History Mode Guide - The Dark Pontifex (Mission)

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Setup

Stage Details

Map	Difficulty	Mission Type	Restrictions	Deploy Limit
The World Tree	Lv. 37	Ally Rescue	None	Shadow Dragon Heroes
Deploy Slots			Allied Commander	Enemy Commander
4 Controlled, 2 Uncontrolled			Warrior	Gharnef
Allied Captains
Xander, Cordelia, Wyvern Lord
Target Enemy Captains
Robin, Rowan, Sage
Minor Enemy Captains
Mages, Myrmidons, Outrealm Fiends

S-Rank Requirements

Clear Time	Enemies Defeated	Damage Taken
15:00	2000	80%

Strategy

With six deployment slots but a Shadow Dragon Heroes restriction, you will likely have at least one empty slot unless you've already unlocked Anna (In which case you may as well stop reading, as you're powerful enough to steamroll every threat). The large number of Outrealm Fiends makes Beastslayer a good idea, which should conveniently be on Rowan and Lianna's weapons if you've unlocked them. Make sure that your units are equipped with staves if they're capable, as you may need to heal your allies during the fight.

You can't win against Gharnef until you've defeated Rowan, Robin, and the Sage, who are attacking the Wyvern Lord, Xander, and Cordelia respectively. Robin has a bit of a journey to make before he reaches Xander, but the other two start out very close to their targets, so you'll want to focus on them. Caeda should handle Rowan; the whole southwest portion of the map is filled with Myrmidons, so she'll have an advantage over more than just Rowan. Robin should be battled by either Rowan or Lianna, due to the large number of Outrealm Fiends surrounding that battlefield. That leaves Marth and/or Tiki to take on the Sage bullying Cordelia, and whatever other enemies are on the eastern end of the map. Make sure to assign your AI-controlled units to protect the allies rather than just kill the enemies; otherwise they'll decide their mission is done and go off to do something else even if the allied captain is still under attack.

Before long, a Swordmaster Messenger will appear up in the northwest octagonal area. He'll advance to the SW Ruins to get reinforcements, but his path takes him right through where Robin and Xander are battling, so whoever has been assigned to protect Xander should take a break to destroy him. A Sage Summoner will also appear at Xander's area, but he does little beyond summon weak enemies and so can be ignored for the most part. That being said, having so many magic-users around Xander is dangerous, so top off his health if the game cautions you.

Rowan may break away from the Wyvern Lord to attack the allied base. This is tricky, as the Myrmidons he leaves behind are more than enough to kill the Wyvern Lord on their own but now you need someone to intercept Rowan. If Marth/Tiki has finished off the Sage pestering Cordelia, they should be assigned to defeat Rowan should this occur.

Once the enemy gates open, Gharnef will summon four duplicates of himself, all of which will advance on the allied base. This is obviously a very dangerous predicament, so you'll want somebody to defend the base, but it's even better if you can intercept them before they all reach it. Note that one Gharnef clone will spawn near Xander, so if his health is low quickly patch him up before Gharnef rips him apart with magic. Once all Gharnef clones are eliminated (be prepared to hear a lot of talk about the pits of the inferno), advance on the real Gharnef and finish him off. Alternatively, you could just focus on the real Gharnef from the start, as beating him fast enough will end the mission before his clones become a threat, but this is a risky gamble to take.

Anna's Memento

#1:

• Condition: Defeat 1,000 enemies
• Location: N Tree Fort

#2:

• Condition: Defeat 1,200 enemies
• Location: Trident Ruins