Welcome to the most annoying mission of the entire DLC. Part of this is due to the way fog works, not allowing you to see nearby buildings to satisfy one of the challenges. You must still be a little bold in order to secure the final building before destroying enough of the enemy.
In order to pass this mission with all challenges, I whip out an extremely old Advance Wars strategy: the crawling zombie. Essentially, we spam the map with Lancers, using them to capture buildings out of necessity while still packing a decent punch. Since they are so immobile though, we crank out loads of waves of them so it is an unending onslaught that the enemy simply cannot contend with. This strikes way too close to home as the "Zap Branigan strategy" which is why I don't like to use it often, but you can definitely see its effectiveness here. ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6P5Ar_IH2NQ
Here we have what is sort of a micro-chapter and might ultimately be filler/fan-service in the bigger picture of things. Essentially, we get more time with Michiho and Douryou (as the thumb nail reveals...) and a notice arrives for them. We have to go to where everything started in order to rescue them and learn about what could very well be the titular Death Mark for this game...
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISjJ1Uq9CnU
We have a new circle of gyms to tackle, and this time we need to go through a strange forest to reach the next town. It takes me a moment to learn the trick to it, but we managed to speed through and reach a very small city. However, there is a gym, so we need to go in and show those fairies what is up.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2Cljf-dVkc
The big obstacle at the start of this video is me getting the Diglett that I plan to carry through the rest of the game. I am not familiar with natures, so the one I end up starting with is a pretty bad one, forcing me to return and get one without a debilitating nature. From there, we foray out into a ship to learn a new move and then take on Surge.
At the end of the Surge fight, there should be a minute of missing audio that I am cutting due to copyright. Just a heads up.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_lYIJdLkI78
With Orchis Tower resolved, we have some additions to our crew and a couple stops to make before we can actually start the Third Rivalry. Luckily, it doesn't take too long, but the scenes may interest people so you can see the last of the moving parts in the background before we reach the final act.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KcboUZMCNzI
As you may have guessed, I did not realize that this was a survival type gauntlet until the very end (when I was scored). I would have loved for there to have been at least one Archelon in this mode to allow you to resupply on the move.
So the premise here is that Caesar has left WarGroove behind and entered Tiny Metal. We need to help him get home, meaning he and Nora team up to confront a mysterious enemy and learn a little more about Metalclyon in the process. I do not know if there is a way to slow down the text, so I struggle to read things as they happen. You may need to pause to find out what exactly is going on.
Now, I have no intention of going back and getting a higher score unless it turns out this is somehow involved with the 3 missing heroes. I am suspecting there to be more DLC down the road that will unlock them, meaning we will just need to sit back and see what the future holds.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VWpQc6lVwsQ
We have a core game challenge to bring the year to an end. The Freedom Five in their variants against Omnitron II at Wagner Mars Base. There is a lot of destruction in these two decks, so be careful when trying to set up.
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSJ4yOGdVeA
We have arrived at the enemy stronghold, and the first step is forcing our way in. We have to fight on different terrain as we make our way forward. And when we reach the end, we lose a pair of party members. With a little hope, maybe they'll be able to rejoin us for the final battle...
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0UuyuNOhRaA
This is technically still making the jump, as whether or not you do it, Shizuka will, and then you jump after her. By waiting, we end up in a different place than we would by pushing the button alone. I don't think there is actually a way to play the game with her unless you disable Dai, so you don't have to worry about the game at all. Nevertheless, this is the first "happy" ending we've come across. Don't worry, I have another for you guys...
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=whEVVueZ6P0
Some neat facts here: this video was over an hour long with the random battles in it, because they are that numerous. Second, this is when I am finally losing my patience with the game. Instead of choosing to play these like the traditional games of old, you will see me gradually remove the gloves against the boss, and it will be only a matter of time until I start approaching all of them similarly. Third, this boss is a pretty popular choice for one of Ochette's monsters. I don't remember what it does off hand, but I keep hearing its name come up on recommendation lists.
As for the graveyard itself, you can access it from Montwise and it has a powerful sword for any sword users, which I imagine most people will give to Hikari. The sword does have a drawback, but it is pretty rare from my testing. There are a few additional pieces of loot to be had here and there, but as we enter the final stretch of the game, everything here will be very quickly obsolete, so it is up to you if you want to bother making the trip at all. If you can get here early enough and use swords often, it can be worthwhile. Just be mindful that the warrior sword skill will triple the chances of buffing the enemy with every strike...
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPnF01cQqJQ