PAIRINGS The Pairing Thread

[Dangerus]

Vaike is really good in specific circumstances. Severa can run pretty good physically oriented lead sets with him, he's a good choice for Kjelle, Nah and Noire if you don't give them a galeforce dad, and he's good for Yarne and Gerome if you can patch their accuracy issues while running Berserker (by having other people run Hex, Anathema and Charm or using the situationally useful Tantivy). He also provides Axefaire to the girls if you pass it to them along with the highest strength physical class (General) and also offers Hero to use Axefaire and give Speed on pairup. He passes Berserker to boys that don't have it, and Berserker is quite good if you can fix the hit rate problems it has due to low skill.

As for your pairs:

Chrom x Sumia (Lucina and Cynthia): is quite good.

F!Avatar x Virion (Morgan): Pick a class that uses one of Virion's -faire skills and he'll do fine.

Lissa x Lon'qu (Owain): Owain won't have a reliable damage boosting proc skill (Luna, Vengeance), but he'll at least be fast.

Frederick x Nowi (Nah): I'd recommend a father with a physical weapon -faire skill to take advantage of her high strength, but if you keep her a manakete it won't matter. You can put both Pavise and Aegis on her if you're feeling that but by the time you get those skills her stats will be high enough it won't matter.

Sully x Stahl (Kjelle): Archer offers little besides Bowfaire, she's basically Sully but has higher stats.

Kellam x Miriel (Laurent): Laurent doesn't really need anything Kellam gives, but you can pass Pavise from Kellam without much difficulty and try running a bulky mage during the maingame.

Maribelle x Gaius (Brady): Brady gets the skills and classes he wants from Maribelle, he wants better stats from his father and Gaius gives him more of the speed and skill he wants.

Ricken x Panne (Yarne): Yarne can run support Berserker with Hit +20 patching Berserker's poor hit rate and he can run Tomefaire sage if you like that. A solid pairing for a support unit.

Gregor x Cordelia (Severa): Gregor gives Swordfaire and Axefaire and gives Severa more physical options.

Cherche x Henry (Gerome): Gerome gets Berserker from Henry and Anathema and Hex to patch Berserker's bad hit rates. This is the best Gerome you can run if you want a physical support,

Olivia x Donnel (Inigo): Inigo doesn't get any new classes from this, but you can pass Aptitude if you want him to grow quickly. Donnel...unfortunately doesn't give much to Inigo.

Tharja x Libra (Noire): Tomefaire is good, but that's just about the only important skill she gets out of this pair due to the large overlap class overlap Libra has and that he shares with Tharja.

Unless you're trying some of the hardest stuff in the game you have a lot of freedom to run whatever you want and be okay.

I like how you still give us pros and cons with each relationship gameplay wise. What interests me is how nobody mentions the supports that these characters have particularly. I wonder if that doesn't matter in Awakening? Still, knowing a little bit about Fire Emblem gameplay does help.

[TheSilentChloey]

Actually, for Yarne it's less a matter of what he inherits from his father (who will never have anything truly special to offer) than from his mother: Yarne is one of the few children who fails to inherit a non-gender-exclusive class, getting Barbarian instead of Wyvern Rider. Since Gaius!Yarne doesn't get that class line, you'll want to pass down one of its skills; generally Lancebreaker is favored to deal with Beast Killers. (For a Yarne that spends most of his time in the back row, though, you could get away with Quick Burn, or maybe Deliverer if you really need the extra Mov.) Given that one of the factions in his recruitment chapter specifically *has* Beast Killers for their fight with the other faction, it's probably a really good idea to go with Lancebreaker, if you have any concerns about his survival--+50 Avoid is *huge.*

As for what Gaius can give him: Yarne starts in a dangerous position, so something that helps save his bacon can be really useful. Vantage is a possibility, but risky, so I wouldn't do that. I'd go for Lucky Seven, personally: it's a solid boost, you'll have it for more than long enough to get him to safety, and works for everyone, regardless of weapons or stats. Alternative possibilities: Astra (weapon-agnostic, offensive proc) or Sol (healing). But my money is still on Lucky Seven. If you go for the grand prize (fighting both merc groups), you'll want that extra safety net. Combined with Lancebreaker, you're looking at +70 Hit/Avo against lances for the first 7 turns--should be enough to keep him safe. :P

I think for Yarne Lancebreaker is a given, even without his paralogue. I guess it would be better if I gave him sol from Gaius because survivability does matter and health recovery could be mildly useful...that and I seem to have a thing where healers are over used...yeah self healing skills could be much needed

[amiabletemplar]

I think for Yarne Lancebreaker is a given, even without his paralogue. I guess it would be better if I gave him sol from Gaius because survivability does matter and health recovery could be mildly useful...that and I seem to have a thing where healers are over used...yeah self healing skills could be much needed

Sol's not bad for hedging your bets, especially while grinding, so if that fits your expected risks, go for it. Out of curiosity, what's your destination class for Yarne? Taguel, like how Nah was going Manakete, or something else? (As Czar_Yoshi was kind enough to explain to me, Taguels with a Beaststone+ have fair stats, almost identical to an Assassin, but the lack of Brave weapons *and* being melee-only hurts their potential severely.)

[ckc22]

I like how you still give us pros and cons with each relationship gameplay wise. What interests me is how nobody mentions the supports that these characters have particularly. I wonder if that doesn't matter in Awakening? Still, knowing a little bit about Fire Emblem gameplay does help.

This is a min/maxing thread mostly.

[TheSilentChloey]

Sol's not bad for hedging your bets, especially while grinding, so if that fits your expected risks, go for it. Out of curiosity, what's your destination class for Yarne? Taguel, like how Nah was going Manakete, or something else? (As Czar_Yoshi was kind enough to explain to me, Taguels with a Beaststone+ have fair stats, almost identical to an Assassin, but the lack of Brave weapons *and* being melee-only hurts their potential severely.)

I am not entirely sure how I want to end Panne and Yarne. Sure I could go the taguel route for both (and they will still have trouble from beast killer lances regardless of class). I am think of them as more support units for their partners. I also haven't had much of a shot to see how to make use of the taguel yet.

[amiabletemplar]

I like how you still give us pros and cons with each relationship gameplay wise. What interests me is how nobody mentions the supports that these characters have particularly. I wonder if that doesn't matter in Awakening? Still, knowing a little bit about Fire Emblem gameplay does help.

This is a min/maxing thread mostly.

Seconding CKC's answer: this thread focuses on mechanical analysis, because that is about as close as we can get to "objective." I definitely think the narrative behind the supports matters, I just balance that desire for satisfying narrative against a desire for effective play. The two can't always be satisfied perfectly, but that doesn't mean one is universally more important than the other.

I know I've seen at least one thread in this subforum specifically asking about "favorite" or "best" pairs in a narrative sense. I, for example, think Virion makes the most sense as Inigo's father--it's where Inigo picked up the flirty behavior. Or that Sumia is the shoe-in for Lucina's mother (unless the Avatar is female--Lucina's reaction to the close relationship between Chrom and a FeMU that marries someone else being an in-story demonstration). But such things are a matter of sentiment and appeal heavily to taste. Which pairs give classes, or stats, that a character can really use? Those are very close to purely objective. It's a brute fact that some fathers are poor choices for some children, due to overlap,* or weak modifiers to key stats. Conversely, some fathers are fantastic, e.g. Donnel and Gaius giving Pegasus Knight to a daughter that wouldn't get it.

In the end, "best pairings" in a narrative sense are too much in the eye of the beholder. "Best pairings" in a mechanical sense, while still somewhat subject to taste and preference, rely heavily on numerical analysis. This, plus the large amount of information you have to remember when evaluating such things, makes for a ripe discussion environment: enough wiggle-room to allow debate, but enough concrete fact to allow (contextually) objective statements.

*Consider Fred!Kjelle or Gregor!Inigo: they get literally nothing from their fathers, class-wise. What a terrible waste! You also have some pairs that add *nearly* nothing, e.g. Libra!Laurent, who only gets Priest and War Monk--both provide nothing of note.

Edited March 2, 2016 by amiabletemplar

[TheSilentChloey]

I am not entirely sure how I want to end Panne and Yarne. Sure I could go the taguel route for both (and they will still have trouble from beast killer lances regardless of class). I am think of them as more support units for their partners. I also haven't had much of a shot to see how to make use of the taguel yet.

I think I might have Yarne end as a Taguel now that I think about it. A shame that they're only meelee, but I suppose that it would be for the best. Other than that what would be a good ending class for him? I wonder if Gaius!Yarne is any good as a Swordmaster?

Also thinking of having Gregor!Severa ending as a Hero. Is axefaire a viable skill to give her once I get her?

[ckc22]

I think I might have Yarne end as a Taguel now that I think about it. A shame that they're only meelee, but I suppose that it would be for the best. Other than that what would be a good ending class for him? I wonder if Gaius!Yarne is any good as a Swordmaster?

Also thinking of having Gregor!Severa ending as a Hero. Is axefaire a viable skill to give her once I get her?

Taguel yarne can still be a really fantastic DS booster support, so he doesn't actually end up that much different than he usually does - mainly he loses out on a brave weapon. I'm a pretty big fan of Virion!yarne myself.

I've been thinking about doing an awakening playthrough after I get through some more Fates where I optimize everyone into their default class tree/preference for unique models as promotes.

Edited March 3, 2016 by ckc22

[TheSilentChloey]

Taguel yarne can still be a really fantastic DS booster support, so he doesn't actually end up that much different than he usually does - mainly he loses out on a brave weapon. I'm a pretty big fan of Virion!yarne myself.

I've been thinking about doing an awakening playthrough after I get through some more Fates where I optimize everyone into their default class tree/preference for unique models as promotes.

Well I am debating whether or not Gaius!Yarne will stay taguel (although I think I will depending). Also need help with Gregor!Severa please *blushes*.

[Dangerus]

Seconding CKC's answer: this thread focuses on mechanical analysis, because that is about as close as we can get to "objective." I definitely think the narrative behind the supports matters, I just balance that desire for satisfying narrative against a desire for effective play. The two can't always be satisfied perfectly, but that doesn't mean one is universally more important than the other.

I know I've seen at least one thread in this subforum specifically asking about "favorite" or "best" pairs in a narrative sense. I, for example, think Virion makes the most sense as Inigo's father--it's where Inigo picked up the flirty behavior. Or that Sumia is the shoe-in for Lucina's mother (unless the Avatar is female--Lucina's reaction to the close relationship between Chrom and a FeMU that marries someone else being an in-story demonstration). But such things are a matter of sentiment and appeal heavily to taste. Which pairs give classes, or stats, that a character can really use? Those are very close to purely objective. It's a brute fact that some fathers are poor choices for some children, due to overlap,* or weak modifiers to key stats. Conversely, some fathers are fantastic, e.g. Donnel and Gaius giving Pegasus Knight to a daughter that wouldn't get it.

In the end, "best pairings" in a narrative sense are too much in the eye of the beholder. "Best pairings" in a mechanical sense, while still somewhat subject to taste and preference, rely heavily on numerical analysis. This, plus the large amount of information you have to remember when evaluating such things, makes for a ripe discussion environment: enough wiggle-room to allow debate, but enough concrete fact to allow (contextually) objective statements.

*Consider Fred!Kjelle or Gregor!Inigo: they get literally nothing from their fathers, class-wise. What a terrible waste! You also have some pairs that add *nearly* nothing, e.g. Libra!Laurent, who only gets Priest and War Monk--both provide nothing of note.

Ah. With that said, even if the 'best support' is a subjective term, I still want to hear other people's opinions and feedback.

[TheSilentChloey]

*Snip*

Also thinking of having Gregor!Severa ending as a Hero. Is axefaire a viable skill to give her once I get her?

Anyone? Kinda want to sort this out before I go for her in my current playthrough.

[Admiral "Bull" Halsey]

I had my Gregor!Severa passed down. But to be frank, Axefaire is the only male-exclusive skills worth passing onto for certain daughters (i.e. Henry!Cynthia via Great Knight). Otherwise, I can't really recommend any other skill choices though.

Edit: Also incase if anyone is wondering why this topic is slow, its probably because everyone is playing Fates by now...so yeah... <_<

Edited March 4, 2016 by Formerly Colm

[TheSilentChloey]

I had my Gregor!Severa passed down. But to be frank, Axefaire is the only male-exclusive skills worth passing onto for certain daughters (i.e. Henry!Cynthia via Great Knight). Otherwise, I can't really recommend any other skill choices though.

Edit: Also incase if anyone is wondering why this topic is slow, its probably because everyone is playing Fates by now...so yeah... <_<

Henry!Cynthia can't get Great Knight :/ that sounds to me like hacking was done, especially since Henry doesn't give cavalier and Frederick doesn't hand down any male exclusive classes.

Also not everyone would be playing Fates. I have pre-ordered the game but it's still not avaiable here is Aus so no not everyone is playing Fates as you put it. I believe that the main thread users are palying Fates, or potentially doing something else. Fates shouldn't be used purely to explain a slow thread as there could be other reasons.

ETA:

Also thinking of giving Donnel!Nah underdog for a bride/Manakete build. At least that is the main plan. I think I will give Severa axefaire, so I'll have to second seal Gregor, but hopefully should be worth it.

Edited March 5, 2016 by TheSilentChloey

[Admiral "Bull" Halsey]

uhhh...yes she can, through Sumia...<_< She could reclass through a Knight > Great Knight.

Edited March 5, 2016 by Formerly Colm

[TheSilentChloey]

uhhh...yes she can, through Sumia...<_< She could reclass through a Knight > Great Knight.

Well that makes sense. Sorry I thought that you meant that Henry gave great knight ^^'

[amiabletemplar]

I think I might have Yarne end as a Taguel now that I think about it. A shame that they're only meelee, but I suppose that it would be for the best. Other than that what would be a good ending class for him? I wonder if Gaius!Yarne is any good as a Swordmaster?

Also thinking of having Gregor!Severa ending as a Hero. Is axefaire a viable skill to give her once I get her?

Assassin is a good choice, as it gives nearly identical stats to Taguel, but adds bows. Berserker is favored for supporting guys with Str-based girls, as it gives a juicy Str bonus, throwing axes, and high Spd. Swordmaster sacrifices Str for Skl, but since Gaius!Yarne is better in the back, the extra proc chance is largely wasted (and even if he does go out front, his ranged options are limited to Levin Swords, which he isn't very good with, or Ragnell, which will run out if you don't have the Regalia DLC.) I'd go for either Assassin or Berserker, they both make decent use of the modifiers Gaius passes down.

Gregor!Severa doesn't look bad; I don't have enough experience to say it's good, but the stats look more or less reasonable. A first Faire is always desirable, and Axefaire means getting that bonus even with indirect attacks, so I'd definitely go for that. The only really competitive alternative I can see is Wrath, as Gregor!Severa can get the full VVW triad. But you've presented yourself as a more cautious/conservative player, one who doesn't care for the risky business required for VVW, so Axefaire seems eminently appropriate. So for her overall set, you'll probably want something like GF, Axefaire, Astra(/Veng), and then a couple of utility skills like DSp+ (if her beau doesn't have it), Anathema, Armsthrift, etc. Swap out one for Lifetaker or Sol if you find she needs healing.

[TheSilentChloey]

Assassin is a good choice, as it gives nearly identical stats to Taguel, but adds bows. Berserker is favored for supporting guys with Str-based girls, as it gives a juicy Str bonus, throwing axes, and high Spd. Swordmaster sacrifices Str for Skl, but since Gaius!Yarne is better in the back, the extra proc chance is largely wasted (and even if he does go out front, his ranged options are limited to Levin Swords, which he isn't very good with, or Ragnell, which will run out if you don't have the Regalia DLC.) I'd go for either Assassin or Berserker, they both make decent use of the modifiers Gaius passes down.

Gregor!Severa doesn't look bad; I don't have enough experience to say it's good, but the stats look more or less reasonable. A first Faire is always desirable, and Axefaire means getting that bonus even with indirect attacks, so I'd definitely go for that. The only really competitive alternative I can see is Wrath, as Gregor!Severa can get the full VVW triad. But you've presented yourself as a more cautious/conservative player, one who doesn't care for the risky business required for VVW, so Axefaire seems eminently appropriate. So for her overall set, you'll probably want something like GF, Axefaire, Astra(/Veng), and then a couple of utility skills like DSp+ (if her beau doesn't have it), Anathema, Armsthrift, etc. Swap out one for Lifetaker or Sol if you find she needs healing.

If I did go for assassin Gaius!Yarne what skillset would work? I'd likely have lancebreaker and sol (and beastbane is not going to be of any use here) at least as a starting point.

I was thinking of Gregor!Severa having this set up:

~Sol

~Axefaire

~Galeforce

~ could have anathema or vengence or limit breaker even

~Armsthrift

Not the best set up, but it could theoretically work? I haven't tried it before myself.

[amiabletemplar]

If I did go for assassin Gaius!Yarne what skillset would work? I'd likely have lancebreaker and sol (and beastbane is not going to be of any use here) at least as a starting point.

Yeah, Lancebreaker is your friend with Yarne, regardless of dad. Assuming you keep him in the back as support most of the time, you'll prioritize passive benefits: Swordfaire and Lucky Seven stand out among his options; Sol and Astra (his two procs) won't be necessary if he's mostly in the back. Gamble isn't a bad choice since we're looking for filler passives, and while running two breakers isn't great, Axebreaker is among the better remaining purely-passive choices. All the other things (more or less) require him to spend *some* time in front, which is probably unwise.

So, pure passive Gauis!Yarne @Assassin : Lancebreaker, Swordfaire, Lucky Seven, Gamble, Axebreaker.

If you decide you want him to get some time in front, drop Axebreaker for Astra (put that Skl to work!), and if you're concerned that that might get him killed, drop Gamble for Sol (conflicting procs, but if survival is a huge concern it's all you've got).

I was thinking of Gregor!Severa having this set up:

~Sol

~Axefaire

~Galeforce

~ could have anathema or vengence or limit breaker even

~Armsthrift

Not the best set up, but it could theoretically work? I haven't tried it before myself.

For Gregor!Severa, I'd swap Sol for Lifetaker. Unless you have a lot of trouble killing enemies in one attack (which would make Galeforce useless too), Lifetaker is a straight-up better option--it can get you 100% healing every round when paired with Galeforce. It also avoids the problem of conflicting procs.

If you have access to Limit Breaker, always put it on every character's list. Grinding up the manuals for it (and the stat growths) may be tedious, but there is literally no better passive skill in the game. Period. +10 to all stats is insanely good--10 extra damage with all attacks (compounded by procs and crits), higher hit/crit/avo/etc., getting Armsthrift and Vengeance to a 100% proc rate, far greater chance to double enemies...because it does everything stat-wise, it does everything important effect-wise too. I had thought you didn't have it, which is why I wasn't including it.

If you do have LB, I'd give Gregor!Severa @Hero: Limit Breaker, Axefaire, Galeforce, Armsthrift, and Vengeance. Any damage you take just becomes more fuel for the fire. Lifetaker is a valid alternative to Vengeance if you really need the healing, but I should stress that HP are just like they are in most other games: as long as you still have 1, it doesn't matter how many you have. (In fact, running with Vengeance as your damage-boosting proc, the less HP she has, the better this Severa will do!)

Incidentally, with LB in play, Yarne can change as follows:

Assassin: Limit Breaker, Lancebreaker, Swordfaire, Lucky Seven, Gamble (if supporting; use Astra if he's going to lead the attack more often than 'almost never').

Should you get access to the Dread Fighter class, Aggressor would absolutely displace Gamble, as it's a fantastic passive skill (it's equal to the base damage boost of Limit Breaker). If, for some reason, maps reliably start taking more than 7 turns to complete, you can drop Lucky Seven for Axebreaker (or Gamble, if you have Agg available).

---

I think some useful general ideas for skill sets might be in order. Not that it's bad to come looking for advice on them--that's what brought me here, too! But there are just a handful of things to keep in mind that will get you straightforward, competent skill sets--perhaps not the very ultra best, but perfectly adequate for most players' needs (especially in for-fun runs).

Long story short, there's a loose preference list for all skills characters can have. Galeforce and Limit Breaker sit at the top. Everyone that *can* get them, should. Two moves and two actions a round is an insane boost, but not everyone can have it; LB is unisex and makes everything you would want to do straight-up better: more procs, more hits, more Dual Guards/Strikes, more damage, more healing...literally more *everything.* Below that, Aggressor is wonderful for all male units, but especially for those that will mostly sit in back supporting, because it's a passive damage boost.

In the next "tier," below the first but still important, is proc skills. These have limitations that the very best passive skills (counting GF as "passive") don't: they have a priority list, they may not always hit, and they're useless for units in the back of a pairup. The in-game priority goes like this: Lethality > Aether > Astra > Sol > Luna > Ignis > Vengeance. That is, Vengeance is the lowest-priority skill, so if you roll for it AND any other skill e.g. Astra, then only Astra will take effect. However, their order of in-game priority doesn't have much to do with which is best. Lethality guarantees kills, but procs very rarely (Skl/4% means no better than ~18% chance) and is useless in Apo, so few people will recommend it. On high-level maps (like Apo), enemies have very high Def/Res--which means Astra (lots of low-damage attacks) is less useful than Luna (one high-damage attack), even though Astra has higher priority. In terms of Apo strength, from best to worst, it seems most people go for: Aether > Luna > Ignis > Vengeance >= Astra, though since Aether and Ignis are heavily restricted (Chrom, Lucina, and Lucina!Morgan, and Avatar+children, respectively) most characters are only looking at Luna > Vengeance >= Astra.

Once you have a proc (or two, if the stack is worthwhile e.g. Aether/Luna or Luna/Ignis) on a unit that will play in front, the remaining skills should be key basic passives. A core Faire that you'll use a lot (e.g. Tome for Sages), a useful Breaker (e.g. one that counteracts a weakness), and/or a hit/avo booster (e.g. Lucky Seven) or enemy hit and/or avo reducer (e.g. Anathema). For units that will spend most of their time in the back (esp. non-Gale units), you want to focus on heavier support and ignore procs completely. Any of the Dual [Thing]+ options are good, but Dual Support+ gets special mention, as it's a Hit/Avo/Crit booster for the *front* person.

If, after working through all of that, you still have a slot or two open? Then we get into the mass of situational skills. Pass, for instance: useful for archer units on maps with lots of enemies, but otherwise kinda meh. Deliverer: bonus Mov is always nice, but it's distinctly less nice than killing things better most of the time. Armsthrift: Great skill for saving forged Brave weapons, but doesn't actually make the character 'better' per se. Not very many characters will reach this point, though; non-GF Manakete Nah is probably the only one, since she won't get 3 of the 4 'always take this' skills (not male so she can't get Agg, no GF, Faires are useless for Manaketes), and she may not have access to any useful proc skills

Healing skills also fall into this category; as long as you survive, it doesn't matter how much HP you end the map with. This is a lesson I struggled with early on--I hate feeling like my units are a single shot from death, even if they aren't ACTUALLY going to die.

You'll note that the above ignores the existence of particular offensive combinations, like VVW. This is intentional. Such things are rare and, often, a bigger risk than the consistent benefits provided by the recommended stuff above.

And for a TL;DR summary:

Give GF, Limit Breaker, and Aggressor to all units that can get them.

Give one proc skill to every unit fighting in front; consider giving a second in some cases, especially with Aether. Preference order: Aether, then Luna, then Ignis, then Vengeance/Astra. Avoid all proc skills for support characters that will always stay in the back (e.g. non-Galeforce spouses).

Give one easily-used Faire to every unit, except Manaketes and Taguels (who get no benefit).

If a unit has a particular weapon weakness, consider giving them the associated Breaker skill.

Fill remaining slots with passive benefits like hit/avo bonuses, such as Lucky Seven/Outdoor Fighter/Dual Support+, or enemy debuffs like Anathema.

If you STILL have slots left after looking over all of that, you can choose anything you think would be useful on a case-by-case basis.

Anyway, hope that's helpful.

Edited March 7, 2016 by amiabletemplar

[TheSilentChloey]

Yeah, Lancebreaker is your friend with Yarne, regardless of dad. Assuming you keep him in the back as support most of the time, you'll prioritize passive benefits: Swordfaire and Lucky Seven stand out among his options; Sol and Astra (his two procs) won't be necessary if he's mostly in the back. Gamble isn't a bad choice since we're looking for filler passives, and while running two breakers isn't great, Axebreaker is among the better remaining purely-passive choices. All the other things (more or less) require him to spend *some* time in front, which is probably unwise.

So, pure passive Gauis!Yarne @Assassin : Lancebreaker, Swordfaire, Lucky Seven, Gamble, Axebreaker.

If you decide you want him to get some time in front, drop Axebreaker for Astra (put that Skl to work!), and if you're concerned that that might get him killed, drop Gamble for Sol (conflicting procs, but if survival is a huge concern it's all you've got).

For Gregor!Severa, I'd swap Sol for Lifetaker. Unless you have a lot of trouble killing enemies in one attack (which would make Galeforce useless too), Lifetaker is a straight-up better option--it can get you 100% healing every round when paired with Galeforce. It also avoids the problem of conflicting procs.

If you have access to Limit Breaker, always put it on every character's list. Grinding up the manuals for it (and the stat growths) may be tedious, but there is literally no better passive skill in the game. Period. +10 to all stats is insanely good--10 extra damage with all attacks (compounded by procs and crits), higher hit/crit/avo/etc., getting Armsthrift and Vengeance to a 100% proc rate, far greater chance to double enemies...because it does everything stat-wise, it does everything important effect-wise too. I had thought you didn't have it, which is why I wasn't including it.

If you do have LB, I'd give Gregor!Severa @Hero: Limit Breaker, Axefaire, Galeforce, Armsthrift, and Vengeance. Any damage you take just becomes more fuel for the fire. Lifetaker is a valid alternative to Vengeance if you really need the healing, but I should stress that HP are just like they are in most other games: as long as you still have 1, it doesn't matter how many you have. (In fact, running with Vengeance as your damage-boosting proc, the less HP she has, the better this Severa will do!)

Incidentally, with LB in play, Yarne can change as follows:

Assassin: Limit Breaker, Lancebreaker, Swordfaire, Lucky Seven, Gamble (if supporting; use Astra if he's going to lead the attack more often than 'almost never').

Should you get access to the Dread Fighter class, Aggressor would absolutely displace Gamble, as it's a fantastic passive skill (it's equal to the base damage boost of Limit Breaker). If, for some reason, maps reliably start taking more than 7 turns to complete, you can drop Lucky Seven for Axebreaker (or Gamble, if you have Agg available).

---

I think some useful general ideas for skill sets might be in order. Not that it's bad to come looking for advice on them--that's what brought me here, too! But there are just a handful of things to keep in mind that will get you straightforward, competent skill sets--perhaps not the very ultra best, but perfectly adequate for most players' needs (especially in for-fun runs).

Long story short, there's a loose preference list for all skills characters can have. Galeforce and Limit Breaker sit at the top. Everyone that *can* get them, should. Two moves and two actions a round is an insane boost, but not everyone can have it; LB is unisex and makes everything you would want to do straight-up better: more procs, more hits, more Dual Guards/Strikes, more damage, more healing...literally more *everything.* Below that, Aggressor is wonderful for all male units, but especially for those that will mostly sit in back supporting, because it's a passive damage boost.

In the next "tier," below the first but still important, is proc skills. These have limitations that the very best passive skills (counting GF as "passive") don't: they have a priority list, they may not always hit, and they're useless for units in the back of a pairup. The in-game priority goes like this: Lethality > Aether > Astra > Sol > Luna > Ignis > Vengeance. That is, Vengeance is the lowest-priority skill, so if you roll for it AND any other skill e.g. Astra, then only Astra will take effect. However, their order of in-game priority doesn't have much to do with which is best. Lethality guarantees kills, but procs very rarely (Skl/4% means no better than ~18% chance) and is useless in Apo, so few people will recommend it. On high-level maps (like Apo), enemies have very high Def/Res--which means Astra (lots of low-damage attacks) is less useful than Luna (one high-damage attack), even though Astra has higher priority. In terms of Apo strength, from best to worst, it seems most people go for: Aether > Luna > Ignis > Vengeance >= Astra, though since Aether and Ignis are heavily restricted (Chrom, Lucina, and Lucina!Morgan, and Avatar+children, respectively) most characters are only looking at Luna > Vengeance >= Astra.

Once you have a proc (or two, if the stack is worthwhile e.g. Aether/Luna or Luna/Ignis) on a unit that will play in front, the remaining skills should be key basic passives. A core Faire that you'll use a lot (e.g. Tome for Sages), a useful Breaker (e.g. one that counteracts a weakness), and/or a hit/avo booster (e.g. Lucky Seven) or enemy hit and/or avo reducer (e.g. Anathema). For units that will spend most of their time in the back (esp. non-Gale units), you want to focus on heavier support and ignore procs completely. Any of the Dual [Thing]+ options are good, but Dual Support+ gets special mention, as it's a Hit/Avo/Crit booster for the *front* person.

If, after working through all of that, you still have a slot or two open? Then we get into the mass of situational skills. Pass, for instance: useful for archer units on maps with lots of enemies, but otherwise kinda meh. Deliverer: bonus Mov is always nice, but it's distinctly less nice than killing things better most of the time. Armsthrift: Great skill for saving forged Brave weapons, but doesn't actually make the character 'better' per se. Not very many characters will reach this point, though; non-GF Manakete Nah is probably the only one, since she won't get 3 of the 4 'always take this' skills (not male so she can't get Agg, no GF, Faires are useless for Manaketes), and she may not have access to any useful proc skills

Healing skills also fall into this category; as long as you survive, it doesn't matter how much HP you end the map with. This is a lesson I struggled with early on--I hate feeling like my units are a single shot from death, even if they aren't ACTUALLY going to die.

You'll note that the above ignores the existence of particular offensive combinations, like VVW. This is intentional. Such things are rare and, often, a bigger risk than the consistent benefits provided by the recommended stuff above.

And for a TL;DR summary:

Give GF, Limit Breaker, and Aggressor to all units that can get them.

Give one proc skill to every unit fighting in front; consider giving a second in some cases, especially with Aether. Preference order: Aether, then Luna, then Ignis, then Vengeance/Astra. Avoid all proc skills for support characters that will always stay in the back (e.g. non-Galeforce spouses).

Give one easily-used Faire to every unit, except Manaketes and Taguels (who get no benefit).

If a unit has a particular weapon weakness, consider giving them the associated Breaker skill.

Fill remaining slots with passive benefits like hit/avo bonuses, such as Lucky Seven/Outdoor Fighter/Dual Support+, or enemy debuffs like Anathema.

If you STILL have slots left after looking over all of that, you can choose anything you think would be useful on a case-by-case basis.

Anyway, hope that's helpful.

Yeah I only just recently got the R and R maps plus a few other DLCs that allow for Bride, Dreadfighter and Limitbreaker. I am thinking that Yarne will be mostly leading depending on who his lovely lady will be (also want to make the best of his stat boosts).

Also yes, very helpful

Edited March 7, 2016 by TheSilentChloey

[Admiral "Bull" Halsey]

Armshrift is one of those skills that can only be useful for preserving weapon usages. Other than that, I would recommend against having it as part of your main set (especially with any -faire skills).

For my Gregor!Severa @ Hero, I have it with: Axefaire, Vengeance, Galeforce, Lifetaker, and Limit Breaker.

[TheSilentChloey]

Armshrift is one of those skills that can only be useful for preserving weapon usages. Other than that, I would recommend against having it as part of your main set (especially with any -faire skills).

For my Gregor!Severa @ Hero, I have it with: Axefaire, Vengeance, Galeforce, Lifetaker, and Limit Breaker.

Did the set up work alright? I think I want Sev up front (probably) to do a double galeforce with Vaike!Brady. I still have to get limitbreaker, but that shouldn't be too hard right? Also what is Vaike!Brady like as a dread fighter?

[amiabletemplar]

Armshrift is one of those skills that can only be useful for preserving weapon usages. Other than that, I would recommend against having it as part of your main set (especially with any -faire skills).

For my Gregor!Severa @ Hero, I have it with: Axefaire, Vengeance, Galeforce, Lifetaker, and Limit Breaker.

I admit, I probably have an irrational love for Armsthrift. This set will provide a more well-rounded character.

Did the set up work alright? I think I want Sev up front (probably) to do a double galeforce with Vaike!Brady. I still have to get limitbreaker, but that shouldn't be too hard right? Also what is Vaike!Brady like as a dread fighter?

Well, going purely by the numbers, Vaike!Brady has unfortunately low modifiers for both Str and Mag (only +1 each)--he ends up being not strong at anything, which isn't great, though it does mean his Str and Mag are only 4 points apart as a DF. However, skill-wise, he has everything he could want: Galeforce, Aggressor, Luna, Axefaire (or Tomefaire), and of course Limit Breaker. The class's provided Pair Up bonuses aren't bad (Str/Res +5, Mag/Spd +3, counting support level but not base stat bonuses), though not quite as optimized as Berserker would be (Str +7, Spd +5); the +Mag is a bit of a waste, but that's the price you pay for Brady being versatile like that.

I have no direct experience so I can't really say how it works in practice, but in theory it's fine. Not gonna rock anyone's socks off, but it shouldn't disappoint you either.

Edited March 8, 2016 by amiabletemplar

[Admiral "Bull" Halsey]

To be frank, Armshrift is in no way a bad skill at all. But when it comes to making use with the 5 available skill-slots, I just don't see Armshrift as a priority besides Limit Breaker.

Also, another skill worth supplementing for -faire is All Stats + 2. Otherwise, its up to you.

Edited March 8, 2016 by Formerly Colm

[THE FELL DRAGON]

Chrom and Female Robin are the best pair-up. They have hilarious, meaningless supports and meaningful conversations in-story. Robin is naturally going to feel attracted to him, as far as she can remember, Chrom was the first person she ever saw. They are a power couple who can easily defeat any enemy when together. Their children are even more powerful. Morgan looks great with blue hair and Lucina is an awesome sister for him.

[TheSilentChloey]

I admit, I probably have an irrational love for Armsthrift. This set will provide a more well-rounded character.

Well, going purely by the numbers, Vaike!Brady has unfortunately low modifiers for both Str and Mag (only +1 each)--he ends up being not strong at anything, which isn't great, though it does mean his Str and Mag are only 4 points apart as a DF. However, skill-wise, he has everything he could want: Galeforce, Aggressor, Luna, Axefaire (or Tomefaire), and of course Limit Breaker. The class's provided Pair Up bonuses aren't bad (Str/Res +5, Mag/Spd +3, counting support level but not base stat bonuses), though not quite as optimized as Berserker would be (Str +7, Spd +5); the +Mag is a bit of a waste, but that's the price you pay for Brady being versatile like that.

I have no direct experience so I can't really say how it works in practice, but in theory it's fine. Not gonna rock anyone's socks off, but it shouldn't disappoint you either.

As long as he works out I should be fine

Chrom and Female Robin are the best pair-up. They have hilarious, meaningless supports and meaningful conversations in-story. Robin is naturally going to feel attracted to him, as far as she can remember, Chrom was the first person she ever saw. They are a power couple who can easily defeat any enemy when together. Their children are even more powerful. Morgan looks great with blue hair and Lucina is an awesome sister for him.

^

Blue haired Morgan is one of the main reasons that I pair F!Robin and Chrom, another being that Lucina gets every gender permitting class and can get Ignus. And I don't want to break that family appart. Funnily enough that's why I marry M!Robin to Lucina...blue haired Morgan