—Opening Narration
Another Trial (再びの試練, Futatabi no shiren A New Ordeal in the Japanese Version) is Chapter 9 of Fire Emblem Fates in the Conquest Version.
Script
The script for this chapter can be found here.
Strategy
Azura becomes under a player unit right from the start in the southeastern part of the Fortress. She retains the stats from Chapter 5. She is unarmed, only carrying a Chest Key and some Vulnerary. (The Chest Key can be used to obtain Brass Naginata.) A relatively low level samurai patrols her area. Although not required for victory, it is possible for Azura to evade the samurai and use the Dragon Vein that triggers an acid rain which in turns drops most enemy units' HP to 1.
The enemies are naturally separated in groups. Fighting them one after another is straight-forward. The use of Guard Stance can be handy from time to time when baiting an enemy group into player's formation. Beware of Seal Defense skills on certain units in Lunatic mode. Player units whose defense is sealed will not survive multiple attacks under Attack Stance -- even with Elise's and Felicia's damage mitigation skills -- unless, of course, the player unit in question is in Guard Stance.
There are breakable walls south and north of the castle. It is possible to use those wall tiles as choke points to fight off specific enemy groups, although that is hardly required even in Lunatic mode. The northern chest contains a Rescue Staff. However, the player units entering the main approach to the chest can be sniped by archers in Haitaka's square chamber using Attack Stance. It is thus advisable to either bait and pick off those archers or to use the breakable wall to circumvent their blockade. It is also advisable to bait and fully exhaust the Enfeeble staff of the Shrine Mainden before approaching any enemy unit beyond the first group and the two samurai in Guard Stance at and behind the main entrance respectively.
Haitaka
Haitaka carries a Steel Nageyari, which is an enemy-exclusive weapon. Steel Nageyari has the same stats of a Steel Naginata but can be thrown like a Javelin. On all modes, he comes with Rally Defense; on Hard, he gets Strong Riposte which adds 3 damage for counter attack, and on Lunatic, he has learned Seal Defense. Capturing Haitaka is the only way to obtain Steel Nageyari. His Rally Defense can also assist the player in the upcoming chapter. Niles is required in order to capture Haitaka, as well as having the Prison built before starting Chapter 9.
Enemy Reinforcements
Unit composition
3 groups in total. There is a group of 3 archers, 4 spear fighters and 2 samurai respectively.
Trigger and locations
Reinforcements are triggered by any player unit entering the (roughly) rectangular area to the right of Haitaka's square "chamber". The reinforcement groups will appear on and near the 3 stairs outside that square "chamber" as long as the stair tiles are not blocked.
The area upon within which reinforcement is triggered is not precisely rectangular. The area include the tile (10, 21) for example, which is outside the main rectangle. Nevertheless, it is possible to clear all combatants other than Haitaka before triggering the reinforcements. It is also possible to separate the fight with the different reinforcement groups by selectively covering the stair tiles.
Weapons
In the spear fighter group, one spear fighter is equipped with a Bolt Naginata. Be cautious that a physical tank such as Effie cannot survive his double.
Items
Dropped Items
- Heart Seal - Haitaka (can be Captured)
- 3000G - paired-up Spear Fighter
Chest Items
- A Rescue Staff
- Brass Naginata
| Previous chapter: Cold Reception |
Another Trial | Next chapter: Unhappy Reunion |