Part 12: Ep 12: Legions of Evil

Chapter 5: Doors to Destiny Part 1



Time for the grand finale of gen 1. The vanilla version had a lot of atmospheric buildup and critical plot incidents. Binary adds tension to the mix with surprisingly difficult cohorts of enemies.



Just like in the original game, our selection of goods at the Vendor is empty, so let's get on with the last bit of Arena training.



: Arena Completed, Gained 4 levels, +5 HP, +1 Spd, +2 Lck, +2 Def

Sigurd has already rammed into the Lord Knight's low caps, so I wasn't expecting much there.

: Arena Completed, Gained 4 levels and capped, +3 HP, +1 Skl, +1 Spd, +1 Lck, +3 Def

: Arena Completed, Gained 4 levels, +4 HP, +2 Str, +1 Skl, +2 Spd, +1 Lck, +2 Def

: Arena Completed, Gained 4 levels, +4 HP,+1 Skl, +3 Spd, +1 Lck

That Arden right there is standing on a +7 Spd blessing. With his 19 Speed, he's probably the speediest Arden I've ever seen.

: Arena Completed, Gained 4 levels and capped, +3 HP, +2 Skl, +1 Lck, +2 Def

: Arena Completed, Gained 1 level and capped, +1 HP, +1 Skl

: Arena Completed, Gained 4 levels and capped, +3 HP, +1 Str, +1 Skl, +1 Lck, +3 Def

: Arena Completed, Already capped.

: Arena Completed, Gained 4 levels and capped, +3 HP, +3 Skl, +2 Lck, +2 Def

Oh, so now that he's capped everything else, he's starting to work on that skill. Not that I mind, since he'll need it for this chapter.

: Arena completed, Gained 4 levels, +1 HP, +3 Str, +1 Mgc, +1 Skl, +1 Def, +1 Res

Pretty good timing to focus on strength, now that he's finally usable in actual combat.

: Arena Completed, Gained 2 levels and capped, +1 HP, +2 Mgc, +1 Def

: Arena Completed, Gained 5 levels and capped, +3 HP, +1 Str, +2 Spd, +3 Def

: Arena Completed, Gained 3 levels and capped, +2 HP, +1 Mgc, +1 Skl, +2 Spd, +1 Def, +1 Res

: Arena Completed, Gained 4 levels and capped, +3 HP, +2 Spd, +3 Def

: Arena Completed, Gained 2 levels and capped, +1 HP, +1 Skl, +2 Def, +1 Res

: Arena Completed, Gained 3 levels, +3 HP, +2 Mgc, +2 Skl, +1 Def

Lewyn getting at least 1 point of magic was actually rather important for one part of my strategy this chapter, so I'm glad it turned out that way.

: Arena up to rank 7, Gained 4 levels and capped, +1 Mgc, +2 Skl, +2 Spd, +1 Lck, +3 Res

: Arena Completed, Gained 5 levels, +5 HP, +1 Str, +1 Mgc, +1 Skl, +2 Spd, +4 Lck, +2 Def

: Arena Completed, Gained 4 levels, +2 HP, +2 Str, +3 Mgc, +3 Spd, +2 Lck, +1 Def

: Arena Completed, Gained 6 levels, +2 HP, +1 Str, +2 Mgc, +6 Lck, +2 Def, +1 Res

A pretty good batch overall, and a great way to cap those levels and replenish funds. Especially with this:



As this is the final chapter of gen 1, all money rewards in the Arena have been doubled, so now is the best time to start trading items around for gen 2 inheritance.



Which is why I had Holyn get the Halberd to pass down to Ulster, and Beowolf grab the Defender Sword for Patty.



Lewyn also bought the Sleep staff for inheritance and immediate use, as well as a Magic Ring. He's a bit strapped for cash, now.



As usual, the Arena was slightly remodeled to match the power of our troops, mostly by giving Killer weapons to freaking everyone. But generally, their stats are too low to use them properly.



Thankfully, some of the changes were a bit more inspired and threatening, like giving a Master Lance to General Geese, or a Critical Guard to fliers.



An interesting cameo: Rickardo from FE1/3 is also present. Although he's really just a renamed version of the previous Thief Fighter, called "Thief".



As for "Nazarl" the Swordmaster, he's been replaced by Caesar the... female Hero? He/She has a Brave Sword/Bow and is also the first Arena enemy to sport skills, namely Luna. That skill is why Sylvia couldn't complete the Arena fully, as the skill always hits.

He/She drops a Luna Manual if you haven't gotten it in the past chapter, which is pretty great.



_{I like this chapter, because it lets me just cut the part of the map I need for the update.}

Our objectives for this part remain the same as in the vanilla version. We need to rescue Lord Vylon, get the Tyrfing, send Sigurd back to repair it, then assault Langobalt's castle. We also need to make sure those guys behind us don't take the home castle, and that all bandits are stopped as soon as possible.



Vylon is now a Lord Knight, just like his son, and his HP has been increased to compensate for the strengthened enemies. He's also remembered to keep a Silver Sword on him, so his Evade is not as horrendous as it was before. Regardless, he's going to die in two turns if we don't reach him in time. Three turns if he gets really lucky.

He's also got 4 glorious Leadership stars AND Charisma. Not bad for a guy branded a traitor.



To his left is a big wall of armors sporting either Killer Axes or Halberds/Silver Axes. The supporting "Mages" have Elthunders and Mends.



Their commander is pretty dangerous himself, with a Brave Axe and Master Bow, as well as good Leadership. (And he's cheating on his weapons ranks, what a surprise.)

He's also acquired a portrait! We can all recognize the compassionate Freegian General Largo, from Thracia 776...



Or... maybe not? With his name still a generic "Commander", I guess we'll never know.



On his tail, Vylon has a bunch of Axe Knights chasing him, with Killer Axes and Halberds/Silver Axes, just like the other Armors.



Slayder commands them, and has grown quite a lot since vanilla FE4, with 7 more levels, and +6~7 in all his stats. Great Shield makes him a bit more resilient than you would expect him to be, and with that Speed Ring, he's not that easy to double either.

He's also got a cheated A in Swords that he doesn't even need. I think it's become a compulsive thing to crank up weapons ranks, at this point.



This weapon, a recolored Helswath, is a semi-legendary weapon called the... Tomahawk. Despite its very uninspiring name, it's a pretty good throwing axe, with great offensive power and a +5 boost to Defense.



Andorey's Bow Knights are also here, but won't move until we're close enough to the castle.



There are some bandits running around the area, as usual, and they all have tons of HP, as well as Devil Axes.



These guys are also right behind us. They used to be a ragtag bunch of Axe Armors, but now... I do believe it will take a bit more than just the Chalphy Knights and Dew to quell that threat. Let's see what's up with their commander.



Oh, well, if it isn't King Hardin himself, come to meet us from the land of Akaneia. Fancy meeting him there. I'm not sure which is the most terrifying here: his portrait, or his nearly-maxed set of stats?

He has the "Darkness Sword" skill, which was unused in the original game, and that I'm going to call Umbra because it rolls off the tongue better and the "Darkness Sword" is already a weapon anyways. It can activate either on attack or on defense during combat: on attack, it will give ATK+10, and on defense, it will give DEF+10.



On top of that skill, he's wielding the Lopto Sword, and its renowned ability to increase Res by 20 and halve enemy attack power.

Guys. I think he's evil.



Here's the Darkness Sword I was talking about. It looks similar to Mareeta's insane weapon from Thracia 776, but this one is just a glorified Killing Edge which sends Yotsmungands from a distance and gives +5 Res.



I've always wondered how Langobalt managed to sneak troops behind us, but seeing all the Devil equipment on these guys, I think I understand now. Those aren't Langobalt's troops. They're just the Legions of Hell, come to take us all.



I'll need some of my best fighters for that, and Aira's Blaggi Sword if I want any chance of damaging Hardin. Meanwhile, the Chalphy guys are just going to take care of the brigand nuisance.



At the same time, the main force and cavalry will be storming the armors.



How do you even sidestep a giant flash of light like that? What a terrible start.



But then, Sigurd makes it all better with a critical.



And ... another armor criticals him on the enemy turn.



That he proceeds to counter-crit. This feels like the PCC system all over again.



Considering he's capped Str, Skl, Spd and Def, that's as good as he'll get.



I also get an apology from the RNG for that stupid critical earlier. That would have been an embarrassing game over on the very first turn.



Well, time to take our revenge. Dew is making me so proud.



Not Raquesis, though. So much for Rap_iering the boss in one round.



I'm not exactly sure what that meant, but from the looks of it, it seems pretty damn generic. So long, mister Winch.



And that's it for the rest of his squad. Because there is no such thing as overkill.



I do like how the hacker gave 0 luck to all those Devil Axe bandits, just for the sake of comedy. Although, with their shit hit rates, they're more prone to getting criticalled repeatedly than losing their trials by Devil Axe.



Back to my special commando team, Hardin's leadership makes their Devil weapons rather dangerous, so I need to separate him from the others.



With the Lopto Sword, he's at 32 Res. With his Magic Ring, Lewyn is at 34 Mgc. Checkmate.



Sigurd is such a good role model for levels.



We now have 4 turns to block the road, then demolish the evil man and his knights. That shouldn't be too difficult.



I love having a flier who can one-round anything she reaches.. I seriously can't wait for gen 2 and having Critical/Adept on Fee.



Plot death in 3, 2, 1...



Boom! We obtain the Legendary Broken Sword!



Next step: dealing with all those axe knights.



Goddammit. You guys are supposed to be evil, so don't heal each other.



At least they give good experience and aren't hitting us anytime soon.



Oh, for the love of... Blaggi!



Little did they know, face-parrying axes triggers Aira's hidden Wrath skill.



And dual criticals from the Red-Green cavaliers to top it off. This is going even smoother than I imagined.



Even Great Shield will not save them from magic criticals.



All we're left with is a sleeping evil king, a trapped Paladin, and a Great Knight who's about to meet the painful end of a Halberd.



Damn, even the Blaggi Sword isn't all that great against this guy. Can Aira do it in one round...?



Whack! Power-up! Slash! Swoosh! Shoryuken!

It's like watching a generic action anime. Only faster and with no flashbacks, or even a death quote.



Oh, and for reference, here's the little effect that happens whenever Umbra activates. It's basically Prayer, only more evil-colored.



Sigurd returns himself to his castle, and I build a little wall to face the Axe Knights. Let's see how it goes.



3 misses out of 4 shots on two different enemies. Adean is really disappointing today.



And then, it was this screenshot times six. Beowolf single-handedly destroyed more than half of Slayder's buddies without a scratch.



A most peculiar choice of target for the mini-boss himself, but I won't complain.



Here's how the Tomahawk looks. It's got sort of an evil-ish color scheme, and surprisingly good hit rates. Slayder himself also has a much more colorful palette than before, for some reason.



Didn't stop me from jacking his money. Thank you, good sir.



One thing I really like about Binary is that you get more characters and weapons with the Renewal skill than usual, which offsets the lack of Vulneraries in this game, and allows to send more guys on solo missions. In this case, the Blaggi Sword will heal Aira back to full in just a few turns.



And Sigurd's new weapon is repaired now. +10 Skl/Spd and +20 Res instantly turn Sigurd into a godly unit, and Prayer will make sure he can tank much more serenely. Having less uses, it actually costs much less to repair, too.



Divert your envious gaze from Sigurd's Res, my dear Arden. It is a stat which is not meant for people like you.



And here comes the usual routine of slaughtering an enemy squadron. Well, what little remains of it, at least.



Slayder falls prey to lucky Wind Sword criticals, and perishes. A shame he didn't drop that Tomahawk.



Next!



Approach the castle a little bit, and Andorey's troops will begin their assault.



They're the same as in Chapter 4, and are still incredibly dangerous to fight no matter the range.



Andorey himself is probably even more threatening than Langobalt at this point. Much like Slayder, he has +6~7 in all of his stats, but also possesses a really high Luck, good Leadership, and powerful offensive skills. And his equipment is even scarier:



The Master Sword completes the Master weapon collection from Thracia, offering high power, a brave effect and some crit, while still being rather heavy.



The Gatling Bow, a weapon from TearRing Saga, doesn't seem very dangerous for a semi-legendary at first. But then you notice it's got a brave effect... with a 4 instead of a 2.

Each battle, Andorey will be able to attack 4 times.
8 if he's faster than a unit by 3 or more.
Up to 16 if he activates Adept a few times.
Even more if he gets a Charge in.

Oh, right, and has Critical, of course.





I obviously don't want to let anybody in his range. Notice the obvious mistake of putting my archers on the front when all his mooks have Brave Swords.



That almost got poor Midayle killed, but once again, the RNG gods were smiling on me.



A little detour back in the east, and Arden has saved the very last village. Perfect, now to take care of the big bad guy.



There really aren't a whole lot of options to take him down but to send Briggid at him. The Yewfelle's Spd boost should destroy his hit rates quite a bit.



Not to mention it hits like a truck on fire. With 3 dodges out of 4 from Briggid, she takes down her evil brother without any effort.



I was expecting a bit more from her level-up, though.



Dew and Ferry make pretty good impressions against the rest of his troops, thanks to their respective Killing Edge and Critical Guard.



Adean... not so much. No more booze before a fight, lady.



And Dew gets the final blow on them. Atta boy.



: BEHOLD MY GLORIOUS RETURN!! None shall ever mock me again!



: Well, color me impressed. That was even worse than last time.



That's about all we have left to kill for this part. A bit troublesome, but nothing we can't deal with.



The ballistae use Great Arches, another unused weapon in vanilla FE4. It stings a little, but with only 4 of them and mediocre hit rates, they're just here for the sake of decoration.



These Generals, however, are major assholes. They won't move from their leadershipped spot, have Renewal Rings on them, and Master Axes with Vantage, making sure you'll take damage every time you attack them.



I guess Aira would have been the ideal counter to their shenanigans, but with her still catching up, our swordy knights will have to do.



And boy, to they do well. Rapier crits have this uncanny tendency of annihilating Generals.



I'd say she's capping on a whimper, but that's not even a mewl. It's just... nothing.



Last asshole General is down. On to the ballistae.



With the magic of heavy long-range weapons, Azel can double the evildoers by playing their own game. Good think they can't counter it.



I mean, look at these bolts. This thing looks fucking sharp.



But with a Critical Guard, even Ferry is fine with a giant spike through her torso.



And there goes the first couple of oversized bows. I do like how the other two are completely isolated from everything and can be easily ignored.



Look at them. They're getting so desperate for attention they start attacking futile targets.



But hey, experience is experience, so I'd gladly grant their wish.



A bit better than the previous one, but that Magic really won't be getting anywhere.



Feeling a little lonely there, Langobalt, aren't you?



The Beardman is tough. Just like Lex, he's got Vantage and Paragon, and probably learned Adept on his own, or something. His stats were amped up by +4~6 and he's almost indestructible with physical attacks. The bad thing for him is that he can't move, so he'll only be facing the targets I choose.



The Helswath is still the ultimate defensive weapon with +20 Def and +10 Res, and comes with Great Shield in Binary. This may seem very redundant for Langobalt, but keep in mind that you cannot Nihil weapon skills, so even Aira would have a hard time against him.



Thankfully, we have Lewyn, who's basically a hard counter to Langobalt's shenanigans, and can easily whoosh him away with a few blasts of Forseti.



But since he's a bit short on cash, a good old Elwind will have to do.



Who said you need great equipment to fight Legendary weapons, after all? A few timely crits and all's well that ends well.



Arden will stay and guard the home castle. I don't want the incoming Dragon Riders to get any funny ideas.



And that's about it. Everyone is ready for the next wave, and Sigurd conquers Lubeck.



Next update will be posted once babysitter Oifaye has reached Isaach.


Blaggi Crusade Death Toll: 3