So... promote ASAP?

[Zorafin]

This seems to be the general consensus, right?  There is some merit in capping each class in the off chance that they'll gain a couple more stat points, but overall you're better off with the promoted units.  And you'll likely not be lv20 with your final unit at the endgame anyway.

This is what I'm gathering from what people are saying.  It seems like maybe it'll be worth getting to 20 every time before promoting if you buy the grinding DLC, but the game will be more fun if you don't.  But, there's an exception to this for the two lords.

[escotanner]

Without using dlc, promoting immediately is the best option for characters other than Alm and Celica. If you're using dlc, it is indeed better to wait until level 20 when a unit reaches a final tier in their class...also may Mila have mercy on your soul.

[Zorafin]

I'll bet the main game will get really boring if you overlevel your units like that, too.  

 

Alright, that's good information.  It's kind of odd, since most FEs are better off if you wait as long as you can until you promote.

Edited May 15, 2017 by Zorafin

[VincentASM]

In general, you want to promote ASAP for the promotion bonuses and to stop the experience gain being awful. The game on Normal is straightforward enough that this works.

You *can* keep going to Level 20, but it's extremely overkill and painful.

There are exceptions to the rule such as Alm and Celica. Since they take so long to promote, by the time they can promote you won't get any (or minimal) promotion bonuses so you may as well stick around for Level 20.

Delthea is in a similar boat. She joins really low level, but with crazy stats and she's a Mage, so she doesn't really promotion bonuses.

Post-game, you can afford to wait until Level 20 to get the maximum stat growth. Of course, this sucks if you've been using your favourite characters in the story. But Mercenaries can loop forever and you get two Villager Forks to reset two characters to Villagers.

Using the latter method, I managed to max out Faye and Clair (who can't use the Mercenary loop, being females).

[L9999]

On 2017-5-15 at 7:50 AM, Zorafin said:

Alright, that's good information.  It's kind of odd, since most FEs are better off if you wait as long as you can until you promote.

Not at all. 

[nocturnal YL]

I still promote at level 20. By the time you're there, your stats are far higher than the next class's base stats, and I find this much better than using prepromotes (who don't have enough remaining levels to catch up with the young ones at the end). Not worth it if you aim to clear the game as soon as possible, but that's just not my playstyle.

[Zorafin]

I'm more concerned with getting through the game as easily as possible.

If you're at the final boss, and your characters aren't capped, and you always promote when the next tier gets more exp than the previous tier, then you're not really wasting any levels.  There's not much difference ending the game at level 10/20 and at level 20/10.

That being said...I may restart the game if I decide to get the dlc and get the ability to grind, to max my stats as much as possible.  But that's only if I end up loving the game.  I haven't really liked any FEs since Radiant Dawn, and even that one I didn't complete (I didn't get the AoE healing staff ; ;).