These Postgame Setups any good?

[Dark Sage]

I don't own Awakening yet but do plan on picking it up eventually. I planned some setups and pairings for the characters I plan to use to tackle the harder DLC, including not only Apotheosis but also Death's Embrace, Roster Rescue, etc. Since I have multiple possible setups for some characters, I put them in spoiler tags for easier reading.

The pairings:

Chrom x Sumia

Lissa x Henry

Sully x Donnel

Miriel x Gregor

Mariabelle x Ricken

Panne x Fredrick

Cordelia x Stahl

Nowi x Gaius

Tjarka x Avatar

Olivia x Virion

Cherche x Vaike

The Sets:

[spoiler=Lucina]

Tank Set

Class:Paladin

Limit Breaker

Pavise

Aegis

Galeforce

Rightful King

Attacking Set

Class: Dark Flier

Limit Breaker

Tomefaire

Galeforce

Aether

Rightful King

[spoiler=Cynthia]

Unorthodox Set

Class: Bow Knight

Limit Breaker

Galeforce

Dual Guard+

Luna

Bowfaire

Pure Offense Set

Class: Dark Flier

Limit Breaker

Tomefaire

Galeforce

Aether

Luna

Gurerilla Set

Class: Sniper

Limit Breaker

Bowfaire

Dual Guard+

Luna

Galeforce

[spoiler=Owain]

Default Set

Class: Dark Knight

Galeforce

Aggressor

Tomefaire

Lifetaker

Limit Breaker

[spoiler=Kjelle]

Flexible Tank Set

Class: Hero

Galeforce

Swordfaire

Armsthrift

Luna (swap for Sol in non-Apotheosis DLC)

Limit Breaker

[spoiler=Brady]

Default Set

Class: Sage

Galeforce

Tomefaire

Aggressor

Dual Guard+

Limit Breaker

[spoiler=Severa]

Physical Set

Class: Assassin

Galeforce

Vantage

Armsthrift

Astra

Limit Breaker

Nosfertank Severa

Class: Sorceror

Galeforce

Armsthrift

Vantage

Vengeance

Limit Breaker

[spoiler=Nah]

Default Tank Set

Class: Manakete

Galeforce

Sol

Vantage

Deliverer

Limit Breaker

[spoiler=Inigo]

Default Set

Class: Assassin

Galeforce

Swordfaire

Astra

Vantage

Limit Breaker

Secondary Attack Set

Class: Berserker

Galeforce

Axefaire

Astra (Sol on non-Apotheosis maps)

Aggressor

Limit Breaker

Guerilla Set

Class: Sniper

Galeforce

Aggressor

Bowfaire

Astra

Limit Breaker

[spoiler=Yarne]

Physical Support Set

Class: Berserker

Axefaire

Aggressor

Dual Guard+

Luna

Limit Breaker

Mobile Support Set

Class: Griffon Rider

Deliverer

Dual Guard+
Luna

Aggressor

Limit Breaker

[spoiler=Laurent]

Nosfertank Set

Class: Sorceror

Armsthrift

Vantage

Tomefaire

Vengeance

Limit Breaker

[spoiler=Gerome]

Support Set

Class: Berserker

Axefaire

Aggressor

Pass

Deliverer

Limit Breaker

[spoiler=Noire]

Nosfertank Set

Galeforce

Armsthrift

Vengeance

Luna

Limit Breaker

[spoiler=Morgan]

Attack Set

Galeforce

Armsthrift

Ignis

Luna

Limit Breaker

[spoiler=Chrom]

Support Set

Class: Bow Knight

Bowfaire

Dual Strike+

Dual Guard+

Aggressor

Limit Breaker

[spoiler=Avatar]

Staffbot

Class: Sage

Tomefaire

All Stats +2

Magic +2

Sol

Limit Breaker

[spoiler=Sumia]

Versatile Set

Class: Dark Flier

Galeforce

Luna

Dual Guard+

Iote's Shield

Limit Breaker

[spoiler=Cordelia]

Default Set

Galeforce

Lancefaire

Armsthrift

Sol

Limit Breaker

[spoiler=Olivia]

Default Set

Class: Dancer

Galeforce

Special Dance

Pass

Swordfaire

Limit Breaker

[spoiler=Gregor]

The Scout

Class: Assassin

Vantage

Swordfaire

Astra

Armsthrift

Limit Breaker

The Heavy

Class: Berserker

Aggressor

Axefaire

Armsthrift

Astra

Limit Breaker

[spoiler=Legion]

Rallybot

Class: Berserker

Dual Support+

Rally Strength

Rally Spectrum

Rally Defense

Limit Breaker

[spoiler=Spotpass!Katarina]

Rallybot

Class: Trickster

Galeforce

Rally Speed

Rally Spectrum

Rally Heart

Limit Breaker

I think if I'm not playing for Apotheosis, I'll remove Limit Breaker from everyone and replace it with a different skill. This should allow for more interesting sets.

Thoughts? Any pairings I should swap around or nix? Any sets that should be used or edited? Give me your input.

[HeoandReo]

The only thing that really comes to mind would be swapping Ricken and Henry from Maribelle and Lissa. The only real thing that Henry gives Owain is Sorcerer,(Barbarian overlaps and Thief is mostly obsoleted by Myrmidon) and surprisingly, Ricken is actually Brady's worst dad since he gives him nothing. OK, not literally nothing, but Brady already starts with Mage/Priest and Cavalier, so he already has Ricken's niche as a dad by default.

By swapping them over, Owain gets access to Luna but he also gets Lifetaker like he does with Henry thanks to getting it from Ricken's Mage tree. Brady gets a lot more out of Henry, getting Dark Mage to do some Sorcerer stuff, Barbarian for Axefaire as a War Monk (or as a possible physical support) and Thief for extra utility in the main game as well as Assassin as another possible physical class if he desires. Basically, Owain and Brady get a lot more when they swap dads than what they have now.

Virion!Inigo is also falling a bit in popularity, but it's still a solid option, since Inigo gets quite a bit of speed to work with and a good selection of class options. Only thing that comes to mind that he's missing is Luna, but he'd also like to inherit a good amount of speed with it too, and the only non-Avatar parent who can do that is Chrom. If getting Luna on Inigo is a big deal, you could do a swap around of say, Chrom/Olivia, Sumia/Henry, and Maribelle/Libra. Lucina loses out on Pavise and Tomefaire but gains Vantage and Swordfaire, Cynthia loses Aegis, Paladin and Bowbreaker but gains a whole ton of really good stuff. (Troubadour for Valkyrie access and Dual Support+, Thief for Assassin access, Dark Mage for Hex/Anathema, Lifetaker and a possible class option in Sorcerer) If you do decide to do this, the shift from Henry to Libra might matter if you're using him for physical support or as an Axefaire War Monk, but Libra's acceptable if you're making him a magic offensive Sage, which it looks like you're doing. For your situation, it might not be worth doing all that shuffling just to get a fast Luna on Inigo, though, so if this doesn't sound like a good idea to you, that's fine.

Vaike!Gerome is also another one that's falling a bit, but it's still solid if only for Berserker access. I might give him Kellam instead, but that's just me. Kellam makes Gerome a bit slower, but he also gives him Knight for Dual Guard/Luna and Pavise, and like Vaike he also gives Thief so that he can do stuff with Deliverer/Movement+1 and other fun things like that.

Set-wise, Gregor!Laurent should probably run Sol over Vengeance for more healing, and in general if a character's using a proc, Luna is the best option thanks to its activation rate and the higher damage it does against higher defense. (Stahl!Severa should pretty much always run it, for one) It's basically a necessity for Apotheosis, so it can't hurt to run it when you can.

Edited July 11, 2013 by HeoandReo

[Dark Sage]

The only thing that really comes to mind would be swapping Ricken and Henry from Maribelle and Lissa. The only real thing that Henry gives Owain is Sorcerer,(Barbarian overlaps and Thief is mostly obsoleted by Myrmidon) and surprisingly, Ricken is actually Brady's worst dad since he gives him nothing. OK, not literally nothing, but Brady already starts with Mage/Priest and Cavalier, so he already has Ricken's niche as a dad by default.

By swapping them over, Owain gets access to Luna but he also gets Lifetaker like he does with Henry thanks to getting it from Ricken's Mage tree. Brady gets a lot more out of Henry, getting Dark Mage to do some Sorcerer stuff, Barbarian for Axefaire as a War Monk (or as a possible physical support) and Thief for extra utility in the main game as well as Assassin as another possible physical class if he desires. Basically, Owain and Brady get a lot more when they swap dads than what they have now.

That's a good point, I forgot about Luna on Owain and he does appreciate the magic boost Ricken gives. As for Brady, I'm probably not going to do anything different with him and he's not that suited for physical classes anyway. It's not like Henry hurts him though so swapping Henry and Ricken sounds like a good idea.

Virion!Inigo is also falling a bit in popularity, but it's still a solid option, since Inigo gets quite a bit of speed to work with and a good selection of class options. Only thing that comes to mind that he's missing is Luna, but he'd also like to inherit a good amount of speed with it too, and the only non-Avatar parent who can do that is Chrom. If getting Luna on Inigo is a big deal, you could do a swap around of say, Chrom/Olivia, Sumia/Henry, and Maribelle/Libra. Lucina loses out on Pavise and Tomefaire but gains Vantage and Swordfaire, Cynthia loses Aegis, Paladin and Bowbreaker but gains a whole ton of really good stuff. (Troubadour for Valkyrie access and Dual Support+, Thief for Assassin access, Dark Mage for Hex/Anathema, Lifetaker and a possible class option in Sorcerer) If you do decide to do this, the shift from Henry to Libra might matter if you're using him for physical support or as an Axefaire War Monk, but Libra's acceptable if you're making him a magic offensive Sage, which it looks like you're doing. For your situation, it might not be worth doing all that shuffling just to get a fast Luna on Inigo, though, so if this doesn't sound like a good idea to you, that's fine.

I don't think it's that great an idea personally. Lucina really benefits from Sumia as her mother more than Olivia and Cynthia also appreciates the stuff that Chrom offers her. Sumia just offers more flexibility for what I need than Olivia does; Lucina is practically a one trick pony with Olivia as the mother and isn't nearly as good as a Paladin whereas with Sumia, she can run a PavGis set boosted by Rightful King and be a mobile tank that's still fast enough to double nearly everything. Even as a Dark Flier, the speed boost Sumia gives makes it a bit easier for her to double Anna than with Olivia.

I think I just might use Inigo as a Sniper to make the most out of Virion's unique qualities. I know Chrom is technically better but Inigo still performs well. I do like my Longbows.

Vaike!Gerome is also another one that's falling a bit, but it's still solid if only for Berserker access. I might give him Kellam instead, but that's just me. Kellam makes Gerome a bit slower, but he also gives him Knight for Dual Guard/Luna and Pavise, and like Vaike he also gives Thief so that he can do stuff with Deliverer/Movement+1 and other fun things like that.

I'm pretty much using Gerome exclusively as a Berserker, bar a few ciricumstances (Five Fight Anna), so I think Vaike has the edge on this one. Henry and Gregor were also candidates but I think they do better elsewhere. If I take off Limit Breaker, I think I might give Gerome Movement +1 or Acrobat to further enhance his supporting role.

Set-wise, Gregor!Laurent should probably run Sol over Vengeance for more healing, and in general if a character's using a proc, Luna is the best option thanks to its activation rate and the higher damage it does against higher defense. (Stahl!Severa should pretty much always run it, for one) It's basically a necessity for Apotheosis, so it can't hurt to run it when you can.

The problem with Sol is that it's just redundant on a Sorcerer. I can see it come up if they still have Waste or Mire equipped on the enemy phase but there are ways you can get around that (trade command, dance with Olivia, careful positioning). If Laurent's equipped with Forged Aversa's Night (which he should be in most cases), Sol becomes a waste of a slot. The nice thing about Vengeance is that it's a free damage boost that goes well with Aversa's Night and helps his healing, so there's almost no downsides to it (if any).

Good point about Stahl!Severa getting Luna instead of Astra. I think I'll do that instead.

[Nobody]

Maribelle works better with lon'qu than with Ricken. Brady already has all the skills he could want, and the SPD really helps him (vantage is also a nice addition) and Lon'qu won't hurt his MAG at all, since he has a neutral modifier. Ricken only give Brady archer, which is pretty terrible, since his other classes overlap.

Henry also works well, but IMO Lon'qu is still the best. But if you prefer Henry go with him.

Edited July 12, 2013 by Nobody

[HeoandReo]

That's a good point, I forgot about Luna on Owain and he does appreciate the magic boost Ricken gives. As for Brady, I'm probably not going to do anything different with him and he's not that suited for physical classes anyway. It's not like Henry hurts him though so swapping Henry and Ricken sounds like a good idea.

Nobody mentioned above me that Lon'qu could make a fine substitute as well. Lon'qu's best kids otherwise are Severa and Laurent, both of whom have good alternatives in your setup. (Stahl and Gregor, respectively) The main thing that Lon'qu gives Brady is speed, which is useful for offense. Brady already starts with a lot of really good stuff, (Galeforce, Luna, Dual Guard, Tomefaire, can get Aggressor) so pretty much anything is gravy for him. Lon'qu gives him Myrmidon to be a better Henry!Brady if he needs to do physical support due to getting Swordfaire, as well as Deliverer from Wyvern. The Sage speed cap is fairly high and works well with a Dark Flier support, so while I'd argue he might not need it, it's still good for convenience reasons.

Cynthia's pretty much the same way, too, in that she starts with a really good skillset right out of the box, or really a skillset nearly identical to Brady's. (Galeforce, Luna, Dual Guard, Tomefaire) It seems like she was really born to do magic offense, though she can do physical stuff as well. All of her potential fathers give her something useful to do physically, as well as other neat perks. Chrom gives Aether, Paladin as a good ending class, Archer for Bowbreaker/Bowfaire and Pavise/Aegis. Fred also gives Paladin, Pavise/Aegis and Wyvern. Gaius gives Assassin and Vantage/Sol, and Henry gives Valkyrie, good magic, Sorcerer option, and Assassin.

I don't think it's that great an idea personally. Lucina really benefits from Sumia as her mother more than Olivia and Cynthia also appreciates the stuff that Chrom offers her. Sumia just offers more flexibility for what I need than Olivia does; Lucina is practically a one trick pony with Olivia as the mother and isn't nearly as good as a Paladin whereas with Sumia, she can run a PavGis set boosted by Rightful King and be a mobile tank that's still fast enough to double nearly everything. Even as a Dark Flier, the speed boost Sumia gives makes it a bit easier for her to double Anna than with Olivia.

I think I just might use Inigo as a Sniper to make the most out of Virion's unique qualities. I know Chrom is technically better but Inigo still performs well. I do like my Longbows.

I understand if it's a major issue. Sumia!Lucina is my favourite Lucina as well for those reasons. In my experience comparing the two, Olivia!Lucina is a little more offensively oriented, mostly due to access to Assassin as a possible ending class. Sumia makes her more defensive with Pavise/Aegis completion, Cleric tree for Miracle/Renewal, and better as a Dark Flier for Tomefaire access. The logic behind Olivia!Lucina is basically to benefit the other kids that would be affected otherwise, (Just Cynthia and Inigo. Chrom!Brady's meh and Chrom!Kjelle's awful.) and I find she can still perform most roles acceptably if not fantastic,(Galeforce/Luna/Dual Guard even lets her do Dark Flier okay) so for the most part, it's entirely up to preference.

As for Inigo, the speed difference between Virion!Inigo and someone like Frederick!Inigo is significant enough to note, since the 4 point difference makes it easier to hit certain benchmarks. Inigo can run some other proc such as Astra in place of Luna, so while he'd really like getting it, it's not a huge deal if he doesn't. I actually use him with Chrom as the father as a Sniper, actually. Galeforce/Luna are staples for him, but he can also do stuff like Rightful King Lethality if he wants, so you could probably run something similar with Virion as the father. Virion also gives him some other interesting stuff like Galeforce/Lifetaker and access to Sage as a possible ending class, as well as Deliverer and 4 breakers from Wyvern/Mercenary trees.

I'm pretty much using Gerome exclusively as a Berserker, bar a few ciricumstances (Five Fight Anna), so I think Vaike has the edge on this one. Henry and Gregor were also candidates but I think they do better elsewhere. If I take off Limit Breaker, I think I might give Gerome Movement +1 or Acrobat to further enhance his supporting role.

The problem with Sol is that it's just redundant on a Sorcerer. I can see it come up if they still have Waste or Mire equipped on the enemy phase but there are ways you can get around that (trade command, dance with Olivia, careful positioning). If Laurent's equipped with Forged Aversa's Night (which he should be in most cases), Sol becomes a waste of a slot. The nice thing about Vengeance is that it's a free damage boost that goes well with Aversa's Night and helps his healing, so there's almost no downsides to it (if any).

Good point about Stahl!Severa getting Luna instead of Astra. I think I'll do that instead.

If you decide to do Lon'qu!Brady, you could free up Henry for Gerome, who is exactly like Vaike except he also has Sorcerer for Hex/Anathema to increase crit rates so you could do that if you want. Speed and strength mods are a little lower, though, so it depends on what you want.

As for Laurent, he does have a decent amount of choice for an offensive proc depending on father. I personally like to give him Myrmidon if possible, (usually through Lon'qu) so I run Astra on him instead. Ricken/Kellam/Stahl/Fred give him Luna, Lon'qu/Gaius/Gregor give Astra, and he already starts with Vengeance. I like Vengeance better for pure offense builds, (critical with Ruins, etc.) while I usually use Astra as an all-purpose proc otherwise. The activation rate might be an issue, though, so Vengeance might be better for your needs, I'd agree.

[shadykid]

I actually don't think Lon'qu!Severa is a good idea, no Luna

[PM ME MARIANNE ART]

It looks good, except I would switch Henry and Ricken. Brady gets horrible class overlap from Ricken. Henry also can give axefaire if you want him as a war monk. Maybe switch Frederick and Vaike. I've never tried Vaike!Yarne before, but he would probably make a better berserker than Gerome. Frederick!Gerome is the absolute best as well. Of course, if Yarne's going to be a support unit, than you want Fred as his father.