Hardest & frustrating FE games ever

[Carmine Sword]

Ok, some things to be said about FE6:

There are way more than 4 good units in FE6. There may be a bunch of shit units in FE6, but not that many shit units.

Also, Chapter 13 is definitely mid-game, not end-game. It's exactly halfway through the game regardless of whether you include gaidens or not.

More on topic, I find several of Conquest's maps frustrating. Not necessarily hard, but annoying. Chapter 20 is cancer unless you flier-skip it in 2 turns and trying to do Chapter 25 without cheesing Ryoma if you don't have Shurikenbreaker also sounds awful. Actually, the Lunge!Automatons with Spy's Yumis look even more cancerous than the Master Ninjas tbh. I just ended the map after getting the Silence Staff since there doesn't actually seem to be any reasonable way of dealing with that shit that I can think of. Great design IS.

[Harvey]

Whoa. Stop.

Everyone's got their own strengths and weaknesses when it comes to games. My strength is sitting down and puzzling things out, which is why Fire Emblem is doable for me. My weakness is real-time anything, so I find the likes of Splatoon completely baffling.

Which is why I mentioned that complement....? Your strength is that you can solve problems better than me so you're smart enough to play FE the way it is?

Anyways for those who claim that there are a bunch of good units in FE6, ok there are a bunch of them but they still start at very low numbers which requires you to train them. Yes you have Rutger and Dieck and probably Alance and a few others. But just keep off Rutger and Dieck off and you will have very weak units that can't even beat the 8X boss. That just shows how much you rely on these two units throughout the game inorder to make ANY progress.

Ok I get that its a game for the veterans and I get that but even as a casual gamer, I myself can see that Conquest is slightly more doable than what Binding blade is. Conquest warns you about the map and about the other things before you even start the map unlike BB here which only does so occasionally.

While both games have limited resources, I feel that Conquest does it right. BB on the other hand didn't do it right. Honestly, why would I ever want a lot of Knight Crests if the only units ever worth using it are Allen and Lance? The knights you get are very very weak and poor compared to Douglas who also has issues here and there. I would've like a hero crest instead you know? Atleast it got the Elysian whip right....

Then there's the maps. The maps in FE6 are often frustrating and only a few of them are bearable. Conquest while having long complex maps are very memorable and while its hard, its still well thought out and fun to say the least because like I said, for each map, the game tells you its gimmick unlike BB here which doesn't. Yes, there are some maps that are frustrating and I'm not denying that at all, but there's only so few of them that I can think of that are really frustrating....

You have to do so many things that the game does not prepare you for nor does it warn you of such things. Fae for example....the hammerine can't be used to fix her divinestone and yet you can't get another one...atleast the proper way. Now just imagine that I haven't read the guide for a minute and did something like using her all up only to realize that I've done a foolish move and that the game doesn't do anything about that nor does it tell me what I did wrong. Yeah sure, it may not be that big of a deal but if I did screw it up, then it might have.

Now if she wasn't forced, I wouldn't mind this but she's forced in the endgame which is a problem. If I didn't read the guide before hand, I may have been screwed in the final chapter and I've still yet to get there.

Again, It might not be my cup of tea but there is a lot to like about the game and its difficulty is unfortunately harsh that its one main reason why Nintendo never considered bringing it to the west....

Edited November 13, 2016 by Harvey

[Magical Glace]

From the tutorial that I went through, it doesn't teach the weapon triangle nor does it teach the healers and the dancers as well. If you are gonna want to know how to use them, then you need to know what they do in the first place.

The game's UI basically tells you all about the triangle. Ellen basically says "I can heal your units" at the start of Chapter 2. Dancers aren't too hard to figure out from simple trial and error, or reading the description.

Rutger, Allen, Lance and Dieck start out weak and Rutger will only be a god if he's promoted which will take some time doing so. You may have played this game and know it better but I'm talking about it in the sense of how other players might not see it so.

Chapter 13/15 isn't mid, its near lategame.

Rutger and Dieck are easily usable from the get go. Allen and Lance take a few levels but as they have access to two weapon types they can easily get them.

And it's midgame. Chapter 13 is the 15/31 chapter and 15 is 18/31.

If the map is long, more enemies show up but if the map is small, then less will show up. Why not the opposite just to make the game more forgiving instead?

Again, what in long maps is preventing you from getting the feel of a unit? Less enemies, if anything, would hamper that since there'd be less possible opponents for the unit in question.

Maybe so but then why does she start at lv 1 a level that many units start with at WRONG times?

I don't know what the devs were thinking when they made some of FE6's bizarre balance choices. What I can say is despite her low join level, Fir is a perfectly serviceable unit who can be raised on her join chapter quite easily.

I suggest playing Fates so you can get my point.

I'm not spending $80 for the sake of your arguement.

As for what I'm trying to say.....I suppose I need to get better in TRPG games since that genre forces me to spend a lot of my time...or just forget it....

Er, Okay? I'm not really sure how the amount of skill you have at SRPG's is relevant to this discussion.

Which is why I mentioned that complement....? Your strength is that you can solve problems better than me so you're smart enough to play FE the way it is?

Anyways for those who claim that there are a bunch of good units in FE6, ok there are a bunch of them but they still start at very low numbers which requires you to train them. Yes you have Rutger and Dieck and probably Alance and a few others. But just keep off Rutger and Dieck off and you will have very weak units that can't even beat the 8X boss. That just shows how much you rely on these two units throughout the game inorder to make ANY progress.

...Of course a untrained unit won't be beating the 8x Boss. Whoever you chose to promote can take him with a bit of help, as the following may be promoted by this point, not counting Chapter 8 characters: Rutger or Dieck; Allen, Lance, Noah, Treck, or Bors; Shanna; and Lugh, Ellen, Clarine, or Saul. Of these, A non-cursed Rutger, Dieck, Allen, Lance, Shanna, or Lugh can probably take him.

Ok I get that its a game for the veterans and I get that but even as a casual gamer, I myself can see that Conquest is slightly more doable than what Binding blade is. Conquest warns you about the map and about the other things before you even start the map unlike BB here which only does so occasionally.

Because the only gimmicks are in Gaidens and you're told about them in pre-chapter dialogue...? There isn't much in FE6 that warrants a warning. The Gaiden Gimmicks are always hinted in dialogue (Such as the boss mentioning heavenly arrows in Pinnacle of Light).

While both games have limited resources, I feel that Conquest does it right. BB on the other hand didn't do it right. Honestly, why would I ever want a lot of Knight Crests if the only units ever worth using it are Allen and Lance? The knights you get are very very weak and poor compared to Douglas who also has issues here and there. I would've like a hero crest instead you know? Atleast it got the Elysian whip right....

By the time your pockets seem to burst with Knight Crests, you would have already gotten to Chapter 16. There's only two before it. Hero Crests are given in at the most generous time of any promo items, you get two by Chapter 10B/11A if you were good about the village visits. Again, if anything should be complained about, it's Guiding Rings, which have far more unit types vying for them than Knight/Hero Crests and have only one until Chapter 14.

Then there's the maps. The maps in FE6 are often frustrating and only a few of them are bearable. Conquest while having long complex maps are very memorable and while its hard, its still well thought out and fun to say the least because like I said, for each map, the game tells you its gimmick unlike BB here which doesn't.

As I said previously, the only times there are "gimmicks" in FE6 are Gaidens, and those are stated in pre-chapter dialogue.

You have to do so many things that the game does not prepare you for nor does it warn you of such things. Fae for example....the hammerine can't be used to fix her divinestone and yet you can't get another one...atleast the proper way. Now just imagine that I haven't read the guide for a minute and did something like using her all up only to realize that I've done a foolish move and that the game doesn't do anything about that nor does it tell me what I did wrong. Yeah sure, it may not be that big of a deal but if I did screw it up, then it might have.

I will agree that Fae's Dragonstone is horribly unbalanced and stupid in execution.

Now if she wasn't forced, I wouldn't mind this but she's forced in the endgame which is a problem. If I didn't read the guide before hand, I may have been screwed in the final chapter and I've still yet to get there.

You don't need to use Fae in the final chapter at all. You're completely free to have her hang behind everyone and let the Divine Weapons do the talking. All those Dragons have only 1 range and pitiful res, so a decent mage can make mincemeat from them even without Forblaze/Aureola/Apocalypse.

[Nobody]

I think FE6's HM is a bit frustrating sometimes because of the low hit rates. same turns reinforcements are also frustrating. I think that's it. That said, I haven't played Thracia

Harder FE game is FE12 imo, but hard and frustrating don't mean the same thing

I've heard maniac mode on 9 and 10 were pretty hard.

I've played FE9 on maniac and it wasn't particularly hard. Was far from being as hard as FE6's HM, FE7's HHM, Conquest's Lunatic, FE11's H5 or FE12's Lunatic.

What is called maniac on japanese FE10 is just the hard mode of the western version. The localization changed the names.

Edited November 13, 2016 by Nooooooooooooooooooooobody

[Harvey]

The game's UI basically tells you all about the triangle. Ellen basically says "I can heal your units" at the start of Chapter 2. Dancers aren't too hard to figure out from simple trial and error, or reading the description.

Yeah...reading the description...something that while admittedly I should have done so before playing the game, I couldn't get the instruction booklet pdf anywhere I searched on google.

Again, what in long maps is preventing you from getting the feel of a unit? Less enemies, if anything, would hamper that since there'd be less possible opponents for the unit in question.

Then add more chapters for crying out loud...that's my point which I believe FE7 fixed that issue. or have enemy units that aren't stronger than you atleast in the first half.

I'm not spending $80 for the sake of your argument.

Honestly, you only need to spend 40$ really as the other two paths just don't do enough justice in the amount of quality that Conquest offers you.

By the time your pockets seem to burst with Knight Crests, you would have already gotten to Chapter 16. There's only two before it. Hero Crests are given in at the most generous time of any promo items, you get two by Chapter 10B/11A if you were good about the village visits. Again, if anything should be complained about, it's Guiding Rings, which have far more unit types vying for them than Knight/Hero Crests and have only one until Chapter 14.

As I said previously, the only times there are "gimmicks" in FE6 are Gaidens, and those are stated in pre-chapter dialogue.

I will agree that Fae's Dragonstone is horribly unbalanced and stupid in execution.

You don't need to use Fae in the final chapter at all. You're completely free to have her hang behind everyone and let the Divine Weapons do the talking. All those Dragons have only 1 range and pitiful res, so a decent mage can make mincemeat from them even without Forblaze/Aureola/Apocalypse.

But its just plain stupid the way its done though as majority of the items that you want are so damn cryptic and you also have to do a lot of frustrating stuff just to unlock those gaiden chapters. And no, the gaiden chapters aren't the only ones with gimmicks as there are some few chapters such as the fog of war. As familiar of a gimmick it is and while I don't mind it too much, its still a gimmick regardless.

[Gradivus.]

FE6's fog of war is very forgiving because you get torches and thieves handed to you before the first fog map, plus the vision range is high. It's a bad gimmick, but in this game it's very bearable.

Honestly, you only need to spend 40$ really as the other two paths just don't do enough justice in the amount of quality that Conquest offers you.

I recommend playing Fates, but you shouldn't expect others to play it so they can understand a point you're trying to make (that apparently you cannot explain otherwise).

EDIT On topic, this more or less sums it up for me:

Most frustrating - FE10 on first playthrough because of the worst enemy phases in the franchise. Generally speaking I don't find any of the games frustrating to play from a purely mechanical perspective. I guess I probably dislike FE7 the most since it has some of the worst map design in the series

Hardest, FE12 Lunatic Reverse easily.

along with CQ Lunatic for hard, and CQ Lunatic lategame for frustrating.

Edited November 13, 2016 by Gradivus.

[Harvey]

FE6's fog of war is very forgiving because you get torches and thieves handed to you before the first fog map, plus the vision range is high. It's a bad gimmick, but in this game it's very bearable.

I recommend playing Fates, but you shouldn't expect others to play it so they can understand a point you're trying to make (that apparently you cannot explain otherwise).

Which is why I mentioned that I don't mind it too much as its quite bearable from what I played. I just stated that its still a gimmick regardless.

Yeah, I guess you're right that I can't expect people to get a certain game to prove my point let alone play it but since he said that he has to flush out 80$ for the entire experience, I thought that if he wants to play Fates, he doesn't need to spend that much for what its worth as he can just play Conquest alone. Again, his life so yeah I guess he can either skip out on a great game or he can try it out when he gets the chance to.

[Magical Glace]

Yeah...reading the description...something that while admittedly I should have done so before playing the game, I couldn't get the instruction booklet pdf anywhere I searched on google.

Unless you can read Japanese, an instruction book pdf won't help you for FE6.

Then add more chapters for crying out loud...that's my point which I believe FE7 fixed that issue. or have enemy units that aren't stronger than you atleast in the first half.

FE6 has 31 chapters, counting Gaidens but not Trial maps. That's quite a bit.

Honestly, you only need to spend 40$ really as the other two paths just don't do enough justice in the amount of quality that Conquest offers you.

Tbh I am mostly holding off my money for games I consider far more worth my time, Pokémon Sun, Breath of the Wild, Dragon Quest VIII 3DS, and any possible localization of all those Japan-only DQ spinoffs.

But its just plain stupid the way its done though as majority of the items that you want are so damn cryptic

How are the items cryptic???

and you also have to do a lot of frustrating stuff just to unlock those gaiden chapters.

Not really.

8x just requires keeping Lilina alive. This isn't hard at all since there's a spot in her room safe from the archer.

Turn requisites are very forgiving. You don't need pro LTC strats to get within the requirement.

Keeping Douglas alive isn't that bad. Just lure him into a looted treasure room and block the exit with Lalum. He won't attack her.

Other player units that must be kept alive generally aren't hard to spare.

And no, the gaiden chapters aren't the only ones with gimmicks as there are some few chapters such as the fog of war. As familiar of a gimmick it is and while I don't mind it too much, its still a gimmick regardless.

"Oh dear, the game didn't tell me that I can't see most of the enemy unit locations!"

Does Fog of War really need the game to tell you it's there? It's obvious even during preparation.

The gimmicks I can think of are

8x: “They probably don’t know much about this cave. Just lure them onto the lava cracks and get rid of ’em.”

9 (Fog of War 1): “Just as that other group said… All right, they’re probably just floundering around in the fog, unable to see anything. Sneak up on ’em from behind and kill ’em off!”

12x: “There are also some strange fumes coming out of the walls. We must proceed with caution.”

14x: “Some of the temple’s passages…may suddenly sink into the water… Please be careful…”

16x: “…All right, fine… This is our last mission. If we are to die, then the Lycia Alliance Army will be going down with us! Prepare the Heavenly Arrows!”

17A: “Thank you! …Ah, yes, I must tell you something else. This land of Raemy… At a certain time of the day, the sea level drops, exposing a sand bar that can be crossed.”

20Ax: (gimmick here is pretty self-explanatory since weak walls are a mechanic throughout but) “Then they must not have had much time to do it… Maybe the walls are weak in certain places.”

17B: “Thank you! …Ah, yes, I must tell you something else. The lands around here… They are surrounded by high mountains and valleys. And now that night has fallen…” followed by Roy saying “The perfect setting for an ambush…”

20Bx: I've never actually played this chapter (but know the random seize gimmick) and admittedly Shin isn't great at explaining. In story context, all Shin knows is Muirgre is on one alter but he doesn't know which, hence the randomness.

21x: “I have also heard rumors that there are traps all over the underground level.” and “Yes. Apparently, they are crafted so well that we have no chance of finding them before they go off. Perhaps Thieves would be better at spotting the traps… Anyway, please be careful.” or “I also understand that there are numerous traps placed in the underground level.” and “Yes. They are designed so well that it would be impossible for us to find them. Perhaps Thieves would be better at finding them… Please be careful.” First two are used if you brought Miredy and said by her, Guinevere says the second two if you don't bring Miredy.

22: “One of the captives said that at the west end of the castle, there are switches that need to pulled before one can access the throne room.” and “There is more. After hitting the switches, you must hold the ‘Gem’ in front of the throne room door to make it open.” (West is probably a typo, since they're to the north...)

The game in general does a very good job of telling the player to watch out.

Edited November 13, 2016 by Glaceon Mage

[ping]

Maybe so but then why does she start at lv 1 a level that many units start with at WRONG times?

Look less on her base level and more on her stats and on the numbers when she fights the pirates in her joining chapter. As Glaceon Mage said, she's objectively worse than Rutger, but she is really fun to use (for me, at least) especially because of her low level. You can level her up really fast, at least 5 levels during ch.9, if you farm the pirate reinforcements for a bit.

[Harvey]

Unless you can read Japanese, an instruction book pdf won't help you for FE6.

FE6 has 31 chapters, counting Gaidens but not Trial maps. That's quite a bit.

I can use google translate and I don't mind how bad the translation is so long as it does the job.

And yet they still are long and tedious....unless you're a pro at this stuff(which obviously you are). Atleast having weak units at the start of each map could've been fair.

Tbh I am mostly holding off my money for games I consider far more worth my time, Pokémon Sun, Breath of the Wild, Dragon Quest VIII 3DS, and any possible localization of all those Japan-only DQ spinoffs.

How are the items cryptic???

Meh. Its our life so what do I care if you don't get Fates?

As for the items. You have to save all the villages and you need to recruit Perceval in Chapter 13 inorder to get the knight crest. Granted, you only need two of em but still...its cryptic so there!

Also, where have I ever mentioned that the fog of war is frustrating in FE6? I simply stated that its a gimmick regardless because it IS a gimmick regardless and I didn't find it that hard.

The game in general does a very good job of telling the player to watch out.

To me, its still not enough and doesn't do it the way Conquest does it so yeah....can't say I agree with you there.

Look less on her base level and more on her stats and on the numbers when she fights the pirates in her joining chapter. As Glaceon Mage said, she's objectively worse than Rutger, but she is really fun to use (for me, at least) especially because of her low level. You can level her up really fast, at least 5 levels during ch.9, if you farm the pirate reinforcements for a bit.

I can say the same thing for Aless in Holy war as well. The difference though is that he starts with a good level of 7 unlike Fir who starts with 1. Also unlike Rutger, she is pathetic as a unit as she won't as often critical hit as Rutger will even when using killing edge. I don't see how you can't understand the frustration of having recruited a unit with lv 1 when you JUST raised units above that level. Even if its a healer, it is still frustrating to see such a level at a time like that. One of the other reasons why I ditched Ogier because again, staring at lv 3 when Dieck reaches lv 13......can you seriously not see how frustrating that is? Fae at lv 1 in chapter 15....Keaton in Fates at lv 15 in chapter 14.....who's balanced here or who's less frustrating here?

EDIT: Also, stats have nothing to do with how great of a unit is so long as they start with a low level because by the time you recruit a unit with such a low level with good bases, your other units would have long been levels higher than the recruited unit

Edited November 13, 2016 by Harvey

[Magical Glace]

I can use google translate and I don't mind how bad the translation is so long as it does the job.

Google Translate isn't known for the accuracy, but suit yourself I guess. There's also the fact .pdf text doesn't copy properly.

And yet they still are long and tedious....unless you're a pro at this stuff(which obviously you are). Atleast having weak units at the start of each map could've been fair.

I'm hardly a pro, there are many users on here better at FE than I am lol. As for the second statement... not really sure what you're trying to say here? Do you mean weak enemies? That doesn't give a very good impression of a unit, since weaker enemies are... weaker, they won't be able to accurately reflect how well a unit generally preforms in maps.

Meh. Its our life so what do I care if you don't get Fates?

Now then, can you explain that previous point without Birthright?

As for the items. You have to save all the villages and you need to recruit Perceval in Chapter 13 inorder to get the knight crest. Granted, you only need two of em but still...its cryptic so there!

First - Needing to recruit Perceval in Chapter 13 for his Knight Crest is flat out wrong. You can get it in Chapter 15 if you spare all his cavs.

And the game encourages you to save the villages, even if the reward isn't outright stated, it's optimal to save them anyway.

Also, where have I ever mentioned that the fog of war is frustrating in FE6? I simply stated that its a gimmick regardless because it IS a gimmick regardless and I didn't find it that hard.

And we're saying that it's clearly there and the game doesn't need to say "this is a thing," which is something it does say anyway.

To me, its still not enough and doesn't do it the way Conquest does it so yeah....can't say I agree with you there.

Suit yourself, but don't pretend the game does nothing to tell you.

I can say the same thing for Aless in Holy war as well. The difference though is that he starts with a good level of 7 unlike Fir who starts with 1. Also unlike Rutger, she is pathetic as a unit as she won't as often critical hit as Rutger will even when using killing edge. I don't see how you can't understand the frustration of having recruited a unit with lv 1 when you JUST raised units above that level. Even if its a healer, it is still frustrating to see such a level at a time like that. One of the other reasons why I ditched Ogier because again, staring at lv 3 when Dieck reaches lv 13......can you seriously not see how frustrating that is?

???? A trained Fir is pretty close to a trained Rutger in terms of critting ability, SwordMasters get a dandy Crit+30 and don't have hit issues. Her skill is slightly lower, but she's just as critspammy as the other Myrmidons, including having a +Crit affinity. We're not denying Fir is worse than Rutger, he contributes way too much earlygame, we're saying that she's not, on her own, a bad unit.

If anything, her level helps her in a way. Having 25/9/12/13/5/4/2 bases on HM is pretty good for a Level 1 unit, and she gains EXP to build on that fast due to her level, and with the high avoid on her join chapter from Terrain and WTA, on top of a good default weapon she can easily get kills on the pirates to train up.

You're acting like the fact she's Lvl 1 automatically makes her unusable.

Also, Trained Fir > Trained Rutger thanks to her Luck improving her avoid, she's just got JTD against her. Unfortunately for her, that's enough to make Rutger far better overall.

Edited November 13, 2016 by Glaceon Mage

[ping]

Dude, Fir's base stats on hard mode are comparable to Lance's stats on level 10. I agree that FE6 has some serious issues in character balancing, but Fir and Fae are not the examples you were looking for.

To contribute to the actual topic: Out of the games I played (all from 6 to 12), I had the biggest trouble with 12. I beat it on Maniac (? - one below Lunatic) once, but I think it was the most challenging and occasionally frustrating (fucking Wyvern ambush spawns...) FE run I've had.

FE10 might be more frustrating, though - I really dislike how they removed convenience features to create difficulty. FE11 is very annoying for me personally because not being able to do a truly complete run (recruitment and gaidens) bothers me more than it should.

[ChibiToastExplosion]

I don't see how you can't understand the frustration of having recruited a unit with lv 1 when you JUST raised units above that level. Even if its a healer, it is still frustrating to see such a level at a time like that. One of the other reasons why I ditched Ogier because again, staring at lv 3 when Dieck reaches lv 13......can you seriously not see how frustrating that is? Fae at lv 1 in chapter 15....Keaton in Fates at lv 15 in chapter 14.....who's balanced here or who's less frustrating here?

From a game design point in a game like FE, it's not frustrating, it's brilliant. What if, your Dieck dies? You shouldn't be rewarded with a mercenary (Ogier) later for a tactical error, but you should be given a back-up mercenary that can fill a role. He's not likely there to compete directly with Dieck, he's there as a contingency.

Also, if they give you characters that are same level or better later for no reason, now you have two Diecks and break the game even further, or you have no attachment or reason to use Dieck (or any character, really) at all.

[Irysa]

Dude, Fir's base stats on hard mode are comparable to Lance's stats on level 10. I agree that FE6 has some serious issues in character balancing, but Fir and Fae are not the examples you were looking for.

To be fair, Fir is a huge waste of time on normal mode. The strength boost on HM is a lot more significant than the def boost most enemies in the Isles are getting, so her capability of getting a few levels really quickly and merking things with a promotion is lacking without it.

HM Fir is decent though yeah.

Edited November 13, 2016 by Irysa

[Harvey]

From a game design point in a game like FE, it's not frustrating, it's brilliant. What if, your Dieck dies? You shouldn't be rewarded with a mercenary (Ogier) later for a tactical error, but you should be given a back-up mercenary that can fill a role. He's not likely there to compete directly with Dieck, he's there as a contingency.

Also, if they give you characters that are same level or better later for no reason, now you have two Diecks and break the game even further, or you have no attachment or reason to use Dieck (or any character, really) at all.

Don't many games in FE have units that break the game easily? Even Holy War itself has broken units alongside Birthright.

[Magical Glace]

Don't many games in FE have units that break the game easily? Even Holy War itself has broken units alongside Birthright.

Basically every FE has someone to break things. Rutger in 6, Forseti/Holesty tome in 4, Seth in 8, etc.

The most balanced FE I can think of is 7 and even that is hardly perfect. 7 has things like Pent in one basket and Karla or Jaffar in another, and a bunch of serviceable but not game-breaking units.

[wheelsonfire]

I have heard FE5 is pretty frustrating, but I've yet to play it myself…

Binding Blade wasn't so much difficult as it was frustrating sometimes because some missions were based on luck (Echina’s recruitment, Tate’s recruitment and keeping the NPCs alive, getting locked into Sacae because you chose to level mounted bow users in a game that desperately needs them, Sophia getting the Guiding Ring)… There was also the fact that it was combined with some poor design choices, such as sparse promotional items, lots of under level units, low growth rates, and a mediocre Lord that promotes way too late… Needless to say, it quickly became my least favorite FE…

FE4 was a bit frustrating because of the large maps… It took forever is get from point A to point B, unless you were willing to use a staff…

Had a lot of trouble on some of FE14’s DLC… Most noticeably, the ones where the Lords fight each other, and you're given very few team members with mediocre equipment… There's also the one with the arcs revolving around the children… I love that DLC because it's well-made, but I had a lot of difficulty keeping units alive (to this day, I haven't quite cleared it…)

I remember some parts in Part 3 using the Dawn Brigade were pretty difficult, since unless you knew about it beforehand and started grinding, you are likely to be very under leveled by the time they come around…

[Azure Sen]

Hardest: Of the ones I've played, FE5. Staves missing, status effects that don't wear off and status staves everywhere, forced dismounting indoors, etc.
Most frustrating: Conquest. It's just bogged down with way too many gimmicks that I find far more frustrating than Revelation's, because Revelation's were time consuming but they weren't annoying like Conquest's.

Admittedly I don't play a lot of the harder difficulties (I think I've only completed FE6 and FE8 on a difficulty above Normal, and I don't think Eliwood Hard mode and Lyn Hard mode count), so my answers are affected by that.

Er, Okay? I'm not really sure how the amount of skill you have at SRPG's is relevant to this discussion....Of course a untrained unit won't be beating the 8x Boss. Whoever you chose to promote can take him with a bit of help, as the following may be promoted by this point, not counting Chapter 8 characters: Rutger or Dieck; Allen, Lance, Noah, Treck, or Bors; Shanna; and Lugh, Ellen, Clarine, or Saul. Of these, A non-cursed Rutger, Dieck, Allen, Lance, Shanna, or Lugh can probably take him.

With a little work I was able to take him down with an Ogier-Lilina tag team (Ogier landing the killing blow), admittedly on Normal, in my most recent Binding Blade run. They were both somewhere in the 8-10 range, unpromoted.

Edited November 13, 2016 by AzureSen

[Magical Glace]

With a little work I was able to take him down with an Ogier-Lilina tag team (Ogier landing the killing blow), admittedly on Normal, in my most recent Binding Blade run. They were both somewhere in the 8-10 range, unpromoted.

It's been a while since I fought him on Normal so I'll take your word for it here.

[Azure Sen]

It's been a while since I fought him on Normal so I'll take your word for it here.

Well, Lilina and Ogier got blessed with enough speed that he couldn't double them, which helped a lot. Otherwise it was just a lot of manipulating him into switching between his weapons and there were a lot of misses involved because throne bonuses. It was also helpful that he's always suffering from an AS penalty.

Edited November 13, 2016 by AzureSen

[Harvey]

So I recently beated chapters 17,18 & 19 and honestly....they weren't as insanely hard as the ones from 10 I think.....and that just makes me wonder.....why on earth couldn't they balance the maps like this instead?

enemy reinforcements weren't that severe, the enemies in general are a bit weaker and yet they come large in numbers......why on earth couldn't the game have done this instead of having those insane moments from 10 onwards?!?!

[Magical Glace]

So I recently beated chapters 17,18 & 19 and honestly....they weren't as insanely hard as the ones from 10 I think.....and that just makes me wonder.....why on earth couldn't they balance the maps like this instead?

enemy reinforcements weren't that severe, the enemies in general are a bit weaker and yet they come large in numbers......why on earth couldn't the game have done this instead of having those insane moments from 10 onwards?!?!

In Binding Blade?

17/18/19 isn't specific. There's a route split from Chapter 17-20x based on whether your Nomads or Pegs were more trained. Maps are in Sacae for the former and Illia for the latter (or in the event of a tie).

So... we don't actually know what you're praising.

[Harvey]

Oh yeah...forgot about that part.

So in Binding blade, I've beated chapters 17A, 18A & 19A with not that many issues. So I guess I ended up with the part where the snow land is.

Still though, I found the challenge fair and not anywhere frustrating unlike the mid chapters.

Also, where do you get less guilding rings? from what I've played, they are just as generous as Knight crests. I managed to get four of em....

[Magical Glace]

Oh yeah...forgot about that part.

So in Binding blade, I've beated chapters 17A, 18A & 19A with not that many issues. So I guess I ended up with the part where the snow land is.

Still though, I found the challenge fair and not anywhere frustrating unlike the mid chapters.

Also, where do you get less guilding rings? from what I've played, they are just as generous as Knight crests. I managed to get four of em....

It's not so much the number themselves so much as the distrabution relative to the amount of units that want them.

Prior to Chapter 14, you get these units that want Rings:

Lugh, Lilina, Ellen, Saul, Clarine, and Raigh.

You can only promote 1 before Chapter 14.

It severely limits the amount of mages/healers that can be used well per run.

The second Knight Crest has similar problems now that I think about it, though. I just am super biased for mages so I guess the rings were more noticeable to me.

[Harvey]

It's not so much the number themselves so much as the distrabution relative to the amount of units that want them.

Prior to Chapter 14, you get these units that want Rings:

Lugh, Lilina, Ellen, Saul, Clarine, and Raigh.

You can only promote 1 before Chapter 14.

It severely limits the amount of mages/healers that can be used well per run.

The second Knight Crest has similar problems now that I think about it, though. I just am super biased for mages so I guess the rings were more noticeable to me.

How is getting the promotion item late such an issue when you have to struggle grinding those units good enough in the first place? As I've mentioned before, nearly every single unit besides the first chapter starts at lv 1. The only units that start properly are Rutger, Dieck, Geese, Pacaval and Milady.

Well, I just promoted Lugh, Lillina and Clarine and honestly, promoting your healer unless you want a sort of defensive unit isn't really worth it considering that you already have lugh and lillina on your side.

the other issue to promote them is how nearly every single unit you get here starts at lv 1. It may be easy grinding for some units but really....why? I had so much of problems with Lugh as soon as I got him the first time and it took me forever to get him promoted at good levels...not only because his base growths are shaky but because I have to raise other weak units for no reason. I wanted to use Wolt as I like the character but then I realized that no matter what, he won't do any good.

And now I have to drag Shanna and Zealot in chapter 20 inorder to get the 20 gaiden chapter. I never used Zealot and Shanna was fun while she was around but she isn't even at lv 15 even. Granted, I can just keep em off battle as they won't do much but that means that I gotta now figure out who to remove for this chapter. Alance just got promoted and Lance is lv 2 with Allen being around 5 I think. And somehow Niime gets a great timing levelling unlike majority of the units whose levels always start at 1-5.

Edited November 14, 2016 by Harvey