Valkyrie Profile: Covenant of the Plume Part #79 - Lap 1: Floor 5

Part 79: Lap 1: Floor 5 - 5.5

The battlefield with Ailyth is surprisingly sparse. She has only one additional ally on the field. So it goes to logic that the Hound of Hel would be accompanied by...

...Hamsters?

Hamsters are a recurring enemy from previous Seraphic Gates; they have no role in the story and are pretty much there as 'furry harbringers of doom if you have the audacity to attack them.' They have a movement of 4 and an attack range of 2.

And as you can see, they will mess you up if you even dare to try hitting them for giggles. They have 100% resistance to all elements and immunity to all status effects except Faze. So don't even try. Luckily, they'll just scurry around the battlefield unless you attack then, in which case their new goal will be to hunt you down and violate your innards till your corpse stops twitching.

So let's not do that, shall we?

There's a hidden item (Consecration) near the Hamster and the Hamster itself drops Transposition, but we'll just focus on Ailyth. Since she's alone, she's very easy to corner and kill.

Allow me to amuse you.

Unlike Kristoff, Ailyth doesn't have anything special up her sleeve - just simple attacks. She does have Fists of Iron, but that's it.

Hooray crystals!

Ailyth also drops a Union Plume.

---

I don't recall agreeing to anything.

As I am bound solely to you, in turn I pray you do not forsake me for others... Tilte, for instance.

Tilte and I are childhood friends - nothing more.

I pray it remains so, sire. Else I fear Tilte shall see a far less pleasant side of me.

When you put it that way...

Wyl stops running.

Oh, they have those in Niflheim?

Indeed, the netherworld offers a comprehensive health care program. Shall I bite you, Master?

No, it's alright. I mean, not alright! Please do not bite me. Please.

Hard it is to resist when you beg me so, sire. But alas, this is hardly the place. We shall try it elsewhere.

...Welp.

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We're halfway through our secret character list. Ailyth is the only member of the Hound of Hel class. She has a movement of 4 and an attack range of two, essentially giving her the movement of a Swordsman and the attack range of a Lancer. Stats wise, she is very similar to Natalia - she ties with Sorcerers for the worst HP and RDM, and her ATK is slightly below Natalia/Cheripha/Valmur's, making her very fragile. The upside is that she has the third best HIT in the game (behind Auguste and one character we haven't gotten yet.)

Ailyth is also special in that she has her own set of equipment - she starts off with the Feather Duster and Apron Dress and won't get any upgrades to them for a while. It's not all bad - the Feather Duster is very strong and gives her a 20% Darkness boost, the Apron Dress has a resistance to Darkness, and she still has access to tiaras, gloves and boots - the Ether Gloves and Magic Boots help to make up for her frailty.

Where Ailyth does shine is in her attacks. While her hit count is poor (dealing only six hits), her multipliers are very high, only behind Reinhilde, and since she has an innate 20% boost on account of her weapon that makes her even better. Shadow Storm is also one of the best Soul Crushes in the game since it has very high multipliers and has the best hit count and Attack Gauge boost. She's let down a little by her low ATK, but she's certainly competent enough unless she runs into something resistant against Darkness.

Ailyth Soul Crush

Age: ???
Gender: Female?
Homeland: Niflheim
Height: 166cm
Weight: 52kg
Bust/Waist/Hip: 94/57/86

Loyal servant of Hel, Queen of Nifleheim, who assumes the guise of a human lady so as to move freely about Midgard. Ailyth's true form is in fact that of the ravenous demon-hound, Garm.

Ailyth Voice Collection

Ailyth's Japanese VA is Hitomi Nabatame, who is quite a prolific voice actor in both anime and games. Here's one role you may recognize: Ms. Kashiwagi from the Persona 4 Animation. Her English VA is unknown, which is a shame.

Time to go shopping. I buy Union Plumes...

...As well as Suspend Motion for Liese and a Mirage Robe for Auguste.

The game stops holding your hand here - the intermittent battle is actually quite difficult and if you've been spending money poorly you'll have a lot of trouble. The main threat are the Aesir Archeresses - they hit quite hard for this stage of the game and can very easily chain with each other to whittle down your units from a distance. They're also resistant to Lightning and Holy (all Aesir enemies are resistant to Holy.) There are also some Aesir Warriors, who are less of a threat immediately but if you let them get too close they'll also mess you up.

If you're using a Sorcerer, immediately Suspend one of the Archeresses. That'll take a load off your back. They should Suspend another one the next turn if possible.

The hidden treasure is an Ice Talisman, by the way. Sells for about 600 OTH so you don't need to go out of your way to grab it.

The idea is to go offensive since you can't afford to spend too many of your Union Plumes here. On the other hand, you'll want to stay just out of the Warriors' range if possible.

An armour upgrade can help a lot - the Archeresses only do this much to Natalia now that she has a Mirage Robe. On Reinhilde this would have left her around half life.

A second one goes down.

And drops Crystal Call! This is a big help to any crystal-heavy characters (Auguste, Valmur, Mischka, Duwain.) Another enemy on this map can drop Rejuvenation.

Auguste uppercuts another one.

Repeated attacks start to take their toll on Natalia.

Some Suspend Motion and brawling later, and we'll end this map.

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This next scene is quite unique: it's the only one that changes between laps. Throughout Laps 1-10, you'll see the same scenes (Gabriel Celsete, the Kristoff/Langrey/Roienburg skit, etc.). There is one scene before the fifth floor of each lap that changes, which is really the only reason to keep playing the Gate. Anyway, let's see the first one.