Part 47: 60% Orb Ratio (Battle)

Chapter 19: 60% Orb Ratio (Battle)

A fane is apparently an old Middle-English word for “Temple” and welcome back to Shadow Dragon.



Gharnef really needs a manicure, that looks hazardous.

: Can you hear my voice?

: ...Mm-hmm.

: Defilers have set foot inside the fane- despoilers! Punish them. Let your fire consume them!

: Defilers…in the fane…Punish them…




: Gharnef was seriously just the worst babysitter.


: I alone am protecting you from Medeus. Remember…

It’s never really outright stated, but I like to believe that Tiki’s Gharnef’s secret weapon in case Medeus tries to backstab him, or he wants to backstab Medeus. They’re both kinda like that. Of course he could just be lying, but I like ambitious-schemer Gharnef more than lackey-cultist Gharnef.

: You alone…are protecting me…Punish…the defilers…




Regardless, we won’t be fighting him yet. Gharnef warps out, leaving us to deal with his temple of locked doors.




...How long has he been in there?





This is a mercy killing.



The actual enemies out and about on this map are complete chumps.




Cord is on standby in case there’s another rude surprise in this one.




Fortunately, the only surprises are treasure. Which qualifies as a good one.




Err. An okay one. Pure Water works like the Barrier Staff, but it’s consumable. Definitely not bad, but quite situational.




Abel and Caeda are just charging ahead because I want to cut the enemy thieves off ASAP.




It goes pretty smoothly. I’m not sure why these Mercenaries are so low level.




The thieves are coming, though, and they’ve got Hero reinforcements.




By splitting Abel and Caeda here, I should be able to corner both of them in.




The other treasure in that first room was an always handy Magic booster.




I’ll be real with you, I don’t know why they give you 12 deployment slots for this map. Most of our team will be doing nothing but watching Julian and Barst open doors.




Still, I’ll take the breather map. The next one has a ballista on it.





No one has ever needed this much Luck, Caeda. Stop it.




This screenshot might take some explaining. The thief on the right side opened the door, which lit up this room, which caused the mage inside to be able to act.




The result is unpleasant. That’s a rude move, Fane of Raman.




Thankfully, I’ve still got the Physic.




Rescind my thanks, for some reason this random fucker is like the strongest foe we’ve ever faced.




FALL BACK, NEW PLAN




Now Abel’s out of Mage range, but still close enough to block the thieves from escaping.




Barst is going to continue looting.




This is the worst loot.




Now with Abel and Wolf here, the thieves are completely boxed in.




So this goes pretty well.




I want Defense more than anything on Abel right now, but this’ll do.




The thieves didn’t even attack. They just moved here and stood. Staring. It’s a little creepy.




Please leave.





You get a fancy long jingle when you pick this up, and it’s called the Lightsphere. So you know it’s plot important. The Lightsphere does have an in-game effect, but since Linde’s inventory had open space I didn’t get to check it here.

It negates enemy terrain bonuses if you hold it. That’s good against throne bosses and...really nothing else. But hey, plot value.





The remaining thieves aren’t an issue.




Oh. Except this guy. He’s just made himself an issue.



Our Bolganone is better.




And again!




: So, you guys just had to find one big chunk, huh?

: Don’t be bitter.

: I’m twelve different kinds of bitter.




The Starsphere does what it says in the box there. That’s really handy!




Just wanted to point out the nice touch here, one of the chests already starts opened. That’s probably where the Lightsphere was held before that random nameless thief started hauling it around.




This sells for 30,000 gold. Here are your endgame funds, go nuts.




Third tier door on the right is also a treasure room.




Okay, so this one’s a little weird.




The Geosphere is consumable in this game, for some reason. It also just deals 13 damage to EVERYTHING on the map. Including your allies. This has a few fun applications, but one in particular I’m really looking forward to.




The only things left on this map can only do Magic damage.

It’s Maria time.





Okay, now it’s Maria time.









Abel can also finally open a door. I’m leaving the contents a surprise.




Maria Time has pretty sad returns.




Hey. I actually want that.





Thankfully, Caeda’s still a little pissed about the whole Bolganone thing.




The surprise, by the way, was disappointment. It’s just this guy.




Here’s more disappointment.





Here’s another handy set of two treasures to round off the map. We can promote almost everyone now.




Alright, here’s Bantu’s use. It’s only taken us 11 chapters to get to it. We, of course, do not have to murder the brainwashed dragon child.






: Hm? …Gharnef has put you in some sort of trance, poor thing. Peace, child. Peace. Awaken.

: …Mmm? ….Ban-Ban? Is that you? Where am I? What happened?

: Yes, child. ’tis I, ’tis I. How I worried! Are you hurt?

: No, Ban-Ban, just…just scared…I feel as though I just woke from an awful nightmare…

: I am truly sorry, child. Truly, I am. I will not let us be separated again. From now on, I will be there to protect you.

: Promise? You have to promise, Ban-Ban. I hate being alone…

For what he lacks in stats, he makes up for in being the Best Dragon Grandpa.



So we have Tiki now. Tiki is pretty damn good. She’s not just a Manakete, she’s a “Divine” Manakete, meaning she can use that stone that gives her amazing stats. It’s also effective against Manaketes, like an Armorslayer on Knights, and the endgame is, as you could probably guess, full of Manaketes. Her biggest issue is the limited uses on the Divinestone, though you can get around that, and her awful HP, although not much gets through those defenses. (+15/+11 with the Divinestone, remember).

Her low movement can also be troubling, but overall Tiki is really effective right out of the box, and she’s probably the last unit worth adding to your team. I’ll probably swap out one of the Mercs for her.




She can also talk to Marth.

: Ban-Ban told me all about you, too. Will you take me with you?

: Of course, Tiki, as long as that’s what you want.

: Yes, yes it is! Oh, thank you, Mar-Mar!

: Mar-Mar?!

: Am I not allowed to call you that?

: N-

Ice cold, Marth.

: That is- Er- Well, if you want.

: Thank you, Mar-Mar!

: You’re welcome?








You can finish this map without both or either orb. It will have bad ramifications in the future, though. Nothing bad-ending level, but you’ll miss out on a really good couple weapons.




Marth, however, got them both this time around.

: But first, Nyna, we’ve a more pressing task ahead of us.

: Oh? And what is that?


: We must defeat Grust once and for all. If we march south without finishing them off, we have our rear exposed.

: ...Are you smiling?

: Not like you can tell.

: Then you mean to invade.

: Yes. And this time, General Camus will be there to meet us. I am sure of it. “Camus the Sable”, they call him. Many extol him as the most able warrior alive. It will be a fierce battle…but one we cannot avoid.

: You are certain we must face him?

: We have crippled Grust, but they will regroup and stand in our way again. No, we need to stamp this fire out before the wind catches it and starts spreading it anew.

: Very well. But before you attack, there is something I must tell you. Later, though…Not yet. I must sort my feelings out first…

This weird foreshadowing will last literally one map.





Next time this guy.

Bonus Content



The Princess of the Divine Dragon Tribe, Tiki