Chapter 18 Xavier

[ultpaladin]

I apologize for a second question so soon, I'm at Lenster castle and I looked through the FAQs about how to get Xavier and it says all of the Lenster units need to be alive.  Does that mean the spearmen on the outer rings of the castle need to be alive too?  I dont see how it would be possible to get Xavier if this had to be followed outside of some wasteful use of warp staffs.  On a side note, its also annoying how they split my party for this battle, all my healers are on one side and all my thieves are on the other.

[Somewhat Overcooked Cheese]

For Xavier you need to make sure all Armors with a picture in the middle room survive before they're converted by the villagers in the cells.  If you want the Member Card, all of them must survive, including the 4 without portraits IIRC.

To do that, I'd suggest warping someone with high defense, equipped with nothing but a scroll of your choice ( any works, it's to protect from criticals ) and Vulneraries.  Also note that some of those guys have Hammers so you might not want to use Dalsin.  Warp him on the lower left corner of the room and make the civilians enter.  They should talk to the armors with portraits and they're going to leave.  They can be killed by the other armors though, but it's ok.  Once all 8 are converted, have Leaf speak with Xavier.

For the character's position, just take off one guy and put it at the end of your party.  It's determined by the order they're selected IIRC.

[ultpaladin]

Is there something that triggers the villagers to move, or do I have to carry every one of them all the way to the hall with the armor knights?  I've carried them long distances but they will not move on their own.

[Pukachi]

For Xavier you need to make sure all Armors with a picture in the middle room survive before they're converted by the villagers in the cells.  If you want the Member Card, all of them must survive, including the 4 without portraits IIRC.

To do that, I'd suggest warping someone with high defense, equipped with nothing but a scroll of your choice ( any works, it's to protect from criticals ) and Vulneraries.  Also note that some of those guys have Hammers so you might not want to use Dalsin.  Warp him on the lower left corner of the room and make the civilians enter.  They should talk to the armors with portraits and they're going to leave.  They can be killed by the other armors though, but it's ok.  Once all 8 are converted, have Leaf speak with Xavier.

For the character's position, just take off one guy and put it at the end of your party.  It's determined by the order they're selected IIRC.

Yes, precisely my strategy from FESS2.
However, Xavier can be recruited once every portraited-armour is made an NPC. They don't have to survive; that's only for the Member Card, and everyone has to escape, too.
Also, there is no set order for unit placement. It's completely random.

Is there something that triggers the villagers to move, or do I have to carry every one of them all the way to the hall with the armor knights?  I've carried them long distances but they will not move on their own.

They will only move if they are able to reach their given portraited-armour units. You'll have to open both doors for them to reach the armours.

One more thing, if you capture a Lenster soldier/armour and release them, they won't count as dead when getting Xavier and the Member Card.

[Mekkah]

If you don't care about the Member Card you can use long-range magic to take out the Armors with no portrait.

[ultpaladin]

I definitely want to try for the member card, especially if it allows me to buy promotion items in the future.  I noticed there are Freege units in the throne room mixed in with the Lenster armors, am I allowed to kill them?

[SlippyToasterTrooper_UK]

You can buy promotion items in a regular sohp in Chapter 22 (a bit late then, to be honest).

The secret shop the members card allows you to enter is on chapter 24 (in a place you have to warp* to) and sells stat boosts (again a bit late at that point you'll have used scrolls to max what you want). Though, I suppose its a good way of blowing any remaining money.

*-Or should I say re-warp...

[ShinQuickMan]

 The only thing the member's card does is let you buy stat-boosting items (and not even all of them) in the secret shop at chapter 24 (or is that 25?). You could buy all the Knight's proofs you want at one of the shops in chapter 22. EDIT: Beaten...

Also, there is no set order for unit placement. It's completely random.

 I'm quite sure you could place units (except Leaf) on the map depending on where they're placed on the unit selection screen (much like in Monshou no Nazo). You could affect your unit's priority on the unit selection screen by selecting each unit one at a time, saving and resetting each time you want to select a new unit...

[SlippyToasterTrooper_UK]

All I can say about placement is I seem to recall the game having some automatic priority to where certain units go.

Stuff like Mareeta and Sety always in Leafs group of chapter 24 and Sleuf and Miranda always being at the bottom of the map for Chapter 19.

[Pukachi]

All I can say about placement is I seem to recall the game having some automatic priority to where certain units go.

Stuff like Mareeta and Sety always in Leafs group of chapter 24 and Sleuf and Miranda always being at the bottom of the map for Chapter 19.

I've had the exact opposite happen to me.
Also, Sety/Cyas are on Leaf's side because they join you in that chapter.

[camus the dark knight]

I still got the member card and I killed the Freege armors among the Lenster ones. I captured all the Lenster soldiers in the outer parts since that's what I thought needed to be done...

I don't know exactly what triggers it, but I don't think leaving the 4 Freege armors live/capture them does it.

[skeptical]

Even with your h4x rogues and other promoted units thrown into the mix, this chapter is such a royal pain I kind of think the topic should be stickied. Godspeed trying to clear it in under 50 turns - I haven't bothered yet, but I've cleared it without savestating twice. The boss is no pushover and has great steals on him, so carefully tend to him last and this headache of a chapter will be over. If you want the member card it's even more ugh - the stupid soldiers, as unthreatening as they are, will attack (and quite possibly one-shot) the hostages unlike the Lenster armors, even after Leaf talks to Xavier. Oh, and ultpaladin, I'm just as unsure about the prep menu deployment mechanics as you, but just for quick reference if you or anyone else wants I'll go through the exact hostage-armor pairings (it took a bunch of trial and error runs to figure this out):

LEFT SIDE
pigtails no. 1 -> Rist palette swap
taller old woman -> Paulus palette swap
chick in red -> blonde axe armor
old man -> axe armor with mullet

RIGHT SIDE
pigtails no. 2 -> Tobolza palette swap
little boy -> Egan palette swap
little girl -> Mueller palette swap
shorter old woman -> axe armor in blue

I still think Xavier is worth recruiting for his above-average skillset/tankishness/growths/weapon selection, his leadership star (in a game like this, every extra bit of hit/avoid you can muster counts), that master axe (the only earlier ones, carried by Paulus and Nicaraf, border on impossible to get), and since I'm just a completionist.

If you don't care about the Member Card you can use long-range magic to take out the Armors with no portrait.

Another point for Olwen?     She's the only magician likely at all to have an A rank in an element for a long-range tome by this time. Asvel and Salem would need to be abused and over-worked, and Homer/Linoan/Sarah are pretty obviously out of the question. Plus, Bolting is possibly the best long-range tome in this game thanks to its +20 to crit.  You can't get Blizzard yet anyway, and Fenrir is just as unlikely to be acquired.

I'd say it's easier though to open both throne room doors at once, and have someone with a A rank in staves rewarp themselves until the hostages who turn the Lenster armors on the right into NPCs are in position - chances are the armors under Gustav hug the walls when they start moving and you can just have some magicians safely pick them off from the other side.

[Somewhat Overcooked Cheese]

Another point for Olwen?   She's the only magician likely at all to have an A rank in an element for a long-range tome by this time.

Eyrios has A in Thunder.

[skeptical]

Eyrios has A in Thunder.

Noted, but you can only have one prepromote mage knight. Personally, I prefer Daim Thunder, the holy sword and earlier joining time over Sol, Prayer and some extra durability.   

Eyrios isn't bad (you certainly get better prepromotes via the coastal route to Lenster to make up for it being harder), but he's every bit as thorny to recruit as he is to subdue thanks to his starting inventory if not his skills. Bolting, Thoron and a master sword? *facepalm* Then the rest of his mounted battalion - 17th, was it? - is several mouthfuls to manage at the same time; thankfully you can get sleep swords for your trouble - with but one charge of the thief staff - to make your rogues even more h4x. 

[Lord Fuckboy]

this chapter is such a royal pain I kind of think the topic should be stickied.

It was actually stickied in FESS2.

For Xavier you need to make sure all Armors with a picture in the middle room survive before they're converted by the villagers in the cells.  If you want the Member Card, all of them must survive, including the 4 without portraits IIRC.

They don't have to survive...  I mean, once they turn green you can kill them and still get Xavier.  IIRC that's what happened to me.

As for the Member Card, I also recall capture/release being able to work against the knights of Lenster and still being able to get the Member Card.  Granted, the member card is useless, but if you're really that dedicated to get it, then go for it.

[Somewhat Overcooked Cheese]

Noted, but you can only have one prepromote mage knight. Personally, I prefer Daim Thunder, the holy sword and earlier joining time over Sol, Prayer and some extra durability.  

Eyrios isn't bad (you certainly get better prepromotes via the coastal route to Lenster to make up for it being harder), but he's every bit as thorny to recruit as he is to subdue thanks to his starting inventory if not his skills. Bolting, Thoron and a master sword? *facepalm* Then the rest of his mounted battalion - 17th, was it? - is several mouthfuls to manage at the same time; thankfully you can get sleep swords for your trouble - with but one charge of the thief staff - to make your rogues even more h4x. 

Here goes the eternal Eyrios vs. Olwen debate...

Personally I don't like Daim Thunder that much.  Even though it makes Olwen double all the time, it's very heavy and will make others double her, and she's quite fragile.  The Holy Sword is useful for taking out those mounted knights in chapter 23, and gives a healthy boost of magic, Prayer, and has good stats yes.  But again, this sword is heavy, making Olwen's AS lower by 5 on average, which is 13.  It also comes on chapter 22.  Her HP is low, making her more restricted to stamina.  Her Pursuit critical is high, though.  But aside From Daim Thunder, I don't see much use of it since she's weighed down by a lot of weapons, and she's not that good with swords to begin with.

Eyrios on the other side is much more solid, with more HP and defense.  He's actually is better in all stats but magic on average.  He also has Sun Skill to make him survive longer and has Prayer all the time rather than with a weapon you get with 3 chapters to go.  I know, however, that he's hard to recruit and comes in the harder route that might turn off some players.  He also has a Pursuit critical of 0, but I somewhat found a way to correct that, which is giving him Wrath.  The others with 0 Pursuit critical either already have it ( Sara and Xavier ) or are more useful at doing something else ( the others, but mainly Rivis and Sleuf ) and some can be ignored for replacements ( Cyas and Shanam ).

So it's pretty much a debate between a glass cannon powerhouse and someone who can do well in most areas.  If it wasn't for the stamina I would have taken Olwen though.  Magic users, especially Sages, are already great on offense even if they don't have the movement of a Mage Knight.  Eyrios is more versatile kind of magic user.  He might not be quite as powerful as Olwen, but his durability makes him better in my opinion.

[Neofox]

Also note that Olwen has the advantage of being on the team longer.

And now, back to Xavier... Personally, I find going through the effort of getting him worth it, because much like Sheema and Lawrence, he's the only playable character in his game that can use worthwhile lances indoors thanks to his starting weapon levels.

[Somewhat Overcooked Cheese]

And now, back to Xavier... Personally, I find going through the effort of getting him worth it, because much like Sheema and Lawrence, he's the only playable character in his game that can use worthwhile lances indoors thanks to his starting weapon levels.

He would if he started with something higher than an E.  Dalsin might have something better by now.

[Neofox]

He would if he started with something higher than an E.  Dalsin might have something better by now.

I'm pretty sure Xavier starts with an A in all weapon ranks...

[SlippyToasterTrooper_UK]

No. C Swords, E lances, A Axes and A Bows.
Thanks to Serenes Forest