Part 44: Battle: Lava Pirates

Update 26: Lava Pirates (Battle)

Welcome back. This time Pope Steve and her loyal clergy are taking on the Flame Barrel, mostly through a combination of exploiting knowing where the reinforcements will come and sheer dumb luck.





You don't use Mag





Neither do you!









Alright, onto the map.



: This is Flame Barrel... The fire dragons' graveyard. It's where the fire dragons who've degenerated into savage beasts come to wait for their death.

: Degenerated, you say...? What do you mean by that?

:
I'm not sure if you're aware, but the dragon tribe is dyin'. Those who don't confine their true, dragon form in a stone eventually lose all reason and become monsters.

: So that's why they become Manaketes? Xane, if you know something about the dragon tribe, please tell me.

I mean you could ask Bantu. He's been here for like 4 chapters. But okay.

: If you really wanna know... Tens of thousands of years ago, the dragon tribe settled down on this continent, and created a civilization. They possessed intellect and abilities far exceedin' those of humans. But suddenly, outta nowhere, their day of destruction came. At first, they couldn't bear children. Then they began to lose their minds, goin' berserk one after the next. The elders warned that the end of dragons as a species was approachin'. There was no longer any way to prevent it. However, there was one way they could survive: to discard their identities as dragons and live on as humans. The dragons fell into a panic. Those who believed the elders sealed their forms within stones and became humans. But those who couldn't throw away their pride as a dragon; those who adamantly refused to become human... They eventually lost their minds and became naught but beasts...

This is the first real bit of backstory we get on the Manaketes. Shadow Dragon didn't really mention it at all.

: Those fire dragons before us...

: Yeah, they're a livin' example. And it's not just them. There are many others. But they've all gone feral now. There's no way for them to go back... Worse still, they've been manipulated and degraded like cattle by the fire clans who rule over this valley. Well, princey. Whadya say we get out of here? The clansmen around here ain't friendly; if we hang around, we'll end up as bait for their dragon pets.



Alright, so Chapter 12 is mostly about being able to hold out against multiple very powerful enemies at a time. This map is full of dragons, so Wyrmslayers are extremely useful here.



I just wanted to show this, because I wasn't sure if I had before. Not only can Marth access the Convoy in battle, so can any adjacent units.





I want to lure two fire dragons over, so I ready up Steve and Ogma to get their attention.



Yeah, these guys hurt. This is a running theme for this whole map.





Steve shows off with a crit, because she can, and gets a pretty damn good level. Defense, yay.



oh fuck it's these guys



Ogma cleans up this Fire Dragon so I can focus on the incoming Wyvern pack.



This asshole is also going to be coming for us. The Tomahawk is a stronger version of the Hand Axe.



Luke blocks the 1 range slot for Ogma while Malicia patches him up.



Steve gets the fuck out and I pop Barst in her spot. Now for the Wyvern barrage.



Oh and that guy.

One wyvern hits Luke from the side, and I'm ready to reset until:



I love this dodge so much I cropped out the bottom screen so everyone could focus on it.





God bless you, you stupid green haired hero.



So we're still mostly intact after that. Cleanup time.







Finally Merric gains Magic, and my recurring Steve nightmares are put to rest.



In a supreme display of disrespect, I just use a regular old Steel Sword to kill this guy because fuck wyverns.



Oh and Malicia grabbed a level.



Using the Convoy, I grabbed her a spare Physic stave. I'm going to need it to pull this next part off as cheaply as possible.



I moved Caeda, Luke, and Malicia onto these forts east of the start point.



This is where the map gets mean. As soon as you step past the squares one south of that line of forts, almost all the enemies on the bridge just rush you down. In addition, two Fire Dragons and a Tomahawk Barbarian spawn in those forts east of the start, trapping you in a pincer against some of the game's most dangerous enemies.

Luckily I cheated, knew that was coming, and blocked the forts. So no pincer for me! This is still not going to be easy.



I put Steve and Minerva on forts, Barst one space forward to deal damage to an incoming Fire Dragon, and the rest behind.



The rush begins, and I wish I had given Barst a Silver axe, as this would be a one round kill.









A Hand Axe finishes the weakened Dragon, and Malicia restores Barst to the HP he'll need to soak a Fire Dragon hit.



: Please forgive me. I never wanted this.





It's okay Darros, you whiffed anyway.



Kind of a sad level for Barst, but he's already capped so much.



A Levin Sword hit would chunk Barst down pretty hard too, but he is a dodge master, in case you forgot.



Steve puts an end to the Fire Dragon that hit Minerva.



Again, Barst and the Swordsmaster miss eachother. Truly they were meant to be.



Alright, get over here, pirate man.



Darros was a Pirate from Chapter 2 of Shadow Dragon who would walk up and recruit himself. He's the only native pirate in the game. He was vastly unimportant and didn't even show up in the original FE3.

Him being here now creates a pretty great plot point where Darros, who apparently decided to go sailing after Shadow Dragon, managed to end up in a volcano full of dragons. He is the worst goddamn sailor.

: Prince Marth... Forgive me. I was lookin' t'start anew, but there be no place t'go for an outcast like me... To resume and continue these crimes; 'tis dishonorable indeed.

How is he making money out here, it's full of dying crazy dragons and cultists!

: I see... Darros, you cannot stay here. Come with us.

: Prince Marth... Ye would still accept a fool like me...? Prince, I... This time, I be changin' for sure. Me life is yours!



Darros here is...not great. He has okay base stats, not as good as Barst or anything, but having a Silver Axe off the bat helps. Sadly, his growths are pretty bad outside of HP and Strength. He's not terrible, but he's not really worth the time if you aren't starving for Axes.





Merric decides to leaf through his book before hitting this guy.



That of course means he is disintegrated instantly.



Minerva grabs a Vulnerary as I set up a bit of a blockade.



Darros is in the line of Tomahawk fire, so I top him off with Malicia.



R.I.P. Physic. A true hero



Here's the second fuck you from this map. Three turns after you trigger the first round of reinforcements, a second group will spawn in the forts (Unless they're still blocked ) east of the start point and from these northern ones. And there are Wyverns.



Dodge Master Barst strikes again.



I really like Barst.







Initial storm weathered, but the Wyverns are ALREADY HERE.



Bit of a waste of a Hauteclere use, but I forgot to give her another good axe. Oops.



You might consider this overkill.

But fuck Wyverns.





Merric agrees.



Catria finishes off the remaining Wyvern.



Catria is hitting some fantastic level ups lately.



Either Marth sees a shooting star or he's getting a crit.



Oh.



I'm sealing this away.



I decided to give Darros a chance to shine. He missed. Way to go.







The Steve/Barst tag team is an unstoppable force, and we're nearly done with the center bridge now.



It's safe to bring our fort camping friends over now.



Barst takes a little damage here, but he's alive.



Thanks to Ogma, the dragon is not.



A solid level up here.



And now I have Malicia wander around and heal everyone for several turns.



Now that that's done...time to lure the Wyverns up here.



They were uninterested. Fine, hard way.







Now that this first Fire Dragon is down, the path to the most important one is clear.





Bad idea, Wyvern buddy.



And Catria finishes off that dragon, earning us something nice.



The last Starshard

Wendell's mission is complete, and we now have one that gives us +1 to Def and Res. Not too bad, but not the real prize for getting all of these.



Now to prepare for the final charge.



And when you step on those forts more reinforcements spawn! Including from the first forts we crossed, two Wyverns! If you didn't block one. With Merric. Hoping his buddy is in the mood for mage.



Wait no you were supposed to go for Merric My genius plan! You're ruining this LP, Wyverns



I have that same expression.



Navnabarl finishes the Wyvern off.



And with one last, shittily cropped screenshot (my bad), Catria finally hits the level cap!



Oh yeah, and this.





Ogma takes defensive positions, and gets a shitty level.



More Malicia levels.



Steve could really learn a dodge lesson from Barst.



Another point in Def is just fine with me.



Caeda, tired of doing nothing but block a fort all map, decides to show off.



And now only the boss is left!



So, everyone is at full health, Malicia is almost level capped, and I'm horribly impatient. So I just took out this Might Staff.



And beat Marth over the head with it until it broke and I got a level.



An...entirely empty level. What a shitty way to hit the level cap. But fuck if I'm ending this map on such a terrible note.



One dragon.



One whip.



Lightning strikes around Catria...



And she transforms!



Falcoknight is ours! This gives her a huge stat boost, access to Swords, and the ability to level up to 20 all over again.





And now Catria can use every Lance in the whole game.





She eats a Fire Breath, but...



DOUBLE DOUBLE



CRIT CRIT



Fuck yeah, Catria.



I know a certain Cleric who would love this.







: I'm fine... I think. Xane, I believe you said that there were other feral dragon tribes.

: Yeah. In addition to this valley, there's the Wyvern's Dale, the Ice Dragon Shrine and the Dragon's Altar...

: The Dragon's Altar?

: It's a dragon graveyard in the mountains of Macedon. There, the earth dragons sleep.

Medeus, the last Earth Dragon, was the final boss of Shadow Dragon.



: The mighty earth dragons lost their minds and attacked the humans. 'Course, the humans barely stood a chance. Most were annihilated, and the rest pushed into the desolate corners of the continent. And then... the divine dragon Naga, strongest of them all, waged a war for humanity. It was a fierce battle, but Naga emerged victorious in the end, and sealed the earth dragons below Dolhr, in a deep sleep. And so that the power of the seal would not wither, she created the "shield of the five orbs" and placed it in the Fane of Raman.

Shield of the five orbs? That sounds...familiar.

: I see... I understand now. In other words, our guardian deity Naga depicted in legend was the divine dragon that saved humanity. But then, what about the divine sword Falchion?

: Naga took pity on you humans, with no way of protecting yourselves, so she created it from one of her fangs.

The divine sword is just the remnants of a wisdom tooth removal.

: Then, together with the shield, she sealed it in the fane, and had the remainin' dragon houses watch over humanity. She put the newly born Tiki to sleep and thus ended her 5,000-year life. 'Cause of all this, Gotoh's tryin' his best to carry out Naga's order.





I love how casually he reveals that. Surprise!



But fuck that, we have Jagen sweat to discuss.

: I'm usually tolerant of heat, but this is simply unbearable... But Steve, you seem...

Variable Dialogue, depending on MU's Strength. Since Steve isn't exactly a powerhouse in that...



: No... I-I'm... not doing so well... Still... If I could just use my strength... Oh no, I feel all weak...



: I'm sorry...

Steve.



Who the fuck are

: Who are you...?

He keeps taking my line.

: I am Belf, and these men here are Robert and Leiden. We rushed here because we wish to join your battle.





: The Sable Order of Grust... But in the previous war, we fought against the Sable Order as enemies. Despite that, you're willing to join our army?

: Our general wished for us to protect the weak, regardless of nationality. He is gone now, so we would like to fulfill his final wish.

: ............ I see. You seem to speak truly. Very well. I'd like you to fight alongside us.

And so, Camus' old pals have joined us. This is new to the remake, and yes, they're from one of the BS maps. I want to save that one for later, though. For now, let's take a look at their stats.



I'm gonna be honest, I have like, nothing to say about these guys. I can't even tell them apart.

Robert is a prepromote with pretty shitty stats, but some solid growths. If you want a prepromoted bow user, I still think Jeorge is better.



Belf is a subpar cavalier. Do you have a good Luke, Rody, or Sirius? You don't need Belf.



Leiden is an interesting case. His growths aren't as good as Robert's, but he has more room to grow and better bases for his level. I could see you getting some decent use out of this guy, but with Luke and Cavalier Caeda if I need her, I'm not really aching for more Cavs, and I can't really think of another class he'd be great in. With bow ranks, I'd say Archer, but ehhh.





Oh, and here's the Starshards. With the 11 in the list and the one in Barst's inventory, we have 12, and can breathe easy about finding those.

Next time, everything gets a lot colder and a little less confined. See you then.