Roadside Battle

Roadside Battle

Location Capital Way New units Soren Boss(es) Maijin

Roadside Battle is the fourth chapter of Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance. Soren returns from his studies in Melior, reporting that war has broken out between Crimea and Daein. Ike heads up an investigation party, but meets some unfortunate company on the way. This chapter features the addition of a mage, which further complicates battle strategy.

Plot

The chapter begins with the early return of Soren from a trip of study. Mist runs in to tell Ike the news, and then suggests he check the mess hall. Greil, hearing Soren’s news, orders everyone to the briefing room, interrupting Ike and Soren’s reunion. Soren shares the news – Crimea and Daein have gone to war. He pulls out his map, and everyone gathers around to hear the details.

Soren tells of how he was studying in Melior’s library when a shriek broke the air. He ran outside and saw a sea of soldiers clad in black armor – the Daein army. The destruction in the capital was swift and brutal, tactics not unheard of for the king of Daein. Lord Renning, the Crimean king’s brother, dispatched the Crimean army while the king ordered his people to flee the city, and Soren fled with them.

Titania expresses her feelings of obligation to her motherland, suggesting that the mercenaries assist the Crimean army, while Soren, analytic as usual, sees no purpose in aiding the doomed army. Titania and Soren continue arguing about the chances of Crimea’s victory, but their arguments are dismissed by Greil, who chooses to send a scouting party toward Melior headed by Ike, with Titania as an advisor. Shinon immediately displays his objections to the idea, but Greil dismisses those too, countering Shinon by assigning him to work in the scouting party under Ike. Rhys, Gatrie and Soren are also assigned to the party.

On the road, Rhys comforts Ike, telling him to use this a learning experience for when he succeeds his father as commander. The party notices an abundance of Daein corpses littering the highway, and Soren predicts that the Crimean Imperial Guard had passed through, taking with them a member of the royal family. The party is then found by a group of Daein soldiers, led by Maijin, who, without conversing with the mercenaries, quickly orders his soldiers to attack. Ike orders his mercenaries to prepare for battle, and quickly forms a strategy for the incoming skirmish.

After the battle, Gatrie catches Shinon stealing some gear from one of the now-deceased Daein soldiers. Ike and Soren yell at him for his actions, and Titania settles the bickering. Before the party leaves, Rhys notices something moving in the brush. Upon further inspection, they find a woman whom Soren wants to leave there. Ike ignores this comment, and, with the help of Rhys, carries the fainted woman back to the mercenary fort.

Chapter data

Chapter Data
Conditions	Unit Data
Victory: Rout	Player	Partner	Other	Enemy	Third
Defeat: Ike dies	6	0	0	16	{{{third}}}

Characters
New units
Soren Mage HP Inventory -- Level 1 Automatically from the start
Available characters

Items

Name Obtainment Method Regal Sword Beginning of chapter Steel Lance Enemy Soldier* Vulnerary Enemy Soldier* Javelin Maijin

Bonus EXP
Requirement Easy Normal Hard Clear in 4 turns or fewer 450 300 300

Boss data

Knight Level 10 Attribute Build 12

Stats Growth Rates Max HP 32 Speed 6 Strength 10 Luck 2 Magic 0 Defense 11 Skill 7 Resistance 1 Movement -- Weight 16 Max HP --% Speed --% Strength --% Luck --% Magic --% Defense --% Skill --% Resistance --% {{{content3}}} {{{content4}}} {{{content5}}} {{{content6}}} {{{content7}}} {{{content8}}} {{{content9}}} {{{content10}}} {{{content11}}} {{{content12}}} {{{content13}}} {{{content14}}} {{{content15}}} Inventory Skills Javelin Vulnerary Weapon Levels -- C -- -- -- -- -- --

Strategy

This section details unofficial strategies that may help with completion of the chapter. This may not work for everybody.

This fight involves the four fighters from the previous chapter, Rhys from Chapter 2, and includes a new fighter, Soren the Mage. Soren, like Rhys, is frail, and can easily be slain by any of the enemies here. It is imperative to protect him and Rhys from direct assault. A good way to do that is to have Shinon Provoke wayward attackers to hit him instead.

The goal of this chapter is to Rout all the enemies that appear on screen. They greatly outnumber the mercenaries, so it is necessary to form a line of defense and weather the attackers. Once all the nearby enemies are defeated, The fighters can move in to take out the boss Maijin and his lackeys. Being a Knight, he possesses high defense, and also wields a Javelin, so multiple attacks are necessary to bring him down.

If one is intending to use Soren throughout the game, it is necessary to give him the opportunity to attack and defeat enemies in this chapter to start building his strength, but doing so inherently puts him at risk of death, since he starts at level 1. If Soren is defeated, he will not actually die, being a plot critical character, but will no longer be usable in-game. The other fighters are also at risk here, even Titania, so watching their health is more important than it has been up to this point.

In Hard Mode, there are significantly more enemies, especially around Maijin. It will be necessary to assume defensive positions for longer to take care of these extra threats.

Bonus experience can be earned in this chapter, depending on how long it took to Rout the enemy. This experience is not spendable until Chapter 8: Despair and Hope.

Gallery

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