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So, having just finished Conquest on Hard, I'm having a dilemma. Birthright is easier, at least from what I've hear from literally everyone I know playing Fates. Furthermore, grinding is possible. Supposedly, Revelation is between the two in terms of difficulty. Seeing as there's no Lunatic+ to unlock, and I've heard that Fates' Lunatic mode isn't the totally and completely idiotic and non-strategic RNGfest Awakening's lunatic/lunatic+ was, I'm wondering whether to play Birthright on Hard or Lunatic mode. My concern is that I intend to play Revelation on Hard mode because Hard mode doesn't lock your stat growths at mission start, and I want to use my Revelation playthrough for PvP later on (which means locked growths would make stat-capping awful grindy and tedious). If I play Lunatic Birthright, will Revelation on Hard be boringly easy? Thanks in advance for opinions and input, I'd appreciate someone whose already done this weighing as well.

This PMU is finished and all my progress reports are listed below. Thank you for this run guys! Hey guys! So as the title says, I'm doing a Revelation Lunatic run for my final golden emblem!! (Already beat Birthright and Conquest on Lunatic) I wanna spice things up a bit and ask the community here to pick my units to beat the game!! Here's what I have- -I am Female Corrin -I have all DLC to date ...... yeah that's it So like just tell me a unit and what final class they should be! You can even suggest DLC classes!! I'll take about 16 units (including my avatar) to run with! Thanks in advance!! Team: 1. Viberua (Avatar) 2, Rinkah - Blacksmith [Nintetales] 3. Keaton - Wolfseggner [Fateborn] 4. Laslow - Hero [Lemui] 5. Niles - Sorcerer [Peppy] 6. Kagero - Ninja / Dread Fighter [Dollysama] 7. Arthur - Hero [Pink Forde] 8. Elise - Wyvern Lord (?) / Malig Knight (?) [joshcja] 9. Camilla - Malig Knight [Ms. Bunch] 10. Ryoma - Swordmaster [Refa] 11. Odin - Swordmaster [Rathichu] 12. Xander - Paladin [shinkuma] 13 Azura - Great Lord [Lord_Grima] 14. Caeldori - Dark Falcon [sieghart] 15 Hana - Onmyoji [GoXDS] 16. Selena - Bow Knight [Affected Dork Dragon] UPDATE: Thank you guys for participating! I'll update my progress to you guys!! he question is, should I update every chapter or every few? My thoughts on this team: I actually think I'll run through Revelation with little trouble!! The guys you gave me are actually pretty solid and I don't really have to worry about them standing on their own (well except Hana) I actually never used Caeldori, Hana, and Kagero before so seeing them in action will probably be super interesting for me!! Wish me luck!! Chapter 7-11 Chapter 12-17 Chapter 18-19 Chapter 20-22 Chapter 23-Endgame

I only have one Rescue charge so I can't do the 2 turn strat with Nina I've been seeing, anyone know a strat with one Rescue charge?

I know that levels ups are fixed to where you you cant reset a chapter and get different level ups. I have a couple things I was hoping could get clarified. 1: Is the level ups the same for everyone or does it get determined when they are recruited? (Is my lvl 15 Xander have the same stats as your lvl 15 Xander) 2: If you inherit or reclass to get aptitude, looking at Mozus kid, will it change your level ups? 3: How are the level ups determined? I read somewhere that is was on a 100 point system using your growth rate, so if you had 50% in STR you would get STR every other level up. Is this correct? I am trying to plan my Lunatic Conquest Playthrough.

I know that level ups are fixed on lunatic conquest. I'm curious does aptitude effect these level ups. I'm curious if it's worth it to match Mozu up just for aptitude.

I already asked this question before on a different forum, but not much interest was shown. But from the given suggestions, and what we can realistically achieve so far with ROM hacking, I've come up with a small list of tentative changes and would like some input. http://pastebin.com/933nAbXM And because I know this is going to be suggested, no, we don't know yet (or at least I don't know) how the game handles what shop sells what, so I can't edit shops at this moment.

So I'm new to the Serene Forest forums (this is even my first post), but I'm not new to either Fire Emblem or Serene Forest. I joined to see if I could get some optimization help/suggestions considering I recently got all the awakening DLC (meaning I can grind exp/gold for this run). I made a google doc showing my setup that I plan to use. I went through the hassle to make it neat incase anyone wants to use it for reference. I need help deciding whom the children should marry. My Setup: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1i_8mRRwq0mN8WWUo6HGLJeIqO8QOfYzm2va5sfdLL9I/edit?usp=sharing [ In case it wasn't apparent in the doc, it's a M!MU run with +Skill,-Defense. ] Skillset suggestions? Pairing suggestions? Class suggestions? General feedback? --- Anything is appreciated.

So I was going to start playing Lunatic Mode and wanted to know if anyone can give me any tips. Such as, If I should go classic or casual mode. This is my first time playing Lunatic mode. ((EDIT: I have the DLC MAP "EXPonetial Growth." I'm guessing I should grind that right?))

I've noticed that most high-difficulty clears revolve around either a Chrom/FAvatar duo through most or all of the game, or quadruple Galeforce inheritance using Chrom/Sumia and MAvatar/Cordelia. I've decided to investigate the Chrom/FAvatar route, but without Avatar. In other words, Chrom solo (hence the title). The rules: In battles where the preparation screen is available, only Chrom may be deployed. When other characters are forced to be deployed, such as Avatar in Ch.23, not having preparations yet or joining after preparations, they may be used as seen fit (I recommend minimizing their use so Chrom gets maximum EXP). DLC is allowed, but I won't be using it. It makes the Archer/Sniper part of the class path easier, so I won't judge. Grinding is allowed, and I will be using Risen skirmishes and Spotpass teams for this purpose. All Renown is allowed (I'll be using 1020 starting). Event tiles are allowed. Deaths are allowed, because if they weren't Chapters 5 and 6 would be impossible. I've routed this on Hard, using a class path of Lord 20->Cav 10+->Archer 10+->Sniper 15+->Bow Knight 15+->Great Lord 15+->Great Knight 15+->Paladin (Final class) and capped all stats but Mag at the end of it (For what it's worth, Mag was 10 at Endgame). A note for people willing to try this is that if you want a good turncount you will need to spend about half of your total budget on throwing weapons. Also, during the Archer/Sniper part of the class route, you will want to spend most of your time in skirmishes on maps where enemies can be bottlenecked, like the Longfort (Ch.3) and the Border Pass (Ch.5). Paralogue 3 (if you're willing to sack the villagers) and Chapter 8 are also good spots for these classes (but if you're using Par. 3 for this, only do it as a Sniper).

This topic is for anyone to comment, or ask, about a character's in-game performance/usefulness/viability/etc. Mostly for the main-game and without grinding (at least for my own analyses) since character distinctions such as bases, growths, availability, weapon rank, etc, are often more prominent then. While I recognize the appeal of discussing the endpoint of character potential, there's also a significant amount of game content before then. I generally find this sort of thing interesting to think about and discuss and I'm curious what other people think as well. It can be a mini-character guide of sorts, depending on how things develop. General comments - Everyone feels decently usable and I used most characters at least a bit to get an idea of how they perform at base. Meaning if you like then, you could make them work, even in Lunatic. - Because overleveled units get so little exp, it’s possible to train up a larger team without sacrificing overall team strength, if one wishes. Actually I'd recommend training misc units to 10 early on so they can promote (lots of dropped Master Seals) and give full Guard stance bonuses or act as staff utility. - Also, because children paralogues give so much exp, you might end up net positive on exp/levels anyway if pairing them off at the same time. - I'm going to have a rating system of use (unless you don’t like them), maybe use, and don't use (unless you like them). Others can have whatever rating system one prefers, #/10, etc. - The ratings primarily correspond to continued deployment throughout their availability, training and/or using a unit long-term. Most units have short-term niches, which will be mentioned, but it’s not very interesting to rate everyone with "use". - Will also have some sample builds to think about and try out. Most builds will have 1 or less parallel/marriage/buddy seal, luxury builds can have more (though generally I personally won't include Eternal Seals and grinding through classes w/o weapon ranks unless super-early). - I'll start with the Birthright/Hoshido characters in Lunatic, but impressions for any character in any route would be interesting. - I’m going roughly in order, trying to get at least a short description for everyone down, but if anyone is particularly interested in an opinion for a character (in any route), just ask. There’s also definitely a considerable amount I’m purposely skimming over. Some like inheritance will be addressed a little more for the children, some specific details and insightful analysis will require more time. - Note the word impressions You can find how most mechanics work on the main site http://serenesforest.net/fire-emblem-fates/. I try to remain consistent with the terminology used there, though I do use Corrin as the Fates Avatar's name, as Smash 4 "canonized" the default name Robin of the Awakening Avatar. There might also be some old-fashioned FE terms used since these writeups are informal, but they are usually self-explanatory. ____________________ Birthright/Hoshido [spoiler=Corrin]I'm mostly skipping Corrin for now to give a more detailed analysis later (though the builds might be interesting). Suffice to say, best availability equals initial level lead, plus good (enough) bases, great growths, any class with Buddy seals, slightly faster exp gain than others, prf with statbuffs, more boosts from Felicia/Jakob/Gunter. imo a tanky Asset like Hp/Def is better in Hoshido since you get +2 Spd from Yato midgame (always in effect), and many other units are glass cannons. +Mag is an intriguing option to abuse Horse God (but no Spells in White Blood, if that matters). Use Standard White Blood build: +Hp or +Def Nohr Prince/ss -> White Blood Hmm...I don't have much to say here. Use if you like continued Dragonstone access, I guess. It is a great tanky option, for certain. Can detour for some procs to synergize with Hoshido (usually Astra and Sol are best, both classes use Katanas as well). Tanky Hidden Weapon build: +Hp/Def Nohr Prince/ss to 10 -> Ninja -> Puppeteer/Elite Ninja Hidden Weapons are pretty reliable 1-2 range where it's otherwise nerfed. Pair Up with Jakob in Great Knight and steamroll like the good old days. Or pair with someone else like Rinkah; just stack as much Def as possible. Use of the Reverse Shuriken situationally is very important, as otherwise both Axes and Bows will hit very hard. +Hp/Def because class base Spd is pretty good and Shurikens (equipped) and Yato Sky (even unequipped) give Spd. +Hp is generally more stats overall, but you already have triangle against mages and decent Res, so +Def makes you more bulky on the (more important) physical side. It also raises the cap by more, which might eventually matter. Reclass early to start building weapon rank. Puppeteer eventually gives Copycat and has better Hp/Def/Move, whereas Elite Ninja is faster (Kunaifaire makes up the Str difference too) with better avoid/Res. Elite Ninja also allows use of Yato to attack and the Oboro though it's dangerous to use on enemy phase. Using Dread Fighter instead is another option for a stronger start and being better against mages. Only B rank weapons though. Magic steamroll build: +Mag Nohr Prince/ss to 10 -> Dark Mage/Spellcaster/(Dark Falcon) -> Dark Knight/Basara/(Revenant Knight) Corrin's natural Mag growth isn't great (and Yato doesn't boost it), so +Mag is preferred though it's possible Spirit Dusts and the class growth would be sufficient for good enough offense. Reclass early to build weapon rank. The purpose of these builds is to steamroll on enemy phase, so the tanky classes are better imo. Dark Knight is great as long as you have enough Spd (Yato and Horse God is +5, keep in mind) while Basara is more balanced and has arguably better skills. For Exorcist the lack of Def hurts and there's not much point in Sorc without Nosferatu and Excalibur, in Hoshido. Revenant Knight is another option as a flying magic class, but the base class doesn't have magic use so it would be necessary to Buddy/Marry or wait until promotion, which could impact weapon rank. It's generally a good idea to Pair up with Felicia in Maid if the Spd is needed, or Jakob in Marriage Seal'd Dark Knight for Mag/Def. Dark Falcon has promoted level bases and flies, making it an incredible starting mage class. Galeforce is a strong skill, but you might consider reclassing before then as Corrin is at his strongest when Paired Up. The Hp/Def of Dark Falcon is lacking later in the game. Copycat luxury build: Nohr Prince/ss to 10 -> Ninja/Elite Ninja to 20/5 -> Hero to 20/8 -> Swordmaster to 20/11 -> White Blood to 20/15 -> Puppeteer to 20/17 -> Elite Ninja to 20/19 -> Puppeteer/Elite Ninja (do last reclass to end in final class) The focus here is to create 2 superCorrins that can pair up with Jakob/Felicia/Rinkah/etc and steamroll maps. Take Merc as your secondary class in Hoshido, Buddy Seal the rest. Reclass first to Ninja to build weapon rank and get Lethality. Then pick up Sol and Astra, you still have Swords to fight with. Then pick up the --/15 skills. You end up with Copycat and Kunaifaire, then Hoshido + Sol/Astra/Lethality/Dragon Fang, and even things like Vantage. I prefer Hoshido + Sol + Astra because both those increase your durability significantly through healing and Dual Guards, but there's lots of flexibility. Awakening luxury build w/ DLC (female only): Nohr Prince/ss to 10 -> Dread Fighter to 25 -> Elite Ninja to 20/8 -> Swordmaster to 20/11 -> Great Lord to 35 -> Puppeteer to 20/17 -> Elite Ninja to 20/19 -> Puppeteer/Elite Ninja (do last reclass to end in final class) Similar to above, but abuse Vantage + Awakening with Copycat. Build weapon rank, then pick up Vantage/Astra, then Awakening, Copycat, Kunaifaire. Just make sure to do 2 levels in Ninja somewhat early or you cant get all of Awakening/Copycat/Kunaifaire without Eternal Seals. There's some Spirit Unity, Astra, Aether, and more to fill out slots as needed. Most other characters aren't going to get luxury builds from me. Corrin is special because of their availability and other unique advantages. [spoiler=Gunter]Gunter (pre-decision): The tutorial chapters are fairly straightforward. Gunter is certainly useful in them, but considering how things work out he should probably be helping Corrin get kills via Attack or Guard Stance. n/a [spoiler=Felicia]Felicia: She's a healer who can debuff which is certainly useful early on. She will be almost be pure support until obtaining an Explosive Shuriken at Vendor level 2 and reaching C weapon rank, or if reclassed to Strategist. Despite starting with E rank tomes, her magic is good enough to do decent damage, especially with Attack Stance. However, her growths are low relative to other characters so she doesn't make a great combat unit in comparison. An interesting niche is Felicia starts in a promoted class, with unpromoted exp gain, and 4 free eternal steals inbuilt. In particular, this lets her get the promoted class skills far earlier than everyone else. Some notable ones include Tomebreaker from Maid and Battle Command in Strategist. The former, combined with her Res makes her great against magic and the latter is an extremely powerful Aura-type support skill, and even moreso when combined with Demoiselle for male characters (Corrin, Ryoma, Takumi are some of the stronger characters). Some other interesting skills are Sol, Axebreaker, Kunaibreaker but the lack of Str and no weapon rank make those trickier to obtain without grinding. Through Marriage Seals, there's even the potential of stuff like early Copycat Puppet that are strong candidates for skill inheritance (and still using the child for more than like 2 chapters). Note that skills from Dread Fighter and Dark Flier cannot be inherited, even if she can obtain the latter ones such as Aggressor and Galeforce fairly early. It's currently uncertain how stat inheritance precisely works so she could impact her children negatively in that respect, though right now it does seem like the children's bases are not affected too much. Because of her personal skill boosting the avatar’s offense/durability, Felicia is a great unit to support Corrin. In addition, being promoted, she immediately gives the promoted stat boosts in Guard Stance. Hero is particularly good, giving both Spd and Def, or Maid/Strategist are nice for magical avatars. Very well rounded with a focus on Spd, considering both her Personal skill and pairup bonuses. Early Battle Command and her Personal pushes her into Use territory for me. Support build: Maid to 15-> Strategist Staffbot and chip things with magic+Attack stance (don't really need weapon rank for this, though could reclass earlier for it). Beat mages with Res+Tomebreaker. Support with Battle Command (doesn't work as support unit in Guard Stance, notably). Early Galeforce novelty build: Maid to 5 or 15-> Dark Falcon Get whatever skills in Maid you want, but reclass to build Spell rank. It is Galeforce, obtained early/midgame, but keep in mind Felicia's stats are fairly low and even moreso when avoiding the Stances. [spoiler=Jakob]Jakob: Very similar to Felicia, with better Str and worse Mag. His early offense is better until Felicia is reclassed or gets her magic weapons. Jakob has similar advantages as Felicia in being promoted already. Reclassed, he can also serve a more stereotypical Jagen role early on as a Paladin or Great Knight, tanking hits (from the class base) and weakening enemies for others. Jakob gets a child character himself and can pass on a high-level promoted skill to him. Compared to Felicia, its also a bit easier to fight in various other classes because of okay Str/Def. Besides, Jakob's Personal Skill is one of the best main-game ones in any case, significantly boosting durability, so definitely Use from me. Jeigan build: Butler-> Great Knight (-> Lodestar) Reclass asap to get that high base Def. Basically just act as Awakening's Frederick for a while, then stick around as a great Pair Up bot. Dual Guard+ makes him even better at it if you want. Could delay reclass until level 15 to get a high Def unit dodgy against magic (or for inheritance) but weapon ranks, etc. Early Galeforce novelty/luxury build: Butler to 5 or 15-> Dark Falcon to 15 or 17 -> Paladin/Elite Ninja/Puppeteer Same deal as Felicia, though he can choose between Lances or Shurikens. Dark Falcon is a bit weak on the physical side, so may want to reclass elsewhere. Will need to Marriage seal into Ninja (Corrin, Kagerou) if that's desired. [spoiler=Kaze]Kaze. Both base Spd and growth are crazy high. He doubles pretty much everything without help, so he can get pure Strength/Defense to help his stats in Guard Stance or is guaranteed to do decent damage in Attack Stance. He can use Steel pretty consistently for that extra boost. He's also good to counter mages with Shuriken usage and decent Res or dodgetank a lot of the hardhitting Axe/Bow combinations seen with the Reverse Shuriken. Maybe use simply because you get a few other very similar characters and can choose between them. I'd say Kaze is the best of them, but I haven't looked too closely yet. Debuffer and magekiller build: Ninja -> Puppeteer/Elite Ninja (whatever order) Weapon ranks don't give you much choice (Swords are generally worse than Hidden Weapons anyway). Puppeteer is a good promotion, since his Spd is so high already, but Elite Ninja is slightly more dodgy and better against mages (the Spd cap could be relevant too). Could go Dread Fighter for the early boost, as one of the few with a starting weapon rank in Shurikens, but he doesn't standout too much, as it's basically the same as Ninja. [spoiler=Rinkah]Rinkah: Well rounded stats but almost too much so, she would probably like some help on Spd to double consistently but also something to patch up durability. Her base defense is great, but Hp growth is slow and later on she's still getting hit very hard. Can definitely take quite a few hits early and hit back with the extra damage from Flame Blood but eh E rank axes and I was too busy training Mozume. To be honest I found her most useful giving Strength and Defense bonuses to others, so I can't comment too much here. So I'll say Don't use, except maybe to train to level 10, promote, and give Guard Stance. Fire effects on hit are really awesome Onitank build: Oni Savage- > Shura (to 20/5 -> Blacksmith) Res Seal and Shura has some synergy but enemies don't usually survive that long. It's more useful for your other mages in combination with Rinkah especially since chip is passable with Flame Blood boosting damage in general. Stay in Shura if that magic utility works for you or grab some crit, then Blacksmith to focus on the physical option. Can do Dread Fighter as can most, and Rinkah's tankiness might make her one of the better candidates. __________ Arya describes below Rinkah in Hoshido and Invisible Hard. If sticking in Shura, Magic is an option to use strong spells like Horse God, both targeting Res and increasing tankiness. [spoiler=Azura]Azura: Her Spd is really high and even Str is decent, but she probably won't do much fighting unless Lance rank is grinded up. On player phase she's usually singing and Hp/Def are too low for enemy phase, though she can take a weaker hit or 2 on the front lines (Res is decent too). I could rant more about utility of dancing, but eh, obviously use. [spoiler=Sakura] Sakura is a basic staff user initially, pretty much just worse than Felicia/Jakob to start as she has no weapons. Healers are usually always useful, however, and her Personal skill helps everyone nearby, so she’ll usually find a place in the team. Later on she can Rally Luck+Magic/Spd as well as fight a bit. Somewhat notably, her growths are actually quite high all around so she’ll be good at combat eventually. Despite okay Def and later access to things like Horse God, her low Hp prevents her from taking too many hits (but she may surprise in this respect). Between Attack Stance and her Mag/Spd, her offense is quite passable while building Spell rank if going that route. Her stats get good but they don’t matter too much for staffbots (healing scales poorly with Mag, Rescue is fixed range, etc). I’ll actually still rate use for now; she has her personal skill from base, which stacks with other Auras and adds up, and has a few Rallies to easy access. Best imouto Support build Priestess -> War Priestess to 20/5 - > Falcon Warrior/Exorcist Just staffbot while picking up some skills. Her damage is quite impressive with the magical Shining Bow or Shinrai Naginata, but building the weapon rank is painful. Her Str is okay for a staff user but you’re still babying and so just use Arms Scrolls if they’re available. Magic Counter is skippable, but might as well if just getting staff exp. The Rallies are definitely useful to pick up if you don’t already have them on your team. Offensive mage build Priestess to 10 or 20 -> Exorcist It’s not really a different build, but I want to draw a little attention to how exp mechanics seem to work now. The game “remembers” in a sense what level units are promoted at, such that earlier promos get faster exp gain than later promos. So the penalty to early promotion is just those really late levels that are lost. Sakura’s stats are high enough so she doesn’t miss those as much, and she really likes building the weapon rank early, so that she is still quite the competent fighter for a large portion of the game. Of course, promote at 20, or sometime in between, if you’re fine waiting. Note that the exp from staves appears to scale with the level of the unit you’re healing/using the staff on. So it’s harder to “grind” in that sense, or get very far ahead of the level curve. It’s understandable to sometimes heal a lot just playing through the chapter, not really trying to grind, but it doesn’t matter as much here. If Dark Falcon is available, that’s a very ideal class for offensive Sakura. I was quite impressed by early Dark Flier when I tried it. One-rounds very consistently for most of the game on both phases (not so common in this game), and even taking a few hits with Horse God. [spoiler=Hana] Hana: The easiest description is the obvious glass cannon. Str/Spd both grow well, while none of the defensive stats do. As long as she avoids ohkos (may require +Def in Guard Stance), it’s probably okay as many others are hit similarly hard, being 2-3hko’d, and she has her Avoid (as long as weapon triangle and the Reverse Katana are used smartly). On player phase, her Str, Flowing Strike, and Attack Stance usually allows avoiding damage, though RNG can still be a concern. Smart use of Dual Guard, once built up, lets her offense be used in more situations. Hana’s Personal skill does percentage-based damage, which is notable, but hard to set up consistently. Don’t use tho. Growths take a little bit to kick in. Bows or Magic are generally superior for player phase offense, and relying on avoid to this extent requires a bit too much prayer. Standard Samurai build Samurai -> Trueblade The basic Trueblade skills synergize well enough. Vantage can kill some weaken enemies (or crits/Astra happen), or give just enough Dual Guard gauge, just in time. Astra is offensive in nature, and boosts Dual Guard quickly. Swordfaire is more damage. It’s a little scary moving away from the avoid boost in Trueblade to grab Weapon Master skills, though it’s always an option. imo neither are that useful as Hana doesn’t want to face too many enemies at a time to debuff, and Line of Death usually doesn’t facilitate ohkos that late; instead she is probably more likely to be ohko’d. Not tanking with face Bow build Samurai -> Bowman -> Holy Bowman/Golden Kite Warrior This lets Hana use her strong offensive stats while attacking indirectly and avoiding most incoming damage (Kodachi’s can’t double, remember). Since a buddy or marriage (Setsuna, Takumi) seal is needed to get into Bowman, which takes a few chapters, normally I wouldn’t recommend this as she’s back to E rank. However, Hana’s stats are high enough that even with a Bronze Bow, she can probably do solid damage and oneround things. To be honest, right now this build feels like a worse version of Bowman!Mozume, but Hana does have a slightly better start. [spoiler=Subaki] Subaki: Very awkward stats. Low Spd, but Swallow Strikes means player phase is okay (until the lategame at least). Base Hp/Def and growth is surprisingly decent, but it probably won’t last too long if sticking in the Pegasus line. Str is not really good enough, especially since Steel will probably need to be avoided. Perfectionist is a solid boost that usually stays in effect between staffbots and Eastern Heart and other misc stuff like Azura’s personal. But don’t use, a bit too much anti-synergy between the growths and such. If Str was a little better I might actually say maybe, but nope. Still a filler option for +Spd, flight, maybe staves. (tanky?) Pegasus build Pegasus Warrior -> Falcon Warrior (to 20/5 -> Weapon Master) Falcon for Rally, then either stay for the staves and token healing, or try to do a little tanking in Weapon Master with Strength Seal. Subaki can probably take 1 or 2 more hits than the fragile characters, which is somewhat significant. fighting a losing battle silly Samurai build Pegasus Warrior (to 10) -> Samurai -> Trueblade This does somewhat work as the class base/growth is good and Swallow Strike gives a boost unlike say Hinata. Building up weapon rank hurts as usual but availability is high enough for it. Perfectionist makes avoid a bit more reliable, compared to say Hana. Getting Eastern Heart can help maintain it, but delays weapon rank, so a tradeoff there. [spoiler=Silas]Silas: Doesn't double too much, but initially hits really hard between base C swords (can use Steel) and Open Assault and sometimes his Personal giving another damage boost. Can orko quite often player phase with Attack Stance and easy to get into good position. A little later getting the Quick Draw Katana for the Spd bonus can help his offense and with a rank up in Lances, the Guard Naginata is great for tanking. Reclassing is probably most useful to pick up Sol. I eventually dropped him because I ran out of space, but he's quite good, especially being more tanky than most of your units. A very solid option. I'm saying maybe use because maybe his tanking doesn't hold out as well lategame, and his Spd is never really that consistent (I'm not rating that many characters "use", fwiw, you've already seen like more than half of them). Tanky build: Cavalier (-> Merc -> Hero to 20/5 or 20/15) -> Paladin/Great Knight Can go to Hero to pickup Sol and Axebreaker. The former is good for general durability (despite difficulty doubling), whereas the latter is interesting to use with Lances to negate the usual disadvantage (and still beating Swords/Magic). Paladin is far better-rounded, especially with Defender, but Great Knight has a small Def lead. Also does Dread Fighter decently like Rinkah with naturally high Def + class Res base/skills. Lodestar is an interesting option as well for the Spd though realistically it's probably most useful for Dual Guard+ in the maingame. [spoiler=Saizou] Saizou: His stats work well with his class, after getting a few levels (doesn't double very consistently at first). Personal Str/Def balances low class Str/Def and class Spd/Res balances low personal Spd/Res. With Shurikens granting some bonus Spd, the combination ends up working. Though magic growth is surprisingly high, it’s not as useful as one might expect since the anti-armor Needle Shuriken is already available. Still, the Explosive Shuriken has a significant 5 mt lead over Iron, and certain enemies do have lower Res than Def, which might balance out the difference in base Str vs. Mag. Compared to Kaze, he wants a decent amount of +Spd, but those Pair Up typically don’t give as much Str/Def. Kaze has the easy pair with Rinkah and uses Steel more reliably so their performance end up pretty similar. Kaze has a slight availability edge and seems to be better in Attack Stance, though I could be overestimating the Spd advantage. Maybe use. Saizou is kinda like a poor man’s Hidden Weapon Corrin, which is still very good. A little tanky debuffer and magekiller build: Ninja -> Elite Ninja Saizou really wants the Spd, I think, to reliably double. The Res also helps vs mages, since Ninjas are the most consistent class in countering them. Dread Fighter is a similar option to these Ninja classes if the seals are available. Because of his high Mag growth, gayserbeam suggested Dark Falcon. You already get a few other Ninjas, and not too many mages. ___________ donkeykhang explains the potential uses of early-promoted Saizou. [spoiler=Orochi] Orochi: Pretty one-dimensional, high mag, low other stats. Initially, Horse God and a +Spd pair may be enough to double some slow enemies, but eventually the Spd growth is just too low. Positioning is ultimately important to set up Attack Stance, ideally with strong single hits like from Silas, Takumi, or the Dragonstone to ohko and avoid counterattacks. You may have noticed so I skim over Personal skills if I find their effect negligible. While it’s mostly true for Orochi, capturing enemies is interesting enough to warrant some mention. Orochi doesn’t really double, so it’s not too different capturing them if the space is available. Generics have solid stats in Lunatic, especially the rare promoted ones early on (before your team really promotes). They can be filler, even tactical sacrifices, etc. While we don’t currently have too much detail on the capturable bosses, some of them have intriguing stats such as William and Hormone (from Kanna's Paralogue) actually having great Hp growth. Maybe use. Someone like early-promoted Sakura is probably a superior mage for most of the game, but reliable Res-targeting isn’t that common for Hoshido, so she still fights a few enemy types better than most. She's getting a good amount of credit for the Capture ability here. Lilina Standard mage build: Spellcaster -> Basara to 20/15 -> Exorcist The skills are probably worth the -2 magic in Basara compared to Exorcist. None of the other stats matter too much. Dark Falcon is a possibility though even the impressive class base and Spd+2 won’t last too long. Still flying and later Galeforce are nice utility if a seal is available. [spoiler=Mozume]Mozume: Bases are very low so she'll need to be babied, but admittedly that's pretty easy to do with Attack Stance. This trainee archetype is in an interesting position in this game because diminishing returns for exp sets in so quickly. A common argument against these types of units is if the same kills and investment had been given to other units, they would be even stronger than her. That's not quite as true here, as Mozume more quickly catches up. But on the other hand, her stats are not that high besides Speed (even then, there's obviously people like Kaze already). In particular, her low Hp can limit her frontline potential despite a good Def growth. While Str is good, she needs time to build up weapon rank. Inheritance-wise, Aptitude is best given to children as early as possible, since it doesn't affect the auto-level they get to 20 and their Child seal (I'm pretty sure on this). It can be interesting to get Kanna early with Aptitude since My Room can build the support quickly. Probably don't use. I don't think she's impressive enough when trained, to be worth the investment. Like some of the children join with nearly as high stats lategame, arguably better skills, and require no training themselves. Better than Takumi Backliner build Villager -> Bowman -> Holy Bowman Notably, Bowman is an option that gets around her low Hp, and she should probably reclass asap to build the weapon rank (can wait for Underdog, but probably not worth it). Her Str/Spd combination is quite nice (Spd over Takumi is quite noticeable), after a few levels. It's actually fairly impressive if you slowplay maps. Frontliner build Villager -> Weapon Master to 20/5 -> Holy Lancer Will probably need a Seraph Robe (or multiple), but picks up lots of Seal skills and overall solid statwise. Can wander in a crowd, counter them all with a Javelin, and debuff Str/Def/Spd by 6. Buddy Seal with Oboro for the Lance Fighter line. [spoiler=Hinoka] Hinoka: A more classic Pegasus, with high Spd and Res, middling Str and Def. Immediate access to the Guard Naginata does mean early durability is very nice, though she doesn’t hit back very hard and later enemy Atk rises too fast for her Def. Avoidtanking isn’t really a thing, except for the Reverse Naginata against Axes (Bows are ohkos and so very scary). High Spd allows fairly consistent usage of Steel for more damage, but she still doesn’t oneround that reliably without more help. She’s good enough, but underwhelming I suppose. Suppose you give her Energy drops, Str tonics, Str Pair Up/Attack Stance (usually someone like Silas), and Steel so she can oneround. It’s still only at 1 range and she’s like 2-3hko’d in return and can’t be near Bows at all. Most characters will do that with that kind of investment and usually take less damage in return, by attacking indirectly or having more Hp/Def/Avoid. Other units have more distinct, useful roles in the team like Ninjas killing mages at 1-2 range (just outclassing Pegasus here) or just weakening/debuffing a crowd or Archers onerounding key targets while avoiding damage or Corrin/Ryoma obliterating everything. Flying utility is useful as always and she can use Rescue later, but Subaki pretty much does the same thing except he gives more Def in Pair Up, which is probably more useful. Hinoka’s personal works as an Aura which helps a bit (though not in Guard Stance), but she’s actually the type of unit that would want that damage boost instead of giving it; many other units already oneround without it, or won’t oneround even with it. Basically, when I reclassed her to the Lancer line (+3-4 Str/Def + Lancefaire late) and she still wasn’t that impressive combat-wise, maybe she just isn’t that good? >_> Maybe use. Perhaps my expectations are off, but a somewhat better Subaki is not an incredible combat unit. Flying utility Pegasus Warrior -> Falcon Warrior (to 20/5 -> Golden Kite Warrior) Stay flying, pick up staves and Rally Speed. It might be notable that Hinoka+Falcon (and +Mag Pair) is a solid base Mag value and Shinrai Naginata can double, attacks Res, and has a big mt advantage over Javelins (which are rare in Hoshido anyway). Maybe go into Golden Kite for more skills, though stats are a bit lower. Note even Bronze Bow still easily kills fliers with Hinoka’s Spd, which is situationally useful. Hinokopter doesn’t need a pegasus Lancer build Pegasus Warrior -> Lance Fighter -> Basara/Holy Lancer Reclass asap for Hp/Str/Def growths and immediately +3 base Str/Def, all stats Hinoka likes. Her Spd and Res remain very high in this class, instead of fairly overkill in Pegasus. Basara vs Holy Lancer depends on how you value the skills vs. the stats. Hinoka’s mag is a bit low, though weapons like Horse God and Shinrai Naginata still maintain some value. Defense and Speed seal have some support value in helping other units finish up enemies and Hinoka can use the Guard or Reverse Naginata to inflict those with relatively low risk (she doesn't have to hit them either so it works against 2 range enemies). Dark Falcon should probably be mentioned, even though the stats are unimpressive for her and Galeforce is late. [spoiler=Asama] Asama: As a staffbot, he’s a slightly bulkier one, but otherwise pretty unexceptional since Felicia/Jakob are promoted already and Sakura has her aura. It is however interesting how good his physical stats are, especially Hp/Str/Def. When promoted, Asama can use lances to take advantage of this, but will need to start from Bronze. Another option would be to reclass earlier, giving up healing for another combat unit. Unlike many other units, he actually has durability, and isn’t crippled too much elsewhere (like Rinkah/Subaki/Hinata). Maybe use, Staves are always good enough filler, and being able to take a few hits to heal may mean a character’s life. Asama also has an interesting growth pattern for potential other roles. Bulky support Priest to 10 or 20 -> Mountain Priest (-> Falcon Warrior) Like Sakura, promoting early to get weapon access earlier is a strong option. Can Buddy/Marry seal with Subaki/Hinoka to go to Falcon which even keeps Lance rank, though it may be a little tricky building the supports (Pair Up doesn’t synergize too well, healing takes time). Boulder reincarnate combat build Priest (to 10) -> Herb Merchant/Oni Savage/Pegasus Warrior -> Puppeteer/Blacksmith/Falcon Knight Pick up Rally Luck if you want, or if waiting to Buddy/Marry seal. Otherwise pick one and reclass to something fun. Herb Merchant he already has, but Yumis are a little wasteful of his durability (interesting synergy with his personal that counter adjacent though). His stats should outclass Rinkah by a good bit in Oni, and in the Pegasus line his Hp/Def leads are significant while Spd is patched up by the class. Obviously there are other choices too, but Asama isn’t as special there. For example he could go to Lance Fighter, but Oboro isn’t really that lacking in stats and can use much better Lances already. Dread Fighter is still incredibly good with Asama’s stat distribution of course. Especially since many others need to build weapon rank there too. [spoiler=Setsuna] Setsuna: Well the obvious reaction is she’s outclassed by Takumi/Yuugiri and everyone else who can reclass to use Bows, because of her low level/bases and low Str growth. imo, it’s not actually that bad if you want to use her as there’s mages/fliers to snipe initially, then Prescient Victory for some damage, Steel usage for more, Attack stance, etc. Her Spd is really high, which is not overkill in Lunatic, and Bows have crazy mt nowadays. It should be mentioned she has parallel seal access to Copycat puppet lategame, though by then others could buddy/marry into it. But to be honest, Yuugiri is probably straight up better (Takumi is slower, which does matter. Look forward to that discussion. <_<). For “babied” units, Mozume outclasses statwise by far, even if she (very significantly) requires an early seal. Probably don’t use, I think base level is a bit too low as she needs 7 levels to more respectable damage. Pewpew build Bowman -> Holy Bowman to 20/15 -> Puppeteer Standard stuff. Might as well take advantage of natural class sets (though Puppeteer doesn’t get S Bows, do remember). She probably wants the Str and Bowfaire for damage, though Golden Kite as an option has more movement, obviously. [spoiler=Tsukuyomi] Tsukuyomi: Recruited later than the trainee, at level 1 without Aptitude, and there might be a problem. Don’t use. Wait...tanky mage might actually work??? build Spellcaster-> Basara to 20/15 -> Shura Okay a little more seriously there’s Attack stance for training, plus Tsukuyomi fights indirectly and base damage has Mag+2 and Arrogance in effect. Hp/Def is nice for a mage and other stats are solid. Horse God, as it keeps being brought up, is definitely also a thing. Might as well stay a little tanky classwise. Tsukuyomi is probably one of few that actually reaches reliable 1-2 range onerounding on enemy phase, but he does need a good bit of investment and effort to get there. Dark Falcon gives him somewhat passable bases so there’s some potential there. [spoiler=Oboro] Oboro: Another balanced unit but pretty good in the sense that all her physical bases and growths are decently high, especially combined with the class bases/growths. Her personal skill gives more damage, Naginatas give a bit of Def/Res (and the Guard Naginata exists). What’s a little borderline is Spd, so she would like a little help there from tonics, boosters, Pair Up (Hinata support does build fast), etc. I really can’t think of too much more to say about this right now. She’s very similar, but probably slightly worse than Lance Fighter!Hinoka, but doesn’t require a Parallel Seal. The “issue” imo with these balanced units is their niche is to use the Guard Naginata is tank and chip things (at just 1 range for low damage), which honestly doesn’t feel that remarkable. Notably, Defense/Speed Seal do make it easier for others to clean up on player phase. It’s kinda similar to another unit chipping with a 1-2 range weapon, though the Guard/Reverse Naginata might let her fight a higher quantity than many others on enemy phase. It may impact some high Spd or Def enemies more significantly, but generally the former are fragile (even without doubling) and the latter are weak to magic and effective damage. And low Hp limits this usefulness lategame, especially versus the Axe/Bow+Magic combinations, or if trying to use more offensive weapons like the Warrior Naginata. Sure maybe use for a solid, if not exceptional, contributor. Not an S rank Shuriken Balance fighter and debuffer build Lance Fighter -> Holy Lancer/Basara (to 15 -> Falcon Warrior/Great Merchant) Her base class fits best with the growths/bases, and again Basara is an option for the skills. Falcon’s Spd and Swallow Strike (Marriage Seal Subaki) could definitely be relevant later. Great Merchant is slower which matters for Oboro, but the skills are situationally useful. Dark Falcon mostly fixes Spd to the detriment of other stats. While the bases are good for the early/midgame, later the lack of Str/Def hurts while trying to make it to Galeforce. [spoiler=Hinata] Hinata: A speedy class with good personal Str/Def could work, see units like Saizou, but Hinata’s Spd growth is just too low. It requires substantial help to patch up, meaning Str/Def are actually middling since they’re hard to boost simultaneously with Spd through Pair Up. It’s a thin line between having balanced stats insufficient for good combat, and balanced stats that cover up weaknesses to result in a strong all-around performance, like +Hp or +Def Corrin. Hinata falls short, and doesn’t really have the utility potential of units like Subaki. I suppose he can instantly promote to Weapon Master to give the rare combination of Str/Skl/Spd/Def in Pair Up, which is useful enough, but it doesn’t scale as well with support rank like Awakening and is far less impressive than the Paladin Pair Ups there. There are some insights suggesting a potential tanky role for Hinata, but the rating remains don’t use until it's tested more in Lunatic. Theorycraft is somewhat promising, however. What Rinkah tries to do Onitank build Samurai -> Oni Savage -> Shura Luninareph brought up the interesting idea of not trying to "fix" Hinata's Spd, but rather play to his strengths, namely his Hp/Def which are a nice base 27/16 with 75%/65% growths in Oni and can be boosted further by stuff like Rinkah's Pair Up, Sakura's Personal aura, and Felicia's Demoiselle and Battle Command. His base Spd is sufficient for a while, but even when he starts getting doubled he probably won't take much damage. It's a bit unorthodox, but another small consideration is getting doubled also actually builds Dual Guard faster, which can block more damage (especially if smartly saved for mages as possible). Tanky units in Hoshido are relatively rare, so Hinata could definitely have a niche. He could hit back at 1-2 range or use stronger weapons like the Warrior series, unlike Guard Naginata users. For adjacent enemies, Counter and his personal adds a bit more damage (though a little anti-synergistic with high durability). Despite pretty nonexistent magic, Hinata in Shura can get even more Def with Horse God and let enemies hit themselves for damage or chip though low Res (switch to better weapons on player phase for Attack Stance to cleanup). Getting Seal skills could be an option if willing to go through the classes, especially those like Weapon Master that have common weapon ranks. Standard Samurai build Samurai -> Trueblade Slower classes will get doubled pretty consistently, even if they have better Def. This build tries to hold it off as long as possible and keeps his solid base C Swords. His Hp/Def, combined with the Avoid/Astra of Trueblade might tank a few enemies, but it’s kinda a stretch. [spoiler=Takumi] Takumi: To be clear, I’m going to rate him use, but I’m a little surprised at how much hype he gets as a combat unit. I agree Bows do feel a bit more useful in this game because of high Mt and the Attack Stance mechanic, and Bowman have significant damage/hit boosts when attacking. Avoiding counterattacks is a big deal given relatively low durability all around, and most 1-2 range is weak now, and so they really do feel like the goto weapon a lot of the time on player phase. Takumi has solid enough bases, ignores terrain cost (not quite the same as flying wrt impassable terrain), and his Personal skill is another damage boost that’s fairly easy to set up if he sticks near characters like Corrin and Ryoma. So things will synergize well and Takumi can do like 60-80% hp damage with single hits w/ 30% crit, even on Lunatic. That sounds pretty good, but I suppose my bias arises because I distinctly recall my disappointment when Takumi’s repeatedly failed to (reliably) oneround enemies, missing Spd benchmarks even with a +Spd Pair Up. Really? <_< The crit basically doesn’t exist, since it’s not reliable enough. Even if he outdamages others, they still need to come in to setup or finish off the kill. Most of the damage boosts are overkill early/midgame (usually others can at least 2hko with Attack stance), and Spd might be a bigger problem late. Bows still only hit 1 target or so per turn, so if a unit fails to kill that target, he’s not being very useful. Compare Takumi’s base 13 str+4 prescient victory + 14 prf bow = 31(34) mt, 11 AS, to Yuugiri’s base 26 att with iron (which is enough for now), and effectively 25 AS. Later, Steel Yumi lowers the att discrepancy while the Spd lead is still huge, and offensive growths are similar. Yuugiri also has Lances as a midgame 1 range option or for the side effects, and has more move+flying. More about her later, but is Takumi really that much, if any, better than Yuugiri (who I’m pretty sure people aren’t as impressed by)? Perhaps overplaying the Spd issue, but if we have to use statboosters and a deployment slot for Pair Up so that Takumi can remain bowlocked with 6 move and kill ~1 unit a turn…well there’s something to think about. Worse than Mozume Pewpewpew build Bowman -> Holy Bowman (to 15 -> Puppeteer/Golden Kite Warrior) I feel like every point of Spd matters and Takumi ignores terrain anyway. Later maybe Marriage Seal Kagerou (incidentally a good Pair up statwise for Takumi) for Copycat or get the skills/movement in Golden Kite. Note the bases are worse and you do give up S rank Bows. And Zanshin pretty much has no penalties since it's indirect damage and has massive mt+Spd boost. Note that if Takumi has access to Pegasus Warrior (Corrin, Azura marriage) he gains those unpromoted skills, notably Swallow Strike, in Golden Kite Warrior even if he promotes from Bowman. Azura is also an interesting pairing gameplay-wise since she refreshes him (a heavily player phase unit) and boosts his Spd. __________ Ownagepuffs suggests below that the player has enough resources to help Takumi's Spd, if it adheres to averages. (though I want to note the chance that Takumi has his average Spd or higher at a given level is around ~65%) [spoiler=Kagerou] Kagerou: Base Str and growth is high for her level, but base Spd needs a little work. Still, her high growth there at 70% combined with the Shuriken Spd boost eventually gives her fairly reliable offense. Her defensive parameters are very low however, so she can’t take full advantage of 1-2 range. For indirect damage, Shurikens have far lower mt than Yumi overall, and she won’t get damage/hit rate from Presicient Victory/Raven Strike. Her Res growth and the class res is decent enough to take a few hits, and perhaps the Reverse Shuriken can avoidtank a few hits (it’s a little risky, like Hana). I would say Kaze is probably better in the Ninja role of fighting mages and debuffing (Needle Shurikens handles armors as well), especially with a considerable availability lead. Saizou clearly has higher defenses and also enough Spd to double. The mages have Horse God and attack Res and the archers have more consistently superior player phase. I’m not sure Kagerou’s Str is high enough to really give her an edge and by the time her Spd growth has kicked in enough, Yuugiri, Ryoma, Crimson have joined so she might get overshadowed (unless she promotes early, I suppose). Still I’m going to say maybe use. It’s hard to say without knowing how her Str is later, and I dropped her too early to find out. Her flaws don’t seem crippling enough to recommend against her, for now. A little stronger debuffer and magekiller build: Ninja -> Puppeteer/Elite Ninja (whatever order) Similar to Kaze. I think it depends on if her Str is good enough to obtain noticeable onerounding in Puppeteer, which might be the case midgame. Later, the Spd cap could come into play and she may want Kunaifaire. Elite Ninja is also more solid against mages which is important since her base and growth are decent, but not that high alone. Dread Fighter is similar to Ninja, but the Res boost might be even more advantageous for her, so it’s a strong option to consider. [spoiler=Yuugiri] Yuugiri: Another glass cannon type unit but Yuugiri noticeably has strong bases, being a prepromoted unit, and use Bows for the high Mt. Her durability doesn’t matter as much when attacking indirectly so her great Str/Spd bases and growth are enough. With Swallow Strike, she will never have AS problems, even with Steel weaponry, and she’ll always be great against fliers with Soar. While she won’t have Soar for the all-flier chapter near her recruitment, her own flight, bases, and Bows makes her possibly the top option there. Earlier on, her stats are even solid enough to fight at 1 range for a while, especially with the Guard or Reverse Naginatas. Later she’ll want to stick with Bows and she should use them early to build the weapon rank. Yuugiri doesn’t have many support options for Buddy/Marriage seals, but does have access to Ninja and therefore late Copycat, if you want. She probably won’t fight too much in Guard Stance so the lack of support ranks isn’t a big problem. There is some discussion of this elsewhere in the thread, but it should be noted that Yuugiri gains exp like a 10/1 unit. Unlike some previous games, this means her exp gain actually slightly higher than a 20/1 unit. She is slightly faster to skills and if used equally, maintains around a 5 level lead over characters promoted at 20, until capping at --/20. Use. High bases plus enough growth to remain a reliable contributor in her role later. Unless we want to rate Takumi "maybe use" Mobile archer build Golden Kite Warrior (to 15 -> Puppeteer) Not too many choices. Puppeteer for Copycat gives up flight, though it does have 7 move. The other class she would maybe want is Bowman for the damage and her only choice is Corrin there. Would be giving up a lot of mobility but the stat gap is huge, especially with Prescient Victory and Bowfaire. [spoiler=Nishiki] Nishiki: Bases are definitely solid enough, especially on even turns, but Spd is pretty overkill and Def is low. Base Hp and Avoid from the class and basic weapon helps that a little, but lack of triangle/reverse weapons means it only goes so far. While Guard Beaststone will give Def and Nishiki barely feels the Spd hit, his Def still never gets good enough to take too many hits (class base really hurts). Only 1 range means he isn’t the best against mages, despite nice Res (doesn’t fly like Pegasus, doesn’t 1-2 range like Ninja). Effective damage against Horses is a nice situational boost, though again he really does take a lot of damage in return. Ideally he’d try to avoid counterattacks with Attack stance. Note Beastkillers are very limited in Hoshido, though I do remember at least one drops around when Nishiki joins and you fight a few Paladins/Garou. I think the bases are good enough for maybe use. Kyuubi build Fox spirit -> Nine-tailed Fox Not much choice in other classes because of weapon rank. Unlike Awakening, transformers don’t have gimped bases, so he can’t pull a Panne and reclass for ridiculous stats. [spoiler=Ryoma] Ryoma: --/4 unit with effectively base 39 atk, 24 AS, +20 crit, +20 avoid, 1-2 range with no penalties in Chapter 14 is surely balanced. [spoiler=Crimson] Crimson: Basically Hoshido!Camilla except Str/Def are even better. Well she does level a little slower, and arrives when Ryoma does instead of alongside some scrubs, but her bases are incredible and she’s a flier as well. Building Lance rank allows her the Guard and Reverse Naginata, the latter of which can sometimes “tank” bows in an emergency. Not many people use Axes either, Rinkah herself starts with E rank, so there’s another niche there. Stuff like Generals are among the scarier lategame enemies and Crimson can fight them well. An Hp tonic and Seraph robe can really help her going into the lategame. This can be said for anyone, but Crimson’s Def is particularly nice and her Hp is particularly low. Do beware criticals from Berserkers; Goddess Icons, tonics, Rally Luck will help. And be cautious against mages, of course. It’s obvious she’s in Ryoma’s shadow, but hard to argue against use I mean, Miledy comes in Chapter 13 versus Crimson’s 14, and the first 6 chapters here are essentially tutorial Mobile combat Wyvern Lord (to 15 -> Revenant Knight/Great Knight/General) Could reclass for some skills/no bow weakness, but you give up a lot of mobility. It may be useful if not rushing the lategame, however. [spoiler=Izana] Izana: Really a great filler unit if other mages weren’t trained (or even if they were). Bases are great (35/23/19 is actually solid Hp/Spd/Def with tonics and Horse god, though it won’t last). Mag stays great for attack stance. Staff usage is great. His personal skill is great since Def is usually more useful for the player. Maybe use since availability is not so great and the team might be set. Invested early units are probably better, and there’s the possibility of children also to outclass at base. Hard to say, however. Great mage support Exorcist Really kinda pointless going to other classes without weapon rank. If marrying Corrin, could go toward Basara, Shura, Dark Knight for some skills and Def, if you’re okay with giving up staves. [spoiler=Asyura] Asyura : Really good bases but this is around the time enemy stats actually get kinda high. Bows does let him fight indirectly, but instead of skills like Prescient Victory giving direct boosts to his damage, he debuffs for others. His high Res is nice and can use the Mirror Yumi to slay Sorcs easily (others will require heals, Reverse Yumi works but isn't always reliable). Maybe use filler like Izana, especially if utility (staves, locktouch, debuff Spd) is needed. Utility build Adventurer (to 15 -> Puppeteer) If you want Copycat there’s an option. I suppose technically he’s 8 move, 1-2 range in that class, but needs Arms scrolls for the Kunai rank and Def is lacking. Stick to misc small tasks, I think. [spoiler=Yukimura] Yukimura : Balanced stats all around. Nothing very exceptional, especially since a bunch of children probably have joined/are joining. Maybe use for the chip, debuffs, and personal global hit buff. Combat support Puppeteer (to 15 -> Great Merchant) Kinda slow, but Extravagance can be fun to play around with. Ask questions, give comments, build suggestions and submissions, etc. This is very wip, and I'll be adding/editing more later regardless.

Kind of like how one of staff responsible for Halo said Heroic was the canon difficulty. I'm torn between it being either hard or Lunatic, but is it possible for it to be Normal? Also, without any DLC, is it possible to beat this game without using any skills, on hard or lunatic?

So I think there have probably been a lot of these already but I can't find one so I'll just start a new thread. So I started my first lunatic playthrough and after watching some guides and stuff I completed chapter 4 and now have access to DLC, could anybody recommend which units to use and which not to use and also any tips or tricks that will make the rest of the game any easier for me? Thanks.

I'm curious to know how everyone will play their game on their very first run, so feel free to share your choice and reasons. For me it would be: Hoshido Hard/Classic No Reset Little to no grinding (but I will be messing around with Hoshido My Castle). I always play a new Fire Emblem game this way because it reminds me of playing the series for the very first time as a kid and I wanna see how much I've improved as an Fire Emblem player in general by thinking of strategies on the fly and dealing with the consequences of having a character die without making the game unbeatable (i.e Fredrick dying in lunatic during the first few chapters of Awakening). But if Orochi, Orobo or Pieri die... so help me god I will jump out of a freaking window. EDIT: Now Hoshido or Nohr is an option in the poll.

So to be more specific I guess you would rank them by mode because FE has different difficulty modes. I'm bad at FE so this probably isn't going to be a good ranking but interested to see what you guys think. This is from what i've played. FE13-lunatic plus FE12-h3 (have not gotten to play H4) FE 13-lunatic (it's hard but the fact that the avatar can pretty much make the game an easy mode brings it down, irsya told me that avatar can do the same on lunatic plus but have not tried it yet so keeping lunatic plus up there) FE 13-hard mode (I feel it's quite easy early and midgame but towards lategame it gets hard) FE 12- normal mode (i'm so bad at FE that I actually find this hard at times) FE 11- normal (not much to say but pretty easy) FE 13- normal mode (I personally find this extremely easy) please note that i'm not trying to make a tier list or whatever and it's just opinions to see.

So I just attempted to complete the prologue and I got rekt like 5 times. The RNG goddess is cruel and unforgiving, getting a crit on Krom AND Frederick. MU: Female, +Def -Luck Yeah, I know, give Frederick the sword and keep Liz out of range.

I'm almost through the main story for my 2nd Lunatic playthrough and am looking for a good father for Noire for postgame/DLC. Because I am undecided on whether I should make her a sniper/bow knight or a sorceror, I'd like input on who the best father is for either role. So far, the fathers that have been taken are: Donnel Gregor Vaike Stahl Frederick Henry (not married; planning to pair w/ Cherche)

Topic. I'm having quite a bit of trouble with it so far, and I'm just on the prologue. O: Besides having to rely on Frederick a lot, is there anything I should know before going any farther in?

Rules: - RP, Growth / Bond Drop, Mixed Reclass and base-buyable boosters are allowed. - Deaths are allowed and recruitment isn't forced. - Chapter 24 must be accessed, so that I cannot shave turns just by doing bad ending. I must enter all gaidens. (circumventing them would actually cost turns) - It's hard to put an exact limit to rigging, but expect that I will rig more stuff than a reliability-based run, but in amounts that can be considered reasonable. - How's everyone is not allowed, Drill Grounds is allowed. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5ywAsj_-b0 Units to be used: The run: Forges:

I'm planning to do my first ever Lunatic run of FE:A- any suggestions for pairings? Here is what I have so far: MaMu(+Mag,-Lck)xAversa ChromxSumia OliviaxLon'qu GregorxPanne FredrickxLissa StahlxCherche Haven't started yet so I'm completely open-minded and wish to hear all opinions and suggestions!

I've wanted to update the Tier List for awhile. Note: weird experiment criteria incoming Tier List Rules: -The game will be played on H3 Lunatic difficulty. -Mixed Male Class Set is unlocked. -Prologue performance is counted when evaluating unit's contributions. Units in Prologue are assumed to get a reasonable amount of experience. -All Characters are to be recruited. -Lunatic stat boosters are assumed to exist and may be distributed however the player chooses as long as the ideal recipients for the first few of each statbooster has received them. -Characters are assumed to be deployed to compare them. Please no arguments along the lines of "this unit doesnt deserve to be deployed". -Rainbow Potion is allowed, Growth Drop and Bond Drop are assumed to exist and allowed. -Wifi Shop is banned. [spoiler=What each tier means] Top tier Units that are core to achieving low turn counts on many maps, and do not require many resources or a team composition to do this effectively High tier Units that significantly cut turns with some degree of resources dumped into them (exp, statbooster, warped, rescue ferried) or support units that make those units capable of those strategies. Will not work in every scenario but are large contributors if utilised correctly Upper Mid Tier Units that may save turns in certain parts of the game and can be decent combat/utility units despite not being ideal for deployment. Mid tier Units that may save turns in certain parts of the game under certain situations. Lower Mid Tier Units that may affect turns in a certain part of the game but their usefulness is very limited outside of that. Upper Low Tier Units that require resources to perform a given task and may not affect turn counts negatively if given said resources. Low tier Units that negatively affect turn counts due to factors like extended babying, denial of resources to important members, etc. Bottom Tier Units that have absolutely no redeeming qualities as well as affecting turn counts negatively and taking up resources from other units. Top Tier Avatar Malicia Feena Palla Catria Caeda Xane Etzel Marth High Tier Sirius Luke Ryan Draug Rody Linde Upper Mid Tier Cecille Arran Minerva Yumina Ogma Merric Navarre Cain Julian Barst Leiden Darros Roger Wrys Mid Tier Belf Wendell Katarina Frey Athena Gordin Jeorge Lower Mid Tier Nyna Elice Lena Nagi Maria Rickard Tiki Warren Castor Jake Upper Low Tier Elrean Frost Est Caesar Maris Dice Horace Cord Low Tier Norne Samto Matthis Radd Yubello Bord Bottom Tier Abel Robert Beck Macellan Dolph Midia Michalis Astram Tomas Bantu Samson Roshea Vyland Wolf Sedgar Sheema Ymir Discuss. Current doubts: *Marth's placement in general Malicia above Avatar ? Marth to High Tier above Luke? Julian vs Rickard, should Julian really be that high compared to him? Changes: 9/16/2013: Feena below Malicia Yumina below Linde Xane above Etzel Barst over Roger Leiden above Belf Nagi above Maria Athena over Jeorge 9/23/2013: Minerva lowered to Upper Mid Tier Yumina below Minerva in Upper Mid Tier Leiden above Darros Belf now in the top of Mid Tier Frey moved from Upper Mid to Mid Tier, below Katarina Merric above Navarre Roger below Darros Gordin below Athena 2/11/2014: Sirius over Luke 6/15/2014: Linde over Cecille and Arran. Ryan over Draug and Rody. Arran lowered to Upper Mid Tier.

So... I tried to play Lunatic mode and just got 2 game overs. In the prologue. When I was a noob to the game, the first time I got a Game Over was Chapter 5-ish. This is a perfect example of how not to make a hard mode. And also, you'll need to pray to RNGod just to get through the first half of Lunatic+. And also, I would have lost poor Frederick if I was playing on Classic Mode (I do not want the game to just be me and Chrom always getting game overs against Ubermooks). Not even EXPonential Growth may provide a safe haven for grinding

Chrom(RK) X Olivia(GF) Lucina!Great Lord Inigo!Beserker (S) feMU(GF) X Inigo(RK) Morgan!Grand Master Tharja(??) X Gaius(Sol) Noire!Sorcerer Lissa(GF) X Ricken(??) Owain!Dread Fighter Maribelle(GF) X Libra(??) Brady!Dread Fighter Sumia(GF) X Henry(??) Cynthia!Sage (S) Cordelia(GF) X Lon’qu(Astra) Severa!Assassin (S) Cherche(??) X Vaike(??) Gerome!Beserker (S) Miriel(??) X Gregor(??) Laurent!Sage (S) Nowi(??) X Kellam(??) Nah!Manakete Sully(??) X Donnel(Sol) Kjelle!Wyrven Lord (S) Panne(??) X Frederick(??) Yarne!Beserker (S) Brady X Cynthia Owain X Severa Nah X Yarne Morgan X Kjelle Lucina X Gerome Noire X Laurent Looking for some help with my pairings and classing. This is what I wish to do for my next Lunatic+ run, full grind and post game pairings. Main goal is for Apotheosis. I am open to all discussion on these pairings and which skills to pass down. I have put a (S) next to children that are designed to be a support unit. This is either because they are strictly there to do high damage or be a healer. No (S) does not mean they can’t be a support unit, just that I did not have him/her designed to be one. feMU is +DEF/-LCK. I am also open to my children support pairings as well. Lastly I was really hoping to have a Kjelle that looks awesome and sexy, but I don’t know what class she’ll look the sexiest as and be a strong damage support. I have Donnel as her dad since everywhere I read he’s the best and her best final class is Wyrven Lord. Thanks in advance for any and all help/thoughts/advice!

My first attempt at a playlog was a failure, so this time I will try something more noob-friendly. I got the inspiration from CateTheHuman's post in this thread http://serenesforest.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=39958, but my rules are slightly different. Rules - Lunatic/Classic (I will reset for usable level-ups early on, because I'm not good enough to beat Lunatic with an Avatar who has 10 Defense at Lv 10. - No DLC or Wireless Menu - No Event Tiles, Anna Shops, Barracks, or Skirmishes -No Nosferatu - After Chapter 13, first generation units must be retired. Like in the original, people like Anna and Tiki will be allowed. Anna can't get any experience until Chapter 13 is over. Since Chrom is required, he can ride on Cordelia's back to stay out of enemy range. Tell me if I missed anything. I fully intend to save Paralogues to train Lucina so she can have a fighting chance once I get her. I'm going on vacation, so I might be a little slow. Pairings (suggested by Czar_Yoshi): Chrom x Olivia MaMU x Nowi Vaike x Cordelia Gregor x Miriel Donnel x Sully Class paths Premonition Prologue Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3

Turncounts start at 2:40. Turncount total is 145. I got A for Speed (as always...). E for Tactics (lolwut?). And D for survival (bullshit!). I only recorded P-8 for the run but I have archived battery saves for all of the chapters and will record some of the maps. Is it fair to assume C4, C5, C6, C8, and C21 are the only chapters that require a recording? Credits: The vast majority of this run was done ideas present in my old H3 run (complete recruitment), my H4 Mage run, Miikaya's H4 Efficiency thread (many of the openings for chapters), KoT's H3 thread (very handy for Rescue/Again usage). [spoiler=Full Credit List] P-1, P-2, P-3, P-4A, P-5, P-6O, P-7C (4-4-4-3-4-2-3 24 turns total) Same as CR H3 run. I'm too lazy to look up who I credited with what clears right now but I will amend this section later. P-8 (7 turns) Balcerzaks opening in his run H3 myrm run. Instead of having myrm!MU ORKO the silver axe bandit, I have Athena weaken it for knight!MU (who should be doubled) to counter KO on EP 3. This is an old clear that I brought up when I first joined this forum however it has been made into a reasonable clear by exp modifications in the previous prologue chapters. C1 (6 turns) Same as CR H3 run. C2 (6 turns) Original clear by Miikaya. Same as CR H3 run with whatever modifications Id already made (Iron axe forge, DK!Arran). Credit to Miikaya for the majority of the clear. C3 (6 turns) Original clear by PKL. merc!Luke subbing for hunter!Ryan with Speedwing + RP. Kind of hard to describe but the positioning for Arran, MU and Palla are different and what it allows is Palla to get the boss kill and Marth to kill Mathis on the player phase with one of the cavs suiciding to Marth on the enemy phase. I dont use hunter!Gordin, instead I just use Bord to tank ballista hits on turns 1 and 4. He dies because the 2 vulneraries that could be used to keep him alive sell for 120G, his life is worthless C3x (6 turns) This is different from CR H3 run. Pretty close to how my H4 Mage C3x is done. The clear is done without fielding MU, but instead hunter!Luke, Linde, PK!Palla, cav!Catria, Malicia. C4 2 Rescue (3 turns) Video was recorded. Yubello sacrifice to protect Ogma. Yumina cant be saved after she rescues Marth. Gordin died because of positioning purposes to maximize exp gain for merc!Luke. C5 2 Rescue (8 turns) Video was recorded. Should be noted that some credit should be given to KoTs run for making me aware it is possible to 8-turn the map. (There is a typo in his thread though, he has C5 as 1 Rescue, it is, in fact 2 Rescue.) Obviously a more conservative opening can be done but I put MU in boss range to help get Caeda more exp. C6 1 Hammerne, 2 Rescue (4 turns) Video was recorded. Wingspear crit with save point on 4 for boss kill. Norne sacrificed to guarantee Frey would be able to use the save on turn 4. C6x 1 Rescue (1 turn) Paperblades clear. C7 1 Rescue (4 turns) Feena dance order is Navarre, Palla, Marth, Marth. Just kill stuff Navarre uses saves on 2 (for Devil hit) and 4 (for boss kill). The dragon can be spawned by standing near the edge of its attack range; you dont have to be in the attack just very close to it (see H4 Mage C7 clear if unsure). C8 1 Rescue (2 turns) Video was recorded. Cain sacrificed to protect Luke indirectly by having the square to Lukes left occupied and thus being able to be attacked by only one side. C9 1 Rescue, 2 Thief (5 turns) Similar to CR H3 run. Again credit to dondon151 for Feenas starting position. Linde, after being handed the Thief staff moves to Nosferatu-tank 1 DK. Sirius will KO that DK; Caeda and sniper!Wendell + Linde will KO 2 more DKs. cleric!Cecille is sacrificed to give the remaining DK a target that is not important to the rest of the run. Sirius will be fed the DK as well as both of the DKs Linde pulls. (Sirius gets 4 DKs on this map. Luke gets a mage and some chip exp.) C10 (2 turns) I killed Elrean here because I wanted to field Etzel for staff rank. C10x (1 turn) Same as CR H3. Credit to mjemirzian for the L-trick. C11 2 Rescue (5 turn) Mm... the strategy is hard to explain but do I need to? Its different from my CR H3. Etzel doesnt need to kill any of the wyrms and Marth should follow Linde to steal her kill. If you watch my H4 C11 clear there is a spot where Linde can move to where she can kill a wyrm on turn 4 and pick up the Armscroll on 5. C12 1 Rescue (5 turn) Same as H4 Mage C12 except HM!Luke instead of SM!Luke. Credit to mjemirzian again for ORKO bandits idea. This clear leaves 3 wyrms (in the north) and 1 bandit alive before seizing. Also, features Paladin!Caeda. DK!Caeda may be SPD capped and giving Caeda levels when shes SPD capped is just stupid. C13 1 Rescue (3 turns) Rescue Feena so she can dance Marth one turn 1 after stepping into the river and again on turn 2. Final dance is for Sirius. I might record this clear to demonstrate how to get the most amount of dragon kills. C13x (2 turns) Similar to CR H3 except HM!Luke ORKOing the ballista and tanking Kleine. (Athena sacrificed so Luke only takes 2 hits.) Luke gains 8 bow WEXP on this map. C14 1 Rescue, 1 Thief (4 turns) Feena dance Sirius, Marth, Linde, Catria. Opening is similar to Miikayas. I used Sniper!Luke with Parthia can ORKO ice dragons on this map provided he has 20 STR and RP. I think I gave MU a Talisman because Xane didnt heal enough to tank 2 mages with just Fortify (Etzel uses physic on Sirius). I kill 18/19 dragons on this map. C15 2 Again (4 turns) Sort of similar to H4 Mage C15. Credit to PKL for the original clear. If Linde is placed very aggressively and you have DK!MU you can get all the items from the enemies from the village area, and the thief items and even use the save point on turn 3. Malicia danced once to use Again on Marth twice so that he can move thrice on the fourth turn and seize before the fith. C16 1 Thief (2 turns) Same as CR H3. I did forge crit onto a Javelin here. Also killed Astram, because Jeorge already died. C16x (1 turn) Kill everything except Katarina and 2 snipers and have Berserker!MU with a handaxe traded to the top of his inventory ready to counter Katerina with HM!Luke (RP and Starsphere to counter KO the Snipers). If Luke cant tank 2 snipers as an HM he will miss out on 8 bow WEXP. C17 (4 turns) Credit to Miikaya again. Similar to CR H3 except SM!Sirius instead of HM!Sirius and Etzel was fielded. No need to use the Rescue or Again here. Marth should be positioned in range of the longbow sniper. AI on this map and basically every map following this is very strange at times. Palla drew the warrior with crit chance I think. Im not sure if its the longbow sniper or the warrior that moves first but you might be able to force the warrior to move first by having someone like Arran or Wendell in place of Palla. C18 1 Rescue (2 turns) Oh jeez. I might record this map the positioning is going to take me forever to describe. It requires a General who is 4HKOd (Catria comes to mind) and MU to have 31-32 DEF with Starsphere. Marth visits village on turn 2, I get all the items and I use the save point on 1 just in case the killer lance general decides to crit Linde. This is not a Nosferatu-tank strategy. C19 1 Rescue, 1 Again (5 turns) Used Miikayas opening (because I failed those stupidly high benchmarks for my CR H3 opening) except MU had starsphere and Hammer. MU dislodges 2 of the generals on 1, kills the boss on 2, flees into the mountains on 3, steals a kill on 4 and kills Wolf on 5. Xane, Luke and a bunch of scrubs will handle the Paladins. I only engage 2 Warriors and only kill the thief that drops the Silver sword. Feena rescued on 5 (she can be rescued on turn 4 if the rescue is assisted to get Marth to an appropriate tile but it is unnecessary and puts Marth in harms way there is quite a bit of move leeway for this on turn 5). C20 (5 turns) Sort of similar to H4 Mage C20 (Sirius is a Paladin for the extra move). Apparently you can keep Midia alive by not aggroing the sniper near the NW Fortify bishop. C20x (4 turns) Credit to MagicBarrier16/Miikaya. C21 1 Rescue, 1 Again (5 turns) Video was recorded. Credit to KoT (again not for the clear itself but the knowledge that it could be done honestly rigging or not getting Minerva to the village on turn 4 and then keeping her alive without training her is pretty amazing). I missed this in the testrun but I figured it out when I did H4 Mage run. Pull one of the wyrms from the northern group on turn 1 with MU so that Feena can be close enough on turn 2 that if she uses her full movement on turns 3-5 she can dance Marth after hes rescued, and pull the wyrms near the boss with Catria and get her into position to land a killer lance crit. Luke needs some serious durability, a robe and shield + maybe an arena level for DEF. Marths durability check isnt quite as high but he still needs to be quite durable preferably 20 DEF after RP + SoS. C22 1 Again (4 turns) Same as CR H3 except with HM!Sirius. C23 1 Rescue (4 turns) Similar to my H4 Mage C23. I used something similar to Miikayas opening except the sides are switched I think and SM!Palla replaces Etzel. Remember how I was fussing about purewaters? This chapter is why. Pretty much anyone who doesnt attack on turn 1 gets a purewater usage. I only need the starlight crit but I specifically need MU not to crit either of the dragons he attacks. +4 Mt Javelin chip + +3 Mt Dragonpike forge kills fire dragons provided MU is a max STR, A Lnc Paladin. Caeda sacrificed because I didnt have the gold to purchase robes in this run. C24 - 3 Rescue, 1 Again (1 turn) Minverva danced to recruit Maria and KO Lena. Maria rescues cleric!Merric. Merric recruits Elice and rescues Sirius. Sirius recruits Nyna and

I did say I was going to eventually retake H3 LTC right? Well, the time has come! Welcome to another one of my many Fire Emblem 12 Low Turncount Playthroughs! This time, I'm re-tackling FE12's H3 Lunatic Difficulty. I'm going to be low turning this difficulty. I attempted this once before like a year ago, but I wasn't nearly as experienced as I was now. The rules for the playthrough are: 1. Rainbow Potion, Maturity Drop, Bond Drop, Drill Ground and Lunatic Statboosters are fair game. 2. Mixed male class sets unlocked. 3. No forced recruitments. And no deaths where possible. If a death saves a turn, I will do it though. 4. The game must be played out to the true ending. All Gaidens must be visited. 5. No Wifi Shop. No How's Everyone? [spoiler=Prologue] So, first, we make the Avatar. Named him "Badass" and gave him a rather badass look. I choose Cavalier because I enjoy Cavalier the most. The rigging is pretty minimal compared to the other options. I dislike Fighter's accuracy issues and I dislike Knight's spd growth issues. The build for the Avatar is: Noble's Child: +2 Skl Spd Bases, +5% growth in Skl Spd This lets him double Rody with a spd proc off of Jagen and Luke with a spd proc off of Rody. Diversity: +1 Str/Mag Bases, +10% growth in Str Mag This lets him 3HKO Jagen and Rody and gives him a nice growth in Str. Humanitarian: +30% HP growth I prefer the guaranteed HPproc over 10% Def. Prologue 1 is completed in 4 turns. A pretty straightforward chapter. Just kill the soldier and then make sure Jagen can't KO you by using Vulnerary while countering him in the Enemy Phase and then finishing him off. Badass needs to get Str and Spd in his first level for next chapter. Prologue 2 is completed in 3 turns Rody has 6 spd, so this is why he needs 10 spd. Rody can be 3HKO'd and doubled by Avatar now and if Avatar procs spd after finishing Rody off, he can double Luke for a quicker clear. I decide to feed the Luke kill to Ryan instead of Avatar. Prologue 3 is completed in 3 turns A rather complicated chapter. Avatar can double Fighters and the Mercenary, which comes in handy. I adjusted the strat to allow Ryan to get the kill. This involved unquipping Rody as you probably noticed. Prologue 4 Athena Route is completed in 4 turns I first wanted this one to be a 3 turn, but no matter what, Avatar can't survive the combination of Athena+Mercenary+Myrmidon in Turn 1 and the Myrmidon in the pillar ensure that I can't be too greedy in the first turn or Wrys dies. Even minimum Str Athena+Mercenary+Myrmidon would exactly KO a blessed 23 HP 10 Def Level 4 Avatar. And that needs to happen in order to 3 turn. I went with a 4 turn that nets me a bunch of kills on my core team: Caeda Ryan Avatar. I had to stop the video mid-way through recording due to space issues, which is why the screen is slightly different after 6:51. Prologue 5 is done in 4 turns Due to the equipment in P4 Athena, I had to improvise a lot in this chapter but it worked out in the end. A 3 turn can technically be done if you rig a crit with Athena on the boss and a dodge in either PP or EP. I obviously chose to do a much safer strat. Prologue 6 Ogma is done in 2 turns A very easy chapter. Avatar needs to have just enough spd to not get doubled by Ogma, otherwise it's fairly easy to do this one. Prologue 7 Est is done in 3 turns A Ryan with 6 spd is neccesary for this clear. He can get to Level 5 before the chapter so he just needs to be on his average or in my case, he needs to be +0.5 from his average. This makes the Archer attack Athena instead of him. [spoiler=Total turncounts] Chapter Turns Total P1 4 4 P2 3 7 P3 3 10 P4A 4 14 P5 4 18 P6O 2 20 P7E 3 23 P8 7 30 C1 6 36 C2 6 42 C3 6 48 C3x 6 54 C4 5 59 C5 9 68 C6 5 73 C6x 1 74 C7 4 78 C8 3 81 C9 5 86 C10 2 88 C10x 1 89 C11 5 94 C12 5 99 C13 4 103 C13x 2 105 C14 4 109 C15 5 114 C16 2 116 C16x 1 117 C17 4 121 C18 2 123 C19 5 128 C20 5 133 C20x 4 137 C21 5 142 C22 4 146 C23 2 148 Final 2 150 [spoiler=Staff Usage] Chapter Rescue Hammerne Thief Again Rescue Again Comments C1 - - - - - - N/A C2 - - - - - - N/A C3 - - - - - - N/A C3x - - - - - - N/A C4 4/5 - - - - - Yumina rescued Marth for 5 turn C5 3/5 3/3 - - - - Malicia rescued Marth for 9 turn C6 2/5 3/3 - - - - Arran rescued Marth for 5 turn C6x 1/5 2/3 - - - - Linde rescued Marth for 1 turn. Malicia Hammerne'd Rescue. C7 4/5 2/3 - - - - Rescue Marth for a 4 turn. C8 4/5 2/3 - - - - N/A C9 3/5 2/3 3/5 - - - Thief was used on Capricorn and Boots chests. Rescue Marth after he recruited Minerva. C10 3/5 2/3 2/5 - - - Thief was used on the Bullion so that I could buy the C11 Secret Shop weapons. C10x 3/5 2/3 2/5 - - - N/A C11 1/5 2/3 2/5 - - - Rescue was used once on Feena so she could dance Etzel farther and then he rescued Marth for a 5 turn. C12 4/5 1/3 2/5 - - - Hammerne was used on Rescue and then Rescue was used on Marth to 5 turn. C13 4/5 1/3 2/5 - - - N/A C13x 4/5 1/3 2/5 - - - N/A C14 3/5 1/3 1/5 3/3 - - Thief was used on the Again chest. Rescue was used on Marth to 4 turn. C15 3/5 1/3 1/5 2/3 - - Again was used in order to 5 turn. C16 3/5 1/3 0/5 2/3 5/5 - The last Thief is used on the Rescue chest. C16x 3/5 1/3 2/3 5/5 - N/A C17 3/5 1/3 1/3 5/5 - Again was used in order to 4 turn. C18 3/5 1/3 1/3 4/5 - Rescue was used in order to 2 turn. C19 3/5 1/3 0/3 3/5 - Rescue and Again were used in order to 5 turn. C20 3/5 1/3 3/5 3/3 N/A C20x 3/5 1/3 3/5 3/3 N/A C21 2/5 1/3 2/5 2/3 Rescue was used on Feena. Another Rescue was used on Marth in Turn 5. Again was used on Marth to allow the 5 turn. C22 1/5 0/3 2/5 3/3 Rescue was used on Feena. Again was used on Marth to 4 turn. C23 0/5 1/5 1/3 Rescue is used on Linde so she can Rescue Marth to the throne. Again was used on Catria so she could clear the way and Again was used on Linde so she could kill Gharnef. Final 0/5 0/3 Rescue is used on Ryan so that he can finish Medeus after Marth weakens him enough. Again is used on Marth to allow him a second round on Medeus. [spoiler=Forges] Chapter Name MT Hit Crit Comments 2 Iron Axe + 3 - - Allowed Avatar to ORKO C2 Dracoknights. 4 Steel Sword + 1 - - Allowed Marth/Ogma to ORKO C4 Pirates. 6 Bankrupt(Hand Axe) + 3 - - Allowed Avatar to ORKO C6 Armors. 11 MinervAAAA(Dragonpike) + 4 - - Allowed Palla to OHKO the C11 Boss. Allowed Wyvern OHKOs in C12. 12 Reliable(Hand Axe) - +10 - Made the C12 strategy a lot more reliable. 16 Critavelin(Javelin) - - + 7 Gave Catria enough Crit to where it wasn't unreasonable to rig a crit on the Geosphere Thief. 18 Neighsbane(Ridersbane) + 5 - - Allowed units to OHKO C18 and C19 Paladins. 20 WINSpear(Wing Spear) + 1 - - Allowed Caeda to ORKO a C20 General. 21 RIPWallet(Dragonpike) +10 - - Allows units to OHKO C21-23 Dragons. 22 I'mTopTier(Wyrmslayer) + 2 + 5 - Allows Caeda to ORKO a Fire Dragon and Ryan to ORKO the boss in C22. [spoiler=The LTC Team and Statboosters] : Growth Drop, Angelic Robe, Energy Drop, Arms Scroll : Angelic Robe, Dracoshield, Dracoshield, Dracoshield, Arms Scroll, Arms Scroll : Bond Drop, Speedwing, Speedwing, Arms Scroll, Arms Scroll, Dracoshield, Arms Scroll : Seraph Robe : Energy Drop, Goddess Icon, Goddess Icon, Dracoshield : Angelic Robe, Spirit Dust, Spirit Dust, Spirit Dust, Spirit Dust, Spirit Dust, Spirit Dust : Speedwing : Angelic Robe, Energy Drop, Speedwing : None : None : None : None [spoiler=Unit Analysis] Ah, Marth. A capable but not broken lord. He has to be spoonfed kills in LTC on the way to the throne which can upset newer players though. But I find that as you get better at the game, one starts to notice more and more ways to feed him kills. He was spd blessed for awhile thanks to Growth Drop actually. I used an Energy Drop on him so he could cap str, it makes fighting Medeus much easier and lenient. The early Seraph Robe opened up ways to get him exp. The Arms Scroll at the end increased his damage to Medeus from 23 to 24, which is actually quite significant. Holy crap. Such an improvement from my other run's female Avatar haha. This guy made a bunch of strats possible thanks to his bulk. Of course, said bulk was mostly the work of Lunatic statboosters. I gave him an early Seraph Robe so that he could tank some dracoknights and well, it was a great investment mid and longterm too, as it greatly enhanced his defensive capabilities. I gave him 2 Dracoshields in C4 for the 5 turn strat and it also came in handy longterm. I gave him an Arms Scroll in Axes because I thought I would need Hauteclere Dracoknight for Hardin. It turned out I didn't but it's not like it was a run ending statbooster placement. It actually came in handy for improving the C21 reliability because Xane could use Hauteclere when copying him. I had to use an Arms Scroll on his Lances so that he could wield Gradivus in C20x and 21, this was crucial for those strats. I honestly think he's one of the craziest units in the game. Well worth the speedwings investment. Due to his superior Bow rank and better Prologue, I find he has less issues getting exp than the other Horsemen in the game. Luke Rody Draug etc need Arms Scrolls on their Bow rank while Ryan doesn't, so those Arms Scrolls can instead go to his Sword rank for Wyrmslayer (and later Master Sword) access, which opens up even more opportunities in the dragon chapters to get him exp. I used an early Speedwings so he could get going faster by doubling some enemies. This also made it possible to skip a Bow forge entirely by having a Hunter that could double C3 Dracoknights. The second wing was given in C9 because I knew it was a great longterm investment and it saved a Rainbow Potion use for the chapter. The 2 Arms Scrolls I gave to him were given to him as a Swordmaster, this gives him A Swords as a Swordmaster, which is a lot more than if i gave them to him as a Horseman. This puts him real close to getting Master Sword and Brave Sword access too. Brave Sword as a Horseman being extremely valuable for C21. I gave him the Bond Drop because Avatar honestly doesn't need it, he's already OP. I'd rather give it to a unit that can benefit from it early and it actually improved the reliability of some clears. I honestly think ideal Bond Drop recipients should be Marth or the Horsemen being used. Finally, I gave him an Arms Scroll for Mercurius in endgame as Mercurius is powerful enough to deal the rest of the damage after Marth is done, unlike Parthia. And the award for most screwed unit in the playthrough goes to....Malicia! Just wow, dat 50 mag growth never quite kicked in, did it? At least she recovered enough most of the time. Extremely disappointed at her in the stats department. But good thing she doesn't need stats to do her most important thing, right? The run would be pretty slow without her Hammerne, Again and Fortify. Damn, she's a pretty good unit in midgame to lategame isn't she? Underwhelming C2 to C11 aside, she's pretty good. Most of it has to do with her being ideal as a Falcoknight. Palla vs Catria IS still close, but Palla still has the edge. One has to remember that in runs where the Avatar turns out underwhelming, Palla IS the Avatar in those runs. Being able to pull most of the Dracoknight tanking strats Avatar does with Lunatic statboosters. Catria is a very very good unit too though. Gave her an Energy Drop for obvious reasons. The 2 Goddess Icons I gave her in Chapter 19 made the strat safer as it gave her enough Lck to make using Devil Sword reasonable and also gave her enough Lck to combat Killer Axe Warriors well. The Dracoshield I gave her in Chapter 23 allowed her to withstand a Fire Dragon and a Mage Dragon after a Pure Water or Barrier boost. She was actually quite average or screwed until she promoted. Then she became good. Well, I guess she was worth the Seraph Robe after all. Honestly a pretty good unit with a Levin Sword or a Nosferatu in hand. Her magic IS as worrisome as I feared though. Needing 6 Spirit Dusts to combat Gharnef properly and 5 Spirit Dusts to use a Levin Sword properly in C20 and C20x. She's still worth the investment though, as she's the most reasonable Gharnef killer in LTC (just look at that Malicia will you?). And Nosferatu comes in handy here and there. Was actually above her average mag for the longest time. Though I think she got skl spd screwed later on. The Goddess herself wasn't so godlike this playthrough. A lot of it has to with my Avatar though. Still was a second Avatar for the longest time. Incredibly handy until like Chapter 15. Such a good unit. Her lck is actually a bit troublesome depending on her levels in lategame, but it can be a blessing too, as having low enough lck can make enemies prioritize her, making her serve as a great baiter. And the critrates aren't bad enough to not risk the enemy baits. I gave her only one Speedwing now that I think about it. As overrated as I initially told y'all. Honestly, go a bit faster than usual and he just can't keep up. The experience is better fed elsewhere. He was relegated to miscellaneous, random tasks after Chapter 14. Not having the stats to actually do much of anything. I spent a Seraph Robe, an energy drop and a speedwing thinking I could keep him as a good unit but it just didn't happen. Still, some of those silly lategame tasks proved to be actually important. He was lame enough to get targetted by everything but not bad enough that I wouldn't deploy him I guess. I'm wondering if the ones that voted for Feena in the poll realize it's impossible to kill Medeus with Feena or not...lol. It's still hilarious that she got votes though :P. As for my analysis of Feena...well, she's a dancer and dancers rule. Lol, oops I kept Caeda as a Sage for this pic. She was ridiculous in Prologue, still pretty awesome for the rest of the game. Her midgame was actually nice because effective weapons don't care about your strength and she proved to be quite vital to some clears like C18 and C20 with her Wing Spear. Better than Sirius by a lot imo. I gave her a Seraph Robe for the Chapter 17 strat to work. Made a bunch of strats possible. Never quite reached Again because I didn't concentrate on that, but it is actually extremely doable. Xane is so good it's not even funny. Can copy your best unit in every chapter. I mean, come on. And then there are people that think his position in my tier list is unjustified lol... Playlist: http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLOyEd86YwZlcwxrfi-ZB4_YP2XvDUsymG