♪ A Guide for the Future ♪
Welcome back. Today: this mess.
Did not miss this place.
In addition to the prerequisite increase in reinforcements, we also have to contend with one random extra warrior on the left, plus a whopping five extra bow users.
For this map, I'm finally doing this: giving a Relic and a crest sign to someone without a crest, negating the 10 HP drain after combat.
The group I'm using for this. Notable: no Dimitri.
It's kind of a shame that Maddening never adjusts objectives....Then again, given some of the bullshit it pulls, maybe it's better this way.
This group of axe users is way too close to us for comfort, so they get the ol' big jolt.
Dedue is here to do his usual job of baiting out weapon users.
A good use for the levin sword, a bad level.
A major change on Maddening is that the infinite thief reinforcements that the merchant spawns are two at a time now, instead of one. As is usual for Maddening reinforcements, they can act on their spawn turn.
Ashe doesn't crit, which is a bit annoying.
Using a lance against these guys would be inadvisable, given Lancebreaker+.
Wow. Couldn't that have gone to one of my damage dealers?
I could've abused Divine Pulse to instead use this Crest of Noa activation on Bolting or something, but I opted not to.
Man, I love Thoron.
I decided to let Adan bait out the southern grou pof enemies. Fight on two fronts, y'know.
Felix and Marianne join him, while Ingrid joins with the others.
A generic enemy being able to put 30 gambit Hit against Adan is worrying.
Dedue locks these two thieves in place, to give everyone else some room to move.
Healing gets Dorothea an atrocious level.
Picking off Dedue's primary gambit target gets my boy a very nice level.
...Dammit.
Right, whatever, Adan can guaranteed finish—
He's got a damn Prayer Ring. Jerk.
I decided to have Constance fry this enemy archer, because fuck enemy archers. She gets an extra use of Bolting out of it. Good trade!
Felix's iron bow+ broke, so this miniboss is able to double him.
Hope that attack was worth it.
You're in the way!
Dedue acts as the vanguard, heading this far forward. He's within range of no less than three enemies.
By borrowing one of Ashe's bows, Ingrid is able to take that thief down.
I could've had Constance fry any number of okay targets, but none of them are critical or particularly nice to get out of the way. She, instead, just gets some free EXP from using Ward.
The fuck, man?
Hell yeah, Death Blow Dedue.Even though the archer didn't deal any actual damage to Dedue (just HP drain through Poison Strike), he still gets poisoned by the venin bow.
Healing gets Marianne both Mag and Cha, which are very appreciated.
Man, you've got a lot of Lck.
Going forward is a bit dicey for someone with Dorothea's lack of physical endurance, so she instead hangs back and kills that thief.
Sylvain makes moving forward a bit safer by locking these two thieves in place.
Indeed you have. That Def, especially, is very appreciated.
Again, no really great targets for Constance, so she Wards instead.
Felix is oddly lacking in Dex, I just realized.
Ugh.
Well, that was a bad idea.
Right, new plan: turtle.
...
Two-part newer plan: let Ingrid be bait, and just use Bolting to kill the merchant from far away.
Ingrid, importantly, does not get doubled by the thieves, though she can't double them either on the enemy phase.
...The heal tile and Renewal pushed the merchant out of two-shot range.
Okay, at least these guys are arranged well for Blaze.
Turtling is going to get me nowhere. I have to move up, even if it's dangerous.
The gambit unfortunately hits Dedue, but still, approaching the merchant is now significantly easier, with these guys circling up for the slaughter.
A perfect use for Resonant Flames.
The game apparently liked that exact kill, given the excellent level it gave Hapi as a result.
Okay, now we've got a lot of moving around to do.
Only one of the two axe users will be able to get within melee range of Sylvain.
The east chest reinforcements spawn in. The warrior is Maddening-only.
Having no weapon means Sylvain can't counterattack, but he also can't get doubled.
Whoof, that was close.
I will break you!
Thank you for saving a use of the Vajra-Mushti, Dedue.
So close. If only he'd gotten just one more level with Str in it...
You fool, you're making it too easy for me to kill you.
It's not a very funny one.
Nope.
Dedue's job is unenviable. But it has to be done.
Yowch.
The warrior is no joke.
Ultimately, though, he and his one remaining thief friend are no match for me.
Sylvain only has to take one attack here, so it's safer than earlier attempts at having him bait out attacks were.
Might as well take this.
Assault Troop: good.
This'll be useful for Mercedes down the road.
Passing a specific threshold causes these guys to spawn in. The assassin, as you might expect by now, is Maddening-only.
These guys can act on their spawn turn, but they go after other enemies, weirdly.
It was close, but Sylvain is still barely alive.
You can't stop me!
You've got this, Ingrid.
Constance softens those three up.
Making it easy for these three to pick them off.
Skipping over a lot of the northern group rejoining with Adan, Felix, and Marianne.Ouch.
Dedue can get things going, at least.
Constance can exact kill this guy, and as an added bonus...
It causes the final reinforcements to spawn in early, well before we're in their attack ranges!In addition to the three brigands from lower difficulties, there's three warriors, too.
Would like to note that we completely skipped the reinforcements that spawn if you bring Ingrid to this southwest area beofre killing the merchant. On Maddening, those reinforcements are completely different. Instead of several brigands and archers, you get six warriors and two snipers.
Good use of Bolting, IMO.
This levin sword is proving very useful.
The reinforcements and one random thief are all that are left now.
Again, these warriors are no joke.
Wait, what? Ward isn't attack magic, and yet the Crest of Noa is activating on it....Does the Crest of Noa work on any magic? Could...could it activate on Warp?
Whatever, I've got a map to finish.
Wow, where did that come from?
Sylvain is gonna end up with a lot of bruises after this map.
That's the last warrior down.That's a...pretty okay level. I like Spd, Def, and Cha at the same time, all of those are good defensively.
It was at this point that I remembered that Dedue has Healing Focus.
I can't lose!
We're almost done, don't worry.
Good work, Marianne.
Fimbulvetr is...cool.
♪ No music ♪
And...that's it! Aside from Sylvain's repeated deaths, that wasn't very difficult, just annoying, due to the map's size.
Eh, there's only two supports we haven't seen yet, I'll put them here before we end for the day.Dimitri/Flayn C.
Indeed I am. I have been working away on this meal for hours, now. The only thing is...
Each time it is my turn to tend to the meals, those in the dining hall seem to miraculously become very busy and evacuate the premises. I make the food, but nobody is ever here to eat it! I do not understand what the issue is—it is such a waste. Even my brother seems to evaporate every time I am in the kitchen. It is quite...peculiar.
Well, you're in luck. I've just finished training and am positively ravenous. If you don't mind, I'd love to sample your cooking.
Really?! I mean... Yes. Yes, please have some!
It is not perfect, but I am certain it will taste quite nice, all the same.
I'm sure it will be great. Thank you, Flayn.
You...you liked it? Wow, nobody has ever liked anything I have cooked! If I cannot get anyone else to eat this meal, though, it is going to spoil and go to waste... It is no secret to me that I am not very good at cooking... Say, Flayn... May I have a second helping? You...you actually want...more? Of course. I wouldn't want it to go to waste after all the effort you put in. This kind of mishap can happen to anyone, you know. Don't let it get you down. Besides, I can tell you put a lot of love and dedication into preparing this food for everyone. That alone makes it taste good.
There is no need for false flattery. The few times I have asked my brother whether or not he enjoyed my cooking, he could not even give me a straight answer. My own brother! I speak nothing short of the truth, always. It was delicious, and I look forward to eating it again sometime. I'll agree, there is no need to make enough for everyone though. If you like, you could just cook enough for me. Hm, perhaps! I hope you enjoy the rest of the meal!
♪ A Guide for the Future ♪
Oh, Flayn... I hope she isn't crushed when she realizes Dimitri has no sense of taste.
Ashe/Ingrid B.
Oh, yes. I know it like the hilt of my sword.
With so many valiant knights appearing in this story, I couldn't help but wonder which was your favorite. I really like this one—the one in the middle. The knight who stands in defense of the duke.
Such a wonderful knight—one of my favorites as well. That makes sense. He's so noble and virtuous. In fact, he kind of reminds me of you.
I...thank you. You remind me of him as well. You are honest, as is he.
Ah, no... I'm nowhere near as great. Maybe someday. Maybe if we work hard together, we can both become knights as glorious as the one in this story!
Together, yes... Now wouldn't that be something? If only we could.
Huh? Ashe. The legends are exactly that—legends. They're not indicative of real life. The cards we are dealt are what they are. We can work with what we have, but we can't change what's in our hand. What's that supposed to mean? I long to serve His Highness as a knight—the sort of knight that legends are written about.
I am the only one who can carry on the family bloodline and restore our lost fortune. To do that means setting aside my own dreams and ambitions.
You still have the right to pursue your dreams. Ashe... I must ask something of you. Yes, of course. Anything. My dream...is aligned with your own. Please, for both of us, promise to see yours through. That doesn't seem fair. I'll never be able to see my dream through. Doing so would mean...terrible misfortune for others. So...I am bound by honor not to follow through on my own dream. But...I can help you achieve yours. Come on, this isn't like you at all. Please... Don't smile when your eyes are so sad...
♪ A Guide for the Future ♪
Next time: Gronder 1, Maddening Edition.
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