This chapter was just brutal at times. I was able to pull through without any deaths, but there were some close things, especially early on when there were two active sleep inducers (although Hetzel was nice enough not to put people to sleep until after the other dude was finished), and a healthy amount of ranged foes. Also, Stefan and Mordecai are at C support.
Chapter 4-E-1 - Rebirth: Finished.
Beginning: What caused the most trouble, and made this even harder than it could have been, was when I tried to split my units into three groups, leaving four people (Ike, Mist, Jill and Soren) to take over the center, while Aran and Laura headed left and Stefan and Mordecai went right. This allowed the enemies to bum-rush Ike after he got put to sleep, and then begin walking all over the others as they fought, with only Jill being able to take hits. The others charged back after they took down their few foes, and staved off the main group of foes while Mist and Laura teamed up to heal everyone. Once the center was a bit more secure, I was able divide the groups again and conquer the rest of the area with a slightly more patient march.
Ike: Took care of southern reinforcements, be they bishops or generals. He held them off as they warped in, using the Wardwood and Ragnells ranged powers to take on any foe that came in.
Mist, Jill, & Soren: Stayed in the center, Jill held off any reinforcements from the front, while Soren counter-sniped the ranged sages and Mist kept them in good shape. Eventually, the reinforcements stopped coming, and the three of them drew out and smashed the enemies one by one, until the center was taken.
Aran & Laura: Headed left, where Aran led and held of enemies, Laura keeping him safe and taking down any enemies he couldn't. They pushed forward through the enemies fairly easily, although Aran took a heavy hit from the guy with the Double Bow (who is just randomly placed on the left side), before he took him down. They pushed through to the northwestern warp point, Laura blasting the generals since they were on Cover spaces. Once they finished with them, they ran down to the center and allowed Mist to retrieve the Matrona staff using the Unlock staff.
Stefan & Mordecai: Took care of the right path, Mordecai making fantastic use of the Laguz Gem and just rampaging through the area alongside Stefan. They had no real hiccups, although a fire mage blasted Mordecai for over half his health at one point, which could have gotten ugly if Stefan didn't take him out. Stefan then took down all of the generals guarding the northeastern warp point after Mordecai had taken care of Hetzel. Later on, once Lekain was done warping around, Mordy got Warded and then went to finish off the annoying "saint".
Lekain: Fought Mordecai, he got hit for high damage, got a chance to fire back at Mordecai with Rexaura, and then got finished with the second hit.
Vs Lekain: Mordecai climbed the short staircase up to the top of the altar, and was greeted by the smug grin of Lekain, Duke of Gaddos. The barrier that Mist had erected around him glowed a faint blue as he prepared to strike, while the duke did the same, beginning to chant as a sphere of light appeared above him.
Mordecai leaped forward, attempting to disable the man before he could finish casting, but he was only able to cut a long but shallow gash into the mans torso as an enormous sphere of light came crashing upon him. He could feel the force behind it, and while the ward and his near endless endurance allowed him to shrug it off fairly easily, the blast still wounded him decently. He leaped once more, this time clearing the man as his spell fell forth again, hitting only air, as Mordecai landed on the stairs behind his foe. Before Lekain could turn around, Mordecai charged forward, slamming his side into the dukes back and launching him down the staircase, the impact shattering his skull and killing him instantly.
Up Next: Rebirth part 2, where Ike settles the score with the Black Knight, and we face our final battle with Beorc units.
