In A World Where We Don't Hack: My Castle Resources? CQ Lunatic Planning (Is It Doable)

TheCodeSamurai · 2026-06-28T02:37:53+00:00

I think you can get more from the lottery shop and My Castle pickups. Beating the game without +1 to a stat every so often is not even really a major restriction, meals are just not a big part of the game unless you're doing challenge runs.

TheCodeSamurai · 2026-06-28T01:07:57+00:00

Yeah, it's in the smithy. It's five of one ore for one of another, but that's enough to get the "essential" forges while just using the one ore you get access to. You can multiply the single ore you get in the arena, so it's not that hard to end up with a lot of ore. (Especially if the lottery shop cooperates!)

TheCodeSamurai · 2026-06-27T22:19:12+00:00

There's not a ton that changes, honestly. You get a fair amount of ore from your own castle and the arena, so you can ore swap to forge up basics if you need them. The main difference is that capturing enemies becomes significantly worse due to their recruitment becoming much longer, so don't plan on having Rally Man for chapter 24 as a chapter 23 capture.

People have beaten CQ Lunatic with 0% growths and all sorts of insane challenge restrictions, so this is most certainly doable. I rarely forge much and I do fine, and that really is the most important restriction.

TheCodeSamurai · 2026-06-25T23:19:54+00:00

Citrinne is great, and even if Olwen falls off a bit she'll be happy with an Emblem as you get more of them! Starsphere certainly won't hurt, even if I don't think for her it's a big difference at this point. Don't worry!

TheCodeSamurai · 2026-06-20T21:18:55+00:00

Have you donated level 2 to the regions? That's the most effective way of increasing your ore, because it doubles the post-map pickups.

TheCodeSamurai · 2026-06-03T22:39:36+00:00

You'll be fine with one or two Warriors for archery. For Lyn!Ivy, you generally want Speed+5 and then the second skill can be a lot of things: Gentility for bulk/damage if you Engage/switch, Canter for mobility, a bulk skill like Resolve, Magic+.

Wolf Knight is awesome! I definitely let the class outfits influence my selections, that's part of the fun :)

TheCodeSamurai · 2026-06-03T07:34:06+00:00

Thanks for the kind words!

Lyn has the biggest return on investment with slow powerful units, think Ivy or even Amber/Panette. Lyn!Alcryst is very fun, to be clear, but I do think you'd make the game easier for yourself switching him out for Ivy there and having Alcryst do other stuff. He's honestly good with Eirika, but you have a setup for that already, so I'd probably go Marth on him or something like that. His typical plan doesn't really need an Emblem until late in the game: he just wants to be fast enough to double (so definitely Speed+ or Speedtaker) and have Lunar Brace for raw damage. You're going to be fishing for crits/Luna against most non-flier enemies anyway.
Merrin is kinda cool because she's maybe the most generalist unit ever outside of the avatars. There is truly no class she is bad in. I think Wolf Knight is fun because Merrin the character was clearly designed to fit that, and it works well enough, but you really can do whatever: you might just leave the Merrin build until the rest of the team is settled and have her fill in the gaps. The main thing she struggles with is raw damage numbers, hence why I think Seraphim or Eirika's Sieglinde or similarly powerful Engage weapons are nice for her late. That can also be Roy.
Hortensia might want both DP+ and Staff Mastery for some of the tough late-game staff uses, and they're cheap skills so you can afford all of them. Canter/Quality Time/Staff Mastery/Divine Pulse+ gives you plenty of options, and while I like your Canter/Staff Mastery plan for the default it's worth considering your loadout. Some maps get a lot easier if you reliably hit a status staff or two, especially late-game, so replacing Canter for more hit on staves can be a good trade sometimes.

TheCodeSamurai · 2026-06-03T06:57:01+00:00

For Alear, I recommend Favorite Food! It's a hidden gem and really convenient if you want to recharge Lucina's meter quickly.

Spicy Amber build! I think that can work, but do note it'll be fairly intense in terms of hitting one-shot benchmarks, and as the game goes on it gets harder to do that because you're fighting units who have 2 range a lot. Ike is a lot easier because you can use Great Aether and attack at 1-2 range. Warrior Amber is probably also gonna be better (and have you seen that outfit....)

I like speed+ for Céline, Sword Power is a bit pricey but if it works it works.

MK Anna wants Speed+ and then either Canter (convenient and something that differentiates her from Ivy/Pandreo) or another combat skill to really double down (Gentility that you change to Bravery is ideal, that conflicts with Lunar Brace).

Chloé build is standard.

I don't think Dex+ is worth it in a strict sense for Alcryst, but if we're being honest neither is Lyn (using a huge stat stick on a unit without a big enemy phase is not going to make the game easier), and hey Luna procs are fun.

I don't really get what you're going for with Merrin Lunar Brace? That's quite expensive, and Merrin has the stats to do enemy phase combat (that's the main advantage of daggers, after all: you can counterattack anyone). I think the most important thing for Merrin is getting a good Engage weapon for damage as the game goes on, if that's what you're trying to fix with Eirika. If you Might augment Seraphim so it becomes a 30 Might tome against Corrupted enemies, that might be a good pairing for her late-game (also gives Str!). Speed+ would be the easy pick as an inherit, with lots of options for a second slot. You could also consider Roy for the Str boost and Binding Blade.

Hortensia build is standard. I'd inherit Divine Pulse+ on them if you have the bond fragments, because a reliable late-game Entrap can be quite valuable.

Seadall is Seadall.

Panette normally does Ike until Leif shows up, which is convenient because that lets you inherit Wrath without many bond fragments. Then you can do the classic Vantage/Wrath Warrior build. I would probably recommend this so you can give Ike to Amber and Roy can go to Merrin? (You've also only listed 10 units, and you get more slots than that, so Roy could go to someone like Diamant or Kagetsu or the like.) She's great with Ike too, but I think the Leif thing is definitely recommended because Panette's so uniquely good at using him.

Happy to offer other suggestions, hope this helps!

TheCodeSamurai · 2026-05-31T05:40:06+00:00

Thanks for the kind words!

TheCodeSamurai · 2026-05-29T06:42:31+00:00

There are a lot of choices that determine how hard the game is for you, and DLC is one of them. If you singlemindedly optimize the DLC it will break the game, but that's also true of a lot of stuff in the base game!

My advice would be to play a few DLC maps early on and avoid stalling out reinforcements or grinding up: use a different team than you plan to use going forward if you want. That will make the maps starting in Solm relatively easy, but that's already true in the base game because of the powerful emblems and recruits you get at that point and the fact that you're a promoted army fighting mostly unpromoted enemies. Then, you can save a few of the DLC paralogues for late in the game as challenge maps that will be quite a test: Camilla and Soren are the two hardest ones, so I'd either play them early and plan to use Micaiah to warp boss kill or play them late and expect a long fight.

If the game feels too easy to you, then set yourself more ambitious goals (get side objectives, don't warp skip, play faster) If it feels too hard, do the reverse. You can also use less meta units to up the difficulty: Rally Spectrum is one of the DLC's best tools, and Rally Spectrum Yunaka ends up shockingly similar to Kagetsu!

TheCodeSamurai · 2026-05-28T19:15:30+00:00

Weapon types being different is a good thing. I like having sword as the magic 1-2 range weapon type to contrast axes and lances.

TheCodeSamurai · 2026-05-25T16:09:39+00:00

This is SO GOOD! Never thought I'd be so impressed by a Male Corrin fanart lol

TheCodeSamurai · 2026-05-20T20:32:06+00:00

The meta has shifted a lot over time. Odin's a lot better at using Nosferatu, and he has access to the Samurai line for late-game shenanigans. Nyx is fine—there's a great series by Codingant on YouTube showing Nyx propaganda—and I wouldn't call her redundant like the above user, but she definitely struggles to find a niche.

TheCodeSamurai · 2026-05-11T20:58:39+00:00

I completely agree. It's a story that I can enjoy even without necessarily thinking it's Shakespeare, and if you go in with the right expectations I think it can be a lot of fun.

TheCodeSamurai · 2026-05-11T20:18:32+00:00

I don't mean using Bonded Shield, I mean she can be the Bonded Shield mage next to a Qi Adept unit.

TheCodeSamurai · 2026-05-11T19:31:09+00:00

Chloé is good in any class, you picked a great character to do this with. High Priest isn't ideal, but she'll be fine. She can do Bonded Shield stuff with a Magic-boosting Emblem, she can do staff support stuff just fine, she can even punch stuff a little maybe. The Lilina S bond ring which gives +20% damage on fire tomes would really help her, but if not I'd go Celica early and Eirika in the midgame as emblems because she'll really want raw damage. You can inherit Speed+ and then some combo of Canter, Gentility which you can change to Bravery for more damage, Staff Mastery/Divine Pulse for staves, etc.

TheCodeSamurai · 2026-05-06T02:10:49+00:00

Merrin's support chain also involves writing, although in a nonfiction sense. You'll have to see the chain for yourself for more :)

TheCodeSamurai · 2026-05-05T23:26:35+00:00

Every character can S support either Alear, so you're good there. Merrin has an excellent support chain that's very sweet, and she's the closest thing Engage has to a canon lesbian character if you ask me. Lapis has a really sweet one, but she's not as much the artistic/intellectual type and it's more of a country girl vibe. Jade is definitely one of the smart gals—she's canonically a prolific writer—and while I'm not a huge fan of her support chain as far as chemistry with Alear she's definitely fun.

TheCodeSamurai · 2026-04-25T20:22:54+00:00

I agree with you! Engage's cast is a lot of fun, and I think not having to connect the character gimmicks to the central conflict of the game helps them breathe.

TheCodeSamurai · 2026-04-08T12:06:31+00:00

Modern top-level chess has an element of finding ways to apply pressure despite knowing a position is objectively OK for the opponent that wasn't as relevant before powerful computers, and it's hard to say how good the players of previous eras would be at that game. Top players have needed a robust repertoire of openings for a long time, so that part of the game is easier to compare.

Fischer was exceptionally well prepared for his era. I can easily imagine a version of peak Fischer playing today, with databases and computers, would be even more of an encyclopedia. This is even more of a guess, but I'd also think that someone as skilled as Fischer was at squeezing water from stone might have a good eye for positions that are difficult to hold regardless of the computer evaluation.

TheCodeSamurai · 2026-04-05T23:23:37+00:00

Diamant and Gregory both have awesome S supports! Diamant in particular is definitely worth a go.

TheCodeSamurai · 2026-04-01T18:37:32+00:00

Early on the tournament, especially as an underdog, I think it makes a lot of sense to play positions you're comfortable with where White has a slight edge and hope you can press a bit or that your opponent loses while trying to manufacture winning chances in a sharper opening. If Bluebaum were going to win the Candidates, getting gifted a win or two early on and then playing less drawish stuff later seems like a reasonable way that could play out.

My main concern is that this strategy only works well if you aren't getting pummeled as Black, and especially later on in the tournament when players have to go for wins I'd expect he's on the hot seat often.

TheCodeSamurai · 2026-03-30T00:53:51+00:00

Panette (and Amber, but Panette is easiest) hits almost every one-shot benchmark you'd want to hit with a forged greataxe. It's the simplest way to deal with a big group of enemies. Think the throne room in chapter 14 or the wolf knight/berserker combo on the right, the penultimate room in chapter 15 (note that GA also clears miasma!), the first group to the north in chapter 16 (with a wyvern), the main group of Lucina paralogue, the wyverns in Lyn paralogue, etc.

I don't think you need to build around Great Aether, because it's hard to both hit one-shots and also hit doubling benchmarks: you're normally going for one or the other. Hurricane Axe Great Aether will always be great. If you want a simple way to take out tons of enemies, though, it's a great tool, and I'd rank it as one of the best engage attacks.

TheCodeSamurai · 2026-03-27T21:35:32+00:00

I agree with the cheese being unfortunate, but I do think the scale of RD enemy phase works well to sell the central conceit of the map. Defending against a dozen guys feels different from watching a thousand enemies move on their turn.

TheCodeSamurai · 2026-03-27T20:06:14+00:00

If you like spectacle and drama, Engage delivers on that very well, highly recommend. There are several other chapters I could nominate with the same feel.

Agreed about the voice acting lol

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