Part 6: Chapter 4 Hard Mode
Asator posted:
I'd like to think that girl ran away because of "you can listen to my preaching." Because that's just awful.
And because I never used Saul, I don't know if he gets any worse in supports, but I don't exactly have much hope for him.
Actually Saul has, in my opinion, one of the best supports in the entire game. He also has an awesome boss quote you'll never see, because he probably isn't promoted in time to attack said boss.
Chapter Three: The Armorslayer
No map image this time around, but once again you can take my word for it: the initial enemy is the same.
Alan and Lance take the north path towards Lou, while Marcus goes right towards the village. There are no thieves or bandits on this chapter, even on hard, so you can take your time.
Marcus is actually a great canidate for the slim lance. It lets him help chew up some kills to feed to our weaker units. Though it does give him around a ~7% chance of critting.
What the hell are you doing Alan? This is great level up and all, but I thought Lance was the green knight?
Not that lance is letting Alan obsolete him: Lance has 11 speed and he's putting it to use.
Dieck can also double, though he only has 10 speed.
Lou gets his ass in the game.
He hurts. Lou has pretty bad bases, but since he hits for res it doesn't matter, because he's still doing decent damage against the majority of baddies.
Quick look at the boss. He's almost identical to last chapter's boss, only adding a point of strength and a point of defense.
Even Dieck can't stand up to an infinite swarm of lance users.
Atta' boy Roy: a few more of these and I might actually feel safe in chapter 7!
No I won't.
I get a little backlogged here dealing with the cavs. Cavaliers are actually a big pain at this point, because they have good defense, good doge, absurd HP and lots of mobility.
Lance and Lou take potshots from the north.
Just kidding: Chad is allergic to combat in every sense.
Oh boy, now this is a problem! Decisions, decisions...
Roy finishes clean up, and we have a straight shot to the throne.
Dieck cleans up the south so Chad can go looting.
This is probably the most anti-cleric promotion I can think of. Not that I'm complaining mind you 
This, on the other hand, is Roy.jpg
Wouldn't be a proper Fire Emblem Hard Mode without Asshole Reinforcements! These two cavs popped up at the start of the last enemy phase and almost killed Lou.
Alan cleans then up and continues to rage against the heavens. He always wanted to be a green knight.
Lou finishes for a damn good level.
Lance and Alan get their B Support.
And we're done.
Chapter Four: In which hard mode bonuses hurt us, then help us
Marcus takes care of this village right quick so he can get back on the front. Marcus is really helpful in this chapter. You get attacked on multiple sides, and his mobility is a godsend.
Eric has been taking his vitamins. He's on par with the speediest units we have, as well as having great strength and defense. His low res is his main weakpoint, and Lou is more than happy to exploit.
The regular enemies aren't push overs either. They all have great speed and good attack.
Pictured: How I came within a foot of dying two turns into the chapter.
Clarine comes running over as usual a few turns later.
Marcus goes south, taking a loan on Dieck's iron sword.
Oh hey, Rutger! Let's see how he's do-
Holy shit. To think his hard mode bonuses are some of the worst in this game.
This looks a little messy, but I've got it.
First Clarine comes in to get us our new god.
I just felt like posting this again. Just look at it
, it's glorious. Rutger has the most killing power on our team, and that won't be changing any time soon.
He gets to murdering. One.
Dieck refuses to be upstaged. Two.
Lance turns this guy into a ghost. Three.
I give up. My green knight wants to be a red knight, and my red knight wants to be a green knight. Fine by me. Lance still has 12 speed, and I am okay with this.
Roy supports with Lance. The Triangle is building slowly.
Dieck covers for my stupid ass: I let Ellen get hit by a hand axe pirate.
Lou meanwhile goes down to get some more fire books, since he's fresh out.
That's it for the villages on this map.
The pirates just keep coming. Fine by me: more for the sword grinder.
Meta.
Aaand the Asshole Reinforcements. These guys are not pushovers, and most of our A-team is off doing their own thing. Time for the B-squad to shine.
Marcus and Lott plug up the south, while Wolt and Ward keep the north secure. Meanwhile, the pirates just keep coming.
Lou gets two fire books.
The current situation. Looks pretty bad. Time to turn things around.
Fire is the grand equalizer.
I have no idea what the fuck is going on here.
Ellen grabs herself two new heal staves. I'll be surprised if the last us three chapters.
Ellen returns the favor from before.
Everybody else meanwhile goes shopping. Everybody capable of using one grabs a spare iron sword, Clarine also grabs two heal staves, and a few other people grab iron lances.
Clarine also gains this amazing level.
Eric is pretty pathetic in the res depatment, so Lou can hurt him pretty bad.
Rutger finishes the job.
Hey, what are you three doing in a triangle?! We haven't even started your supports yet!
And that's a wrap.
Chad: Chad opens things, like doors and chests. What he doesn't do is fight things. This makes him die. A lot.
Clarine: Probably the best healer in the game, if only for her mount. She's also the second part of the most broken support triangle in the game, so that's a thing. I never play hard mode without her: she's a mounted staff user with great dodge and the ability to use anima down the line. What more do you want?
Rutger: