Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon/Walkthrough

IMPORTANT NOTICE!!
This guide was written for the EU version of this game. Many readers play the American version, and thus, find my guide confusing due to changed names.

Here's a list of changed names:

Characters
 * Shiida = Caeda (probably the least guessable)
 * Nabarl = Navarre

Key Terms
 * Akaneia = Archanea
 * Medon = Macedon
 * Doluna = Dolhr

Classes
 * Chameleon = Freelancer

Game Basics [1D]
You are given an army of (insert amount of characters here) to defeat the enemy To finish a map, you have to usually defeat the boss and "seize" (with Marth) the spot he was on.

There is various terrain that offers different bonuses. Forests are pretty common, and give a bonus in avoiding attacks. Other terrain includes hills and mountains, some of which are special in that they hinder troop movement.

There is gold in this game also, you get it from selling items and chests. Enemies DO NOT drop gold. There are also a set amount of enemies for a map, it isn't randomly generated battles.

There is a weapon triangle, between the three: swords, lance, axe. They offer small bonuses, yet unlike other games, this game doesn't really make swords superior to axes by a vast amount.

It goes: Sword >>> Axes Axes >>> Lances Lances >>> Swords

Each character (and enemy) have a class, such as Mercenary or Fighter. They have their own weapon skill, a mercenary for example can only use swords. He can't use axes to fight, only swords. Only a few unpromoted units can use two different weapon types (Cavaliers)

A unit can "promote" to the next class by using an item called the Master Seal. An archer will be promoted to a powerful sniper. A mercenary becomes a Hero.

These promoted classes are stronger than the unpromoted and often can use two weapon types (ie, lances and bow).

Each character has its own stats (short for statistics). They grow each time you level up. To level up, you need to gain 100 exp. Exp (short for experience) is gained by killing enemies. Harder enemies give more experience and bosses tend to give a full level. Note that promoted classes level up slower.

Characters will die if they reach 0 health. Once they die, they are gone forever. You can't get them back. (Well, you technically can get ONE unit back in chapter 24, but nevertheless, it isn't worth it since the unit will be seriously underleveled)

Going back to stats, they increase pretty randomly. Sometimes, you won't even gain any stats and sometimes you'll gain in all but two stats. Some characters have better "stat growths" then others. However, stat growth is still mostly determined by a game function called RNG (Random Number Generator).

Sometimes you get good stat growths from the RNG, other times not so much.

There are different stats. Strength, Magic, Skill, Spd, Lck, Def, Res... Most of them are self-explanatory:

Strength, Magic: (Depends on what class you are) Affects how high you hit.

Skill: How often criticals are.

Spd: How well you avoid enemies.

(The following was found on serenesforest's great combat equations)

Lck: Affects critical avoid rate and a little bit on accuracy and avoid.

Def: Reduces physical damage

Res: Reduces magic damage.

In battle, there are five different unique structures:

1) Village: Gives you items such as gold or units. Must visit with main character. Sometimes gives weapons 2) House: Gives tips. Nothing else. Can be visited by any unit 3) Armory: Sells weapons. Can be visited by any unit. 4) Shop: Sells magic such as Blizzard and Heal. Also has potions like pure water. 5) Fort: Heals your character at the beginning of the Player Phase.

There are also some more unique objects:

1) Door - Obstructs path. Must use thief or Door key to get by. 2) Chest - Contains useful item. Must use their of use a key.

One last thing: I mentioned DANGER zone once. Might as well explain here.

DANGER zones can be accessed by hitting X in battle. They show where all the enemies can move, the boundaries. It is useful in planning how far to move a unit to lure in the enemy.

That should be good enough for the basics of basics, read the game's tutorial if you REALLY can't figure it out.

Hard Mode [1E]
The Hard Mode is the same game as the Normal mode, same story. The only difference is the insane difficulty added onto the characters. There are five different difficulties in Hard Mode, ranging from * to ***** (with ***** being the most difficult).

Highly Recommended Party [1H]
The following is a list of units that I will recommend using/looking into. THEY ARE IN NO PARTICULAR ORDER!

1) Wolf - This character is amazing. Just simply, his stats growth outplays the fact that he even comes later. He starts out pre-promoted, but seriously, his stats still beat most characters.

2) Abel - This Cavalier is one of the most reliable. I know that at the higher levels, I can send him to lure in a unit without getting killed.

3) Frey - Just below Abel, he matches well and can be described like Abel. High strength gain rate, making him a powerhouse.

4) Marth - Necessary obviously. But he is strong on his own and can fight decently.

5) Shiida - Once she gets to those higher levels and is promoted, she will be a monster with lances. Good movement rate too. (Called Caeda in American version)

6) Merric - His proficiency with magic is astounding. Rips knights to shreds. Only problem is his defence.

7) Gordin - I explain this in the section you get him. He isn't weak. Give him a chance to prove himself as a sniper and you won't regret. Of course, charac- ters like Wolf outclass him if you unlucky with stat gains. Still, he makes for a good pre-Wolf game character and a great sniper if you are lucky.

8) Lena - Healers are always necessary in your party and she is like one of the earliest, yet best healers you will get. Enough said I believe.

9) Nabarl - His low defence makes him questionable in making this list. However, the myrmidon lovers won't find a better one to use than him. Critical hits are often and once he becomes a swordmaster, he will tear through almost any unit, generals included. (Called Navarre in the American version)

10) Sedgar - I personally never used this character. I chose between Wolf and Sedgar and stuck with Wolf. Though I heard that Sedgar is just as good as Wolf so I decided to add him to this list.

11) Beck - Strong ballista. Due to the nature of this game, ballistas have many weapons that let it kill various units. First, Beck can destroy other ballistas. Then, Beck can also kill all fliers with Arrowspatte. To top this off, Beck can even shoot through walls, and his range is incredible. Solid unit that is topped off with a good stat increase.

NOTE: As a general rule, units that come pre-promoted are usually inferior to those that do not. I do not recommend using any pre-promoted units other than Wolf and Sedgar (note that units like Beck and Marth cannot be promoted so they aren't considered "pre-promoted") and that Wolf and Sedgar are overpowered, so they make an exception.

Also NOTE that I do not encourage the early use of a Manakete. The first one you can possibly use in the game is limited to 30 attacks/counterattacks due to the 30/30 USE of the Firestone. This means that basically he is useless after he runs out of attacks, making him an unreliable character.

Chapter 1 - Marth Embarks [HM1]
Enemies: 1 Thief w/ Iron Sword 1 Hunter w/ Iron Bow Boss w/ Steel Axe (Insane Amount...15+) Pirates w/ Iron Axe

Reinforcements: None

Recruits: None

(NOTE THAT MAJOR CREDIT FOR QUITE A FEW IDEAS BELOW GOES TO THUNDERMAN. He has written a great H5 guide on the SerenesForest forums. If you go there, it is stickied as of now. Note that his account name there is not ThunderMan)

Alright, get ready for one of the toughest battle you will probably ever play in this game. The insane difficulty is indicated when you go ahead and try to fight the thief. Don't actually attack, but just check your options. Notice how the thief can even double some units!

First thing to do is use Marth to get the 10,000 Gold from the village. Then, use Jagen to get many Javelins from the Armory. I'd say 5 would suffice. Next, distribute them to Shiida, Draug, and leave the rest to Jagen.

Yes, that is right. First of all, Cain only has an E-rank Lance. That means he can't use Javelins, yet. Use the Iron Lance for him throughout this map. We want him using Javelins as soon as possible.

Next, you also probably are wondering why I want to use Jagen. No, I don't want to keep him throughout the game, but note that he is needed to take the damage for now.

His silver lance is also something that your will most likely want to use in this battle.

Note that I don't think it is even possible to get through this battle with all units if you don't use Jagen. No, not even an abnormally large amount of critical hits will save you.

Alright, enough talking and let's get to the playing. Use Abel's Javelin to attack the thief. Should hit him pretty hard. Next, use Shiida to attack. At last, use Cain to finish him off. If any unit misses their attack, you might as well restart since you will be crippled from the damage the thief will deal.

After that pest is defeated, DO NOT ADVANCE. In fact, drop most units back. If a pirate attacks Gordin, he will double and kill him. This means you should drop most weak units back near the house.

A really good unit to use to take hits in this battle (other than Jagen) is Draug. With 11 defence, he only takes 5 damage out of his 20 max. This lets him lure in units to the death.

Move whoever is hurt to the fort near your mass of units briefly, then send Jagen to the bottom (near lower village where the thief was) and equip the Silver Lance. Leave all units but him out of range of attack, but move your able units (Cain, Abel, Draug, Shiida) to the border of the enemy attack range.

Next turn, your Jagen should be attacked by some 1-2 pirates, clear them out but still keep your distance since more enemies are coming. If Jagen is really hurt at any time, like less than half his max HP, drop him to the fort unless he is going to indirect attack or finish an enemy off.

The next few turns should yield a charging pirate mass. This basically is the game's last attempt to defeat you early. If you get by this, you are safe for the rest of the chapter (since the other pirates don't move)

This part also demands luck since Javelins have a horrible hit rate (67 or so) This makes it very hard to calculate how to defeat an enemy.

A lot of times, you'll end up having all your able units teaming on one guy to finally get him. This is painstakingly dangerous since 2-3 enemies flood you at a time.

As a general rule, don't let anyone but Draug and Jagen take more than two hits without healing. Also note that you have no means to heal yourself other than the forts. This means that the fort near you is invaluable.

It is exactly hard to tell you what to do since the pirates take separate paths depending on where your units are. Just remember to let them come toward you first, and stay out of their attack range.

If the coast is clear and there are only two pirates standing in the middle island strip, you are good to advance...However, first heal all your units at the fort.

Next, bring in all units to the boundaries of the attack range. Use Draug to systematically lure in units. One at a time. Use the forts to heal him often.

Next, there is the hunter to take care of. He can double a few of your units, but as normal, he is venerable to direct attacks.

This guy moves on his own. Do NOT let him attack any unit. Lure him in far then kill him with a cavalier.

Move in after and a pirate in the back will charge. Retreat, lure this guy in then kill him.

After this, advance yet again. This time, lure in the two remaining pirates. Kill them with sheer numbers, then visit the village. I wouldn't use Wyrs, but his Heal is good enough to keep units alive for now.

Last thing you need to worry about is the boss, he is easy...

BOSS: Gazzak
HP: 35

Weapon: Steel Axe

How to beat: No direct attacks. In case you didn't hear me, I said NO FRONT ATTACKS!

Instead, use Javelins and such to take him down. When killed, you get your first Vulnerary.

If you made it so far, good job. A few more chapters then the difficulty curve drops.

Chapter 2 - Pirates of Galder [HM2]
Enemies: Boss w/ Hand Axe 2 Thieves w/ Iron Sword 2 Hunter w/ Iron Bow 2 Cavalier w/ Iron Sword 8 Pirates w/ Iron Axe

Reinforcement: None

Recruitable: Darros w/ Steel Axe Castor w/ Iron Bow

This chapter's hardest part is the beginning. You will struggle trying to fend off an attack from both sides.

In three turn time, two cavaliers will arrive from the west. These guys are definitely a pain if you haven't cleared the north threat yet. I restarted many times due to them.

Because of this, we need to be free of threats from the north.

However, there lingers a problem. There are simply too many strong units to eliminate at once. It becomes an impossible task therefore unless you try a special plan. And that is what I have.

Remember that Vulnerary that you got from the boss last chapter? Give that to Jagen. Next, move him all the way up to the fort on the north island. Think I am crazy? No, Jagen WILL survive. Use him to pile some damage on the thief (with a Javelin)

Next, move Ogma and Bord back a bit and move Draug to the fort. End your turn.

Upon the start of your turn, Jagen will be healed to 13 HP and Draug will be at 9 or so HP (after healing). Immediately use Jagen's Vulnerary then end his move.

Next, use a combination of all your units to destroy the four enemies. It is tough to describe how to do this, but luck in hitting definitely plays a role. Though this is what I recommend roughly:

Kill the west-most pirate first. Flood him with Javelins, Iron Lances, and Iron Swords. Bord and Cord even can do a healthy amount in one attack. Barst's Hand Axe is like another Javelin.

Next thing to take care of is the other pirate. Use whatever units that still have a turn. If possible, kill both thieves too.

On the enemy turn, the pirate will abandon Jagen in favor of attacking whoever killed the thief. The cavaliers should be closing in.

Back to your turn, use Jagen's Javelin to damage the thief from behind. Defeat him easily after. Now, retreat all your units from the lower level upward, note that the hunter left on the north island is practically harmless.

Leave Ogma or someone with a decent speed/defence on the plain before the bridge. Even Draug, even though he will be doubled, survives barely.

They should attack Ogma or whoever you put, and you should either heal or replace that unit with another (cavaliers work well). Use Jagen or someone to finish the hunter on top.

If you see that the cavalier will die to one hit, kill him and then forcefully finish the next cavalier.

If you have made it this far, good job. This was definitely the hardest part of this map. Next thing to do is heal all your units. Then, take note that the save point is something we want (you don't want to repeat the above again, do you?).

Bring all good units toward the area, outside the enemy attack boundary.

Then, proceed with care. Make sure the unit you put does not have less than 4 speed in relation to the pirate on the bottom-left corner.

Save the game at the map savepoint and get ready for the next wave of enemies.

This one is a little trickier since the recruitable unit is next to another hunter. You need to recruit with Shiida, and the other hunter CAN deal 18 damage, more than Shiida's max (even with her 1 HP gain from a level up)

This of course, is extremely tricky. Either you risk letting them charge at you before recruiting, or you recruit Castor at the bridge, move units to block the square Shiida can be attacked from, and move Castor to the other.

Castor will unfortunately, die. I did not plan to use Castor, so I did not exactly care too much. If the reader wants to struggle to keep her alive, you can go ahead.

After this, the only last part is the boss. Use lure and kill tactics to defeat the last few pirates. Visit the armory and village eventually and get 5000 gold

You don't need to get anything from the armory, unless of course it is like a Hand Axe for Barst.

Last thing to worry about is the boss...

BOSS: Gomer
HP: 32

Weapon: Hand Axe (drops Steel Sword)

How to beat: This guy is quite tough. First of all, he has 16 strength. He WILL practically kill any unit in one hit not named Ogma, Jagen, or Abel. This is because he also boasts 11 speed, which means he will double any unit with less than 8 speed (low-HP units like Shiida will be knocked out by brute force).

First, bring all able units over, even if they will not partake in the main assault.

The trick is to equip Ogma's Steel Sword, heal him up, then leave him next to the boss. DO NOT ATTACK. Next turn, the boss will attack and has a 50% chance of hitting.

We are waiting for one of the following to happen:

A) Ogma lands a critical (most likely- he did it for me twice in five attempts) B) The boss runs out of Hand Axes (not likely, but possible)

If Ogma gets hit, run him to the fort nearby and let him heal. Move him back next turn.

Once you land a critical, the boss should be left with a small amount of HP left. Now, use all your units in a mad rush to try and defeat the boss. For me, Ogma had leveled up strength, so only one more attack with a Steel Sword was necessary.

This boss drops a Steel Sword when dead.

Congrats if you have killed the boss, Chapter 2 complete!

Chapter 3 - A Brush in the Teeth [HM3]
Enemies: Boss w/Hand Axe 3 Hunters w/ Iron Bow 2 Thieves w/ Iron Sword (they have 15 speed...) 8 Fighters w/ Steel Axe (they have 38 HP each...)

Reinforcements: None

Recruitable: Lena/Julian (at beginning) w/ Warp and Iron Sword respectively Nabarl w/ Killing Edge

All I can say is good luck with this level. Everything looks simple, but I can almost guarantee you that if you underestimate the fighters, you WILL lose a unit or two...or three...you get the point.

First thing to do is move Lena + Julian downward. Next, move Marth + Barst to the west. Marth is heading to the village to get the Devil Axe and Barst is going to use it.

Jagen should give the Vulnerary from last battle to Barst (assuming you used my guide for Chapter 2, if not then it simply is the one you got from the Chapter 1 Boss) For the rest of your units, just position them on the eastern border.

Use the X button to position Shiida safely on the mountains (she is needed to recruit Nabarl).

On the second turn, move Lena + Julian all the way down. Trade Wrys's Heal to Lena for she is better. Visit the village with Marth, and trade the Devil Axe to Barst. Use the X range button to place ALL units away from attack in the right side (near mountain).

Next turn, a whole lot of stuff will happen. First, use the X button again to find where Barst can be placed to ONLY be attacked by one of the three fighter.

Equip the Devil Axe for him, move Marth + Jagen to the east.

Nabarl and two thieves should have popped up. Use RANGED Javelin attacks to fight the thieves first. Recruit Nabarl, BUT DO NOT ATTACK WITH HIM! There are three fighters above that are ready to defeat your army if you try to do so.

Our goal is to defeat all the thieves WITHOUT using Nabarl. The only two units that are fit for the following job are Ogma and Nabarl. We want to form a blockade that will stop the three fighters while we deal with the left enemies.

Once you find a way to kill the thieves, place Nabarl FORWARD ENOUGH SO THAT THE ENEMIES CANNOT BYPASS HIM. Picture of where to place units: /  \ EE / |EM| |NM| |OH| | |   /  L \ --- F   |

Legend:

--- and / and \ and | = boundaries. Terrain of them don't matter.

M = mountain (not passable by your unit or the enemy) H = Hill (passable by some of your units and by the enemy fighters) L = Lena (healer) F = the fort on the bottom N = Nabarl O = Ogma (you need both)

As I hope you can see/understand, Nabarl much be far enough to become a true blockade. Otherwise, the fighters can bypass the hills and attack venerable units like Lena, things won't look pretty...

The fighters have a chance of missing Nabarl/Ogma. In that case, it is good. If they hit, you will probably have to switch the unit out for the other one (Nabarl/Ogma depending on who got hit). Lena, of course, heals the hurt unit.

Note that the single most dangerous thing is to get hit, then critical counter- attack the enemy. This will kill the enemy and allow the next fighter to hit you, almost a 100% chance of death.

Keep this system going for the next few turns until you finish with the left frontier (then you can think about wiping out the remaining survivors)

Back on track to yet the other danger...actually it deserves it's own section.

BARST & OUR EPIC DARE PLAN TO DEFEAT THE SEEMINGLY IMPOSSIBLE RUSH
I must have restarted the chapter at least ten times due to the annoyance of the enemy rush. The idea is to move a unit to a square where ONLY one enemy can attack it. Keep retreating and using Vulneraries to keep your health up.

At first, I used Jagen + Silver Lance. This...fails since I can only kill one unit by counterattacks by the time the enemies reach my main army.

I have found however a real risky way to beat the rush without killing units.

We left off with Barst and his Devil Axe about to get attacked. If you have horrible luck, and this applies for any time you use a Devil item, the weapon will harm your user, in this case Barst. A 24 damage hit WILL finish Barst off with no doubt.

You sadly have no way to stop this, so you must hope for about three hits that you don't have to restart the whole chapter over.

Each hit with the Devil Axe does 24 damage, two blows will defeat any fighter.

Keep retreating until you realize that the fighters are close to attacking other units. Move them away just enough to get out of the range of attack.

Bord and Cord become useful here, they deal 10+ damage with one blow (though you have to watch that they don't die because they only have 20 HP).

If done correctly, here should be the situation:

(Your Units) Barst (a little less than max HP with no Vulneraries left) Cord (Full HP) Bord (Full HP) Other units - Jagen, Cain, Marth, Abel, Shiida (Full HP)

(Enemies)

2 out of the 3 original Fighters left (Both at Full HP)

At this point, move Cord + Bord (or Barst again if you trust his Devil Axe) just into range of the first of two fighters. Other two units should be nearby.

After the front fighter eats a counterattack, IT starts. It's impossible to hold on any longer, use everything and anything in an attempt to kill the two weakened fighters. All you actually got to do is kill the weakened one then make sure all units in attack range of the other one can take it.

A good way to do this is to surround the remaining fighter with four strong units (Shiida, Jagen, Cain, Abel/Marth) works. Note that Abel will get doubled if he only has 7 speed and he has the Javelin equipped.

With this, you should defeat the vigorous left advance. Good luck BTW.

END OF MINI-SECTION (about Barst and my plan to stop the left rush)

At this point, here is the rundown of enemies that should be left:

1 Boss 2 Fighters nearby him 2 Hunters nearby him 1 Hunter in the mountain area still 1 or 2 Fighters left in the blockaded area.

Kill the last few fighters then swoop in to finish the hunter in the mountain area. He moves when you get somewhat close.

Oh and use the green save point if you haven't already.

Next, we pick the two hunters near the boss. Lure & kill (note they also start moving before you get into attack range). Lure the two fighters (I would bring your whole army just to be safe).

You can blockade the fort and easily defeat the two. It ends with them having a horrible 37% hit rate and you having near 100% (using Ogma + Steel Sword).

Last part is the boss...arguably the HARDEST BOSS IN THE WHOLE GAME!

BOSS: Reynard
HP: 41

Weapon: Hand Axe (Drop Mend)

How to beat: With 15 STR and 14 SPD, this guy outclasses almost anyone in your army. After fighting that long battle, you don't want to throw away the game by losing to this guy, do you?

While many people advocate using Ogma + Killing Edge to critical, I advertise for you to simply do the following:

(MAJOR CREDIT TO MEKKAH!) Just sit Ogma and waste his Hand Axes until he has none left.

After this, he has no way to attack...so have fun getting EXP for your units.

NOTE that I would not advise wasting Lena's Heal on this. Use the fort instead.

OR you can just follow the Ogma + Killing Edge + Critical strategy because he only had a 44% hit chance on my Ogma (for only 14 damage -- out of my 26)

If you got this far, CONGRATS! You have beaten (arguably) the hardest three chapters of Hard Mode 5. Whew...

(Chapter 4 and the rest are coming with next update...be patient)

Q: I have to sacrifice someone in the Prologue, who should I?
A: Jagen or one of your least likeable cavaliers. Some people sacrifice Gordin, but I say otherwise.

Q: How do I access the Gaiden chapters? Are they worth it?
A: To access the Gaiden chapters in this game, you must have less than 15 char- acters at the time when you finish the preceding chapter. Whether they are wor- th is a different story. You get a character from each respective chapter, so unless you REALLY want that character OR this is your first time playing and you let many characters die OR you are a perfectionist OR you just want to try it out...then don't try to get the Gaidens.

Q: How do I use ____ Sword/Axe/Lance/Bow? It appears in grey.
A: Either your character's class does not support that type of weapon, or your weapon level is too low. Fight with that type of weapon more to level it up.

Q: How can I recruit Minerva in Chapter 7?
A: You cannot, you must hide in the back until she leaves in impatience. You can recruit her later. Note that as KaKtuZ added, you may kill her if you want.

Q: How do I recruit the Manakete in Chapter 11?
A: You cannot, he is not a recruitable character.

Q: How do I recruit Camus?
A: You cannot, but you can recruit the general on the map with Shiida or Marth.

Q: How do I kill Gharnef?
A: You need Starlight, created by the two orbs. If you are fighting him in Chapter 15, where you first meet him, avoid contact with him.