Part 7: Unfortunately Named Bandits

Chapter 3: Unfortunately Named Bandits

Alright, that’s enough pirates. We’re done with pirates!



Mostly. Let’s go climb a mountain.



This chapter name is so much better than anything I could come up with, damn.




You can see the little line connecting us to our previous location on the bottom screen there, it’s pretty neat.





: Since before anyone could remember, the mountains had belonged to bandits, blights on the land whose acts of plunder, kidnapping, and arson knew no bounds. Out of fear, their victims gave these peaks another name: the Ghoul’s Teeth; while the bandits who ruled atop the Teeth’s craggy crowns took a name as well: the Samsooth Sires, or Soothsires…

That’s a dumb name. Dumb names are the theme of today’s map.




Looks like a Thief and a Cleric. And they’re blue. That’s always good.




: Rumor has it the knights of Altea are at the foot of the mountain. We won’t get a better chance. It’s just a little bit farther. Stick with me.





: You go on ahead…Save yourself! Here, I could use this Warp staff to send you someplace safe-


: Uh-uh, honey. No can do. I didn’t betray my boys back there so you could zap me on out of here alone. Forget the staff; I’ll come back later and get it for you myself. All right? Right now though, I need you to RUN. Tick-tock, now move that frock!

So, I’m using the Serenes Forest online script for this game, and it’s got a few typos. One being that the last line is transcribed as “Tick-tack”. That’s just the first one I noticed because it gets in the way of the rhyming!




Uh oh. Seems someone isn’t too happy with this. He’s even busting out his catchphrase.




So, the main gimmick for this map is that we’re basically fighting on two fronts. All of our usual units are in the bottom right, with Jagen bizarrely west of everyone else. We’re just pushing northwest. Which we have in every map so far. Huh.




But we also have to help out these two on the east.

This is Julian, our first Thief. Julian is good just because of his utility. We’ll encounter locked doors and chests, and Julian doesn’t need keys for either. His combat actually isn’t too shabby either, though he’ll never be very durable, so he’s a bit high risk. I’m pretty happy to have him, though.




Lena is the best Cleric in the game. She shows up with an automatic C in Staves, the ABSURDLY GOOD Warp staff, and even an exclusive stave only she can use later. In addition, her stat growths are good. She’s got good Luck, is tied for the highest Resistance Growth in the game, and the second best Magic. You could swap her to a Mage and still get some good results.

A solid hit will kill her easily, though. She has our first NEGATIVE personal growth rate, -5% HP. Thankfully each class grants their own bonus rates, and that’s enough to ensure she at least always has a chance at it. Still, don’t count on her to tank anything. She’s really best as a staff user.




The fearsome swordsman mentioned last time is here, and he and his minions will give chase to our new friends. We should probably stop them.




Thankfully, the mountains form a natural chokepoint, so the Cavaliers, along with Draug and Cord, should serve as sufficient backup.





Everyone else just rushes west. There’s even a village here! Jagen’s just...already here.




All of these units will start to run for us, as well as three fighters from the western group of foes.




I’m trying to strategically position Caeda here. It’s pretty crucial she goes with the east group. There’s no hint for this, and I missed it on my first playthrough years ago.




Julian and Lena pretty easily clear out, and Draug blocks the whole canyon with his powerful defense.




So I realized the others can probably just go I kept a Cavalier over there, though!




What treasure could lie in wait?





: Such a warm smile here deserves a nice reward. Here, take this axe-









Oh fuck you.

The Devil Axe is an immensely powerful weapon...with a drawback. Sometimes it decides to hit YOU instead. Luck lowers the chance of it happening, but I don’t have the exact numbers. I believe the formula is “If:FucksThePlayerOver=yes
Then:SelfDamage”.




Anyway, Caeda’s got a great vantage point to wipe out the only ranged member of the eastern bandits.




G’night!




The Fighters come a bit staggered, but we can lure one into attacking Darros.




Marth can also chat with our new pal, Julian. This isn’t required to recruit him, he does that automatically.

: Stop! Whoa! I’m...I’m not your enemy!

: Huh?




(I tried to get the blink, I really did.)

: See, now I’m a good guy! Lena gave me a reason to- well, let’s just say I’ve had a change of heart.

I don’t think they ever explain how Lena got Julian to swap sides, aside from “she’s pretty and he has a crush”. That might just be it. It would fit him pretty well.


: ……

: Hm, not explainin’ myself very well, am I? OK, OK, what I’m trying to say is-

: Yes. You can come with us.

: Oh...Well...well, good.

Julian is a pretty good dork.

: I’m inclined to trust you. If you’ve truly had a change of heart, you deserve the chance to prove it. Show me you’re ready to help people, and then I’ll know I’ve picked a man of character.


: Wow. That’s… Thanks! I couldn’t ask for a better deal!




While they were chatting the rest of the crew mopped up the first fighter. He didn’t go all the way to Darros.




I’d prefer Strength, but I like those.




I think Draug ought to be okay up here.




One of them went back for Caeda, though. That’s impolite.




Fighters do have a bit of an issue hitting stuff. The hit formula is generous in FE11, though. In the GBA games this would have been way worse.




Also, Julian cleans up nicely.




Castor is one point from a kill here.







At least Marth can benefit.




Now then, that’s it for the Fighters. There are a few Hunters northwest of us, though…




A bit of lure, with a ranged rebuttal attached. Ought to work.




Uh oh, Jagen’s bored again. He’s chatting up the villagers.




I already mentioned that.




This guy is still bothering me, though. We could use some reinforcements. If only someone were around to help.





Well then.





(almost always)

: What? Who are you? Fly away, girl, before someone decides to swat you.

: Please, Navarre. Why fight for nothing when you can fight for something? Leave this rabble. Lend your sword to our cause. Or, if you will not, then turn it on me now instead.

: …Nay, I’ll turn no blade of mine on a women. If you’re willing to pay for my services with your life, then consider yourself the high bidder. My sword is yours.

He’s totally lying, he’ll chop Lena to ribbons if he gets close. Or Caeda, for that matter, unless you talk to him first. I think he’s just shy around girls.




Or, like Castor, he saw her casually murder a guy with a javelin and reconsidered. Honestly, viable option.









So, let’s talk about...Na...varre? Nabarl? It depends where you live and what translation you like. Navabarle is a Myrmidon, which is like the Mercenary, but faster and with more skill in exchange for strength and bulk. They were the same class in the original.

Nav himself is pretty much the perfect example of his class. He’s quick, he’ll smash his foes with crits, but he doesn’t have the tanking capability of, say, Ogma. So I don’t like him as much, but he’s definitely very good. He also comes with a C in Swords and the Killing Edge, which adds a huge bonus to Crit chance. He’s quite a useful pickup.




Also, the Abel Bait worked smoothly. Come to me, my foolish hunters.




Oh hey, this is pretty much Navarre.png. Not a ton of HP, but damn if he’s not going to crit this guy into oblivion.




While I have the chance, we can chat with Lena too.




: Yes… Thank you.

: These mountains are dangerous. My forces will draw the enemy away; use that time to escape.

: No, I wish to help.

: But…you… What?

Marth, she’s a Cleric. Helping is like, her thing.

: Please, sire. I am a cleric. I cannot bear to watch others come to harm when I have the power to help.

Yeah, that!

: Well…all right… But I don’t wish to see you come to harm, either.


: I will be careful. Thank you, sire.




Just stay behind that pirate and you’ll be alright.




Draug pretty much has everything covered up here, so we can forget about this half of the battle and move onto our final push to the Soothsire lair!





Meanwhile, these two will battle for eternity...or until Draug just kills him.




I approach the castle by putting a bulky guy in range of the goons to lure them close. Look, there’s not a ton of variety early on here.




Yikes, though, that’s a big number on Abel. The last Soothsire guard on the right has a Steel Axe, which makes him pretty dangerous, if inaccurate.




Then again...I have one too. Barst




Yoink.




Damn, no mercy for these guys.




There’s a semi-hidden armory behind the boss. I’m sending Caeda to it.




Also, while getting ready to fight the boss, Wrys’ staves level up




Not much we haven’t seen. Grabbed one of everything but the Hammer.

So, uh, in Europe this next boss is called “Reynard”. In the US…




: And Sir Jagen, what was the name of the fearsome bandit leader?

: Erm...uh…




: Gouber. The fearsome Gouber.

: Ha. What a dork.


Hy...Gouber’s got a Hand Axe. Honestly he’s pretty much the same boss Gomer was.




He’s still quite a threat, though. He’s also got Lena’s mend staff!




The biggest issue with Gouber is his speed. 14 is hefty for this point of the game, and a double from him could send most of our units to an early grave.




Like usual, Ogma is an exception.




I feel like I’m leaning on him a bit much, though…and there is a save point on this map.

Do I dare?




IT’S DEVIL TIME.




HahahahaHAHAHAHAHAHA!




Probably yes.




I love this man. I love Barst.












: This money will buy plenty of new equipment for your army. Tomorrow is the day, sire, when we finally arrive in Aurelis. Be sure to rest up tonight.

Three good new units? 15k free gold? I’m happy with this.




Next time I google what a “Lea” is so I sound impressive on the internet.




Bonus Content (wow!)

Here’s the guy we just got.



There are like five different Nacards, so I’m saving some of them for later. For now, though, take this Tokyo Mirage Sessions edgy boy!



I am unsure why his arm is a Slinky.

P.S.: If you’re reading this live, today this game has been rereleased on Wii U! If you want to play it, it’s there, it’s 10 bucks, and you don’t have to put up with me the whole time. So I mean, there’s that!