PAIRINGS The Pairing Thread

[twistedxgrace]

I'm planning have Gaius marry Maribelle in my newest file. What should Gaius pass down to Brady?

[amiabletemplar]

I'm planning have Gaius marry Maribelle in my newest file. What should Gaius pass down to Brady?

Male-to-male inheritance is never especially important*--anything Gaius can learn, Brady will be able to as well. All you're doing is saving yourself some time, or getting something that can make the recruitment paralogue or grinding easier.

Looking at Gaius's options, there's not a whole lot that really stands out. Since he starts as a Priest, he won't have any use for proc effects, which cuts out most of the "save his butt during the recruitment paralogue" options, including even Vantage. Lucky Seven seems like one of your best choices--Trickster isn't a particularly useful class, and since you don't really need Acrobat, you can just skip Trickster entirely which can save a degree of grinding. In fact, you may be able to skip the Thief line entirely, since you really don't need any Thief or Assassin skills, either. I can't see any real utility for the Fighter line skills, other than maybe Sol to help keep him topped up while grinding? But even that is pretty limited. If you promote Brady to Sage during the fight (like I did), Astra could theoretically be useful, but even with very high starting Skl he won't proc it more than, what, 15% of the time?

So, if you care at all, probably do Lucky Seven. Even if the hit is useless while he's a Priest, the avo will help if he gets into any snarls.

Similarly, female-to-female inheritance is usually unimportant. Although passing down galeforce is always useful, it's not technically necessary for any of the girls who inherit it from their mothers, as they can just learn it themselves. Certainly saves you grinding time and speeds up all other grinding, but it's not strictly necessary. I went with Veteran for my Avatar!Lucina, for example.

Simply: if you aren't getting an otherwise-unavailable skill, you only care about saving time or easier grinding, and those are both very small benefits.

*Technically, if you do Gerome!Morgan, you can pass down two different female-only skills, presumably Dual Support+ and GF, so there are some rare situations where a father can pass down a unique skill. Don't bet on it though--almost all of the time, a male child's skill inheritance from his father is meaningless, and his mother is either going to give GF, or DSup+ if she doesn't get GF. Yarne's the only exception, and even then, three decent dads eliminate even that exception (Virion being especially good).

Edited December 29, 2016 by amiabletemplar

[Infinite99]

Hey guys, do you mind rating my pairings?

Chrom/Olivia

Donnel/Sully

Lon’qu/Cordelia

Gaius/Tharja

Henry/Sumia

Virion/Cherche

Ricken/Lissa

Stahl/Panne

Vaike/Nowi

Libra/Maribelle

Gregor/Miriel

Spd/Def Robin / Inigo

[Radiant head]

those are all good.

you could probably do better than chrom!inigo for morgan if the point of second gen father is to get insane mods, but morgan is op no matter what.

Edited December 29, 2016 by Radiant head

[Infinite99]

those are all good.

you could probably do better than chrom!inigo for morgan if the point of second gen father is to get insane mods, but morgan is op no matter what.

Hmm, okay. Any suggestions for asset/flaw and a spouse based on the children I have?

[amiabletemplar]

Hey guys, do you mind rating my pairings?

Chrom/Olivia

Donnel/Sully

Lon’qu/Cordelia

Gaius/Tharja

Henry/Sumia

Virion/Cherche

Ricken/Lissa

Stahl/Panne

Vaike/Nowi

Libra/Maribelle

Gregor/Miriel

Spd/Def Robin / Inigo

Not bad. Lots of pretty typical choices. Bit unfortunate that Gerome won't have Berserker, but there's not much you can do about that.

As for other Morgan suggestions...hm. I actually don't think Inigo is that bad, you're getting +7 Spd and +5 Skl, and positive mods in everything but the two worthless stats (Def/Res), so you seem to come out looking pretty good. But if you do want to change...some options, assuming you're sticking with a female Avatar:

Spd/Def Avatar/Owain. Strong Mag-focused unit with good Spd and a little Skl. The +5 Lck isn't bad, but isn't great either.

Skl/Def or Spd/Def Avatar/Yarne. The first gets you +7 Str/+8 Skl/+4 Spd, the second +5 Str/+6 Skl/+8 Spd. Pretty good options, all things considered.

Skl/Def Avatar/Laurent. Excellent generalist; +3 Str and Mag, +8 Skl.

If you're okay with doing a male Avatar, I can crunch the numbers on the female 2nd gen chars as well.

[MeddlingMage]

So far I'm having fun with these pairings:

Robin (+Speed/-Def) x Cordelia

Chrom x Sumia

Ricken x Lissa

Lon'qu x Maribelle

Stahl x Olivia

Gaius x Tharja

Vaike x Sully

Gregor x Nowi

Libra x Miriel

Virion x Panne

Henry x Cherche

[Infinite99]

Not bad. Lots of pretty typical choices. Bit unfortunate that Gerome won't have Berserker, but there's not much you can do about that.

As for other Morgan suggestions...hm. I actually don't think Inigo is that bad, you're getting +7 Spd and +5 Skl, and positive mods in everything but the two worthless stats (Def/Res), so you seem to come out looking pretty good. But if you do want to change...some options, assuming you're sticking with a female Avatar:

Spd/Def Avatar/Owain. Strong Mag-focused unit with good Spd and a little Skl. The +5 Lck isn't bad, but isn't great either.

Skl/Def or Spd/Def Avatar/Yarne. The first gets you +7 Str/+8 Skl/+4 Spd, the second +5 Str/+6 Skl/+8 Spd. Pretty good options, all things considered.

Skl/Def Avatar/Laurent. Excellent generalist; +3 Str and Mag, +8 Skl.

If you're okay with doing a male Avatar, I can crunch the numbers on the female 2nd gen chars as well.

I'd actually prefer a male Avatar haha. Any suggestsions for that?

[MeddlingMage]

Thoughts gang:

Chrom x Olivia

Robin x Lissa

Lon'qu x Cordelia (#)

Stahl x Panne (#)

Henry x Sumia

Vaike x Sully

Ricken x Maribelle

Libra x Miriel

Gregor x Nowi

Virion x Cherche

Gaius x Tharja

(#) I may switch these 2 pairings around to try something different.

[Radiant head]

may want to switch vaike for donnel. but if you're trying to shake things up, could do gaius x sully and tharja x vaike for a noire that doesn't have gf but can do double bow sniper.

the hash pairings would be fine if switched, but definitely inferior

[MeddlingMage]

may want to switch vaike for donnel. but if you're trying to shake things up, could do gaius x sully and tharja x vaike for a noire that doesn't have gf but can do double bow sniper.

the hash pairings would be fine if switched, but definitely inferior

How would Gregor x Sully do? It gives Vaike to Nowi and keeps Galeforce on Noire thanks to Gaius.

[Radiant head]

well kjelle literally has everything she could possibly want except galeforce, so if she doesn't get donnel or gaius, then she doesn't care who it is, assuming you're not ruining her mods with kellam. I guess vaike would be the next best thing in that case for axefaire, merc, and mods.

[MeddlingMage]

I decided to go all out with pairing.

Chrom x Olivia

Robin x Lucina

Donnel x Sully

Gaius x Tharja

Libra x Lissa

Ricken x Maribelle

Stahl x Panne

Vaike x Nowi

Gregor x Miriel

Virion x Cherche

Henry x Sumia

Lon'qu x Cordelia.

Is there a way I can switch out Donnel for Frederick and switch around a couple pairings or should I just train Donnel?

[Radiant head]

well frederick!kjelle would be a massive waste of kjelle's potential because of the complete class overlap and mod cancellation, but you could probably do gaius x sully and fred x tharja. a lot of people who don't want to bother with donnel usually opt for non-gf noire.

[itsiantime]

No matter how many times I play I can never get a good pairing for Miriel and it's sad... I've paired her with Libra plenty of times but it's so redundant with skills and stats. I was thinking Ricken but does anyone have a better pair?

[Radiant head]

gregor!laurent is a god, can do basically every kind of good build possible

[itsiantime]

gregor!laurent is a god, can do basically every kind of good build possible

OK well I'll most likely pair up Libra with Lissa and Lon'qu with Nowi

[Tuvy2]

MirielxAvatar. 10/10 would Laurent again.

[Ebony]

just curious, but if you're doing a non galeforce noire, what parents work best for her and what's her main role to fill without gf?

[Radiant head]

uh off the top of my head vaike!noire can do double bow sniper without getting donnel's atrocious mods, an extra skill slot.

otherwise it's the same as any other build, but instead of galeforce you have room for stuff like stat boosts or proc stacking, etc.

Edited January 11, 2017 by Radiant head

[Vascela]

If you have archer, you can always take a Sniper role. If you have dark mage as well, you can be a very useful Sniper. Noire has both out of the box, so she can take a mod father like Vaike.

[amiabletemplar]

just curious, but if you're doing a non galeforce noire, what parents work best for her and what's her main role to fill without gf?

Looking over the numbers, Vaike is...one of your only really good choices. Doesn't hurt Spd, good Str. Others have said it as well, but I figure it's nice to give some reasons why. If you want other recommendations, though, there are some options. Lon'qu is better used with other children, but if for some reason you have him free, he's probably a good one as well. Henry is an option, though as with LQ he has other places he may be wanted first (e.g. Cynthia or Gerome). You could do Virion too, I suppose. That should be enough alternatives for you to find someone that works well enough.

And the others have covered the class--Sniper all the way.

[Spicy Tuna Roll]

Awakening is my first Fire Emblem game and I love it. After doing a casual playthrough on normal to get familiar with the mechanics and characters, here's my pairings plan for a more serious Lunatic run.

Cherche x Henry

Cordelia x Male MU (+Mag/-Lck)
Lissa x Ricken

Maribelle x Libra
Miriel x Gregor

Nowi x Vaike
Olivia x Chrom
Panne x Virion
Sully x Donny
Sumia x Frederick
Tharja x Gaius

Are there any characters I should consider swapping out? Is there a better asset/flaw for my avatar that I should go with? Are there any abilities I should definitely consider passing aside from Galeforce? Any input or advice is appreciated. I should also mention that I'm considering on buying Apo and some of the other more useful DLC.

Edited January 13, 2017 by Spicy Tuna Roll

[Radiant head]

nah wants axefaire. besides that and gf, don't think passdowns really matter

+spd is usually preferred as an asset, but +mag seems fine to me (have not done it myself), and severa will be a good dark flier

[amiabletemplar]

Awakening is my first Fire Emblem game and I love it. After doing a casual playthrough on normal to get familiar with the mechanics and characters, here's my pairings plan for a more serious Lunatic run.

Cherche x Henry

Cordelia x Male MU (+Mag/-Lck)

Lissa x Ricken

Maribelle x Libra

Miriel x Gregor

Nowi x Vaike

Olivia x Chrom

Panne x Virion

Sully x Donny

Sumia x Frederick

Tharja x Gaius

Are there any characters I should consider swapping out? Is there a better asset/flaw for my avatar that I should go with? Are there any abilities I should definitely consider passing aside from Galeforce? Any input or advice is appreciated. I should also mention that I'm considering on buying Apo and some of the other more useful DLC.

In general, the recommended stats are either +Spd/-Def, +Skl/-Def, or +(Attack stat)/-Def. Def is the preferred flaw because two of the stats it reduces are considered worthless (Apotheosis optimization is all-out offense, so dropping your defenses doesn't matter). Spd is the preferred asset for two reasons: it increases Lck, thereby eliminating any penalty the Def flaw has, and Spd is the vital stat for doubling, so a few extra points can open more options in terms of classes while still hitting the Spd caps for doubling the toughest Apo enemies. (It also gives a small boost to Skl at the same time, so +Spd is useful to all possible Avatars and Morgans.) Skl is an alternative choice for higher skill activation rates, and boosting your attack stat should be a no-brainer.

For Avatar!Severa, your choice of asset/flaw leaves her a little flat, mod-wise, which is generally less useful. The best thing you can do, generally, is squeeze the most you can out of just one or two stats. Switching to +Spd/-Def gives you a whopping 5 Skl/7 Spd mod bonus on Severa, which is excellent--effectively on par with Lon'qu (+6 Skl and Spd), while picking up +1 Lck and losing nothing else in the bargain (because Def and Res are dump stats). This produces a very slightly physically-inclined Severa (+2 Str vs. +0 Mag), but she can really do just about anything and kick butt. +Mag is also perfectly acceptable if you want to focus on a Mag-using job (Dark Flier or Sage, Sorcerer for non-Apo stuff).

The only one of your choices that I would hesitate to support is Sumia x Fred. Fred is a father with...limited uses. (Fred!Inigo is pretty good, for example, but that's because it's hard to mess up Inigo.) Fred's not as bad as Kellam (never ever use Kellam), but he's very Def-oriented. You've gone for both of the "bench" characters' better options, here--Henry!Gerome and Vaike!Nah--but because your Avatar is marrying the first generation, you're going to end up with an extra child that won't marry anyone. Usually this means people pick either Gerome or Nah (whoever is the same gender as Morgan) to be a bench, and thus "save" valuable dads from that. Since you're doing MaMU, that means female Morgan, so you'd be better served benching Nah (give her any other dad you aren't using) and then going Cherche x Vaike and Sumia x Henry.

Also, you haven't used Lon'qu anywhere, and he's a great dad for modifiers, giving big +Spd and +Skl mods. Normally, the advice would be to do Cordelia x Lon'qu, but since she's already married to the Avatar, you have the freedom to use him anywhere else. (Tragic that he can't marry Sumia--an LQ!Cynthia would be lovely.) You could do Maribelle x Lon'qu, which would give Brady a nice stat bonus for minimal loss (Sorcerer is nice, but not nice enough to prefer Libra).

nah wants axefaire. besides that and gf, don't think passdowns really matter

+spd is usually preferred as an asset, but +mag seems fine to me (have not done it myself), and severa will be a good dark flier

There are a few passdowns that do matter, but only contextually: Boys that cannot get Galeforce from their moms should get Dual Support+ if it's available. Yarne, if he doesn't inherit Wyvern Rider from his father, should get one of those skills from Panne (typically Lancefaire, since it helps against Beast Killers). Fathers, as you noted, should pass down Axefaire to daughters if they can get it, otherwise just whatever male-only skill you like (Counter is okay for non-Apo, but there really aren't very many good choices).

Of course, for Spicy Tuna Roll, the Yarne thing doesn't apply because Virion solves that problem, but otherwise this stands: Laurent and Gerome should inherit DSup+ from their mothers, Nah should get Axefaire from her father.