Compilation of Tips & Tricks - FMA EX+ missions [Pride & Frustration]

I've posted this message on another thread where it was quickly drowned in the usual Roxanne rants of people seemingly playing this game while finding it terrible and comparing it to work.

Then reflecting on my own experience, I realized that with the last days of FMA, people are throwing their last strenght to try to clear the 3 dreaded FMA EX+ mission. Having been on the verge of giving up more than once and being increasing frustrated by not being able to reproduce the videos of better players than me, I wanted to share my experience and maybe give you give a last piece of motivation to make it. Videos are absolutly great to give you a headstart, but it didn't help me a lot because 1/you never have exactly the same setup as players 2/even when doing it with F2P units, the gear is usually top notch because those players have been collecting it for so long, and the units are often lvl80+ which is also the mark of veterans. As an addition, time is precious and all those videos last 30 min and I find it very difficult to understand the underlying strategy because unless you watch and analyse everything (which requires a very good knowledge of the game that I don't have) which takes ages, it's easy to miss the "key" moment when the strategy succeeds. What I needed was a few key principles to make it through the map, saving me time while giving me the opportunity and pride (and a weebit of wrath) to tune my own roster and find my own solution. Having tried all those levels for 20 hours total, I wanted to share my findings.

CONTEXT & ASSUMPTIONS

I've been playing for less than 2 months (6 days remaining on my pact). I am a moderate whale / heavy dolphin (spent 220€ so far) mostly because i'm 40 with kids and a correct salary and I'm ready to arbitrate time vs money. Also I have an obsessive personality and love making short, middle and long-term strategies which makes me, I believe, a good project manager as well as a perfect target for freemium games. So I'm not giving any lessons here, in a way I bought my way to victory although I'm still trying to limit my expenses to avoid killing the fun, and still give me a sense of accomplishment by optimizing the money I pour in the game (I typically try to convert mentally every resource in the game : equipment, gold, shards etc. in equivalent gem to make sure I don't waste IRL money). TAC is certainly putting up a paywall and I can understand part of the rant, however having worked in startup ecosystems for a short while, we all know that most SaaS business models today consist in acquiring users with freebies THEN monetize community, without alienating them. Which is what TAC is experimenting right now, with various success, even if I am actually quite happy with the one year anniversary (I seem to be the only one though). I genuinely cannot understand people who have been playing TAC for thousands of hours by paying nothing or 10 months of pact (which is roughly the cost of any new game on PS4), and then complain about Gumi slightly altering their monetization model. Or rather, I can understand the human mechanism behind that (what we call in french "on ne revient pas sur les avantages acquis") but it feels a bit unfair. Anyway, let's come back to the topic.

So...220€ bought me a Laharl 76 (reroll unit), Uzuma 75 (3 steps free gems guaranteed), Roxanne 75 (9 steps using selector + 50 shards), Edward 74 (3 steps paid gems guaranteed) + Eve 80 (7 steps anniversary banner) + Miuna/Kudanstein 70 each (3 steps free gems guaranteed). Obviously I have most free SS staples but only a few of them at 75+ since I farmed HQ from day one : Shayna, Vettel, Magnus, Reagan, Anastasia. Most of them don't even have thei lvl80 MA. I farmed their gear to gold whenever I could, and they only gear I bought are Prinny'sword & Envy's Mark, which I didn't use. I don't have any limited item such as Takiyaki. I'm playing around 3 hours each day, with various attention level depending on task at hand : from barely looking at it (HQ farming) to extreme attention (EX+). Unless specified, all my units are JM3 maxed with enhanced equipment and max skill levels, but I guess this is the case for most of you.

I was aiming at getting my free FMA ticket, although I specifically went for Fullmetal EX+ green shards (no death + wind team only). I think Pride & Wrath EX+ is doable for my thunder units but clearing those left me exhausted and I want to catchup with the other events (veda, pirate & co) so I'm skipping it, especially since all my best thunder units are farmable (teona, magnus, fujika, aruba etc.). So I can't give any advanced tips, I just hope my "just-clear" walkthrough will enable recent players like me to get the ticket (got Bradley btw, too bad I disassembled his gear by error :D). Also, I think those stage tremendously increased my knowledge of the game mechanism. For convenience purpose I've also linked to the main tipcs & videos given by the famous veteran players who paved the way for the other players.

Obviously difficulty grade is personal and subjective, I'm just an average player although I play TAC as I would play any other console/PC game : for me it's a full fledged SRPG. I've owned almost every PC/Console since the end of the eighties, having completed say 90% of any top 100 games list out there.  I recon mobile gaming has progressed a lot since those few years and numerous acquisition of mobile gaming companies by lead studios everywhere show that even if "legacy hardcore gamers" still sneer at mobile gamers, the distinction will soon be obsolete : that's indeed where the money is, under the "game as a service" form.

FULLMETAL EX+ 

Time to clear : 30 to 40 tries (5 hours) just to clear the level. Once I got the hang of it, the no death / wind only milestones took me only a couple of tries, making the success repeatable.

Difficulty level : 4 on a scale of 1 (easy) to 5 (Ornstein & Smough)

Frustration level : 3 on a scale of 1 (predictable) to 5 (trying to earn a living by trading high frequency bitcoin)

Key principles :

• Priority 1 : Left HB will one shot any of your character, unless you evade (Hayate & Bradley perfect evade), Revive (Guts skill from tanks), Kill him first with high AGI HB (Quickened Yomi), or block his way (Edward). After several tries, I used edward to create a block at the top of the initial stairs on the left, charge Laharl, then when the block is destroyed, laharl proceeds to one-short the HB with a regular attack enabling him to get jewels. I found that blinking Uzuma on the ledge from the bottom prevents the units on the ramp to be delayed, but deprives you from 35 precious jewels so ultimately I found it better to have to delayed Uzuma with full jewels instead.
• Priority 2 & 3 : You only have a few turns to kill Waginau, before he silences your team and then you're basically fucked. Waginau can be killed in 2 or 3 magical shots, ideally using Uzuma or Roy, because Pyrokinesis can also take out green Mandragora which is one of the biggest damage dealer on the map. Null grenade from Roxanne might give you a respite because he doesn't have jewel regen.
• Priority 4 : clear-up vermins/remaining mandragoras/archers at the top of the stairs (that's usually where you can get the 4+ dead enemies milestones), while managing your health with potions and preparing for the arrival of 2 red mean HB. Uzumas can tank quite well but after a while they'll need a refresh. After Laharl AGI 141 killed the wind HB, he has basically 2 turns and then I charge-up. The 2 red HB appear and he can AoE bringing them to a couple of a few life points, making them easy to kill with any of your units around. If you got the timing bad, Uzuma can blast them with water spells from the ledge of the upper terrace where the bulk of the fight usually takes place.
• Additional tip 1 : Kinetic glove with MA is actually awesome here, giving you an added move while increasing slightly your available jewels during turn 2 and 3. Well worth the 100 gold shards for long maps.
• Additional tip 2 : You can basically kite the bottom robot + chronomancer by moving back and forth, effectively neutralising them for a few turns. I found Edward and green HB to be very efficients at tanking the robot. 
• Additional tip 3 : CherubTAC made very efficient use of Thillie with roar and AoE magic : https://www.reddit.com/r/AlchemistCodeGL/comments/9tx2s1/tac_wind_team_no_deaths_kill_4_in_one_blow_the/ but it's quite unlikely that new players using tiers list will have raised a Thillie enough (I hadn't)

FLAME & HAWK EX+

Time to clear : 80 to 100 tries (12 hours) just to clear the level. It nearly broke me. Although during my last run I had only 1 death (Reagan) that could have been avoided, It's not worth 10 platinum for me.

Difficulty level : 5 on a scale of 1 to 5

Frustration level : 5 on a scale of 1 to 5 (very RNG dependant due to Charm / Paralysis effects => don't hesitate to kill your app and restart to get your used items back)

Key principles :

• Priority 1 : units 4 and 5 (Merc) NEED >140 AGI to leave Waginau aggroing zone. Play around positionning them but by leaving them on the small ledge, there's actually a configuration that will pull Edward and 2x vermins on the right side of the map, exposing them to Laharl AoE which, if preceeded by any AoE hit, will kill them all. Trade-off is that one vermin will come at you at the top side of the map, trying to charm you. If it happens, you WILL lose too many turns so retreat and restart. It happens roughly 50% of the time. Both Laharls should charge up first thing.
• Priority 2 : Shoot the 2 robots ASAP with defense ignoring skills, like Samurai (Vettel) Machinist (Roxanne, Magnus) or Sniper (Reagan). After playing around with 2 roxanne machinists, she's too squishy so I went with only 1 Roxanne machinist + 2 Laharls as leaders/mercs (positioned like that : Laharl - Reagan - Roxanne - Chihaya - Laharl merc). I found that keeping the top left robot alive for a few turns actually enables you to build up jewels until AJ7000 comes around. Just spread your characters to avoid being paralyzed.
• Priority 3 : Be ready to one-shot AJ7000 before he does that to you. Some do it with HB (charged up Shayna or Eve) but that requires a very specific jewels build up. I generaly found it easier to do it with Laharl + a couple elixirs if needed. You might need to be aware of CT mechanisms (credits : /u/VicariousEXP), because when you see the black mage about to launch PATK shield, it's better to heal or do nothing to act early during your next action. If you are a bit late and need to sacrify a character, at least spread them out to avoid AJ7000 deadly AoE. Imho this is the hardest phase because timing is so difficult to get. But it's also the most rewarding phase.
• Priority 4 : Bradley is a walk in the park, just freeze him with your mexican army of chronomancers. To freeze him you can AT LAST leave Waginau safe zone.
• Priority 5 : THEN you freeze Waginau. Then you destroy Bradley & Waginau with anything alive on your side. I think that when they are frozen you can basically kill them with 100% hit rate. 
• ​Additional tip 1 : u/vicariousexp's help has been invaluable. His thread is a must read, in particular for initial placement of your troops. Thank you, couldn't have made it without you : https://www.reddit.com/r/AlchemistCodeGL/comments/9vsj0c/flame_hawk_ex_tips_for_fire_unit_milestone_clear/?utm_source=reddit-android
• Additional tip 2 : as black mage spams PATK and MATK shield, I found it best to have either a pure physical or pure magical team. Lacking Noctis & Othima, I went the physical way.
• Additional tip 3 : Vermins, Archers & Edwards are susceptible to charm, so loincloth + AoE effect (such as Roxanne grenades) can occasionally make your life far easier.
• Additional tip 4 : several interesting videos https://www.reddit.com/r/AlchemistCodeGL/comments/9vwgiz/tac_fire_only_the_fullmetal_alchemist_code_ex/ making good use of Lupinus & Chihaya and https://www.reddit.com/r/AlchemistCodeGL/comments/9xz1a9/tac_no_items_water_team_the_fullmetal_alchemist/ making good use of Reagan, although if you don't have Noctis or Othima I wouldn't advise going the magical way
• Additional tip 5 : if you go the Roxanne machinist way, booster +2 and all-natural talents still gives 150+ AGI, she can first destroy the robot and possibly charm the archer, AND then use a tezla grenade to stun edward & 2 vermins coming from the right side which also destroys PATK shield, after which charged-up laharl can one-shot them wih Overlord.
• Additional tip 6 : You need lots of chronomancers for the last phase of the combat. That's why my subs where HB with chronomancer sub. Reagan is awesome here, capable to kill the robot THEN daze/bind archers (very useful to catch up when you feel behind) THEN freeze Bradley/Waginau. 
• Additional tip 7 : Chihaya helps a lot. She can dance early, she can freeze & hit late, and she can reasonably tank if needed. Awesome.

PRIDE & WRATH EX+

Time to clear : 2 tries (30 min) just to clear the level. After the previous level, you understanding of the game has increased dramatically. You can pact/pat yourself until end of time and stomp anything that comes your way

Difficulty level : 2 on a scale of 1 to 5 (at the level of "regular" EX+ levels)

Frustration level : 2 on a scale of 1 to 5

Key principles :

• Priority 1 : Try to make your way to Roy/Demon/Rita/Alphonse and charge-up AoE effect asap (Laharl, Setsuna, Noctis, Othima, lost of units will work). Actually the most difficult on the map is to manage to pass through the popping rabbits.
• Priority 2 : On the right side I used an Uzuma which can easily kill Bradley, step on the blue circle and join the rest of the group. I think any HB or tanky units will do.
• Honestly bring your best units and let the carnage begin, to evacuate frustration from the previous level. 
• Additional tip 1 : Demon & Alphonse will likely remain last and have a truckload of HP. I managed to solo both of them with Eve as long as you accumulate enough jewels + strong potions. So make sure you include them in your earliest nukes.
• Additional tip 2 : interesting videos for dark only team and thunder only team, making use of tanky merchant Aruba. Didn't help me a lot though, as I just plowed through with Laharl - Roxanne - Lofia - Uzuma - Laharl merc.

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That's it ! I wish the best luck in that memorable challenge ! Please share your tips for the brave players who will attempt the challenge in the last days of the collab !