Part 8: Update VIII - Here Actually Not Be Any Dragons

Update VIII - Here Actually Not Be Any Dragons



Alright. This chapter is usually a stumbling block in the regular game. How does it fare here?





Well, it's a lot different. Not a lot to see so far, but I'm liking what there is to see. Not surrounded from the start, villagers can be accessed so the time limit for the reward can be worked around.



We'll start by sending Seth forward to suck up all the scary stuff that lurks in the fog. Eventually, that won't be viable anymore, so I'll milk it a bit here.



Everybody else moves up a bit behind him. Nobody here we can attack, anyway.



Vanessa greets one of the cavs that show up.



And Franz greets the other one.



Surprise! Eclipse guy somewhere in the fog!



Also, this guy has Physic! And he actually moves so he can actually make use of it! Man, the enemy gets a lot of toys here.



Vanessa gets ready to snipe the village and get back again lest there be some sort of archer hiding around there, and we spot the Eclipse guy. Also, while we're here:

Flux: Rank E (formerly D). Range 1-2. Weight 8. Might 9 (+2). Hit 80. Crit 0. 50 uses.
Eclipse: Rank C (formerly B). Range 3-10. Weight 20 (+8). Might N/A. Hit 55 (+25). Crit 0. 5 uses. Halves target's HP. Uncounterable. Cannot double.

Jeez, that's a big hit buff for Eclipse, and Flux got a good bit stronger.



OK, now you're just being an asshole, Eirika. 45% growth!



Colm was the only one with range to hit this cav, so I checked. Then I remembered he was Colm.



I moved Colm out to get some more sight radius. He then got attacked by a cav and then the Eclipse guy in that order. Which is good, because if the Eclipse guy hit and attacked first, he would've died. Oh well.



Vanessa gets the Orion's Bolt from the village, which means the reward changed.



Natasha heals Ross for 1 HP instead of healing Colm. Oh well.



She gets an acceptable level out of it.



Garcia makes sure we don't have to deal with this Physic guy any longer.



And Artur gets speedier in taking out that last cav.



The crew moves along after largely dealing with two knights. Seth is going to move forward and make sure the civilians are safe next turn.



And in doing so runs smack dab into some myrmidons. Oh well, those guys are dead now.



We then proceed to form a conga line along the bridges. Also, I sure hope that Vanessa doesn't die. This might've been a mistake.



Turns out she was fine, myrmidons did like 2 damage. But now the spider showed up.



I elect to scout out if there's another spider anywhere in lieu of attacking it, letting it attack on enemy phase.



I didn't even check the stats, but hey, it worked out fine.



We set up to meet this enemy group in battle, and... nothing happens. These random groups of enemies that just do not move sprinkled in really keep you on your toes.



Ross is kinda nuts, not gonna lie. Can't take a spell worth a lick, but that's about it.



Vanessa is speed.



I move Gilliam out a bit further, wondering if that's a mistake. He then gets attacked by a fighter, takes 4 damage, and kills with a crit in return. I think he'll be fine. Besides, he doesn't get attacked by a lot.



Another enemy phase later and we suddenly have a whole lot to deal with.



Lute gets a level in the dealing with it...



...and by the end of the turn, it has been dealt with.



Eirika gives me a big scare on enemy phase, but there's nobody else there to attack her, so she's safe.



Colm moves up and we get to see the boss, protected by four non-moving knights with javelins.





Novala gets +10 HP, -1 MAG (wtf), +1 SKL, +3 SPD, -1 LCK (really?) and +4 DEF compared to his vanilla hard mode counterpart. Methinks somebody was frustrated by vanilla chapter 6 and couldn't give him straight buffs. See also: The fact that this map is actually easier than vanilla.



#BigBrainMove right here: Move Vanessa over into the fog, use a vulnerary so the line of sight updates, see a fighter I don't want her to face, and Canto to safety, letting Franz move in and deal with the fighter instead.



And get another level. Franz is apparently speed as well, not just Vanessa.



Natasha levels again while healing. Liking that magic growth.



The ring of forest tiles around the Boss Box is very handy, letting us hand axe and javelin the knights with relative impunity. The knights are on forests as well, but we have better hit rates in general.



After breaking the box, we let Artur take some stabs at the boss. Not great, but hey, he can't die without me really fucking up. Maybe he can get some lucky crits. Basically everybody else gets really wrecked by Novala. But since he doesn't have a healing tile, slowly whittling him down is an option. I guess my statement about the boss not getting big buffs was a bit premature.



Artur levels in the whittling process.



And then I feed the kill to Eirika, fucking daring her to not get strength again.



She obliges, and goes above and beyond by not getting anything else beyond HP. Great job, Eirika. I can't wait until I get to replace you with your far superior brother.



And that's the chapter! Fairly short this time, but hey, a short chapter 6 is a good chapter 6. Now, what's our reward?



Another Dragon Tear! Noice.



So, next time, Waterside Renvall, where there's a very surprising absence! See you then!