#rd playguide

[fire-emblem-strategy]

RD Playguide: Endgame 5

The final map!  Congratulate yourself for getting this far.  It’s time for some final preparations, then some quick tactics and a bit of luck.  The longer this battle goes on, the more difficult it will become.

New Units:

Sephiran — Key Stats: none.  He’s already level 20 final tier.  However, he comes with SS Light, Dark, and Staff rank, so you can pass off one of those to him should you need to.  Sephiran » Pelleas due to better caps, if you want someone to use Balberith.  The Ashera Staff is already an excellent use for him, though.

Base Prep:

Matrona —> healer.  If they aren’t SS rank, either use an Arms Scroll or revert to Fortify.  If it’s your second playthrough or beyond, and you met the requirements to recruit Sephiran, this may be unnecessary.

Distribute Nihils and Parities.  They eliminate the unfortunate counter effect of Ashera’s Auroras.  Nihil works better on units that are high-damage, high speed (Spd >= 36), while Parity works better for units that will struggle to damage the Auroras due to their Cover or Wardwood spaces.

Remove unnecessary battle skills and replace them with utilities, especially ones that heal units (Renewal, Imbue).  Exception: whichever units will be hunting down the Spirits instead of attacking Auras, since their battle skills won’t be cancelled by Mantle.

All non-royal laguz get a Laguz Gem (should be three total unless you missed the one in P4-3).  For me, that’s Kurth, Nasir, and Reyson, (although Kurth has Formshift now so his is unnecessary).

BEXP PARTY.  Dump all of your BEXP into characters.  Try to pull up these stats as close to their caps as possible: HP, Str/Mag (whichever the unit attacks with), Spd, Def, Res.  Don’t worry as much about Skl and Lck.

Boss Type:  Ashera doesn’t fit under a type.  Here is what she does on a turn-by-turn basis (bottom of the page).

Map Tips:

You may want to trade one of your weaker units for Nasir for the White Pool buff.  If on your second playthrough, you may find that this unit is your healer (to be replaced by Sephiran).

Hunt the Spirits with a few units that will have issues damaging Ashera.  If Kurth’s Strike level is still only A, he’ll be one of them (hit is too low to hit consistently).

Chip the Auroras with the units with Nihil and Parity.  Parity is great for eliminating terrain bonuses once again.  Reyson can refresh these units after their first action to obtain more chip damage.  The corner Auroras are on Wardwood, while the other four are on Cover, so use that information to set up formations around them.  Other units can finish them off; the final blow has no counter effect.

Try not to attack an Aurora unless you are relatively certain of destroying it completely on that turn.  Mantle will heal them by 40 if they are left alive, and Spirits may cast a weak heal spell on them as well.

So long as you have a Fortify/Matrona/Ashera Staff in hand, you can attack with near-abandon with units even if they don’t have Nihil or Parity, to be healed at the end of the turn in order to prevent their death by Ashera’s attacks.

Ashera doesn’t attack Micaiah, but Aurora will still damage her.  You can score free damage on Ashera or Sacrifice/use staves with abandon without worrying about her well-being.  If she has SS rank staves (attainable through heavy use of Discipline and Arms Scrolls), it may even be preferable to give her the Ashera Staff and let Sephiran use her blessed tome.

Speed is vital.  Nasir’s White Pool should be used when/where it can put a unit’s Spd over 36, the threshold for doubling Ashera.  High-level Hawks, Wolves, Cats, Ravens, Trueblades, and Seraph Knights often don’t need it (but some may need a damage buff).

After the Auroras are gone, Ashera can be dealt with pretty safely.  Laguz royals, White Pool-buffed units, Marksmen, and Nihil/Parity users can get a large amount of damage quickly.  Reserve Resyon if you can, to refresh Ike if he fails to defeat her the first time.  ** Ashera can be killed the first time you deplete her HP, just make sure Ike lands the final blow.  To make this as close to certain as possible, put Nasir beside him and his support nearby (I’m aware that your supports may not boost his accuracy/attack, but it’s still worth doing).  Don’t bother watching the battle; your success can be gauged immediately by whether the Yune/Ike cutscene triggers.

And…

YOU FINISHED RADIANT DAWN.

…and so did I.  About six weeks after this all began, I’ve reached the end of the game yet again.  I tried to catalog all of the important, big picture, easily repeatable moments, preparations, and strategies, and now it’s time to look back and evaluate.  Good job?  Bad job?  What could be done better in future guides?

And more importantly, what comes next?  Unfortunately, with this guide exhausted of content, my work-influenced sabbatical is about to hit full-force.  I’ll be back as soon as I can, and my ask is still always open!

[fire-emblem-strategy]

RD Plyaguide: Endgame 4

New Units:

Nasir -- Key Stats: none, really.  Although most of his levels are going to be BEXP, his caps are so low that it hardly matters.  He'll still be doubled by Ashera, and he still won't be able to hit her.  Nasir has an advantage over his comrade Gareth in that he comes with high Res at a time when Res is the more important of the two defensive stats.  He also has a great utility skill in White Pool.

Gareth -- Key Stats: none again.  Like Nasir, his caps are too low to mean much.  Unlike Nasir, he doesn't come with great Res when Res is critical.  Unlike Ena, he doesn't come with a large number of useful innate skills.  Ah well, Gareth, you tried.

Base Prep:

Everybody needs a ranged weapon.  This will remain equipped the entire time, unless attacking Sephiran.  Besides that, everything holds from P4-E-3, but return Kurth's and Ena's s skills.

Boss Type:  Cowardly.  Sephiran retreats in the same manner as Lekain, and has a wave attack like Dheginsea's, except it deals magic damage.

Map Tips:

Unlike tomes, ____ Tails do not have effective bonuses.  Nullify is an unnecessary skill (actually it was last map, too, but I forgot to mention it).

Spirits teleport around the map, so don't bother with formations.  Instead, strike quickly, as they don't have the HP to stand more than two battles.

Targeting Sephiran's surrounding Spirits causes the others around the map to waste their turns by retreating to encompass him again (on account of their hidden Guard skill).

Fun fact: If Sephiran's Spirits on either side of him have been eliminated, he can be shoved off of the Cover spaces he camps on to remove some of his defense bonus.  His Wt is 9, meaning just about every non-magic unit is capable of shoving him.  Alternatively, Parity removes his bonuses entirely for whichever unit uses it.

Sephiran doesn't retaliate when attacked by Micaiah or Sanaki, so, you know, free damage.

[fire-emblem-strategy]

RD Playguide: Endgame 3

Base Prep:

Health-regenerating skills are redundant on Kurth and Ena this time, so consider swapping those out and passing them on to other units.

Parity is a big plus here on your Marksman, since you can negate tile bonuses for the Dragons while still attacking with impunity.

Dragonfoe + Arbalest is a great combination, and is even better against White Dragons.

Anyone who may strike Dheginsea needs Parity or Nihil.  You do not want him getting Ire.  Slower and/or more vulnerable units need not even make the attempt.

Adept, Vantage, Resolve, and Cancel, all function well against Dragons, in all kinds of combinations.  Couple them with Brave weapons for better results on the player phase, and mixed-range weapons in preparation for the enemy phase.

Boss Type:  Stationary, plus harrassment.  Dheginsea uses a wave attack similar to Lekain's, but instead of silencing your units, it damages them.  The damage dealt decreases as distance from him increases, and he uses it approximately every three turns once about when one of your units has reached the stairs on any side of him.

Map Tips:

Don't go hard up the middle.  The more units you send there, the more Dragons will convene there, and everyone that heads in that direction will be struck by Dheginsea's wave.  Better to separate early and reconvene later.

When packing skill combinations like Adept + Cancel, it doesn't matter as much which units you match to which Dragons.  Otherwise, physical, high-Res units like Seraph Knights and Nephenee work best for White Dragons, while tanks and bruisers work best for Red Dragons (no magic unit has the HP or Def to consistently chase Red Dragons).  Marksmen are excellent on both types.

I like to keep Kurth and Ena near the center until I attempt to defeat Dheginsea.  This way, if any situation on either end of the map gets dire, I can make vulnerable units retreat and cover their escape using the Dragons.

Also, Kurth and Ena make great chip units here, since none of the enemies will retaliate.  This limits their exp gains, though, so you may want to give one or both of them Paragon.

Taking out Dheginsea:

You need to do >30 damage per turn in order to counter the healing effect of Mantle.  It isn't worth striking him unless you can do at least this much, unless you're attacking with Kurth or Ena, since he won't retaliate (giving you free exp).

Marksmen score easy, safe damage so long as there are no other Dragons to threaten them.

Placing Kurth and Ena on opposite sides of a space in front of him can bolster any unit.  I still wouldn't recommend anyone without Nihil here, though, because Ire is devastating regardless of whether the unit has the bonuses.

Laguz royals can go toe-to-toe with him much longer than other units.  Tibarn, Nailah, and Naesala even occasionally avoid his attacks, but this is rare and you shouldn't bank on it.

Units that shouldn't even try: Trueblades, Marshalls, Seraph Knights, Sanaki, Sothe, anyone with 26 Attack Speed or less.  They are generally more of a liability than a help.

And reminder: no effective bonus against him.

[fire-emblem-strategy]

RD Playguide: Endgame 2

Base Prep:  Any useful skills that for some reason did not make it onto your units before entering the tower should do so now.  Now that you have the capacity and the skill diversity, try making working combinations of skills.  Vantage combines nicely with Cancel, Wrath, or Resolve, and most things mesh well with Adept.  Nullify can go to any fliers; there are a lot of bows and Crossbows on this map.

Some specific character-skill combinations I like:

Kurth -- Renewal, Paragon, Celerity.   If I could give him Discipline, I would; his Strike level takes forever to increase.  As is, this group keeps his stats growing quickly while keeping him alive.

Ena -- Her base skills, + Imbue.  It basically ensures that so long as she survives a turn, she will be almost completely healed prior to the following one.

Elincia, or any unit with high speed and/or a Brave weapon -- Any combination of Vantage, Adept, and Cancel.  Adept + Cancel seems to be the most devastating on the player phase, while Vantage + Cancel is more defensive.

Sanaki -- Stillness.  Not necessary, but Sanaki is usually the most vulnerable unit that comes into the tower with me, so I like to ensure she's relatively low-risk.

Don't bother distributing your Nihils and Parities yet.  If you use them at all, simply give them to units who are going to finish off Levail, since you don't want Resolve to make things difficult for you.

Your primary healer is going to want a Mend and a Physic at least.  You likely won't need it, but if may be helpful to go ahead and put a Fortify in their inventory, too.

Boss Types:  Again, two of them.  The BK is aggressive, but is partitioned off from the rest of the battle with Ike.  He can be handled slowly, but remember he has Imbue, so include his HP regeneration every turn in your calculations.  You can bring a Hammer for the fun of it if you want to kill him quickly after Levail falls.  Levail is stationary, and is non-aggressive towards Micaiah and Sanaki.

Map TIps:

Like a few previous maps (like P3-E), the enemy units are arranged in "waves" of sorts.  Handle them accordingly by matching weapon triangle advantages and effective damage.  Also, at this point, many of your units will be powerful enough to have a strong aggressor's advantage in that they may defeat or disable an enemy before they are able to attack, if matched properly.

The openness of this map works against you, as enemy units can move from one side to the other relatively quickly and pick off individual units.  I like to split into two parties that slowly form a pincer around Levail, which keeps the enemy forces divided as well.

Reinforcements also spawn from either side and the bottom corners.  My approach means my groups are near these spawn points, allowing the player to swarm the reinforcements before they can act.

Watch out for Wyrmslayers, usually carried by Swordmasters.  The Swordmasters will double Ena easily and will almost certainly kill her if given the opportunity (can be remedied with Shade or Stillness if you like).

Likewise, Reyson should try to remain out of range of any bows, or he'll quickly be dispatched.  This limits him to the northernmost end of the map at first.  It benefits him greatly to use the Laguz Gem to keep his speed and evasion up, just in case.

None of the units surrounding Levail move, so take them out at your convenience.  Thani is quite helpful once again.

Kurth and Ena should strike as often as possible.  Although Ena will still be less useful than Kurth as you continue to progress, raising their Strike levels (in addition to their stat levels) keeps them relevant on the field as more than just mobile buffs.

Good methods for taking out Levail:

Marksman w/ any bow, from three spaces, for safety's sake

Micaiah and/or Sanaki, for free strikes

Most units, with buffs from Kurth and Ena, so long as Levail's Resolve-boosted Spd is negated or will not result in him doubling the unit (class-wise, generally Trueblades, Halberdiers, and every laguz that isn't a Lion, Tiger, or Dragon).

[fire-emblem-strategy]

RD Playguide: Endgame 1

Prep:

This map has the greatest density of Generals (out of two in which they are present).  So, bring Thani and your Hammers.  After this map, you won't need them.

It also has the greatest density of Sages and is the only tower map with status staves (although the bosses can still cause statuses), so Pure Waters, Ward, and Restore are all quite useful.  Obviously, staves to your healers, items to low-Res units.

Start making complete loadouts.  Chip weapons are no longer necessary; you've accumulated your elites.  But you may want, at least temporarily:

The strongest available weapon for your units (either an SS weapon or a forged one)

Slightly weaker weapons with more uses, to ensure that your high level ones don't break too soon

Weapons with effective bonuses or added effects (Brave or unique ones, mostly).  Horseslayers, however, are redundant.

Additional weapons of each type that your unit is able to carry

At least one ranged weapon for each unit, of the highest level available

Healing items, potentially several different ones if you have room

Laguz only - Gems, Stones, and Olivi Grass.  If you didn't bring non-royals, your two Gems can go to Kurth and Reyson (Ena can take a Stone and be fine, since Dragons lose gauge so slowly).

Boss Type(s):  Lekain is a coward who Rewarps away as you approach, but occasionally Rewarps back later (why, I don't know).  Best to catch him after a Rewarp, so he can't retaliate, because Corona is an annoying skill to deal with.  Hetzel is stationary and can't even damage you, but is a major threat so long as he can Sleep and Silence you.

Map Tips:

Check out the terrain.  There are 3x3 squares of Wardwood in the center, and this is important.  There are two major status threats (Hetzel in the NE corner and a Bishop on the northern edge), and Wardwood is the easiest way to limit the likelihood of being affected by them.

The Double Bow is in the hands of a Sniper on the "ledge" on the west side.  He's easiest to take out with a Brave weapon via a flier.

Lekain has an area attack that silences virtually everyone (Kurth was safe this time, but I'm not actually sure why).  This happens at the end of the third turn, so put Restore on your healers if possible.  Even better, try to put your magic units beside Ena.

Reinforcements appear in large groups in the northern and southern extremes of the center of the map.  These are primarily Generals in the north, and Bishops in the south.  The Bishops are freexp for Micaiah, Sanaki, Kurth, and Ena, whichever of those you so choose.  Kurth and Ena have the added benefit of being able to stand in the Wardwood spaces without allowing the Bishops to reap defensive benefits.

Smaller parties to the wings.  I managed the west flank with three (Neph, Gatrie, and Sanaki) and the east one with two (Edward and Nolan).

The siege tome Sages need to be taken care of as soon as it can be done safely, to protect units with effective weaknesses to them (fliers and dragons) and those who may be unfortunately put to sleep.

[fire-emblem-strategy]

RD Playguide: Endgame Prep

New Units:

Ena -- Key Stats: HP, Spd.  Ena is an excellent utility unit, and nothing more.  She's weak.  She's slow.  She's fragile.  It's a losing combination.  But, she arrives with Boon and Blood Tide, which will be incredibly useful.  Additionally, her exceptional magic means that Imbue is excellent on her.  Her use also snowballs; if you don't utilize her, she gets worse, if you do, she eventually (sort of) catches up.

Kurthnaga -- Key Stats: literally everything besides Res.  Kurth is great, and he's also terrible.  He starts out absolutely awful for the point in the game during which he arrives, with just enough Spd to miss the cutoff for not being doubled by everything.  For this reason, I always save a Speedwing for him.  Like Ena, the more he battles, even just chipping away units, the more useful he becomes.  He'll have extreme difficulty with Ashera if you don't raise his Strike level, but don't worry, you've got plenty of opportunity for that.

Caineghis -- Key Stats: none.  Caineghis is pretty much the same throughout the tower, as a lot of his stats begin just under caps and his growths are poor anyway.  As the royal of the Lion laguz, he's a veritable tank, and very helpful if you need to fill that role in your endgame party.

Giffca -- Key Stats: Spd.  I only list Spd as an important stat for Giffca because it's the one thing that really advantages him over Caineghis.  Giffca has more room to grow and a greater likelihood of obtaining it, meaning that as time goes on, Giffca will double more and be doubled less, and his Laguz Gem practically grants him royal status.  If you choose to ignore him, at least pass off that Laguz Gem to some other worthy candidate.

Renning -- Key Stats: Def.  Renning's Def is the one advantage he holds over Titania; he'll be slower and less powerful than she nine times out of ten.  He's the Nagi of the Gold Knights, a filler unit if you really want one of that class and the others didn't turn out well for you.  He is, however, SS rank in Swords, so if you don't have many others, you've got another candidate for Alondite.

Skills:

Divide the characters into groups of Forced, Likely, Maybe, and Unlikely.  Act as follows:

Forced: leave most skills alone, only shuffling around a few as necessary.  On these characters, you can afford to add more skills than you subtract.

Likely: leave innate skills alone.  Remove unnecessary utility skills (like Discipline).

Maybe:  leave less-useful innate skills, but remove any player-assigned skills, and consider removing any instances, innate or not, of skills like Resolve, Counter, Miracle, and Shade.

Unlikely:  remove all skills that you can.

Priority skills, that should enter the tower with your party, in bulk, if possible:

Nihil*

Parity*

Imbue

Resolve

Wrath

Vantage

Renewal

Cancel

Adept

Paragon and/or Blossom (for the Dragons, mostly)

Shade

Miracle

Stillness

Pass

Celerity

Dragonfoe

Skills you should pretty much ignore and just sell:

Corrosion (useless after P4-E-2)

Mercy (I'd be surprised if you still had it, honestly)

Flourish

Wildheart

Beastfoe + Birdfoe (no longer relevant)

Disarm (useless after P4-E-2)

Other skills may be useful or not depending on your units' strengths and your playstyle.

Items:

Put everyone's everything into the Convoy.  No, seriously  This includes the scrolls for all of the skills you just removed.  The only exceptions are the forced units: Micaiah, Sothe, Ike, Kurth, Ena, Sanaki, and the heron of your choice.  If it doesn't all fit, go ahead and start selling weapons and items low on uses.  Save stat boosters for now, except perhaps the Statue Frag.

Sell any remaining gems (not the Laguz Gems, or at the least not both of them).  Also sell all units of a weapon type that will go unused in the tower.  For example, if Pelleas goes unused, all Dark tomes can be sold.  For your Sage representative, most Anima magics of the other two types can be sold, only leaving high-level tomes.  You can also freely sell Rex- tomes for any magic not represented.

Buy a Ward staff.  One is enough.

Start Forging things.  Don't skimp on expenses.  Forge for your forced units first, then your likelies, then your maybes.  Elincia, if she joins you, won't need one.  See if you can get especially good weapons via the card game's bonuses (I made one that outstripped the Vague Katti in critical chance this way, while having comparable might).  Repeat until satisfied.  This playthrough, I forged:

Two Silver Swords

Two Silver Bows

Three Silver Lances

Two Silver Axes

One Silver Knife

One Javelin

One Light tome

One Fire tome

One Wind tome

I managed to get the Raven card, so I had plenty of Coins throughout the process.  If anyone hasn't reached SS yet, consider foregoing one or more rounds through the Forge to pick up an Arms Scroll from the Bargain shop.  At the least, keep one on hand for Micaiah, just in case.

Experience:

If anyone's capped two or more stats, BEXP or Blossom should be used for all future levels.  You should have a lot by now.

For Micaiah, if she isn't a level 20 Light Sage by now (honestly, she shouldn't be), BEXP her up.  Save all other BEXP until after you enter the tower.

And finally...

Make Your Final Picks:

Consider who is supported with whom, what their available weapon options are, their unit roles, their stats, their affinities, everything.  Only choose the best of the best.  Not every class will be represented, and that's fine.  If a lot of your units are lacking, there's always Tibarn and co. to make things easier on you.

My team this round:

Micaiah*

Sothe*

Ike*

Sanaki*

Kurth*

Ena*

Reyson

Edward

Nolan

Nephenee

Gatrie

Oscar

Rolf

Ranulf

Elincia

Haar

Soren

Potential alts: Tibarn, Mist, Boyd, Ulki, Shinon.

[fire-emblem-strategy]

RD Playguide: P4-5

Two things that you can't really plan for:

Which kinds and how many of each type of laguz each time Izuka summons them.

Where Izuka warps to and when he does.

New Units:

Bastian -- Key Stats: Spd, Def.  Bastian is surprisingly vulnerable for a unit that joins at third tier.  Arriving with one of each Anima tome, he can land heavy damage, but he'll also take it.  Support-line unit, for sure.

Volke -- Key Stats: Str.  Volke's initial loadout, innate skills Stillness and Lethality, and generally great stats make him quite the punisher to all units except Dragons, although he can still occasionally one-shot them.  If Sothe wasn't forced to go into the tower, I'd recommend him, but your knife units are too dependent on the Baselard to warrant a second.  Have fun with him, but don't let him take too much exp.

Base Prep:

You should have Beastfoe and Dragonfoe, with Birdfoe available in the Bargain shop.  Provided you aren't dishing them out to an Anima Sage, you should get a lot of use from them here.  Dragonfoe + a siege tome is a fun combination, as is any -foe + a Crossbow or Brave weapon (Amiti especially).

Sword units can take Wyrmslayers if there are any available.

Any Silver Knights on the map need bows, and any Warrior/Reavers need Crossbows, just in case of rogue bird laguz.

As always, laguz units need fresh gauge items.  I'd save that Gem from the desert map, though, it'll be useful in the tower.

Boss Type:  Cowardly.  Izuka summons to cover his back and Rewarps whenever you get close.  He seems to only jump back and forth between four locations, though, so stake them out and you should be able to catch him at one of them.  The locations I've found are:

The center island (his initial location)

The NW corner

The SW corner, a few spaces from the treeline to the east

The eastern island

Map Tips:

Two parties: small one west and north, large one northward.  The size disparity is to accommodate the relative frequencies of enemy encounters along each route.  Additionally, it helps if more mobile units (laguz and fliers) are the bulk of the westward party.

Safety over speed.  As a marsh map, this one provides a lot of thickets to hide in, and gives you ample means to block off enemies.  If you need to camp for a while before advancing, to keep units safe until they've healed, you're fine.  If Dragons are approaching, use gap defense to protect squishies.

It's often worth it to equip ranged weapons on units if a Dragon is nearby.  If all but one or two do, you can dissuade the AI from attacking certain units and funnel them towards others.  Even if you can't, having a ranged weapon on hand at least ensures retaliation.  The base mixed-range weapons (Wind Edge, Hand Axe, etc.) probably aren't worth it, though.

Everyone can double Dragons.  Stack with Brave weapons to boost skill activations.  Good skills to have: any mastery skill, Cancel, and Adept, and for additional utility, Resolve, range-effect laguz skills (e.g., Shriek, Howl), and Pavise.  Corrosion and Disarm are worthless here.

Chasing Izuka?  Run after him with fliers to ignore the inconvenience of traveling through the swamp.  If Reyson stays near the center of the map, you should be able to catch him the same turn after he Rewarps, even if you didn't camp his target location.

[fire-emblem-strategy]

RD Playguide: P4-4

New Units:

Oliver -- Key Stats: Spd, Spd, Def.  No, listing Spd twice isn't an error.  Oliver takes Micaiah's physical fragility problems and squares them.  Arriving with just 20 Spd (I think more on Hard), this particular unit is doubled by nearly all of his own minions!  He comes with one perk: if you want to bring him into the tower, he doesn't have to compete for a sacred weapon, since Rexaura and Valaura are both rather powerful.

Base Prep:

Stockpiled any Door or Chest Keys?  Bring them out now.

A Hammer is nice to have here.  So is Restore.

Additional Prep:  Take advantage of your opportunity to adjust Tormod's, Vika's, and Muarim's inventories in the Adv. menu.  For example, Muarim doesn't need his Laguz Stone, since he begins the map shifted.

Boss Type:  Stationary, unless Rafiel enters his range (movement, not attack).  If this happens, Oliver will recruit himself.

Map Tips:

Like P1-E, taking ledges -- and taking them quickly -- is vital to success.  Nailah and Ike make good vanguards.  Don't cede ledges once you've taken them, to keep enemy reinforcements easy to handle.

A relatively safe progression:  SW ledge + S ledge --> SW treasure room + SE corner + center platform --> E stairs --> central stairs and upper ledge --> Upper treasure rooms --> Oliver's Chamber

In general, it is safe to take the southern reinforcements from ledges, but one unit in the cluster of Sages has Meteor, so he needs to be dealt with as quickly as possible.  Any pegasi or bird units that join you are very helpful with this.

Limit those units, though, because of the large number of bows and Crossbows.

Generals pretty much don't move on this map.  All of the reinforcements do.

Critical choke points: the spaces on the west side of the stairs leading to Oliver's chamber, the narrow gap between the SW corner and the south-central stairs, and the ledges around the central platform.

Maelstrom available on this map.  It's in the pocket to the west of Oliver's stairs, in its NE corner.