So many units to kill and so few chapters to do it in

[Dr. C]

Picking up Shadow Dragon for the first time and went straight to Hard 5.

The difficulty is brutal but I really enjoyed it.

I decided that I want to go for Gaiden Chapter 6x (Athena’s bases are decent enough to consider as well as giving me an extra Myrmidon in the reclassing pool.) I came across an unfortunate problem.

Come Chapter 4 I had killed off Bord and Gordin but then I had 15 units and 14 slots and, naturally, had to bench a unit I was planning on killing... which was awkward.

So now I plan on torturing myself through the first 3 chapters again.

So the question is... who do I lol off?

Bord and Gordin were easy but the hard part is... 

Draug-Yeah he is prone to dying after Chapter 1 but that base speed and growth gives him some potential as a Hunter-General but he is still crap for 2 chapters... 

Castor-40 in all offensive stats looks really good on paper but is it worth it when his bases are so awful? 

Cord- His Axe Rank is tragic but he has potential as a Dark Mage reclass if I don’t go for Hetzel. Chip damage is proving to be invaluable and raising up his Axe tank doesn’t seem worth it when I can make him an accurate 1-2 range chip damage dealer. But he gets doubled in chapter 4 with base 5 speed upon records... Makes me wonder if he’s worth it. 

 Nabarl- I heard he makes a decent Cavalier and C Swords is certainly a draw but... 6 base speed as a Cavalier? that qualifies as decent in Chapter 4? Training his lance rank at 1 range with 6 speed seems WAY more difficult than training Cord. Does the C rank balance out lack of 1-2 range? 

Darros-It’s inevitable that I will kill him off even though I really like his recruitment dialogue and he did some okay chip damage with an Iron Axe. The question is whether or not I kill him off before Chapter 4. 

who needs to bite the bullet? 

Also, If a unit dies does their inventory go to convoy or is it gone forever? 

Secondly, are the other Gaidens worth going for? 

And i haven’t played Chapter 5 and 6 yet so... is there any units in that chapter that are worth using ?

 

[JimmyBeans]

38 minutes ago, Dr. C said:

Also, If a unit dies does their inventory go to convoy or is it gone forever?

It is gone until the chapter ends and then it goes to the convoy.

as for the Gaidens you get a some interesting side stories but the units don't bring anything to the table that aren't already covered, but there is some use you can get out of them like Athena's bases makes her really useful for chapter 9, which is pretty hard unless you put a lot of levels on Ogma, And Etzel has a Novelty for being a Sorc at base... Pretty much all of them have some base utility but not much that can't be replicated with units of the same class if you train them. I can tell you that they are Godsend in some of my H5 Iron Man runs, especially since their recruit chapters are so easy.

As for who you should kill you are safe offing anyone for the most part, but I would recommend anyone who isn't Jagen/Abel/Caeda/Barst. On your way to 6x I would only suggest sparing Wendell and Hardin, because they are pretty dang good, but they aren't required. Since it sounds like you enjoy the re-classing aspect a lot you might like Wolf and Sedgar (just look at their growth rates) and Wendell's base speed allows him to function in any class which can be a lot of fun.

 

[eclipse]

I'd say Chapters 17x for the extra Warp, if that's your play style.

For characters to off. . .

Gordin - He's funny when he decides to tank, but he'll be slow forever
Draug - If his first few levels are bad, ditch him.  Ogma/Barst can pick up the slack.
Cord - Decentish growths don't make up for his lack of weapon ranks
Castor - See Cord
Darros - He's even worse than Gordin, speed-wise
Bord - Only if you can get someone else to use the Hammer.  If you kill him off, do it a bit later (after Chapter 10)
Wrys - His competition is Lena, Wendell, and Boah.  You don't need four dedicated staffbots.
Jagen - He's going to fall off, and when he does, make room on your roster.
Merric - IMO he's arguable.  Wendell can grab Excalibur and wreak havoc with it, and has the weapon ranks to boot.  I'd leave this one up to you, but if you decide on Wendell, get rid of Merric ASAP.
Roshea and Vyland - They're heavily outclassed by Sedgar and Wolf.  Plus you get Cain/Abel for class A male slots.
Rickard - The game doesn't need two thieves.  Julian should be able to pick up the slack.
Bantu - If you want Tiki, you'll need to wait until Chapter 20 to kill him off.  Otherwise, he can be safely disposed of before Chapter 12.
Caesar and Radd - They're a labor of love, and probably not worth it (Etzel does the magic thing better).
Roger - He doesn't do anything at this point that your other lance guys can't.
Maria - If you need an Aum user, you'll pick up Elice later.
Linde - Like Merric, she can do magic, but unlike Merric/Wendell, she isn't walking wyvern death at base.
Tomas, Dolph, and Macellan - These three needs growths, something that H5 isn't that forgiving on.
Midia - Her job is to recruit Astram.
Astram - Have him donate his gear before leaving.
Samson/Arran - I wouldn't bother recruiting them.
Anyone else from the beginning that isn't actively gaining experience - Consider this the last-minute ditch point before the end of Chapter 20.
Tiki - For her to be at full effectiveness, you'll need to sacrifice Starlight.  If you don't want to do this, get rid of her.  The Lightsphere is really good on this mode, though.
Est - She really isn't worth the time.

You can probably kill off a couple of others as the game goes on, depending on their levels.

Of the gaiden chapters, Athena will need her growths to keep up.  Horace can coast on his base stats for a while (reclass him to Hero), and Etzel does just fine as a blasty mage.  Ymir isn't the world's best axe user, but his chapter has some nice stuff.

[Interdimensional Observer]

14 minutes ago, eclipse said:

Tiki - For her to be at full effectiveness, you'll need to sacrifice Starlight.  If you don't want to do this, get rid of her.  The Lightsphere is really good on this mode, though.

Given the point to Starlight is Falchion, and Falchion exists to kill Medeus, if Marth can't survive Medeus, the Falchion isn't worth it.

And Marth can easily not survive Medeus, he can't get 27 Spd so he'll always be doubled, against an enemy with 50 Atk. Marth averages at 30 a mere 41 HP and 13 Def, not enough to live. He'd need a capped 25 Def and 51 HP minimum to survive, which is far beyond the averages.

Therefore, it's better to skip Falchion and keep the Starsphere and Lightsphere I'd say. Tiki + Aum is my preference for offing the final boss. If I've done the math right, Tiki with the Divinestone can deal 40 damage minimum to Medeus and his 60 HP. 3 Base Str + 10 from the Divinestone + 18 might x 3 for the effective bonus = 67 Atk. H5 Medeus has 25 Def and gets 2 more from the throne. 67 - 27 = 40.

[eclipse]

12 minutes ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

Given the point to Starlight is Falchion, and Falchion exists to kill Medeus, if Marth can't survive Medeus, the Falchion isn't worth it.

And Marth can easily not survive Medeus, he can't get 27 Spd so he'll always be doubled, against an enemy with 50 Atk. Marth averages at 30 a mere 41 HP and 13 Def, not enough to live. He'd need a capped 25 Def and 51 HP minimum to survive, which is far beyond the averages.

Therefore, it's better to skip Falchion and keep the Starsphere and Lightsphere I'd say. Tiki + Aum is my preference for offing the final boss. If I've done the math right, Tiki with the Divinestone can deal 40 damage minimum to Medeus and his 60 HP. 3 Base Str + 10 from the Divinestone + 18 might x 3 for the effective bonus = 67 Atk. H5 Medeus has 25 Def and gets 2 more from the throne. 67 - 27 = 40.

IIRC the best way was to have Nagi attack and die, then have Marth warp over for the kill.

[Dr. C]

1 hour ago, eclipse said:

I'd say Chapters 17x for the extra Warp, if that's your play style.

For characters to off. ..
Rickard - The game doesn't need two thieves.  Julian should be able to pick up the slack.

Caesar and Radd - They're a labor of love, and probably not worth it (Etzel does the magic thing better).

Samson/Arran - I wouldn't bother recruiting them.
Anyone else from the beginning that isn't actively gaining experience - Consider this the last-minute ditch point before pthe end of Chapter 20.
 

You can probably kill off a couple of others as the game goes on, depending on their levels.

Of the gaiden chapters, Athena will need her growths to keep up.  Horace can coast on his base stats for a while (reclass him to Hero), and Etzel does just fine as a blasty mage.  Ymir isn't the world's best axe user, but his chapter has some nice stuff.

 

Radd is mandatory for me so I’ll have to plan accordingly

it’s not his statistics. It’s his name.

I am a little torn about Rickard.

i like the idea of having two thieves for large indoor maps but just to get Chapter 6x it’s tight.

i wasn’t fully committed to getting all Gaidens but if it’s a good idea to then maybe I should consider it.

And I was under the mistaken impression that Samson was good. (And at the very least adds +1 to the Merc pool which is much preferred to an extra Cavalier to work with when Cain and Able upon reclassing, rival Shiida in the speed department at the low cost of a slight 5% hit to Strength and Defense.)

Could you provide any more insights on Samson/Arran?

 

[Eltosian Kadath]

1 hour ago, Dr. C said:

I am a little torn about Rickard.

i like the idea of having two thieves for large indoor maps but just to get Chapter 6x it’s tight.

When Marth gets the Fire Emblem he gains the ability to open chests like a thief, so after chapter 6 you kinda do.

[eclipse]

1 hour ago, Dr. C said:

Could you provide any more insights on Samson/Arran?

Arran would be recruited for his gear - his growths are decent, but he isn't going to have time to utilize them.

Samson's bases are better than Arran's, but they're not that impressive by the time he's recruited - Horace shows up with better bases, and earlier.

Don't worry about the reclass count - even if you kill a unit off, it'll still "count" towards it (so you'll have 10 class A males, even if Navarre isn't recruited).

[Dr. C]

8 hours ago, eclipse said:

Don't worry about the reclass count - even if you kill a unit off, it'll still "count" towards it (so you'll have 10 class A males, even if Navarre isn't recruited).

So wait... even f Shiida doesn’t initiate the recruitment conversation or do you mean Lille diff as player unit?

Also, reclass pool probably isn’t going to matter all that much but the game practically throws cavaliers at you. Im not sure what the mercenary count is though but seems way more than Mercenaries. 

(Glares at Mathis for sucking)

[Dr. C]

9 hours ago, Eltosian Kadath said:

When Marth gets the Fire Emblem he gains the ability to open chests like a thief, so after chapter 6 you kinda do.

Oh for some reason I was under the mistaken impression the Fire Emblem only unlocked doors.

So that clears that off. Guess I’ll kill off Ricken then. Wrys gets by... for now.

I find it funny that no one is going. “No! Don’t go for the Gaidens in shadow Dragon! The requirements are bullsh**!”

Funnier till being encouraged lol. 

Sounds like 17x is worth getting though.

Marth, Shiida, Cain, Able, Barst, Ogma, Merric, Wolf, Sedger, Hardin, Athena, Wendell, Linde, Lena Elice Julian, Radd, Tiki are my finalists.

That being said, Horace, Ymir and Etzel have not been looked at quite thoroughly.

(I know I’m being told to cut Merric in favor of Wendell but that portrait!)

Edited June 10, 2019 by Dr. C

[JimmyBeans]

2 hours ago, Dr. C said:

I find it funny that no one is going. “No! Don’t go for the Gaidens in shadow Dragon! The requirements are bullsh**!”

Funnier till being encouraged lol.

I don't mind to requirements, it helps when you know why they are there in the first place, FE is designed more around the "Perfectionist" play style now a days so this system can look like a turn off for many people, which I understand.

[X-Naut]

It's also kind of redundant when the game gives you generic cannon fodder to fill out deployment slots if you're short on units.

[Dr. C]

Marth, Shiida, Cain, Able, Barst, Ogma, Merric, Wolf, Sedger, Hardin, Athena, Wendell, Linde,Lena Elice Julian, Radd, Tiki  have made the final cut.

Horace, Ymir and  Etzel... any of those worth writing home about?

[eclipse]

54 minutes ago, Dr. C said:

Horace, Ymir and  Etzel... any of those worth writing home about?

Horace - amazing bases, bleh growths.  If he manages to proc any of his offensive growths, it'll make things less painful.  If not, he'll most likely bite the dust before Chapter 20.
Ymir - See Horace, but the reclass to Hero isn't as painful.
Etzel - Like all the other gaiden characters, his bases are serviceable.  Linde has the potential to beat him, but she'll need something like 18 levels, and the RNG needs to be on your side.  Merric is in a similar situation, but he'll need to be promoted on average.

[Dr. C]

1 hour ago, eclipse said:

Horace - amazing bases, bleh growths.  If he manages to proc any of his offensive growths, it'll make things less painful.  If not, he'll most likely bite the dust before Chapter 20.
Ymir - See Horace, but the reclass to Hero isn't as painful.
Etzel - Like all the other gaiden characters, his bases are serviceable.  Linde has the potential to beat him, but she'll need something like 18 levels, and the RNG needs to be on your side.  Merric is in a similar situation, but he'll need to be promoted on average.

I realized in all this I completely forgot about Jake and the other ballistician. 

Worth iusing?

[eclipse]

8 minutes ago, Dr. C said:

I realized in all this I completely forgot about Jake and the other ballistician. 

Worth iusing?

Choose one.  Jake gets supports and is the easier to recruit (you don't want to stick around too long on Chapter 13), but Beck's Thunderbolt is useful for a certain late chapter (if you're not into dodging Pachyderms).

[Dr. C]

22 minutes ago, eclipse said:

Choose one.  Jake gets supports and is the easier to recruit (you don't want to stick around too long on Chapter 13), but Beck's Thunderbolt is useful for a certain late chapter (if you're not into dodging Pachyderms).

So basically recruit him because gear.

[eclipse]

1 minute ago, Dr. C said:

So basically recruit him because gear.

Yep.  Being able to snipe things is nice, but they're probably going to get themselves killed if they're attacked.

[Dr. C]

5 minutes ago, eclipse said:

Yep.  Being able to snipe things is nice, but they're probably going to get themselves killed if they're attacked.

I really wanted to use Radd on my first play through but my love of his name and my love of an extra warp are a balancing act.

Also Nagi or Gotoh?

Edited June 11, 2019 by Dr. C
Incomplete thought prematurely posted by mistake.

[eclipse]

9 minutes ago, Dr. C said:

Also Nagi or Gotoh?

Nagi for warp-skipping cheese, Gotoh if you need another staffbot.

You have until Chapter 24 to make up your mind.  If you somehow wound up with both Tiki and Falchion, have her die on that chapter while holding Falchion, and you'll get Nagi.

[Dr. C]

1 hour ago, eclipse said:

Nagi for warp-skipping cheese, Gotoh if you need another staffbot.

You have until Chapter 24 to make up your mind.  If you somehow wound up with both Tiki and Falchion, have her die on that chapter while holding Falchion, and you'll get Nagi.

I’m guessing opting not to gets Falchion also counts for 24x? 

[eclipse]

8 hours ago, Dr. C said:

I’m guessing opting not to gets Falchion also counts for 24x? 

Yep.  But it means you have to deal with Gharnef.  But you have the Warp staff, so. . .

[Dr. C]

On 6/11/2019 at 1:39 PM, eclipse said:

Yep.  Being able to snipe things is nice, but they're probably going to get themselves killed if they're attacked.

You know what else is nice?

Pegasus Knights... 

 

i completely forgot about Palla Catria Est and Minerva... 

Feeling a bit silly now.

looks like I’m doing more purging than I thought.

Radd is definitely out now 

[eclipse]

20 hours ago, Dr. C said:

You know what else is nice?

Pegasus Knights... 

 

i completely forgot about Palla Catria Est and Minerva... 

Feeling a bit silly now.

looks like I’m doing more purging than I thought.

Palla/Catria are a maybe.  Est is an insta-kill.  Minerva's useful when recruited, but may not stay useful for the entire game (watch her levels).

[Dr. C]

40 minutes ago, eclipse said:

Palla/Catria are a maybe.  Est is an insta-kill.  Minerva's useful when recruited, but may not stay useful for the entire game (watch her levels).

Catria’s growths are really good. Palla not so much...

ridiculous strength but that speed is pretty awful. 

Minerva’s Axe is pretty good though Inhear it’s not a personal weapon...

Edited June 13, 2019 by Dr. C