Tombstone88

Well, if this is an engraving tier list, then this is roughly how I would categorize them: S-Tier: Sigurd, Lucina, and A-Tier: Marth, Leif, Lyn, Eirika, Micaiah, Edelgard/3H B-Tier: Roy, Ike, Byleth, Camilla, Tiki, Hector, Soren C-Tier: Corrin, Celica Explanations as for why I'd tier them as such: Sigurd: The only emblem that increases Might while decreasing Weight, AND it gives +20 Avoid. It's perfect for Avoid tanks like Lapis or for units with shaky Build stats. Lucina: +30 Hit and +30 Avoid is an insanely good combo. Excellent for any and all Avoid-based units. Marth: Good general-purpose engraving, but the bonuses are pretty minor in comparison to some of the other engraving choices. Leif: Basically Marth, but it gives slightly stronger bonuses in exchange for a Weight penalty. Lyn: +40 Hit and +20 Crit is a great combo for killer weapons, particularly killer axes and killer bows. The -3 Might is a bit harsh, but 3 less damage on someone like Panette is a minor downside, especially when it leads to more consistent crits for triple damage. Eirika: Basically Lyn, but instead of reducing your damage it makes you really susceptible to counterattacks on enemy phase, so positioning is important. Micaiah: Excellent for Avoid tanking, but not good for damage or counterattacking. Edelgard/3H: Almost functionally equivalent to the Marth engraving, except it adds +1 Weight. Not enough of a penalty to separate them a tier, IMO. Roy/Ike: Both are situationally good; they pair well with thunder tomes, smash weapons, and brave lances. Halberdiers get Pincer Attack, which lets them quad with a brave lance regardless of Speed, so the Weight penalties are irrelevant for them. Byleth: Good engraving for enemy phase weapons like tomahawks, which want the extra Hit for accuracy and also want a little extra Avoid and Dodge for safety. Camilla: Pretty much a worse Eirika in my eyes; it gives +1 Might and +30 Crit, but it doesn't give any bonus Hit, so your accuracy (and thus consistency) is worse. It also has the Avoid and Dodge penalties. On units with Hit-boosting personal skills it could still be decent. Tiki/Hector/Soren: All functionally the same; they boost damage at the cost of Avoid and Dodge. Better player phase, worse enemy phase. Corrin: I find Corrin to be useful on exactly one weapon, and that's a killing edge. Sword users tend to favor Avoid, and the killing edge has the best accuracy of the killer weapons, so the lack of a Hit bonus is less problematic. Outside of this, I find it a very "meh" engraving. Celica: The Celica engraving is more a victim of circumstance. The bonuses would be quite handy in the mid-game, when you simultaneously start gaining heavier weapons and start encountering enemies with killer weapons. Sadly, because of... reasons, the engraving isn't available for the mid-game unless you prepare it ahead of time. In the early game the effect is basically irelevant and in the late-game its effect is too minor.

A few ideas I've been thinking of/testing out: 1.) Camilla with Griffon Knight Chloe - Chloe makes for a good Griffon Knight due to her decent Magic stat, but Griffon Knight as a class is somewhat limited in flexibility. Camilla greatly expands her kit, giving her access to an extra 3 Movement, axes to cover against enemy lance users, and a magical brave effect weapon. The +5 Speed at max bond rank is also helpful, as it helps to ensure Chloe consistently doubles. Wish flying wasn't limited to the healing dragon vein, but oh well. 2.) Hector with Great Knight Goldmary - Goldmary is a solid tank, especially when re-classed to Great Knight. Her decent base Speed is usually offset by her lower growth, so doubling is an issue for her. Great Knight also has the trouble of being at risk from weapon breaks. Hector solves both of these issues while also further increasing her bulk. Hector also gives her access to axes; if you stick with swords and lances for her two primary weapons, she has complete weapon triangle coverage. Honestly, Hector probably pairs well with anyone who classes as Great Knight, but Goldmary sticks out as one of the better options for this set-up. 3.) Soren with a Qi Adept - So Soren's Flare skill gives 100% HP recovery when used with a Qi Adept. If you were to use a Qi Adept with high Magic, good Speed, and decent bulk (a re-classed Ivy; maybe Anna?), engage, and run into the middle of a group of enemies, you should theoretically be nearly impossible to kill. Pair this with Vantage and Hold-Out and I find it hard to believe that the enemy would ever be able to take you down. I have yet to actually put this one into practice, but I want to try it; on paper, it should work, just as Nosferatu tanking has in previous games.

I've encountered lots of minor things, like clipping issues and lag spikes (especially on Chapter 14 and the Camilla map in DLC wave 2). Outside of these, I've had a few things happen to me personally. 1.) When attacking an enemy on a staircase tile with a cavalry or flier unit, if the unit kills them with a single attack they'll often do a quick charge swipe animation. This animation breaks the camera on the staircase tiles and causes it to lose track of where the action is. And lord help you if you're using a flier and they get a crit; the camera will just give up at that point. Fortunately, it only affects that one combat instance, so no major problems with this one. 2.) One time (and only once so far), I attacked a boss character and Panette ended up killing the boss with a chain attack axe toss. The boss kill animation played, but then the game sort of just froze there, not advancing to the defeat dialogue or the exp screen. I had to press the + button to skip, which fortunately did fix it. 3.) Twice I've had Somniel activities also just sort of freeze up and not advance, forcing me to press + to skip to the conclusion. 4.) Not really a bug, but I noticed that a couple of the Somniel mini-games (notably the training ones like push-ups) have noticeable input delay. It doesn't occur in other parts of the game or in other games, so it's not a controller issue. There's just a definite delay between when I press the button and when it registers in the mini-game. Also, I've heard that if you use the retry feature, you keep the EXP from a battle. Apparently, sometimes when you level up and then retry, you lose the stat gains from the level up. I have never used the retry feature, so I cannot confirm or deny if this actually is a thing that happens. Just something to be aware of.

For weapons, I find that steel, killer, and magic weapons typically give the most bang for the buck. Steel gives good Might and Hit while not being too heavy or too expensive to forge. Killer weapons aren't too expensive to forge and make for crit machines. Magic weapons exploit the enemy's typically lower resistances. For tomes, it's all about Thunder. Most mages aren't fast enough to double anything faster than armors on Maddening, and 3 range + high damage is great. If you're feeling cheesy, you can manipulate the game's RNG to rig an Olwen S bond ring and gain access to Dire Thunder. As for engravings: Roy/Ike (+Might, +Weight) - Best used on Thunder tomes. Micaiah/Lucina (+Avoid mostly) - Excellent on daggers; thieves like Yunaka can become nigh untouchable with enough Avoid stacking. Lyn/Eirika (+Crit mostly) - Excellent on killer weapons for getting those juicy high crit chances. Marth/Sigurd (+Might, no penalties) - Good for general-purpose weapons. Leif/Byleth (+Hit mostly) - Good for low accuracy weapons like Tomahawks. Corrin/Celica - Not sure, I've actually never used these engravings on any of my playthroughs.

Alear on my last playthrough got massively RNG screwed (6 Defense at Level 20), so I reclassed him to Thief. Gave him Yunaka's steel dagger (engraved for extra Avoid), threw on Corrin's ring, and kept on the Avoid bonuses from Marth (+10 initially, then up to +20). Alear wasn't MVP of combat, but the Avoid stacking combined with fog support from Corrin at least kept him alive so he wasn't a burden all playthrough. Overall though, I'd say Divine Dragon is a solid all-around class choice. Corrin and Byleth's dragon bonuses are really good, so liberal abuse of these emblems is reason enough to stay in the class. I feel like Wolf Knight could make for a good reclass (mobility, 1-2 range daggers, can still use swords). I might give that a go on my 3rd playthrough.

I've just finished two playthroughs, my first on Hard and my second on Maddening. Best (1st Playthrough): 1.) Chloe - I always have a soft spot for fliers in FE, and Chloe didn't disappoint. She was basically carrying the team during the mid-game. Fell off a bit late-game, but she did her part. 2.) Goldmary - I had trained Lapis up since her join chapter, but Goldmary was already stronger in every meaningful way on joining. Goldmary's first 5 level ups were all near-perfect level-ups, cementing her spot in my team. She absolutely annihilated the late-game threats for me. 3.) Panette - One-shots are fun. 4.) Alcryst - His growths surprised me, and he procs Luna more often than I initially thought he would. Paired with Byleth, he was an excellent back-line support. Worst (1st Playthrough): 1.) Clanne - I fed him kills for the first 10 chapters only for Ivy to join in Chapter 11 and outclass him completely. He couldn't even keep up with Celine, and she was only mediocre on my first playthrough. 2.) Etie - She seemed okay when she joined, but by Chapter 8 half the enemies could one-round her. Her speed and defense are just too low. Disappointing (1st Playthrough): 1.) Diamant - When I saw his bases I thought 'oh yeah, he's for sure on my main team.' His first six level-ups were all abysmal. RNG definitely screwed me with Diamant on my first run. 2.) Alfred - I tried using him, but he was getting doubled by everything. On Chapter 11 I messed up my positioning and the Sigurd knight one-shot him, and I couldn't be bothered to restart. Best (2nd Playthrough): 1.) Diamant - Complete opposite of my first run. His first six level-ups were all amazing and he became a juggernaut. Paired with Ike, he was nearly unkillable. 2.) Alfred - I learned from my mistakes on my first run and instead embraced his slow nature. I early promoted him and then re-classed to Great Knight. He and Diamant made a powerful front line force. 3.) Panette - One-shots are still fun. Worst (2nd Playthrough): 1.) Alear - He had 6 defense at level 20. 6 defense. Level 20. Completely RNG screwed. 2.) Clanne - I thought 2 stats was the minimum on level-up in Engage. Clanne this playthrough taught me that was not the case. Twice in a row, in fact. Disappointing (2nd Playthrough): 1.) Boucheron - I thought I'd give him a shot after benching him early my first playthrough. After six chapters, I came to the conclusion that my decision to bench him early my first playthrough was a good call. 2.) Jade - I figured I'd give Jade a shot since I didn't want to use Louis two runs in a row. It quickly became apparent that Jade is just a worse Louis, with her only redeeming quality being her slightly better Resistance.

This is just speculating the potential roles for the 4 new characters on Maddening mode. Where they fit in, when to recruit, what classes to go for, etc.Yuri:Bases[Growths]:HP: 24[30%] Str: 10[40%] Mag: 7[35%] Dex: 8[40%] Spd: 9[65%] Luck: 7[45%] Def: 5[30%] Res: 6[35%] Cha: 7[50%]Strengths: Swords, Reason, Faith, AuthorityWeaknesses: Lances, Axes, Riding, FlyingBudding Talent: Bows [Deadeye]Ability: Honorable Spirit [+3 Damage when attacking an enemy in melee with no other units next to him/her]Crest: Major Crest of Aubin [Chance to prevent enemy counterattack]Thoughts: Yuri is very similar to Petra statistically. He's actually has a higher Speed and Res growth than her, although his HP growth is worse. His weakness in both Riding and Flying means you're probably sticking to the ground. I see him falling into either Sniper or Assassin as his preferred classes. Sniper optimizes his offense, giving him 3 Range and access to Hunter's Volley once mastered. Assassin lets him fall into the role of dodge tank, though he'll almost certainly not be able to get Alert Stance+. You should be able to get regular Alert Stance in a reasonable time frame though.Balthus:Bases[Growths]:HP: 28[50%] Str: 11[50%] Mag: 5[30%] Dex: 4[25%] Spd: 7[30%] Luck: 3[20%] Def: 7[45%] Res: 4[30%] Cha: 4[30%]Strengths: Swords, Axes, Fists, Faith, Heavy ArmorWeaknesses: Lances, Bows, FlyingBudding Talent: Reason [Black Magic Crit +10]Ability: King of Grappling [Strength and Defense +6 when at less than 50% max HP]Crest: Major Crest of Chevalier [Chance to restore HP when hitting Combat Arts]Thoughts: The first comparison my mind makes is to Caspar. Statistically, Balthus is better in almost every way. Balthus has better bases all around, better growths in Strength and Defense, neutral Authority, Rally Strength, a Crest, and a Hero's Relic. Caspar has better Speed and Dex, so he'll be slightly faster and more accurate. The former doesn't matter much on Maddening, making the latter the more significant advantage. I see very little reason to use Caspar when playing Crimson Flower now that Balthus is around. Silver Snow is a bit more of a grey area, but Balthus will still overall be better. For Blue Lions and Golden Deer, Balthus will make an excellent replacement for Dedue/Raphael when approaching the end of Part 1. War Master and Fortress Knight are the two obvious class choices for Balthus, with War Monk and Grappler being notable options as well.Constance:Bases[Growths]:HP: 23[20%] Str: 4[20%] Mag: 11[60%] Dex: 6[30%] Spd: 6[35%] Luck: 4[15%] Def: 3[15%] Res: 4[30%] Cha: 6[25%]Strengths: Swords, Reason, Authority, FlyingWeaknesses: Axes, Heavy ArmorBudding Talent: Fists [Aura Knuckles]Ability: Circadian Beat [+3 Str/Def in dark areas/indoors, +3 Def/Res in sunny areas]Crest: Major Crest of Noa [Chance to conserve Black Magic use on attacking]Thoughts: Statistically, Constance actually isn't very good. With the exception of Magic, all of her growths are below average for a mage. Her bases are actually really bad; I believe they're the lowest of any mage. She's way too frail to take advantage of her budding talent, which she can't even really use unless she goes War Cleric. Her two strengths are fairly obvious: Her damage output, and Bolting. She'll hit about as hard as Lysithea (about 2 damage less on average), and Bolting gives her siege range for attacking and supporting. Due to her poor non-Magic stats and reliance on Bolting, it might honestly be ideal to keep her as Warlock. It gets Black Tomefaire and Double Black Magic Uses, so she can drop 4 high-damage Boltings per battle (possibly more if her crest procs). Because her bases are pathetic, it's probably best to wait until later in Part 1 to recruit her.Hapi:Bases[Growths]:HP: 26[35%] Str: 6[35%] Mag: 11[45%] Dex: 8[45%] Spd: 6[40%] Luck: 4[20%] Def: 4[15%] Res: 7[45%] Cha: 4[25%]Strengths: Reason, Riding, FlyingWeaknesses: Fists, Authority, Heavy ArmorBudding Talent: Axes [Exhaustive Strike]Ability: Monstrous Appeal [Deals effective damage to monsters; monsters more likely to attack her]Crest: Major Crest of Timotheos [Chance to conserve White Magic use on casting]Thoughts: Hapi is a fairly solid mage. She has average bases and growths for a mage, with the exception of her unusually high Strength. It's not enough to really be a hybrid fighter, but it might help her cancel out Dark Magic's high weight and maybe keep her from being doubled. The most annoying thing statistically is her Authority weakness. Her spell list is extremely good; Dark Magic, Physic and Warp are all great. Blue Lions lack a Dark Magic user and a Warp user, both of which Hapi has. She's a likely early pick-up for them as such. Not sure about the other 2 houses yet. I'm also not sure on her ideal final class. It seems like a toss-up between Valkyrie for range and Dark Knight for damage.

-I too love that magical Hilda. Bolting is good fun. -Bishop Ignatz is a surprisingly effective support unit. -Bow Knight Mercedes. It's really annoying to pull off, but having an 8 Movement, 4 Range magic attacker is good fun.

Having played through Crimson Flower on Maddening, I'd say Sniper mastery definitely deserves to move up. With how fast a lot of the enemies are, Combat Arts with Brave weapon effects are invaluable. Hunter's Volley gives that plus extra Might, Hit and Crit. And you can do it with a Silver Bow, which is more damage than a Brave Bow, or a Killer Bow, which is better for landing crits. Shamir was easily one of my best damage dealers on Maddening, and I can tell you with certainty that Hunter's Volley was 80% of the reason for that. It's not as good as the Blow skills, but I could see it easily slotting into Upper Mid in terms of usefulness.

If we're talking about Maddening difficulty, then I'd say my Crimson Flower ranking would be: 14.) Land of the Golden Deer (Lorenz): Provided you're fine with Warp-skipping, this is an easy one turn battle. 13.) Death Toll (Ignatz/Raphael): Same as Lorenz's basically, except the boss is slightly harder to kill. 12.) An Ocean View (Seteth/Flayn): The difficult terrain actually works in the player's favor for once. 11.) Rumored Nuptials (Ingrid/Dorothea): This one is hard if you try to do it too early. Otherwise, it's more tedious than anything. 10.) Tales of the Red Canyon (Sothis): Not too bad, provided you have Byleth in a good class like Peg Knight. 9.) Sword and Shield of Seiros (Shamir/Alois): This was the last Part 1 Paralogue I did, so my opinion may be skewed; regardless, it wasn't too bad at the point in which I did it. 8.) Foreign Land and Sky (Petra/Bernadetta): This one is tricky to rate because its difficulty comes from Metaknowledge. If you know that the initial objective is a bald-faced lie, then you can take your time and prepare for it properly. Without said knowledge in hand, this chapter is a giant middle finger to the player. 7.) The Forgotten (Sylvain): If you don't know what you're doing, this map can be a pain. With a proper plan, it's not so bad. 6.) Oil and Water (Hanneman/Manuela): This chapter is a legitimate pain if you don't train Manuela at all. It's not the worst, but I wouldn't call it easy either. 5.) Darkness Beneath the Earth (Hubert): Completing this chapter isn't too bad; completing this chapter and keeping enough mages alive for the reward is annoying. 4.) Legend of the Lake (Leonie/Linhardt): Fog of War. 3.) Insurmountable (Edelgard): This chapter is a complete chore. The enemy reinforcements are by far the worst part. I pretty much had to resort to Warp abuse. The chapter doesn't even give you a good reward to make the hassle worth it. 2.) Forgotten Hero (Marianne): Fog of War and enemies that ORKO a stranded character that needs to survive. 1.) True Chivalry (Felix): Definitely the worst of the ones I did, IMO. Keeping everyone (including Rodrigue, who can die on turn 1) alive for the Aegis Shield was probably the hardest part of my Maddening run. I restarted this chapter more times than any other. I somehow forgot to recruit Ashe, so I didn't do his Paralogue. I can't say anything about the other routes, as I have yet to play them on Maddening.

A question: Does this take into account the recruitment differences of the various routes? By that, I mean how certain characters (Hilda, Catherine, etc.) cannot be recruited at all/until very late on certain routes (mainly Black Eagles). There is a significant enough difference between, say, Blue Lions Hilda and Silver Snow Hilda to warrant 2 separate placements, IMO.

I know that the -faire skills and the weapon critical skills all stack, while Fiendish Blow does not. Vantage is a conditional skill, so stacking it doesn't really matter. The only other skill I'm not sure about is Weight -5. You can stack Weight -3 and Weight -5, so I don't see why you wouldn't be able to stack Weight -5 (Fortress Knight) and Weight -5 (A+ Heavy Armor). That said, I've never bothered using Fortress Knight long enough to actually test if it works.

Just wanted to chime in that I'm doing Black Eagles (currently just finished Chapter 13 of Crimson Flower), and I can state that, at least in my opinion, Sothis's paralogue was one of the easier ones to complete. The two paralogues that really gave me difficulty were Ingrid's (first one that unlocked; not a good idea to do it right away) and Felix's (keeping everyone alive, Rodrigue included, was a pain in the ass).