DriftingWaterBottle

5 / 10 on Hard The good: Excellent Spd & Chm growth and good HP growth. Interesting Faith spell list, notably having access Warp and Silence, although sadly no Physic, which limits her flexibility as a utility unit. Proficiency in Faith and joining with B rank, which help to certify Bishop and don't take too long to learn Warp. Proficiency in Flying and joining with D Flying and C+ Sword help with Peg/Falcon class progression, which sync with her Spd & Chm growth for a good dodge tank potential. Personal ability that grants Crit Avo +10 to adjacent units, which is situationally useful to manipulate enemy Crit, although not something to actively plan around. Rally Charm at Authority D, useful to manipulate gambit dmg/hit/avo. Up to +3 Mt with Dorothea, useful on the field or as adjutant. The mixed: Learns Bolting at Reason A rank, which can be used to snipe across the map or as a utility unit with a linked attack bonus. Unfortunately she joins with an E rank during Ch8 and has a bane in Reason, thus needs some serious investment to be able to take advantage of it. Otherwise she only has Thunder and Bolganone in her Reason spell list. Learns Hexblade, which unfortunately sync better with a high Mag unit than a low Mag/high Spd unit like her or Ingrid. The not-so-good: Unimpressive base stats as a Ch8 recruit. Lacklustre Mag & Str growth, which limits her offensive potential and Warp range, although the former is partially mitigated by her doubling more often than most mages. Authority E when joining at Ch8, thus needs to catch up with in-house members. Only has Priest unlocked and no Axe, Bow or Reason rank, thus takes more time to catch up with her class masteries. Her Reason bane is also annoying for most offensive magic class certifications. No crest, thus penalty when using Thyrsus or other relics.

5.5 / 10 on Hard The good: Solid Mag base for a Ch8 recruit and good Mag growth for a magic-oriented unit. Interesting Reason spell list, including Meteor, 3-range Thoron, high Mt Ragnarok, and accurate wind spells. Proficiency in Reason and Riding, and joins with B rank in Reason and Mage class unlocked, which help with Warlock and Dark Knight certification. Minor crest of Indech, thus no penalty using Thyrsus. The activation rate of occasionally double attacking with a magic weapon is too low to rely on. Rally Magic as personal ability, situationally useful to help his mage teammates. Learns Schism Shot and Ward Arrow as personal combat arts, can debuff Res or Silence enemies at distance. The mixed: Can do Magic Bow Sniper build (or Bow Knight on Hard) thanks to his high Mag growth, proficiency in Bow and joining with C+ rank at base, but no magic Bow combat art and the limited availability of arcane crystals and Magic Bow before Ch16 can be annoying, assuming no DLC. Unexceptional Faith spell list, with basic Heal/Nosferatu/Recover and Ward being situationally useful, no Physic or other noteworthy utility spells. The not-so-good: Low Spd even among mages. Only learns Battalion Desperation which doesn’t sync with his Spd at all. Needs to catch up with his class masteries compared to in-house members. Authority D when joining at Ch8, still needs to catch up with in-house members.

5.5 / 10 on Hard The good: Good Mag, Res & Chm growth for a magic-oriented unit. An accurate, although somewhat unexceptional 2-range Reason spell list including Excalibur for Flying effective damage. An interesting Faith list with utility spells like Restore, Rescue and Fortify, although sadly no Physic. Proficiency in Faith, budding talent in Reason, and joins with C+ Faith, which help with certifying Bishop and Gremory. Major crest of Cethleann to occasionally raise Mt when healing, and no penalty using Thyrsus or other relics. Personal ability that “grants” more bulk to all adjacent units, which is situationally useful entering mid-game. Up to +3 Mt with Byleth and Seteth. Therefore she can at least always be useful as adjutant and can immediately fly thanks to her joining with Pegasus Knight effectively unlocked. The mixed: Learns Frozen Lance which sync well with her good Mag growth and mitigates her unimpressive Spd. Peg Knight unlocked at base also helps with accessing Falcon. However, she learns it at A Lance and joins with C+ rank, which will still take some time even with her proficiency in Lance. Moreover, since there’s no flying mage class in base game, she can’t contribute much on the field as a Peg Knight before learning Frozen Lance, and her damage output is limited by the lack of flying +Mag battalion in base game. The not-so-good: Riding bane and joins with E rank, which makes it more difficult for her to access Dark Knight if one wants to take full advantage of Rescue and mitigate her lack of Physic, or Paladin if one wants to maximise her Frozen Lance damage with grounded +Mag battalions (RIP no Dark Flier or Nuvelle Flier co in base game). Effectively joins at Ch7 with an unimpressive base and E rank Authority, thus needs to catch up with in-house members. Also needs to grind Monk and Mage. Unimpressive Spd growth, although it can be partially mitigated by grinding Peg Knight as an adjutant. Only learns Battalion Renewal and Rally Luck. The latter can be used to manipulate Crit Avo, but personally I still think it’s too niche compared to some of the other Rally abilities.

7 / 10 on Hard The good: Solid stats, especially good Str as a Ch6 recruited canon archer, also joins with Archer and Sniper unlocked, the latter of which is a pretty good end game class. Proficiency in Bow and joins with A rank, can get Bow Crit and Bowfaire relatively early if staying in Sniper for end game class and mostly focusing on training Bow. Up to +3 Mt with Catherine on non-CF routes Joins with at least Lance C+ rank and proficiency in Lance, can help with Bow Knight or Falcon certification if desired. Bow Knight works pretty well on Hard; Falcon is OK but doesn’t stand out among other candidates because of her unexceptional Spd growth and no noteworthy niche. The mixed: Personal ability that grants +4 bonus on Str, Mag, Spd & Dex if she secures a kill during player phase. Her enemy phase is not outstanding because of her just ok Spd growth especially if not in Falcon, and no Battalion Vantage or Wrath skill to help either, but with a Dancer support it’s still exploitable during PP as Bow Knight or Sniper. Situationally useful Combat Arts: Monster Blaster can break barriers when needed and is available at base. Heavy Draw is situationally useful to do more damage when unable to double and before mastering Sniper. Hit & Run and Lance Jab generally sync better with a higher Spd growth than her. D rank Authority at Ch6, still needs to catch up compared to some of the in-house members, but not too far behind and the burden of investment can be partially mitigated if staying in Sniper for end game class. The not-so-good: No Axe rank when joining, thus needs to catch up to certify Brigand compared to in-house members. Unexceptional Str & Spd growth for a physical unit, but not particularly problematic on Hard, especially after mastering Sniper. Needs to go back to master Fighter and Archer if one wants to improve her flexibility and reliability. No crest, thus penalty when using relic, although it’s not that relevant if she primarily uses a bow. Only learns Battalion Desperation which doesn’t sync particularly well with her Spd growth.

6.5 / 10 on Hard AM/VW The good: Very good base Str & Spd and class as a Ch4 & 5 recruit, although some planning around her support level might be needed. Good Str & Spd growth for a melee unit. Major crest of Charon with high activation rate to raise Mt with combat arts, and no penalty using relics. Personal ability that gives more bulk when not equipping a battalion, situationally useful in early game. Joins with Sword A and Axebreaker, can bait Axe enemies relatively safely in early game if needed. Bane of Monsters is also situationally useful for monsters. Battalion Vantage at Authority C, situationally useful if stacking Crit. Up to +3 Mt with Shamir The mixed: Learns interesting Brawling Combat Arts - Nimbo Combo and Bombard, which sync well with her Crest and she has proficiency and good base rank (at least C) in Brawling, but the only optimal Brawling class available for female units is in DLC, which limits her potential in base game. The not-so-good: No Axe, Bow, Lance or Flying base rank when joining, thus needs to catch up for Brigand, Archer or Pegasus certification compared to in-house members. No proficiency in skills that help to access Canto classes or other strong end game classes, although Swordmaster or Assassin are still pretty ok on Hard.

8 / 10 on Hard AM/VW The good: Good HP and Excellent Spd growth when factoring in Aptitude Joins with at least C rank for Axe and Bow: guaranteed certification for Brigand and Archer, and very close to learn Point-Blank Volley. Proficiency in Lance, Axe, Bow, Riding and Flying: can access Wyvern, Paladin or Bow Knight relatively quickly. Interesting personal combat arts: Point-Blank Volley for automatic double, and can learn it earlier than other doubling art users. Vengeance for one hit big damage, although he learns it later than Bernie and Dedue. Monster Breaker situationally useful to break barriers The mixed: No crest, thus penalty when using relics, but can be beneficial for Vengeance build The not-so-good: Underwhelming base as a Ch5 recruit, although he can soon get rolling if rushing for PBV. Effectively no personal ability to boost combat performance on the field. 40% Str growth when factoring in Aptitude, not ideal for a physical unit, but not too problematic on Hard. Missing Authority ranks compared to in-house members, although it's partially mitigated by his relevant proficiencies and base skill ranks.

I think Dorothea only gives a Goddess ring with her paralogue (not counting rewards associated with Ingrid)? The opera dancing battalion is given by Dorothea or Manuela when either one of them gets near the opera house on the Enbarr map and triggers the special dialogue, if I'm not mistaken. (I agree with the larger point that paralogues provide valuable resources.)

7.5 / 10 on Hard The good: Solid stat and class for a physical unit recruited at Ch12, with respectable growth of HP, Str, Spd and Chm. Proficiencies in Lance, Axe, Authority and Flying, and at good ranks when joining: relatively close to learn Swift Strikes, can immediately certify Brigand and equip strong battalions, and not too difficult to certify Wyvern Lord later on. Interesting personal Combat Arts: Swift Strikes for automatic consecutive double attack Monster Piercer which is situationally useful to break barriers Major crest of Cichol, sync well with Swift Strikes for a solid chance to prevent enemy counter attack, and free to use relics. Personal ability that grants +3 Mt to adjacent female units, and a special bond with Flayn that grants up to +3 Mt to each other. Learns Battalion Wrath which could work with a dodge tank build, but I’ve never tried it. Probably not as efficient as Petra. The not-so-good: While he’s immediately useable when joining, to reach his full potential, he still needs a few aux battles or mission battles to master at least Brigand, as well as Archer and Soldier if one wants to improve his reliability and flexibility. Bane in Riding and joins at E rank. Even though he already has Cavalier class unlocked, he still needs some investment to access Paladin if one wants to maximise his Swift Strikes damage output.

9 / 10 on Hard The good: A good early game physical unit, thanks to her solid Str, excellent Spd & Def, and Tempest Lance at base. Rivalry to further improve her offense and defence when adjacent to a male unit, especially handy in early game. Solid Def and exceptional Spd growth for a physical unit. The later can also contribute to a good dodge tank potential if flying. Proficiency in Lance, Bow & Riding, and no other bane: help with accessing Archer, Bow Knight, Peg/Falcon line and Mov+1, and not too difficult to go Wyvern. Interesting personal Combat Arts: Point-Blank Volley for automatic double, which allows her to use a Canto class as an archer. Lance Jab scaling off Spd, which sync with her Spd growth especially in a Falcon class progression. Break Shot at C+ Bow, can debuff at distance when needed and can be accessed relatively early. Monster Piercer, situationally useful to break monster barriers. Up to +3Mt with Alois, useful on the field or as adjutant. The mixed: Only learns Battalion Desperation, which can mimic PBV to avoid eating a counter attack as long as she can double, but it's less relevant if she's primarily using a bow. The not-so-good: No crest, thus penalty when using relics, although she doesn't rely on them that much if her build focuses on Bow. 40% Str growth. Not ideal for a physical unit, but on Hard it's not problematic.

I agree with previous commenters that the fake smile is to show that Claude is always putting up a friendly facade. Because of his biracial background, he's mistrusted in both sides of the mountain, which makes him feel very lonely despite the lack of physical isolation. In return he also doesn't trust anyone at the beginning of the game, since he'd never experienced being trusted himself. A friendly exterior helps with his self-preservation and later to manipulate others to advance his own ambition. As a result, he's also very conscious of the importance of one's image, which is reflected in his strategic thinking, like rallying around Byleth and the Church instead of himself and Leicester, bringing Almyran forces as a reinforcement to improve their reputation, or capitalising on Edelgard's war to boost his own influence in Fodlan despite him understanding that they share a similar goal. As for why his fake smile is noted in the prologue, I think it's to remind players of his friendly mask, as well as to foreshadow his arc of gradually placing his trust first on Byleth then on others. Kind of similar with Edelgard's "constantly evaluating" Byleth to foreshadow her later opening up to Byleth with her secrets/ambitions and reaching out to them as an ally, as well as Dimitri's "something dark underneath" for his descent in madness in the story. As for why Hilda noted it in their support, I think it's because Hilda is one of the most emotionally astute characters in the game, so she can look through his pretence. This can also be contrasted with the absence of other characters noticing his fake smile, to show that he's really good at his party guy persona and most people would genuinely think he's friendly, unless they have specific reasons to suspect his motive like Lorenz.

I agree with OP to a certain degree. I think Faerghus will likely declare war on Adrestia, if Dimitri manages to find the evidence that links Arundel to the Tragedy of Duscur. But for Faerghus to actively ally with the Church during the war between Adrestia and the Church, it's not a scenario that benefits Edelgard and TWSITD’s respective goals, hence Cornelia’s coup. In a hypothetical scenario, in which Dimitri successfully traced the Tragedy of Duscur back to Arundel without ever discovering Flame Emperor’s identity via the dagger (thus not clouded by his mixed emotion towards Edelgard), I think he would attempt to reveal this information publicly, as well as demand Adrestia to formally hand Arundel over to Faerghus for punishment. My reasoning is that, he’s generally very concerned about the concept of justice, and one of his primary goals at this point of the game is to clear Duscur’s name for the apparent regicide. He wasn’t able to do it before, because he lacked the authority at the time, and more importantly, he lacked the evidence. Now with the hypothetical evidence in hand, I think he’ll be determined enough to use his political power, which he had mostly left untouched at the beginning of the game. As for the reaction from Adrestia, I think they’ll refuse to hand over Arundel. Since Ionius had already been stripped off his power by Aegir & Co., and Aegir as the Prime Minister was shown to be easily manipulated, the real authority thus resides within Arundel as the regent of Adrestia. Assuming Edelgard hasn’t yet secured Hevring and Bergliez’s support to ascend the throne, Arundel really has no reason and no obligation to surrender to Faerghus. Even if Edelgard manages to secure her political power within Adrestia, Arundel and TWSITD are still valuable tools for her planned conflict with the Church, so I don’t think she’d hand him over either. Then we reach a stalemate between Adrestia and Faerghus. Personally, I think Faerghus is very susceptible of declaring war on Adrestia for being responsible of the regicide, as evidenced by the Duscur genocide during Rufus’ regency. Even if Dimitri manages to secure the throne from Rufus, his preference to retributive justice before his redemption arc, informed by Faerghus’ culture heavily emphasising on honouring and appeasing the dead, will make the war more likely than not. Edit: (I also think that the Church will likely sit it out until there is a more clear winner or benefit between these two, as shown by the Church’s behaviour during Faerghus’ independence war and the Church’s non intervention during the Duscur genocide. I initially thought the Church would sit it out like in the initial war of the eagle and the lion, but the reasoning @omegaxis1 provided for the Church to choose side is very convincing. So yes, the Church will probably ally with Faerghus if Dimitri declares war on Adrestia with the evidence that links Arundel to the regicide.) For Adrestia, I actually think they’re less likely to declare war on Faerghus in this case. Because for both Edelgard and Arundel/Thales, Rhea and the Church are their primary target. Weakening Adrestian forces before engaging with Rhea and the Church doesn’t seem a sensible choice, at least to me. If Adrestia declares the war, I think it’ll still be against the Church and they’ll more or less proceed like in the game. This will prompt Faerghus to ally with the Church to fight a common enemy in this hypothetical scenario, and will push Adrestia into a less favourable position militarily speaking, evidenced by the contrasting outlook after time skip in CF and non-CF routes. As a result, Cornelia’s presence and her planned coup in Faerghus is vital to prevent this inconvenient alliance between the Kingdom and the Church by further destabilising the former. If she ever catches wind of Dimitri finding the evidence and attempting to go public with it, I think she’ll enact the coup as soon as possible.

7.5 / 10 on Hard The good: Okay Str & Spd base for a melee unit and access to Tempest Lance to contribute to early game. Exceptional Spd growth and access to Darting Blow: good dodge tank potential and easy double on Hard. Good Res growth: less danger to bait enemy mages. Personal ability with +Hit & + Mt to gambit: good candidate for offensive gambit. Good Charm growth: sync well with her personal ability and less susceptible of enemy gambit as dodge tank. Proficiency in Sword, Lance, Riding & Flying, with D at base for the later two: easier access to Peg & Falcon line which sync well with mage killer/dodge tank build, or Mov+1 & Sword Prowess for a dodgy Dancer. Easy access to Paladin too, but she doesn’t have any tool that makes her excel at it. Minor Daphnel crest to occasionally boost Mt for combat arts: a nice bonus, although arguably doesn’t sync that well dodge tank build. No penalty when using various relics is handy. Battalion Desperation at Authority C : situationally useful to mimic brave combat arts as long as she’s capable of doubling. Rally Magic at Authority D : situationally useful to help her mage teammates. Up to +3 Mt with 2 in-house members, useful on the field or as adjutant. The mixed: Interesting Reason & Faith spell list, with high Crit Blizzard & Fimbulvetr, 3-range Thoron, as well as Physic and Seraphim. Neutral in Reason & Faith is not optimal, although she has other proficiencies required by Dark Knight. Low Mag growth is also not ideal, but on Hard she can double more often than other mages when I tried it a bit during mid-game. I don’t know how she fares for late game though, as I had already planned for the endgame team for story reasons during that run. Situationally useful personal Combat Arts: Burning Quake has good bonus, is effective to Dragon and scales off her Spd, but is limited by relic durability. Hit & Run with +Avo sync with her generally high Avo, although the repositioning is less relevant on a Canto class and it’s less powerful than Tempest Lance. Hexblade and Frozen Lance can be useful on armoured enemies, but the damage is still limited by her low Mag growth. Even if she goes through a magic class progression, because these combat arts don’t allow double attack, they still work better on a high Mag unit than a low Mag & high SPD unit like Ingrid. The not-so-good: Relatively low Str growth for a melee unit, might need some setup to improve her damage output. No brave combat art and no Battalion Wrath, thus more reliant on RNG than other units with similar growth like Leonie and Petra.

6.5 / 10 on Hard The good: Good Mag base and growth for a magic-oriented unit. Proficiency in Reason & Authority: ideal to learn spells more quickly and certify Warlock or Gremory, as well as easier access to strong battalions. Minor crest of Dominic: no penalty using Thyrsus, and very occasionally conserving a spell usage is a nice bonus. Rally Strength from personal ability and Speed at Authority C+: very useful to boost her teammates’ combat performance. An accurate, although unexceptional 2-range Reason list including Excalibur for effective flying damage (although overshadowed by relatively easy access to Bow). Up to +3 Mt with Mercedes and Gilbert, useful on the field or as adjutant. The mixed: Can go magic Axe build thanks to proficiency in Axe, Lightning Axe combat art at C+ Axe and good Mag growth, but each build has its pro & con, and magic axes’ relatively low accuracy may also require some attention to improve their reliability (Accuracy ring, prioritising high Hit battalions, or even a detour to Archer without DLC, etc). Wyvern has Axefaire and Flying Canto starting from Lv.20, but no access to spells, no available magic flying battalion assuming no DLC, limited Hit bonus from flying battalions, and Mercedes or Gilbert needs to fly if assigned as her adjutant. Dark Knight can potentially do more damage than Wyvern thanks to Mag+2 class boost and access to grounded magic battalions, as well as more Hit bonus from battalions, access to guard adjutant and retain her spell usage, but mobility will be a bit more limited than Wyvern, and she’ll need to raise Reason, Riding and Lance in addition to Axe and Authority, and there’s no mounted magic class before Lv.30 in vanilla base game. The not-so-good: A lacklustre Faith spell list, no Physic or other noteworthy utility-oriented spells. Low Spd growth among mages, thus lower potential to double some of the non-armour enemies on Hard.

6.5 / 10 on Hard: The good: A Faith spell list that looks like a first aid kit, with Physic, Restore and Fortify. A reliable, although somewhat unexceptional 2-range Reason list, with Thunder and most fire spells including high Mt Ragnarok. Good Mag & Res base and growth for a magic-oriented unit, can bait mages on Hard if needed. Proficiency in Reason & Faith: ideal for a female mage to learn spells quickly and to certify Bishop and Gremory. Learns Waning Shot from unlocking budding talent in Bow, can debuff enemy Str at range. Minor crest of Lamine: no penalty using Thyrsus is handy, and very occasionally conserves a heal usage is a nice surprise. Live to Serve: situationally useful to regain HP when healing others, although generally she sees fewer direct combats as a ranged magic or utility unit. Up to +3 Mt with Annette, useful to boost each other's combat performance on the field or as adjutant. The mixed: Can go Magic Bow Sniper thanks to budding talent in Bow and good Mag growth, which offers more range than her spells and guaranteed double once mastered the class (or Bow Knight on Hard if willing to work with her Riding neutral and Lance bane). But the availability of arcane crystal can be a concern before a free drop of Magic Bow in Ch14 and Dark Merchant starting from Ch16, assuming no DLC or excessive save scum. Going through Archer also limits her combat and utility performance before accessing Magic Bow, and the lack of Bow magic combat art in the game doesn't help either. The not-so-good: D rank Faith at base: takes a bit longer to learn Physic than similar units who start with D+, less ideal for early game. No utility spell that offers advantage on movement or debuff, thus can feel a bit one dimensional when considered as a utility-oriented unit. No naturally learnt personal Combat Art, and only learns Battalion Renewal from Authority, thus less option to boost combat performance of herself and her teammates.

Thank you for the correction for the minor Gautier activation rate. I have updated my post to correct it. I was not very careful with my word choice. I’ll try to formulate them more carefully next time.

8 / 10 on Hard The good: Respectable Str & Spd base and growth for a melee unit, Def growth is also pretty good. Tempest Lance at base, handy for early game. Proficiency in Lance, Axe & Riding: Easier access to Brigand, Paladin, Wyvern or War Master. Useful personal Combat Arts: Swift Strikes for automatic double attack. Monster Piercer is situationally useful for breaking barriers. Minor Gautier crest: 40% chance to +5 Mt when using Combat Arts, sync well with Swift Strikes. Battalion Vantage at Authority C : situationally useful if stacking Crit. Personal ability with +2/-2 damage dealt/received when next to a female unit, very handy to boost combat performance Up to +3 Mt with two in-house members, useful on the field or as adjutant. The mixed: Learns Physic, Seraphim and high Mt Ragnarok, budding talent in Reason gives Black Mag Avo+20, but also low Mag growth and no 3-range spells. I think it's not unique enough to overshadow his physical attacking potential. The not-so-good: Bane in Bow: takes a bit longer to access Hit+20. Combined with his unimpressive Dex, keeping him grounded might be more appealing for battalions with more Hit bonus if unmotivated to grind Hit+20 on Hard.

4.5 / 10 on Hard The good: Good Spd & okay Str at base, and respectable Spd growth for a physical-oriented unit. Curved Shot at base, handy for chip at distance. Proficiency in Axe & Bow, and budding talent in Lance: Easier access to Death Blow and Hit+20, as well as strong classes like Wyvern and Sniper. The not-so-good: Low Str & Def growth for a physical-oriented unit. Personal ability doesn't benefit anyone's combat performance. No crest, thus penalty when using relics and no extra boost to his damage output. The mixed: Learnt personal Combat Arts are situationally useful but not outstanding enough to compensate his stats. Deadeye: needs to stack Hit to do meaningful damage. Waning Shot: useful to debuff, but learnt at Bow A which is too late to be meaningful on Hard, especially considering that in-house teammate Mercedes learns it too and from budding talent. Shatter Slash: learnt from budding talent, but debuff at melee range doesn't look appealing considering his Def. Focused Strike gives more Hit and less Mt than Smash, but on Hard, Ashe needs more +Mt than +Hit. Only learns Battalion Desperation which isn't as relevant if he's using Bow, and no Battalion Wrath to boost damage output or rally to help his teammates.

On the topic of secret ending, like Sooks1016 said, Crimson Flower is the secret one in Black Eagle house. It requires the player to do certain actions to be able to access the route split choice to begin with. If the requirements are not met beforehand, the player won't even have the choice to go CF, and will automatically default to Silver Snow. Between these two routes, Silver Snow has more similar progression with AM and VW. What I find most unique is that Seteth gains more screentime and has a mini-arc between his cutscene appearances, the information that Rhea shares with Byleth has a different focus than a similar scene in VW, the access to Rhea's full support chain, as well as a route exclusive final boss and a very beautiful battle theme in my opinion. Crimson Flower is shorter than the other three routes, but also has the most variance in story progression and gameplay (different map objective and terrain), as well as a route exclusive map and a climatic final boss. The theme song playing during the credit roll is also a different variation from the one played in the other three routes, for what it's worth. The other unique features are access to Edelgard's perspectives from cutscenes and several route exclusive support chains, as well as different personal arc and reactions from BE students and recruited units during monastery explore. Personally, CF provided more finality and closure to me than SS, as it subverts the roles of a few symboles and historic figures in the game's lore during its final chapters. It feels like breaking the cycle instead of perpetuating it, which is a theme that I personally gravitate toward. But regardless of which route you eventually choose, I think replaying part 1 with Black Eagle can be a fun ride, as it's easier to get a grasp of the true meaning of Edelgard and Hubert's dialogues with some previous knowledge. Making them attack TWISTD and Death Knight also trigger some battle dialogues that flesh out a bit their relationship and the tension between them.

9 / 10 on Hard: The good: Good Str & Spd base and growth for a melee unit. Proficiency in Brawling & Bow for an easier access to strong classes such as Grappler, War Master and Sniper, as well as Hit+20 (and gauntlet Avo+20 for good gauntlet dodge tank potential with DLC). Major crest of Fraldarius: +5 Mt when using a weapon and 40% chance to proc synergises very well with gauntlets. No penalty when using relics is also a nice bonus. +5 damage when not equipped with a battalion: Very helpful for early game offense when good battalions are still in short supply. Special bond with two in-house members, up to +3 Mt each: useful on the field or as adjutant. Battalion Vantage at Authority C : situationally useful if stacking Crit. Learns Nimbo Combo at C+ Brawling: Striking twice with +4 Mt and +20 Avo is handy when unable to quad. He doesn't really need it on Hard, but it's still nice to have something to fall back on regardless of growth. The not-so-good: Authority bane: Requiring more investment in tutoring to access strong battalions, especially if one wants to take full advantage of his personal ability.

For things to change in the main game, I recently read a reddit post about modifying part of AM war phase which I find very intriguing. The whole post can be found here: https://www.reddit.com/r/fireemblem/comments/j0tt1q/how_i_would_improve_edelgard_as_an_antagonist_in/ What I personally love are the changes concerning Gronder and Arianrhod paralogue. For Gronder in AM, I like the idea of a fog of war situation to better explain Claude’s attack on Kingdom force. Either with the smoke from the burning ballista or a magic fog a la Chapter 3 like the author suggested. Additionally, Claude’s ambition and opportunism can also be used here, wanting to take advantage after Empire and Kingdom duking it out. I also like the idea to frame Gronder as an overall defeat in AM, in the sense that the Empire army that they defeat in the map are only the vanguard, with a following cutscene saying that they’re forced to retreat when the reserve troops arrive. I think it’s more thematically fitting in AM, with many characters emphasising Gronder is a suicide charge before the mission. For Arianrhod paralogue, the author suggested changing it into a main mission after Firhdiad, and instead of Dimitri wanting to liberate it himself, he was to answer a call for help there. In reality, it was a trap to lure him there with the cooperation from western Kingdom nobles, and he has to make tactical retreat instead of pressing forward to deal with the betrayal. The author argued that this could show Dimitri’s personal growth in a more concrete way and Edelgard’s cunning side, as well as provide a potential point of view from territories occupied by Empire for the debate scene later on, which I very much agree. I also quite like the idea that this mission could play like a reverse of Petra & Bernadetta paralogue, with the initial objective being routing the enemy, then after reaching a certain point, the true objective would be revealed as reaching a certain escape point. To make it more threatening, the floor traps can be initially inactive, then activated after the true objective reveal, and there can be some very strong but very slow-moving enemy reinforcements like CS Chapter 4 that make escaping more favourable than defeating them. For DLC, I’d like a Yuri/Ash support that can provide some insight during the period when Yuri was adopted by house Rowe. Yuri had several identities before the beginning of the game, all while being an adolescent. While this game has all sorts of teenagers with superhuman qualities, I believe that fleshing his complicated background with more details can help ground his character even more.

5.5 / 10 on Hard The good: Staunch Shield + strong base Def & Str: Good defensive and offensive potential early game, very practical to lure enemy physical attackers. Good HP, Str & Def growth for a melee unit. Proficiency in Axe & Brawling: Easier access to Death Blow, as well as easier certification for strong classes such as Grappler and War Master, or guard adjutant classes. Interesting personal Combat Arts: Vengeance at C+ Lance synergises with his high HP & Str growth for good damage, and his high Def helps with his survivability once HP is down. On Hard and before relics become available, I find his Def can sometimes be too high to reduce HP efficiently, in which case I tend to put him in range of an enemy mage and use Pure Water to manipulate his received damage. One-Two Punch at C+ Brawling: +Mt & +Hit, as well as avoiding being doubled, with a downside of having to eat a counter attack in between. Considering his low Spd & Dex and good HP & Def in general, it's a good compromise. Monster Breaker at C+ Axe: situationally useful to break monster barriers. Battalion Wrath at C Authority: Useful for Vantage-Wrath build or after mastering Quick Riposte. Special bond up to +3 Mt with Dimitri: Useful as Dimitri's guard adjutant in later part 2. The mixed: No crest: Penalty when using relic lances & axe, which can be beneficial for builds focusing on Vengeance. The not-so-good: Low Dex base & growth: More prone to accuracy issue, thus may need more investment or some compromise in building (going for Hit+20, investing in Authority for good battalions & no flying, prioritising Gauntlet instead of other weapons, etc). Low Spd & Res: Late game mages capable of doubling him become extremely lethal, thus making him less efficient than dodge tank. Bane in Riding & Flying: May require more investment in tutoring if aiming for classes with mobility such as Paladin or Wyvern. Availability in part 2 relying on his paralogue completion, and still going missing for the first few chapters immediately after time-skip, especially when many part 2 paralogues become available. Not only does he need to catch up with other units, he can only be useful for a few story battles afterwards. Missing out tutoring and weekly weapon Exp also makes his customisation more limited and requires more investment and planning during part 1 if aiming for more ambitious builds.

9 / 10 on Hard The good: Good early game offensive and defensive potential, thanks to good Str & Def base, okay Spd and Tempest Lance at base. Exceptional Str and respectable SPD growth for a physical-oriented unit. Battalion Vantage + Wrath: strong enemy phase, especially when supported with Retribution gambit. Good Charm growth: good candidate for offensive gambits and less susceptible of enemy gambits. Proficiency in Lance, Sword and Authority, as well as budding talent in Riding: Easier access to Paladin, Mov+1, high Crit Sword & Lance and strong battalions, also a good candidate for Dancer (dancing on PP, B V-W on EP). Post-time skip personal ability with Avo +20 at full HP: extra survivability and easy to maintain with healing or equipment. Situationally useful personal Combat Arts: Atrocity for effective damage, Windsweep for safe chipping, Monster Piercer for breaking barriers. The mixed: Blaiddyd crest: No penalty with relics is nice, but occasionally double attacking with Combat Arts is not reliable enough to plan around. Free personal battalion with a strong gambit, but automatically assigned during Chapter 13, which excludes Battalion V-W strategy for this battle. +3 Mt with Dedue, but limited availability after timeskip. The not-so-good: Axe bane: more hassle to access Death Blow if aiming for a player phase physical build, as well as more difficult to access Wyvern. Unavailable to tutoring during a few chapters immediately after timeskip, thus limited customisation and even more difficult if aiming for Wyvern dodge tank build. Automatically in High Lord class during Chapter 13, foot-locked and no Canto, which can be limiting depending on individual play style.

8.5 / 10 on Hard The good: Good base Spd at 10 and Okay base Str at 9: good early game offense and defence potential. Exceptional Spd growth at 60%: good dodge tank potential, as well as easy double on Hard, especially after mastering Darting Blow. Proficiencies in Sword, Axe, Bow and Flying (D at base): easier access to useful abilities such as Death Blow, Hit+20, Darting Blow and Alert Stance+, respective high Crit weapons, as well as strong classes like Wyvern and Sniper. Battalion Wrath at C Authority: synergises well with dodge tank build. The mixed: Situationally useful personal Combat Arts: Waning Shot to debuff Str and Bane of Monsters to break monster barriers are both nice but situational; Finesse Blade is fine, but not very useful as long as she can double; both Wild Abandon and Diamond Axe trade Hit for damage, which requires stacking Hit and is more difficult to do if going Wyvern with flying battalions’ generally limited Hit bonus. Okay Str growth at 40%: not ideal for a physical-oriented unit, but can easily be mitigated on Hard by double attacking or stacking Crit. The not-so-good: No crest: penalty when using relics, although generally she doesn’t rely on relics that much either. Hunter's Boon: very difficult to plan around as a personal ability. The extra damage from Crit at that point is generally not that meaningful, except for maybe a few monster bosses.

7 / 10 on Hard The good: Songstress: Quite handy in early game when healing option is more limited, as long as she doesn't end up next to Bernie for too long. Useful Reason & Faith spell list: Thoron for 3-range, Sagittae for accuracy, Meteor for sniping, Agnea's Arrow for high Mt, and Physic for ranged healing. Interesting support list: Besides the whole BE crew, it also includes three strong units in BL, as well as Mt+3 special bond with Manuela. This allows her to have a wide range of meaningful linked attack bonus when equipping Meteor, and especially handy if she's a Dancer busy dancing for most turns. Manuela can be her adjutant to maximise her damage output, or vice-versa. Rally Charm at Authority D : Very useful to improve gambit Hit/Avo. Sword proficiency and Hexblade at C+: Viable for magic sword builds such as Assassin or Mortal Savant, relatively easy access to Levin Sword+ for ranged damage and Hexblade for OHKO damage. Reason proficiency: Easier to certify Warlock and Gremory. Good Mag base at 11: Can do good damage in early game. The mixed: Faith as a budding talent, but starts with a Bane and at E: Once unlocked, it's very helpful for her to learn Physic and for Gremory certification. However, it also requires 3 sessions of tutoring at full motivation to get going. Considering that healing options and tutoring points are both limited at early game, this is a priority that needs to be planned around. The not-so-good: Riding bane: Very difficult to access Mov+1 without grinding, which is not ideal for a Dancer. Difficult to certify Dark Knight too, if one wants to maximise damage output and movement. No crest: Penalty when using Thyrsus and Thunderbrand, which can be annoying but not a dealbreaker. Mag growth at 40%: Unimpressive for an offensive mage, but not very problematic on Hard if maximised with various non-stat-booster tools.

8.5 / 10 on Hard the good: - Persecution Complex => Very useful to increase damage output especially during early game. Easy to activate and to maintain, and synergises well with Vengeance learnt at C+ Lance, Vantage-Wrath build, or Defiant Avo if going Falcon. - Useful personal Combat Arts => Vengeance for damage or Encloser for support to immobilise an enemy. Deadeye can be useful if stacking Hit, but generally speaking pales in comparison to the former two. - Boon in Lance and Bow, hidden talent in Riding => Easier access to Hit+20 and Mov+1, relatively low investment to certify Paladin and Bow Knight. Pass is situationally useful to eliminate certain targets or as a Dancer to dance a unit behind the enemy line. - Curved Shot at base => handy for early game to safely chip damage. - Battalion Wrath at C Authority => Useful for V-W build. - Good Dex growth => Less prone to run into accuracy issue. - Access to Darting Blow & respectable Spd growth => Can potentially double on Hard. the mixed: - Minor Indech crest => Occasionally hitting twice when chipping with a Bow and no penalty using relics are nice, but not reliable enough to plan around and doesn't synergise with her personal ability activation or builds focusing on Vengeance. - Interesting Reason and Faith spell lists, such as 3-range Thoron, high Crit attack spells, as well as Physic and Rescue, but will probably require significant investment because of her poor Mag growth & base, and neutral in Reason & Faith. the not-so-good: - Bane in Sword & Axe => More hassle to access Vantage, Falcon certification and Death Blow. - Unimpressive HP & Str growth => Not ideal in regards to Vengeance, but generally not that problematic on Hard.