Part 57: Chapter 3A (2)
I pick up the Reinforces for Lockswell and a Partisan for Heugoe. Mischka is kind of boned, because your two options are to either pick up a Claymore from the shops, which has 65 ATK and two attacks, but no SC, or use Ancel's old Bastard Sword, which has only 15 ATK, but has three attacks and a SC. Aullewyn Keep is the only chapter where you can't pick up the Elemental Edge, too. I'd use the Claymore for Mischka, but we'll pick up something for him in a bit.
I am here to defend you. Please remain calm.
Damned monsters never learn.
AhahahahahaohscrewyouRosea.
Same party as last time, but this is really the best choice I have. Notice that I've placed Ushio and Lockswell where they are.
This is nothing like 'rescuing' Rosea in the C path. Rosea starts off in the middle of the map. Two Will-o'-the-Wisps and a Lesser Vampire will move to attack her on the first turn, and will kill her in two rounds, or even one if you don't do something immediately. Rosea is also very incapable of doing any damage to them and will sometimes even suicidally attack them when they can counterattack. When you reach this map, roll the dice and pray.
Oh, you also only have a leeway of 20 Sin for the best rewards. Fun!
Let's talk about the first order of business - eliminating the Will-o'-the-Wisp right in front of us to ease some pressure on her. Ushio, Lockswell and Cheripha can all attack it on the first turn, but since Ushio is the only one who lacks Dash, we'll be using him to initiate the attack.
If, for whatever reason, you're Dashing, make sure not to finish on the tiles to the left of the monster - that'll 'wake up' the third Will-o'-the-Wisp and cause it to go after Rosea as well.
I moved Lockswell forward - while he's then in range to attack the ghost without retaliation or even spend a turn Reinforcing, I have him Dash forward instead, so he's in range to Heal Rosea next turn and attack the other enemies. I them Dash Heugoe and Wylfred forward, and have Ushio start the attack.
The good news is that the ghosts are easy enough to Overkill.
The Will-o'-the-Wisp and the Lesser Vampire move forward. They can end up either attacking Rosea, or casting a spell on her. Since they don't have enough AP to cast spells two turns in a row, they will end up attacking her by the second round. If they both attack her in the first round, chances are you've lost.
The Will-o'-the-Wisp can use Fire Storm and Poison Blow, and the Lesser Vampire has Dark Savior. Believe it or not, you actually want Rosea to get Silenced here - it prevents her from attempting to attack enemies and getting herself killed.
Our next target is the Lesser Vampire, but we also need to Heal Rosea. Heugoe has to Dash to get close enough to attack it, and there isn't enough space for both Wylfred and Ushio to attack it without Wylfred Dashing. It's very difficult to fully Overkill it from full health, so we go for another option and ignore the Vampire for a round. Instead, Heugoe moves forward and uses a potion on Rosea to heal her, and Lockswell Guard Reinforces her. Wylfred then uses Vali's Awakening, to both increase his stats and draw the Will-o'-the-Wisp's attacks (the Lesser Vampire is immune to Provoke). Ushio then joins in with Lockswell to chip at the Vampire.
It's possible for the enemies to ignore Rosea and just attack out characters instead, but I'd rather not take the chance.
Wylfred can't counterattack, but that's okay - his increased defenses allow him to survive, and he still has one more turn of Vali's remaining. The Lesser Vampire then attacks Ushio, but he lives.
Wylfred then goes to attack the Vampire. Ushio and Lockswell were already in range, and the Vampire moved forward last turn and put itself in Heugoe's range, so everyone can join in.
Wylfred's boosted ATK makes fully Overkilling it easy - without it I'd either have to spend two rounds attacking it, or use Lockswell's turn to Reinforce somebody.
Ushio then moves to the other side to engage the Will-o'-the-Wisp, with Heugoe and Lockswell joining in.
If you went Camille, you can do a similar thing with Earnest instead of Heugoe, and you also have Natalia's great movement. Hroethe Walk has the toughest battle here, the best you can do is to deploy Darius or Cheripha.
Rosea's relatively safe now - the last Will-o'-the-Wisp can be taken out without too much trouble.
We do Heal Wylfred anyway, to be safe.
The last ghost comes out and is lanced, frozen, and stabbed to double-death.
There are two hidden items here - the first is in this little alcove, which nets us a Nectar Potion. We have plenty of time to grab them after ensuring Rosea's safety.
The second is in this corner, which you can see at the start of the fight. We get a Spell Potion from it.
The last Vampire hides out here, and like Lieselotte in the C path, is trapped by the stupid AI, allowing us to hunt it down at our own leisure.
And done. Don't think the chapter lets up at this point, though.
Some great rewards here, some of them irreplaceable. The Frostbane is good for Darius or Mireille, or for Wylfred if you're not using either. The Skrep is the base reward, and while it's quite weak - 40 ATK, three attacks, Soul Crush enabled - it's the best Mischka's got for the moment. Most notable is the Grásida - it has 105 ATK and two attacks, along with a massive 50% Darkness boost. It is actually the best weapon on the A path for Lancers, and won't get replaced til the A Ending. So if you miss it here, Heugoe and Earnest won't get much better than the Partisan.
Stalking is also a surprisingly good reward here which will have applications much further down the road.
---
Blessed be the saintess! Praise be to Lady Rosea!
Have you not heard the tales? The saintess is a godsend, a healer who roams the lands bringing comfort to the wounded. We owe you our lives. Gods bless your soul!
I do not-
Do not insult me with false denials. The cantrip that ended Lord Cennair's life was your doing! You speak madness! Silence!
But you must listen! It was not I who betrayed the archimagus!
You will speak no more! In the name of Lord Cennair, I strike thee down!
Stay out of this!
I see no murder in the face of this one they call saintess. Let her speak her peace, then do with her as you will.
Gullible fool! You would trust the words of a killer!
That simply is not true! Ask yourself this - what had I to gain from your master's passing? When the supposed accident that took the master's life was judged to be deliberate, suspicions fell on the other court magi. The evidence implicated two potential suspects - one being myself, the other Lieselotte.
She and I served Artolia together as magi of the royal court. You knew nothing of this "Lieselotte?"
(It's only four syllables...)
That leaves only Lieselotte on whom to take my revenge. I cannot speak to that, as only the killer knows the truth. I can only ask that you resist your thirst for vengeance - it will bring no peace. ...
Now if you will pardon me, my duties require I bid you farewell.
How will I avenge the master now? I found the one I sought, only to find I do not know who I seek. Her words... Vengeance will bring no peace...
---
We're going to knock the optional battle out of the way now as well.
Or rather it just gives me an excuse to finally use the
Three Skullfishes, two Flying Fishes. One of them drops an Azoth Blade, useless for us since we don't have Natalia.
Why are they all so eager to die?
Mireille's third attack is Somersault Smash, which has leap up and somersault the enemy downwards. Mireille is the only character besides Duwain to have a knockdown without also having a launcher - her range isn't as great as Duwain's, though it's faster.
Mischka's third attacks is Roundabout, which has him twirling his sword eight times. Lowish damage, but fantastic for both crystals and gems.
As one might expect, the twins work together very well - Mischka can launch opponents, Mireille can knock them down, then Mischka can follow up with Roundabout to get lots of gems, before doing Upward Sweep > Roundabout for lots of crystals. Conversely, you don't have to use both - Mischka is a good general generator of crystals since Wylfred also has a launcher, and Mireille works well with anyone with a launcher, like Wylfred or Ushio. If you use Mireille, you also free up your Sorcerer's spell slot for something more damaging, like Lightning Bolt or Dark Savior. Mischka is generally the better of the twins for his insane crystal generation, but both can find a place in any party.
This one's finished. Where's the next?
Aheh! This should be fun!
Mischka Soul Crush
Having a Warrior's ATK is what saves Mischka's Soul Crush - otherwise, below average multipliers and the worst Attack Gauge boost of any non-Sorcerer, at 41. At least it does better damage than his sister's.
Nobody messes with my sister!
Sister... help me... I'm scared.
Let's do that again!Not now, Mischka. Moving on!
Do not let them surround us.
Have you been wounded?
Your protests can wait.
---
Voting Time!
It's a little early, but we're going to start finalizing our team now to minimize experience lost. Lockswell is getting locked in, and while she had a good run in the B route, I'm going to sit Cheripha out for this route, though she's perfectly usable. Instead I'll give you guys four choices for the last two slots. Vote for either Mireille, Mischka, Heugoe or Ushio to round out our party.
Voting ends probably in 24-48 hours.