spread the dirt to the populace
BUMP NO JUTSU
I don't know if Charge is unblockable, though I doubt it, because it already increases damage. You might try Triple Distress (archer) or Dark (non-archer) on Valkyrie. And yes, Charge is non-archers only. Triple Distress is in the Lost City of Dipan, so I guess that's a no. Dark is kinda near the beginning of Arkdain ruins, where you're going anyway. That is, if Surt blocking is really a huge problem.
Mental Reaction has 4 levels. At level 4, it takes 30% of your DME to reduce your CT to 0. It won't let you use it if you don't have the 30%. At level 1, it takes 45%. This is key because it is under 50%, meaning that after you get Elixir'd up or Union Plume'd, you will have the necessary DME. Even with a 3 mage party, I like to keep some Charge Breaks around just in case. These are just like level 4 Mental Reaction except that you use them as an item on whoever you want. In other words, they are insane. The reason you need Mental Reaction for mages, incidentally, is because they cannot use items while they have CT, but non-mages can. My MO whenever possible is to be able to do a full PWS chain every other turn, which is why I put the Fairy Ring on Valkyrie. Charge Breaks could be good for Final Blast I guess. With a Fairy Ring, Belenus would be able to PWS every single turn I guess. That would be a great party idea: 3 people (not Valkyrie sadly unless I'm missing something) that would be able to PWS every turn.
I forgot about those Vanir. I don't know how many people need to participate to fill up the combo meter, but if it's 3, I would suggest Celestial Star the first round, not using Arngrim, who then Charge Breaks Shiho still in turn 1. Then Shiho can Sap Guard turn 2, and then Might Reinforce turn 3 while the rest do a PWS chain, and the rest follows from there.
Bangle stacking doesn't work. I remember I had an all-female party on Easy where I had everyone equip Earrings of Healing, which came about because the stacking didn't work.
About dieing with Might Reinforce: my guess is not after a Union Plume (guts counts as sort of a saving throw against dying), since that's how it works in some other games and it only makes sense. I haven't tested though. Buffs do not stack, unlike in some games like Lufia where amazingly they do (but with diminishing returns of course). The Reinforces last for ten turns, while the Saps last for five. You can use them as much as you want, so just keep count. Using a Charge Break on Shiho would allow for rebuffing the Sap Guard during a "down" turn between Mystic Crosses.
Your PWS order sounds good, because I bet you need Celestial Star to make it to Belenus. Oh wait, you say that yourself in the next paragraph.
Now for some stuff of my own:
I assume you are setting up your Auto-Item as 100 Union Plume, 99 Banish/Prime Banish, 98 Elixir? I don't know if you need Prime Banish vs Surt, but I typically set up 2 people as 99 Banish/23 Prime Banish and vice versa. For normal runs where I'm actually stocked with all the items, I like everyone at 100 Union Plume, 2 at 99 Banish and the rest 99 Prime Banish, Valkyrie at 98 Prime Elixir and the rest at 98 Elixir, and everyone at 23 Noble Banish and 0 Noble Elixir.
I realized, if the only guy you really fight an extended fight is Surt, why don't you just abuse his elemental nature and heavily prioritize Fire protection? If everyone has Fire-50%, I'm sure that would be better than a little added defense. Feasible armor with Fire protection are Feathered Tiara, Anoited Cloak, Blaze Guard, Extreme Guard, and Stun Check.
Mental Reaction has 4 levels. At level 4, it takes 30% of your DME to reduce your CT to 0. It won't let you use it if you don't have the 30%. At level 1, it takes 45%. This is key because it is under 50%, meaning that after you get Elixir'd up or Union Plume'd, you will have the necessary DME. Even with a 3 mage party, I like to keep some Charge Breaks around just in case. These are just like level 4 Mental Reaction except that you use them as an item on whoever you want. In other words, they are insane. The reason you need Mental Reaction for mages, incidentally, is because they cannot use items while they have CT, but non-mages can. My MO whenever possible is to be able to do a full PWS chain every other turn, which is why I put the Fairy Ring on Valkyrie. Charge Breaks could be good for Final Blast I guess. With a Fairy Ring, Belenus would be able to PWS every single turn I guess. That would be a great party idea: 3 people (not Valkyrie sadly unless I'm missing something) that would be able to PWS every turn.
I forgot about those Vanir. I don't know how many people need to participate to fill up the combo meter, but if it's 3, I would suggest Celestial Star the first round, not using Arngrim, who then Charge Breaks Shiho still in turn 1. Then Shiho can Sap Guard turn 2, and then Might Reinforce turn 3 while the rest do a PWS chain, and the rest follows from there.
Bangle stacking doesn't work. I remember I had an all-female party on Easy where I had everyone equip Earrings of Healing, which came about because the stacking didn't work.
About dieing with Might Reinforce: my guess is not after a Union Plume (guts counts as sort of a saving throw against dying), since that's how it works in some other games and it only makes sense. I haven't tested though. Buffs do not stack, unlike in some games like Lufia where amazingly they do (but with diminishing returns of course). The Reinforces last for ten turns, while the Saps last for five. You can use them as much as you want, so just keep count. Using a Charge Break on Shiho would allow for rebuffing the Sap Guard during a "down" turn between Mystic Crosses.
Your PWS order sounds good, because I bet you need Celestial Star to make it to Belenus. Oh wait, you say that yourself in the next paragraph.
Now for some stuff of my own:
I assume you are setting up your Auto-Item as 100 Union Plume, 99 Banish/Prime Banish, 98 Elixir? I don't know if you need Prime Banish vs Surt, but I typically set up 2 people as 99 Banish/23 Prime Banish and vice versa. For normal runs where I'm actually stocked with all the items, I like everyone at 100 Union Plume, 2 at 99 Banish and the rest 99 Prime Banish, Valkyrie at 98 Prime Elixir and the rest at 98 Elixir, and everyone at 23 Noble Banish and 0 Noble Elixir.
I realized, if the only guy you really fight an extended fight is Surt, why don't you just abuse his elemental nature and heavily prioritize Fire protection? If everyone has Fire-50%, I'm sure that would be better than a little added defense. Feasible armor with Fire protection are Feathered Tiara, Anoited Cloak, Blaze Guard, Extreme Guard, and Stun Check.
