afreaknamedpete
Member
Finished Birthright Lunatic mode... it was my first Lunatic FE ever and pretty much the only Fire Emblem I didn't abuse mechanically. I farmed supports in the cheapest scouting mission, which provided like a grand total of like 200exp cumulatively mostly across units I benched. Though I did use my castle to buy astra on the MC since I didn't want to tedium of reclassing, so it's not totally pure.
This whole campaign was much more inspired in terms of map design compared to awakening despite claiming to be "similar", with highlights all throughout the game. I think everyone's already mentioned this but the inclusion of Dragon Veins was a really clever idea especially since many chapters had them either has a limited resource or optional given that they could hinder as much as help. [MAP SPOILERS] The beginning
The middle of the game
I'm not sure what Conquest's endgame is like yet but Birthright's final few chapters
All in all probably my favorite FE game yet, though I don't know if I might have the same experience with older FEs since this is the first game where I couldn't save scum for stat resets, even on hardest difficulties.
Also just for fun, my personal Hoshido MVP list!
Final results:
Personal MVPs:
Edit: Forgot to mention this but the story is kind of ass.
This whole campaign was much more inspired in terms of map design compared to awakening despite claiming to be "similar", with highlights all throughout the game. I think everyone's already mentioned this but the inclusion of Dragon Veins was a really clever idea especially since many chapters had them either has a limited resource or optional given that they could hinder as much as help. [MAP SPOILERS] The beginning
was a little weak, but to get into specifics some of the really cool maps include the boat map with the fliers, which let you essentially make your own corridors. It got REALLY hectic once the enemies started swarming and if you didn't efficiently clear them the enemy easily overwhelms you. There are plenty of really cool twists on the standard "rout" map, including stuff like the ninja village.
had some of the more gimmicky maps, including that one lava level which was ridiculous, an interesting "retreat" map and a really cool mid-game boss battle with Camilla, who I think was the first to use Dragon Veins against you. There was an over-reliance on Faceless which was pretty abyssmal though, and the "poison swamp" like chapters were really pointless given how little damage the swamps did. Even lava was more annoying for the move penalty than anything else. Ironically given the environmental hazards this may have been the worst FE game to go barefoot in... but hey, gotta cater to that crowd.
I'm not sure what Conquest's endgame is like yet but Birthright's final few chapters
are basically swarming you with high move high offense/defense units. I'm killing like 60 to 100 baddies on a map which is actually pretty absurd. Speed is virtually never an issue, but the game loves this one-two punch where they keep magic and physical units nearby so attacking an enemy with low defense usually exposes you to the mages. There are only a few units that you can reliably use to man the front-lines given how HARD things hit you. Shoutouts go to Camilla's final chapter which was designed by a sadist. Swarmed by all sides by like 8-move mounted units and an insane dragon vein that did like 1/3 of your health. Although I hated it at the time the enemy bombardment forced you to play aggressively. I bought HP tonics for all my units on that map in order to survive. Iago's final chapter was also pretty insane, since for like the first half dozen turns or so you starting position is assaulted by squads of six mixed mounted units.
All in all probably my favorite FE game yet, though I don't know if I might have the same experience with older FEs since this is the first game where I couldn't save scum for stat resets, even on hardest difficulties.
Also just for fun, my personal Hoshido MVP list!
Final results:
Rinkah 122 Kills
Kaze 124
Ryoma 146
Hinoka 153
Avatar 160.
Kaze 124
Ryoma 146
Hinoka 153
Avatar 160.
Personal MVPs:
Ryoma. He's third place cause I basically benched him until the rest of my units were all caught up. What goes unsaid about that list is that Ryoma got like all of his kills in the final 5 chapters, where my basic strategy was that Ryoma in Guard Stance with Kagero would handle one side of the map, and the entire rest of my party would handle the other side of the map. Raijinto is like Ragnell and Killing Edge mixed into a soup of Energy Drops. The combination of Astra granting like a full guard meter, plus Vantage meaning the guard meter is rarely even spent, makes this guy able to charge into a horde of any enemy type imaginable and vaporize them despite being able to take like three hits at most.
Hinoka: Maybe it was just me but I had some really solid defense growths on her, and with a Guard Naginata she was a "hold the line" kind of character. If you can get her married to Silas she makes a ridiculous Grand Knight since her Resistance will be high because of spending so long as a Peg Knight and the class grants a huge Defense bonus. That plus the Guard Naginata means she's one of the few reliable magic and defense tanks which is essential in the Hoshido endgame where it is often impossible to avoid getting hit by both magic and physicals in one turn.
Oboro: High Resistance, high strength, Guard Naginata makes her the perfect "bait" character to pull all the pesky enemies into range of her squishier teammates. Basara seems attractive at first glance due to Rending Heaven and Quixotic but they play against her main talents of just tanking everything. With seal defense and speed even if they suffer zero damage the enemy ends up totally crippled and easily oneshot after any encounter with her.
I've come to realize that, more than anything else, the most important thing in Lunatic is Tankiness. You are utterly flooded with glass cannons and they kind of all bleed into each other eventually with most of them taking a same role. The basic FE strategy of bait with tanks and sweeping with glass cannons falls apart once enemy numbers balloon and you need people to hold the line and plug chokepoints. Even my Avatar, with decent defense growths and like 40 ATK, was only good for being a physical wall when needed and being a glass cannon and boss killer, the lack of resistance really made it very tricky putting her into harm's way.
Hinoka: Maybe it was just me but I had some really solid defense growths on her, and with a Guard Naginata she was a "hold the line" kind of character. If you can get her married to Silas she makes a ridiculous Grand Knight since her Resistance will be high because of spending so long as a Peg Knight and the class grants a huge Defense bonus. That plus the Guard Naginata means she's one of the few reliable magic and defense tanks which is essential in the Hoshido endgame where it is often impossible to avoid getting hit by both magic and physicals in one turn.
Oboro: High Resistance, high strength, Guard Naginata makes her the perfect "bait" character to pull all the pesky enemies into range of her squishier teammates. Basara seems attractive at first glance due to Rending Heaven and Quixotic but they play against her main talents of just tanking everything. With seal defense and speed even if they suffer zero damage the enemy ends up totally crippled and easily oneshot after any encounter with her.
I've come to realize that, more than anything else, the most important thing in Lunatic is Tankiness. You are utterly flooded with glass cannons and they kind of all bleed into each other eventually with most of them taking a same role. The basic FE strategy of bait with tanks and sweeping with glass cannons falls apart once enemy numbers balloon and you need people to hold the line and plug chokepoints. Even my Avatar, with decent defense growths and like 40 ATK, was only good for being a physical wall when needed and being a glass cannon and boss killer, the lack of resistance really made it very tricky putting her into harm's way.
Edit: Forgot to mention this but the story is kind of ass.