Who are the ones that you love as a unit, but hate as a character?

[Garlyle]

Curious about this. I'm pretty sure between all the Fire Emblem units you found some units extremely useful or just very powerful - but you rather bench them, because you don't like them as a character in the story - or you use them, but would skip all cutscenes involving them.

[Kempfnna]

Where to begin with this...

Faye is probably one of my best examples. She has little story relevance, much to my pleasure, but she was incredibly useful as a cleric on Alm's route, in addition to Silque.

A lot of Fates characters since I generally disliked their cast. Takumi comes to mind here.

[Hawkwing]

Easily Faye. Even if I don't hate her, she is still my least favorite character in Echoes, mostly because of all the personality types they could have chosen, IS picked the one of the least interesting to use. She's a boring, one-note, and ultimately repetitious character, as Clair fulfills the same role she does, but has more depth and interesting traits than Faye. At the very least, I'm glad that her behavior isn't treated as a good thing, but I question why they chose it in the first place.

However, as a healer, Faye is a godsend, as Alm's side otherwise only has one dedicated cleric for a good chunk of the game, and she has a pretty short range. The usefulness of physic cannot be stressed enough, and the addition of rescue means that Faye and Silque have great synergy with each other, allowing hit and run tactics that weren't present in the original Gaiden. Even outside of the cleric class line, Faye can be a Pegasus knight on a route where you only get one, as well as a mage with some unique spells. I don't care about her as a character, but I can definitely praise Faye as a unit.

[Etrurian emperor]

Shinon is objectively a great unit. He's also a racist, a drunk, a traitor and a very petty individual. As such I don't like the guy. There's a difference between being merely flawed and being a scumbag. 

I don't hate Ryoma but I do find him extremely dull which is a contrast to his fantastic performance as a unit. 

[The Roger The Paladin]

Naesala in either of the Tellius Fire Emblems is the first unit who comes to mind. Doesn't take much to guess why I think he's a dick if you're familiar with the story. Thankfully there's other, arguably better, Laguz royals to choose from.

Also FE7 Karel falls under similar reasons, being the kind of edgelord that resulted in me using the term as a nickname for the myrmidons/swordmaster class. Maybe not the best unit, but he left a good first impression, only to ruin it all with his supports.

I don't think much of the womanizers to begin with, but Saul and Soleil (coincidence? I think so) take it to a new level, what with the former implying he doesn't enjoy it as much when they don't get mad with him, and the latter harassing Ophelia to the point of tears. Consequently, Laslow has an odd tendency to stay single in my runs, seeing as the male Corrin prevents one child from being born anyway.

Tharja's abuse of her daughter and/or husband kind of lands her here. Despite Nosferatu being at it's best in this game.

Edited February 8, 2019 by Mad-manakete

[Azure the Scale Tipper]

Faye might be the closest to what I would think in this category, I guess.

Though, my experiences with her as a Pegasus Knight day that Clair is better. Even if it was on Normal difficulty.

[Shoblongoo]

Camilla.

Well-known best unit in Conquest.

And the only reason she isn't the worst character is because Peri is a thing that happened 

[Punished Dayni]

Hate might be a strong word, but Camilla and (hate does qualify for this one) Peri absolutely qualify imo for Conquest (Camilla also counts for Relevations, but balance is wack there anyway). Rutger's personality is as bland as to make him fit in Archanea (his backstory not so much to be fair), but as a unit he's ridiculous. Luke also qualifies honestly (Not in Heroes though!). And where could I go without adding Pan, Lifis and Shiva to the list?

[Emeraldfox]

Hector is a goony-ass mother fucker, he's a clown. But I appreciate and respect that he's the tank out of his friends.

[Michelaar]

Ike. OP unit, annoying character. I don't really dislike anyone else.

[thecrimsonflash]

I don't generally use units I hate as characters, I guess corrin, for being the only dragon in his game.

[Shadow Mir]

No one really comes to mind since I tend to avoid units I dislike as characters. Well, other than Sigurd. He's overpowered, but he's also so bland he wouldn't feel out of place in Archanea.

[Silver-Haired Maiden]

The first that comes to mind is Soren but I refuse to use him.

So Takumi. Awful personality, amazing archer.

[Fabulously Olivier]

Fates:

Elise - An incredible healer with a broken personal skill. But. I. Hate. Her. So. Much. 

Felicia - As I always play male avatars, she ends up being the better of the servants, and is damn useful. But I really dislike her ditzy personality.

Oboro - One of the only tanky characters in Birthright can also be summed up by the words "likes fashion and is racist."

Awakening:

Nowi - My most hated character in the entire franchise is also a powerful unit. The same, unfortunately, is also true for Heroes.

Echoes:

Faye - Obviously.

Path of Radiance:

Makalov - Being mounted in PoR pretty much makes you great by default. Fortunately, I never have to use this awful person because there are plenty of other, better alternatives.

Edited February 8, 2019 by Etheus

[Magical Glace]

1 hour ago, Michelaar said:

Ike. OP unit, annoying character. I don't really dislike anyone else.

This basically, especially in FE10.  FE10 Ike is less interesting than a jar of dirt.  He's also stupidly good unitwise and forced on every map where he's available and is forced to kill the final boss so I can't even avoid using him.  

Screw you, Ike.

[Strullemia]

Camilla, she's an amazing unit on the conquest route and on the revelations route she's still a great unit but I really don't like her character.

 

[DarthR0xas]

12 minutes ago, Etheus said:

Felicia - As I always play male avatars, she ends up being the better of the servants, and is damn useful. But I really dislike her ditzy personality.

How dare you good sir. I'll have you know that she is perfection incarnate, and that your mortal brain is just too weak to underst-

Nah, it's a fair complaint. I personally really like that, but since it's one of her defining characteristics it's a "take it or leave it" thing.

Anyways, onto the units I use.

FE1/11

Most of Archanea's cast is dull, so I'm just going to single out my favorite unit, purely based on performance.

Ogma is my favorite unit to use in all of Archanea, and I am bored to tears by everything about him. His backstory is more character development for Caeda then showing much about him.

Echoes

People have said Faye, but I actually have a soft spot for her. So I'm going to go with Catria and Matilda. Catria is basically just always sad. That's the impression I always get from her character. And if there's one thing I like less than a bland character, it's a sad character. But she's a pegasus, which are on steroids in Valentia, so what are you gonna do. Matilda's character is liking Clive. That's it. But she also is either on par, or better than every cavalier in Alm's path at the point she joins, with pretty good growths, so I always use her. (The same things apply to FE2, sometimes even moreso).

FE4

I like most of the characters in FE4. If I had to pick one, it'd be Cuan. Cuan is basically lance Sigurd without Pursuit, and I used him well before he left.

FE5

Fergus. What little I read of his character didn't impress me, but he is legit one of the best units in the game.

FE6

Anyone not named Lilina or Dieke who is good.

FE7

I never really use anyone I don't like. If I had to pick someone, I suppose it'd be Erk. But even then I like him a lot in Lyn mode, he just doesn't quite stay as good in Eliwood mode.

FE8

Same story with FE7. Again, if I had to pick someone, Tethys. She's a dancer, so you have to use her, but at the same time her interactions aren't my favorite.

FE9

Yet again, same story as with FE7. I can't even pick a unit here, since I really only use the units that I like, and they all end up good one way or another.

FE10

Nolan. He barely has any character, but what little he has I'm not a fan of. Also Keiran. Not the best unit, but one I enjoy using.

FE13

It's hard to think of a good unit I hate in Awakening. I suppose Cordelia would fit the bill.

FE14

Again, it's hard for me to think of any specific units that stand out as awful characters while they're good units. 

[Ertrick36]

4 hours ago, Etheus said:

Oboro - One of the only tanky characters in Birthright can also be summed up by the words "likes fashion and is racist."

How dare you spread this false propaganda in my neighborhood.

 

Anyway, I'm definitely jumping on the Faye Train on this topic.  And from the same game I'll throw in the two lords because I don't really like either of them as characters but both are pretty damn good units.

In the Archanea games, I think Kris is a real stand out.  Extremely flexible unit that can be anything you want them to be and perform well in that role, but I'm gonna shoot myself if I have to hear another word about how their sole life purpose is to serve Marth.  Grow a goddamn character, if there's one thing Awakening certainly has over the Archanea games, it's a better avatar.

Among the Genealogy cast, Sylvia just makes me feel uncomfortable with how she's so promiscuous at the age of 14 and her personality just doesn't do it for me, but of course she has to be one of the most useful utility units among the entire 1st Gen cast.

As for the Awakening cast... well, just about every unit in that game can become really useful.  I guess I'll say Donnel because I hate his memes (especially after hearing some dumb journalists pushing it) but he's got the stupid growth spurt skill.  Not the worst character ever, but the memes just really ruined him for me.

And with the Fates cast, I guess I'll list Xander and maybe Azura.  I say "maybe" for the latter because aside from a merely decent utility and ridiculous offensive stats, she honestly sucks a lot because of her awful defense all around, it's just that the utility could prove a worthy compromise if you have at least one really good unit in your party.  Surprised I didn't list Ryoma and Camilla here?  Well, I hate Ryoma precisely because of how powerful he is, not for his character.  And Camilla, I honestly don't dislike that much in her original appearance, nor was she ever a big stand out for me (likely because I've only played through Conquest once and every other time I played Revelation the only royals I used besides Corrin were Takumi, Leo, and some of the 2nd Gens).

[MisterIceTeaPeach]

Obviously Camilla

[Dark Holy Elf]

Shadow Dragon/New Mystery: Kris. Bad avatar character, great unit.

Gaiden/Echoes: I dunno, the only PCs I particularly dislike are Kamui and Mycen, and neither is that great as a unit (though neither is bad).

Binding Blade: Alan and Lance. Their support is literally talking about how much they like Roy. But they're really really good. Rutger's an honourable mention.

Blazing Sword: Ninian (and Nils really). Annoying damsely character whose role in the plot is almost entirely summed up by things happening to her, rather than things she does, but dancers are always good and she's better than average with her rings and dodge-tanking. I'll mention Hector too, who I also dislike, but he's slightly overrated as a unit I find (still above average to be clear).

Sacred Stones: uhh... Vanessa is really good and bland as hell, so she works. Nobody I dislike that strongly here.

Path of Radiance: I don't precisely dislike Oscar and Boyd, but they are both bland and amazing units (especially Oscar).

Radiant Dawn: Ike. Worse character in this game, almost completely static, and a better unit for a variety of reasons. EDIT: Shinon also deserves a mention, though like many other archers I do think he's somewhat overrated as a unit (like Hector, still good though).

Awakening: Morgan. Has a personality which is pretty much just trying way too hard to be cute/quirky. As a unit, is solid at worst (easily recruitable child with full class access) and downright overpowered at best.

Fates: Nobody really comes to mind. My least favourite characters are probably Kana and Gunter, but neither really stands out gameplaywise.

Edited February 9, 2019 by Dark Holy Elf

[ping]

Rutger - I dislike edgelords, but he's just so good.

Sain - I don't really care about the "Womanizer" characters, either, but again - he's just so good.

Tana - it's less her character and more that she enters the scene as a Damsel in Distress twice. I do however like underleveled characters that still have decent stats for their jointime.

Heath - Not wanting to fight against women and children is fine, I guess, although the "women" part is weird considering that your ex-commander is a lady and nothing in the story suggest that fighting women (as in "women that fight") are frowned upon in Elibe. But joining the army that employs said women and children as a reaction? Really, dude? Super fun unit, though, for the same reason as Tana plus the fact that I really like tanky fliers.

Ninian - as @Dark Holy Elf pointed out: Even damsellier than Tana. Ugh. Dancer, though.

[GrandeRampel]

The one character I don't like in all of FE is Silas. And thanfully he isn't so good that I felt I had to use him. But even if he was good I would not use him for anything more than making Sophie.

After all I completed FE8 without using Seth and the Tellius games without using Titania and Haar as a personal challenge and it was pretty easy (except that one chapter in Part 2. You know the one).

No unit who is optional is ever so strong you can't choose to bench them in FE.

[MagicCanonBalls]

Ike, Soren, and on the fence about Hector. Hector is fine in Eliwood mode, but he is a bit insufferable in his own mode. He is basically the jock archetype that shines best when he is the interesting side character. 

[Fire Emblem Fan]

Camilla. She's so fantastic in Fates, but her character is one giant missed opportunity.

Faye. See Camilla.

Cordelia. Girl, get over Chrom and stop making everyone else you can marry feel like the leftovers you picked over the main dish.

Shinon. What a jerk.

[Just call me AL]

FE7: Florina, easily. Great unit. But there's really nothing to her character besides her androphobia, her being the most comfortable around women, and the fact that she's pretty weak-willed. All to an annoying degree. There's also Serra, to some extent. Most of her schtick is how she's airheaded and most people she speaks too are annoyed by it. Her supports do redeem her somewhat.

FE8: Ephraim is as 2-dimensional as a piece of wood. But he has the noted quirk of being the only unit in the game who can surpass Seth before postgame. Innes is admittedly not much better as a character, but he does get props for being the best Bow user in the game.

FE9: Makalov has the fortune in being in one of the best classes to be in within FE9, and is graciously helped by BEXP. But most of his personality here revolves around his debts. His most disgusting display of this is his supports with Astrid, where he tries to pawn off her pendant until Marcia/Ike stops him.

FE10: Laura gets hit with how she lacks notable character, much like most characters introduced in FE10. But, honestly, as a unit, I can't imagine playing a Dawn Brigade without her. Especially when she can heal while Micaiah can transfer HP in Pt 1. And be places where Micaiah cannot, as well as be able to use the Sleep Staff (which might as well be exclusive to her) in Pt 3. Heather is in a similar situation in regards to character. But considering that she's on teams that otherwise lack a thief for most of the game, I can't imagine not using her either. Nolan too, given him being a great foot fighter, as well as being one of your only units besides Sothe who can handle himself for the most part before Tauroneo, Jill, and Zihark join.

FE11: So many characters here have personalities so barebones, it's hard to choose. So, I guess, Barst. Or one of the Altean cavs.

FE13: Cordelia, easily. Awesome unit. But character-wise, she whines about being able to get together with someone who has no interest in her.

FE14: All I can really think of here is Beruka. I like her as a unit. But I don't think I care for her character at all.