Part 18: Chapter 9 Hard Mode
Hey, your Rutger finally got a good level! That's something! Also Oujay. I used him on my first playthrough, and let's just say he made it very clear that nobody else was usurping him for ownership of Durandal.
to the face for everybody.Chapter Nine: My God, It's Full of Axe-Users!
Once again no map, because it's all fogged and so there's really nothing to show. Also this update is really sparsly screenshotted for some reason, I have no idea what I was thinking. I don't have a save for Chapter 9 any more though, and I don't feel like playing through all the previous chapters in hard mode again just to redo this one, so we'll have to make do.
This starting position makes no sense. Why were Roy and company just hanging out on a remote island connected by a single chokepoint?
Whatever. Everybody shuffles out singlefile and starts murdering. Axe users are the only enemy on this damn map, so everybody is giving their sword arm a work out. Once again this game shows its complete disdain for anybody who dares pick up a lance.
Fir peeks out of the fog a little later.
I also fucked up and left Lance in range, and while she's not fast enough to double him, nor did she crit, I had a heart attack anyway, because Alan almost killed her.
Yeah you're reading that right. For the record, her hard bonuses are +6 HP, +3 STR, +3 SKL, +3 SPD, +2 LCK, +2 DEF, +2 RES. That's 20 points of bonuses, holy shit. Her bases at level one are better than Rutger's at level 5. If Rutger were getting screwed (heh) Fir is a great substitute on hard mode. Her growths are a little weaker than his, but her hax bases and 19 levels of pre-promotion growing room mean it's much harder for her to get screwed. 
Of course our Rutger is a god, so she immediately hands over her prized sword to a total stranger. Say what you want about Roy: he makes sure his bitches follow orders.
Next on the recruitment list:
Sue runs up and grabs him. Congratulations Sue, you've fulfilled your destiny
Now off to the bench with ye.
I repeat:
+5 HP, +2 STR, +3 SKL, +3 SPD, +3 LCK, +1 DEF, +2 RES, if you're curious.
Dieck, Rutger and Clarine go south, while everybody else goes north.
Also the boss, who I torch so I can screenshot him. The scariest factors are his increased luck and skill, which means more chance of crits. This is a bad thing.
Did I mention we have physic staves now? Hello free exp.
We go up to visit the village to get us 10/11A path. Also, levels!
No.
Yes!
Roy continues to kinda sorta help but not really.
Dieck and Rutger meanwhile start "Operation HOLY SHIT SO MANY PIRATES". While it isn't screenshotted (for some fucking reason), a veritable SWARM of pirates will mob out of the fortresses on the lake, and march steadily towards Dieck and Rutger. Something like 30 pirates in total will attack. This is actually a great place to level up Fir, since you can park her on a forest with an inventory of iron swords, and she'll rake in the levels quickly without any danger of being hit. She might even get within range of the rest of your team by the end of it. It's very helpful if you use her.
Now that's more like it.
So close now, I can almost taste it...
Lou flirts with the odds. Even with his hand axe, Scott is looking at 21 crit. Bosses do not fuck around any more. He manages to stave off instant death and finish the boss, however.
Everything he's ever needed.
Not bad overall, actually. I'm hoping Shin can make it to my endgame team.
Finally.
Fir: Much like how Noah and Treck are introduced as alternatives to screwed Alan and Lance, Fir serves as a pefectly serviceable swordmaster if Rutger is sucking hard. She has a shaky strength growth, but her incredible hard mode bases make up for this somewhat. She usually turns out a little worse than Rutger, but she's still a solid unit and definitely worth the effort to raise her from her low starting level. Since Rutger is god at the moment and want to keep the roster open for more mobile units, I'll be benching her. Still though, she's good.