A Comprehensive Sacred Stones Tier List (At Last)

[Pandurrrr]

Hello everyone, I've been browsing on Serenes Forest for a while now but only created an account just now 😰

Anyways, probably the most controversial thing ever on these kind of forums are the Tier Lists. With tier lists, there come endless debates about which character should be put one spot higher than the other, etc. It's painful and tedious. For example, in Path of Racism (Radiance), Boyd is supposedly a fantastic unit (In "a" tier), but I never found him to be particularily good because of all the problems axe units are doomed to have forever: Low Acc, Can't double, etc. Looking at tier lists after playing through games such as Awakening, Fates (ugh), and SoV, I can only watch in horror as the community here argue about (let's use a completely random unit here because why not) Rennac's placement; should he be in D or C tier. And I'm thinking, "He's garbage anyways, can't you just lump him in with all the other units that are garbage? DOES IT MATTER IF HE'S 1 PLACEMENT HIGHER THAN NEIMI???", etc. Most of the time tier lists aren't even that accurate. I remember looking at a old Blazing Blade tier list and it said that Kent was better than Sain, Lyn was better than Harken, and Dart was better than Erk. I mean, really? (No disrespect to the maker(s) of that tier list, though). 

Are tier lists doomed to forever drown under a wave of controversy and arguments? I don't think so, which is why I've tried to make a tier list that would accommodate everyone! Everyone! (Except for Amelia.) 

Which is why (in making this Sacred Stones tier list), I've decided not to use "letter tiers," but instead: 

BENCH TIERS. 

I'm pretty sure all of you know what "to bench a unit" means (to put on the bench lol), so there isn't much to say. The goal of this tier list is to try to be as less controversial as possible and to better guide newer fellows playing Sacred Stones on which units to use (or older fellows going back to Sacred Stones, but by that point you don't really need a tier list). 

Explanation of how this works: 

Like I said, units will be sorted into "bench tiers." For example, the top tier (other than Seth) is going to be "You Would be Insane to Bench:". This basically says it all, and is very self explanatory. These tiers are going to go down eventually to "You should always bench." 

This tier list organizes the units based of efficiency, growths, and availibility, like most tier lists. There will be explanations for every unit. To top this tier list off, the units are listed in join time order, top to bottom. This is crucial! We will treat units in the same tier as equals (unfortunately, Fire Emblem isn't a Communist society), and the explanations will explain who is better or not. There is also going to be a special cases tier list, for units such as Myrrh. The secret units not going to be included.

IMPORTANT: The tier "YOU EITHER BENCH AT THE START, OR USE UNTIL THE END OF THE GAME" is probably going to be the most controversial, so let me explain real quick. 
These are units that are good, but if you know you might use someone over them, you bench them immediately for efficiency. 

For example, take Gilliam. He's a very solid unit. Unfortunately, he gets put into that tier because of his limited movement and Kyle. You can decide to use him instead of Kyle, but if you want to use him, you use him to the end.  

THIS TIER LIST APPLIES ONLY FOR EPHRIAM HARD MODE. Eirika's route is a little too easy, and most of the same units here barely change. The only units I would give a warning to (if you are doing Eirika's route) is that both Tana and Cormag are slightly worse than in Ephriam's route. 

Again, no grinding in the tower or arenas is allowed. 

Phew! That was a lot to say. Anyways, without any further ado: 

The Comprehensive Fire Emblem, Sacred Stones Tier List.

 

Seth: He doesn't deserve to be tiered with mere mortals. 

 

Can't Bench (literally): 

Ephraim 

Eirika

You Would Be Insane to Bench: 

Franz

Vanessa

Artur

Lute

Tethys

Unless You Have a Very Good Reason, You Shouldn't Bench: 

Moulder

Forde

Kyle 

Tana

Cormag 

Saleh  

YOU EITHER BENCH AT THE START, OR USE UNTIL THE END OF THE GAME *

Garcia

Ross

Gilliam 

Joshua

Natasha

 

You Should Bench Unless You Have A Very Good Reason (but even then...): 

Neimi

L'Arachell 

Dolza (Gwahahah!) 

Knoll

Syrene 

 

 

ALWAYS BENCH: 

Amelia

Ewan

Marisa 

 

SPECIAL CASES: 

Colm

Duessel 

Rennac 

Myrrh 

 

 

EXPLANATIONS: 

Lords:

Ephraim: The prince is much better than his sister in his route, and it's true: he's a phenomenal unit. The only slight downside to him is that he cannot promote until Chapter 16, which might be slightly bothersome given that he may likely already be at level 20. But other than that, he's great. 

Eirika: Unfortunately, she joins extremely weak in Ephraim's route (since all she has are the levels you put into her at 1-8). At this point, if you are using Joshua, it would be prudent to bench her immediately. Even if you aren't using any sword-locked units, she's still pretty bad, and unless you put a lot of effort into her, which doesn't even seem worthwhile, Eirika deserves the bench. 

Insane to Bench: 

Franz: He's your second best calvary unit, eventually either stiffly challenging Seth's reign or even surpassing him. He is available at the very start of the game, making him an invaluable unit for the entire game. He has both solid growths (and 19 levels before becoming a second Seth) and availability to your advantage, so again, it would be utterly insane to bench this knight of Renais. 

Vanessa: Again, she has fantastic availabilty, solid growths, and is all around going to be your most useful flying unit throughout the game. By the time Tana joins, she already has a significant lead in level, and is just so useful in the levels before Tana (or Cormag, but I'm using Tana cuz she's also a Pegasus Knight), such as ferrying Artur along to the spooders on level 6 (lol). Although statistically, Tana will probably surpass her, Vanessa still has the huge trump of availibility. Even if you're worried that Tana will surpass her, there is still no good reason not to use Vanessa. She still turns out fantastic in the endgame, and only will be very slightly worse than Tana. 

Artur: He slices and dices the monsters like a pro. He joins very early too, and will be your best light magic boi until the very end of the game. Even by the time Moulder and Natasha promote, he will have a massive level lead on the two. Artur's solid growths and bases make him an absolute must-have in any Sacred Stones run. I would personally reccomend making him a Bishop (although Sage is very, very viable) and he will shred any monster. He will be your best monster shredder you will have, due to Slayer. Feed the monsters to Artur...(Ok, I'll stop now.) 

Lute: I have no idea why Lute the Flute is in "B" tier in most tier lists. Get her to blow an enemy and most will not survive. Her excellent Mag growth of 65% along with her average Speed growth of 45% are enough to propel her into an indominable glass cannon, consistently one-rounding and doubling enemies. She will promote quickly along with Artur, and you can have her become either a Mage Knight (with the plus Con. and movement), or have her become a sage with a Mag. cap of 30 which she is most certainly going to reach. Top that with her availibility (very important, as you might have guessed already), and she certainly deserves to be in "Insane to Bench." Although Saleh will join later on, Lute will almost certainly statistically surpass him even at jointime. Her main downside is her bulk, so she is an excellent candidate for an Angelic Robe or a Dragonshield. 

Tethys: Dancer. Duh. Also she has great support with Gerik, but that's not important compared to the extra turn she gives. The only problem is her movement, and you can just give her the swiftsole in level 15. 

Unless You Have a Very Good Reason, You Shouldn't Bench: 

Moulder: He is going to be your best healer, as he'll promote quicker than Natasha because he joins earlier and has already packed on a level or two by the time she joins. The only real promotion option for him is going to be Bishop, in which he has an excellent role in. However, he is slightly hindered by his average growths, so that is why some people (myself included) have used Natasha instead because of her great growths. However, for efficiency, Moulder the Boulder is your man. 

Forde: Forde and Kyle are a funny pair. Forde does no damage, and Kyle can't double anything. However, later on, they turn out to be very good units. Forde makes a good Paladin, only slightly worse than Franz. He is hindered by his very average stat growths, but he has lots of levels to make it up, so he still turns out fine after a initial (slightly) weak start. Also, calvary is busted. Why wouldn't you use the calvary? (Actually, I have not been using Forde or Kyle consistently in my runs of Sacred Stones, but...that's me, not you. I would still highly recommend.)

Kyle: Duessel 2.0. Except for he's better in the long run. Again with Forde, he has very average growths, but a lot of levels to make it up. He makes a great Great Knight (Sorry, I couldn't resist), and is generally very tanky, absorbing attacks like they're only scratches. However,  he does have some unfortunate (Even major!) downsides: his res is minimal as a Great Knight and he gets nuked by magic users. Meanwhile, Franz and Seth (Forde is the exception) both can reasonably dodge magic attacks. Also, Kyle suffers from bad speed growth and low skill. Despite all these downsides, he still is going to be your most efficient Great Knight, so you should use him unless he turns out too poorly. 

Tana: I already listed most of the upsides for her in Vanessa's section, so this doesn't need much explanation. Great growths are her #1 selling point. However, she does start off kind of weak, so you do need to put some effort into her, but nothing too special for her to become a monster. Again, unless you get RNG screwed with Tana, you should defenitely use her. 

Cormag: A bulky wyvern rider who looks like a bad guy but actually likes kittens and also doesn't realize (in Ephraim's route, at least) that his brother died so when he says "Blast! My brother would have never gone out like this!" is actually very ironic. Ahem. Anyways, he is much bulkier than both Tana and Vanessa, and he will soak up enemy attacks. His huge downside is his res. He gets nuked (even more so than Kyle) by everything magic because of his pathetic res growth and base (at least Kyle has a 25 or something). It probably be a good idea to have him eat some Talismans (lol), but apart from that he constitutes your more agressive and "charge into action" flying unit. Another slight downside for him is his speed, but this can be remedied by either giving him a speedwing or changing him into a Wyvern Knight, or both. Cormag is very good, and you consistently will get a good Cormag in your Sacred Stones runs.

Saleh: Pent 2.0. If you have played Blazing Blade (You should!), Saleh is basically the same thing. Excellent bases, a ready-to-go C rank (or something like that) in staves,etc. The only problem about him is that he joins at level 15, which by then Lute is catching up to him quickly or at least equal to him, or even surpassed him already. However, despite the advent of his prodigy's acention looming over him, he still really is a fantastic unit, and you should only consider the bench when he falls too behind Lute. However, in most cases, you'll still be using him until the very end of the game. 

YOU EITHER BENCH AT THE START, OR USE UNTIL THE END OF THE GAME *

Garcia: Garcia is an interesting beast. He is defenitely going to be your best axe unit, with easy availability, great bustin' power, and average speed. However...things don't turn out as good on paper as they do in real life. In a lot of cases, he turns out quite poorly, and he reaches that state where even though you put a lot of exp. into him, you have to push him aside for other units. Axe-locked units aren't the greatest in this game (or in any Fire Emblem Game), and Garcia suffers from "axe syndrome" (or maybe too much deodorant?): can't double and low skill. So if you're worried about Garcia becoming closer and closer to the bench as the game progresses, you should bench him rightaway despite him being pretty powerful at the beginning. 

If you aren't concerned about Garcia, and he turns out well, he'll be an excellent Beserker or Warrior for the entire game. 

Ross:

 

I"LL FINISH THE EXPLANATIONS LATER, DO NOT WORRY MY CHILDREN

Edited September 3, 2019 by Pandurrrr

[Von Ithipathachai]

Garcia promotes to Hero, not Berserker.  Your only available Berserkers in Sacred Stones are Dozla and potentially Ross if you picked Pirate for him over Fighter.

[eclipse]

. . .er, what?

Do we care about how long it takes to level?  Grinding?  What benchmarks a unit needs to do their job?  Weapon ranks?  Cheese strategies?

These are all things that need to be taken into account when making a tier list.

[Zapp Branniglenn]

Are you saying the Lords are top tier because "you can't bench them"? That is quite the trap we used to fall into. Harder in FE7 than in FE8. I think it's easy to agree that Ephraim is useable while his sister is lower than average. And they deserve actual tier placements rather than being unranked due to Lord status.

The reason why Lute is not considered top of the line is her fragility. Sacred Stones (and GBA  Fire Emblem in general) is very enemy phase focused and Lute's defenses are paper thin. Field her in the fog of war boat map and she gets mobbed and killed by all the fliers. Artur has the same issues, but at least he becomes a bishop and puts her offenses to shame in the end game and Creature Campaign with effective damage on all weapons. If you compare Level 1 sage Lute to level 1 Saleh, Saleh has superior bulk and is not overwhelmingly worse in his magic and speed stats. He also has C rank staves compared to her D rank. So you can avoid investing exp into Lute and pick him if you wanted. 

Tethys is also iffy for high tier since she's probably the worst dancer in the series. Joining no sooner than the halfway point of the game when considering Ephraim's route. She's locked to 5 Move, has no weapon, no rings like Ninian has, and pretty awful defenses that will not improve with level ups. A good player makes effective use of Tethys like any Dancer, but I wouldn't slot her immediately into the highest Non-Seth tier.

[Mukmuk]

Perhaps worst of all is that both Gerik and Innes are missing. 

I mean, it's a good concept for a tier list, but it needs refinement. 

[Very epic FE gamer]

Why are Lute and Tethys "You would be insane to bench"?

Lute's speed is just awful. Sure, she'll double the zombies in her joining chapter, but she gets pounded after that. If you don't get speed on your first few level ups, she's as good as useless.

As for Tethys, normally a dancer would be insanely good, but let's be real here. Do you really need a dancer in FE8?