What are your Radiant Dawn team compositions for each act?

[mangasdeouf]

Hi,

What team compositions do you use and why (easy-normal modes, not hard which is a different game)?

For me it'd be:

Act 1:

a) Nolan+Fiona (BEXP+energy drop if needed, you have 4k BEXP when you get her anyway and no one else needs the energy drop since...), Zihark+Volug (1 level up of BEXP for str or def when I get him+dragonshield, now he shits on act 1 and goes through act 3 easily, if you can give him a 2nd BEXP level up for the one that didn't go up it's nuts but that would be at the start of p3 since Fiona needs the BEXP left from p1 after he takes 1 level up from it), Sothe (no dedicated support sorry).

b) Aran+Edward (I save scum his level ups so that he gains def nearly every level up in early game, then he can tank 2 tiger hits in 1-3 and 2 steel axe/lance hits in 1-4 on top of ORKOing everything, now he's Aran with speed, I give Aran the first robe and Edward the 2nd one when he's in t2 if needed, otherwise I can save it for someone else like GMs or p2 people joining the GMs since GMs have very high HP across the board) (+3 def, +8 hit, +8 avo, Caladbolg +8 avo/crit avo, Aran can now get to 28 def in t2 instead of 25, which goes a long way to help him fulfill his role), Sothe/Fiona+Volug (choose which one you prefer, better affinity that needs early help or better earlygame that falls of a cliff in p3 and of the Himalaya in p4 and endgame).

c) Jill, Nolan+whoever (say Leonardo for +2 atk/def), Zihark+Volug (still the same investment in Volug since he becomes twice better with the early help and tanks 5x better with +3/+5 def in halfshift, +4/+6 in full form, going from 13 to 16/18 def and from 18 to 22/24 is pretty...beastly), Sothe.

Act 2:

a) Haar, Brom (kinda forced anyway since Nephenee can't take 3 hits for all of p2)+Heather (water/fire helps both, more level ups for Heather means more strength to steal heavier things and more avoid not to die in the process, I've had her dodgetank 2-E in easy once, she barely got hit without any support and ended it in t3, OFC never happening in normal), Mordecai-whoever you can support him with (he'll get +1 atk/def just from his own affinity anyway, but Brom has to be his best option even though keeping them together isn't the best tactical choice since they fill the same role and if Mordecai is shifted ennemies will only attack Brom, rendering tiger useless), Lucia when she's around (if I can give her a miraculous level up and savescum it for actual stats she may even see use in p4...or not, but I like her, too sad she sucks so much availability-wise since everything is fixable with p3-4 BEXP fountain), Lethe if I'm in the mood to use her (rarely use her past p2 anyway, her sister actually grows some speed and energy drop is all she needs to get better than Lethe with  the flourish scroll you get and her better availability in p3, also not dealing much damage actually helps her grind her claw rank, while OHKOing would hardly get it up for later, and she has actual res for a Laguz which  is appreciable, also caps early enough to BEXP non spd/skl/res stats, or Ranulf is simply forced and better anyway, I would've loved for Lethe or Lyre to have innate 0 cost flourish, that would give them a real purpose other than filler #25). Kieran+Geoffrey. 1-turning 2-E.

b) Brom+Heather, Mordecai+X, Lucia, Marcia+Danved (both can go up ledges in p3 CK chapter, which is more than any paladin can achieve, Kieran and Geoffrey can handle the middle houses fine at base), Haar (no extensive use this time since Marcia is gonna replace Nephenee later without even hurting GM exp pool or gold, better res cap, good enough str/spd, canto better than +2 str no canto shitty start). Not 1-turning 2E since now I want the dragonshield and nullify, and Danved and Marcia need CEXP more than BEXP and Laguz won't get any BEXP from 2-E anyway.

Act 3:

a) Gatrie, Shinon, Titania, anyone from GM I want to field, Mordecai, healers, Janaff/Ulki (or both if I have enough room), Heather when thief is needed.

b) Rolf (with 3 str/spd level ups he starts doubling and dealing damage, then he reaches 23-24 speed and doubles everything but swordmasters, dealing more damage than Shinon against anything he doubles, just be sure he levels str+spd 3x in a row and everything will be fine since his strength will inevitably follow without any BEXP abuse), Mist+Brom, Heather for thief jobs, Mordecai + water/fire/thunder affinity partner (might be Lyre for thunder), Kyza, Lyre, Sigrun/Tanith, Ranulf (, Lethe).

Ike is mandatory so I don't need to mention him. Helps a lot with cats' avoid with his earth affinity. Don't find Mia good enough to use her above easy, she doubles but her damage is craptastic before she reaches Vague Katti/Alondite anyway and ranged swords are both weak and inaccurate. Facing wyverns as soon as chapter 2 doesn't help her either (unless she can use a wyvernslayer, even then 17 str only goes so far and she still tinks on generals, meanwhile Zihark has earth affinity + easy BEXP abuse and faces Laguz, and Edward has more strength than both in t2 and 3 and has bonus def from support in case he doesn't dodge, neither Mia nor Edward have avo from affinity but Adward has more HP + Caldbolg bonus luck if needed, so he dodges better than her and he has easier access to earth affinity since he has 3 of the same movement range as soon as p1, Volug being too far to help him, also DB has more gold to spare in buying good weaponry than GM so Mia is doomed by lack of funds, vantage is crap if you can't OHKO and in RD it's not even guaranteed to proc like in Awakening/Fates when you're <50% HP, also early access to Paragon and resolve vs crap personal skill, no access to resolve 'til ch2 when things start getting easier, and Mia has competition with much better units than herself, while DB is all ests or mediocre prepromotes, what with Haar taking half of every map by himself for all the time he's around and cutting everyone else's exp because no one matches his mobility and stats before the hawks come to play, he's legit Ike on steroids flying on a dragon with an eyepatch and killing everything while sleeping, imagine if he was awake -_-).

Act 4 is just the same as before but spreading your units depending on the maps you want them in (Marcia Haar or Tanith Haar can now get a support together for more avoid, not for Haar but for the seraph knight, going to Micaiah's army, I don't remember if Tanith can go there or if she's forced into GMs DB, same for Sigrun). Endgame is not even the game anymore, just throw all of your cheats together and ROLFstomp it since it' the least fun part of the game and completely unbalanced with speed caps and co, you have enough OP units by then not to care for who you raised.

Edited October 29, 2020 by mangasdeouf

[NinjaMonkey]

Part 1 - Edward and Nolan, Micaiah getting fed kills because she's useless otherwise, Vika boss abused to get her to level 25 with SS strike, Jill, Sothe only used for 1-4 then figuratively benched.

Part 2 - Nephenee, Haar, Leanne and Elincia

Part 3 - Ike, Mia, Titania, Soren, Shinon, Gatrie, Oscar, Haar, Edward and Nolan

Part 4 - Ike, Mia, Titania, Soren, Shinon, Gatrie, Pelleas, Sanaki, Edward, Nolan, Vika, Elincia, Nephenee, Skrimir, Miciah fed kills in 1-P

Part 4 Endgame - Ike, Mia, Titania, Soren, Shinon, Gatrie, Pelleas, Sanaki, Vika, Elincia, Nephenee, Volke, Nasir and Leanne

Edited November 16, 2020 by NinjaMonkey

[Brave Lance]

I'm only really gonna cover act 1 right now but I might come back to it later and add part 3 and 4.

Nolan/Leonardo
Grants each of them Avoid, Attack and Def. It's an easy support to build and what it has over Nolan/Edward is that it doesn't involve Edward. Leonardo at the very least can chip from a distance without missing. He won't be stepping on Nolan's toes like Edward will, and Edward definitely can't tank in any part of the game. Bowgun bros for life.

Nolan gets a forged iron axe in 1-4 and passes it on to Jill once he wields steel axes without penalty. He usually gets beastfoe in part 3 and steals cancel from Leo.

Leonardo shouldn't really be eating any resources. As long as he gets to level 10 he'll be able to promote and use crossbows, which is more than enough for him for part 3.

 

Volug/Aran

Def and Avoid for each of them. Aran can hold down the fort while Volug builds up his gauge, and it's slightly faster for each of them than they would be with Jill or Zihark.

Volug gets the energy drop to allow him to one shot fire mages without a counterattack. It also helps him one round cats in part 3. He usually grabs renewal for self sustaining.

Aran gets the first seraph robe, discipline and a forged Iron lance in 1-4. So long as he levels speed on his first map or early in his second map he'll be okay.

 

Jill/Zihark

Still Def and Avoid. God knows they'll need it in part 3.

Jill sometimes gets the second seraph robe and usually gets the dracoshield. She needs a lot of investment and doesn't usually see a whole lot of output until part 4, but she's worth the investment nonetheless.

Zihark grabs paragon for part 1 and can get to a position to be an early trueblade pretty early on in part 3. If Jill doesn't get the seraph robe then it goes to him for survivability and helping him reach his caps for BXP. Once Zihark reaches tier 3 he usually grabs resolve, although that does make him a terror to fight as an enemy when playing 3-E. Nihil and Parity exist, though, so it's not impossible.

 

[OriginalRaisins]

On easy mode, pretty much any composition will work, so you're making good decisions as long as you like the units you're using. In addition, it's best to re-evaluate units as they level and focus on the units who are getting good stats. Even if a character isn't being fed exp, they can still contribute in other ways.

Act 1: Jill, Ilyana, Aran, Micaiah, Nolan, Sothe, Zihark. Ilyana is best girl and only unit who can wield the rexbolt. Jill is a strong flier. Zihark is pretty much better than Edward in every way and Micaiah/Sothe both are forced deployments in all their chapters. Aran and Nolan are also both just good

Act 2: Everyone except Nealuchi. There's only five chapters and each one has limited deployment slots and time-sensitive objectives. You don't really have time to dillydally and feed kills to just one unit. That said, Nealuchi is strong but unfun to use imo. You might disagree and say he's great but I don't enjoy him.

Act 3: Ike, Titania, Haar, Ilyana, any unit that's been performing well. As said earlier, it's important to constantly re-evaluate your units as they level up. Act 3 is the longest and provides you with many opportunities to level and see how your team is doing. You also have tons of tools at your disposal and can easily cobble together a functioning team even if your composition is weird.

Act 4: Literally anyone. Act 4 enemies give SO MUCH exp that it's not even worth your time trying to budget. Units who are doing well will get the exp they need to do even better. You do get some new units like Stefan who outperform the rest, but at this point it should be clear who your strongest units are. Growths are random, so don't be afraid to adapt to the randomness by changing your "ideal" team comp midway through the game.

[SSbardock84]

I play differently all the time, but here is what I'd consider an average playthrough for me.

Part 1: I use Edward to do most of the work (obviously), I try to get him leveled up fast. Yes, I have gotten him to Trueblade before the Part is even done before, but that was difficult lol. Leonardo and Nolan I use as supports. Leonardo usually for the fliers on that one map and then for taking out weakened enemies. Nolan bashes on lance units. Micaiah I use as much as possible, I usually have her blast armored units and some time cavalry (there aren't many in Part 1). Sothe is usually around with Edward as a front man, plowing through enemies. Tauroneo I use on the first map you get him, I send him up against those armored units with Jill, Zihark, and Volug. I usually mix up who I use between Jill, Zihark, and Volug, Jill gets used the least. I use everyone else moderately. I almost never use Fiona or Meg. I also try to refrain from using Nailah and Black Knight in the final chapter as they make it too easy. Only on harder modes do I use them. On easy there's no point, they just steal EXP I could give to other characters.

Part 2: Haar literally just does everything. Within the past few years I've made Elincia a main of mine, so she does quite a bit more in the first chapter and endgame for me. The other three in the first chapter I use too, but it's primarily Haar and Elincia I focus on. Use mostly Brom in the next chapter, probably obvious. After that chapter I basically use everyone. Same goes for Geoffrey's chapter, sometimes I'll get to the boss as quick as possible with Geoffrey. He usually class changed in the past for me, but I save the bonus exp for the endgame chapter or for much later. The endgame chapter I either have Haar just sweep in from the far right and kill Ludvec or I'll just see how things go with advancing with everyone else. I usually get that one skill that armored unit has on the bottom left (a passive maybe, can't remember). Always kill Ludvec though and always give the Tomahawk to Haar.

Part 3: I try to use all of the Greil Mercenaries very early on, but they end up fading away from me, some of them. Usually it's Mist and Rhys who become fodder since I'm not a big healer, almost always Mist. Once you get the Crimea boys and girls, I use Haar heavily. Main characters I use otherwise are Ike, Mia, and Shinon. I pretty heavily use the other characters too though and get them all class changed, again aside from Mist (though you can't class change her yet anyway) and sometimes Rhys. My first class changed characters are Mia, Shinon, and Titania. Ike I always give Blossom too so I can gain a bit more oomf while slowing down his leveling since he can't class change until the endgame. Never have not gotten to Level 20. Once I switch to the Dawn Brigade again it's usually heavy focus of Edward, Sothe, and Volug. It depends where I'm at with Leonardo, Nolan, and Zihark. Jill depends and Micaiah usually does some good too. Edward kills it on all maps here. In the battle against Ike, I always send Edward flying down his way taking out Laguz. In the previous chapter, I un-equip Ragnell and give Ike a Wind Sword. It makes Edward's job all the more easier. I usually have him using Caladbolg or Brave Sword. Once Astra activates, Ike is dead. The finally chapter blows because I usually have someone with Corrosion and I have to be sure not to break one of my character's weapons. Edward is always hard to deal with and is the strongest character on the map. It takes a mix of several characters to kill, but the most effective way is using Shinon.

Part 4: I usually have Dawn Brigade guys in the Silver Army. So as you can imagine, Edward does more work again. He basically clears the first map himself from up to right. Those reinforcements at the top are done in by a mix of Sothe, Leonardo, and Micaiah usually. The bottom right I use mainly Naesala and Skrimir to take care of things. I'll usually send Sigrun, Tanith, and Sanaki in that direction too. Or sometimes I just won't use them lol. In the second Silver Army battle I send Edward and Leonardo down from the left and Micaiah and Naesala to the right. If I have Haar on this team, that's where he goes too. Sanaki sometimes comes along. The rest of the characters go down in the middle. I have Micaiah pick up Stefan and he takes on those reinforcements above where he spawns in. For the Greil Army I primarily use the mercenaries and bring in Volug too. Shinon and Rolf (if I'm using him) go up plowing down foes. Nailah and Volke are my key carriers. Soren gets his new tome and bashes some losers. Ike goes and hangs out with Tormod then goes up, he or Gatrie usually fall asleep. Most of my units go to the right and then up. They hang out there, tearing apart any of the reinforcements who come. Always have to bring Rafiel up and have him recruit Oliver. Forgot about the first chapter of the Greil Army. I send archers and mages to the left, Boyd and wolves to the right, and the rest go down and to the boss. It's usually Ike doing most of the work and getting his axe skill level to SS. The Hawk army is usually my weakest team since I don't use most of the units that end up there. Laguz go left and Beroc go down + Reyson. Tibarn rakes the enemies apart and heads straight for the boss to get that light spell I never use. Elincia and company cut around by the time Tibarn finishes the boss and then its just clean-up duty from there on out. The second chapter I recruit Volke, of course, with Bastian. I usually give those skills that are effective against specific laguz to units here and that helps tear them down. Most characters kind of just hang back defending the place while Tibarn goes up to show Izuka who's boss. Usually Geoffrey, Volke, and Bastian go up on the right side. Elincia too sometimes. This chapter is the shortest out of Part 4 always for me.

Endgame: Obviously I like to mix it up when it comes to entering the Tower of Guidance. But among the most common units I'd choose from are: Edward, Haar (though I usually don't know because he makes it too easy), Mia, Shinon, Stefan, Volke, Nailah, Leonardo, Zihark (not too much anymore), Giffca, Caineghis (only one lion if I bring one, they're super useful in the final battles), Elincia, Tibarn, and Naesala. That's the most common ones (unless I forgot some), but I've obviously used other characters. I've certainly used Soren a lot. I usually don't bring too many Greil Mercenary characters because you get to play as them for so long. I really do like bringing characters you get near the end of the game because you get to play as them so seldom. I've brought Renning like twice though. Anyway, first battle goes smoothly. I send Edward's gang left and Shinon's right. Ike goes up with some of the heavy hitters and Micaiah. Tibarn usually sweeps around on the left side and Naesala or Haar on the right. Always a laguz beast or two going up with Ike. Sothe is up there too, if I don't have Volke I give him everything he had which is handy. Except for his stillness skill, I give that too Micaiah. Bosses die easily, usually to Tibarn or Edward and Shinon. Second battle everyone does their fair share except for laguz dragons (because I don't use them much) and Sanaki. Micaiah is a wimp always so she hangs back on this battle and mostly the rest too. Ike then kills poor Zelgius. Battle three, I send several characters in five different directions. Ike goes straight up to the boss fight and others join him eventually to kill Dheginsea. Next battle I use Seraphim's attack range and stay one space away from it with as many units as I can. I then fly in, killing his defense spirits, and then take him down on the second turn. Piece of cake. Final chapter is one where Edward and some other guys actually don't do as much. I have them take care of reinforcement spirits since they don't do much damage to the aura. Laguz definitely do the most. Once the aura is gone, everyone attacks, and obviously mister Ike finishes the goddess off.