PAIRINGS The Pairing Thread

[Lucina's Husband]

Is Stahl typically considered the best father for Severa?

[PM ME MARIANNE ART]

Is Stahl typically considered the best father for Severa?

Either him or Vaike

both give luna, but Stahl also gives astra to stack and bowfaire/sniper which is a great class and bowfaire is great for being an assassin as well

Vaike gives better strength, axefaire, and the General class (he also gives better hair if you're really that bothered by Stahl's but I never really gave a shit)

So basically they both give different things, but are both fantastic units. I usually prefer Vaike, but that's more because I like Vaike and Cordelia together

Edited August 31, 2015 by Duck

[Ownagepuffs]

Is Stahl typically considered the best father for Severa?

I mean, Severa kind of just wants to exist. She's always got Vengeance so she doesn't need a proc. Maybe she'd like a new faire but that's it really.

[Alveric]

Am returning to Awakening for the first time in a while and thought it would be fun to do a Hard run.

I am goingwith a FeMU (+magic, -def) with the intention of pairing with Inigo so that Morgan can get Rightful King. Beyond that I am also trying to actively use a few of the characters I have aggressively avoided in the past (Libra, Miriel, Giaus) and incorporate a few new pairings for the sake of shaking things up a bit.

So, with that in mind, here is what I am thinking. I do not think I have any glaring issues or am royally screwing over any of the kids, but any thoughts and suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Chrom x Olivia

Ricken x Lissa

Gaius x Sully

Virion x Panne

Donnell x Tharja

Libra x Miriel

Vaike x Nowi

Lon'qu x Cordelia

Henry x Sumia

Stahl x Cherche

Gregor x Maribelle

[Lucina's Husband]

I'm doing Libra! Owain for a change of pace (and hair color). The only father I haven't decided now is Laurent. Should I go with Ricken for higher magic or Gregor for armsthrift shennanigans?

[Czar_Yoshi]

Hi folks. I haven't decided whether or not I'm back yet, but decided to peek in anyway (I've been laying low to avoid FE14 spoilers, which were everywhere a month ago). It's cool to see this place is still going (and especially thanks to Duck, who is making guides)!

Wrt those, the one thing I would do differently is to not rate the pairs at the end of their explanations. Yes, some are clearly better than others, but my style has always been to take an existing pairing and get the most possible out of it rather than to take two pairings and try to figure out which is better. But they're your guides, so it's up to you.

Also I didn't read them fully, but Robin's greatest contribution to Owain is actually his Spd- he puts him a full +4 Spd ahead of Owain's next fastest Luna/Vengeance dad. Morgan comes out of it with +3/5 Spd/Mag (ideal for a Valkyrie) and Robin gets a GF/Faire wife too, so it's not half bad as a pairing. Great availability ingame, too. The only things that are really wrong with it are that Sumia and Cordelia are so much better as 1st gen options, and it's difficult to do an ingame Lissa GF passdown so you can't use it for a run that does both ingame and postgame very effectively.

Is Stahl typically considered the best father for Severa?

Not by me (though I'm biased against her because of her hair). While she's a very good unit, I don't feel like Stahl properly takes advantage of Severa's innate potential like Virion, Lon'qu or Robin do (Virion is probably my favorite Severa). I mean, she has Paladin and Sniper, but +3 Spd is absolutely nothing coming from her and for a heavy-hitting Luna user, Vaike is both faster and stronger.

Gregor!Laurent is a boss at everything and Gregor is typically a low-demand father. I'd definitely go with him.

[Wayward Alchemist]

So I'm considering one of two builds for Apo Morgan:

Avatar is +Spd -Def for all.

Vaike!Severa!Morgan@Sniper

5/-1/6/8/0/-3/-2

-Armsthrift

-Aggressor

-Counter

-Galeforce

-LB

The whole point of this build is to abuse the Double Bow for all it's worth. I want to use FeMorgan so she can have S-Ranked Berserker support. I plan on passing one of the Male Only skills from Vaike!Sev and the other from Robin. I'm not sure which Severa wants more, though. I'm honestly not even sure what role Vaike!Severa fills in Apo. Is this any good?

Now this one varies based on gender:

Ricken!Laurent!Morgan@Sage

-1/6/4/6/3/-5/1

-TF/Armsthrift (I'm not sure what the "Standard VV Sage" build is, but I'm assuming it has one of those)

-Vantage

-Vengance

-Galeforce

-LB

Pretty standard to my knowledge.

Or...

Libra!Noire(I know, I know, waste of Noire)!Morgan@Valkyrie

1/5/3/6/-2/-1/1

-Tomefaire or whatever

-Vantage

-Vengance

-GF

-LB

Same as before, but as a Valkyrie with higher Spd and better Mov. Hell, I wouldn't even have to run +Spd for this one, you could go +Mag and get away with a Spd mod of 4.

[Vascela]

For the first one, keep in mind counter doesn't do anything. You can maximize long/double bow with vengeance there instead. Or even just a procstack in general.

For V/V, some of the skillslots are malleable. Having LB means you can skip out on the no dlc alternatives: tomefaire, mag+2, skl+2 (if needed), hit rate +20, and so on, LB is an extremely valuable tool that really let's you get luxury skills. So you can opt for things like galeforce, etc.

[Admiral "Bull" Halsey]

I dont think aggressor can be passed down to the female kids because its a dlc skill...

[Czar_Yoshi]

Same as before, but as a Valkyrie with higher Spd and better Mov. Hell, I wouldn't even have to run +Spd for this one, you could go +Mag and get away with a Spd mod of 4.

Spd doesn't actually do anything on VV builds because the whole point of them is to defeat the enemy in the first 6 hits.

[Lucina's Husband]

Anyone got a class/build/skill/asset for Emmeryn! Morgan?Or Chrom! Morgan?

Edited September 5, 2015 by Lucina's Husband

[Czar_Yoshi]

Emmeryn!Morgan will just be a standard +Spd/-Def Valk/DF with LB/GF/All+2/Ignis/TF and a Sage support; Chrom!Morgan doesn't have anything unique or interesting to do postgame but ingame on Lunatic(+) he makes a fine Warrior

[CastleUnderground]

What are some unusual pairings that work really well? I've heard good things about GregorxMiriel and wanted to try a run with pairings that I wouldn't usually use (such as magic with non magic users, non standard classes for the kids, etc) if someone wants to suggest a few pairings or even a whole lineup I'd definitely want to try. Thanks!

[Zoran]

After a year away, I return to the pairing thread!

After finishing my first Lunatic+ no-grind run, I've been working on two different team ideas. One is a general-purpose fun team with lots of class diversity, with the aim of making Apotheosis more replayable. The other is an update to my old 100% DS team.

The Primary Team

Mainly, this team is meant to provide everyone with a lot of options, with a large number of high-powered pairings, high Speed all around, and an emphasis on high mobility. Essentially, I wanted to make a team that was more dynamic, so that most pairings could change up their roles painlessly and none of them would be annoying to use in postgame content.

The Pairings

Chrom x Sumia

(+Mag/-Def) Robin x Sumia!Lucina

Libra!Inigo x Sumia!Lucina!Morgan

Lon'qu!Brady x Chrom!Cynthia

Ricken!Owain x Vaike!Nah

Gregor!Laurent x Virion!Severa

Henry!Gerome x Donnel!Kjelle

Stahl!Yarne x Gaius!Noire

Breakdown

Chrom @ Bow Knight [ Aggressor | Bowfaire | Hit Rate +20 | Dual Strike+ ]

Sumia @ Dark Flier [ Galeforce | Luna | Tomefaire | Renewal ]

Alternate Options:

Sniper x Dark Flier

Not much to say about this one that hasn't been said before. Perfect for the kids, zero opportunity cost, and Chrom gets his only great wife.

+Mag/-Def Robin @ Grandmaster [ Aggressor | Tomefaire | All Stats +2 | Hit Rate +20 ]

Sumia!Lucina @ Dark Flier [ Galeforce | Aether | Luna | Dual Strike+ ]

Alternate Options:

Sage x Sage—VVDS+ shenanigans, where Robin can run Deliverer if desired

Sage x Dark Flier

Sage x Sniper

Berserker x Sniper—He may have no Strength and no Skill, but Robin can still be a 240 Hit Berserker

Grandmaster x Bow Knight—75 Speed; also has Falchion access, useful for fake Armsthrift in-game

I think I'm going against the thread hive-mind of late by sticking with +Mag Robin x Lucina as opposed to Robin x Cynthia. I like having the VV option available, since it can be used in challenge runs and is also really useful for farming Limit Breaker. Grandmaster is fun to use here because it's nearly unique to Robin and pushes Lucina's Speed over the 75 threshold, more for bragging rights than anything.

Libra!Inigo @ Sage [ Galeforce | Vengeance | Aggressor | Tomefaire ]

+Mag/-Def Sumia!Lucina!Morgan @ Valkyrie [ Galeforce | Aether | Ignis | Tomefaire ]

Alternate Options:

Sage x Dark Flier—Morgan still gets 75 Speed with All+2

Sage x Sniper

Berserker x Sniper—Likely with Anathema on Inigo over Vengeance, and with Deliverer on Morgan

Berserker x Wyvern Lord—Here, I think Morgan carries Hex

Hero x Sniper

Hero x Wyvern Lord

Here's the superstar pairing. I've learned through experience that I have more fun messing around in the game when my best units are in double galepairs, and this one also has the benefit of dual Armsthrift. Morgan has +0 Strength, but that's okay, because her physical options are awesome anyhow, and Inigo is capable of going either way. Sage x Valkyrie is the primary option as a unique feature of this pair, but the ability to also run a 75 Speed Aether/Ignis/Deliverer Sniper is just absurd.

Lon'qu!Brady @ Sage [ Galeforce | Luna | Aggressor | Tomefaire ]

Chrom!Cynthia @ Dark Flier [ Galeforce | Aether | Luna | Tomefaire ]

Alternate Options:

Sage x Sniper

Dread Fighter x Sniper—Cynthia reaches 75 Speed with All+2

The best Sage x Dark Flier pair I can run, I think. Brady reaches 75 Speed. The fact that Brady is essentially magic-locked limits Cynthia's options, but it's hard to argue with her performance in this role. And she's easily his best wife.

Ricken!Owain @ Sage [ Galeforce | Luna | Aggressor | All Stats +2 ]

Vaike!Nah @ Hero [ Luna | Axefaire | All Stats +2 | Deliverer ]

Alternate Options:

Dark Knight x Hero—Nah stays entirely in the back. Lower output, 2 extra Mov total, Owain runs proc stack

A pair with interesting dynamics compared to most, though it has to deal with lower output in general. Vaike!Nah @ General does a great job at hard support, but she's not compatible with Owain's low Speed. I would pair her with Brady, but then I'd put Owain with Cynthia, and incest pairs are not my favorite.

Gregor!Laurent @ Berserker [ Aggressor | Axefaire | Hex | Anathema ]

Virion!Severa @ Wyvern Lord [ Aggressor | Vengeance | Lancefaire | All Stats +2 ]

Alternate Options:

Sage x Dark Flier

Hero x Wyvern Lord

Berserker x Sniper—with Deliverer; Laurent takes All+2 instead of Hex

Hero x Sniper

The physical superstars of the team, but with an option to go magical if desired. Also a double Armsthrift pair. I'm really excited to use Severa @ Wyvern, since I've never actually done that before, even when I used Lon'qu!Severa before. Tomefaire Dark Flier and Deliverer Sniper are also great roles to fill.

Henry!Gerome @ Berserker [ Aggressor | Axefaire | Hex | Anathema ]

Donnel!Kjelle @ Falcon Knight [ Galeforce | Astra | Luna | Lancefaire ]

Alternate Options:

Hero x Falcon Knight

Berserker x Wyvern Lord—probably the best option, actually, because this team has overkill Speed

Berserker x Paladin

Hero x Wyvern Lord

Hero x Paladin

Sage x Dark Flier—if I really feel like going magical

Donnel!Kjelle can still reach 75 Speed with Berserker support! To do that, she's sacrificing 6 Atk compared to Gaius!Kjelle @ Wyvern Lord with AS+2, but I'm willing to accept the hit in exchange for making Noire much better. Since attack power on the lead is not as critical as on the support, it's not a huge loss. Falcon Knights get Staves as a nice perk, too. I've never tried Henry!Gerome before, but he looks great.

Stahl!Yarne @ Berserker [ Aggressor | Axefaire | All Stats +2 | Hit Rate +20 ]

Gaius!Noire @ Sniper [ Galeforce | Astra | Luna | All Stats +2 ]

Alternate Options:

Berserker x Bow Knight—exchanges power and Longbows for mobility; not desirable if she gets Boots

Assassin x Sniper—relatively easy 100% Dual Strike

I like Gaius!Noire because she can be a proc-stack Sniper, and those are always valuable. She takes the only Hit +20 Berserker, because Hex doesn't work for Snipers. Noire is probably the unit who would appreciate Boots the most, along with Olivia; I'll most likely run Movement +1 over Astra until I feel like committing.

Just for fun, I'll point out that six of my eight pairs can pull off 100% Dual Strike. Not all of them are good at it—looking at you, Brady x Cynthia—but they can do it. Also, all of the daughters (Lucina & Cynthia excepted) get different ending classes, and I find that really neat. In a situation where I'm not looking for maximal power, the boys can comfortably do the same thing between all their listed alternate class options.

I think the team is pretty solid at this point, but if you guys have any suggestions for improvements, I'm happy to hear them.

The 100% DS Team, Mark II

Chrom @ Bow Knight x Sumia @ Dark Flier

(+Skl/-Def) Robin @ Sniper x Chrom!Cynthia @ Falcon Knight

Ricken!Gerome @ Sniper x Chrom!Cynthia!Morgan @ Sniper w/ Deliverer

Libra!Owain @ Sage x Sumia!Lucina @ Dark Flier

Henry!Brady @ Assassin [boots] x Virion!Nah @ Sniper

Frederick!Inigo @ Assassin x Lon'qu!Severa @ Assassin w/ Deliverer

Stahl!Laurent @ Sniper x Donnel!Kjelle @ Assassin w/ Deliverer

Gregor!Yarne @ Assassin x Gaius!Noire @ Sniper [boots]

I won't bother typing up all the sets; most of them are pretty obvious because of the Skill requirements. This team keeps Donnel, has 8 movement on everybody, and leaves room for a proc on every lead except Kjelle if you want it. The featured team member is Morgan, of course, who runs the crazy Galeforce/Aether/Ignis/Deliverer Sniper set.

[Vascela]

If you've gone out of your way for 100% DS, have you considered procless?

[Ownagepuffs]

What are some unusual pairings that work really well? I've heard good things about GregorxMiriel and wanted to try a run with pairings that I wouldn't usually use (such as magic with non magic users, non standard classes for the kids, etc) if someone wants to suggest a few pairings or even a whole lineup I'd definitely want to try. Thanks!

Ricken x Olivia/Cherche/Cordelia/Panne

Libra x Olivia/Cherche

Kellam x Olivia is good even if outclassed

[Czar_Yoshi]

What are some unusual pairings that work really well? I've heard good things about GregorxMiriel and wanted to try a run with pairings that I wouldn't usually use (such as magic with non magic users, non standard classes for the kids, etc) if someone wants to suggest a few pairings or even a whole lineup I'd definitely want to try. Thanks!

Depends on your definition of unusual. What people consider to be strange has changed as the meta changes- Gregor!Laurent is pretty mainstream, last I checked.

Ricken!Gerome might be up your alley, though.

I think I'm going against the thread hive-mind of late by sticking with +Mag Robin x Lucina as opposed to Robin x Cynthia.

Thank you.

As a side note, have you considered making a team that doesn't use every child?

[Vascela]

I'll throw in my vote for Ricken!Severa. I think one of the primary reasons it worked for me is because

As a side note, have you considered making a team that doesn't use every child?

Someone might argue that you have the "better overall team," but I could say that my team of Morgan + Severa alone outperforms your entire team as well. Simple, different perspective. It can certainly change your mentality about what it means to make a good team when you're selectively choosing the cream of the crop instead of "everyone gets something."

[Zoran]

If you've gone out of your way for 100% DS, have you considered procless?

It's pretty much a drop-in choice of a faire or a proc on every lead, so it can be effectively run without procs as well. Morgan's the only one with two slots free (plus Deliverer).

As a side note, have you considered making a team that doesn't use every child?

I haven't. It might be nice to ignore Nah one of these days, though.

edit: Thinking on it for a second, my first instinct is to do:

Chrom x Sumia

Robin x Sumia!Lucina

Libra!Inigo x Sumia!Lucina!Morgan

Lon'Qu!Brady x Chrom!Cynthia

Gregor!Laurent x Virion!Severa

Stahl!Yarne x Gaius!Kjelle

Then Owain, Gerome, Nah, and Noire hang out on the bench. It might seem really weird to not use a Galeboy, but Owain's just not that good at anything other than being a Sage, and Brady does that job better. Kjelle has no use for him, and Morgan & Severa both do a lot of things really well and therefore want a husband with more options.

The only actual difference between this and the team I posted is in Yarne x Kjelle.

Edited September 6, 2015 by Zoran

[CastleUnderground]

Oh, for me when I say "unusual" it's usually along the lines of non magic fathers with magic mothers, or pairs that make kids where they end up in classes they usually aren't in

[Vascela]

Oh, for me when I say "unusual" it's usually along the lines of non magic fathers with magic mothers, or pairs that make kids where they end up in classes they usually aren't in

Ricken/Libra!"Physical"Child is definitely something you can play with. The reverse such as Vaike!"Magical"Child doesn't really work as well.

[Czar_Yoshi]

Stahl!Owain is the one other case (besides Gregor!Laurent, and not counting various Noires because she's usually physical regardless of what her mods say) where a typically magical child goes well with a typically physical father.

[Radiant head]

Quick question, any advice on who should be Severa's father? Not really caring about being mechanically optimal, I already paired Stahl/Sully and Lon'qu/Lissa, so those two males are ruled out. Leaning on either Frederick or Vaike.

[Joycdonnell]

Quick question, any advice on who should be Severa's father? Not really caring about being mechanically optimal, I already paired Stahl/Sully and Lon'qu/Lissa, so those two males are ruled out. Leaning on either Frederick or Vaike.

Go for Vaike, Severa gets blonde hair, knight class (and Axefaire from Vaike but you need level him 15 Berserker). Also I like so much Vaike x Cordelia support (good use of Chrom this time) while Frederick x Cordelia is so bad (but that is my personal opinion :p )

[Radiant head]

Yeah, the Cordelia/Fred support is pretty bad, but I'm pretty much skipping through the convos in this playthrough. But yeah, I guess I'll go with Vaike/Cordelia, and then Fred will father either Inigo or Gerome.