Blue Lions, Maddening, NG--How do my plans look?

[Marlowe]

After this Verdant Wind NG+ run (which I mostly did to get all the paralogues I missed before), I've concluded I'm not really a fan of NG+ in general, so I'm definitely going to just bite the bullet and do a regular NG for this run. I have read that Blue Lions is the least difficult of them, so I'm going for that. After my previous experiences with the run, I've been charting out my plans for my characters. Been trying to mix what I know works with what I've heard works, if that makes sense. I don't want to run the Fodlan Air Force of all Wyvern Lords, either. I charted out a full 15 units, but I know I'll probably have to contract that. How many should I aim for? I'm going to list them below:

Dimitri: I was going to run him through a relatively standard Soldier-Lord-Paladin progression so he gets Aegis and lots of Authority experience. Maybe I can get Battalion Vantage and Wrath before timeskip. That might make Chapter 13 easier to a degree. But I was also considering running him through one of the other sword classes as well, like Thief, for some more speed growth. Any thoughts on this? Obviously I'd stick with his regular High Lord and Great Lord classes post-timeskip, possibly grinding for Paraselene if it might help.

Dedue: This one would be fairly standard, too. Obviously I want Brigand for Death Blow, and eventually aim for War Master with brawl power. Should I even bother with the armor? The only uses I could see are getting Weight-3 to deal with axes in earlygame or Pavise for later on, but grinding for Pavise seems like a special kind of awful in Maddening.

Felix: I've gotten the bow memo, and Felix is definitely going to start out as an archer. Should I go full Sniper, or have the bow eventually be secondary to his sword skills? I have a poll on this. I was planning on also training brawling some for Healing Focus and some cheap kills early on. 

Sylvain: This is the one that might buck conventional wisdom. I had an unironically good time running him as a Great Knight last time, with Prowess and -breakers corresponding to his weapons and Aegis for survivability. I could throw Death Blow in there instead for extra oomph, since I'm obviously getting that to start. Is there another class one might recommend? Is there one that isn't Wyvern Lord? I guess it could make sense for him.

Ingrid: Any reason not to do Soldier-Peg-Pal-Falcon? It worked well last time, and if I focus her on only lances I could probably unlock Lance Crit+10 in good time. I'm not going to put a poll option for this, but what are people's thoughts on a sword class for her? Worthy diversion, or unnecessary distraction from the straight and narrow lance?

Ashe: I'm strongly leaning towards Wyvern Lord for him, not just because it's broken but because I didn't do it last time, so it'd be a nice change of pace for that flying lockpick. Unless someone thinks Death Blow Sniper is better, I'm probably going to go for getting both Death Blow and Hit+20 if I can and sending him to the skies.

Mercedes: Priest. Bishop. Gremory. Not even bothering with bow this time.

Annette: Last time she was pretty dangerous with the Caduceus staff augmenting her range, but she might not have that this time (see later). I'm not too worried about her viability, especially since she has some valuable rallies. But nothing unusual here: Warlock for maximum oomph.

Flayn: I ran her as a dancer last time, and considering making her a Dark Flier this time. I've never had one before, so this one is admittedly for the novelty. If you think she's better as a dancer, see the poll.

Seteth: He was technically in the original lineup I charted, but after three or four runs of him taking way too much training, I'm just benching him at this point. He's just too hard to get to WL from where he starts. Only mentioning him since he's a forced recruit and I might be convinced to use him because WL.

Gilbert: Probably just going to be a guard adjutant, but I'll reclass him to Warrior for a free speed boost.

Caspar: Poaching him for the paralogue with Mercedes, figure a standard Death Blow and punch build will work fine.

Marianne: Poaching for Dimitri supports and a good dancer, as I found she worked well even as a "half-dancer" with some combat utility. However! After making her a Holy Knight on this VW run, I think that might also be decent for her. She gets some surprisingly good crit rates. I've put a poll about whether she or Flayn should be dancer.

Hapi: Considering for the supports, if nothing else. I don't think I need another mage with Annette and Marianne or Flayn, but if you think she'd be good let me know.

I am considering Petra in contention with Hapi for Ashe supports, another WL, and not having to deal with her as an enemy.

I'm also planning on recruiting most if not all professors, just for the training post-timeskip. Learned that lesson the hard way.

So...is this good, bad? Terrible? Needs refinement? More wyvern lords?

Any other tips also appreciated, especially about recruitment. Might it be better to recruit as many as possible through supports, to avoid having to deal with them later? Or is this not viable on Maddening?

[eclipse]

If you're going to recruit solely to avoid their nonsense, definitely grab Petra and maybe Bernadetta (Encloser's funny anyway, and dealing with a wounded Bernie is not fun).  Remember the special hell that was the VW first post-skip chapter, featuring everyone trickling in?  It'll happen again, and it's going to be even more hellish, because you'll have to contend with base Gilbert on that map.  Keep that in mind when crafting teams - and that your non-BL students won't be able to pitch in there.

[Lief]

Most of the game lets you field 10 units at most (with Byleth and Dimitri included). The last two chapters allow 12 units though, so you could have some of your extra units as adjutants to keep up with your main 10 units, while fielding them during the larger battles or when someone is a bit overleveled.

It would be worth getting Ingrid and Felix through Death Blow for the extra damage. In my Golden Deer NG Maddening file I was able to get Leonie and Hilda to master Death Blow, then quickly master Darting Blow with knowledge gems, all before the timeskip. After mastering Brigand, Felix should be a Sniper and master Hunter's volley, I did the same thing with Ignatz and he got HV before chapter 12's battle, which proved very useful against the fliers in that chapter.

Paladin Sylvain with Death Blow and Swift Strikes (A Lances) will be one of the few units that can one-round enemies in timeskip. It might be worth it to make Annette a dark flier for chapter 13, but the only magic flying battalion is locked to Yuri and Constance's paralogue.

 

[Shadow Mir]

At the very least, I'd take Dorothea, Bernie and Petra, especially the latter.

18 hours ago, eclipse said:

If you're going to recruit solely to avoid their nonsense, definitely grab Petra and maybe Bernadetta (Encloser's funny anyway, and dealing with a wounded Bernie is not fun).  Remember the special hell that was the VW first post-skip chapter, featuring everyone trickling in?  It'll happen again, and it's going to be even more hellish, because you'll have to contend with base Gilbert on that map.  Keep that in mind when crafting teams - and that your non-BL students won't be able to pitch in there.

Is Gilbert that bad?

Also, at least Mercie comes in early, unlike in Silver Snow and Verdant Wind, where your healer doesn't come in until after the hard part of the map is already over with.

20 hours ago, Marlowe said:

Dimitri: I was going to run him through a relatively standard Soldier-Lord-Paladin progression so he gets Aegis and lots of Authority experience. Maybe I can get Battalion Vantage and Wrath before timeskip. That might make Chapter 13 easier to a degree.

Spoiler alert: It won't make chapter 13 easier unless you have Dimitri take a shitload of damage, as he is automatically assigned a 120 endurance battalion.

Edited April 24, 2020 by Shadow Mir

[LoneStar]

I used my Annette as a Valkyrie. Black Magic Range+1 and Caduceus/Thyrsus lets her chip from pretty far. I think a Bow Knight like Cyril or Leonie is worth inverting in since they have Point-Blank Volley and being able to Brave Bow snipe some of those annoying seige weapon and tome users later on is nice.

RNG skills like Pavise/Aegis aren't worth your time inventing in. I had Dimitri as a Paladin just so he was in an advanced class pre-timeskip.

I usually go Peg-Wyvern-Falcon/Wyvern Lord with my Fliers. Getting the B-rank in axes isn't necessarily a waste and a character like Ingrid can use the Strength growth and so that you don't miss out on the Flier utility especially on Ch 13.

I trained my Sniper Ashe so he could use Indech Sword Fighters early for its good stats and giving units like Dimitri Retribution early. Annette paired up with Gilbert and Blue Lion Dancers is nice tech to have early too.

I didn't realize you wanted to go Sniper with Felix so I voted Sword/Bow Hybrid, but pure bow after getting him into Sniper is probably better.

 

[Marlowe]

8 hours ago, eclipse said:

If you're going to recruit solely to avoid their nonsense, definitely grab Petra and maybe Bernadetta (Encloser's funny anyway, and dealing with a wounded Bernie is not fun).  Remember the special hell that was the VW first post-skip chapter, featuring everyone trickling in?  It'll happen again, and it's going to be even more hellish, because you'll have to contend with base Gilbert on that map.  Keep that in mind when crafting teams - and that your non-BL students won't be able to pitch in there.

I've played Azure Moon before; I do remember that. I grabbed Petra this VW run to avoid her nonsense, but I recall her being somewhat easier to avoid in Azure Moon. But hey, another Assassin or WL would be cool. Plus her supports with Ashe are apparently really good?

55 minutes ago, Shadow Mir said:

At the very least, I'd take Dorothea, Bernie and Petra, especially the latter.

Is Gilbert that bad?

Spoiler alert: It won't make chapter 13 easier unless you have Dimitri take a shitload of damage, as he is automatically assigned a 120 endurance battalion.

Noted about Dorothea.

Forgot about the battalion...that was even the reason I didn't bother with that strategy last time. Well, I guess I'l just go back to my old idea.

 

8 minutes ago, LoneStar said:

I used my Annette as a Valkyrie. Black Magic Range+1 and Caduceus/Thyrsus lets her chip from pretty far. I think a Bow Knight like Cyril or Leonie is worth inverting in since they have Point-Blank Volley and being able to Brave Bow snipe some of those annoying seige weapon and tome users later on is nice.

RNG skills like Pavise/Aegis aren't worth your time inventing in. I had Dimitri as a Paladin just so he was in an advanced class pre-timeskip.

I usually go Peg-Wyvern-Falcon/Wyvern Lord with my Fliers. Getting the B-rank in axes isn't necessarily a waste and a character like Ingrid can use the Strength growth and so that you don't miss out on the Flier utility especially on Ch 13.

[snip]

I didn't realize you wanted to go Sniper with Felix so I voted Sword/Bow Hybrid, but pure bow after getting him into Sniper is probably better.

 

Forgot about Valkyrie, even after running Lysithea as one for a while! That'd be a fun artillery class. I'm not a fan of Cyril after previous runs, but I guess PBV is worth considering. I'm not going to recruit Leonie, as I'm just finishing a GD run. Shamir and Bernie might be good contenders for the anti-siege sniping, though.

Noted about Pavise/Aegis and fliers. I guess B axe isn't much different from a B in Riding—though it might be a mite harder for Ingrid unless I give her Death Blow, like Lief suggested. So those two ideas could go together well.

I was of an open mind between a sword/bow hybrid (either Swordmaster using bows or Assassin) or a pure Sniper. The latter seemed like a great unit, but a waste of Felix's real potential.

 

Thanks for the tips so far, everyone! One other question: If I'm going to be having a bunch of recruits, I guess it's better to recruit later? I've heard Maddening gives them some really good off-screen growths, and then I don't have to worry about training them as much during earlygame hell. Is there anyone I should recruit earlier—or, alternatively, is there a chart somewhere of what skill growths units will arrive with if they're recruited, say, during the last two pre-TS chapters? Just so I can figure that in mind.

[LoneRecon400]

51 minutes ago, Marlowe said:

Is there a chart somewhere of what skill growths units will arrive with if they're recruited, say, during the last two pre-TS chapters? 

Here.

Edited April 23, 2020 by LoneRecon400

[Marlowe]

4 minutes ago, LoneRecon400 said:

Here.

Oh wow, thanks!

[AC6]

Ingrid: pick a class path early and commit to that class path. You may consider dark flier Ingrid. Depending on class path ensure she pick up: death blow or fiendish blow.

 

You may consider dark knight Sylvain. If you pick this path, ensure he pick up: fiendish blow and poison strike

Both abilities are necessary to ensure he deal decent magic damage.

 

 

Edited April 24, 2020 by AC6

[leesangstar10]

On 4/23/2020 at 12:08 AM, Marlowe said:

Dimitri: I was going to run him through a relatively standard Soldier-Lord-Paladin progression so he gets Aegis and lots of Authority experience. Maybe I can get Battalion Vantage and Wrath before timeskip. That might make Chapter 13 easier to a degree. But I was also considering running him through one of the other sword classes as well, like Thief, for some more speed growth. Any thoughts on this? Obviously I'd stick with his regular High Lord and Great Lord classes post-timeskip, possibly grinding for Paraselene if it might help.

thief aint going to help him, hes still gonna get doubled. I would say stick to Paladin. Imo it is better than high/great lord since you get more mov and canto. 

To make ch 13 easier I recommend making your byleth a flier to help the frail units Annette and Mercedes.

On 4/23/2020 at 12:08 AM, Marlowe said:

Dedue: This one would be fairly standard, too. Obviously I want Brigand for Death Blow, and eventually aim for War Master with brawl power. Should I even bother with the armor? The only uses I could see are getting Weight-3 to deal with axes in earlygame or Pavise for later on, but grinding for Pavise seems like a special kind of awful in Maddening.

Personally I'd prioritize authority or flair skills(hard to do since availability) rather than investing in armor. Hes too slow so hes getting doubled anyways. If you are, stop at smite.

On 4/23/2020 at 12:08 AM, Marlowe said:

Felix: I've gotten the bow memo, and Felix is definitely going to start out as an archer. Should I go full Sniper, or have the bow eventually be secondary to his sword skills? I have a poll on this. I was planning on also training brawling some for Healing Focus and some cheap kills early on. 

Personally I think bow knight felix is his best class. Swords are bad. It is only good early game(not the best) and gets worse and worse as the game progresses due to low dmg and bad classes. You also get failnaught and he has a crest so he can make good use out of it. 

On 4/23/2020 at 12:08 AM, Marlowe said:

Mercedes: Priest. Bishop. Gremory. Not even bothering with bow this time.

Personally stick with priest. +10 heal really helps especially with fortify.

On 4/23/2020 at 12:08 AM, Marlowe said:

Marianne: Poaching for Dimitri supports and a good dancer, as I found she worked well even as a "half-dancer" with some combat utility. However! After making her a Holy Knight on this VW run, I think that might also be decent for her. She gets some surprisingly good crit rates. I've put a poll about whether she or Flayn should be dancer.

if you are going for offensive Marianne, do dark flier or dark knight. Better than holy knight.

On 4/23/2020 at 12:08 AM, Marlowe said:

Sylvain: This is the one that might buck conventional wisdom. I had an unironically good time running him as a Great Knight last time, with Prowess and -breakers corresponding to his weapons and Aegis for survivability. I could throw Death Blow in there instead for extra oomph, since I'm obviously getting that to start. Is there another class one might recommend? Is there one that isn't Wyvern Lord? I guess it could make sense for him.

Paladin is better imo. Has more mov, less investment heavy, easier to get flair skills or +1mov. You can swift strike spam your way through. Remember to get DB thou so train axes a bit. Once mastered switch to cav and Paladin once lvl 20.

[Marlowe]

12 hours ago, leesangstar10 said:

thief aint going to help him, hes still gonna get doubled. I would say stick to Paladin. Imo it is better than high/great lord since you get more mov and canto. 

[snip]

Personally I'd prioritize authority or flair skills(hard to do since availability) rather than investing in armor. Hes too slow so hes getting doubled anyways. If you are, stop at smite.

Personally I think bow knight felix is his best class. Swords are bad. It is only good early game(not the best) and gets worse and worse as the game progresses due to low dmg and bad classes. You also get failnaught and he has a crest so he can make good use out of it.

[snip]

Paladin is better imo. Has more mov, less investment heavy, easier to get flair skills or +1mov. You can swift strike spam your way through. Remember to get DB thou so train axes a bit. Once mastered switch to cav and Paladin once lvl 20.

What are you referring to for "flair skills"? You mean like combat arts? Was definitely going to get Death Blow for Sylvain and Swift Strikes as Paladin anyway. I found GK a little tankier and more versatile, with a Brave Axe functioning as an ersatz SS against enemy lances. But I don't consider this an either-or option.

Bow Knight Felix? Really? Huh. I found the Wo Dao worked really well with Felix's other potential crit boosts like his personal battalion, but I'll keep that in mind. I am already going to be recruiting Catherine and Shamir among others for teaching, so I could bring Shamir in for another BK.

[Shadow Mir]

1 hour ago, Marlowe said:

What are you referring to for "flair skills"? You mean like combat arts? Was definitely going to get Death Blow for Sylvain and Swift Strikes as Paladin anyway. I found GK a little tankier and more versatile, with a Brave Axe functioning as an ersatz SS against enemy lances. But I don't consider this an either-or option.

He means -faire skills (Swordfaire, etc.), which are innate to most advanced and master classes. You can also get them by getting S+ in a weapon type, but I consider this extremely impractical.

Edited April 24, 2020 by Shadow Mir

[leesangstar10]

6 hours ago, Marlowe said:

What are you referring to for "flair skills"? You mean like combat arts? Was definitely going to get Death Blow for Sylvain and Swift Strikes as Paladin anyway. I found GK a little tankier and more versatile, with a Brave Axe functioning as an ersatz SS against enemy lances. But I don't consider this an either-or option.

Yeah I meant faire opps. I dont think it is impractical but since it is your first run maybe it is better not to. Still my point stands on Paladin Sylvain.

Yeah GK is tankier, but personally I found the +1 more mov from the class better and it is less investment heavy. Additionally, it will allow Sylvain to invest in authority more, allowing him to equip higher att and def battalion(ex. gautier knight).

I mean steel lance+ with SS is essentially the same as Brave Axe+(does the exact same dmg and steel lance having +5% hit). Yeah if you use lance breaker Brave Axe is better, but you could use Silver lance to do more dmg with only having 10% less hit. You could use iron lance+ if you want the accuracy(sure it doesn't do as much dmg thou).

[Marlowe]

15 minutes ago, leesangstar10 said:

Yeah I meant faire opps. I dont think it is impractical but since it is your first run maybe it is better not to. Still my point stands on Paladin Sylvain.

Yeah GK is tankier, but personally I found the +1 more mov from the class better and it is less investment heavy. Additionally, it will allow Sylvain to invest in authority more, allowing him to equip higher att and def battalion(ex. gautier knight).

I mean steel lance+ with SS is essentially the same as Brave Axe+(does the exact same dmg and steel lance having +5% hit). Yeah if you use lance breaker Brave Axe is better, but you could use Silver lance to do more dmg with only having 10% less hit. You could use iron lance+ if you want the accuracy(sure it doesn't do as much dmg thou).

Like I said, I don't consider the two options in competition, since Sylvain would most likely use Paladin on the way to Great Knight anyhow. So if GK looks like it's not working out, I can fall back to Paladin.

[Shadow Mir]

On 4/24/2020 at 12:03 AM, leesangstar10 said:

To make ch 13 easier I recommend making your byleth a flier to help the frail units Annette and Mercedes.

This might be dicey if OP is planning on using a male Byleth... speaking of which, OP never stated what gender Byleth he was planning on using.

On 4/22/2020 at 11:08 PM, Marlowe said:

Ingrid: Any reason not to do Soldier-Peg-Pal-Falcon? It worked well last time, and if I focus her on only lances I could probably unlock Lance Crit+10 in good time. I'm not going to put a poll option for this, but what are people's thoughts on a sword class for her? Worthy diversion, or unnecessary distraction from the straight and narrow lance?

I wouldn't bother with going for the weapon crit abilities - they just aren't that useful for the effort needed to get them.

[Shanty Pete's 1st Mate]

On 4/23/2020 at 12:08 AM, Marlowe said:

Dimitri: I was going to run him through a relatively standard Soldier-Lord-Paladin progression so he gets Aegis and lots of Authority experience. Maybe I can get Battalion Vantage and Wrath before timeskip. That might make Chapter 13 easier to a degree. But I was also considering running him through one of the other sword classes as well, like Thief, for some more speed growth. Any thoughts on this? Obviously I'd stick with his regular High Lord and Great Lord classes post-timeskip, possibly grinding for Paraselene if it might help.

This is basically exactly how I used Dimitri, although I found Paladin holding up even post-skip. Give him a Brave Lance, and he destroys basically anything on player phase, then can Canto away to safety.

On 4/23/2020 at 12:08 AM, Marlowe said:

Dedue: This one would be fairly standard, too. Obviously I want Brigand for Death Blow, and eventually aim for War Master with brawl power. Should I even bother with the armor? The only uses I could see are getting Weight-3 to deal with axes in earlygame or Pavise for later on, but grinding for Pavise seems like a special kind of awful in Maddening.

Weight-3... he's not gonna be doubling, but I guess it can help save Dedue from getting doubled? Sometimes? Certifying in Armor is worth it for anyone under 12 defense. Would definitely recommend a Brigand -> Grappler -> War Master course, although his late rejoin post-skip might have him falling behind.

On 4/23/2020 at 12:08 AM, Marlowe said:

Felix: I've gotten the bow memo, and Felix is definitely going to start out as an archer. Should I go full Sniper, or have the bow eventually be secondary to his sword skills? I have a poll on this. I was planning on also training brawling some for Healing Focus and some cheap kills early on. 

A bit off-the-wall, but you could certify him both in Sniper and Assassin, then choose what build to bring based on the chapter at hand. I mainly used Felix as an Assassin in my own run, but having a Sniper is certainly good. Gauntlets synergize well with his Crest, but make sure you're not spreading him too thin on his lessons.

On 4/23/2020 at 12:08 AM, Marlowe said:

Sylvain: This is the one that might buck conventional wisdom. I had an unironically good time running him as a Great Knight last time, with Prowess and -breakers corresponding to his weapons and Aegis for survivability. I could throw Death Blow in there instead for extra oomph, since I'm obviously getting that to start. Is there another class one might recommend? Is there one that isn't Wyvern Lord? I guess it could make sense for him.

It's been said, but I've generally found Paladin (8/6 move) superior to Great Knight (7/4 move). You'll have to get him to A-Lances for Swift Strikes, which doesn't even help him certify for Great Knight. Go for it if you really want, but I foresee him spending a long time as a Paladin (for the record, I made him a Dark Knight, snd he was... OK I guess).

On 4/23/2020 at 12:08 AM, Marlowe said:

Ingrid: Any reason not to do Soldier-Peg-Pal-Falcon? It worked well last time, and if I focus her on only lances I could probably unlock Lance Crit+10 in good time. I'm not going to put a poll option for this, but what are people's thoughts on a sword class for her? Worthy diversion, or unnecessary distraction from the straight and narrow lance?

Either that, or Wyvern instead of Pal (higher speed modifier, requires Axe training rather than Riding). Sword-training isn't necessarily bad if she's going into an Axe-rich chapter, but none of the "sword classes" offer flying mobility. For my part, I had a lot of fun getting her Defiant Avo and Defiant Crit (lategame); aided by Retribution and Alert Stance +, Ingrid killed half of the Endgame on Enemy Phase, haha.

On 4/23/2020 at 12:08 AM, Marlowe said:

Ashe: I'm strongly leaning towards Wyvern Lord for him, not just because it's broken but because I didn't do it last time, so it'd be a nice change of pace for that flying lockpick. Unless someone thinks Death Blow Sniper is better, I'm probably going to go for getting both Death Blow and Hit+20 if I can and sending him to the skies.

I was definitely satisfied with Wyvern Ashe in my Crimson Flower Hard run! Flying lockpick is cool, Death Blow and Hit +20 are great skills, Wyverns OP. Would add a recommendation to certify him as an Armor Knight, to get an early jump to 12 Defense (and to have a spare guard adjutant).

On 4/23/2020 at 12:08 AM, Marlowe said:

Mercedes: Priest. Bishop. Gremory. Not even bothering with bow this time.

"This is the ideal cleric body. You may not like it, but this is what peak healing looks like."

On 4/23/2020 at 12:08 AM, Marlowe said:

Annette: Last time she was pretty dangerous with the Caduceus staff augmenting her range, but she might not have that this time (see later). I'm not too worried about her viability, especially since she has some valuable rallies. But nothing unusual here: Warlock for maximum oomph.

Warlock is definitely a safe and solid pick for Annette - as is choosing to raise her Authority. For my part, I made her a Wyvern, and couldn't be happier, combining high mobility with tools like Bolt Axe+, Crusher, and the Lightning Axe combat art. Then again, this was before the DLC brought us Dark Fliers, which may be viable on her (more mobility means more people you can reach to Rally!).

On 4/23/2020 at 12:08 AM, Marlowe said:

Flayn: I ran her as a dancer last time, and considering making her a Dark Flier this time. I've never had one before, so this one is admittedly for the novelty. If you think she's better as a dancer, see the poll.

I chose Dark Flier for Flayn, not because I necessarily advocate using her, but because I preferred Dancer Marianne. If you definitely want to use her, though, Dark Flier is one of her better options. I made her a Pegasus Knight on VW, and she did like no damage until she got her hands on a Levin Sword, haha.

On 4/23/2020 at 12:08 AM, Marlowe said:

Seteth: He was technically in the original lineup I charted, but after three or four runs of him taking way too much training, I'm just benching him at this point. He's just too hard to get to WL from where he starts. Only mentioning him since he's a forced recruit and I might be convinced to use him because WL.

Genuinely confused - how is Seteth hard to get to Wyvern Lord? He joins with boons, and fairly high ranks, in all 3 relevant proficiencies, to the point that I daresay he's the easiest unit to get to Wyvern Lord (aside from, perhaps, BL/GD Cyril). Not saying you must use him, just confused by your rationale.

On 4/23/2020 at 12:08 AM, Marlowe said:

Gilbert: Probably just going to be a guard adjutant, but I'll reclass him to Warrior for a free speed boost.

If you do want to make him work, I'd definitely send him back to Brigand for awhile, for that sweet Death Blow. I made him my Great Knight, and he was an awesome physical tank. But keeping him as a Guard is cool too.

On 4/23/2020 at 12:08 AM, Marlowe said:

Caspar: Poaching him for the paralogue with Mercedes, figure a standard Death Blow and punch build will work fine.

Sounds good, I only used Caspar on CF-Hard, in a weird Hero build. Which I'm not gonna pretend was optimal. Maybe he can fill Dedue's role for a few chapters?

On 4/23/2020 at 12:08 AM, Marlowe said:

Marianne: Poaching for Dimitri supports and a good dancer, as I found she worked well even as a "half-dancer" with some combat utility. However! After making her a Holy Knight on this VW run, I think that might also be decent for her. She gets some surprisingly good crit rates. I've put a poll about whether she or Flayn should be dancer.

Marianne has everything a Dancer wants: Sword proficiency (for synergy with Sword Dance and Sword Avoid +20), Riding proficiency (making Movement +1 achievable), and a Crest (letting her comfortably swipe Yuri's relic for extra movement and Canto). Holy Knight makes sense with her proficiencies, but I'd say Dark Knight gives her better skills (she can attack more with Black magic than with White). I advocate Dancer, but it's up to you.

Anyway, should've said this at the start, but this is mostly based on my experience playing Blue Lions Maddening (with NG+ and some DLC). I'm not in the NG-Maddening club, so make of that what you will. Good luck!

[haarhaarhaar]

10 hours ago, Shadow Mir said:

I wouldn't bother with going for the weapon crit abilities - they just aren't that useful for the effort needed to get them.

Sword/lance/axe crit+10 certainly aren't , but Bow Crit +10 on a Sniper build is (which is pretty achievable because your Sniper won't need to train more than Bow and Authority, and great for Hunter's Volley), and maybe Brawl Crit +10 too (both Grappler and War Master are at their best with Killer Knuckles+, so anything you can do to aid that you should).

 

Shanty Pete has made a lot of the same recommendations I would (though I can't speak for Dimitri or Dedue, haven't played AM yet).

I'm trialling Ingrid in sword classes atm and she's playing well (I'm making her into a mag-type swordmaster with Fiendish Blow and Levin Sword+, but she could easily be a straight physical swordsman too, and still has good speed and avoid) but my gut feeling is that she was better when I used her with lances - if you wanna play it safe stick to them, although as I remember her strength does suffer a bit so Wyvern might be better than Pal. Falcon Knight will force you to get C swords, which is enough to use Levin Sword+ and make her range 3 spaces for linked attacks anyway.

I'd personally switch in Hapi for Annette. Annette isn't bad per se, but Hapi's Faith list has far more utility (Warp, Physic, Seraphim), and her reason list gives her a 3 range spell at B and Banshee for movement sealing - the Caduceus staff on Hapi would work even better if you could get it. It isn't an easy trade-off though - Annette will be a faster mage (though that won't matter by late-game), she has the more accurate spell list, great Authority growth (unlike Hapi's disadvantage) and lots of Rallies to boot. Hapi is better as a primary magical attacker, but if that isn't the spot that these characters are competing for, then Annette is a good pick

Also absolutely recruit Petra if you can - she does better than Ashe combat-wise as a WL, has better avoid and strength growths. Ashe is quite good as a flying shooter with lockpick, so he really appreciates Hit+20, but on Maddening he is still mostly gonna be chipping-and-Canto, so prepare for that.

[Marlowe]

On 4/27/2020 at 7:57 PM, Shadow Mir said:

This might be dicey if OP is planning on using a male Byleth... speaking of which, OP never stated what gender Byleth he was planning on using.

I wouldn't bother with going for the weapon crit abilities - they just aren't that useful for the effort needed to get them.

Noted; I'll keep those as stretch goals but won't prioritise them. I will be running a Male Byleth this time, having run Female Byleth last time.

21 hours ago, Shanty Pete's 1st Mate said:

A bit off-the-wall, but you could certify him both in Sniper and Assassin, then choose what build to bring based on the chapter at hand. I mainly used Felix as an Assassin in my own run, but having a Sniper is certainly good. Gauntlets synergize well with his Crest, but make sure you're not spreading him too thin on his lessons.

It's been said, but I've generally found Paladin (8/6 move) superior to Great Knight (7/4 move). You'll have to get him to A-Lances for Swift Strikes, which doesn't even help him certify for Great Knight. Go for it if you really want, but I foresee him spending a long time as a Paladin (for the record, I made him a Dark Knight, snd he was... OK I guess).

Warlock is definitely a safe and solid pick for Annette - as is choosing to raise her Authority. For my part, I made her a Wyvern, and couldn't be happier, combining high mobility with tools like Bolt Axe+, Crusher, and the Lightning Axe combat art. Then again, this was before the DLC brought us Dark Fliers, which may be viable on her (more mobility means more people you can reach to Rally!).

I chose Dark Flier for Flayn, not because I necessarily advocate using her, but because I preferred Dancer Marianne. If you definitely want to use her, though, Dark Flier is one of her better options. I made her a Pegasus Knight on VW, and she did like no damage until she got her hands on a Levin Sword, haha.

Genuinely confused - how is Seteth hard to get to Wyvern Lord? He joins with boons, and fairly high ranks, in all 3 relevant proficiencies, to the point that I daresay he's the easiest unit to get to Wyvern Lord (aside from, perhaps, BL/GD Cyril). Not saying you must use him, just confused by your rationale.

Anyway, should've said this at the start, but this is mostly based on my experience playing Blue Lions Maddening (with NG+ and some DLC). I'm not in the NG-Maddening club, so make of that what you will. Good luck!

I have yet to figure out how to break up a forum quote so I can reply to individual parts, so I just snipped out the parts I'm not replying to. Consider those parts acknowledged.

- Was definitely thinking about running Felix as a multi-class. I'd probably start with Assassin, as the lower rank requirements mean it'll be easier, but I was only thinking about going between that and Swordmaster (trading the physical crit power for mobility). Sniper could be even better! I'll keep that in mind.

- The way I saw it for Sylvain, it was GK or DK, and he worked well as a GK last time, so why fix what isn't broken? I also see this as the path with the easy fallback to Paladin if it ends up like his romances.

- Haven't thought about Dark Flier Annette, but not enthused with it right now. Wouldn't it be better to focus on her reason (for spells) and Authority (for rallies), maybe with some faith for extra healing? I'll ponder, though.

- Flayn could be a bench in favor of Hapi, per haarhaarhaar's recommendation. I was only leaning towards her as DF over Dancer because I did Dancer last time and was planning on Dancer Marianne for the reasons you mentioned. Plus she seems like the easiest DF who isn't Constance.

- My thoughts on Seteth came after laboring to get him up to WL on past runs. I can see everything works in his favor, but something seemed off in practice. Maybe I need to stop obsessing over getting his Authority up in favor of axes and flying (but really, why can't he use the battalion he personally trained? That's a separate issue). I guess by the time I need to worry about him I'll have the rest of my party on the way anyway.

- Thanks for the tips! I'm taking a short break after finishing VW NG+ before I jump into this run, and I'm glad I did with awesome recommendations like this.

14 hours ago, haarhaarhaar said:

 

I'm trialling Ingrid in sword classes atm and she's playing well (I'm making her into a mag-type swordmaster with Fiendish Blow and Levin Sword+, but she could easily be a straight physical swordsman too, and still has good speed and avoid) but my gut feeling is that she was better when I used her with lances - if you wanna play it safe stick to them, although as I remember her strength does suffer a bit so Wyvern might be better than Pal. Falcon Knight will force you to get C swords, which is enough to use Levin Sword+ and make her range 3 spaces for linked attacks anyway.

I'd personally switch in Hapi for Annette. Annette isn't bad per se, but Hapi's Faith list has far more utility (Warp, Physic, Seraphim), and her reason list gives her a 3 range spell at B and Banshee for movement sealing - the Caduceus staff on Hapi would work even better if you could get it. It isn't an easy trade-off though - Annette will be a faster mage (though that won't matter by late-game), she has the more accurate spell list, great Authority growth (unlike Hapi's disadvantage) and lots of Rallies to boot. Hapi is better as a primary magical attacker, but if that isn't the spot that these characters are competing for, then Annette is a good pick

Also absolutely recruit Petra if you can - she does better than Ashe combat-wise as a WL, has better avoid and strength growths. Ashe is quite good as a flying shooter with lockpick, so he really appreciates Hit+20, but on Maddening he is still mostly gonna be chipping-and-Canto, so prepare for that.

I'll have to try that Levin Sword + stuff this time! I didn't realize until I looked it up that her strength and magic growths are equal without class modifiers. I'll parse it out later, but I think I traded Sword Prowess for Lance Crit last time, and if that's not going to be as easy to get or worth it, then some investment for Levin Sword+ would be nice. Right now my big reason for Paladin is Aegis as an ad hoc arrow defense, but I've also been advised not to bother with it. I guess Seal Defense might be more useful?

Per what I said before, I might try to field Annette and Hapi, benching Flayn instead.

So definitely recruit Petra, got it. Would Bernie, Dorothea, or Ferdie be worth recruiting as well, even if just to make their generic counterparts easier to deal with?

[haarhaarhaar]

10 hours ago, Marlowe said:

Flayn could be a bench in favor of Hapi, per haarhaarhaar's recommendation. I was only leaning towards her as DF over Dancer because I did Dancer last time and was planning on Dancer Marianne for the reasons you mentioned. Plus she seems like the easiest DF who isn't Constance.

- My thoughts on Seteth came after laboring to get him up to WL on past runs. I can see everything works in his favor, but something seemed off in practice. Maybe I need to stop obsessing over getting his Authority up in favor of axes and flying (but really, why can't he use the battalion he personally trained? That's a separate issue). I guess by the time I need to worry about him I'll have the rest of my party on the way anyway.

 

With Mercedes in the mix, the only extra things Flayn brings to the table is her crest (which is basically just a Healing Staff on any other healer) and Rescue (which Constance gets earlier anyway if you bother with her) - her Mag growths are good but she will be edged out by your other mages by late-game anyway I imagine. Honestly even on Maddening her paralogue can be done without Flayn pulling her own weight, so don't stress about her too much.

I actually remember having difficulty with getting Seteth to Wyvern Lord as well, though I think it was because I was running him through a really circuitous path (I think I wanted to make an EP build so wanted vantage and wrath, but also wanted Swift Strikes and for him to be a lance WL). But yeah I remember having a similar issue, though it was certainly sorted by endgame. I'm massively biased towards lance WL for Seteth, because he's the perfect player phase unit, although I didn't realise it until quite late on. His paralogue + Ferdinand's gives him two sacred weapons, that makes his heal per turn at over 40HP I think. Swift Strikes with Spear of Assal kills most things even without Lancefaire. So yeah Seteth is worth it, though I do get your concern

10 hours ago, Marlowe said:

I'll have to try that Levin Sword + stuff this time! I didn't realize until I looked it up that her strength and magic growths are equal without class modifiers. I'll parse it out later, but I think I traded Sword Prowess for Lance Crit last time, and if that's not going to be as easy to get or worth it, then some investment for Levin Sword+ would be nice. Right now my big reason for Paladin is Aegis as an ad hoc arrow defense, but I've also been advised not to bother with it. I guess Seal Defense might be more useful?

Per what I said before, I might try to field Annette and Hapi, benching Flayn instead.

So definitely recruit Petra, got it. Would Bernie, Dorothea, or Ferdie be worth recruiting as well, even if just to make their generic counterparts easier to deal with?

Seal Defense is the exact skill you want on Ashe, and it's better than Aegis if that's the competition, but I normally run it on chippers just because on NG maddening I'd rather my fliers spend as many levels as possible in a Master flying class, for the growths primarily but also to get Defiant Avoid/crit (the time skip means you have fewer levels to master advanced classes before you get access to Master classes). The people mastering advanced classes are often those who aren't moving up to Master classes, or who aren't desperate for every additional point of damage/avoid (like Ashe) because it won't make a lot of difference for their job. That's just me though - it's a great skill, lovely on a dodge tank, and one of the most useful transferable skills that the Advanced tier has to offer.

Yep of Mercedes, Annette, Hapi and Flayn, Flayn has the least use. If you care about using Crusher on Annette, then DF makes some sense for canto and increased movement, but Annette is perfectly fine without it.

I'm quite fond of most of the BE members, so I recruit them whenever I can. Ferdinand is often quite out of the way though - Ochain Shield is nice for Seteth, but he can do without it or with Kadmos Shield (flying effect null) instead, and Ferdinand's paralogue is pretty unit-heavy, so you'd want to train him till Part 2 for it. He has a few different effective builds but his niches are already filled in your army, and it's a fair amount of extra effort to train him up as well, so I'd say no for him for this run.

Bernadetta is a personal favourite of mine, and regardless of whether you focus on lances or bows you will get a great build out of her (vengeance paladin, sniper with encloser/hunter's volley/curved shot and hit+20, bk with deadeye/encloser/curved shot and hit+20). If you can get Tathlum Bow, Parthia, or even just Killer Bow+ and a Brave Bow for her (presumably you will leave Failnaught for Felix) that's more than enough to make her useful chip, and she can do serious damage for you late game. Getting both Petra and Bernadetta will net Varley Archers from their paralogue, which has IIRC the best hit bonus of any battalion in the game - I'd say she's worth it.

I'd say no to Dorothea - combat-wise she's my least favourite of the BE, but she does get Thoron fairly early, and Meteor (although it's locked behind A+). She's supposed to run like Manuela as a physical/mag hybrid, but Hexblade is the only thing that saves any physical build, and even then she often can't OHKO with it. If you're on BL then you have automatic access to her paralogue without recruiting her, and you get a Goddess Ring from Sylvain's paralogue (which is the reward for having Dorothea in your army for her paralogue). I haven't used her as dancer before (and it sounds like Marianne is better for that anyway) and while Gremory/Warlock works fine (her faith list is pretty lacking, it stops at Physic) being a straight mage works mainly for the Linked Attack Meteor at 2 uses (I don't think she's worth a mage slot in your army for that). Will see how she runs as a Trickster (am testing that on my current run) but she's not worth it overall I think.

[Shadow Mir]

1 hour ago, haarhaarhaar said:

Kadmos Shield (flying effect null)

Don't you mean the Aurora Shield? Because the Kadmos Shield protects against armor effectiveness.

1 hour ago, haarhaarhaar said:

Meteor (although it's locked behind A+)

It's Hanneman who gets Meteor at A+; Dorothea only needs A.

13 hours ago, Marlowe said:

So definitely recruit Petra, got it. Would Bernie, Dorothea, or Ferdie be worth recruiting as well, even if just to make their generic counterparts easier to deal with?

I'd say yes on Bernie and Dorothea (the former has Encloser, which is hella clutch, as it immobilizes enemies without needing to rely on hitting with something you only get 1 or two uses of [gambits], and the latter has Meteor). On the other hand, Ferdinand requires you to actively go out of your way to recruit, as he needs heavy armour to recruit and his B support is locked until after the timeskip.

[Marlowe]

3 hours ago, haarhaarhaar said:

I actually remember having difficulty with getting Seteth to Wyvern Lord as well, though I think it was because I was running him through a really circuitous path (I think I wanted to make an EP build so wanted vantage and wrath, but also wanted Swift Strikes and for him to be a lance WL). But yeah I remember having a similar issue, though it was certainly sorted by endgame. I'm massively biased towards lance WL for Seteth, because he's the perfect player phase unit, although I didn't realise it until quite late on. His paralogue + Ferdinand's gives him two sacred weapons, that makes his heal per turn at over 40HP I think. Swift Strikes with Spear of Assal kills most things even without Lancefaire. So yeah Seteth is worth it, though I do get your concern

Seal Defense is the exact skill you want on Ashe, and it's better than Aegis if that's the competition, but I normally run it on chippers just because on NG maddening I'd rather my fliers spend as many levels as possible in a Master flying class, for the growths primarily but also to get Defiant Avoid/crit (the time skip means you have fewer levels to master advanced classes before you get access to Master classes). The people mastering advanced classes are often those who aren't moving up to Master classes, or who aren't desperate for every additional point of damage/avoid (like Ashe) because it won't make a lot of difference for their job. That's just me though - it's a great skill, lovely on a dodge tank, and one of the most useful transferable skills that the Advanced tier has to offer.

Yep of Mercedes, Annette, Hapi and Flayn, Flayn has the least use. If you care about using Crusher on Annette, then DF makes some sense for canto and increased movement, but Annette is perfectly fine without it.

I'm quite fond of most of the BE members, so I recruit them whenever I can. Ferdinand is often quite out of the way though - Ochain Shield is nice for Seteth, but he can do without it or with Kadmos Aurora Shield (flying effect null) instead, and Ferdinand's paralogue is pretty unit-heavy, so you'd want to train him till Part 2 for it. He has a few different effective builds but his niches are already filled in your army, and it's a fair amount of extra effort to train him up as well, so I'd say no for him for this run.

Bernadetta is a personal favourite of mine, and regardless of whether you focus on lances or bows you will get a great build out of her (vengeance paladin, sniper with encloser/hunter's volley/curved shot and hit+20, bk with deadeye/encloser/curved shot and hit+20). If you can get Tathlum Bow, Parthia, or even just Killer Bow+ and a Brave Bow for her (presumably you will leave Failnaught for Felix) that's more than enough to make her useful chip, and she can do serious damage for you late game. Getting both Petra and Bernadetta will net Varley Archers from their paralogue, which has IIRC the best hit bonus of any battalion in the game - I'd say she's worth it.

I'd say no to Dorothea - combat-wise she's my least favourite of the BE, but she does get Thoron fairly early, and Meteor (although it's locked behind A+). She's supposed to run like Manuela as a physical/mag hybrid, but Hexblade is the only thing that saves any physical build, and even then she often can't OHKO with it. If you're on BL then you have automatic access to her paralogue without recruiting her, and you get a Goddess Ring from Sylvain's paralogue (which is the reward for having Dorothea in your army for her paralogue). I haven't used her as dancer before (and it sounds like Marianne is better for that anyway) and while Gremory/Warlock works fine (her faith list is pretty lacking, it stops at Physic) being a straight mage works mainly for the Linked Attack Meteor at 2 uses (I don't think she's worth a mage slot in your army for that). Will see how she runs as a Trickster (am testing that on my current run) but she's not worth it overall I think.

- I guess I won't rule Seteth out completely yet! He's definitely a solid unit, but he might get outclassed by Ingrid, Ashe, and Petra.

- I was pondering Seal Defense vs Aegis for Ingrid, not Ashe. Ashe is basically locked in on pseudo-Barbarossa with axes and bows, so I'm definitely giving him Seal Defense.

- I tried Crusher, and it seems like most of the time she might as well hit them with Cutting Gale. But DF or Valkyrie might make Crusher more viable in that case.

- I did enjoy Ferdie's paralogue quite a lot because it was so "unit-heavy," but that was also VW NG+ Hard where all of my units were pretty stronk, so maybe it's not worth it this time. The main reason I wanted to recruit him was to avoid killing him, but it seems implausible.

- I'll see about getting Bernie in the list, then! Maybe I'll replace Catherine with her (I'm already planning on recruiting most if not all professors for the training guarantees post-timeskip), since Catherine doesn't really need much help to be good--or get replaced by Felix 😂. What's the hit bonus on Varley Archers? Edmund Troops gets +40 when it's maxed, I think, which is pretty nice.

- I look forward to hearing from you about how Dorothea works as a Trickster! I think she'd probably be pretty good at that with a Levin+. Again, the main reason I was thinking about recruiting her was to avoid killing her or dealing with her artillery nonsense.

[Shanty Pete's 1st Mate]

27 minutes ago, Marlowe said:

- I was pondering Seal Defense vs Aegis for Ingrid, not Ashe. Ashe is basically locked in on pseudo-Barbarossa with axes and bows, so I'm definitely giving him Seal Defense.

Aegis sounds nice on a unit who's weak to bows, and can take magic hits reasonably well, but I'm not a fan of its random nature. Seal Defense is a good tool for beating bosses and/or monsters, but it's rarely a necessity. I would choose her Advanced class based on its own merits, the effort to get it, and its utility to your army (Paladin having more move and lance-damage, Wyvern having the advantage of flight and speed).

31 minutes ago, Marlowe said:

- I tried Crusher, and it seems like most of the time she might as well hit them with Cutting Gale. But DF or Valkyrie might make Crusher more viable in that case.

Crusher works really well when Annette is in an axe-wielding class, but isn't as good in traditional magic classes (unless you're willing to equip prowess in both Reason and Axes). Still, mages have little competition for inventory slots, so you may as well have her bring it along.

35 minutes ago, Marlowe said:

I'll see about getting Bernie in the list, then! Maybe I'll replace Catherine with her (I'm already planning on recruiting most if not all professors for the training guarantees post-timeskip), since Catherine doesn't really need much help to be good--or get replaced by Felix 😂. What's the hit bonus on Varley Archers? Edmund Troops gets +40 when it's maxed, I think, which is pretty nice.

Varley Archers grant +30 hit and +5 prt, but also -10 avo. I, uh, wouldn't call them very good (certainly, they're inferior to Edmund Troops, who give +40 hit and +5 to both offenses. Still, if you're set on getting Petra, you may as well pick up Bernie for their shared paralogue.

Also just FYI, you can break up messages you're quoting by highlighting the original, and clicking "Quote selection".

[haarhaarhaar]

4 hours ago, Shadow Mir said:

Don't you mean the Aurora Shield? Because the Kadmos Shield protects against armor effectiveness.

It's Hanneman who gets Meteor at A+; Dorothea only needs A.

Yes and yes again, my bad. I got Agnea's Arrow and Meteor the wrong way round for Dorothea. She's by no means a bad unit, I just personally don't use her a lot.

1 hour ago, Shanty Pete's 1st Mate said:

Varley Archers grant +30 hit and +5 prt, but also -10 avo. I, uh, wouldn't call them very good (certainly, they're inferior to Edmund Troops, who give +40 hit and +5 to both offenses. Still, if you're set on getting Petra, you may as well pick up Bernie for their shared paralogue

Didn't realise this about Edmund Troops, amazing (I don't think I had them fully levelled).

1 hour ago, Marlowe said:

Again, the main reason I was thinking about recruiting her was to avoid killing her or dealing with her artillery nonsense.

Yep she's a massive pain with that magic ballista, though her replacement is still gonna be using it. 

Edited April 29, 2020 by haarhaarhaar

[Shadow Mir]

2 hours ago, Marlowe said:

- I tried Crusher, and it seems like most of the time she might as well hit them with Cutting Gale. But DF or Valkyrie might make Crusher more viable in that case.

I dunno - one philosophy I adhere to is that how powerful something is means fuck all if you can't actually hit. See: Super Saiyan Third Grade, or Super Saiyan 1.5, in Dragon Ball Z. While it enhances the size and muscles of the user, the speed decrease means you're in trouble if your opponent is faster. The Crusher only has 60 hit, and not only that, it uses the magic hit formula, which averages out the Dexterity and Luck stats to determine hit. It's also heavy, meaning Annette is screwed if she misses.

[haarhaarhaar]

I personally haven't used Crusher because I haven't played AM, although I plan on trying out WL Annette when I eventually get to my Blue Lions playthrough. Annette has an accurate spell list and multiple ways to be useful, although she's never an attacker on my late game because she can't OHKO most things and can no longer double anything except armours (which is in fairness most mages, but most mages also have better spell lists on reason and/or faith). On @Marlowe's current plans for their army, it doesn't look like they want to use a Crusher build, which is completely respectable. There's still no harm in leaving Crusher on her because there's little competition for a mage's inventory slots, and if she ever wants to get within 1-range of an enemy to use it, she would rather have Canto than not (hence my recommendation). In that case, it's only an extra option, and one that you can weigh up depending on context.

As for a Crusher-oriented build, apart from looking like a lot of fun, it is the biggest damage output Annette ever has (I guess potentially Excalibur on barrier-broken Giant Birds is an exception). Arcane Crystal isn't too hard to come by for Bolt Axe before the Dark Merchant appears (there are lots of random monastery drops of it, and as quest rewards), and you're still gonna want Fiendish Blow from Mage anyway, so she will remain quite accurate and decently fast for a lot of Part I. She ought to have a couple of levels before 20 where she's already mastered mage - she can qualify as armoured knight for 12 def if you're bothered to raise the extra movement rank (which takes about 2-3 weeks for D-rank, and a bit longer for Weight -3 though it isn't gonna help Annette on Maddening), or go peg knight for better speed and flying exp, or archer for hit+20, or even just priest if you want a couple of res points before the wyvern classes. Around this point you can get the Exp Gem (Hanneman and Manuela are free, recruit them for the paralogue where you get this at least) if you're worried about her being shite for a couple of levels before B axes. Bolt Axe+ is 3-range linked attack all the time (mage Annette would need Caduceus, Thyrsus, S Reason/Faith, or Valkyrie to get that). Flying battalions aren't in huge supply, and Blue Lions has fewer than other routes, but they pretty much all have hit boosts, and there is certainly gonna be enough for Annette. With an accuracy ring (there are at least 3 of those accessible without DLC) and Axe Prowess, her hit is gonna be alright, and certainly not worse than any other axe user you field (and it's normally your axe users who have Axe Prowess and accuracy rings equipped). If you want you can stick adjutant Gilbert on her too and that's great for her (hell, do that anyway if you're gonna use her late-game)

Is Crusher worth it on Annette? It probably has a niche use, if your focus is viability and Annette is a mage (as @Shanty Pete's 1st Mate says, Axe Prowess can fit on Annette's skills). In general, your primary axe users probably don't have good mag growths anyway, so it's not like anyone is clamouring to grab it (although interestingly, Hapi has a hidden Axe talent and Exhaustive Strike, and while I doubt any serious run would make use of it I'd love to see if Hapi could do anything with that). If you wanted to optimise Annette for using Crusher as I've described here, then you'd make a pretty serviceable unit, that doesn't suffer much, if at all, more than any axe wielder in terms of hit. Magic axes is also a unique niche (BL doesn't get Arrow of Indra) that'll hit really hard. I'm sure people on this forum have actually tried this build as well, and can give better advice on how to make it work than I can.