War story bottleneck review: Clear a path and protect your healersMinor spoilers
When elephants fill narrow passages, fliers and an early retreat can rescue the formation. Fix positioning before chasing kills.
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When a large enemy blocks a narrow path, protect healers and the retreat route first, then send fliers around to reinforce. Make room before securing kills, and keep a backup finisher even at high Hit.
Protect healing and escape routes in narrow passages
In this War story battle, the first problem is not slightly low damage but crowding. 
Pugilist units block both sides ahead, and the healers behind are already in danger. I tend to play conservatively: protect the back line before finding room to advance. One strong fighter is no reason to squeeze the whole army into a choke point.
When key units are also at risk, activate a Blessing or change who blocks the way to create space to survive. Do not insist on one extra kill this turn and end up blocking both your healers and your retreat.
Use fliers to get around large units
Three large units ahead block the passage. Unless you deal with them, everyone else struggles to pass. Elephants continue blocking the way farther on, and revising the plan with every step makes the battle increasingly messy. Pull the trapped units out, then fight your way in gradually. That is clearer than adding more people to the same opening.
Fliers are especially important here. Once ground traffic jams, the two units able to go around find other positions to act from. Later, that mobility also lets you move someone to the side and save a use of long-range healing.
Keep a backup for high-accuracy misses
An attack with ninety-six percent Hit still misses, immediately disrupting the planned rhythm. When you are managing Blaze and competing for space, one miss makes the following moves even more cramped. If someone can remain available to finish the job, do not spend every action first and treat that hit as guaranteed.
Catch up underleveled regulars after battle
| Stage | Recommended level | Army condition |
|---|---|---|
| Before this battle | Level 39 | Some members are underleveled |
| Next map | Level 40 | Four regular members have fallen behind |
Catching up the units you regularly bring is safer than continuing to feed experience only to the strongest. This map took four hours altogether. Blocked routes and positioning problems cannot be solved merely by training one powerful frontliner.