Messing with MyCastle XII¶

Not much new to see this time around, just an upgrade to the Einherjar shop, which expands your selection from three clones of unique units and three random scrubs to six apiece. You don’t have any new characters to level either, so normally this would be a fairly short little visit to MyCastle, but you do have a new Invasion battle you can partake in…

Invasion 2¶

This battle is similar to the first one in that enemies will be concentrated at the gates to the east, west and especially the south, while your units will be scattered about. You need to protect the throne, and like last time, enemies will occasionally waste time attacking buildings for no reason. Another change this time are in your foes themselves; they’ll likely be nearly matching you in levels, so don’t be surprised if you’re fighting against freshly promoted units. On the plus side, they’re worth a good bit of XP, so it’s worth taking on this battle for that reason alone.

Woods of the Forlorn¶

After the tragic events at the Ice Tribe Village, the Hoshidan army in flight will find themselves in a spooky dark forest. Then you realize you’re in a cemetery, which naturally means bad things have to be lurking around. The leader of said critters will cause trouble with magic, then with mean, mean words (you’ll never guess who it is…don’t look at the title of the chapter!) before finally attacking.

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Map of Chapter 18.

Like in the last battle, you face a boss who starts out on the far side of the map, alone save his retainers, but you can expect that to change very soon. In fact, don’t even pretend the battlefield is clear, as fifteen Faceless will appear at the beginning of the battle, surrounding your starting position on the bottom of the map. They deserve little attention; their Attack is laughable, as are their defenses, and thirty Hit Points doesn’t impress anybody any more. When planning for this battle, ignore the Faceless; focus on speed, high Resistance scores and blue weapons. Ninjas and Falcon Knights will serve you well here.

The Faceless aren’t just here to waste your time, however; they also may serve to lure you into the marshes, which will hinder Hoshidan units by dealing a few points of damage to them if they begin your turn on such terrain. Nohrian units, like Silas and your protagonist, will be unaffected, but flying units who realistically wouldn’t even touch the marshes are. Makes sense. Dragon Veins scattered around can neutralize them.

Dispatch the scrubs, which shouldn’t take long (seriously, the marshes are probably more dangerous than the Faceless), then turn your attention north. Do so quickly, too, as the Faceless will respawn shortly. You just need to get them out of your way long enough to focus on Leo and his goons. Leo (Dark Knight) only brought his scroll with him to battle this time, and his Attack isn’t ungodly; a character with a high Resistance score can resist him pretty easily. Unlike most bosses, he’s got a massive movement range, but rarely feels compelled to make much use of it. This is due to the fact that he, as a Nohrian noble, can use the nearby Dragon Veins to spawn swamps, which is a horrible tactic on his part, since he’s sacrificing the initiative to score a handful of damage. He likely won’t survive a proper rush by Falcon Knights and Ninjas.

His minions, Odin (Sorcerer and Niles (Adventurer) aren’t as tentative, and will attack if provoked. Niles uses bows, so lure him with a high Defense unit, and Odin uses scrolls, so counter with Resistance. They’re not terribly strong, nor well-protected by Hit Points, so they should go down easily enough. Make sure your fliers attack from the west to avoid Niles’s bow and mitigate Odin’s magic, then they can converge on Leo, who will likewise be hard-pressed to injure them. Odin will drop a Horse Spirit scroll when felled, Niles forfeits a Silver Yumi , and Leo bestows an Energy Drop (Permanently increases Strength by 2).

Once the battle is over, Leo will be confronted by his victorious sibling, Azura will reveal some secrets she’s been keeping (and apparently has more hidden away). Leo will warn you about Xander’s strength, and suggest a course of action that might make the inevitable showdown with Xander less suicidal. After a show of support from your real siblings, and a gift from Leo, you’ll be ready to start your pilgrimage.