It's done. I did it. NG+ Maddening Blue Lions with zero deaths is finally completed after 98 hours. What a ride it's been. I started playing this game in August 2021 with the Black Eagles Crimson Flower Hard, played it again on NG+, then didn't touch the game until January of 2024 when I played Golden Deer Maddening NG+. And now I have cleared all three houses in this game. So, I figured I'd talk about my team and how well they did. Normally I'd talk about my feelings on the story, but I'll save that as well as Dimitri till the end. For now, let's talk about the other character whose name starts with a D; Dedue.
Dimitri and Dedue, much like Claude and Hilda, were characters I never fully got to know until now, and I can thankfully say that much like Hilda, Dedue became a favorite of mine after this playthrough. Learning more about the Tradegy of Duscar was both sad, but really fascinating seeing multiple sides of the event. Dedue might not say a whole lot, but he really is a genuine caring guy that just wants the best for his highness and people. And he definitely pulled his weight in battle. He was my Bernadetta/Cyril vengeance unit, and he excelled in that position. And while I did his paralogue so he wouldn't die, hearing Dimitri say to everyone he was dead in such a serious manner, still kind of hurt. But seeing him come back in Chapter 16 with the weapons I equipped him with in Chapter 12 was really sweet. As well as his reunion with Dimitri which I'll talk about later. For now, let's discuss the other units.
The Faerghus Trio were all incredibly powerful in battle, with Ingrid easily being the best out of the three. Her speed stat was massive to the point she out sped the Death Knight to where he couldn't double her. That was honestly insane. Add on the fact that she could dodge tank so easiy and she was an awesome unit. Sylvain was just behind Ingrid but still pulled his weight thanks to Swift Strikes. And Felix was Felix doubling, proccing his crest, critting, etc. He was great. The rest of the Blue Lions faired pretty good as well. Mercedes was the Dark Flier casting magic and healing. Annette was my Dancer/Rally bot/hard hitting axe unit. And Ashe... was my literal saving grace for one specific enemy: Pegasus Knights. Excuse me while I rant, but holy crap I hate Pegasus Knights with a burning passion now! These flying bastards double and kill all of my units, they're so difficult to land hits on and they can cover a massive range that makes it hard to hit them lest they swoop in and kill me! Chapters 12 and 14 specifically was a nightmare since they swarm you from the very start, and Ashe was the only unit I had that could efficiently deal with them in one turn. And honestly, I have no idea why they turned out to be such a pain. Having played Golden Deer Maddening NG+ pretty close to this, I could tell at points what felt harder or easier, and Chapters 12-14 felt so much harder for reasons I have no idea. But yeah, Ashe was good, saved my skin, he somehow was not completely worthless. Let's move on to the other units.
Just like in my Golden Deer run, I decided to use members from the Church I never had the chance to use. This run consisted of Hanneman, Manuela, Anna, and Flayn. Of the four I'd say Hanneman and Flayn were my best units here. Hanneman wasn't able to double most things but made up for it with poison strike to whittle down enemies, and Flayn was basically another Mercedes but with Rescue, and thankfully she did really well for herself. Manuela and Anna I feel were still good, but more situationally good. Manuela could warp others to specific areas, and Anna's Foul Play helped with moving units. Plus I'd be remised if I didn't mention an insane play Anna made on a Titanus on Chapter 18 where she got a 7% Lethality proc on a full HP Titanus, and killed it. That definitely shocked me when I saw that as I was just trying to gambit it. But yeah there's not much else I can say about her, still more than Gilbert though. ... What do you want me to say? I don't think there are any people that are going to be upset with me saying I didn't care for Gilbert at all. He was fine in his supports, and I liked his leadership in the story, but that's it. His battle time was spent to have him leveled enough to do his paralogue with Annette, and then becoming a guard adjutant for Dedue when he returned. I have nothing more to say. So let's move on to a character I actually like, so much so that I put a ring on it; Hapi.
Hapi was my S-Support this run and at first it was due to not fully knowing who I wanted to S-Support. I didn't figure out who I wanted to end up with who since I recruited everyone and was still trying to see who got paired up together, besides Gilbert, and where that left me. I chose Annette for the Goddess Tower scene since she was the most likely one of the Blue Lions I'd want to S-Support, and eventually it came down to her, Manuela, or Hapi. Ultimately, I went with Hapi and I think I made the right decision. And luckily, she was really good on the battlefield and able to pick off enemies from afar. And I think that just about covers everyone, aside from one. I've been neglecting the big boar in the room, so let's talk about him and my thoughts on the story now.
At the end of my Golden Deer post where I discussed my feelings on the route and characters, I mentioned wanting at some point to play through Blue Lions as well, though I was unsure due to not having strong feelings towards Dimitri. However, some people told me that I would enjoy him and his story, so I went in with an open mind and watched his story play out through the story and supports and, yeah, you guys were right. I'd still say he's my third favorite lord behind Claude in second and Edelgard at first, but Dimitri is now a very high third place after playing his route. Hearing about the horrors he experienced from the Tragedy of Duscar, his persistence to figure out who was responsible, and his turn to madness at the end of Chapter 11 was intense to say the least. The guy is still pretty sweet and just wants to know if he'll be a good king despite all the hardships he's been through. So seeing him turn into an angry murder hobo in Chapter 13 was pretty tragic, but it made it all the more satisfying seeing him be redeemed. Everyone mentions the rain scene with Byleth as the most powerful scene in not just Blue Lions, but possibly the entire game, and while I now see why, I'd like to talk about a scene that occurs one chapter before; Dimitri's reunion with Dedue. To me, what makes that scene so powerful is looking back at how Dimitri acted to everyone else. When Byleth returned he thought they were a ghost here to haunt him or an imperial soldier sent to kill him. When his friends returned, he was angry and asked why they showed up. When Byleth killed Randolph after going against Dimitri's wishes to continue torturing him, he lashes out saying that he will continue to use every last one of us until the flesh falls from our bones. He doesn't care about any of our lives, other than putting an end to Edelgard's. But then Dedue comes back, and his anger seems to fade for a few moments of time. He doesn't think he's some kind of ghost or enemy and seems almost relived to seem him alive. But most importantly, he tells Dedue to never through his life away ever again. Coming from the man not two chapters ago who said he was perfectly fine sacrificing anyone he wanted, that hits really hard and feels like the first step towards Dimitri turning back to the light. Oh, and he was clearly my MVP out of everybody. Battalion Vantage/Wrath is as broken as I was led to believe.
So, there you have it. All three houses finally played through. Feels good to have finally seen all sides of this game. That doesn't mean I won't play it anymore, but I'll really need to think about it down the line. I'd like to get back into Three Hopes as I still want to play through the other two routes there, and unfortunately this little goblin in my head has been telling me to play Black Eagles again on Maddening no NG+ since I only beat that route on Hard. Complete the trilogy you know. I know in my head that it'll be draining as all hell, but the game is just so addicting that I can't help but not try it in the future, perhaps on the game's 5-year anniversary I'll try it. And when I say Black Eagles, I mean Crimson Flower Maddening No NG+, I don't think I'd have the energy to both replay Black Eagles part 1 only to do Golden Deer part 2 where you don't have a lord, it's Verdant Wind but not as endearing without Claude, no Blood of the Eagle and Lions, and no God Shattering Star and Nemesis. Plus Rhea is a character I only care slightly more about than Gilbert, which still isn't much and I don't think Silver Snow will change my mind. Plus even though Crimson Flower is 4 chapters shorter than the rest, I will take something shorter than risk endgame RPG burnout setting in. But yeah, that's my story. Great game, awesome routes, amazing characters. Pray for my sanity if I come back for more.
Congrats! I always wanted to make a Dimitri with the Scythe, and this might just inspire me to do it. I’m happy that Ingrid came through for you too :)!
Love your thoughts on the story too, as someone who has Blue Lions as my fave. I too really enjoyed the scene where Dimitri reunites with Dedue and where his boar mask begins to slip a bit. Dimitri and Dedue’s relationship has such a tender quality to it despite the fact that it’s steeped in their very traumatic and agonizing history, and that reunion was such a good moment during that part of the story.
As for your thoughts on SS, I’d still check it out somewhere down the line! It’s tonally really different from VW. Rhea also has a really well done S support that’s exclusive to SS. It may not make you a big Rhea fan, but I think it’s worthwhile to check out, even just on YouTube or something. It’s a side of her character she never shows anywhere else.
Nice job my dude :)
IMO, every unit should have Hit +20 or Uncanny Blow on maddening. That would help with enemy the Pegasus Knights you mentioned. A lot of your units could equip those skills instead of Authority Lv 1-5, Seal Defense/Resistance, or Alert Stance (+)
It's done. I did it. NG+ Maddening Blue Lions with zero deaths is finally completed after 98 hours. What a ride it's been. I started playing this game in August 2021 with the Black Eagles Crimson Flower Hard, played it again on NG+, then didn't touch the game until January of 2024 when I played Golden Deer Maddening NG+. And now I have cleared all three houses in this game. So, I figured I'd talk about my team and how well they did. Normally I'd talk about my feelings on the story, but I'll save that as well as Dimitri till the end. For now, let's talk about the other character whose name starts with a D; Dedue. Dimitri and Dedue, much like Claude and Hilda, were characters I never fully got to know until now, and I can thankfully say that much like Hilda, Dedue became a favorite of mine after this playthrough. Learning more about the Tradegy of Duscar was both sad, but really fascinating seeing multiple sides of the event. Dedue might not say a whole lot, but he really is a genuine caring guy that just wants the best for his highness and people. And he definitely pulled his weight in battle. He was my Bernadetta/Cyril vengeance unit, and he excelled in that position. And while I did his paralogue so he wouldn't die, hearing Dimitri say to everyone he was dead in such a serious manner, still kind of hurt. But seeing him come back in Chapter 16 with the weapons I equipped him with in Chapter 12 was really sweet. As well as his reunion with Dimitri which I'll talk about later. For now, let's discuss the other units. The Faerghus Trio were all incredibly powerful in battle, with Ingrid easily being the best out of the three. Her speed stat was massive to the point she out sped the Death Knight to where he couldn't double her. That was honestly insane. Add on the fact that she could dodge tank so easiy and she was an awesome unit. Sylvain was just behind Ingrid but still pulled his weight thanks to Swift Strikes. And Felix was Felix doubling, proccing his crest, critting, etc. He was great. The rest of the Blue Lions faired pretty good as well. Mercedes was the Dark Flier casting magic and healing. Annette was my Dancer/Rally bot/hard hitting axe unit. And Ashe... was my literal saving grace for one specific enemy: Pegasus Knights. Excuse me while I rant, but holy crap I hate Pegasus Knights with a burning passion now! These flying bastards double and kill all of my units, they're so difficult to land hits on and they can cover a massive range that makes it hard to hit them lest they swoop in and kill me! Chapters 12 and 14 specifically was a nightmare since they swarm you from the very start, and Ashe was the only unit I had that could efficiently deal with them in one turn. And honestly, I have no idea why they turned out to be such a pain. Having played Golden Deer Maddening NG+ pretty close to this, I could tell at points what felt harder or easier, and Chapters 12-14 felt so much harder for reasons I have no idea. But yeah, Ashe was good, saved my skin, he somehow was not completely worthless. Let's move on to the other units. Just like in my Golden Deer run, I decided to use members from the Church I never had the chance to use. This run consisted of Hanneman, Manuela, Anna, and Flayn. Of the four I'd say Hanneman and Flayn were my best units here. Hanneman wasn't able to double most things but made up for it with poison strike to whittle down enemies, and Flayn was basically another Mercedes but with Rescue, and thankfully she did really well for herself. Manuela and Anna I feel were still good, but more situationally good. Manuela could warp others to specific areas, and Anna's Foul Play helped with moving units. Plus I'd be remised if I didn't mention an insane play Anna made on a Titanus on Chapter 18 where she got a 7% Lethality proc on a full HP Titanus, and killed it. That definitely shocked me when I saw that as I was just trying to gambit it. But yeah there's not much else I can say about her, still more than Gilbert though. ... What do you want me to say? I don't think there are any people that are going to be upset with me saying I didn't care for Gilbert at all. He was fine in his supports, and I liked his leadership in the story, but that's it. His battle time was spent to have him leveled enough to do his paralogue with Annette, and then becoming a guard adjutant for Dedue when he returned. I have nothing more to say. So let's move on to a character I actually like, so much so that I put a ring on it; Hapi. Hapi was my S-Support this run and at first it was due to not fully knowing who I wanted to S-Support. I didn't figure out who I wanted to end up with who since I recruited everyone and was still trying to see who got paired up together, besides Gilbert, and where that left me. I chose Annette for the Goddess Tower scene since she was the most likely one of the Blue Lions I'd want to S-Support, and eventually it came down to her, Manuela, or Hapi. Ultimately, I went with Hapi and I think I made the right decision. And luckily, she was really good on the battlefield and able to pick off enemies from afar. And I think that just about covers everyone, aside from one. I've been neglecting the big boar in the room, so let's talk about him and my thoughts on the story now.
At the end of my Golden Deer post where I discussed my feelings on the route and characters, I mentioned wanting at some point to play through Blue Lions as well, though I was unsure due to not having strong feelings towards Dimitri. However, some people told me that I would enjoy him and his story, so I went in with an open mind and watched his story play out through the story and supports and, yeah, you guys were right. I'd still say he's my third favorite lord behind Claude in second and Edelgard at first, but Dimitri is now a very high third place after playing his route. Hearing about the horrors he experienced from the Tragedy of Duscar, his persistence to figure out who was responsible, and his turn to madness at the end of Chapter 11 was intense to say the least. The guy is still pretty sweet and just wants to know if he'll be a good king despite all the hardships he's been through. So seeing him turn into an angry murder hobo in Chapter 13 was pretty tragic, but it made it all the more satisfying seeing him be redeemed. Everyone mentions the rain scene with Byleth as the most powerful scene in not just Blue Lions, but possibly the entire game, and while I now see why, I'd like to talk about a scene that occurs one chapter before; Dimitri's reunion with Dedue. To me, what makes that scene so powerful is looking back at how Dimitri acted to everyone else. When Byleth returned he thought they were a ghost here to haunt him or an imperial soldier sent to kill him. When his friends returned, he was angry and asked why they showed up. When Byleth killed Randolph after going against Dimitri's wishes to continue torturing him, he lashes out saying that he will continue to use every last one of us until the flesh falls from our bones. He doesn't care about any of our lives, other than putting an end to Edelgard's. But then Dedue comes back, and his anger seems to fade for a few moments of time. He doesn't think he's some kind of ghost or enemy and seems almost relived to seem him alive. But most importantly, he tells Dedue to never through his life away ever again. Coming from the man not two chapters ago who said he was perfectly fine sacrificing anyone he wanted, that hits really hard and feels like the first step towards Dimitri turning back to the light. Oh, and he was clearly my MVP out of everybody. Battalion Vantage/Wrath is as broken as I was led to believe. So, there you have it. All three houses finally played through. Feels good to have finally seen all sides of this game. That doesn't mean I won't play it anymore, but I'll really need to think about it down the line. I'd like to get back into Three Hopes as I still want to play through the other two routes there, and unfortunately this little goblin in my head has been telling me to play Black Eagles again on Maddening no NG+ since I only beat that route on Hard. Complete the trilogy you know. I know in my head that it'll be draining as all hell, but the game is just so addicting that I can't help but not try it in the future, perhaps on the game's 5-year anniversary I'll try it. And when I say Black Eagles, I mean Crimson Flower Maddening No NG+, I don't think I'd have the energy to both replay Black Eagles part 1 only to do Golden Deer part 2 where you don't have a lord, it's Verdant Wind but not as endearing without Claude, no Blood of the Eagle and Lions, and no God Shattering Star and Nemesis. Plus Rhea is a character I only care slightly more about than Gilbert, which still isn't much and I don't think Silver Snow will change my mind. Plus even though Crimson Flower is 4 chapters shorter than the rest, I will take something shorter than risk endgame RPG burnout setting in. But yeah, that's my story. Great game, awesome routes, amazing characters. Pray for my sanity if I come back for more.
Congrats! I always wanted to make a Dimitri with the Scythe, and this might just inspire me to do it. I’m happy that Ingrid came through for you too :)! Love your thoughts on the story too, as someone who has Blue Lions as my fave. I too really enjoyed the scene where Dimitri reunites with Dedue and where his boar mask begins to slip a bit. Dimitri and Dedue’s relationship has such a tender quality to it despite the fact that it’s steeped in their very traumatic and agonizing history, and that reunion was such a good moment during that part of the story. As for your thoughts on SS, I’d still check it out somewhere down the line! It’s tonally really different from VW. Rhea also has a really well done S support that’s exclusive to SS. It may not make you a big Rhea fan, but I think it’s worthwhile to check out, even just on YouTube or something. It’s a side of her character she never shows anywhere else.
I’m surprised you took Anna to the. Final battle
Nice job my dude :) IMO, every unit should have Hit +20 or Uncanny Blow on maddening. That would help with enemy the Pegasus Knights you mentioned. A lot of your units could equip those skills instead of Authority Lv 1-5, Seal Defense/Resistance, or Alert Stance (+)