Merciless/Hard 5 Walkthrough

[Dr. Tarrasque]

I could help out if you'd like, since I know reinforcement listings can get a bit time-consuming. I could start backwards or something : o

That would be great, I tend to skip reinforcements because they're too tough to deal with if you don't have a pretty good tank.

[Dr. Tarrasque]

Chapter 8:

The difficulty of this chapter varies depending on what enemies you fight here and you only have to fight 4 cavaliers, 1 Armor Knight, 2 Archers and Roger. It's possible to do it in 2 turns (2 warp staff uses) but I wouldn't recommend it. Caesar and Radd join you automatically. They're underleveled and surpassed by Ogma and Nabarl... not worth using IMO. There's also Roger who starts out as an enemy Armor Knight. He's got 13 DEF so he can live through 2 assaults from the Horsemen in this chapter and that's all I can say about him. Recruit him by having Shiida seduce him >_>.

Save point use: Use the first one after killing the incoming enemies and approaching the 2nd save point. Use the second one when you feel it is necessary if you're dealing with reinforcements.

Reinforcements: "If you have an unit wait east past the area indicated by the cursor (or on it), two Knights, two Cavaliers and a Horseman will appear from the north-western and northern Forts for two Turns, up to a total of three times. You can prevent these reinforcements from appearing by defeating the boss." - Chapter Data

To start off, have a durable unit capable of using Ridersbane to weaken (and not kill) the cavaliers move 2 spaces up from the first save point. In my case an 8 DEF and 27 HP Abel lived with 5 HP after taking 2 hits from the steel sword cavaliers. If you have no unit capable of this, then position another unit on the left side of that spot to weaken (and not kill) the cavalier with a counter attack. Position indirect attack units behind the one you set up for the counter-attack (2 spaces above save point). Any pegasus knights you have should be placed on the peaks so that they're ready to attack the incoming cavaliers after they take the counter-attack.

The steel sword cavaliers should be there and attack the on turn 3 with an Armor Knight, 2 Archers and Roger following them nearby. Finish off these cavaliers and don't place units in the range of Roger's group if doing so will kill them. Finish off Roger's group and... you're done with what you need on this chapter. Seriously, none of the other Cavaliers or Horsemen will move until you're in their range and the other group will move if you're about 1 space away from their range (and even if they do move, they're easy to deal with). You can either take on these guys or go for the Boss.

Boss (Kannival):

Armor Knight with a Silver Lance. Easy, no comments really needed.

Notes on my Playthrough: I took on the Horsemen for some good EXP. Roger, Radd and Caesar are dead.

Note to Vincent: I did some testing and...

1. I managed to kill Kannival around turn 8. Enemy reinforcements still appeared on the next turn...

2. On turn 15, reinforcements appeared from the western group. It's probably because I had Abel wait on a space nearby (from the right house, it's 4 spaces up and 1 right).

3. Same as point 2 except it was with the eastern group this time. Reinforcements appeared when I got near the forts (don't remember how close though).

Edited December 7, 2008 by Boo

[Dat Nick]

Actually, C24 reinforcments are infinite on NM, too.

[VincentASM]

Eh, I always see them stop by Turn 49-50. I don't think it's because of any codes I've used, since I just played NM on cartridge, like, yesterday.

I also tested in H5 and the C24 reinforcements appear from Turn 8 (instead of 7?), and every 3 turns after, until Turn 50.

[Nackar]

Not sure if it works this way, since I haven't paid attention to this myself, but couldn't it have anything to do with killing the boss? In some games killing the boss means the end of reinforcements.

[VincentASM]

I always note whether killing the boss ends reinforcements or not.

Every time I checked the Ch 24 reinforcements, I made sure not to kill the boss or do anything "weird" (like have the maximum of 50 enemies on the map at the same time). I've tested it three times, so I'd be surprised if I did something wrong- although it could be caused by a fundamental "mistake" that I always make (like... always using Linda? XD).

[Dr. Tarrasque]

Busy week so I can't write much.

Chapter 9:

I hate this one. It's pretty much just islands that you've got access through bridges which mostly work against you. The majority of the enemies here are pirates so they've got the terrain advantage and boy does it suck for you. The recruitable character here is Jeorge, a crappy Sniper who has some use in H5 due to being able to use the Silver bow right away. Recruit him by visiting the village.

Save point use: Use first after the first, second or third coming of the reinforcements.

Reinforcements: "Five Pirates will appear from the southern Forts during Turns 6, 8 and 10 of the Enemy Phase. You can prevent these reinforcements from appearing by defeating the boss." - Chapter Data... made a small correction since it wasn't the same in H5.

I'll start by saying that I highly recommend an archer or 2 with Longbow if you're one to use the Online shop and have the chance to buy it since they work well against those freaking hand axe pirates (they're your biggest problem). The other problem is getting that far away chest which contains a Wyrmslayer, a useful weapon no doubt but it can be such a freaking pain to get it and live. You'll need 2 Pegasus Knights or an incredibly fast Sheeda capable of getting rid of the southern thief fast.

Ok, begin by having some1 (probably Julian) opening the door and a few units capable of using Javelin/Magic-like weapons positioned near him (they should be capable of surviving 2 assaults of the hand axe pirates or have good enough move to retreat to safety). Also, send Marth and Sheeda + Peg knight Athena with 1 other capable fighter towards the village at full speed (they shouldn't be too far from Julian's team on the first turn). The rest of your units should stay on that first island (move them up so they're more out of the pirate's range).

On turn 2, you should have 2 Hand Axe pirates on Julian's team and the Devil Axe pirate moving towards them (if he moved to the right, I suggest you restart the chapter). Have Julian move back to the initial island and his "team" block the narrow passage with indirect attack weapons. Marth's team should be able to kill the pirate nearby and Marth should be able to recruit Jeorge. After this, all that Marth's team has to do is for the pegasus to kill both Thieves and retreat to join every1 else. The rest of your army should be killing the 2 Hand Axe and Devil Axe pirates and returning to the starting island.

On turn 6, the reinforcements start coming in (view the chapter data link). Be specially careful with the Hammer (if you have Armor Knight/General) and Hand Axe pirates and try to avoid fighting any that are standing on sea terrain. Stay on the island and fight them off until there's no more incoming enemies, once that's the case, the rest of the chapter should be easy to deal with and you're also free to take the Wyrmslayer and other treasure chests with no more reinforcements coming.

I tried this method because if you end up going for the center island, you'll be swarmed and it'll just make things too difficult for you.

Boss (Mannu):

A Mamkute... Tough to take on with direct attacks as his speed is 18 with that Firestone. Use magic, indirect attacks and possibly the Wyrmslayer you get in this chapter.

Notes on my Playthrough: I tried rushing the chapter to see if that would make a different at all (and it did, it made it harder >_<). Jeorge died as a result (sticking with this save) but no1 died on my second try after trying the above mentioned method.

I also tried warping Merrich with Excalibur to critical and kill the boss on turn 7 and no reinforcement came on turn 8.

Edited December 12, 2008 by Boo

[Dr. Tarrasque]

Chapter 10:

Like C9, this one can be difficult. You can either rush for the boss without going inside the fortress to get this chapter over with and avoid the reinforcements that come later... or you can try and see if you're capable of clearing this chapter 100%. You've got 2 recruitable units in this chapter and they both suck. Maria is trapped enemy Cleric in the fortress. Her base stats are HORRIBLE but seems to have some decent growths. Those growths don't save her from being another crappy H5 unit though =\. The other recruitable character is Minerva, a prepromoted Dragon Knight with only 1 good thing about her: A rank on axes and Hauteclere the A rank axe. She'll pretty much stay on the northeastern side of the map and to recruit her, just recruit Maria and she'll move towards Marth. She will attack your units if any of them happen to be in her range.

Save point use: If using the strategy noted here, use the first one before or after tackling the first Horsemen and Cavalier assault. Use the second one after reaching it or before fighting the boss. Otherwise, use them when you can.

Reinforcements: "Two Knights, four Cavaliers and two Horsemen will appear from the north east during Turns 6 and 10 of the Enemy Phase. You can prevent these reinforcements from appearing by defeating the boss." - Chapter Data with small H5 correction.

Ok, to start off, end your first turn (seriously). Next, place a unit capable of feeding a nice juicy counter-attack to that Javelin cavalier in its range and the rest of your team nearby (avoiding the Javelin cavalier range... obviously) to gang up on the incoming cavaliers. Turn 3, nuke the cavaliers and do not have any units blocking the entrance to the fortress if you want that Levin Sword. Turn 4, the thief will likely leave the fortress and end up outside, kill him. Move the rest of the team near the save point. Turn 5, place a unit of good counter-attack capabilities in the range of the closest Dragon Knight (probably Merric with Excalibur if he can take a hit). Turn 6, kill the Dragon Knights with ID attacks, Bows and Excaliburs. End your turn when you make sure that the Javelin pegasus can't hit any1 and the Silver Lance pegasus won't kill any1.

Turn 6 enemy phase, the reinforcements should appear and they will come for you. Finish off the Pegasus knights and prepare to take on those reinforcements near the save point. When battling these, do your best in making it so that at only 1 or no cavaliers remain and that no1 is in risk of death when you end your turn. It can be difficult to pull off but it's quite possible. The armor knights of that group will lag behind and they'll be extremely easy to deal with, nuke them.

Turn 10 enemy phase, the second reinforcements appear, deal with them in the same manner you deal with the first set. After that, go into the fortress and deal with the enemies there. The Armor Knight there won't move until you get in the range of the Archers and Sniper, take the armor knight out (or place a REALLY good tank in range of the sniper) to make them move so you can deal with them on the next turn. That's it, the rest is easy. Nuke the Enemy hero with indirect attacks, magic and strong direct attacks. Obviously, you should avoid putting an Armored unit in his range unless you want him dead.

Boss (Zharov):

Pretty similar to all those easy bosses you've been fighting but he's packing a forged Javelin with only 2 MT less than a Silver Lance. Get a direct attack unit adjacent to him to deliver a good counter-attack and possibly make him switch to his Silver Lance. If he switched, laugh and nuke him. If he stayed with the Javelin, kill him if possible but do be careful. That Javelin's the only reason I suggested using the second save point before fighting him.

Notes on my Playthrough: Recruited Maria and Minerva. Lena reached lvl 20 so she gets the Master Seal.

Marth = Lvl 8.76

Shiida = Lvl 5.96

Cain = Lvl 13.59

Abel = Lvl 14.49

Ogma = Lvl 14.74

Barst = Lvl 15.07

Wolf = Lvl 6.02

Sedgar/Zagaro = Lvl 6.31

Merric = Lvl 14.84 (Expect him to be the second Master Seal user).

That's pretty much my team for now, Shiida's only purpose really is to use that Wingspear of hers and help with killing Horsemen/Cavalier. May kill her later or promote her when she gets 20 SPD (as well as my last Master Seal).

Edited December 12, 2008 by Boo

[Dr. Tarrasque]

Chapter 11:

Easy one. You've got 2 recruitable characters here, Arrowspate Jake and Linde. Arrowspate Jake is decent in H5 for his ability to hit units from a safe range and weaken flying units which is quite helpful in the next few chapters so you may wish to save that ammo. Linde... eh, she sucks in H5... Aura's MT is really the only thing that could give her some use but if Lena's your primary healer (or you've got Mage Sheeda), they could probably make better use of it and there'd be less babying to do just to use Aura. To recruit Jake, you must first visit this house (with any1):

Then have Shiida (make her a Myrmidon or warp) talk to him.

To recruit Linde, just visit the only village there is.

Save point use: Use the first one whenever you want. Use the second before taking on that Sniper.

There is very little I can say for this chapter. The thief will go for the village so if you want Aura Linde, send some units to go nuke him. The 2 pegasus knights will move close to attack you with forged Javelins... deal with these using bows and powerful counter-attacks... they're hardly any trouble.

There's a stonehoist user here, this weapon is inaccurate (50 HIT) but somewhat powerful (15 MT). Avoid its range or use it for staff abuse.

The mercs are EASY to deal with, just stand in their range to hit them with a counter-attack and finish them off however you want. To deal with the group of 4 mercs near the houses, just highlight the top-right Merc, place some1 in his range for a counter-attack and have a Javelin user finish him off from that space between the 2 pillars. Place 2 other good counter-attack units on the pillars so that each Merc has to attack 1 different ally.

To deal with the Thunderbolt Ballistican, you can either have a Curate/Cleric with 10 RES (Thunderbolt uses MAG stat and attacks RES) take all his 10 uses or once again, staff abuse or move a mage to the save point so he/she can deal damage and nuke him. The horseman and sniper will move once you get in their range and that sniper has a Forged 12 MT Killer Bow so watch out for that. The manakete will move when you're in his range so avoid that.

Now for the cavaliers, they will move once you get in Arrowspate Jake's range. Position a unit who can take a hit from Jake and the Stonehoist ballistican to make the cavaliers move and then retreat to take them out however you want. Once they're done, work on that Stonehoist ballistican, the cavalier at the gate, recruit Arrowspate Jake and...

Boss (Khozen):

The manakete I mentioned earlier, he'll attack once you move in on his range. If you've got some1 who can take a hit from this guy (he's got 18 Attack SPD), use that person to lure and then nuke him with Magic, indirect attacks and Wyrmslayer. If you can't kill him, then just have Marth conquer.

Notes on my playthrough: I killed Maria, Minerva and Linde. Merric reached lvl 19.39 with no staff abuse involved (I just had him do all the healing, some barrier uses and of course some Physic uses). I had ReClassed Ogma to fighter (for weapon EXP on axes) and Barst to Merc (for better SPD growth since he's packing plenty STR already). Shiida was ReClassed to Myrmidon to recruit Arrowspate... I mean Jake.

Edited January 30, 2009 by Levin

[Dr. Tarrasque]

Chapter 12:

Easy for gaiden players, maybe hard for "keep every1 alive" players. The reason I say that is because 3 of the 5 recruitable units here are HIGHLY LIKELY to die. Boah the bishop's got a C-rank on staves so you could keep him alive for warp use (problem is that you've got many other people who easily get C rank on staves). Midia's a female Paladin, another crappy unit that sucks for H5. She can recruit Astram later but Astram sucks too. Thomas just plain sucks. Dolph could become a good General but sadly, he's underleveled and you may be better off with some1 else. Macellan's inferior to Dolph.

To save ALL of them you'd have to spend 2 warp staff uses to send some good units that can 1 round the archers and deal with the Mage on the next turn.

Save point use: First one before dealing with Heimler and the Horsemen/Cav reinforcements or after that. Second one before taking on the Manakete.

Reinforcements: "Two Cavaliers and one Horseman will appear from the east during Turns 3, 5, 7 and 9 of the Enemy Phase. You can prevent these reinforcements from appearing by defeating the boss." - Chapter Data with the usual H5 correction.

Short walkthrough: Room that's blocked by the first 2 Armor Knights (it has 2 pillars in the center) makes this easy. I shall refer to this as the "Key Room"

Start off by heading left, positioning 3 units in the form of a vertical line, the top one being the save point so that no unit can be attacked by both Armor Knights (and do make sure that these units do not kill an AK on their counter-attack). Get in that room and deal with the thieves when they're nearby. The armor knight blocking the cell area will not move so don't worry much about his range. Do kill him when you can. The mage in the cell area will first focus on executing your imprisoned ally units and then come for your other units (avoid getting close to the archers too). 2 Bolganone mages as well as Heimler's team will come for you.

Once you're in the room, you can focus on killing the enemies in the cell area and having Julian and Marth open chests (the General didn't do a thing until I put some1 in range of his Silver Bow). Take out the incoming Mages however you want.

To deal with Heimler's team, just have 2 units block the southern entrance to the "Key Room" so that only those 2 will be attacked and you can kill Heimler's team on the next turn.

The reinforcements pretty much move in a fixed pattern (unless you end up being in their range). At some point, their range will extend far enough to reach both pillars in the key room, just wait out of their range when that's the case and then nuke them on your next turn. If you have a unit durable enough to take an assault from the Horseman and the closest Silver Lance cavalier, position him on a pillar for a good counter-attack to both enemies. Heal and repeat until all reinforcements are gone.

The rest is quite easy. To deal with the Manakete, have a mage, indirect attack units and the Wyrmslayer user wait just outside the Manakete's range to bash him on the next turn. If you've got some1 with 17 Attack Speed who can take a hit from this Manakete, great, use him to lure the Manakate and gang up on him. That's it, the rest is easy. The sniper will move when you're in his range and the General will only attack when you're 2 spaces away from him.

Boss (Volzhin):

A 15 or 16 Attack SPD bishop using Bolganone. He's pretty easy.

Notes on my playthrough: Merric promoted. Lena reached a C on tomes and I gave her the Arms scroll so she can now use Aura. Abel, Cain and Ogma are lvl 16 and Barst is 17. Oh and Ogma and Barst were switched back to their original classes.

My unit count is 15 (I let all the new allies die). Off to 12x.

Edited December 14, 2008 by Boo

[Dr. Tarrasque]

Chapter 12x:

Easy. The recruitable character here is Horace and he's a good tank during the midgame. Definitely use him if you don't already have a better tank (or if your tank's speed is so slow that he gets doubled by cavaliers too). He's recruited if you don't kill him.

Save point use: Whenever you want, it's an easy chapter. The Akaneian Armor Knight will attack when using the second save point.

Reinforcements (from the chapter data):

* One Pirate will appear from the south-western Fort during Turns 7 and 9 of the Enemy Phase.

* Two Pirates will appear from the western Fort during Turns 9, 11 and 13 of the Enemy Phase.

* One Pirate will appear from the north-western Fort during Turns 11, 13 and 15 of the Enemy Phase.

* One Cavalier will appear near the eastern Fort during Turns 13, 15 and 17 of the Enemy Phase.

*I did not check to see if their turns are different, they're hardly any reason for worry*.

Grust is your only enemy. Akaneia will not attack unless you're right next to them (or 2 spaces away if the unit's carrying an indirect attack weapon). Simply take the path on the right and nuke every single Grust soldier, they're easier in this chapter because their weapons have been downgraded from Silver to Steel (the sniper being the only exception) and from Bolganone to Elfire for the mages.

Boss (Dejanira):

A paladin with a Steel Lance and 14 Attack speed. Nothing special at all.

If you ever feel like ReClassing some units for weapon EXP and 1 level up in a different class, this is the time to do it.

Notes on my playthrough: I ReClassed Ogma to Fighter again, Barst to Merc and Abel to Archer to raise their weapon levels and better STR growth for Ogma, SPD for Barst and Abel.

Edited December 14, 2008 by Boo

[Dr. Tarrasque]

Chapter 13:

You may hate this chapter. This one's packing so many Ballistican that IT'S JUST RIDICULOUS. The recruitable characters here are Thunderbolt Beck and Astram, save the village in order to recruit Beck. He's definitely the better of the 2 Ballistican so if you need just 1, Beck's your best bet. Astram sucks, not worth using in H5. Recruit him with Midia.

Save point use: I recommend using the first one after taking out a few Ballisticans and getting Beck. Use the 2nd 1 before dealing with the boss and the 2 nearby Ballisticans.

I honestly don't know how to guide some1 through such a chapter... there's hardly any blind spots, if you sit around too much you'll die, if you move too fast you'll be killed in 2 shots and these Ballisticans aren't so easy to beat in 1 round (unless you're a mage... but if you are chances are that you'll get nuked on the next turn >_<).

Anyway, to start off, work on getting rid of the only 2 mobile Ballisticans and protecting the village from the thieves (with the middle group). The top and bottom group should either rush in to kill the Ballisticans. MAKE STONEHOIST YOUR LAST PRIORITY WHEN KILLING THE BALLISTICANS. You can deal with Stonehoist by adding some avoid through the use of the forests which should make their hit rates 20s and below.

Astram will attack when you're in his range, he's nothing alone but you'll likely get hit by a Ballistae and he'll end up killing you >_<.

Boss (Grigas):

I hate you Grigas. His attack power is the highest (32) so he's definitely gonna damage you if you're in his range. Of course, seeing as how he's a Ballistican, he's not match for you up close. I think a good way to deal with this guy is to warp a durable Mage/Sage (Merric) next to the enemy Curate's starting position. This way, Grigas can't attack you and only an Arrowspate and the Stonehoist adjacent to Astram will be able to take a shot at your Mage/Sage.

Notes on my playthrough: 2 attempts.

Barst remains a Merc and Abel is returned to cavalier. On my first attempt, I just went through it the "traditional way" by nuking every enemy as well as I could. The 2nd attempt was basically a Merric solo and surprisingly enough it actually worked O_o. The save I kept was the "traditional way" though.

Apologies on this one being quite a terrible guide for that chapter.

Akairyu: The middle Ballisticians will only attack you if you get close enough to them (even if you're in their range, they won't attack you. You'd have to be much closer than that). So, let someone lure Astram out and then recruit or kill him. it's much safer this way .

I remember only one of middle Ballisticians which can move may attack you, so kill it first .

Edited December 14, 2008 by Boo

[Dat Nick]

I should point out that Jake actually is the better Ballistician. He has a level lead, higher atk and hit, stats which shooters sorely need. Beck's speed lead also doesn't really matter as he'll still get doubled by most stuff, and your shooters probably won't get attacked anyway.

Anyway, just to make this post not a complete waste of space, I think "Chip damage" is a better term than ID attack.

[Dr. Tarrasque]

Level lead huh... I guess that could be the case but I don't use Jake on Chapters 12 and 12x. I usually save the Arrowspate for chapter 14 and 15 where there are Pegasus and Dragon Knights.

I suppose I could've used a combination of Thunderbolt and Arrowspate to take out some enemy ballisticans in chapter 13... too bad several of them ended up with at least 1 HP =\

Edited December 14, 2008 by Boo

[Dr. Tarrasque]

Chapter 14:

Easy chapter. The recruitable characters here are Palla and Catria appear who on Turn 5 of Enemy phase. To recruit them, just let them talk to Marth. Catria > Palla is all I can say, never really tried any of the Whitewings but this time I shall try Catria.

Save point use: Before reinforcements for the first, before taking on Jiol for the 2nd.

Reinforcements: 2 Pegasus Knights appear from Turn 8-15 of the enemy phase. - Chapter Data with H5 correction.

The incoming enemies here are just slow archers and the reinforcement pegasus... you could stay on your starting position deal with all of them with little or no trouble (but that would mean losing the Bullion).

Start by killing the Ballistican and raise the bridge (by having Julian stand adjacent to it) when you want. Send some people to go for the thieves, sniper, cavaliers and Jiol while the others deal with the cavaliers near the 2nd save point and the incoming Archers. After that, either have the outside team help the units that are going for the sniper and the thieves or leave them outside and prepare for the reinforcements (If you've got longbow on you, have an archer or 2 use them).

One thief will go for the Thoron tome in the village and the other will go for the innermost treasure chest which contains Bullion (S) (the other one being a Silver Card, GET THIS). Feel free to let the Bullion thief open the door and have some1 lure the sniper to bash him.

Boss: (Jiol)

Easy, sure he's got that Killer bow to deal with indirect attacks... that's why I recommend the 2nd save point used before fighting him, in case it criticals. You can nuke this guy in 1 turn with a good Sage/Mage and Armorslayer/Hammer combo.

After dealing with Jiol or the reinforcements, take out the longbow archer group so that Marth can go for the village and get Thoron.

Notes on my Playthrough: Killed Jake, Athena and Wendall. Abel and Cain were Archers on this chapter for better SPD growth and bow weapon EXP (I intend to have a Parthia user). Barst is promoted and a Hero.

Edited December 14, 2008 by Boo

[Dat Nick]

Just barging in for another second here.

If you have a good tank set up for this chapter [Horace is reccomended if you're an Anti-Zag, hell, I used a generic general because Zag had buisness elsewhere], bring him out. Have Julian fix the bridge, and slowly but surely manuver your tank over to the area where the archers are. Clear them out, then place your tank in front of the entrance to the house. Now, have Marth recruit Catria. Make sure you toss her a javelin. Now, place her a two spaces behind your tank. So, like this:

C

E

H

C is Catria. E is empty. H is Horace.

Now, let the peg reinforcments come at Horace and attack him. Have Catria pick off the peg with a javelin, then quickly move Horace a space up so she doesn't get nuked next turn. The peg should attack Horace again. So, have Horace move up to the peg and attack, and Catria will take the kill. You should probably use a silver lance for this. This is an excellent way to train Catria with little hassle, along with C15 which is chock-full of opportunities to level her.

Obviously this works for Palla, too, if you feel inclined to use her for some reason.

I don't remember if Horace is taking damage from the pegs or not, but if he is, be sure to break out a physic for him.

Edited December 14, 2008 by Berserkah2DaBladah

[Dr. Tarrasque]

Horace does take damage from the Pegs (quite a lot too) and yes, Catria has been easy to level up so far. Just finished C15 and she got 4 level ups there as a Peg. Cain, Abel and Ogma are waiting for a Master seal now that they've reached lvl 20.

I pretty much did that same method for Catria, Cain and Abel... difference being that I had General Zagaro play tank since Horace took some damage. Using Hoistflamme and Arrowspate helps a lot with the weakening. The problem is that one peg is carrying a Forged Javelin and their movement patterns make it hard to not have your tank attacked by BOTH pegasus in the same turn.

Edited December 14, 2008 by Boo

[Dr. Tarrasque]

Chapter 15:

Hard if you don't know what you're doing. Easy if you play smart. No recruitable character here. Your enemies consist of Magic users and a few Dragoons. The troublesome thing about this chapter is the desert terrain which, like in any other FE desert chapter, slows all your units except for the magic users. Then there's Gharnef, the good old sorcerer who hacked and got invulnerability. Bows, Excalibur, Hoistflamme and anything that can 1hitKO mages are quite welcomed here.

Save point use: Use the first one after Gharnef leaves if using the sit and wait method. Use it before or after if using the RES tank method. Use the 2nd when you reach it.

Reinforcements:

* One Mage will appear from the south east during Turns 5 to 10 of the Enemy Phase.

* One Dracoknight will appear from the north-eastern Fort during Turns 8, 12 and 14 of the Enemy Phase.

* One Mage will appear from the western Fort during Turns 10 and 14 of the Enemy Phase.

Chapter Data with H5 correction... may have made a mistake on this one though.

Dealing with Gharnef (Sit and Wait method):

Get rid of incoming enemies and simply try to keep all your units on the Southwestern corner of the map as well as you can. Only thing that happens is that Gharnef gets incredibly close to you (but leaves at the end of turn 6 player phase) and you'll have to deal with a few Dragon Knights. The thief however will be close to the chest, after Gharnef leaves, you can warp a capable unit on the spot where the first mage reinforcements appear. This blocks both the mage reinforcements here as well as the thief from getting the chests but do make sure to have your team aid this unit since a Dragon Knight will appear from the northernmost fort and go for him/her.

Dealing with Gharnef (Tank Method):

Pretty simple really. Just get to that small island, deal with the Dragon Knights and the mage closest to Gharnef. Then, block the bridge using some1 with high RES and Barrier staff used on him/her or some1 whom Gharnef cannot double. Keep that person healed and alive till Gharnef leaves. You'll be able to kill the thief this way, save a warp staff use and go for the chests once the reinforcements are done.

The chapter without Gharnef is easy and a good place to level up your underleveled units (Catria in my case) as long as you don't do anything foolish. By foolish, I mean letting 1 unit that doesn't have freakishly high RES getting attacked by 2 mages since they're all carrying Bolganone and average 25 ATK (attacking RES which most of your units lack). Weakening a mage with Hoistflamme helps avoiding counter-attacks. Their defenses are weak so you won't have much trouble killing them, it's just that their counter-attacks are incredibly painful.

You should be able to easily reach the western fort since there's some plain terrain you can use to move faster, block it so you don't get any reinforcements from there. As for the Dragon Knights, they all carry forged Javelins so wait for them with a bow and Arrowspate nearby to make them easy.

Boss (Generic Khadein Bishop):

Think Grigas but much MUCH easier to deal with, he's packing the swarm spell and an attack power of 17. I like to simply warp some1 nearby and kill him since he's so pathetically easy... a bucket of EXP you might say >_>.

Notes on my playthrough:

Cain and Abel remained Archers for this chapter and along with Ogma, they all reached lvl 20. Decisions, decisions...

Oh, and I killed Shiida and Palla. Catria leveled up 4 times.

Question, is it a bit bothersome that the recent chapters don't have explanations as detailed as the early ones? I could go into more detail (it may be hard >_>) but these mid-game chapters are just that easy >_>.

Edited December 15, 2008 by Boo

[Rodykitty]

Method #3, killing the thief, while still avoiding Gharnef.

Note that I still use the Warp Staff, but only to save time. I could have easily walked a unit over there to the chests after the Mage reinforcements die. Alternatively, if you are planning on Catria level up (unlike in this vid where it's clear I already have plenty of units), then she can just go after the chest herself with a Deluxe Key.

[Dr. Tarrasque]

Ah right, forgot that works too. I thought the mages near the bishop were incoming enemies that would pose a threat but that only happened cause I had Shiida and Palla move in their range (and the fact that my cavaliers were 5 MOV archers). Silly me.

Thanks for that.

Edited December 15, 2008 by Boo

[Mekkah]

Just wanted to note that if you want to post this walkthrough on any site, you should make it look more professional. There's chatspeak like "every1" all over the place, and I personally don't like to read stuff like "this is easy if you know what you're doing, hard otherwise" or "DO THIS AND THAT AND THIS" (all caps is annoying).

Good effort otherwise.

[Dr. Tarrasque]

Just wanted to note that if you want to post this walkthrough on any site, you should make it look more professional. There's chatspeak like "every1" all over the place, and I personally don't like to read stuff like "this is easy if you know what you're doing, hard otherwise" or "DO THIS AND THAT AND THIS" (all caps is annoying).

Good effort otherwise.

I'm aware. Thanks for the advice.

[Dr. Tarrasque]

Chapter 16:

Beware the anti-cavalier weapons, Armorslayer and Forged Killer weapons. The recruitable characters here are Xane the Chameleon, Arran the Paladin and Samson the Hero. Xane's an excellent unit since he's instantly useful and requires no level ups at all. Xane can imitate one of your units, copying all of that person's stats except for their current HP (max HP is copied as well so you may fix this with a Recover or Mend staff). Arran and Samson both suck and getting one means missing out on the other. Samson is definitely better than Arran. Xane is recruited by talking to him with Marth. Arran is on the left village and Samson is on the right village.

Save point use: If you take the long way, just use them as soon as you reach them. If you take the short way, you'll need to send a flying unit to use them when it's possible.

Reinforcements:

Two Horsemen, three Cavaliers and a Knight will appear from the north-western and central Forts during Turns 11, 14, and 17 of the Enemy Phase. You can prevent these reinforcements from appearing by defeating the boss. - Chapter Data with Merciless mode correction.

Start with killing the Dragon Knights by positioning 1 decent counter-attack unit in the range of the one with the Ridersbane and another in the range of the one with the Pole Axe. The Silver Lance one should be in range of bows on your next turn, finish all three.

Have your Shooter attack the Curate and get rid of him to stop the Fortify staff. You can also have some indirect attack units deal with the Javelin Cavalier and the Horsemen but watch out for the Horsemen with the forged Killer Bow, deal with that one using your tank unit or an indirect attack unit with high Luck to reduce the critical percentage.

I recommend having most of your team together so if you're not going to get Arran or Samson, just take the short way (go south through Xane's cell), recruit Xane and have a tank unit, a healer and an indirect attacker block cavaliers behind you, if there's any.

If you are recruiting Samson or Arran, then take the long way and recruit Xane before finishing the chapter (or recruit him early and have him copy a mobile unit so he can catch up with your team). Be sure to block the forts if you wish to avoid reinforcements or simply stay out of range when they're about to appear if you wish to kill the Horsemen for more EXP.

Finish off the rest of the enemies as you wish and watch out for the effective weapons.

Boss (Hollstadt):

He's basically a stronger Jiol with a direct attack killer weapon. Make him switch to killer bow and then bash him with Armorslayer/Hammer and strong direct attacks.

Notes on my playthrough: Cain gets promotion this time since he needs it the most and he remained an Archer so he could play as a sniper in this chapter. His bow weapon level was C and a Half after promotion (he had reached D before it). Managed to have Catria go from level 9 to 15.

That better Mekkah? (I probably used a few words like "them" too much and lots of punctuation and capitalization errors will probably be found).

Edited December 15, 2008 by Boo

[Mekkah]

Much better. You may also want to watch capitalization though. For a few examples:

(max HP is copied as well so you may fix this with a Recover or Mend staff)

Start with killing the Dragon Knights by positioning 1 decent counter-attack unit in the range of the one with the Ridersbane and another in the range of the one with the Pole Axe. The Silver Lance one should be in range of bows on your next turn, finish all three.

Numbers up to ten are usually written full, but if you don't like that you can keep "3" or change to "all of them".

Have your Shooter attack the Curate and get rid of him to stop the Fortify staff. You can also have some indirect attack units deal with the Javelin Cavalier and the Horsemen but watch out for the Horsemen with the forged Killer Bow, deal with that one using your tank unit or an indirect attack unit with high Luck to reduce the critical percentage.

If it's too much work to apply it every time, you could choose to consistently not apply it (for example, I prefer to leave "critical hit" uncapitalized, and I know there's people who do the same for class names, etc).

Edited December 15, 2008 by Mekkah

[Dr. Tarrasque]

Chapter 17:

No recruitable characters. Bring indirect attack weapons, Wyrmslayer and Dragonpikes. There's a Fortify staff you can get here but unfortunately, it's in the hands of an enemy Bishop and this particular enemy will often (if not always) be the first of the two Bishops to use Fortify. The more often you leave enemies with some HP lost, the more uses of that Fortify staff you will lose. If you've got a Longbow from the Online Shop, make use of it to take the staff early. Otherwise you'll have to wait until after you kill Morzas.

Save point use:

Use the first one before taking on that Killer Bow Sniper. Use the 2nd one when you're ready to open door and fight Morzas.

Reinforcements: Once you move north past the area indicated by the cursor (or onto it), a Knight and Cavalier will appear from the east each Turn, for 10 Turns. You can prevent these reinforcements from appearing by defeating the boss. - Chapter Data

Start by sending your team left to take on the Hero, Armor Knights and Thieves. Once you're done with them, take out the Sniper by luring him with a tank or someone with high Luck. Continue on with the Manaketes by using Magic, indirect attacks and Wyrmslayer/Dragonpike. The Manaketes won't move until you get in their range and do remember that the Bishop will use the Fortify staff you're getting so luring the Manaketes isn't recommended if you wanna get the most out of that Fortify staff. Once that's done, get all the treasure and head back to the starting point.

Before opening that door, I recommend that you first take out that Mage with an indirect attacker. Then, take out the Armor Knight capable of attacking the space adjacent to the door using a durable indirect attacker, probably a Magic user with high RES who can take a hit from Swarm and that forged Javelin.

Boss (Morzas):

A Manakete with a Magestone, Magic cannot hurt him. Kill him using your best indirect attacks and counter-attacks from the Wyrmslayer.

Take out Morzas so that the reinforcements stop coming and then go for the Silver Bow Sniper and the two Bishops. Use the VIP card to enter the Secret Shop here:

I recommend Longbow, Pole Axe, Wyrmslayer and Dragonpike.

Notes on my playthrough: Ogma got promotion and is capable of using Hand Axes since I had him get a D rank on Axes earlier. Catria reached level 17 and 98 EXP. My unit count is 15 so I'm off to Chapter 17x. Abel was once again an Archer so that he may get Bow Weapon EXP

Edited December 16, 2008 by Boo