 2 Def and 2 Res, so you wind up with +2 total Def.

+Def is a very good earlygame asset too, typically +Spd gives you a bigger boost when taken proper advantage of but +Def's boost is much more universal and easy to use. However testing strategies on lower difficulties does not work- say you try +Spd on Normal, and it lets you double a certain enemy? That enemy's going to be faster on Hard, so your test tells you absolutely nothing about whether or not you'll be able to double it. The only way to tell if and how a strat will work on a given difficulty is to try it on that difficulty (or ask someone else, but there's nothing like hands-on experience).

[Sias]

Even with that I still end up losing them...I haven't yet in my current F!Robin Normal run, but I haven't even got to the difficult chapters yet. At least not the ones that give me the most trouble.

I dunno if you want some further advice, but I'll just write down some possibly helpful stuff that comes to my mind:

Always activate the big pink enemy range marker in order to immediately see safe spots for your healers/squishies. If you notice other especially dangerous enemies around (moving bosses, bow users or wind mages near your fliers...), add an extra personal range marker for them (the red one).

It's also generally useful if you look at some of the enemy stats before you actually start the battle.

Comparing speed values can be pretty nice for planning your approach of the map, and you can always do a quick estimation of a character's defensive power (enemy attack - your Def/Res) before plopping him/her into the range of multiple enemies.

These two stategies are probably the most important ones around, cause if you always check how many enemies can do how much damage to one of your units before you place them, your troups should be pretty much safe from landing in a deadly situation.

Additionally, utilize the time that you get when the opponents don't rush you to heal your team before continuing to fight.

Abuse the weapon triangle/surrounding terrain (if possible), and also remember that you can clog up the area around a vulnerable unit with other characters to protect it or hide the person behind someone else through pair up. Pair up in general is pretty strong as a mechanic as well.

The best way to get better is practice though, so just continue to play a bit more and you'll notice yourself improving with time anyways.

[TheSilentChloey]

I dunno if you want some further advice, but I'll just write down some possibly helpful stuff that comes to my mind:

Always activate the big pink enemy range marker in order to immediately see safe spots for your healers/squishies. If you notice other especially dangerous enemies around (moving bosses, bow users or wind mages near your fliers...), add an extra personal range marker for them (the red one).

It's also generally useful if you look at some of the enemy stats before you actually start the battle.

Comparing speed values can be pretty nice for planning your approach of the map, and you can always do a quick estimation of a character's defensive power (enemy attack - your Def/Res) before plopping him/her into the range of multiple enemies.

These two stategies are probably the most important ones around, cause if you always check how many enemies can do how much damage to one of your units before you place them, your troups should be pretty much safe from landing in a deadly situation.

Additionally, utilize the time that you get when the opponents don't rush you to heal your team before continuing to fight.

Abuse the weapon triangle/surrounding terrain (if possible), and also remember that you can clog up the area around a vulnerable unit with other characters to protect it or hide the person behind someone else through pair up. Pair up in general is pretty strong as a mechanic as well.

The best way to get better is practice though, so just continue to play a bit more and you'll notice yourself improving with time anyways.

*sighs* I suppose that is all I can do D: I do have a playthrough that I am posting(F!Robin), so we'll see if that works any better than my M!Robin one.

[eclipse]

Alright, here's some Actual Strategy you can use:

Prologue-Chapter 1: If you're dead-set on having Robin get kills, pair her up with Frederick. He gives a nice defense boost, and some extra mobility, so that you can get Robin out of danger. She, in turn, should gain a good amount of levels. If possible, feed Chrom a kill or three (preferably on the Prologue). If you want a detailed strategy for these chapters, let me know~!

Chapter 2: Give Frederick the Bronze Sword, so he can take on the enemies and hopefully keep them alive at a sliver of health. Once you get Miriel, use her to snipe at annoying enemies. Stahl/Sully work as support units, because they give some defense on pair-up.

Chapter 3: As soon as you recruit Kellam, have him pair up with someone who'll be in combat, and needs the extra bulk. If Frederick has 14 Speed, he can double the archers with Kellam's Javelin. Once you clear out Kellam's side, you should be able to slowly bait the other side (send Frederick into range of ONE enemy). From there, open the door, and aggro the enemies one at a time (two or three might rush you, but by now, Robin should be able to tank something). Have Robin with a sword or Chrom take on the Hammer dude.

Chapter 4: Have Frederick use Kellam's Javelin, and pair him up with Chrom on one side. On the other side, have Robin pair up with Kellam (if you need defense), Sumia (if you need speed), or Miriel (if you want to nuke things with magic).

Paralogue 1: GET THE RESCUE STAFF! It makes Chapter 5 a lot easier. Use this paralogue to train up Chrom, so that he can do a better job of supporting Robin. To get Donnel, have him kill the archer in the treasure room, and one of the two archers in the boss area (have someone competent like Frederick bait them). Bring Lissa along, and have her gain as much Magic as possible!

Chapter 5: Have Ricken and Maribelle pair up and run directly south. If Lissa can't reach them with the Rescue staff, have her pair up with Miriel. Once you get them off the mountain, this map becomes an exercise in waiting.

[TheSilentChloey]

Alright, here's some Actual Strategy you can use:

Prologue-Chapter 1: If you're dead-set on having Robin get kills, pair her up with Frederick. He gives a nice defense boost, and some extra mobility, so that you can get Robin out of danger. She, in turn, should gain a good amount of levels. If possible, feed Chrom a kill or three (preferably on the Prologue). If you want a detailed strategy for these chapters, let me know~!

Chapter 2: Give Frederick the Bronze Sword, so he can take on the enemies and hopefully keep them alive at a sliver of health. Once you get Miriel, use her to snipe at annoying enemies. Stahl/Sully work as support units, because they give some defense on pair-up.

Chapter 3: As soon as you recruit Kellam, have him pair up with someone who'll be in combat, and needs the extra bulk. If Frederick has 14 Speed, he can double the archers with Kellam's Javelin. Once you clear out Kellam's side, you should be able to slowly bait the other side (send Frederick into range of ONE enemy). From there, open the door, and aggro the enemies one at a time (two or three might rush you, but by now, Robin should be able to tank something). Have Robin with a sword or Chrom take on the Hammer dude.

Chapter 4: Have Frederick use Kellam's Javelin, and pair him up with Chrom on one side. On the other side, have Robin pair up with Kellam (if you need defense), Sumia (if you need speed), or Miriel (if you want to nuke things with magic).

Paralogue 1: GET THE RESCUE STAFF! It makes Chapter 5 a lot easier. Use this paralogue to train up Chrom, so that he can do a better job of supporting Robin. To get Donnel, have him kill the archer in the treasure room, and one of the two archers in the boss area (have someone competent like Frederick bait them). Bring Lissa along, and have her gain as much Magic as possible!

Chapter 5: Have Ricken and Maribelle pair up and run directly south. If Lissa can't reach them with the Rescue staff, have her pair up with Miriel. Once you get them off the mountain, this map becomes an exercise in waiting.

I'll keep that in mind when I get to hard mode again. If I can get through a normal without losses. I find that the worst chapters are the ones where others are grossly under levelled usually.

[eclipse]

The painful sections are sort-of split up. Here's the general flow:

- Prologue-Chapter 5: You get a lot of units, and not much time to train them. It's going to be rough.

- Chapter 6-10: You get a breather here. If everyone, and I mean EVERYONE is near-unusable, level up Panne and Second Seal her at 10 to Wyvern Rider (and maybe use an Arms Scroll to give her Hand Axes). That should break Plegia in half.

- Chapter 11: Two speedy units, paired up, should be able to take on Gangrel and not die immediately. From there, it's learning how to manage the reinforcements. You should have another Rescue staff at your disposal, so if necessary, use it to fish people out of danger!

- Chapter 12: This chapter will force you to check the ranges on everything, constantly. It's a good habit to get into. As long as you don't aggro the entire map on turn 1, you should be fine!

- Chapter 13: You can either aim for the one-turn clear or dawdle around and give Chrom/his wife enough experience so that Lucina is all the more beastly. If Robin's the mom, I strongly suggest passing down Veteran, so that Lucina can surpass everyone as fast as possible.

- Chapter 14-16: The difficulty is centered around ranges, and figuring out how much punishment your guys can take. If you must, burn a Rescue charge to get Say'ri out of danger. She makes a good back row unit, due to her class and bases.

- Chapter 17: This WILL be a difficulty spike. For best results, have everyone rush to the left. Grab the Boots before offing the boss.

- Chapter 18-20: Another round of ranged finagling. Of these chapters, you want to spend the least amount of time on Chapter 19, due to the reinforcement pattern.

- Chapter 21: This is an assassination mission, and your goal is to blick the boss ASAP. You'll most likely have to do this in parts, because getting the entire map mad at you usually does not end well. As long as you keep moving, the Mire reinforcements shouldn't be too much of an issue.

- Chapter 22: Unless you have the stamina to take everyone out, run straight to the boss and blick her. If you must stop for a weapon, I'd go with Helswath.

- Chapter 23-24: These two are a gigantic pain in the neck, so keep an eye on enemy ranges and do your best to blick the boss!

- Chapter 25: A flying unit with not-terrible offense should be able to make a beeline to the boss. Don't stick around for too long, because the reinforcements will overwhelm you.

- Endgame: One of Chrom/Lucina (with their respective Falchions) can pair up with someone with a Brave weapon/Celica's Gale and go to town. If you have a second pair, have both of them wield Brave weapons/Celica's Gale. Why no Waste? It's too inaccurate. Anyway, don't spend more than two turns here. Olivia/several rescuebots will prove helpful. So does Basilio and Rally Strength!

Hope this helps~!

[TheSilentChloey]

The painful sections are sort-of split up. Here's the general flow:

- Prologue-Chapter 5: You get a lot of units, and not much time to train them. It's going to be rough.

- Chapter 6-10: You get a breather here. If everyone, and I mean EVERYONE is near-unusable, level up Panne and Second Seal her at 10 to Wyvern Rider (and maybe use an Arms Scroll to give her Hand Axes). That should break Plegia in half.

- Chapter 11: Two speedy units, paired up, should be able to take on Gangrel and not die immediately. From there, it's learning how to manage the reinforcements. You should have another Rescue staff at your disposal, so if necessary, use it to fish people out of danger!

- Chapter 12: This chapter will force you to check the ranges on everything, constantly. It's a good habit to get into. As long as you don't aggro the entire map on turn 1, you should be fine!

- Chapter 13: You can either aim for the one-turn clear or dawdle around and give Chrom/his wife enough experience so that Lucina is all the more beastly. If Robin's the mom, I strongly suggest passing down Veteran, so that Lucina can surpass everyone as fast as possible.

- Chapter 14-16: The difficulty is centered around ranges, and figuring out how much punishment your guys can take. If you must, burn a Rescue charge to get Say'ri out of danger. She makes a good back row unit, due to her class and bases.

- Chapter 17: This WILL be a difficulty spike. For best results, have everyone rush to the left. Grab the Boots before offing the boss.

- Chapter 18-20: Another round of ranged finagling. Of these chapters, you want to spend the least amount of time on Chapter 19, due to the reinforcement pattern.

- Chapter 21: This is an assassination mission, and your goal is to blick the boss ASAP. You'll most likely have to do this in parts, because getting the entire map mad at you usually does not end well. As long as you keep moving, the Mire reinforcements shouldn't be too much of an issue.

- Chapter 22: Unless you have the stamina to take everyone out, run straight to the boss and blick her. If you must stop for a weapon, I'd go with Helswath.

- Chapter 23-24: These two are a gigantic pain in the neck, so keep an eye on enemy ranges and do your best to blick the boss!

- Chapter 25: A flying unit with not-terrible offense should be able to make a beeline to the boss. Don't stick around for too long, because the reinforcements will overwhelm you.

- Endgame: One of Chrom/Lucina (with their respective Falchions) can pair up with someone with a Brave weapon/Celica's Gale and go to town. If you have a second pair, have both of them wield Brave weapons/Celica's Gale. Why no Waste? It's too inaccurate. Anyway, don't spend more than two turns here. Olivia/several rescuebots will prove helpful. So does Basilio and Rally Strength!

Hope this helps~!

I am going to save this to my tacticial notes immediately! I think it will come in handy that and some serious DLC grinding to try to get everyone up to speed (EXP Growth and Golden Gaffe are my best growth maps. And I am familiar with them enough to make it work)

[angienessyo]

That's helpful! I remember starting my first hard mode run while I was waiting for a flight at the airport and doing really badly so I was like "uh I should probably do this when I can actually focus".