Grand Hero Battle - Lloyd

Thankfully yet another map that doesn’t feature reinforcements, Lloyd’s GHB features a rather interesting map design, with the main feature being a river splitting the two separate portions of this map. When combined with a flyer (especially one at three or four star rarity), this makes for a perfect storm that wreaks havoc on the enemy AI, which is something that you can easily use to your advantage.

If straightforward strategies are too boring or aren’t working for you, with a bit of Skill Inheritance and the use of seals, you can even afford to get creative with this map. Since the river is only one square wide, you could easily use a flier to sling an infantry or armoured unit across the map with Reposition or Guidance, and the AI will have no choice but to desperately trail behind you as you do so. Fliers in general enjoy particularly flexible mobility on this map, so that may be a consideration for you while you’re determining your potential team composition.

Before you begin teambuilding, it’s completely possible you already possess everything you need to beat this map. Created by Gamepress staff member RedFerrari1998, the video guide below uses only F2P units and seals -- see the description for more details. If it doesn’t work for you, though, then read on!

As is generally true of GHBs, the individual units you will use is very important as they will primarily inform your strategy. There are a few routes you can take depending on what units you have available to you, and, of course, adjustment based on the units you possess is always a possibility.

Strikers

Since the easiest way of starting this map (which is targeting the green infantry axe with a ranged unit, dancing them, and then drawing back / repositioning your dancer) requires a striker, Brave Bows prove useful in this GHB due to the neutral damage they deal to most units, the effective damage they deal to fliers, and their ability to perform follow-ups even on the speediest of opponents. Because of this, Brave Lyn, Bridal Cordelia, Klein, and Setsuna are potential strikers you may want to use.

Alternatively, Brave and Blade tome users can also serve to be just as useful if your team composition provides them with the appropriate buffs. S!Corrin, S!Camilla, Cecilia, Reinhardt, and Nino are all options here.

Baiters

Although definitely more of a #swag strat than the most straightforward way of starting this map, baiting the archer and blue mage on the other side of the river is an alternative option to get this map moving. If you have a unit that can handle the archer and the blue mage like Iote’s Shield S!Camilla or Fae, then you’ve got everything you need to start this map off incredibly strong.

Dancers

Dancers help support units with high firepower, may even have a decent offensive presence themselves, and can usually tank a hit or two, if need be. Olivia, PA!Azura, PA!Inigo, PA!Olivia, Azura, NY!Azura, and Ninian all provide the support that high-firepower units need while also possessing the ability to net a few KOs themselves.

Cavalry

Although they do not possess the ability to cross the river in this map like fliers can, cavalry’s increased range and ability to retreat out of the range of threatening enemy fliers and infantry makes them a good choice on this map. Reinhardt fills the Brave role discussed above, Sigurd is an excellent dedicated tank, while Xander and Camus possess the ability to counterattack regardless of range.

Fliers

It’s worth noting that the presence of a mountain and river in this GHB means that fliers will have much less trouble traversing around this map than cavalry or infantry units. A flier can also make use of the Guidance skill / seal to allow infantry and armor units on their team to cross the river -- though Reposition will work in a pinch as well. A dedicated flier team can use class-specific buffs to power through threats that may otherwise give them difficulty.

Strategizing for this GHB is made much simpler by the fact that there are no reinforcements. While it’s difficult to exactly predict what will happen due to IV / Merge variance, here’s some general tips to get you started.

Starting Off On The Left / Right Foot

As is customary for most GHBs, the enemies on Lloyd’s map will not start to move unless they are baited, damaged, or KO’d. Since this map layout allows for an attack + dance + draw back / reposition strategy and a baiting strategy, you’ll have to choose between an offensive or defensive opening turn.

Your three baiting options are a) three spaces above starting space (1) on the bottomost space of the mountain, b) two spaces above starting space (2), and c) across the river in the danger zone. Since option a requires a flier to tank the mounted archer and two axes (which isn’t exactly an ideal situation), options b and c are decidedly more compelling.

If you choose option b, try using a high def red unit that can perform follow ups (with or without an assist from Quick Riposte) and counterattack regardless of range, since your bait will be attacked by both melee and ranged enemies. Take note, though, that the infantry axe carries Lunge as a B skill. This means that you’ll likely want another ally at the ready who can KO this unit in the next player phase if you fail to do so through enemy phase, allowing your bait unit to retreat to safety. Alternatively, if you choose option c, be aware that the cavalry archer totes Cancel Affinity, which counts out mages that run Triangle Adept / Raven tome / Bowbreaker builds as potential baiters. Additionally, the blue mage has Windsweep, which means that Distant Counter swords, axes, and lances as well as bow and dagger users are not good choices here. Lightning Breath dragons will be your best bet if you decide to go this route -- just be sure to boost their res and def with the distant def seal.

If baiting isn’t working for you, the space mentioned in option b above can be used to attack the green axe with a ranged unit, have that unit be danced, and then reposition or draw back the dancer to safety. This is a common strategy on most of the older GHB maps, and may be the best option for you if find your chosen bait is getting overwhelmed by the enemy.

Preferably, you’ll want to net as many KOs as you can this turn, although that may not be possible if you’re using the strike and retreat method. If your bait is missing out on finishing off the axe and the bow user, try the Quick Riposte seal or inherit the 2nd level of the skill onto your chosen baiter (which can be found on a 4 star Subaki). A healer may be useful here, especially if they tote Physic+ -- they’ll be able to heal at-range or provide an assist with a Wrathful / Dazzling attack, if need be.

Methodology and Madness

As mentioned in the introduction, the AI really does not play well with this map. Once you’ve gotten the enemies moving, you can move your flier into the river space directly across from starting space (2) in order to spark some… rather interesting behaviour. With your enemies otherwise occupied, you can focus your efforts on chipping away at, baiting, our outright KOing the ones that are in your reach. Experimentation will serve you well here -- especially since the AI can sometimes be unpredictable.

Use Dancers

As always, dancers serve a valuable role refreshing your units and allowing them to get some KOs they cannot net outright. Some dancers can even provide valuable buffs that can help a unit either deal greater damage or survive a round of combat they would be KO’d by otherwise.

Make Use Of What You’ve Got

Although sometimes it can be frustrating to look at an enemy unit, think you have a viable counter, and then realize that the strategy you had in mind won’t work, usually skills that invalidate one unit will lead you towards an alternative candidate. For example, since the

Since the cavalry archer has Cancel Affinity, you’ll want to use a Lightning Breath dragon (if you have one) to bait it, since a Triangle Adept Raven Mage will prove ineffective here. If you try an alternate route and your bait is too overextended, preventing them from retreating, then skills like Escape Route (found on 4 star Cecilia) and Wings of Mercy (found on Black Knight and 4 star Cain) are potential options for you to try an alternative strategy. If your unit is being KO’d by only a point or two of extra damage or is missing out on a KO by a small margin, try the HP +3 or the Attack +3 seal. The more specific your problem is, chances are the more likely it is that you already possess the solution in the form of skills and seals.

If At First You Don’t Succeed

As is true of all high difficulty content, the potential variance in unit builds that Skill Inheritance brought along with the random nature of summoning has resulted in pretty much every single player having different “building blocks” to work with. This, when combined with the high difficulty level of Infernal, may prove frustrating while someone is trying to find the right combination of units and moves. The key thing to keep in mind is that it may take multiple tries of the map and a few stamina potions for you to find a strategy that works for you. Every single turn you complete gets you one step closer to completing the puzzle. Reading about or watching videos of successful strategies may also help you break through a particularly difficult turn that you can’t complete, or may give you ideas of a new unit to use.