What are the best units to use in The Sacred Stones?

[sinfonic18]

I played this one several months ago but dropped it after the first 2 chapters. It's not that I didn't like it, I loved it. I just... Dropped it, and never touched it again. Which was a shame because this looks like a truly fun one in the franchise so here I am back in the FE kick after a good break. 

I remember Seth being unstoppable in my last short playthrough but I am not sure about the other ones.

Right now, I'm playing Hard mode and only have Seth and Eirika. What are the best characters in the game you get in the future and how many units is best to train? 

Thanks again! 

[Shadow Mir]

Putting aside Seth, Franz and Vanessa are some of the better units in this game. Also of note, there's a route split about 2/5 of the way through the game; some characters are better on one route than the other. 

[L3xandr3]

FE8 is quite easy. More or less, you can just use whomever you please.

If you're asking for the absolute best, aside from the ones Mir above me pointed out, Ephraim, Saleh, Dussel, Gerik, Cormag, and Tana are very good.

[Shanty Pete's 1st Mate]

10 hours ago, sinfonic18 said:

What are the best characters in the game you get in the future and how many units is best to train?

I wouldn't suggest focusing on more than 12 overall. And you can get by with a far smaller core squad. But the game is easy enough that you don't have to hyper-optimize your team. It's fine to experiment with newcomers, especially on chapters with wider deployment slots.

[Benice]

I feel like it is worth noting that Bishops are really good in the lategame of this one in terms of damage dealt, so if you're looking for a mage that isn't Saleh, Artur or Moulder are probably your best bets, even if they end up mag screwed.

And while he's far from GOOD, Ross takes a lot of effort but can end up with a good payoff as a pirate->Berserker. Definitely not a must-use, but I will advocate for at least trying out one of the trainees, if only to see what they're all about.

As for other suboptimal-but-still-good units, Joshua is quite good, Gerik is quite good, Kyle is OK, Duessel is quite good on Ephraim's route, (which is harder than Eirika's) Tana is an investment that should pay off well and Forde is acceptable.

Edited April 8, 2021 by Benice

[sinfonic18]

On 4/8/2021 at 12:53 AM, Shadow Mir said:

Putting aside Seth, Franz and Vanessa are some of the better units in this game. Also of note, there's a route split about 2/5 of the way through the game; some characters are better on one route than the other. 

Idk about Vanessa. She seems to be doing alright on this chapter I'm on right now but looking at that base strength and growth is... Yikes. Unless I get really lucky (I never do) her damage output will never get better (and it's already not good for me)

Of course there would be a route split... Wouldn't be FE, would it now. 🤦‍♂️

On 4/8/2021 at 2:07 AM, L3xandr3 said:

FE8 is quite easy. More or less, you can just use whomever you please.

If you're asking for the absolute best, aside from the ones Mir above me pointed out, Ephraim, Saleh, Dussel, Gerik, Cormag, and Tana are very good.

So in short anyone is viable and I shouldn't headache myself about it too much, right? 

I will say, I'm on Chapter 4 and I haven't had any units die on me yet, and that is rare for me, so... 

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

I wouldn't suggest focusing on more than 12 overall. And you can get by with a far smaller core squad. But the game is easy enough that you don't have to hyper-optimize your team. It's fine to experiment with newcomers, especially on chapters with wider deployment slots.

I like to use the most characters as possible, so can I get by with a core team of twelve and perhaps another? How many deployment slots in the chapters towards the end? 

15 hours ago, Benice said:

I feel like it is worth noting that Bishops are really good in the lategame of this one in terms of damage dealt, so if you're looking for a mage that isn't Saleh, Artur or Moulder are probably your best bets, even if they end up mag screwed.

And while he's far from GOOD, Ross takes a lot of effort but can end up with a good payoff as a pirate->Berserker. Definitely not a must-use, but I will advocate for at least trying out one of the trainees, if only to see what they're all about.

As for other suboptimal-but-still-good units, Joshua is quite good, Gerik is quite good, Kyle is OK, Duessel is quite good on Ephraim's route, (which is harder than Eirika's) Tana is an investment that should pay off well and Forde is acceptable.

I'm using Artur but didn't plan on using Moulder (I got him but I didn't plan on promoting him when the time comes). Speaking of mages, is Lute good? I liked anima magic in the other GBA titles so does she perform as well as Hugh and Erk? 

That's another thing, how does the "trainee" unit work? From what I'm reading, there is 3 in the game and they don't require a seal to promote? They can essentially get 50 levels in total as opposed to 40 like the rest? If that's the case, they should be the most op characters in the game. Only if their growths are good I guess, but I haven't checked that out. 

Also, Niemi and Colm. Are they good in combat? I know people don't hold early game GBA archers in very high regard and thieves are best kept lockpicking but I'd really like to try them out, since I like bows and have never used and assassin. 

I'm going to try and use all those units you listed except if they're a prepromote because I don't do those unless it's FE6.

I'll add Ross regardless because Berserker = best class in all of FE. What about his father? Garcia? This guy is... very peculiar looking for a FE game lol. I like it.

[Benice]

Spoiler

2 minutes ago, sinfonic18 said:

Speaking of mages, is Lute good? I liked anima magic in the other GBA titles so does she perform as well as Hugh and Erk? 

I've... Never actually used Erk or Lute, actually. That said, from what I can tell...She's alright? Her bases, (especially in con) aren't great, but she's got good growths.

4 minutes ago, sinfonic18 said:

That's another thing, how does the "trainee" unit work? From what I'm reading, there is 3 in the game and they don't require a seal to promote?

How all three of them work is: They join in a personal "trainee" class, those being Journeyman, Recruit and Pupil. Once they reach level 10 in that class, they will be able to change classes in the next prep screen. Taking Ross as an example, he can become a Fighter or Pirate, going from basically a class that is level 0 and into a normal class.* From there, they work as normal units.

*They still get promotion bonuses into these classes!

6 minutes ago, sinfonic18 said:

They can essentially get 50 levels in total as opposed to 40 like the rest?

Yup.

6 minutes ago, sinfonic18 said:

If that's the case, they should be the most op characters in the game.

Uhhh...

Weeeelll...

Ross is alright, I guess. The same can't really be said for the other two. Amelia joins with lower bases than Ross did, only she's seven-and-a-half maps later. Her ONLY redeeming trait as a unit is the fact that she can become a Paladin. And she has a support with Franz, I guess. Ewan joins even later, but due to his class, he's slightly better and isn't that hard to train up, especially since he joins on a map with an arena in Ephraim's route if that's what you wanna do. He's also one of two possible dark mages in the game, and the other one has marginally better growths and acceptable bases, but Ewan will have better stats than him at the same level. The other dark mage is still pretty nifty, though.

Something true for all three trainees is that...Well, their growths are average at best? (Seriously, 10/20/20 Paladin Amelia is only better than Lv. 20 Seth in three stats-A 5-point lead in Spd and a minor lead in skl and major lead in luck.)* I'd personally consider their growths sub-par. They do get the extra stats from the extra promotions, but, with the slight exception of Ross if you can get him to promote in chapter 4 or 5, they won't significantly contribute to the army once they get into a normal class.

However, I always use all three of the trainees 'cause I'm like that. They are not unworkable, even on Hard mode with no grinding! If you enjoy using units whose characters you like, wanna give Franz a paired ending or like seeing zeroes becoming heroes, then by all means, use all three! The later two trainees may be inferior to basically all other options, but I have a fun time using them.

19 minutes ago, sinfonic18 said:

Also, Niemi and Colm. Are they good in combat? I know people don't hold early game GBA archers in very high regard and thieves are best kept lockpicking but I'd really like to try them out, since I like bows and have never used and assassin. 

Her bases aren't very good, but her growths are quite strong and she can get a horse on promotion if you want, so she SHOULD become quite potent, especially with her nice Colm support. Alternatively, she can become a sniper, which is pretty much objectively the worse choice, but it does offer a little more strength and lets her stay closer to Colm...

One good thing for Neimi is that the only competition for the chapter 6 Orion's Bolt is the shop! There aren't any other unpromoted archers in FE8.

As for Colm, well, he can be used. Bases are bad, growths are solid. He has a nice support with Neimi as well. There isn't really much to steal in FE8, and you get a prepromote later on who can deal with lategame stealing duties, and between the pair's joining time, I don't actually think there's anything other than a Lockpick for Colm to steal that he needs to be above base level for.

Myrmidons can become Assassins in this game, and there is a really good one in Joshua, who is admittedly best suited to the Swordmaster class from a story perspective. There's also Marisa, but she's not good. At all. Still, not unusable.

27 minutes ago, sinfonic18 said:

'm going to try and use all those units you listed except if they're a prepromote because I don't do those unless it's FE6.

Duessel is a prepromote, but the others aren't.

27 minutes ago, sinfonic18 said:

I like to use the most characters as possible, so can I get by with a core team of twelve and perhaps another? How many deployment slots in the chapters towards the end? 

For the majority of the game when you have a lot of units, you'll have 12 slots. The last three maps have a lot more, though-17, 18 and the final map with 12.

So yeah, 12. You also get a host of great prepromotes IF you wanna fill out every slot, which is not necessary.

33 minutes ago, sinfonic18 said:

Idk about Vanessa. She seems to be doing alright on this chapter I'm on right now but looking at that base strength and growth is... Yikes. Unless I get really lucky (I never do) her damage output will never get better (and it's already not good for me)

She isn't the only flier you get! Tana joins later with...Marginally better bases, but very good growths overall. Vanessa has the advantage of being the first flier you get as well as being able to promote quite early on, but I've never quite been as fond of her as others are. That said...Well, I suck at FE.

36 minutes ago, sinfonic18 said:

What about his father? Garcia? This guy is... very peculiar looking for a FE game lol. I like it.

Garcia is something of a Jagen. Quite good bases and fantastic con, but his speed growth is limp. Normally, he will need a speedwing to be able to double consistently throughout the game, (Promoting to hero helps him a lot) but if he gets bad growths or you don't feel like investing that much, going Warrior for the higher strength cap is an option. Garcia's pretty good, and he doesn't NEED the speedwings. However, he is probably one of the better uses of them should you choose to go that way and if Ross isn't super slow.  His strength is phenomenal, by the way.

For the record, the endgame doubling benchmark is pretty much 15-16 AS to get the vast majority, but 12 is sufficient for most enemies. A Hero Garcia that sees a lot of use can reach that 15 AS without speedwings, but giving one to him is probably wise. As a warrior...Well, the speedwings will pretty much be necessary to get him to 15 AS.

Basically, Garcia is like Ross, but with good bases and worse growths; if Ross is used a lot, he'll surpass his pop at endgame, sporting better stats in almost all areas, most notably speed, (and basically exactly matching Warrior!Garcia's strength) as well as having the better class in Berserker. However, Garcia will not need the help Ross does at the start and can nab an early-ish promotion to patch his speed quickly, although Pirate Ross can beat him to promotion. Of course, you can just use both!

*Amelia does quite soundly beat the other Phantastic Paladin Prepromote, Orson, in most stats, but does have lower strength. Soooo... she does outgrow one of the best units in the game!

(Spoiled for size, there's nothing spoiler-related I mention)

[Shadow Mir]

8 hours ago, sinfonic18 said:

I like to use the most characters as possible, so can I get by with a core team of twelve and perhaps another? How many deployment slots in the chapters towards the end? 

The final chapter allows for 12, with both the twins as mandatory. The chapters immediately beforehand allow the use of 17 (Last Hope) and 18 (Darkling Woods), but for the most part, you get around 12 slots.

8 hours ago, sinfonic18 said:

That's another thing, how does the "trainee" unit work? From what I'm reading, there is 3 in the game and they don't require a seal to promote? They can essentially get 50 levels in total as opposed to 40 like the rest? If that's the case, they should be the most op characters in the game. Only if their growths are good I guess, but I haven't checked that out. 

Simply put, Ross, Amelia, and Ewan automatically get to go into an actual class when they are at level 10 when you start a map. Also, their growths are not that good.

8 hours ago, sinfonic18 said:

Also, Niemi and Colm. Are they good in combat? I know people don't hold early game GBA archers in very high regard and thieves are best kept lockpicking but I'd really like to try them out, since I like bows and have never used and assassin. 

Well, Neimi can get a mount on promotion, and the two have a very fast support. Make sure to get the Orion's Bolt in chapter 6, though (you get it if the villagers survive; better send Vanessa to intercept the spider or finish the map [it's kill boss, and fog of war] quickly)! Also, I will note that Colm needs an Ocean Seal to promote (of which there's only one in the game, short of the secret shop), and one of his promotions is Rogue, which does away with the need for lockpicks (it's not like Assassin is THAT much better at combat anyway). That being said, Myrmidons can become Assassins as well, but I wouldn't really recommend it (it's not that assassin is bad, per se, it's that Swordmaster is more reliable).

Edited April 9, 2021 by Shadow Mir

[L3xandr3]

2 hours ago, sinfonic18 said:

Idk about Vanessa. She seems to be doing alright on this chapter I'm on right now but looking at that base strength and growth is... Yikes. Unless I get really lucky (I never do) her damage output will never get better (and it's already not good for me)

Vanessa's schtick is that she's available early on, has decent stats, and a good promotion.

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Of course there would be a route split... Wouldn't be FE, would it now. 🤦‍♂️

Sacred Stones, Fates, and Three Houses are the only FEs with a route split. Maybe SoV/Giaden, but that's pushing it.

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So in short anyone is viable and I shouldn't headache myself about it too much, right? 

Yeah. It's only difficult if you handicap yourself. Like no S rank weapons, for example.

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I like to use the most characters as possible, so can I get by with a core team of twelve and perhaps another? How many deployment slots in the chapters towards the end? 

10 - 13 units is what I'd recommend. But to each their own.

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I'm using Artur but didn't plan on using Moulder (I got him but I didn't plan on promoting him when the time comes). Speaking of mages, is Lute good? I liked anima magic in the other GBA titles so does she perform as well as Hugh and Erk? 

Lute starts out weaker, but ends up stronger. Slightly more Nino-ish? Not the best term, but still.

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That's another thing, how does the "trainee" unit work? From what I'm reading, there is 3 in the game and they don't require a seal to promote? They can essentially get 50 levels in total as opposed to 40 like the rest? If that's the case, they should be the most op characters in the game. Only if their growths are good I guess, but I haven't checked that out. 

Ross is OK because you can get him to tier 1 within 1 map, Amelia is just bad, and Ewan is better than the other available dark mage.

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Also, Niemi and Colm. Are they good in combat? I know people don't hold early game GBA archers in very high regard and thieves are best kept lockpicking but I'd really like to try them out, since I like bows and have never used and assassin. 

Niemi is a growth archer and Colm is the better of the two thieves you get. Niemi's problem is that she has pretty bad bases, and Colm's is that his promotions aren't great.

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I'll add Ross regardless because Berserker = best class in all of FE. What about his father? Garcia? This guy is... very peculiar looking for a FE game lol. I like it.

Garcia is Ross if he was a (Mini?) Jagen. Enough said.

[Shanty Pete's 1st Mate]

5 hours ago, sinfonic18 said:

Idk about Vanessa. She seems to be doing alright on this chapter I'm on right now but looking at that base strength and growth is... Yikes. Unless I get really lucky (I never do) her damage output will never get better (and it's already not good for me)

Vanessa's combat isn't great, but her utility comes from rescue-carrying allies, and being able to reach certain map objectives (i.e. villages) faster than everyone else. She should only fight when she doesn't have anything better to do.

5 hours ago, sinfonic18 said:

I'm using Artur but didn't plan on using Moulder (I got him but I didn't plan on promoting him when the time comes). Speaking of mages, is Lute good? I liked anima magic in the other GBA titles so does she perform as well as Hugh and Erk? 

Lute is comparable to Erk, I'd say, in that both are early-joining Anima mages. She can also get a horse upon promotion, if you want.

Cool thing with Artur - if promoted to Bishop, he'll have C Staves out the gate. Which is nice in conjunction with monster-effective magic.

5 hours ago, sinfonic18 said:

Also, Niemi and Colm. Are they good in combat? I know people don't hold early game GBA archers in very high regard and thieves are best kept lockpicking but I'd really like to try them out, since I like bows and have never used and assassin. 

I actually prefer Colm as a Rogue - he doesn't need a Lockpick, he can keep on stealing, and there's no significant losd to his combat relative to Assassin. As for Neimi, she has a tough start - but she gets a fast support with Colm. And once enemy fliers (i.e. gargoyles) show up, she can really give them trouble.

5 hours ago, sinfonic18 said:

I'll add Ross regardless because Berserker = best class in all of FE. What about his father? Garcia? This guy is... very peculiar looking for a FE game lol. I like it.

Use both of 'em! Like Neimi/Colm, they get a fast support together, helping both if them in combat. Hero gives him Speed and C Swords, while Warrior gives him Bows as an anti-flier option.

2 hours ago, L3xandr3 said:

Ross is OK because you can get him to tier 1 within 1 map, Amelia is just bad, and Ewan is better than the other available dark mage.

I... don't think this is really true? Knoll can promote to Summoner right out the gate, while for Ewan, you need to put at least 18 levels into him to get there. It's doable, but it takes some serious babying. Ewan's stats will probably be better with that investment, sure, but that doesn't hugely matter with Summoners. Speaking of which - try using a Summoner! Thr phantoms they summon can be excellent for manipulating enemy AI (i.e. luring particular threats, attracting siege spells).

[L3xandr3]

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

I... don't think this is really true? Knoll can promote to Summoner right out the gate, while for Ewan, you need to put at least 18 levels into him to get there. It's doable, but it takes some serious babying. Ewan's stats will probably be better with that investment, sure, but that doesn't hugely matter with Summoners. Speaking of which - try using a Summoner! Thr phantoms they summon can be excellent for manipulating enemy AI (i.e. luring particular threats, attracting siege spells).

Let me correct myself: Ewan makes a better combatant than the other dark mage, and about the same as a Summoner.

And I have used Summoners. They are indeed quite useful.

[Shanty Pete's 1st Mate]

7 hours ago, L3xandr3 said:

Let me correct myself: Ewan makes a better combatant than the other dark mage, and about the same as a Summoner.

Oh, I'd agree that long-term Ewan has better combat potential than Knoll. But base Ewan is far weaker than base Knoll. Still, if you get Ewan to level 10 Mage/Shaman by chapter 15, then by all means, take him the distance. 

[sinfonic18]

On 4/9/2021 at 3:43 AM, Benice said:

  Reveal hidden contents

I've... Never actually used Erk or Lute, actually. That said, from what I can tell...She's alright? Her bases, (especially in con) aren't great, but she's got good growths.

How all three of them work is: They join in a personal "trainee" class, those being Journeyman, Recruit and Pupil. Once they reach level 10 in that class, they will be able to change classes in the next prep screen. Taking Ross as an example, he can become a Fighter or Pirate, going from basically a class that is level 0 and into a normal class.* From there, they work as normal units.

*They still get promotion bonuses into these classes!

Yup.

Uhhh...

Weeeelll...

Ross is alright, I guess. The same can't really be said for the other two. Amelia joins with lower bases than Ross did, only she's seven-and-a-half maps later. Her ONLY redeeming trait as a unit is the fact that she can become a Paladin. And she has a support with Franz, I guess. Ewan joins even later, but due to his class, he's slightly better and isn't that hard to train up, especially since he joins on a map with an arena in Ephraim's route if that's what you wanna do. He's also one of two possible dark mages in the game, and the other one has marginally better growths and acceptable bases, but Ewan will have better stats than him at the same level. The other dark mage is still pretty nifty, though.

Something true for all three trainees is that...Well, their growths are average at best? (Seriously, 10/20/20 Paladin Amelia is only better than Lv. 20 Seth in three stats-A 5-point lead in Spd and a minor lead in skl and major lead in luck.)* I'd personally consider their growths sub-par. They do get the extra stats from the extra promotions, but, with the slight exception of Ross if you can get him to promote in chapter 4 or 5, they won't significantly contribute to the army once they get into a normal class.

However, I always use all three of the trainees 'cause I'm like that. They are not unworkable, even on Hard mode with no grinding! If you enjoy using units whose characters you like, wanna give Franz a paired ending or like seeing zeroes becoming heroes, then by all means, use all three! The later two trainees may be inferior to basically all other options, but I have a fun time using them.

Her bases aren't very good, but her growths are quite strong and she can get a horse on promotion if you want, so she SHOULD become quite potent, especially with her nice Colm support. Alternatively, she can become a sniper, which is pretty much objectively the worse choice, but it does offer a little more strength and lets her stay closer to Colm...

One good thing for Neimi is that the only competition for the chapter 6 Orion's Bolt is the shop! There aren't any other unpromoted archers in FE8.

As for Colm, well, he can be used. Bases are bad, growths are solid. He has a nice support with Neimi as well. There isn't really much to steal in FE8, and you get a prepromote later on who can deal with lategame stealing duties, and between the pair's joining time, I don't actually think there's anything other than a Lockpick for Colm to steal that he needs to be above base level for.

Myrmidons can become Assassins in this game, and there is a really good one in Joshua, who is admittedly best suited to the Swordmaster class from a story perspective. There's also Marisa, but she's not good. At all. Still, not unusable.

Duessel is a prepromote, but the others aren't.

For the majority of the game when you have a lot of units, you'll have 12 slots. The last three maps have a lot more, though-17, 18 and the final map with 12.

So yeah, 12. You also get a host of great prepromotes IF you wanna fill out every slot, which is not necessary.

She isn't the only flier you get! Tana joins later with...Marginally better bases, but very good growths overall. Vanessa has the advantage of being the first flier you get as well as being able to promote quite early on, but I've never quite been as fond of her as others are. That said...Well, I suck at FE.

Garcia is something of a Jagen. Quite good bases and fantastic con, but his speed growth is limp. Normally, he will need a speedwing to be able to double consistently throughout the game, (Promoting to hero helps him a lot) but if he gets bad growths or you don't feel like investing that much, going Warrior for the higher strength cap is an option. Garcia's pretty good, and he doesn't NEED the speedwings. However, he is probably one of the better uses of them should you choose to go that way and if Ross isn't super slow.  His strength is phenomenal, by the way.

For the record, the endgame doubling benchmark is pretty much 15-16 AS to get the vast majority, but 12 is sufficient for most enemies. A Hero Garcia that sees a lot of use can reach that 15 AS without speedwings, but giving one to him is probably wise. As a warrior...Well, the speedwings will pretty much be necessary to get him to 15 AS.

Basically, Garcia is like Ross, but with good bases and worse growths; if Ross is used a lot, he'll surpass his pop at endgame, sporting better stats in almost all areas, most notably speed, (and basically exactly matching Warrior!Garcia's strength) as well as having the better class in Berserker. However, Garcia will not need the help Ross does at the start and can nab an early-ish promotion to patch his speed quickly, although Pirate Ross can beat him to promotion. Of course, you can just use both!

*Amelia does quite soundly beat the other Phantastic Paladin Prepromote, Orson, in most stats, but does have lower strength. Soooo... she does outgrow one of the best units in the game!

(Spoiled for size, there's nothing spoiler-related I mention)

Oh... Well, alright. I will say though, if you like growth mages, Erk is awesome.

That's a very cool feature that I'm surprised they wiped after this game (I think). I mean, granted, like you said they are really freaking weak as Ross is for me right now and his growths aren't very good for me. They have a niche (ross is early, amelia can become mounted, and ewan is the only other dark mage) but they're probably just average. At least, in my experience with one. 

I'm planning on using them too, only leaving out Amelia because I don't feel like paladin spamming the game to oblivion, and play with more variety. 

On the note of Neimi, I'm glad there is finally an early-game archer than can turn out good (or decent at least) and is worth the investment after all the other garbage FE archers like Wolt, Wil and even Rolf. Idk if I'll end up using colm for combat, it depends on how Neimi is performing I guess. I don't see the point in promoting him if he just going around lockpicking.

What chapter do you get Joshua if I may ask? Oh, and also, Tana, since I'm going to use her instead of Vanessa when she comes. (I haven't researched them because I wanna keep myself a little blind to it)

Alright, well let me ask you this. Considering the worst possible situation where Garcia gets zero speeds levels from 1 to 20 and I promote him into Warrior instead of Hero, will a single speedwing still suffice to get him up to at least 12 AS? Or would he require two? 

I'm just asking incase the worst happens with growths since they're so unpredictable and looking at his speed growth it doesn't look like I'll get 1 or maybe 2 levels of that anytime soon.
 

On 4/9/2021 at 4:27 AM, Shadow Mir said:

The final chapter allows for 12, with both the twins as mandatory. The chapters immediately beforehand allow the use of 17 (Last Hope) and 18 (Darkling Woods), but for the most part, you get around 12 slots.

Simply put, Ross, Amelia, and Ewan automatically get to go into an actual class when they are at level 10 when you start a map. Also, their growths are not that good.

Well, Neimi can get a mount on promotion, and the two have a very fast support. Make sure to get the Orion's Bolt in chapter 6, though (you get it if the villagers survive; better send Vanessa to intercept the spider or finish the map [it's kill boss, and fog of war] quickly)! Also, I will note that Colm needs an Ocean Seal to promote (of which there's only one in the game, short of the secret shop), and one of his promotions is Rogue, which does away with the need for lockpicks (it's not like Assassin is THAT much better at combat anyway). That being said, Myrmidons can become Assassins as well, but I wouldn't really recommend it (it's not that assassin is bad, per se, it's that Swordmaster is more reliable).

Well I'll just use prepromotes to fill in a few holes in those types of chapters like I always do. 

I really like mounted archers (anything mounted though is good) so I'm going to raise her and maybe Colm if she doesn't perform well without his support. 

On that note, if I'm using Ross and promote him to Pirate, doesn't he need the Ocean Seal? I might as well drop colm already and use him only for chesting. I'm literally playing chapter 6 right now and that spider is inching ever so closer to those villagers smh. Seth is over there but he's also dealing with a ton of other enemies over that way. I need that Orion's bolt but I'm having trouble getting it because Vanessa is just too weak to take them on by herself.

Aren't both classes considered suboptimal due to no 1-2 range? (Not that I care really about being optimal, I just like to use what I want regardless if the game is slower/harder etc. Swordmasters are always a staple on my FE teams usually. Lol, if I wanted to be optimal I wouldn't use anybody else and just use Seth!) I mean yeah, there's Runesword and Light Brand but those suck.

On 4/9/2021 at 6:02 AM, L3xandr3 said:

 

Sacred Stones, Fates, and Three Houses are the only FEs with a route split. Maybe SoV/Giaden, but that's pushing it.

Yeah. It's only difficult if you handicap yourself. Like no S rank weapons, for example.

10 - 13 units is what I'd recommend. But to each their own.

Lute starts out weaker, but ends up stronger. Slightly more Nino-ish? Not the best term, but still.

Ross is OK because you can get him to tier 1 within 1 map, Amelia is just bad, and Ewan is better than the other available dark mage.

Niemi is a growth archer and Colm is the better of the two thieves you get. Niemi's problem is that she has pretty bad bases, and Colm's is that his promotions aren't great.

Garcia is Ross if he was a (Mini?) Jagen. Enough said.

Well FE6 has a route split and FE7 (Kind of) has 2, though those aren't really splits,  since it's pretty much the same story with a few different maps. you're right though, It just seems like a lot of games do but that isn't true.

Bad base stats aren't really a problem for me as long as growths are good because I prefer babysitting and grinding characters.

Basically I like growth units and prepromotes or high-base stat characters aren't preferable. 
 

On 4/9/2021 at 8:55 AM, Shanty Pete's 1st Mate said:

Vanessa's combat isn't great, but her utility comes from rescue-carrying allies, and being able to reach certain map objectives (i.e. villages) faster than everyone else. She should only fight when she doesn't have anything better to do.

Lute is comparable to Erk, I'd say, in that both are early-joining Anima mages. She can also get a horse upon promotion, if you want.

Cool thing with Artur - if promoted to Bishop, he'll have C Staves out the gate. Which is nice in conjunction with monster-effective magic.

I actually prefer Colm as a Rogue - he doesn't need a Lockpick, he can keep on stealing, and there's no significant losd to his combat relative to Assassin. As for Neimi, she has a tough start - but she gets a fast support with Colm. And once enemy fliers (i.e. gargoyles) show up, she can really give them trouble.

Use both of 'em! Like Neimi/Colm, they get a fast support together, helping both if them in combat. Hero gives him Speed and C Swords, while Warrior gives him Bows as an anti-flier option.

I... don't think this is really true? Knoll can promote to Summoner right out the gate, while for Ewan, you need to put at least 18 levels into him to get there. It's doable, but it takes some serious babying. Ewan's stats will probably be better with that investment, sure, but that doesn't hugely matter with Summoners. Speaking of which - try using a Summoner! Thr phantoms they summon can be excellent for manipulating enemy AI (i.e. luring particular threats, attracting siege spells).

That's a thing I've never utilized much out of fliers. For my entire time using them (in the GBA games with the rescue command) I've strictly utilized them as combat units. Only a while ago while playing through FE6 again did I realize how useful rescue-carrying was for putting a really good combat unit into position to take out a lot of tough enemies. But it helps for them to be good at combat though, and Vanessa just isn't, at least right now for me. 

Yes a mounted mage is always good in my book. 

Warriors suck in the other 2 GBA games so Hero it is for Garcia. 

On 4/9/2021 at 3:47 PM, L3xandr3 said:

Let me correct myself: Ewan makes a better combatant than the other dark mage, and about the same as a Summoner.

And I have used Summoners. They are indeed quite useful.

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

Oh, I'd agree that long-term Ewan has better combat potential than Knoll. But base Ewan is far weaker than base Knoll. Still, if you get Ewan to level 10 Mage/Shaman by chapter 15, then by all means, take him the distance. 

Summoner sounds cool especially since I get kind of tired of the same Druid/Sorcerer dark magic users. I'm going to give Ewan a try with that class and see how it goes (whenever I get him)  

 

[Benice]

 

17 minutes ago, sinfonic18 said:

I mean yeah, there's Runesword and Light Brand but those suck.

Runeswords are actually pretty good in this game, but you don't get them aside from...the Tower of Valni, which is basically a grinding spot.

Spoiler

 

4 minutes ago, sinfonic18 said:

I'm planning on using them too, only leaving out Amelia because I don't feel like paladin spamming the game to oblivion, and play with more variety. 

She can also become a General, and is the only Non-Gilliam General. Otherwise, she can split the difference and become a Great Knight. I usually make her a paladin because her supports with Franz are cute.

5 minutes ago, sinfonic18 said:

but they're probably just average.

I'd say that Ross is decent, but the other two really aren't. Amelia gets ORKO'd by a lot of enemies on her join map IIRC, so you have to be careful. So does Ewan, but he's much easier to keep safe on both routes.

Also, if you wanna get Amelia in chapter 9 (Eirika's route only) rather than 13, you really need to rush. You'll basically need either to fly Eirika over there or have a promoted Franz charge over there from the get-go.

6 minutes ago, sinfonic18 said:

I don't see the point in promoting him if he just going around lockpicking.

One thing worth noting is that, especially on Ephraim route, Colm may run short of Lockpick uses.* You MIGHT wanna give Colm some levels so that he can grab some Lockpicks off of other thieves.

*Especially if you miss out on Rennac, which is really easy to do on Eph. route.

8 minutes ago, sinfonic18 said:

What chapter do you get Joshua if I may ask? Oh, and also, Tana, since I'm going to use her instead of Vanessa when she comes. (I haven't researched them because I wanna keep myself a little blind to it)

Joshua is in chapter 5, Tana at the start of 9 on Eirika or middle/end of 9 on Ephraim.

Also, this will save you some troubles: Joshua will not attack Natasha.

9 minutes ago, sinfonic18 said:

Alright, well let me ask you this. Considering the worst possible situation where Garcia gets zero speeds levels from 1 to 20 and I promote him into Warrior instead of Hero, will a single speedwing still suffice to get him up to at least 12 AS? Or would he require two? 

Warrior grants no speed, so he'd have 7 speed still.

10 minutes ago, sinfonic18 said:

I'm just asking incase the worst happens with growths since they're so unpredictable and looking at his speed growth it doesn't look like I'll get 1 or maybe 2 levels of that anytime soon.

He should have 9 speed by level 13 on average.

11 minutes ago, sinfonic18 said:

On that note, if I'm using Ross and promote him to Pirate, doesn't he need the Ocean Seal? I might as well drop colm already and use him only for chesting.

Yeah. I think that the chapter 15 Master Seal works on them, but you should have recruited the promoted Thief by then, and if Ross is a pirate at chapter 15, he's probably toast anyways.

 

Once more, spoiled for size.

[Shadow Mir]

1 hour ago, sinfonic18 said:

On that note, if I'm using Ross and promote him to Pirate, doesn't he need the Ocean Seal? I might as well drop colm already and use him only for chesting. I'm literally playing chapter 6 right now and that spider is inching ever so closer to those villagers smh. Seth is over there but he's also dealing with a ton of other enemies over that way. I need that Orion's bolt but I'm having trouble getting it because Vanessa is just too weak to take them on by herself.

That's right. Also, in case you're wondering, the boss in chapter 6 is around the area with the + on the ground. You'll want to beware, as there's a Fighter that has a Halberd, which is effective against cavalry units, so make sure to keep a sword equipped.

1 hour ago, sinfonic18 said:

Aren't both classes considered suboptimal due to no 1-2 range? (Not that I care really about being optimal, I just like to use what I want regardless if the game is slower/harder etc. Swordmasters are always a staple on my FE teams usually. Lol, if I wanted to be optimal I wouldn't use anybody else and just use Seth!) I mean yeah, there's Runesword and Light Brand but those suck.

Also, the Light Brand can only be gotten late in the game, and even then it's easy to miss (it requires a certain number of NPC knights survive), and the Runesword is mostly something you'll get from enemy drops, as the one you get is not attained until late in the game.

Edited April 11, 2021 by Shadow Mir

[Shanty Pete's 1st Mate]

9 hours ago, sinfonic18 said:

On the note of Neimi, I'm glad there is finally an early-game archer than can turn out good (or decent at least) and is worth the investment after all the other garbage FE archers like Wolt, Wil and even Rolf. Idk if I'll end up using colm for combat, it depends on how Neimi is performing I guess. I don't see the point in promoting him if he just going around lockpicking.

Do note: you get one Ocean Seal* in the game, in chapter 9. Only Thieves (Colm) and Pirates (possibly Ross) use it to promote. So if you go Fighter!Ross, then Colm has no competition for the promotion. But if you're doing Pirate!Ross, and want him to work as a combat unit, I'd say he has "dibs" to the Ocean Seal, over Colm.

*You can buy them from the Secret Shops, sure, and you also get a Master Seal. But these come kinda late.

9 hours ago, Benice said:

Yeah. I think that the chapter 15 Master Seal works on them, but you should have recruited the promoted Thief by then, and if Ross is a pirate at chapter 15, he's probably toast anyways.

To be honest, I actually made Pirate!Ross work, with the late promo through the Master Seal. He and Garcia were my father-son power pair. But I would've preferred the earlier Ocean Seal promo, which I wasted on Colm (I dropped him and Neimi, as they were worse than Innes and Rennac).

[Shadow Mir]

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

Do note: you get one Ocean Seal* in the game, in chapter 9. Only Thieves (Colm) and Pirates (possibly Ross) use it to promote. So if you go Fighter!Ross, then Colm has no competition for the promotion. But if you're doing Pirate!Ross, and want him to work as a combat unit, I'd say he has "dibs" to the Ocean Seal, over Colm.

I dunno - I personally find Berserker Ross to not be that good for all that, largely because all it blesses him with is the ability to walk on terrain that is never practical to access. And frankly, I think it's *very* easy to do better than a slow foot axe that also takes massive damage from everything.

Edited April 11, 2021 by Shadow Mir

[Shanty Pete's 1st Mate]

2 hours ago, Shadow Mir said:

I dunno - I personally find Berserker Ross to not be that good for all that, largely because all it blesses him with is the ability to walk on terrain that is never practical to access. And frankly, I think it's *very* easy to do better than a slow foot axe that also takes massive damage from everything.

Being a Pirate/Berserker can be quite good on Eirika-9, Phantom Ship, the Selena map, Caer Palyn, and the River Crossing map, among others. And the class's crit boost is nice to secure extra kills. Ross's defenses aren't the best, but his HP is good enough to take a couple hits before he needs healing. His Speed is lacking, but I've only found the fastest enemies (i.e. Swordmasters, Mauthe Doogs) to consistently double him. And his combat can be aided overall by his fairly quick support with Garcia.

[Shadow Mir]

52 minutes ago, Shanty Pete's 1st Mate said:

Being a Pirate/Berserker can be quite good on Eirika-9, Phantom Ship, the Selena map, Caer Palyn, and the River Crossing map, among others. And the class's crit boost is nice to secure extra kills. Ross's defenses aren't the best, but his HP is good enough to take a couple hits before he needs healing. His Speed is lacking, but I've only found the fastest enemies (i.e. Swordmasters, Mauthe Doogs) to consistently double him. And his combat can be aided overall by his fairly quick support with Garcia.

I don't know about you, but doubling up on slow foot axes who have poor everything but HP and Strength doesn't sound like the best of teambuilding decisions imho... also, I find that walking on water is literally only useful on Eirika chapter 9 - and not even there, because I'd rather rescue-drop someone like Seth or Franz than pray that Ross doesn't take too many hits, being the slow glass cannon he is. Walking on peaks is even less practical, because most non-flying enemies can't get on those, and the few that can are best engaged by waiting until they're off of them, unless you like seeing "MISS!" over and over.

[sinfonic18]

On 4/11/2021 at 1:33 AM, Benice said:

 

Runeswords are actually pretty good in this game, but you don't get them aside from...the Tower of Valni, which is basically a grinding spot.

  Reveal hidden contents

 

She can also become a General, and is the only Non-Gilliam General. Otherwise, she can split the difference and become a Great Knight. I usually make her a paladin because her supports with Franz are cute.

I'd say that Ross is decent, but the other two really aren't. Amelia gets ORKO'd by a lot of enemies on her join map IIRC, so you have to be careful. So does Ewan, but he's much easier to keep safe on both routes.

Also, if you wanna get Amelia in chapter 9 (Eirika's route only) rather than 13, you really need to rush. You'll basically need either to fly Eirika over there or have a promoted Franz charge over there from the get-go.

One thing worth noting is that, especially on Ephraim route, Colm may run short of Lockpick uses.* You MIGHT wanna give Colm some levels so that he can grab some Lockpicks off of other thieves.

*Especially if you miss out on Rennac, which is really easy to do on Eph. route.

Joshua is in chapter 5, Tana at the start of 9 on Eirika or middle/end of 9 on Ephraim.

Also, this will save you some troubles: Joshua will not attack Natasha.

Warrior grants no speed, so he'd have 7 speed still.

He should have 9 speed by level 13 on average.

Yeah. I think that the chapter 15 Master Seal works on them, but you should have recruited the promoted Thief by then, and if Ross is a pirate at chapter 15, he's probably toast anyways.

 

Once more, spoiled for size.

I really wanted to train Gilliam into a General because I like using armors but he was just terribly bad and was not getting any better with growths so I dumped him. Maybe in this next run he will get luckier but for now if I was an armor I will have to use Amelia I guess. Training her though in the arena will be dang near impossible though since she is so weak sounding. Idk about using all three. Going to give Gilliam one more try. 

I cannot for the life of me, BELIEVE that Joshua was on chapter 5! I completely missed him. I didn't think the myrmidon on the map was anything special and I just zoomed right by that entire area taking my team through that corridor to the west and killing the boss. I knew I would miss a few villages but I didn't know I missed him omg. I'm restarting tomorrow especially since I failed to save the villagers in chapter 6 because I am that bad at FE, even the "easy" ones.

Idk what I missed in the villages but they were probably good. I only got like 3 hours of sleep yesterday and playing anything was a bad idea. 

I'm going to definitely level colm regardless since I want that support boost for Neimi but I just didn't think it was worth using the ocean seal on him.

Reason I asked that was because my Garcia got zero speed points on his levels from 4 to 12, so I was just considering the worst since I definitely got screwed on him. :( Even if he can't double, he's pretty strong and durable for me.

One more tiny thing. Is Erika worth leveling? 

23 hours ago, Shadow Mir said:

That's right. Also, in case you're wondering, the boss in chapter 6 is around the area with the + on the ground. You'll want to beware, as there's a Fighter that has a Halberd, which is effective against cavalry units, so make sure to keep a sword equipped.

Also, the Light Brand can only be gotten late in the game, and even then it's easy to miss (it requires a certain number of NPC knights survive), and the Runesword is mostly something you'll get from enemy drops, as the one you get is not attained until late in the game.

I managed to beat the boss but the villagers were killed anyway, so I have to restart again with this advice pounded into my head. That chapter is hard. 

Well I like to grind so getting those wouldn't be a big deal for me. I just never thought they were worth it from playing FE6, 7 and 9.

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

Do note: you get one Ocean Seal* in the game, in chapter 9. Only Thieves (Colm) and Pirates (possibly Ross) use it to promote. So if you go Fighter!Ross, then Colm has no competition for the promotion. But if you're doing Pirate!Ross, and want him to work as a combat unit, I'd say he has "dibs" to the Ocean Seal, over Colm.

*You can buy them from the Secret Shops, sure, and you also get a Master Seal. But these come kinda late.

To be honest, I actually made Pirate!Ross work, with the late promo through the Master Seal. He and Garcia were my father-son power pair. But I would've preferred the earlier Ocean Seal promo, which I wasted on Colm (I dropped him and Neimi, as they were worse than Innes and Rennac).

14 hours ago, Shadow Mir said:

I dunno - I personally find Berserker Ross to not be that good for all that, largely because all it blesses him with is the ability to walk on terrain that is never practical to access. And frankly, I think it's *very* easy to do better than a slow foot axe that also takes massive damage from everything.

Well would you recommend fighter Ross and Assassin/Rogue Colm? I personally want a pirate, but I don't want to cripple myself anymore lol.

 

[Benice]

Spoiler

 

8 hours ago, sinfonic18 said:

Training her though in the arena will be dang near impossible though since she is so weak sounding. Idk about using all three. Going to give Gilliam one more try. 

It's not actually that hard, especially if you've got save states. Arenas scale to your unit's stats.

8 hours ago, sinfonic18 said:

I knew I would miss a few villages but I didn't know I missed him omg. I'm restarting tomorrow especially since I failed to save the villagers in chapter 6 because I am that bad at FE, even the "easy" ones.

Despite its reputation, FE8 has some tough maps, especially if you're not using Seth.

You'll also definitely want to visit all three villages in chapter 5, since they get you a guiding ring, dracoshield and two less important items.

8 hours ago, sinfonic18 said:

Idk what I missed in the villages but they were probably good. I only got like 3 hours of sleep yesterday and playing anything was a bad idea. 

The village that you start near in chapter 6 gives you an antitoxin, and saving all three villagers gets you the only non-secret shop Orion's Bolt you get in the game.

8 hours ago, sinfonic18 said:

I just didn't think it was worth using the ocean seal on him.

In my opinion, it's not. The other thief's combat stats are perfectly acceptable, and Colm really doesn't gain much from promotion aside from Pick or Lethality; he doesn't gain any movement or anything, and his stats generally won't matter that much. I will touch on this more later, though.

8 hours ago, sinfonic18 said:

Reason I asked that was because my Garcia got zero speed points on his levels from 4 to 12, so I was just considering the worst since I definitely got screwed on him. :( Even if he can't double, he's pretty strong and durable for me.

O O F

On Eirika's route, you get two speedwings, while on Ephraim's, just one. You could either put him into hero, hope he gets some speed and drop both speedwings on him, or have him commit to his role as a one-hit tank. You still have some time before you get the first Hero crest, so he can still get speed.

8 hours ago, sinfonic18 said:

Well would you recommend fighter Ross and Assassin/Rogue Colm? I personally want a pirate, but I don't want to cripple myself anymore lol.

Fighter is basically the objectively worse choice for Ross, since he gets access to promotion later, (which won't matter too much to you), loses his nifty access to water-walking, (very helpful on one quite tough map on Eirika's route) and gains worse stats on promotion to it. He makes those back with promotion to Hero, but Hero doesn't fit Ross as well as Berserker.  Even though 'Zerker only gains one point of speed upon promotion, Pirate gets one too, so Hero has the same speed as Berserker for Ross. The one advantage Fighter has over Pirate is the +1 con prior to promotion, which shouldn't matter too much to Ross, as this will be fixed upon promotion to Berserker.

As for Colm, he's not worth using as a combat unit and generally won't have much payoff for the work put in, but he can be used if you really want to. His value is from using lockpicks, and despite his solid growths, his low bases and class kinda sink his potential. Regardless, I would personally promote him to Rogue for three reasons: the first being that Lethality isn't a great skill and Rogue's combat is only slightly worse than the Assassin's, the second being that you don't have to bring the other thief along on every map with chests, and the third being it looks cooler. There is one lategame map where having both thieves is especially helpful, though.

 

 

[Shanty Pete's 1st Mate]

8 hours ago, sinfonic18 said:

Well would you recommend fighter Ross and Assassin/Rogue Colm? I personally want a pirate, but I don't want to cripple myself anymore lol.

My personal recommendation for Ross is Pirate -> Berserker. As @Benice said, the water-walking can be nifty in a couple chapters. He hits hard, and grows to have a ton of HP. While he'll never be fast, most enemies aren't fast enough to double him with an Iron Axe or Hatchet equipped. And the crit-boost from Berserker is certainly welcome.

Re: Colm, my "optimal" approach would be, use him as a Thief when he's convenient, then drop him once you get Rennac, in chapter 14. Maybe unbench Colm for chapters 15 (desert treasures) and 20 (lotta chests). Rennac comes kind of late, but I've found his combat, while lacking, to nonetheless be at least comparable to Rogue!Colm. He can be conscripted... I mean, recruited freely with L'Arachel.

That said, if you have your heart set on making Colm work in the long term, then by all means promote him. I recommend Rogue, to retain the ability to Steal. In this case, you could either do Fighter!Ross, or just drop Ross once Dozla (the Berserker) shows up.

[Shadow Mir]

10 hours ago, sinfonic18 said:

Reason I asked that was because my Garcia got zero speed points on his levels from 4 to 12, so I was just considering the worst since I definitely got screwed on him. 😞Even if he can't double, he's pretty strong and durable for me.

OOF. However... With him only having a 20% speed growth, it's not that farfetched.

10 hours ago, sinfonic18 said:

Idk what I missed in the villages but they were probably good. I only got like 3 hours of sleep yesterday and playing anything was a bad idea. 

The villages have a Dragonshield, Torch, Secret Book, and an Armorslayer. You also get a Guiding Ring if none of the villages get destroyed.

10 hours ago, sinfonic18 said:

I really wanted to train Gilliam into a General because I like using armors but he was just terribly bad and was not getting any better with growths so I dumped him. Maybe in this next run he will get luckier but for now if I was an armor I will have to use Amelia I guess. Training her though in the arena will be dang near impossible though since she is so weak sounding. Idk about using all three. Going to give Gilliam one more try. 

I would make Amelia a cavalier instead if you use her, because Knight just isn't worth it. Also, you can just use the Tower of Valni for grinding (which I would recommend if you want to use her or Ewan).

10 hours ago, sinfonic18 said:

One more tiny thing. Is Erika worth leveling? 

Being a main character, yes. Though if you go Ephraim route, she gets auto-leveled when she reappears later in the game.

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

As @Benice said, the water-walking can be nifty in a couple chapters.

You two are giving water walking far more credit than it deserves. A slow and defensively weak foot axe is the absolute last unit I'd send off without backup, which is what you're implying is a good idea.

10 hours ago, sinfonic18 said:

Well would you recommend fighter Ross and Assassin/Rogue Colm? I personally want a pirate, but I don't want to cripple myself anymore lol.

Personally, yeah.

[Benice]

4 hours ago, Shadow Mir said:

You two are giving water walking far more credit than it deserves. A slow and defensively weak foot axe is the absolute last unit I'd send off without backup, which is what you're implying is a good idea.

Taking stock of the other options, there aren't really many good ones-Promoted Falcoknight Vanessa is basically the only other unit who'll be able to deal with the pirates in 9E. As for defensively weak...He's not that bad. He has more accurate access to 1-2 range at this part compared to Vanessa, (10/1 Falcoknight Vanessa willhave 43-49 displayed hit with a javelin, will face 53-56 hit from hand axes and 65+ from the other axes and survives two-to-three hits. Comparitavely, a level 3 pirate Ross will have 79+ hit with a hatchet, face 34-37 hit from hand axes and up to 52 for iron axes and survives as many hits as Vanessa does) and actually survives better than Vanessa against those pirates, if she is using a javelin. If not, then there is no contest and Vanessa will be fine, but actually clearing the pirates will take a while.

 

Vanessa with a javelin, assuming every attack hits, will end up 2RKO'ing with a javelin.* However, this becomes a 3-or-4RKO depending on misses. Ross will 2-3RKO, or 4 if he misses, which is somewhat unlikely. He has the better chance to get the enemies in one turn, since he can just hold onto his Hatchet.

*With a sword it'll take her two turns if the enemy has a hand axe.

Basically, my point is, Ross really doesn't fare that badly. He survives pretty well, even if he's been lightly used. He can handle the water duties here while Vanessa ferries people around, such as an unpromoted Franz or Eirika to Amelia. Or Tana can do that if Vanessa hasn't been trained or has turned out poorly, as is the case for OP.

[sinfonic18]

14 hours ago, Benice said:

  Reveal hidden contents

 

It's not actually that hard, especially if you've got save states. Arenas scale to your unit's stats.

Despite its reputation, FE8 has some tough maps, especially if you're not using Seth.

You'll also definitely want to visit all three villages in chapter 5, since they get you a guiding ring, dracoshield and two less important items.

The village that you start near in chapter 6 gives you an antitoxin, and saving all three villagers gets you the only non-secret shop Orion's Bolt you get in the game.

In my opinion, it's not. The other thief's combat stats are perfectly acceptable, and Colm really doesn't gain much from promotion aside from Pick or Lethality; he doesn't gain any movement or anything, and his stats generally won't matter that much. I will touch on this more later, though.

O O F

On Eirika's route, you get two speedwings, while on Ephraim's, just one. You could either put him into hero, hope he gets some speed and drop both speedwings on him, or have him commit to his role as a one-hit tank. You still have some time before you get the first Hero crest, so he can still get speed.

Fighter is basically the objectively worse choice for Ross, since he gets access to promotion later, (which won't matter too much to you), loses his nifty access to water-walking, (very helpful on one quite tough map on Eirika's route) and gains worse stats on promotion to it. He makes those back with promotion to Hero, but Hero doesn't fit Ross as well as Berserker.  Even though 'Zerker only gains one point of speed upon promotion, Pirate gets one too, so Hero has the same speed as Berserker for Ross. The one advantage Fighter has over Pirate is the +1 con prior to promotion, which shouldn't matter too much to Ross, as this will be fixed upon promotion to Berserker.

As for Colm, he's not worth using as a combat unit and generally won't have much payoff for the work put in, but he can be used if you really want to. His value is from using lockpicks, and despite his solid growths, his low bases and class kinda sink his potential. Regardless, I would personally promote him to Rogue for three reasons: the first being that Lethality isn't a great skill and Rogue's combat is only slightly worse than the Assassin's, the second being that you don't have to bring the other thief along on every map with chests, and the third being it looks cooler. There is one lategame map where having both thieves is especially helpful, though.

 

 

That may be true but I never have any luck in the arenas. Even at a low bid, the enemies always just seem way too strong for me to handle and usually get Silver and Steel weapons while I'm stuck with a crappy iron one. Doesn't help when the enemy has a hit of 25-30 and manages to hit every single darn time lol. JUST. ONE. MISS. AND. I. WILL.- *Dead*

I agree with that. Personally, this one has been harder for me than Blazing Blade or Path of Radiance even. I mean, it's not on binding blade level hard but it's certainly not as easy as what I've played. It's a fun little challenge.

Yeah I need to save those villagers in 6. The reason I failed to do it last time is I wanted to keep Seth going west and dealing with all those enemies over there and to the north, while simultaneously not realizing that there is also a crap ton of enemies on the east where the villagers reside. I was too busy trying to kill all those and before I knew it the spider was there. Fog of War maps suck. 

I'm going to do Eirika's route first so I'll get the speedwings. If nobody else on my planned team (Lute, Artur, Ross, Neimi, Franz, Seth, Eirika and Ephraim, Tana, etc) doesn't need them, I will dump every one onto him since I don't think those aforementioned units will need it really. I may be wrong though with how RNG works against me usually.

That's also a really good statistical observation (literally) which an average player like me wouldn't think much into. I'm 90% probably going to make Ross into a pirate for that reason because everyone has stated multiple times here that that is the route to go. I'm just curious as to why SM is so against it lol. 

I'll take it into consideration but I'm pretty adamant on not promoting him especially since I want Ross (Kid berserker, I mean c'mon) I really only ever use thieves for stealing and chesting purposes but I will definitely level colm so he gets speedy enough to steal. I just don't want him to turn out to be another Matthew and completely waste the resources on him because he sounds exactly the same.
 

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

My personal recommendation for Ross is Pirate -> Berserker. As @Benice said, the water-walking can be nifty in a couple chapters. He hits hard, and grows to have a ton of HP. While he'll never be fast, most enemies aren't fast enough to double him with an Iron Axe or Hatchet equipped. And the crit-boost from Berserker is certainly welcome.

Re: Colm, my "optimal" approach would be, use him as a Thief when he's convenient, then drop him once you get Rennac, in chapter 14. Maybe unbench Colm for chapters 15 (desert treasures) and 20 (lotta chests). Rennac comes kind of late, but I've found his combat, while lacking, to nonetheless be at least comparable to Rogue!Colm. He can be conscripted... I mean, recruited freely with L'Arachel.

That said, if you have your heart set on making Colm work in the long term, then by all means promote him. I recommend Rogue, to retain the ability to Steal. In this case, you could either do Fighter!Ross, or just drop Ross once Dozla (the Berserker) shows up.

I mean I agree personally, and I probably still will make him one, but idk, I'd like to see Mir's opinion on it lol.

I asked SM this already but how does Dozla fair? I might not even give Ross the time if he is decent.

12 hours ago, Shadow Mir said:

OOF. However... With him only having a 20% speed growth, it's not that farfetched.

The villages have a Dragonshield, Torch, Secret Book, and an Armorslayer. You also get a Guiding Ring if none of the villages get destroyed.

I would make Amelia a cavalier instead if you use her, because Knight just isn't worth it. Also, you can just use the Tower of Valni for grinding (which I would recommend if you want to use her or Ewan).

Being a main character, yes. Though if you go Ephraim route, she gets auto-leveled when she reappears later in the game.

You two are giving water walking far more credit than it deserves. A slow and defensively weak foot axe is the absolute last unit I'd send off without backup, which is what you're implying is a good idea.

Personally, yeah.

Yeaaaah.... 20% for me in FE is more like 0% lol. Yes it's low, but there is still a chance for it to happen for most people lol. He did get a ton of strength, skill and luck level ups though. 

And yeah, ugh. I'm definitely going to have to pay more attention and slow down with that map. I'm back on Ch 4 now, so tomorrow I'll make sure to do it better.

@Benice said it would be fine to make her a General, since I didn't want to cav spam the game. Idk if she is worth it at all no matter what the class she is in because her growths looking at them are, ew. Her base stats wouldn't be so bad if she had amazing growths but... 

Oof well I'm getting mixed messages here. xD How about this. Is the other Berserker you get in the game that is prepromoted any good? Because I could just use him and have Ross be a fighter/Warrior/Hero. I don't like prepromotes but like seth and titania I'll give this one an exception.