PAIRINGS The Pairing Thread

[Zoran]

Okay, taking into account Czar_Yoshi's advice against running multiple VV pairs, I've redone my team. (Note: all units have Limit Breaker, which I won't bother listing.)

You Gotta Have Blue Hair

1. Chrom supporting Sumia [100% DS pair]

Chrom [bow Knight]: Bowfaire, Aggressor, Hit Rate +20, Dual Strike+

Sumia [Dark Flier]: Galeforce, Luna, Tomefaire, All Stats +2

I like this pairing because it's Chrom's only good combat pair-up. With Bow Knight support, Sumia breaks 75 speed.

2. Sumia!Lucina supporting Libra!Inigo [VV-100% DS pair]

Lucina [sage]: Galeforce, Tomefaire, All Stats +2, Dual Strike+

Inigo [sage]: Galeforce, Vengeance, Vantage, Resistance +10

The downside of Sumia x Chrom is that Sumia!Lucina is not quite as good a magical supporter as Maribelle!Lucina. As a result, Lucina x Inigo can't kill Thronie. However, this pair can 6-hit everything else on enemy phase and is immune to Mire Dark Fliers, which is good enough.

3. +Spd/-Def Male Avatar supporting Chrom!Cynthia

Avatar [Dread Fighter]: Tomefaire, Aggressor, All Stats +2, Hit Rate +20

Cynthia [Dark Flier]: Galeforce, Aether, Luna, Tomefaire

On the upside, Sumia x Chrom gives me a second Galeforce/Aether/Luna unit in Cynthia, and marrying her to Avatar will give me a third. I'm using Dread Fighter on Avatar because that gives optimal pair-up bonuses to Cynthia (enough to get 75 Speed), but I could use any other Speed-boosting class too. The only stronger or comparable ones are Hero and Berserker, and I don't particularly like Berserker because of its hit rate issues.

4. Virion!Yarne supporting Chrom!Cynthia!Morgan [100% DS pair]

Yarne [sniper]: Bowfaire, Aggressor, All Stats +2, Skill +2

Morgan [sage]: Galeforce, Aether, Luna, All Stats +2

My last Galeforce/Aether/Luna unit breaks some very important thresholds. Morgan has a +6 Skill mod, and Yarne has +5, which is just barely enough to get me to 160 Skill. Morgan also reaches 78 Speed, and she gets to run Aether and Luna off of 81 Skill.

In order to break both the Speed and Skill thresholds, I need Avatar to have at least +2 Skill and at least +1 Speed. The only asset that allows that is +Spd. I could switch from +Spd to +Skl, in which case I would miss that 75 Speed threshold at 74, but I could then change Morgan to a Dark Flier for extra movement. Avatar also gets an extra 2 Strength to play with. Does that sound like a good tradeoff?

The Rest of the Squad

A lot of fathers for the remainder of the team are obvious.

Nah: I don't have physical Inigo, so Nah wants to be magical. Virion is taken, and Owain desperately wants Ricken, so she gets either Kellam or Henry. Henry's useful elsewhere but Kellam isn't, so Kellam goes to Nah.

Owain: Ricken.

Brady: Really just wants mods, or perhaps bonus Vengeance, and Henry gives him both.

Kjelle: Donnel.

Noire: Gaius.

Severa and Gerome can do something neat. If Gerome is a Sniper (meaning he has to be Stahl!Gerome), then Assassin Severa fathered by either Gregor or Lon'qu can get 100% Dual Strike rate. Lon'qu gives slightly better mods to Laurent, but Gregor offers an extra Armsthrift, so I think I want to give Lon'qu to Severa. Also, Stahl!Gerome x Lon'qu!Severa gives me flexibility to flip over to something like Assassin x Wyvern Lord or Warrior x Wyvern Lord.

Laurent: Takes Gregor.

So in summary, I'm thinking:

• Sniper Stahl!Gerome [bowfaire, Aggressor, All Stats +2, Skill +2] supporting Assassin Lon'qu!Severa [Galeforce, Vengeance, Swordfaire, All Stats +2], which is a fourth 100% DS pair
• Kellam!Nah [sage]
• Ricken!Owain [sage]
• Henry!Brady [sage]
• Donnel!Kjelle
• Gaius!Noire
• Gregor!Laurent [sage]

Kjelle or Noire could run physical sets, but I've run out of physical supporters, so I guess they'll both be best as Dark Fliers running Galeforce, Luna, Astra, and something. What I'd like advice on is this:

1. How should I pair up the last six units? Both Owain and Brady would like a +Spd pair-up, but one of them has to take Sage Nah. From the female side, which of the two Galeforce girls should get Laurent?
2. What skills should I give to those last six units?
3. Should I sacrifice Morgan's 75+ speed to switch assets on Avatar from +Spd to +Skl? That enables Morgan to become a Dark Flier rather than a Sage, and it makes Avatar a stronger physical unit.
4. Should Avatar be a Dread Fighter or a Hero?
5. On Morgan, should I use Aether+Ignis over Aether+Luna? She gets to 62 Strength as Sage; make that 70 if she's a Dark Flier and Avatar has +Skl.

Edited July 25, 2014 by Zoran

[Czar_Yoshi]

That looks like a pretty solid core. As for the rest...

Does Chrom need Hit+20 for anything? He could run All+2 instead if not. Same goes for Avatar.

Speaking of Avatar, Hero also gives a nice amount of +Skl, so I'd recommend it (dual proc units like high Skl supports) over Dread Fighter.

For Nah, keep in mind that Henry gives her Valkyrie, which gives +Spd. If you can get someone else for Brady, she'll pull her weight better with Henry.

I think it's worth it to go +Skl on Avatar. The Nightmare Snipers are easy to pigpile due to lacking a counterattack and Anna probably doesn't need to be doubled anyway.

As for Noire/Kjelle, remember that Bride attacks physically but gives a magical pairup boost. One thing you could try is making a Bride x Dread Fighter combo- they both have low atk stats, but Bride boosts DF's Mag and DF boosts Bride's Str, which allows you to nicely get past PavGis. If you do that, Noire has better Mag and should go as a Dark Flier with Laurent. Valkyrie Nah and Bride Kjelle can then take Owain and Brady in some combination.

[Waifu Severa]

L-Hero Severa-Galeforce, Swordsfaire, Armsthrift, Vengeance, LB

S-Berserker Inigo- Galeforce, Hit+20, Axefaire, LB, Luna (Help me fit Aggressor in here plz)

L-Great Lord Lucina-Galeforce, LB, Aether, Luna, Dual Strike+

S-Wyvern Lord Gerome- DG+, Aggressor, Strength +2, LB, Outdoor Fighter

L-Dark Flier Morgan-GaleForce, Tomefaire, Armsthrift, Luna/Ignis, LB

S-Sage Laurent-Tomefaire, Aggressor, DG+, Anathema, LB

L-Dark Flier Noire-Galeforce, Armsthrift, Luna/Ignis, LB, Tomefaire

S-Sage Brady-Galeforce, Tomefaire, Aggressor, Luna, LB

L-Assassin Kjelle-Galeforce, Armsthrift, Luna, Swordfaire, LB

S-Berserker Yarne- Axefaire, Armsthrift, LB, Strength + 2, Aggressor

L-Dark Flier Cynthia-Galeforce, Aether, Luna, Tomefaire, LB

S-Sage Owain-Galeforce, Luna, Tomefaire, Aggressor, LB

Are anybody here good with Dread fighter? I might make Owain one. Also i need help fitting Aggressor on Inigo. And whats better for Morgan/Noire? Ignis or Luna?

[Zoran]

Does Chrom need Hit+20 for anything? He could run All+2 instead if not. Same goes for Avatar.

For Nah, keep in mind that Henry gives her Valkyrie, which gives +Spd. If you can get someone else for Brady, she'll pull her weight better with Henry.

I think it's worth it to go +Skl on Avatar. The Nightmare Snipers are easy to pigpile due to lacking a counterattack and Anna probably doesn't need to be doubled anyway.

As for Noire/Kjelle, remember that Bride attacks physically but gives a magical pairup boost. One thing you could try is making a Bride x Dread Fighter combo- they both have low atk stats, but Bride boosts DF's Mag and DF boosts Bride's Str, which allows you to nicely get past PavGis. If you do that, Noire has better Mag and should go as a Dark Flier with Laurent. Valkyrie Nah and Bride Kjelle can then take Owain and Brady in some combination.

Hit +20 gets Chrom's Hit to 245, whereas All +2 gives him 229 but also 4 extra damage (before enemy attack). Not sure which is better.

As a Hero, Avatar's Hit Rate +20 gives him 100% hit on everything with Brave Axe, which I think is pretty cool. He also already has All +2 and would only pick up Strength +2.

I had overlooked the possibility of Valkyrie for Nah. I think Henry!Nah forces me to put Kellam on Brady, which is okay because the Speed loss is mitigated by a new +Spd support.

The Bride suggestion is a cool idea, but here's a wrinkle: if Owain goes with Galeforce/Luna/Aggressor/All+2, then he can reach 75 speed with a Dark Flier pair-up but not with a Valkyrie or a Bride. If I want that to happen, then [Valkyrie] Nah has to go with Brady, and Kjelle and Noire are both Dark Fliers because one goes with Owain and one goes with Laurent.

In this case, Kjelle is just plain weaker than Noire. I would think I want the stronger unit in my double Galeforce pair because sometimes she'll be in the back, which means I should pair Owain with Noire and Laurent with Kjelle.

Do you agree with my reasoning here? And should Kjelle and Noire both run GF/Luna/Astra/All+2?

On Aether+Ignis vs. Aether+Luna: my Dark Flier Morgan has 70 Strength and Magic with Rallies, so unless there's some enemy with monster Res out there, I believe Ignis is always better. Right?

Edited July 25, 2014 by Zoran

[Czar_Yoshi]

Berserker Inigo will have to drop AF to make room for Agg. I don't see any obvious spots for DF. Ignis > Luna (usually), especially if you're a Dark Flier.

Brave Axe is 1mt higher than Brave Sword, and has 10 less Hit. if you swap Hit+20 for Str+2, you'll gain 1 atk and lose 10 Hit, and if your Hit still never drops below 90 that's a good trade (90 listed = 98.1% real). The same logic applies to Chrom- enemies with over 120 Avo are rare, and when you do find them True Hit generally has you covered. It's not a risk I'd want to take with VV, but anywhere else 90+ Hit might as well be 100.

GF/Luna/Astra/All+2 is good, though Kjelle also has Deliverer as an option if All+2 doesn't break any thresholds.

[Waifu Severa]

So wait, nobody on my team is good with Dread Fighter, or are they better with their current classes?

[Ownagepuffs]

Hit +20 is a pretty solid insurance skill.

One tip from me is that you should let Inigo be a Galeforce Luna boy and let Laurent marry Lucina. Laurent is limited to VV which you should make the most out of whereas Inigo is not.

[Czar_Yoshi]

Better with their current classes.

Awakening's metagame (with enough DLC) isn't about good or bad, it's about good or better.

[Ownagepuffs]

Better with their current classes.

Awakening's metagame (with enough DLC) isn't about good or bad, it's about good or better.

This. Though Kellam!Owain wouldn't make for a half bad Dread Fighter. 41 Mag and 43 Str gives Owain quite a bit of versatility and I'm a personal fan of Dread Fighter x Dark Flier for tanking the wave 4 mire fliers and for giving good boosts to each other in general.

[Zoran]

Question: when supported by Sniper Stahl!Gerome [bowfaire/Aggressor/AS+2/Skill+2], my Assassin Lon'qu!Severa [GF/Vengeance/AS+2/???] gets 100% DS and does enough damage to kill everything even without a Faire. So what should go in Severa's last skill slot? She gets lots of good filler skills:

• Deliverer
• Swordfaire—gives more leeway in setting up Vengeance
• Anathema, which gets Gerome to 248 Hit [100% on all but Throne Anna]
• Strength +2, which helps Bow use too
• Armsthrift, a convenience
• Vantage—not good for general use without tomes, but there might be times when I can park her near range-locked enemies and equip the appropriate weapon to deal with them

Edited July 25, 2014 by Zoran

[0athkeeper]

Looking for a bit more advice after you all helped me get my pairings sorted so nicely.

I just want to make sure I don't miss out on something good I overlooked when I pass skills down to my kids.

This is what I came up with to pass, just please let me know if I missed a better choice:

Noire:

Gaius - Sol

Tharja - Veng

Inigo:

Chrom - Rightful King

Olivia - Galeforce

Lucina:

Chrom - Aether

Olivia - Galeforce

Morgan:

MU - Wrath

Nowi - Deliverer

Nah:

MU - Wrath

Nowi - Deliverer

Laurent:

Lon'qu - Vantage

Miriel - Dual Support+

Yarne:

Virion - Hit + 20

Panne - Deliverer

Gerome:

Gregor - Armsthrift

Cherche - Dual Support+

Cynthia:

Henry - Counter

Sumia - Luna

Severa:

Stahl - Vantage

Cordellia - Galeforce

Kjelle:

Donnel - Counter

Sully - Vantage

Brady:

Libra - Veng

Maribelle - Galeforce

Owain:

Ricken - Luna

Lissa - Galeforce

Edited July 25, 2014 by 0athkeeper

[Waifu Severa]

Better with their current classes.

Awakening's metagame (with enough DLC) isn't about good or bad, it's about good or better.

Oh ok, because i didnt really buy LB2 yet, just wanted to see if anybody is better as Dread Fighter. Is Aggressor really that good and is worth LB2 even though Dread Fighter is no use?

[Czar_Yoshi]

Keep in mind that a Faire on Severa will increase her Vengeance threshold. It's easy to say "Vengeance = universal +42", but you still have to set that up and a Faire gives you 10HP of leeway. If you've got a good setup already, then Deliverer is probably best (+Mov skills are more important the fewer staffbots you have).

You don't need to bother passing down skills that children can get themselves, especially if they'll be going through that class anyway. Donnel should pass down Underdog because Counter does nothing in Apo.

Agg really is that good. But yeah, Kellam!Owain could be a DF.

Another (slightly underrated) thing DFs can do is give good Res growths to units who lack a better way to cap their Res. It makes the last stages of grinding a good deal less frustrating. They can also boost Spd/Mag growths on some units.

[Waifu Severa]

Oh, maybe i will get Aggressor some time later on. Also i've been looking at my unit's skills in game, and i noticed something.

For Dark Flier Morgan/Noire, they are Galeforks, AT, Ignis, LB, Tomefaire. I was wondering if i needed Luna as another proc, especially for Morgan since Laurant doesnt have Galeforce and Morgan needs all the power. But is it worth taking out AT or Tomefaire? AT is really one of my fav skills.

Same for Severa, she is Galeforks, AT, Vengeance, LB, and Swordfaire. Since she is a hero and will use Helswath and Brave Axe, idk if im liking Swordfaire anymore. Is Deliverer better in this case? Also i do have only 2 staffbots.

[Czar_Yoshi]

Galeforce gives you another turn, a secondary proc boosts your chances of killing your current target. Adding secondary procs can't really substitute for lacking Galeforce because they're completely different things.

Anyway, TF will get you more average damage than a secondary Luna. For Severa, Swordfaire Brave Sword/Ragnell will get you farther than non-faire Helswath/Brave Axe (and even without a Faire, those Axes will do the same amount of damage as with a Swordfaire). If you're going without Agg at the moment, I'd hang onto the Faires (at least until you've done Apo once and can determine for yourself whether you need them).

[Waifu Severa]

Uh Females cant get Aggressor anyway, so that wouldnt really change my Severa, Morgan and Noire. And i forgot about Ragnell, definitely giving that to Severa too(favoritism much?).

So i guess i'll keep Tomefaire on Noire and Morgan. And im yet to try Sniper Noire to see if i like it too.

Also for Sage Brady supporting DF Noire, he is Galeforks, TF, Luna, LB, DG+. Should i have Anathema instead of DG+?

And for WyvernLord Gerome supporting GL Lucina, he is DG+, DS+, Deliverer, OutdoorFighter, LB. Should i have Strength+2 replacing one of those?

And if i ever do get Aggressor, i take DG+ off of Brady and DS+ for Gerome correct?

My Owain is Galeforks, TF, Luna, DG+, LB. Idk if i should take DG+ out for Astra.

Ik so many questions, sorry,

[Czar_Yoshi]

Anathema vs DG+: depends how you forge your weapons. If they're 5mt/15Hit, DG+ is probably better. But, if you forge them with 5mt/9crit, you can use Anathema to patch up the loss of a +Hit forge, and get ~25 listed crit, which is almost enough to serve as an alternate proc (and when it does happen, especially on non-AT units and when combined with another proc, results in a near-OHKO that saves a lot of weapon uses).

For Gerome, put Str+2 over DS+, DG+ or Outdoor Fighter and make sure he's using Lances.

Yeah, Brady loses DG+. Gerome can drop either DG+ or DS+.

Owain is fine either way. In a first run, DG+ is nice for RNG insurance, but you'll probably want to drop it for any subsequent runs.

No problem.

[Waifu Severa]

Anathema vs DG+: depends how you forge your weapons. If they're 5mt/15Hit, DG+ is probably better. But, if you forge them with 5mt/9crit, you can use Anathema to patch up the loss of a +Hit forge, and get ~25 listed crit, which is almost enough to serve as an alternate proc (and when it does happen, especially on non-AT units and when combined with another proc, results in a near-OHKO that saves a lot of weapon uses).

For Gerome, put Str+2 over DS+, DG+ or Outdoor Fighter and make sure he's using Lances.

Yeah, Brady loses DG+. Gerome can drop either DG+ or DS+.

Owain is fine either way. In a first run, DG+ is nice for RNG insurance, but you'll probably want to drop it for any subsequent runs.

No problem.

Oh nice, thanks for clearing some things up! I also forge all my weapons(except axes) as +5mt +15hit. I forge my axes +3mt +25 hit. Am i forging them right?

Also, im ready to do Apotheosis! All i need to do is make sure everybody has the right weapons and skills.

Except Chrom and Sumia arent capped so im pairing chrom with olivia

Edited July 26, 2014 by Waifu Severa

[Czar_Yoshi]

If Chrom won't be fighting, have him unpaired as a Paladin/Bow Knight for more Mov- the only thing he'll be doing is running around with the convoy and keeping people restocked. Olivia doesn't need a pairup either.

An Axe with +3/25 will have the same Hit as a Sword but 1 less mt (though it'll fare better against WTD). It'll work fine.

[Waifu Severa]

I beat Normal Apo and boy, that was easy.

Something epic:

On wave 5, you know how lots of enemies come from under? Well i sent units in there to kill some of them, and then i rescued them except for Lucina, because i had nobody else to use rescue. So Lucina was stuck down there with like 13 enemies surrounding her, and man i thought i was screwed. Gerome was being a frikkin beast and guarded like 7 of those attacks, and Lucina kept on using Aether to recover the other 6 attacks. It was epic. Lucina was definitely the MVP of this match.

I'll be looking forward to completing secret mode tomorrow! Btw i did this with no guides(except for the team help of course, but i mean guides as in where to go and stuff) no rally heart, and no Aggressor. Although this is only normal apo, so its no big deal i guess. Also i had trouble getting rally on all of my attacking units, but i eventually got it on them all by pairing some of them up.

Edited July 26, 2014 by Waifu Severa

[Czar_Yoshi]

The big difference between Normal and Secret is that in Normal there aren't any offensive skills (Luna+/Counter), so yeah, that wouldn't work quite as well on Secret. Dual Guards are pretty helpful though.

Yeah, you need to pair up your units to Rally them all. Rally affects units in the back of pairs, and it's not like you lose a turn for doing so, so...

Have fun with Katarina.

[BANRYU]

Who are the good non-Chrom hubbies for Olivia again? I want to say that like Stahl and Virion were some of them IIRC but I dunno.

[Numot]

My preference is Libra for magical because you get tomefaire as well as VV skills over any physical builds.

[Carmine Sword]

Libra or Ricken for a magical Inigo, Stahl or Frederick for physical Inigo. Kellam for a worse Ricken!Inigo that lets you give Ricken to someone else.

[Alastor15243]

Hey, me again, I posted a few months back asking for advice about my previous run-through of the game, and now I'm doing it again with the same rules, but this time I'm playing as the male tactician (+Spd-Lck). The rules are, again:

1: No using einherjars or guest tacticians before beating the final boss

2: No using child characters in the DLC or skirmishes before beating the final boss

3: No using Limit Breaker before beating the final boss

4: No brave weapons ever, under any circumstances.

This time I married Nowi because of what I heard about the merits of manaketes when brave weapons are out of the question, specifically that they get the most damage out of Ignis and that the only way to give them galeforce and a proc is to have them be related to the avatar. I'm wondering what I should do for the male-exclusive skill to pass down. Honestly they're all pretty crap compared to galeforce from what I can tell, and I'm basically debating between passing down axefaire (just in case I decide to use an axe class with them), rally strength (in case I absolutely need a rally user before the end of the game, I know rally strength is the only male-exclusive one), and Ignis (saying "to hell with it" with the male-exclusive skills altogether and just give them Ignis to help them hit the ground running since I can't grind them).

Any advice here?

Edited July 26, 2014 by Alastor15243