Shadow Mir

Hopefully you get Chrom some levels, because without him, you very likely ain't beating the final boss... Just warning ahead of time.

Like was said earlier, you gotta cross a certain part of the map first. Then they show up.

Someone tried to argue Subaki can be a carry in Revelation. But that's something I have a lot of issues accepting, considering Corrin is practically forced to be the early carry in Revelation due to your lack of units (only themselves, Azura and Felicia/Jakob for most of chapter 7, and them plus Gunter for 8; sure, one could get Mozu immediately after chapter 7, but imho it ain't worth it. Also, many of those cannot take hits well). Is there any truth to this, or is this just hot air?

Doh, I missed!! So ein mist! OH MY GOD! Relevant: That's rough, buddy...

I see. In a Maddening context, personally, I consider the need for low HP to be a big, and universal, issue with these builds, as being at low HP in a game where reinforcements show up before enemy phase is just asking for trouble. I ten billion percent agree on Defiant abilities though. They just aren't worth it. Also, don't enemies eventually get so strong that you cannot survive one round against them? Setting up low HP builds would be really hard if that's the case... using devil weapons can help with that, but that's kinda slow. Also, are auxiliary battles EVER worth it on Maddening??? I am very heavily leaning towards no.

Really? Because I'd argue the exact opposite. Rolf was TERRIBLE in PoR because bows sucked, and he came underleveled.

That isn't something I can help much on without knowing your builds, particularly for the 5 DHE mentioned. That said, even then I'd still defer to a more knowledgeable person for help. For my own question... how effective are low HP builds in this game?? Because I am dubious as to whether they really are as effective as some people say..

On paper, this sounds great. But in practice, I wouldn't be so sure. For the most part, a unit wouldn't be seeing 10 rounds of combat in one enemy phase unless they were killing everything that attacked them, because otherwise the enemy would eventually run out of spaces to attack from. The immediate vicinity also factors into this; a narrow hallway has less spaces to attack from than a wide open area. Of course... That's ignoring the fact that any unit who takes 10 hits to kill is probably really overpowered compared to who they're fighting. Or an inherently defensive class or unit.

You're trying to bait an insult, aren't you. It won't work. I'm going to stay respectful even in the face of what you just said not deserving it. Anyhow, I find Conquest unforgiving enough without actively handicapping myself. I fail to see how making an excellent support unit like Elise into... something that is the exact opposite of that helps the team instead of hurting it. Ultimately, it is your choice. I only want you to think about whether it's actually helping or not.

I have watched Zoran's videos, for your information. Mostly the raise everyone challenge. And I have seen nothing - NOTHING - to make me think otherwise. I mean, I respect Zoran, but I wouldn't treat EVERYTHING they do as gospel. Well... in this case, I find it hard to recommend, because what you get out of it is the exact opposite of what Elise is specialized in. That seldom ends well.

Poor you, getting taken in by that scam. That garbage is an even bigger scam than the Giant's Knife in OOT. I wouldn't recommend this, and not just because Hayato is underleveled. Ew, Mozu. Inspiration is ten billion percent better than Sol, so nab it. Counterpoint: Wyvern doesn't improve her weaknesses that much, and you abandon her strengths to make her a crappy melee unit. Also, she couldn't hit the broad side of a barn with axes if her life depended on it. Poor Sakura, being stuck with Jakob the Despicable. She deserves MUCH better than that a******.

Imho, Corrin has better uses. The real problem with Alcryst? His damage sucks without Luna. And playing the "big damage or no damage" lottery isn't worth it.

Because if the game's developer themselves chimes in with a cheese strategy... That's rather telling. Honestly,I find capture to be one of, maybe even THE, most poorly designed aspects of Fates by far. But than again, you probably knew that already, courtesy of that other thread. What the fuck, dude. This is a goddamn STRATEGY GAME. Xander isn't the team. You think I ain't gonna have others who can deal with the stuff that gives him trouble???

Fog of War is only in Hector hard mode. And even then, mercifully, you still get an unimpeded look at the map and enemy layout during preparations. Still, having to pray Pent doesn't get killed (by wyvern riders in particular) can be problematic, as he starts well away from you, and is of a class that has unimpeded movement in the desert.

Don't forget Living Legend. Which is also desert.

Just ask Alastor. His Birthright ironman went out in a most pathetic way.

Imho, if it all but forces cheese strategies (case in point: Pauline's spirit battle in SSBU [for context, this one has you trying to KO Peach. The problems, however, are numerous: first of all, it's on 75m, which has a tricky layout to traverse. Second, you have to do this within a time limit. Third, and egregiously, the game doesn't tell you about this, Peach runs away from you. Oh, and Mario and giant Donkey Kong spawn in not long after.] Or Medeus in H5 SD), odds are it's poorly designed. In this case though, things are made all the worse by needing to replay the prior chapter if things do not work out. Really? That's news to me. Also news to me, especially knowing that Izana is the only source of the former... Fliers are widely praised despite their being weak to bows, which are much more common than beast killers (beast killers also are effective on sky knights and their upgrades, but I digress). I mean, you ain't gonna catch me taking Camilla out of Wyvern Lord just because of a bow weakness. So it stands to reason that I ain't gonna give a damn that Xander has to beware of beast killers as a Paladin (except for chapter 19, that is, as a good chunk of the enemies there have beast effectiveness, as opposed to something that on any given map, the users can be counted on one hand. IF anything on the map even uses them, that is). Especially to put him in mediocre crap like Hero. Why the hell would I want to make Xander WORSE??? Because that's all making him a mediocre foot locked class does. You have some generous standards for "reliable". I would hesitate to call a skill that does fuck all against an enemy that isn't healthy (and is dependent on a lot of other factors, at that) "reliable". Contrast Luna. Whilst I wouldn't consider it something to rely on either (and its function is entirely different from Sol), its effectiveness is only dependent on the defense (or resistance, if used by a mage) of the opponent. Again, though, I consider those bonuses more than something that one can rely on. Anyway, Sol was good before Awakening as it drained all the damage dealt, but now I have a hard time seeing it as worthy of a unit slot. One would have to be extremely durable for Sol to really be useful... but one who is probably doesn't even need it!

Luna. Sol is well past its prime. It was great in the Jugdral and Tellius sagas because it had 100% health drain, but now it's a shell of its former self. A chance to drain only half the damage dealt is nothing unless you far outclass your foe. Also, the only time Sol does anything is in situations where you're risking dying... which is the exact type of situation I actively try to avoid in the first place! It's also useless if you barely drain anything. That said, I generally find skills like there to be more of a bonus than anything else.

Really tough. And not in a good way. Better have some means of killing a maxed Grima!!

The problem is, hit rates, the main thing that skill dictates, are not that hard to fix. I've long held that skill is the least important stat in these games, and that it needs SOMETHING to actually be relevant (and I am far from the only one who thinks along those lines). In that same vein, having my unit give up their turn just to boost others' hit by 6 (which is what Rally Skill does) is just less impactful than using rally to other stats; by contrast, something like Rally Strength or Defence makes a more tangible difference in more situations. The developers probably realized 4 wasn't enough, so Rally Dexterity's effect got boosted to 8 in Three Houses, and the dex instruct in Engage had its effect boosted to 10. And even then, Rally Dexterity's still outclassed when it comes to hit rate boosting (to say nothing of the limited distribution, as in 3H only Ferdinand and Ignatz get it, whilst Dex instruct is on cavalry units, when most cavalry classes are underwhelming). Which leaves critical hit chance and procs as the other things it affects... and if it wasn't obvious enough, I generally try not to build my strategies around those. There is a cheese strat with Rescue for endgame, but honestly, I would rather not have to resort to that. I would rather beat the endgame legitimately. And to that end, I need as many Rescue uses as I can get. It isn't as necessary on hard though. On Physic: It may be good in that situation, but the inconvenience that Iago then causes me is likely to far outweigh that. *Especially* if it happens to be a Freeze or Hexing Rod turn. A good response takes time to think up. Especially when by the time I think up more to add to it, the response I was preparing disappears for no apparent reason, and thus I have to start from scratch. Having my work go down the drain sucks. Anyway, like you, I have yet to see any remotely convincing arguments from your side. You play the numbers card... but the numbers are stacked against you. Okay, but doesn’t make it any less unappealing, because at the end of the day you're still leaving your game over condition at least half dead. You keep playing the numbers card, but unfortunately, the numbers are *not* in your favour. Sol has less chance of activation than it has of not activating until you get its activation chance over 50%. Which likely ain't happening unless you are using Quixotic and Hoshidan Unity (two level 15 skills, both with limited distribution), thanks to lower numbers than in Awakening. And even then, Sol could just not activate at all or activate at a time where it doesn't do much good. For a defensive skill, having ballpark odds of 30% is just too low for me to consider relying on.

...and that's the problem. Her map is much harder, and not as rewarding for it.

I never said he wasn't. I'm just stating the facts. Also, Sonya herself is pretty fast, with 12 AS on hard mode. Anyone not named Mae, Catria, or Genny is getting mulched, or at the least in very bad shape, if more than one enemy attacks them.

It's even worse than that. Every combat they enter reduces dragonstone durability. Even if they cannot counter.

Doesn't make it any less moronic when Corrin is one of my more reliable units. Which I cannot say for Silas. And again, far as I'm concerned, it only makes Silas look bad. Which he is anyway, to be frank. Rally Skill and Skill Tonics combine for-drumroll please-a whopping 9 hit. That is less than when I would get out of tag team. At base. He can, but I consider it very stupid to rely on something with worse odds than Dark Void post-nerf to stay alive. Anyway, it might not be the only way, but it avoids Freeze lockdown, and I don’t want to play Xander vs the world. That is inviting disaster. Also, Physic sucks in this game. As for Rescue, I might consider it better saved for endgame. I have something better than numbers. I call it "common sense". If you had it too, you would see exactly how flawed Sol, and relying on it, is. If I wanted to bank on 30% odds, I'd use an OHKO move (that said, Fissure does see use on Ting-Lu in VGC, and it missing means that the next turn something is eating a powered up Stomping Tantrum; for context, Stomping Tantrum doubles in power if the last move did nothing, so Fissure has its poor accuracy translated into an advantage). That said, I know everything in FE is RNG, but still. Needing setup is one thing. Actually being worth the setup is another thing entirely. And Sol Master Ninjas fail the latter test miserably. Fates is really fucking unforgiving, Conquest especially, and relying on an RNG heavy setup is asking for trouble. Not unlike those who buy into Ryoma as being an immortal war god. Asidemfrom Laslow, who is mediocre, and Soleil, who has better options, the setup is too much to be worth it. Especially in the face of the likes of Xander, who don't fold like a napkin to one or two powerful hits, and more so when the characters involved are mid.

High magic alone is not enough for me to overlook how she is so slow she struggles to double fucking armors, aka the slowest of the slow. That's a deal breaker if I ever saw one. If "unga bunga big magic stat" is all it takes to convince you she's good... Really? Because one look at his stats and growths tells me with all the subtlety of a jackhammer that I am only shooting myself in the foot by having him go Onmyoji. For fuck's sake, I don't see why you'd rather make Azama a shitty mage instead of a tanky bruiser who also heals every turn. Unless you think his poor magic stat and the mighty Rat Spirit can work miracles... also, to be blunt, not having Rally Magic is no big loss when the mages are almost all lackluster. If I wanted to vie so hard for mages, I'd do it in any game that ain't Fates. I cannot speak on Constance; I have the DLC, but have not had the chance to use her (also, aren't she and Lysithea both praised for their spell lists?). I was not around during Reinhardt's heyday, so I cannot say anything on that either. Izana? As in the same loser who fucks my team over just by virtue of existing and has little to offer to make up for it? HAHAHAHAHAHA... NO. He can have a seat. On the bench, aka the only spot where he does anything good for me.