Part 36: Chapter 8 and a New Journey: The End of the Beginning
Chapter 8 and a New Journey: The End of the Beginning or Chapter 8: Don't Write Updates While Hungry.![](1-0056000100.png)
Shh...spoilers!
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It's finally here: the end of the first act. Hard to believe that we're more than a third of the way through the game, and we haven't even switched protagonists yet.
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For an end-of-story-arc boss, Tirado really isn't that great. Look at that speed and luck. Just look at it. Once we get him to switch to his javelin, he'll be history.
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We've got a special guest with us today. Neimi hasn't gotten quite enough love in this playthrough, so I brought her along in the hopes of not immediately benching her.
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Not much to say about the first turn. The opening enemy lines are ill-suited to fighting our crowd.
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And then our hero arrives.
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This is the javelin's last stand. Remember, aside from the Killer Lance and Ephraim's fancy spear, this is the only weapon that doesn't give a speed penalty in their arsenal.
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Meanwhile, with some assistance from Joshua, Neimi clears a path for Franz.
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Welcome to the crew.
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Don't worry, he's had enough of a head start that this doesn't matter.
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Kyle's a bit behind in speed, to the point where he can't double an archer.
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He's working on it though.
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The castle's knight storage is a little difficult to approach. We'll be slowly wearing them down with Garcia at the head.
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Alternatively, we could have used Franz, but he's assisting these three.
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Not looking forward to this change coming up.
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Lute's our go-to person for weakening magic users right now. Even with the boosted resistance we've been getting, their power is still no laughing matter.
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As tempting as it was to run Seth in there, it would be a waste of experience for everyone else.
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Though honestly, do they deserve it?
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It's at this point that I notice the trio of cavaliers coming in. Ephraim will deal with those.
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Lute makes for a good knight cooker, but only if there's someone to take the hit for her.
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Her levels thus far haven't been geared towards direct combat. She's more of an artillery platform, really.
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I'd be disappointed, but HP is always important for someone who can't take a hit.
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And this marks the end of the javelin's life. It was a worthy weapon while it lasted.
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As I mentioned, Ephraim has no problem dealing with the cavaliers.
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And hey! It's strength! I never thought I'd see that.
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And whoa! Speed!
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And this joke is kind of running its prime.
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Don't think I've forgotten about Neimi. She's getting what she can scrape up.
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This little section here is a bit of a puzzler, since there are very few safe places to stand.
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Remember, the archer on this end has a longbow too.
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Approaching the throne gives us the usual mage reinforcements and a thief.
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Also, Neimi finished that archer. Hooray.
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I'd leave the thief for someone else, but you get a bonus for smiting a thief if you're promoted or not, so it seems a shame to waste it.
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Level 13. Quite the unlucky level.
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Speaking of luck, Forde simply refused to crit this chapter, even with the Killer Lance at the ready. Kind of disappointing.
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Kyle had to finish the knight off instead.
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In order to aid this bumbling band in breaking a wall in peace, Seth deals with a pesky archer.
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And then, when Forde fails to crit again...
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He kills the mage too.
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All that's left is drawing out the soldiers here bit by bit. I was feeling a little tired and didn't want to risk going through the level again.
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I shouldn't have been so worried. They're strong in terms of power, but we could have taken them.
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Drawing in the magicians like the soldiers...
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And making another very un-myrmidon-like level off of it...
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Gives me the opportunity to bait Tirado as planned.
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Tirado with the javelin is very easy to handle, as can be seen.
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Clearing the way for Colm to loot, meanwhile, gives Forde a level.
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Following in your younger brother's footsteps, eh Forde?
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And Natasha gets an okay Cleric level. Not like the ones she'd been getting before, but it's okay.
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So let's set this guy up for Ephraim. Seth skewers him...
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Lute cooks him...
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Garcia tenderizes...
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Quite the seasoned warrior, eh?
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And Ephraim serves him up.
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Delicious.
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Nothing to do but grab the Elysian Whip and Silver Sword, break Natasha's healing staff while training her up, and build up supports.
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*five minutes later*
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And we get some traveling money. Apparently throwing around cash is the one thing that Hayden's good at.
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I must say, it's been fun writing up this little reinterpretation of the opening part of the game, but unfortunately, it's time to get back to the real plot.
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They'd better be ready for a real battle then. Some of the levels in this side of the game are going to be a real doozy.
Next Time: We meet one of the fandom's most cherished characters in Chapter 9: Fort Rigwald
Total Resets: 20