—Opening Narration
The Stronghold is Chapter 13 of Fire Emblem: Thracia 776.
Items
- Hammer (upper middle house)
- Knight's Crest (lower left house)
- Armor Slayer (lower middle house)
- Brave Bow (have Selfina talk to Glade)
Strategy
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Subjective: The following part of this article is based upon the editor's personal experiences and opinions, and therefore may not be applicable for all readers.
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- It is recommended that you bring Selfina on this chapter as she can get a Brave Bow from talking to Glade.
This chapter can be very daunting without prior knowledge and the right strategy. The first thing to note is that you are in control of five new units in front of the castle, much like Chapter 9. However, four of them are stock units who will not join you even if they survive the chapter. Keeping them alive should not be a priority at all; you get nothing for saving them and they are far too weak to be much more than a distraction for the coming troops. If you do not mind openly sacrificing them, you can have them all give their Iron Lances to Glade and have them form a wall to delay the arrival of the troops for a few turns. Glade will have to hold out for a while, so leave him on the castle entrance for the huge defense and avoid boost and have him thin out the approaching army himself. Rist will start moving on turn 5 and start complicating things. While he is still largely outmatched against Glade if the castle is being used, he has a Killer Lance that can end things immediately if you get unlucky. It is recommended that you bring a healer who can use Physic staves to keep Glade at full health while Rist is attacking.
The only real danger your troops face comes from the ballistae around the starting area. The first can be destroyed relatively easily by any unit with a bow, a Hand Axe, or a Javelin, but the two on the cliff will be safe from all of your units besides Karin. Bow Knights will spawn in from the upper right side and move toward the castle if your units are not in range. They aren't much of a threat but can still be annoying. If you want to train some of your weaker units (like Mareeta) and have three to spare, you can surround the point they enter from and kill them completely safely.
Once Rist has fallen, the remainder of his troops will flee and the ballistae will stop firing. This is your best chance to move all of your units to the castle. Do so quickly, because aggressive reinforcements will begin coming in from the north the turn after Rist dies. They will start to overrun the castle within a few turns so you should escape before too many show up. If you want more EXP or did not have time to visit the houses, you can opt to fight them, but be warned that you will have to deal with more than eighty by the time they stop appearing around turn 32. Glade can stay where he is as only the mages will have a chance of hurting him with his defense boost, so a serviceable albeit slow strategy is to let them surround the castle and move your units into the outside of their range to kill them off a few at a time. You can visit the houses in peace if you go this route. Whether you choose to fight or not, try to get Selfina to talk to Glade so you can get your Brave Bow before you escape.
Trivia
- The generic units the player can use this chapter have no growth rates and will not gain stats upon level up.
- Even the generic units can equip any Skill Manual and use any Ring but they are not be able to use Knight Proof.