Part 4: BF4 – East Orlando

After saving Durant, Yggdra's Royal Army raised its banners to smash a disorganized Imperial Army unit. They victory was only temporary, but the Royal Army's Imperial pursuers were forced to delay their next attack.

The Imperial Army's Orlando patrol was being supported by three forts used as supply depots in the east.

The Royal Army moved forth to capture these posts while the Imperial Army's pursuit was on hold.






Our destination is the Sovereignty of Embellia.

Embellia? What's that?

It's a nation our Kingdom has long been friends with. I'm sure they will offer us their assistance...

But first, Princess, we have a more pressing task... There are lookout stations at the border of the sovereignty. They are currently being used as supply bases by Bronquia. We must be ever vigilant as long as they're active.

… But if we burn them down...

… They won't be able to chase after us.

Precisely. The enemy has suffered major losses thanks to us. There shouldn't be many guards here at the moment.

Nice! Now that does sound like a plan.





Yes, Sir!



Our targets are the enemy lookout stations! Defeat the soldiers inside, then burn the supplies!

This level is a breath of fresh after after the last one. We won't be against any spell casters, and they're all fairly low levels. Each character has its uses, and there are plenty of opportunities to level up cards.

Since Yggdra is a level behind the other two, one of my priorities will be to get her into battle as much as possible.

I also want to give Mind Change a rest. Since nothing in this level is incredibly strong on the morale side, that's ok. And the large distances between forts gives me a chance to use my high movement cards – Steal and Revolution.

The Quick Clear MVP is 18 turns, or 6 per fort. This one isn't too bad, although you might not be able to wipe out every enemy.

The annoying thing to look out for in this level is one hidden item, the Four-Leaf Clover. Only Yggdra can pick it up, and it has a random chance whenever you step on a grass tile. Whenever we have extra movement to burn, Yggdra will pace back and forth on the grass looking for it, as well as make each trip step-by-step.



Durant leads the charge here, since the first fort is manned by Fencers. Yggdra joins in for the first round. The enemies are 2,2,2,1 – slightly more rounded out, but overall equal to Yggdra. We still have block counter, though, so we have a definite advantage.



Durant's clash goes extremely one-sided, as we'd expect. It gives me the chance to go passive, since Yggdra may need the extra power.



We can't wipe out the Fencer immediately, however. Take notice of the GEO Defense – 40%. The Fort the enemy is standing on provides a 40% damage reduction to anyone standing on it. Durant is in no danger from the Fencers, so leaving them alive for a turn isn't a huge worry.



Again Yggdra's Block Counter keeps us in the lead here. With the enemy fighting at MAX, we'll need this full Skill bar to keep up.



It's a close fight, and due to the Fort's GEO Defense, we only deal a measly 339 damage. One difference from the GBA version, that I'm embarrassed to just notice, is that you don't have the GEO bonus into the add-factors any more. It used to work just like a negative Ability Difference. Now, however, it is applied after the damage calculation, being less effective overall.

Example: In the GBA, the fight would look like this:
8 + 40 + -40 = 8% * 1176, 94 damage.
Now it looks like:
8 + 40 = 48% * 1176, 564 damage, subtract 40%, 339 damage – which is what the fight ended at. Not as powerful, but still an advantage (and probably much better for us.)




I move Yggdra up, stopping on every grass tile. I want her near, but out of the defensive union.



The enemy Fencer from the bottom right moves up to assault Durant – leaving the safety of the fort, while the one in the top right moves down. It's a weird move. The two Fencers in this battle are the ones previously damaged.



Two down, but they both survive.



The undamaged Fencer leaves the Fort as well.



I'll bring out Revolution this time. Its high movement will allow me to finally bring everyone to the front, and its high power will make a jolly mess of the Fort dwellers.



Until now we've only seen units with the regular Walk movement type. Durant has the Horse movement type, giving him the extra advantage of walking through enemy units. We use it here to skirt past the Fencers, and take the corner of the Fort.



We also bring Yggdra up, and have Durant initiate an attack. The two damaged Fencers will be easy work, but the one in the corner will likely survive.



Again, Durant is set to Passive. This is an easy fight regardless, but Yggdra might need the edge. This Fencer is finished with this attack.



And after a poor charge by Yggdra, I'm glad we have the extra skill. We'd stand little chance against them if they had a 2-3 level advantage the entire time.



We had enough, despite the close fight. This Fencer is also eliminated.



And as I thought, the final Fencer will survive. We drain most of his Card Pow Up with this clash, so I won't worry about him too much.



Durant scores a level up. Every level up gives a set stat growth, so you don't gain any random shit levels like in Fire Emblem.



We have 7 remaining movement with Revolution, so we might as well corner in on the enemy commander to start whittling away at his morale. We could easily rush in Milanor, and given his weapon advantage, make short work of him. We wouldn't be able to fit Durant in the union, though. We could move Yggdra towards the Fencer to try to finish him instead, but we've seen how badly she does with a full Skill Bar, and Block Counter. The Fencer wouldn't have any rage, but it would still be a risky fight.



...It's a little too technical for me to understand, though...

Or we could move Yggdra in to lead the union, bringing Durant and Milanor in. It's easy to forget, but she has O Fort , which will negate the enemy's weapon advantage entirely.



I blow the last 2 movement by leaving the fort onto the grass, and then back to the fort. We get a bit of talking out of it, in any case.



Not bad odds, overall. Durant and Milanor look in fine form, although Yggdra might have some trouble.



Yggdra's fort attribute sure helps, and we start the battle evenly.



The enemy's ever increasing rage tips the balance, though, and our Princess falls for the first time.



We take 161 damage for our trouble, mostly thanks to Yggdra's whopping 50% damage reduction. Even with the loss, this formation will pay off.



Durant brings in a victory. His higher stats gives him an advantage over Yggdra. We don't deal a lot of damage, though.



Since this is the Knight's third clash, he now has a battle penalty. Milanor easily crumples the other two on his counter, and makes short work of the unit's head. He shaves off nearly a third of the Knight's morale.



And it's Milanor's time to level up.





We'll use the 4-movement Ace Guard, and keep the same formation. Between Yggdra's Block Counter, and the higher skill bar she gets for low movement, even she will make short work of the Knight. We'll also have enough movement to capture the Fort, and end this phase of the battlefield.



Yggdra's last Valkyrie falls seconds before the Knight does, indicating we had a decent lead on him. Yggdra doesn't deal a lot of damage, but Durant and Milanor are coming up.



Durant can't quite finish him off, but due to a battle penalty again, Milanor comes in with a huge victory.






I have finished disposing of the supplies here. Let us move on to the next depot!





Is that the next one? Alright, let's get to it!

Splendid!

Since the next Fort is mostly bandits, Yggdra will have a good time. I fire up Revolution, and let her enjoy a nice relaxing walk to the enemy.



...Oh, how rare! I wonder if I can make it into a lucky charm.

This item is a pain in the ass, but it's out of the way now. I planned on using the entire 10 movement for Yggdra, just for more chances to find the Clover.



This section looks tailor made for Yggdra to gain some Exp. The Bandits have it bad enough with their weapon disadvantage, but they only have 1,2,1,1 stats.




These clashes pose no issues, but both Bandits survive.



The same two Bandits counterattack, but they're both defeated.



We won't leave until this fortress is razed!



You'd better run while you still can.

I use Steal to move Yggdra into position, and Milanor joins her union. Durant also makes it far enough that he will join Milanor's union, in case the Knight attacks him. Yggdra and Milanor will start working on the Knight, and when Durant gets into position the three of them will deliver the same killing stroke as last time.



Yggdra only has the slightest of leads again, but we've seen how Block Counter tips the scales, and how irrelevant it is when she loses on a Fort.



All in all, a good outcome. We drop the Knight to 2066 morale.



Milanor just wrecks his shit, though.



And Yggdra is getting closer.



Wait! W-Wait!





The Knight pulls out another close victory, but again we take just a sliver of morale damage.




Milanor does the usual, bringing the Knight near death. Because of his critical hit, we won't even need Durant in the next union.



...It's a little too technical for me to understand, though...



Surrender your fortress and no one will be harmed!

I still move Durant into position for the next phase of the battle. I use the Flame card, which still grants me enough movement to get the next Imperial Warfare volume, and will have enough to capture the stronghold when I take out this Knight.





And Milanor goes in for the big finish. Yggdra brought him to 215 morale, so this is largely overkill.



Yggdra finally gains her level. Her Tec up is a big thing right now, since it will finally bring her to 2 stars.





That's two for two!



Princess, only one depot remains!

Haha! The heat is on!



We must protect this place at all costs! If they take this depot, the eastern front is a lost cause!



Last one! Let's give 'em everything we've got!



When the card select screen comes up I hit cancel so I can get a better look at the map. We're introduced to a new class here – Hunters. Like the Assassin we saw in the first battlefield, Hunters use bows. They have decent Gen, and high Tec. The ones in this level are 2,1,3,2 – not bad. Hunter's main power comes from their special attribute, Daytime .

Now, I haven't talked about the Day/Night cycle just yet, but it's pretty simple. Basically, at the start of your turns, the time of day changes. It goes from Day, to Evening, to Night. There are a few exceptions. Some levels are locked into a specific time. Also, there are instances where the Day/Night cycle doesn't advance, just like my current turn. Whenever you gain a free turn after completing an objective and getting a situation change, time stays still. For this level, starting this phase in Evening gives us a huge boon.

Just like a GEO , Daytime gives them 4 levels in combat. It doesn't provide any additional Geo Defense, but because of the way Bows work on the weapon triangle, during Daytime, Hunters will have a two step advantage.

Since I have the chance, I want to inflict as much damage before day comes. I also want to visit the village just north of us – but not at night. Steal will give us enough movement to get a character to the village, and up to the Hunters.



Nomad: I was thinking of doing that, too. Life's pretty rough here.





I chose to use Durant for this, just to be on the safe side. I have two turns before it turns to day, but in case the hunters move and block Durant in the corner, he can still retreat with his Horse movement. Also, the Hunters have a 3 Tec, which could spell trouble during their charge. Durant has a high Gen so should fare well. Yggdra uses up the rest of the movement to get closer to battle. If I didn't have the Four-Leaf Clover, this would be a good time to trudge around in the grass.



And this round will be a slaughter. Filled circle vs. X is the best odds you can get on this screen.



Durant's charge is a little underwhelming, but Bow users can't counterattack.



Between that, and their terrible Atk, this battle is short. Steal is weak, and he has his Fort Geo Defense, so he's fine.



And this fight goes pretty much the same. They put up a better fight with their rage bar maxed out, but it won't matter.



As I thought, the Hunter blocks Durant in. If this was daytime, I'd be in trouble. As it stands now, though, I still have a good lead on them.



Damn it! Oh well. Even after that brutal charge, Durant's unit put up a good fight. His two Knights took a ton of damage in their panic, but still managed to take out 6 Hunters.



The damage is starting to add up, but there's no need to worry yet.



As seen here, even without their Daytime , Hunters can fight quite well when their opponent can't counterattack. If they had more of an Atk stat, I might have been in trouble.



This guy's no joke like the others...

I'm pretty sure he's identical to the others.

I bring up Yggdra and Milanor. I can't get to a fort, yet, so Yggdra will stay away from the Knight. Nobody can form a union with her in it, so she's safe from the Knight on the enemy turn as well.



Between Revolution, the battle advantages, and the three-vs-two battle going on, these two Hunters aren't going to survive the round.



You'll have to dig us out!



Durant comes down after the Hunters die to join a union with Milanor. Either of the Knight's targets will bring on a 2v1 against him, and with Revolution still active I have the potential of knocking off a decent chunk of Morale on the enemy's turn.



Durant takes a 0-damage charge, so I take the opportunity to charge up the skill gauge a little. Durant could win this handily with a little bit of aggression, but Milanor still has the bigger punch with his weapon advantage.



We knock the Knight's morale to just below half. We should be able to finish this next turn.



You're quite skilled for one of them...



Even if you are a lady, I won't pull any punches.

So be it!

I set up the usual killer formation, with Yggdra leading the charge, and Milanor bringing up the rear. It's currently turn 15, so I could try to kill the Hunter and still make Quick Clear, but since it's daytime I don't want to take the risk. I also picked a card with ample left over movement, so that I could gather the final item and capture the stronghold.



Nothing shocking here.



Yggdra's level to Tec, however, make it possible to deal 2 damage vs the Knights now.



Durant deals the finishing blow, but overall Yggdra did much better in that fight. This level is a good lesson that there are ways to deal with weapon disadvantages.
It'll be a while before we get any bow users, good against Rod and Book, and we'll never have an advantage over scythe users. Terrain abuse is a quite powerful way to break that up.



Good experience gained to all, and Durant is even slightly higher than Milanor. That won't last.





It seems to be a volume on war tactics. Intriguing...





We did it! We smashed all the fortresses!

That's... That's all of them!?





Ooh, Shield Barrier. There are probably three cards everyone can agree are just fucking broken, and this one is probably the strongest.



This should prevent the Empire from operating in the east. We no longer have to fear attacks from Orlando.

Very good. Let us proceed to the Sovereignty of Embellia.


Closing Notes

This is a bit of a relaxing level, compared to BF3. There are a variety of successful strategies, lots of easy kills, and most of the items are easy to get. The Four-Leaf Clover can be a pain, but it's justifiable to skip.

Fencers and Bandits are easy to deal with, and it's the first time where Yggdra can really shine.

The Hunters can provide quite a shock when you first encounter them. It's obvious that their stats aren't all that impressive, but they have one of the the first level advantages you have to deal with, and you can't get a weapon advantage against it.

During the night they can be complete pushovers – Durant almost won a battle after receiving a critical hit. Their strength in the daytime will probably surprise most players, so it's something you need to keep in your mind when fighting Hunters. Yggdra on a Fort is probably the only way to deal with them, but I don't like her odds on the defensive.

The Knights take a while with their 40% GEO Bonus, but a few turns with decent cards, and they'll fall no problem.