Tips and tricks for progressing in Maddening Mode
It's obvious that playing in NG+ will greatly facilitate progress at all levels. This means that, if you're really stuck, you should use a save file of this type since it will allow you to instantly unlock very high level skills, talents and classes, to have more money, and more. However, we will assume that this is not the case for this guide.
- The first training battle is already a tough obstacle for many. You will have to choose your best students and transfer items from the inventories of unused characters, such as weapons and potions (also remember to strip the ones in the introduction).
- Offer a ranged attack option to everyone — even those who are unsuited to ranged, like a bow for Hilda so you can do a little damage without risk. Then, buy ranged weapons for everyone. Absolutely everyone.
- Focus your attacks — you will often have to use 3 to 5 characters in the same turn to kill an enemy. In general, progress should be slow and methodical, when the mission permits.
- Analyze each enemy well to see what talents they have — there are often unpleasant surprises as a passage that allows a thief to go and slaughter a healer.
- Make use of the terrain, defensive bonuses are to be used, and bottlenecks will limit the ability of enemies to advance and attack your units freely.
- Recruit all students — even those who are not needed — for their Annexes. These are sources of experience, items, weapons and special battalions.
- Optimize your progress in the monastery. This could be via fishing (especially on special days), support conversations during the week that fill the Motivation gauge, optimizing your teaching level through the choir and greenhouse, and more.
Equipment
- As mentioned, give everyone a bow initially, then a hatchet or javelin depending on their weapon of choice.
- Shields are very useful in Maddening. This is especially true for slow characters, because they will take two attacks anyway. This improves their defense. You can also give them a steel weapon in this case, so you might as well just optimize them completely in that direction.
- The 5-year jump to the second part of the game repairs all weapons in the characters' inventories. So, let go of the use of relics and other quality weapons at the end, then fill everyone's inventory on the last mission.
Battalions and tactics
- Everyone needs authority to be able to use the best battalions later in the game, so stat bonuses and powerful tactics will be needed.
- Tactics (gambits) that have a large area and immobilize enemies are absolutely vital, as they will allow you to disable a group of enemies during a turn. Defensive and support types can also help.
- Having tea and using improvement items on your different characters, with offensive tactics to improve their charm, will improve their efficiency and accuracy. This is something you will need.
- Dorothea and Manuella each have a Rally hat gives a bonus of +8 Charm, which makes a huge difference in terms of tactical effectiveness at the beginning of the game. It also protects against enemy tactics.
Classes & training
- Master the Noble and Commoner starting classes — you will absolutely need the +5 HP. Then, master the beginner classes for the +2 in a useful statistic. Their repositioning skills are also fantastic in order to seize the tactical advantage.
- If you can, have as many characters as possible certified as soon as possible for the Armored Knight classes, for its massive permanent Defense bonus of at least 12 — even without using it. The Brigand class gives the same benefit to Strength (10), while the Mage class gives the same benefit to Magic (10). These are good ways to pull up your characters.
- Choosing optimized classes will not be a luxury. The best are Lord Wyvern, Warlord for male characters, Dark Bishop for males, Bishop for female spellcasters, Assassin, and Bow Knight.
- Learn and use the Combat Arts — you won't have the opportunity to attack twice for a long time anyway. Then, unlock the Arts such as Swift Strikes, Fast Attacks, and Point Blank Volley, that allow you to attack twice. Thereafter, Hero (Brave) weapons that double the number of attacks are also particularly important.
- Skirmishes are very unprofitable in terms of experience, so it is advisable to use them to finish your characters' transition levels (at levels 4/9/19/29). This is also true when you want to finish mastering a class — as these enemies don't give much experience, they make the ideal targets.
Optimization & experience farming
- You will need to focus on a small, elite team, and not waste experience on characters you don't plan to use throughout the story.
- Plan the 12 or 13 characters you will assemble in advance.
- Don't give experience at first to characters you probably won't use later, such as Ignatz and Lorenz. However, they can be used to improve your tactics by positioning them well.
- A double-edged-sword strategy is to recruit some students late, because the game will have given them levels and classes to match recruitment month — meaning it's experience you won't have to give them. On the other hand, this may delay their training. This is an option to consider only if their default training corresponds to the path you want them to take. The optimal month to recruit students is the 9th month, as they then have their intermediate classes.
- Increasing the Faith of all characters who can cast spells at Class D allows for healing, which is useful and a good source of experience that seems not to have been significantly decreased.
- If you are patient, you can use broken or rusty weapons on some missions to attack an enemy Priest up to Turn 99 (you lose on Turn 100). Their regeneration makes them fantastic sources of experience. Other similar opponents on regeneration squares also do the trick. You can also sometimes let an enemy attack your solid units on a defensive/regeneration square with a rusty weapon until Turn 99 — this will allow you to get a ton of experience for that unit and its healers.
Now you're all equipped to take on the biggest challenge in Fire Emblem: Three Houses. Good luck!
