Matrimonial Mondays, Week 9: Summary

[Shanty Pete's 1st Mate]

Chapter 4: Silvia

Silvia joins during Chapter 2, “Crisis in Agustria”. After Heirhein Castle is seized by Sigurd’s army, she shows up, alongside Lewyn, out of a village in the north part of the map. The villages in the forest region are under attack by bandits, so Lewyn comes to their aid, with Silvia tagging along. After handling the bandit threat, these two join up with Sigurd’s army, and make their way into the pages of history.

Silvia joins as a level 1 Dancer. The Dancer class was introduced in introduced in Mystery of the Emblem, with Phina filling the role. In that game, and most games thereafter, a Dancer is able to refresh one ally per turn, letting them take another action. But Genealogy of the Holy War is not “most games”. In this game, the Dance command applies to all adjacent allies, meaning Silvia can refresh as many as four units in one turn. Think of how useful your Dancer is in any other game, and then multiply that by four – that’s how good they are in this game.

Silvia joins with the class-linked Dance skill, as well as the personal skills, Adept and Miracle. Adept is nice for dealing extra damage, but it’s hardly reliable. Miracle, on the other hand, is key to getting her through the Arena. Subtract her current HP value from 11 and multiply by 10, and that’s how much extra Avoid she gets. By gaining so much Avoid at single-digit HP that she becomes untouchable, she can fell even the fiercest foes with a “death by a thousand cuts”. Silvia shows up with a Slim Sword and 5000 Gold. She is only able to wield C-rank Swords, which doesn’t sound great, but most interesting swords (magic swords, Thief Sword, Shield Sword) will still be available to her. She comes with minor Bragi Holy Blood, which affects her growths, but does not impact her weapon ranks. Silvia does not promote – even if she reaches level 20 and beyond, the option never becomes available to her. Her stats, including bases, growths, and Dancer caps, are as follows:

Spoiler

 

HP: 28 + 0.50x / 80

Str: 3 + 0.10x / 18

Mag: 0 + 0.30x / 15

Skl: 4 + 0.10x / 16

Spd: 12 + 0.10x / 22

Lck: 6 + 0.30x / 30

Def: 1 + 0.10x / 16

Res: 5 + 0.40x / 18

Mov: 6

 

As you can see, not that impressive. She joins barely dealing double-digit damage, and with a Strength growth so low, there are plenty of enemies who can expect to take 1 damage per hit (the minimum) from her. Silvia’s caps are pretty typical of an unpromoted unit, and with no chance to promote, she can’t expect any kind of bump to her combat potential. Needless to say, on the field of battle, her principal strength will be in her Dancing, which grants 10 EXP every time it is used. As for the Arena, her best bet is to fall down to Miracle range, then nick her foe to death with an Iron Sword. Of course, she has to dip into her earnings to repair her sword after almost every battle, too. 6 movement puts her on-par with most other infantry units, but movement is tough to look at when considering partners for a Dancer, for two reasons. The first is an innate quality of the Dancer class: the Dance command. Generally, when Silvia ends her turn, she’ll refresh all those around her. So, unless they’re traveling a short distance and can Canto back, they won’t end their turn adjacent to her. The second is a prized equippable in this game: the Leg Ring. Granting its bearer 3 extra points of movement, this item is desirable for any and all units. But Silvia may just be the best user of it – a 9-move Silvia can reach many more spots, and thereby enable many more Dance strategies, than a 6-move Silvia. In that situation, infantry units will have a tougher time keeping up with her than her cavalry counterparts.

Silvia has two children: a daughter named Lene, and a son named Coirpre. If she dies during the first generation, or is not paired with anyone, these characters will be replaced by Laylea and Charlot, respectively.

Lene joins in chapter 7, “Beyond the Desert”, after Dahna Castle has been seized. Earlier in the chapter, she is introduced as a companion to the knight Ares. After Seliph’s army defeats Ishtore and seizes Melgen Castle, Ares departs Dahna Castle alongside his boss, Javarro, as enemy units. However, upon learning of Bramsel’s ill designs on Lene, Ares defects to the player’s army. Once Seliph has seized Dahna Castle, Ares can visit it, and Lene will become available as a playable unit. From here on out, she will provide support to Seliph and his army as a Dancer.

Lene joins as a level 3 Dancer. I covered the strengths of the Dancer class above, and don’t see any need to repeat myself. Lene comes with the Adept and Miracle skills by default, as well as minor Bragi holy blood. She can use C-rank Swords, and she inherits items and gold from her mother. Additionally, she can inherit holy blood and skills from her father. As a Dancer, Lene will not promote. Here is an example of Lene’s stats, arbitrarily assuming Naoise as a “control” father, including roughly average bases, growths, and Dancer caps:

Spoiler

 

HP: 27 + 0.90x / 80

Str: 4 + 0.30x / 18

Mag: 1 + 0.32x / 15

Skl: 2 + 0.25x / 16

Spd: 8 + 0.20x / 22

Lck: 6 + 0.40x / 30

Def: 1 + 0.30x / 16

Res: 4 + 0.42x / 18

Mov: 6

 

As a unit, Lene functions as something of a “Silvia 2.0”. She has a better start, not only joining earlier in her respective generation, and at a higher level, but also being able to inherit weapons and valuable or useful items. Her base stats are very close to Silvia’s own, while her growths will generally be better. She will do better in HP, and with a physical father, her physical combat stats will surpass those of her mother, while her magical stats will be around the same. That said, with low bases and no buff from promotion, her stats will never reach the high marks of your dedicated combat units. Her father’s identity can have an effect on her skills, holy blood, and growths, which somewhat impact how she plays. In any case, her best chance to get gold will be to abuse Miracle to succeed in the Arena. Still, like her mother, she may have to deal with frequently breaking her weapon.

Coirpre, also known as “Corpul”, is introduced in Chapter 9, “For Whose Sake”. He is the adoptive son of Hannibal, a revered Thracian general. When Seliph seizes Meath Castle, however, Travant fears that Hannibal may defect. To force Hannibal’s hand, he kidnaps Coirpre, and places him in the custody of General Distler, who guards Luthecia Castle. If Seliph seizes Luthecia Castle, and Hannibal is still alive, then Coirpre will join Seliph’s army. Note that, for this to happen, Hannibal must have not been defeated in battle, nor must his home castle, Kapathogia, be seized. After Coirpre has joined, he can speak with Hannibal to turn the “Shield of Thracia” to the player’s side as well.

Coirpre joins as a level 1 Priest. He joins with minor Bragi holy blood, along with the Adept and Miracle skills inherited from his mother. Thanks to his holy blood, he can use A-rank Staves from his time of joining. He joins with a Physic staff, and can inherit items, other staves, and gold from his father. He can also inherit additional skills and holy blood from his father. Unlike his mother and sister, Coirpre can promote: from level 20 onward, he can promote to the High Priest class. This does not affect his Staff rank, but gives him access to C-rank Fire, Thunder, and Wind tomes. It also bolsters his stats, but not his movement, and provides him no additional skills. Here is an example of Coirpre’s stats, assuming Naoise as the “control” father, including roughly average bases, growths, Priest caps, promotion bonuses, and High Priest caps:

Spoiler

 

HP: 27 + 1.10x / 80, + 0 / 80

Str: 2 + 0.45x / 15, + 0 / 15

Mag: 7 + 0.25x / 22, + 5 / 27

Skl: 7 + 0.35x / 21, + 3 / 24

Spd: 7 + 0.25x / 21, + 2 / 23

Lck: 6 + 0.40x / 30, + 0 / 30

Def: 2 + 0.45x / 16, + 2 / 18

Res: 7 + 0.35x / 22, + 1 / 23

Mov: 5, + 0

 

Coirpre, in a sense, can be seen as a second-generation analogue of Claud. He joins relatively late in the game, predominantly in a staff support role. Unlike Claud, however, he joins at a low level, with no ability to participate in the Arena. His starting stats are quite low, and with a physical father, his Magic won’t fare very well. His physical bulk will grow decently well, while his Speed and Skill will be variable. With a low joining level, he’ll want to start spamming staves, and gaining experience quite quickly. Since he can’t Arena, he’ll need to rely on his inheritance or support from a Thief to get valuable staves. The sooner he promotes, the sooner he can enter the Arena, and gain gold to buy or repair staves. His combat effectiveness will be variable, but perpetual 5 move limits his potential utility in the field.

So, how do the potential fathers stack up? Who is the best partner for Silvia, and father for Lene and Coirpre? Well, let’s take a look.

i. Naoise

Spoiler

 

Naoise and Silvia start with 0 love points together, and gain 3 per turn. They have no notable conversations together. Naoise has cavalry-type movement, which may or may not match up well with Silvia’s own movement.

From this pairing, Lene receives the Accost and Critical skills. Accost can help or hurt her, as it may leave her more vulnerable to enemies, such as ballisticians. Critical is hardly reliable, but it may help her cut down on time grinding in the Arena. She receives no additional holy blood from this pairing. As for her stats, I’ve covered them above. Her bases are pretty poor, with decent growths in most areas, but bad bases and no promotion bonuses. Of course, she’ll rely on weapon and item inheritance from her mother.

As for Coirpre, he also receives the Accost and Critical skills. These generally aren’t useful to him – until he promotes, Accost can only hurt him. Upon promotion, these skills can be of use, albeit not in a reliable manner. He receives no holy blood from this pairing. I listed the stats above – again, poor bases, especially for his join time, and lackluster Magic – and unlike his sister, some promotion gains. Since Naoise cannot wield staves, he cannot pass them down, with a couple possible exceptions: the Sleep Staff dropped by Clement, and the Physic Staff dropped by Chagall. Of course, to acquire either of them requires Naoise to get the kill, which might not be reliable to set up.

Rating: C. Naoise does not pass down particularly good skills, and Accost is arguably to the detriment of both children. The physically-oriented growths don’t especially benefit Coirpre, although better physical bulk is of some use. Critical can be nice for Lene to win in the Arena without totally depleting her weapon, though. All told, however, this doesn’t give much of use to either kid.

 

ii. Alec

Spoiler

 

Alec and Silvia start with 0 love points together, and gain 3 per turn. They have a conversation together in chapter 2, after Anphony Castle is seized. Alec can speak to Silvia, and the pair will gain 100 love points together. If they are married, they will also have a conversation in chapter 5, after seizing Phinora Castle, but nothing comes of it. Alec has cavalry-type movement, which may or may not match up well with Silvia’s own movement.

With Alec as her father, Lene will acquire the Pursuit and Nihil skills. Pursuit isn’t as essential to her as it is to other units, but it can hasten her Arena-ing somewhat. As for Nihil, it is fairly niche, but can provide security in the rare scenario in which she may be faced by an enemy with combat skills. She will not gain any holy blood from this pairing. As stats go, she will not differ substantially from the control.

Coirpre receives the same skills from Alec. Pursuit will be of no use before promotion, while Nihil’s utility will, again, occur rarely at best. Still, when he promotes, Pursuit will help him in the Arena, even without relying on Miracle strats. As stats go, relative to the control, Coirpre will have less HP, Strength, and Defense, but more Skill, Speed, and Luck. Like Naoise, Alec cannot use Staves, so his ability to pass them down will be limited.

Rating: A. With their chapter 2 conversation, this pairing is pretty easy to set up, whether or not Silvia uses the Leg Ring. Even if combat doesn’t really matter for these kids outside of the Arena, Pursuit is still nice to have. Nihil is a decent asset, albeit a niche one. The better Speed and Luck on Coirpre are nice, even before he promotes, particularly in tandem with Miracle. It’s a good pairing all-around, even if it doesn’t leave either child as “amazing”.

 

iii. Arden

Spoiler

 

Arden and Silvia start with 0 love points together, and gain 3 per turn. They have no notable conversations together. Since Arden has less movement than Silvia, it will be hard to keep them adjacent, excepting cases where Silvia continually dances for Arden.

Lene gets the Vantage skill if Arden is her father. This will not be of any notable use for her, since Miracle will be enough to get her through the Arena, while she’s unlikely to one-shot any enemies in the field. She will not inherit any holy blood from this pairing. As stats go, she will not inherit significantly different growths from the control, outside of lower Skill.

Like his sister, Coirpre will inherit the Vantage skill from Arden, which will not be of any use until he promotes. Even then, it will be niche, although it may help him against faster Arena enemies. His father cannot pass down any Staves, unless he gets an enemy drop, which is unlikely. As for stats, his HP and Strength will be better than the control, while his Skill and Luck will be lower.

Rating: C. There is little reason to go for this pairing. Vantage is of little benefit to either child. While the Strength is nice on Lene, it is useless on Coirpre, and both kids will suffer from low Skill and Speed. Their physical bulk will still be good, admittedly. But it’s hard to keep Silvia far enough on the back lines to make this a realistic pairing.

 

iv. Azelle

Spoiler

 

Azelle and Silvia start with 0 love points together, and gain 3 per turn. They have no notable conversations together. Since Azelle has less movement than her before he promotes, it may be difficult for him to keep pace with Silvia.

Lene will inherit the Pursuit skill with Azelle as her father. This will help cut down Arena tedium somewhat, while also make her more competent during the rare in-field battle. Her minor Fjalar holy blood won’t affect her weapon ranks, but it will impact her growths. She’ll have much better Magic (65%) and Speed (35%) than usual, but her Strength (15%) and Defense (20%) will suffer. In theory, the boosted magic can help with magic swords, but do note that she can’t do magical damage in the Arena.

As for Coirpre, he also gets the Pursuit skill, which is of no use to him until he promotes. Still, minor Fjalar holy blood is a solid benefit to him, as after he promotes, it will enable him to wield the Elfire tome. It affects his stats, too: compared to the control, he’ll have less HP, Strength, Skill, and Defense, but significantly more Magic and Speed. Speed helps with Miracle thresholds (and combat, post-promotion), while the Magic boost means he’ll heal more with standard staves, and potentially even become effective with status staves. Unfortunately, despite his father’s magical proclivities, Azelle cannot use staves, limiting what he can pass down to Coirpre.

Rating: B. This pairing isn’t particularly easy to set up, especially before Azelle promotes (which usually comes late). Still, it’s one of the better pairings for Coirpre, giving him more Magic and Speed than he could otherwise expect, alongside Elfire for better combat upon promotion. As for Lene, she gets little out of it aside from the Pursuit skill, but she can still use Miracle to trivialize the Arena.

 

v. Lex

Spoiler

 

Lex and Silvia start with 0 love points together, and gain 3 per turn. They have no notable conversations together. Lex has cavalry-type movement, which may or may not make it difficult for him to stay adjacent to Silvia.

If Lex is the father of Lene, she will get the Paragon and Vantage skills. Vantage won’t be useful to her very often, since she’s not one-shotting any foes. Paragon, however, is a game-changer. Where she gained 10 EXP every time she Danced normally, now she gets 20 EXP. Instead of gaining a level every 10 turns, now it’s happening every 5 turns. Think about it – let’s assume a ranked run, where you spend 200 turns in the second generation. And 50 turns pass before you recruit Lene. In that case, she’ll have 150 turns to gain 15 levels in the field, putting her at level 18. This means 12 more levels to gain in the Arena. That’s doable, even without Paragon, but it often conflicts with her Dancing duties (as in, she gets knocked out of the Arena, then has to wait several turns on a castle to get her HP up to the right point for Miracle shenanigans). With Paragon, she’ll have no trouble capping her level, regardless of how much Arena-ing she does. She’ll also get minor Neir holy blood, which impacts her growths: her HP (105%) and Defense (50%) will climb, while other stats will not differ significantly from control. More physical bulk can be a double-edged sword - in the Arena, attacks that previously knocked her into a safe Miracle range may now be 2HKOs. On the flip side, previous comfortable 2HKOs may know become something she can survive, ending up in Miracle territory.

With Lex as his father, Coirpre will also receive the Paragon and Vantage skills. Vantage is of no use before his promotion, and niche at best afterward. On the flip side, Paragon is the single-best skill he could receive. Joining at level 1, in chapter 9, means he has less than 3 full chapters to gain 29 levels, without the benefit of the Arena (until he promotes). That’s a huge obstacle, but with Paragon, it becomes much more achievable. The Physic Staff, which previously gave him 35 EXP per casting, now grants him 70 EXP. Warp, which normally would give him 60 EXP, now grants him a full level every time (even with Paragon, he can’t gain more than 100 EXP at a time). And while other units can buy the Paragon ring, it’s not like an unpromoted Coirpre has a way to get enough money to make that a realistic option. Minor Neir holy blood affects his growths, too – he will have more HP and Defense, but less Skill than the control. Since Lex can only wield Axes, he probably won’t be passing down any Staves. But, with the Paragon skill, Lex tends to end up rich, so he can pass down an expensive equippable to help Coirpre afford more Staves.

Rating: A. This pairing certainly isn’t an obvious one, and it’s not one the game hands you on a silver platter. However, Paragon is incredible on these kids. Sure, it’s good on any kids, but compared to Coirpre, all other kids A) start at a higher level, B) have more time to gain levels, and/or C) can use the Arena to make money and buy the Paragon band. If you want Coirpre to promote as soon as possible, Lex is your man. As for Lene, it gives her more “breathing room” to gain the needed EXP, while also bolstering her stats with quicker level-ups. The extra Defense may seem a waste on these Miracle kids who never expect to see combat outside the Arena, but it can come in handy sometimes. An odd pairing, to be sure, but especially in the context of a ranked run, it’s one of the best these kids can get.

 

vi. Finn

Spoiler

 

Finn and Silvia start with 0 love points together, and gain 3 per turn. They have no notable conversations together. As a mounted unit, it may be difficult to keep Finn adjacent to Silvia. This is especially important to achieve this pairing, as Finn departs at the end of chapter 3.

From this pairing, Lene receives the Pursuit skill. This helps her in combat, although as usual, she will rely on Miracle for most Arena clears. In terms of growths, relative to the control, she will have more Luck, while no other stats will differ significantly. This Luck boost helps her Avoid, and gives her higher Miracle thresholds.

Coirpre also receives the Pursuit skill out of this pairing. Of course, this will be of no benefit until he promotes. His growths will be affected slightly more than his sister’s – relative to control, he’ll have less HP, Strength, and Defense, but more Skill, Speed, and particularly Luck. The Luck and Speed aid his Avoid and gives him a higher Miracle threshold. Unfortunately, Finn can only wield Lances, so he is unlikely to be able to pass down any Staves to Coirpre. Moreover, passing down anything of value means going without it in chapters 4 through 8. Finally, Finn will start chapter 7 with only an Iron Lance.

Rating: C. This pairing is rather tricky to set up, since Finn and Silvia have little time together. And it doesn’t do much unique for either kid, aside from higher Luck than usual. Pursuit is nice, but other parents offer it too, and Finn’s Miracle skill is redundant on these kids. This pairing really isn’t worth losing his Lances over.

 

vii. Midir

Spoiler

 

Midir and Silvia start with 0 love points together, and gain 3 points per turn. They have no notable conversations together. As a mounted unit, Midir may or may not have trouble staying adjacent to the footlocked Silvia.

If Midir is her father, Lene will inherit the Pursuit and Accost skills. Pursuit is a nice boon to her combat, but Accost may make her more susceptible to enemy Ballisticians, among others. As for stats, he only significant variations from the norm are more Speed and less HP. The higher Speed can be of some aid to her Avoid, and thereby Miracle thresholds.

As for Coirpre, he also receives the Pursuit and Accost skill. Pursuit will only benefit him after promotion, while Accost can only harm him beforehand. Compared to the control, he’ll have quite a bit more Speed, but less HP, Strength, Skill, Luck, and Defense. As a Bow-user, Midir cannot pass his weapons down to Coirpre, and he will probably not have any Staves to pass along.

Rating: C. This pairing isn’t very good for either kid. Pursuit is nice for Lene, but it’s not essential to make it through the Arena. Accost is much more likely to hurt either child than to help them. They will appreciate the increased Speed, but most of their other stats will suffer for it. As usual, Midir cannot be expected to pass down any items of value to his son.

 

viii. Dew

Spoiler

 

Dew and Silvia start with 0 love points together, and gain 3 per turn. As an infantry unit with 6 move, an unpromoted Dew can match Silvia step-for-step. That may change, however, in light of his promotion, and the possibility of Silvia getting the Leg Ring.

As a sword infantry unit, Lene is among the select few children able to inherit the Sol skill. This offers her a (Skill)% chance of restoring HP equal to the damage she deals – great, right? When we look at her other skills, however, we run into a problem: Miracle. In order to trivialize the Arena via Miracle, Lene needs to fall to, and stay at, a low HP value. Sol, however, compromises this. Every point of HP she gains back while in Miracle range, is 10 points of Avoid she loses. Hardly a winning trade. That is not to say she cannot win in the Arena with Dew as her father, but it’ll be more RNG-dependent than usual. And it’s a shame, too – the Bargain skill she gets is great for repairing her weapon, or getting useful items like the Leg Ring and Knight Ring. It’s a shame it comes packed in with a skill that compromises her ability to make money. In terms of growths, Lene will do worse in HP, but better in Speed and Luck, than usual.

With Dew as his father, Coirpre also receives the coveted Bargain skill. This is great for him, as he has no way of gaining money in the Arena. Now he’ll have a much easier time repairing his Physic Staff and buying new Staves, although he will still appreciate a “nest egg” from his father, and/or a gift of Gold from Patty. As stats go, his HP will be quite a bit lower, while his Skill, Speed, and Luck will all do better than the control. This should synergize with his Miracle skill. Unfortunately, Coirpre cannot inherit his father’s Swords, and Dew cannot pass down Staves, outside of a very unlikely enemy drop.

Rating: B. This isn’t the hardest pairing to set up, and Silvia may enjoy receiving gold from Dew if she wants to buy the Leg Ring. Then again, it can be tricky to keep them together, if Silvia is aiding your main force while Dew is on his own money-making missions (i.e. harassing enemy Brigands with 5K gold). The Bargain skill is excellent on both kids, since they have a hard time making money, particularly Coirpre. Unfortunately in Lene, while the Sol skill is flashy, it actually gives her a harder time in the Arena. Not the best partnership for anyone involved, but the benefit of Bargain is always considerable.

 

ix. Jamke

Spoiler

 

Jamke and Silvia start with 0 love points together, and gain 3 per turn. As an infantry unit with 6 move, before and after promotion, Jamke will usually not have trouble keeping close to Silvia.

If Jamke is her father, Lene will inherit the Accost skill. At the risk of repeating myself, this generally isn’t to her benefit. Jamke passes down Adept as well, but Lene already has the skill through her mother. Looking at her stats, her Skill will be lower than the control, but her Luck will do better.

As for Coirpre, he also inherits Accost, which can only hurt him up until promotion. As stats go, his HP, Strength, Speed, and Luck will be better than usual, while his Skill and Defense will suffer for it. Since Jamke uses Bows and not Staves, he will probably not pass down anything of use to Coirpre.

Rating: C. There’s not much to say about this pairing. It’s not that hard to set up, unless you bolster Lene’s movement with the Leg Ring. But there’s very little to recommend in it. Accost generally hurts both children, while Adept is redundant. Boosted Speed and Luck is nice, but bad Skill worsens Lene’s hit rates, potentially inducing more tedium in the Arena.

 

x. Chulainn

Spoiler

 

Chulainn and Silvia have 0 love points together, and gain 3 per turn. As an infantry unit with 6 move, before and after promotion, Chulainn will usually not have trouble keeping close to Silvia.

If Chulainn is her father, Lene receives two unique benefits: the Luna skill, and B-rank Swords. Unlike Sol, Luna will never undermine her Miracle strats, and can cut down on tedium and lessen the need to repair weapons. She will upgrade to B-rank Swords via minor Od holy blood that Chulainn passes on. This gives her access to the Brave Sword, as well as effective weapons like the Armorslayer. Her combat still won’t be much to cheer about, and she can only inherit C-rank Swords from her mother regardless. However, it does make her a more competent offensive unit than any other pairing. Compared to the control, her HP and Skill will be much better, while no other stats differ much.

Looking at Coirpre, he does not inherit any skills from Chulainn. While minor Od holy blood affects his growths, it will not impact his weapon ranks, as he cannot wield Swords. Speaking of growths, he will have a whopping 140% in HP and 85% in Skill, while 35% Speed will be a bit higher than control, while 35% Strength and 35% Defense are on the lower side. Since Chulainn only uses Swords, he is unlikely to have any Staves to pass down to Coirpre.

Rating: B. This pairing is predominantly of benefit to Lene, giving her two neat tools in Luna and B-rank Sword access. These are great for her combat, although she’ll still remain a support unit at heart. The HP boost is generally nice for both units in the field of battle, but in the Arena, it may actually give them a harder time getting into Miracle range. It’s a pairing worth considering, if only for the niche of how it improves Lene.

 

xi. Beowolf

Spoiler

 

Beowolf and Silvia start with 0 love points together, and they gain 3 points per turn. They have no notable conversations together. As a mounted unit, Beowolf may have trouble staying adjacent to Silvia.

As the daughter of Beowolf, Lene will inherit the Accost and Pursuit skills. Again, Accost will generally hurt her, but Pursuit can cut out tedium in the Arena. None of her growths will vary significantly from the control.

If Coirpre is Beowolf’s son, he will also inherit Accost and Pursuit. Accost is entirely to his detriment before promotion, while Pursuit can help in the Arena once he promotes. As growths go, he will do better in Skill and Speed, but worse in Defense, than the control. As a sword-locked unit, Beowolf will not likely have any Staves to pass down to Coirpre.

Rating: C. Once again, Accost is not in these childrens’ interest. Pursuit is nice, but not essential. Beowolf and Silvia start close to each other, which is kind of nice, but it won’t necessarily be convenient to keep them together. There’s nothing about this pairing that stands out in a good way.

 

xii. Lewyn

Spoiler

 

Lewyn and Silvia start with 200 love points together, and gain 2 points per turn. In chapter 4, Silvia has a secret conversation with Erinys, by standing next to her before Tofa Castle is seized. This grants 50 love points between Lewyn and Silvia, but also 25 love points between Lewyn and Erinys. If they are married, they will also have a conversation together in chapter 5, after seizing Phinora Castle, but nothing comes of it. Lewyn will have similar movement to Silvia, so it will not be difficult to keep them together.

If Lene is a princess of Silesse, she will inherit the Critical skill. Lewyn also passes down Adept, but this is redundant, as she already inherited it from her mother. The Critical skill can help her make it through the Arena more quickly, although she will still depend on Miracle. Minor Sety holy blood will affect her stats. She’ll excel in Speed, and have better Magic than usual, but at the detriment to his Strength and Defense. There is one conversation of note: Seliph can interact with Lene after Rados Castle is seized in Chapter 10. This initiates a conversation with Lewyn, who grants +5 Defense to his daughter.

With Lewyn as his father, Coirpre will also inherit the Critical skill, although this is of no use to him until he promotes. From that point on, however, it can help his combat. A bigger deal, though, is his inheritance of Major Sety holy blood, along with the Forseti tome. He cannot use it until he promotes, but when that happens, he will be an offensive force to be reckoned with. Admittedly, his late jointime and low movement means he makes less of an impact than the other Forseti candidates. In terms of his stats, he will excel in Speed with a 95% growth, and his HP (120%), Magic (50%), and Skill (45%) will be strong as well. His Strength (15%) and Defense (25%), however, will fall much below the norm. Assuming Lewyn promotes to Sage, he will be able to use B-rank Staves, which he can then pass down to Coirpre. This includes options like Recover, Warp, and the status Staves, which Coirpre can either use for experience or sell as a “nest egg”.

Rating: A. In some contexts, this is considered a “trap pairing”. Starting nearby each other, with a high love value, it’s easy for new players to pair them together without even trying. This blocks the player from a pairing such as Lewyn x Tailtiu or Lewyn x Erinys, which grants much earlier access to Forseti in the second generation. Still, this pairing is by no means a bad one. It’s one of only two that can give Staves to Coirpre, as well as giving him more formidable combat than any other father. Lene will see her Strength compromised, but Critical can help her deal more damage regardless, while her chapter 10 conversation with Lewyn will shore up her poor Defense. As “marriages of convenience” go, these two could certainly do a lot worse than each other.

 

xiii. Claud

Spoiler

 

Claud and Silvia start with 190 love points together, and gain 1 point per turn. In chapter 4, Silvia can talk to Claud after Tofa Castle is seized. This will award 100 love points to the pair. Silvia can speak to him in chapter 5 after seizing Phinora Castle, but nothing will come of it. Since Claud has only 5 movement, it may be difficult to keep him adjacent to Silvia, especially if she receives the Leg Ring.

Lene does not receive any skills from this pairing. She will, however, have a change of holy blood. I said before that Ayra x Chulainn is unique among pairings, in that its members share a holy blood type. That’s not quite accurate, however, as Claud and Silvia both have Bragi holy blood. With Claud as her father, Lene inherits Major Bragi holy blood. This does not affect her weapon ranks, but majorly impacts her growths. She will have much more Magic, Luck, and Resistance than the control, but less Strength and Defense. This increased Resistance can help in the Arena against magical opponents, while also opening up more possibilities in the last two chapters, where siege tomes and status staves predominate.

Coirpre, likewise, gets no new skills from Claud. However, he also inherits major Bragi holy blood. This bumps his staff rank up to *, and lets him use the Valkyrie Staff that he inherits. It won’t be of much use to him, admittedly, assuming a ranked run. Still, having Claud as his father means he can inherit any Staff, such as Fortify or one of the status staves. As growths go, his Luck and Resistance will excel in particular, while his Magic and Speed will be pretty solid, too. However, compared to the control, his HP, Strength, Skill, and Defense will all fall short. High Magic makes him more effective with staves (and tomes, after promotion), while his Resistance helps him in the final two chapters.

Rating: *. With their high starting point and convenient conversation, it’s not hard at all to get these two hitched, despite their difference in movement. With the ability to pass down any staff, Claud sets up Coirpre to be as strong a staff support unit as possible, even if his combat may not impress. Lene will, as usual, rely on Miracle in the Arena. However, the boost to Resistance helps both kids, especially in the lategame, where magical threats abound. This pairing comes at the intersection of effectiveness and convenience, and leaves both kids primed to perform.

 

xiv. Summary

So, how do all of Silvia’s potential partners stack up? Let’s review!

*: Claud

A: Alec, Lex, Lewyn

B: Azelle, Dew, Chulainn

C: Naoise, Arden, Finn, Midir, Jamke, Beowolf

For once, more pairings are in C than in B! Still, I don’t regret any of the placements – there are a lot of fathers who aren’t convenient to set up, and provide little helpful to either child. Perhaps it’s because of how uniquely these two play, and how unimportant their field combat is relative to other child units?

In any case, let me know what you think! Was I fair with my ratings, or do you think I’ve made a mistake anywhere? One more thing: this is a particularly popular pairing to skip, and to go for the substitutes instead. My plan is to consider the substitutes in their own special, and give them a rating respective to the potential child units. This will happen after I have reviewed all the child units. Look forward to it!

Edited February 22, 2022 by Shanty Pete's 1st Mate
Formatting.

[AnonymousSpeed]

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

One more thing: this is a particularly popular pairing to skip, and to go for the substitutes instead.

Yeah, I was gonna say that Charlot and Laylea are probably meta. Doesn't Charlot get free paragon? Seems like a pretty good reward for refraining from child marriage.

Edited February 8, 2022 by AnonymousSpeed

[Dark Holy Elf]

Being able to pass down the Leg Ring directly to your dancer instead of making Laylea buy it seems like a pretty big advantage to getting Lene to me. Though I guess some there's a case that you should pass the Leg Ring down to someone in C6 (Seliph being the prime candidate) so it has a user in Chapter 6 and move it over later regardless. Depends on how people feel about the money economy in early part 2 I guess.

Not much else to add. Claud makes sense as the * choice for all that I feel like this is one of the least impactful pairing choices in the game.

[Shanty Pete's 1st Mate]

On 2/8/2022 at 12:41 AM, AnonymousSpeed said:

Yeah, I was gonna say that Charlot and Laylea are probably meta. Doesn't Charlot get free paragon? Seems like a pretty good reward for refraining from child marriage.

Yep, Charlot gets Paragon - and he receives the otherwise-unobtainable Berserk Staff. I've never acquired it, but it seems like it could enable some fun strats. If nothing else, he can sell it for 15K and buy the Recover Staff.

As for Laylea, she gets the Charm skill, which isn't available to Lene. This lets her provide additional support. She can also acquire the Barrier Blade, which boosts Resistance while equipped. Unfortunately, no Miracle gives her a much tougher time in the Arena than Lene - she can use the Miracle Sword as a substitute, but that may not be cost-effective.

10 hours ago, Dark Holy Elf said:

Being able to pass down the Leg Ring directly to your dancer instead of making Laylea buy it seems like a pretty big advantage to getting Lene to me. Though I guess some there's a case that you should pass the Leg Ring down to someone in C6 (Seliph being the prime candidate) so it has a user in Chapter 6 and move it over later regardless. Depends on how people feel about the money economy in early part 2 I guess.

Not much else to add. Claud makes sense as the * choice for all that I feel like this is one of the least impactful pairing choices in the game.

I typically pass down the Leg Ring to Lene - it's excellent on Silvia, and it's most convenient to just leave it on her. Still, in the context of a ranked run, I have to imagine letting Seliph inherit it to be the "optimal" play. Bumping up from 6 move to 9 move means he can get to each castle in two-thirds the time (having to slow down in light of enemy distribution notwithstanding). Lene may appreciate the Knight Ring (either to use, or to sell for the Leg Ring), but even there, there's an argument for Seliph to get it (essentially becoming Sigurd 2.0, even before he promotes).

Would you believe I was considering Lex for the * position? Paragon is easily the most impactful skill on Coirpre, and the most convenient way to get him to promotion without feeding him a bunch of Civilians in chapter 10. And while it's not essential for getting Lene to max level, it does make the process much more convenient. Still, it's no easier to set up than any of the other mounted pairings, since Lex is often fighting on the frontlines. And he can only pass down enemy-dropped staves and a "nest egg" item, versus Claude passing down whichever staves he feels like. In any case, these pairings don't hugely change how the kids play.

[Shanty Pete's 1st Mate]

Chapter 5: Erinys

Erinys joins during Chapter 2, “Crisis in Agustria”. Early in the chapter, she and her comrades meet with King Chagall, who “informs” her that Prince Lewyn has been taken captive by Sigurd in Evans Castle. Once Sigurd’s army has seized Castle Anphony, she leads her fellow Pegasus Knights to Evans Castle, attempting to rescue the Prince. Once Lewyn gets a chance to speak with her, however, he disabuses her of this notion. Having learned that Chagall has deceived her, she chooses to join forces with Sigurd, eventually bringing Lewyn back to his homeland of Silesse, and ultimately seeing Sigurd through to the Battle of Belhalla.

Erinys joins as a level 6 Pegasus Knight. She comes with a Slim Lance, and a hefty 8,000 Gold. Uniquely among potential mothers, she has no Holy Blood. However, her starting ranks are still very strong, with B in Swords and Lances alike. She comes with the Pursuit skill, which goes a huge way toward her combat viability. Do note, however, that as a flier, she is weak to Bows, Ballistae, and the Wing Clipper. Beginning at level 20, she can promote to Falcon Knight. This ups her Sword and Lance Ranks to A, while also giving her access to C-rank Staves. What’s more, she gains the Adept skill. Her stats, including bases, growths, Pegasus Knight caps, promotion bonuses, and Falcon Knight caps, are as follows:

Spoiler

 

HP: 32 + 0.50x / 80, + 0 / 80

Str: 11 + 0.20x / 22, + 0 / 22

Mag: 1 + 0.10x / 15, + 7 / 22

Skl: 12 + 0.20x / 22, + 3 / 25

Spd: 18 + 0.30x / 27, + 3 / 30

Lck: 7 + 0.20x / 30, + 0 / 30

Def: 9 + 0.30x / 20, + 1 / 21

Res: 9 + 0.10x / 22, + 5 / 27

Mov: 8, + 0

 

Plenty of hay has been made about fliers in Genealogy of the Holy War, to the point that they’re popularly considered to be at their worst point in the series here. Perhaps so: the Rescue command doesn’t exist, there are no ledges to easily traverse, and unlike cavalry, they can’t take advantage of reduced terrain cost from Road tiles. But whether or not they’re worse than in other games, doesn’t tell us specifically how good they are in this game. While Erinys can’t take advantage of Road terrain costs or avoid boosts from forest or mountain tiles, flying mobility lets her reach places no one else can. In chapter 3, for instance, she can fly to the Bragi peninsula, to aid the trio who find themselves trapped out there. And in chapter 5, she’s uniquely able to reach and defeat the Meteor Mages, giving her allies less to worry about.

More to the point of her combat potential, Erinys is very much a case of “high bases, low growths”. With no Holy Blood to call her own, she’ll average just under 2 stat growths per level-up. But she’s still starting from a pretty good place – in particular, 18 Speed with a 6-weight Slim Lance means she’s doubling just about any conceivable enemy. And with B-rank in both Swords and Lances, either the Brave Sword or the Brave Lance are options for her. Even if she isn’t bringing these into the field, they can help her clear the Arena comfortably. Her physical bulk is nothing special, but she’ll be one of your better units to deal with magical enemies. As for her promotion, the biggest boost is to her Magic, making her more effective with magical weapons and Staves. Speaking of Staves, once Ethlyn leaves, if you want a mounted unit who can provide Return and Heal/Mend support, Erinys is your best bet (Raquesis gets a mount upon promotion, true, but she joins at a lower level with worse combat). Keep her out of ballista range, and she can honestly contribute on both offense and support.

Erinys has two children: a daughter named Fee, and a son named Ced. If she dies during the first generation, or is not paired up, then they will be replaced by Hermina and Hawk, respectively.

Fee follows in her mother’s footsteps – or wingbeats, as it were. Born and raised in Silesse, she too elects to train as a Pegasus Knight. After her mother dies, she takes to the skies to seek out her older brother, Ced. She is joined in her travels by Arthur, the son of Tailtiu, who is also coming from Silesse. Together, they wind up meeting with Seliph and his nascent Liberation Army in Isaach in Chapter 6, “Heir of Light”. The two eventually reunite with their respective siblings while helping Seliph rescue Grannvale from the threat of the Loptyr Cult.

Fee joins as a level 2 Pegasus Knight. She comes with a Slim Lance, a Berserk Sword, and any other weapons, items, and gold that she may have inherited from her mother. She is able to use B-rank Swords and Lances from her time of joining. She at least has the Pursuit skill, and may also inherit skills from her father. Additionally, while she has no Holy Blood by default, she can inherit minor Holy Blood from her father. From level 20 onward, she will have the opportunity to promote to Falcon Knight. This boosts her Sword and Lance ranks to A, while also giving her access to C Staves. It will also give her the Adept skill, if she didn’t already receive it from her father. In this case, let’s assume Alec as the “control” father. In such a case, here is an example of her bases, growths, Pegasus Knight caps, promotion bonuses, and Falcon Knight caps:

Spoiler

 

HP: 27 + 0.85x / 80, + 0 / 80

Str: 8 + 0.35x / 22, + 0 / 22

Mag: 0 + 0.12x / 15, + 7 / 22

Skl: 9 + 0.40x / 22, + 3 / 25

Spd: 14 + 0.45x / 27, + 3 / 30

Lck: 6 + 0.35x / 30, + 0 / 30

Def: 6 + 0.45x / 20, + 1 / 21

Res: 7 + 0.12x / 22, + 5 / 27

Mov: 8, + 0

 

Compared to her mother, Fee comes with lower bases (at a lower level), but higher growths. Of course, her growths, and to a lesser extent her bases, will vary with whoever her father is. A physical father, like Alec above, gives better Strength and Defense, while the few magical fathers bolster her Magic and Resistance. Still, with no Holy Blood, her growths are on the low side by generation two standards. Regardless, her starting Speed is high enough to double pretty much all conceivable enemies with the Slim Lance or traditional Swords. The Berserk Sword… I’m gonna be honest, I’ve never used this due to its high Weight and low Hit, but it can at least conceivably enable some fun strategies. In any case, she can use Brave Swords and Brave Lances (either of which she can inherit), so she’ll have no trouble against most Arena enemies. And while being a flier means needing to navigate around Archers and ballistae, it also lets her reach parts of the map almost no one else can. She can get to the village (with the Shield Ring) in Darna before anyone else, she can reach the Tahra villages in chapter 9 before anyone else, and she can travel north in chapter 10 to fend off the Dark Mages targeting kids, among other niches. While her unpromoted caps are solid, promoting increases her combat and utility, letting her deal better damage with Magic Swords while supporting her allies with C-rank Staves. Generally speaking, she’s like an improved version of her mother.

Her brother, Ced, joins in chapter 8, “The Wyvern Knights of Thracia”. Like his younger sister, Ced was born and raised in Silesse, but he leaves his family to seek out his father. In Thracia 776, he is the son of Lewyn and heir to the Forseti tome; however, this is not necessarily the case in Genealogy. In any case, he travels to the region of Munster in northern Thracia. Here, in the Empire’s shadow, he seeks to aid those who are suffering oppression. After Seliph conquers Conote, Ced appears as a green unit in charge of Munster. Traveling south to help him fight back the onslaught of Thracian Wyvern Knights, Seliph speaks with Ced, and recruits him to his side. Together, they fight to overturn the Empire and the Loptr Cult, eventually succeeding. After the war, he may become King of Silesse, or else rule a house of Grannvale.

Ced joins as a level 14 Sage. He is able to use at least B-rank weapons in five categories: Wind, Fire, Thunder, Light, and Staves. If he inherits Holy Blood from his father (he has none by default), he may have a higher rank in one of these areas. He starts with the Light tome, as well as any tomes, staves, items, and gold he may have inherited from his father. He always joins with the Pursuit skill, and may also inherit skills from his father. Since he joins in a promoted class, he cannot promote any further. Again, let’s assume Alec as his father. Here is an example of his bases, growths, and Sage caps:

Spoiler

 

HP: 39 + 0.95x / 80

Str: 6 + 0.40x / 15

Mag: 16 + 0.10x / 30

Skl: 20 + 0.50x / 27

Spd: 22 + 0.45x / 30

Lck: 10 + 0.40x / 30

Def: 9 + 0.45x / 18

Res: 13 + 0.10x / 27

Mov: 6

 

Ced plays unlike any unit in the first generation of the game. The most obvious comparison, whether or not he is chosen to be the father, is Lewyn, since he promotes to Sage. But unlike Lewyn, Ced starts out promoted, letting him use Staves from the get-go. Not only that, but he comes with Pursuit, so while his damage dealt may not always be as high as Lewyn’s (Critical), it will at least be more reliable. With Adept as a class skill, too, he can secure a bonus hit or two per combat. Finally, he joins with the Light tome (also called “Lightning”), which was not obtainable in the first generation (although the Light Brand, which casts Light at range, was available). With 14 Might, even a Ced with a physical father will have 30 Might at base. And with 5 Weight, he’s doubling pretty much every foe. Plus, 90 Might, coupled with his high skill and WTA over all Anima tome types, give him some of the best hit rates in the game. And since Light magic access is rare, only Julia and a promoted Leif will be competing for a chance to use it.

But enough about the legendary Light tome, let’s get back to Ced. He can use most tomes and staves that would be of interest, regardless of who his father is. Unfortunately, only three fathers can pass down Tomes to him – and among them, only two can pass down Staves as well. With a physical father, though, he can still inherit a Ring or Band to either use or sell. He should have no trouble doing damage with the Light tome, while in terms of support, he will have access to the likes of Recover, Physic, Warp, and the status staves. With a physical father, his Magic growth will be rather poor (it’s offset by a Strength growth which does him no favors), but his Defense will fare better than you might expect, and his Speed and Skill will be good regardless. Low Resistance with a physical father may limit his options in the last couple chapters without a Barrier ring, admittedly. Growths matter, of course, but the bigger question is, what skills will he get from his dad?

So, who is the best partner for Erinys? And who makes the greatest father for Fee and Ced? Let’s take a look at the thirteen options, and find out together.

i. Naoise

Spoiler

 

Naoise and Erinys start with 50 love points together, and gain 2 points per turn. If they are married, she will be able to speak with him after Phinora Castle has been seized in Chapter 5, but nothing will come of this. They both start with 8 move, although their ability to stick together will vary with the terrain.

With Naoise as her father, Fee will inherit the Accost and Critical skills. Accost can give her a chance to finish off foes she wouldn’t one-round otherwise, but it can also leave her more vulnerable, particularly to enemy ballisticians and siege mages. Critical, meanwhile, lets her boost her damage to unseemly levels, making even the toughest Arena foes beatable. It’s not reliable, of course, but with Pursuit, she’ll generally have two shots at it per combat. She doesn’t receive any Holy Blood from this pairing, and her stats will not differ significantly from the control. She can inherit up to B-rank Swords and Lances, as well as any rings or bands, from her mother.

As for Ced, he will also inherit Accost and Critical from Naoise. These skills are pretty good for him – even in cases where he doesn’t kill with two normal hits, he can score a crit, or additional hits, to secure the kill. Accost can, admittedly, hurt him among ballistae and siege tomes. Ced does not inherit any Holy Blood from his father. Moreover, since Naoise can only wield Swords and Lances, he will not be able to pass down any Tomes or Staves to his son. There are a couple exceptions, including the dropped Sleep and Physic Staves in the first generation, although passing either of those on requires totally forgoing their use before the second generation. Still, he can inherit a valuable Ring or Band, either to aid his combat further or to sell. As his stats go, they will vary slightly from the control. His HP (105%), Strength (50%), and Defense (55%) will run higher, while his Skill (40%), Speed (35%), and Luck (30%) will be lower. 10% growths in Magic and Resistance still suck, but at least he has pretty good bases in those areas.

Rating: A. This pairing shouldn’t be too hard to set up, since Naoise and Erinys both start with 8 movement. There are cases where Naoise will outrun her (i.e. road tiles), and cases where Erinys will have the better mobility (i.e. forests). Naoise gets 1 more Mov upon promotion, but unless you’re moving at a breakneck pace, it shouldn’t be too hard to keep him by Erinys. In terms of skills, Accost can come back to bite its users, but it can also help either kid finish off bulkier foes. And Critical works to a similar end, without burning through extra weapon or tome uses, and gives each kid an easier time in the Arena. The growths, oriented somewhat toward “Armor Knight stats”, definitely do more for Fee than for her brother, but even Ced appreciates the slight boost to his bulk. Not being able to pass down useful tomes or staves is a bummer, but Naoise just needs something of value to pass, which Ced can then sell for a useful staff or two. This pairing gives the kids the skills they need to succeed in battle.

 

ii. Alec

Spoiler

 

Alec and Erinys start with 50 love points together, and gain 2 points per turn. They have no notable conversations together. They both start with 8 move, although their ability to stick together will vary with the terrain.

If Alec is her father, Fee will inherit the Nihil skill. Alec usually passes down Pursuit, but on these kids, the skill is redundant. At first, Nihil may seem niche, since enemies with threatening combat skills are few and far between. But Nihil has an additional effect in this game – namely, it neutralizes effective damage. In other words, Fee will no longer take bonus damage from bows or ballistae. This can be a game-changer for how she plays: no longer do the ballistae in chapters 7 or 8 present a “no-fly zone” that she must avoid. Instead, she can fly right in and take on the ballistae herself. As for her stats, they are covered in the blurb above.

How about her brother, Ced? As mentioned before, the Pursuit skill is redundant. As for Nihil, it’s nowhere near as useful to Ced as it is to Fee. He has no type weaknesses, so really it’ll only come in handy against foes with niche combat skills. Still, this can give him more security than usual against the Deadlords, plus a handful of other enemies. Alec passes no Holy Blood down to his son, nor does he offer any Tomes or Staves – aside, again, from the few potentially dropped staves. As growths go, they were shown in the blurb above. Ced will have good “Myrmidon stats”, with Speed and Skill rivalled by few. His bulk isn’t the best on either side, but he can at least be pretty evasive with a low-weight tome.

Rating: B. This pairing should be neither more nor less difficult to set up than the Naoise one. Both Alec and Fee have 8 Mov at the start, but again, mobility can vary with terrain. Pairing a Pursuit father with a Pursuit mother may, on its surface, seem a bit of a waste. Nihil, however, benefits Fee far more than it could benefit any other potential recipient, and opens up many more options in how you can use her. For Ced, the effect comes in handy against just a few enemies. The kids will be fast and accurate, but might not be dealing as much damage as they might otherwise. Still, it’s a pairing to consider, if only for the new niche it grants to Fee.

 

iii. Arden

Spoiler

 

Arden and Erinys start with 50 love points together, and gain 2 points per turn. If they are married, she will be able to speak with him after Phinora Castle has been seized in Chapter 5, but nothing will come of this. At 5 move with typical infantry terrain costs, it will be very difficult to keep him adjacent to Erinys.

If Arden is her father, Fee will inherit the Vantage skill. This will do her few favors in the field, although it may help her against a faster Arena foe. She will not have any Holy Blood. As her stats go, her HP and Strength will trend higher than the control, while her Skill and Luck won’t be quite up to snuff.

Ced also receives Vantage from Arden. This can occasionally help him, both in the Arena against faster foes, and in the field, since he can two-shot plenty of enemies with an Adept proc. Of course, he doesn’t want to spend much time below half-health. Arden will not pass down any Holy Blood, and while he can wield almost any physical weapon upon promotion, Ced cannot inherit any such weapons. As stats go, his HP (115%) and Defense (55%) will be excellent, as will his (useless) Strength stat (60%). On the other hand, his Skill (20%), Speed (35%), and Luck (20%) suffer somewhat. He’ll still bring good bases in these areas, but he’ll probably miss out on capping them.

Rating: C. Arden’s low movement really undermines this pairing, because if you want to grow Erinys’ love points with him, you can’t send her out to save villages, cross oceans, or do other things. Or if you do, you’ll have to make up for it by grinding a bunch of turns adjacent to each other. As for stats, Fee appreciates the boost to Strength, but it means nothing for Ced. The boost to physical bulk is great for both kids, but reduced Skill and Luck means that Hit rates can become a problem for them (in both directions). The results aren’t terrible, but Arden just does very little for either kid.

 

iv. Azelle

Spoiler

 

Azelle and Erinys start with 50 love points together, and gain 2 points per turn. They have no notable conversations together. At 5 move with typical infantry terrain costs, it will be very difficult to keep him adjacent to Erinys, although this will be alleviated when he gains a mount at promotion.

If Fee is Azelle’s daughter, she will not inherit any additional skills, since her father’s Pursuit is redundant. She will, however, inherit minor Fjalar Holy Blood. This has no impact on her weapon ranks, but dramatically impacts her growths. Her HP (+10%) and Speed (+10%) will be excellent, while her Skill (-10%) will falter. The most dramatic change, however, is to her offensive stats: her Strength growth changes by -10%, but her Magic will increase by +33%, although her bases will still lean physical. This can compromise her physical combat somewhat, particularly in the Arena, but it increases her damage with magical swords, while also helping her heal more after promotion.

Like his sister, Ced will not receive any additional skills from this pairing. However, he does inherit minor Fjalar Holy Blood. This has a fairly significant effect on Ced – right out the gate, he can use A-rank Fire tomes. This will give him access to the powerful (albeit inaccurate and heavy) Bolganone tome, which is dropped by Hilda in chapter 10. It also influences his stats: his Skill (20%), Luck (30%), and Defense (35%) will trend lower than usual, but his Magic (45%) and Speed (65%) will truly shine. Since these are the two most important stats for his combat potential, a Ced born to House Velthomer will hit quite hard. While Azelle cannot pass down Staves, he can pass down Tomes: C-rank plus Elfire if unpromoted, with Elwind thrown into the mix if he’s promoted. Elwind, notably, contains an advantage over Light, because it has slightly less Weight. Azelle can really set up Ced to be effective in combat, and the boost to Magic makes him more effective with staves, including status staves.

Rating: B. Where the previously-considered pairings are moreso to Fee’s benefit, this pairing is all about giving you a strong Ced. Fee does not appreciate the cut to her Strength, not to mention the utter lack of combat skills. The higher Magic gives her a niche with magical swords and staves, but she may struggle in the Arena. Ced, however, will face no such troubles – he gets to enjoy much higher Speed and Magic than usual, as well as Bolganone access. This makes for a killing machine who won’t even need to rely on skill activations. And the magic boost improves his effectiveness with Staves, potentially letting him inflict Sleep or Silence on high-Res foes. This pairing is great for Ced, but at what cost? Azelle’s low movement before promotion constrains Erinys’ travel options, to a similar extent to Arden. And while this is resolved by his promotion, that tends to come late, as it’s hard to get experience to Azelle. As such, it’s too tricky to set up to really recommend, even before considering the problems it leaves Fee with.

 

v. Lex

Spoiler

 

Lex and Erinys start with 50 love points together, and gain 2 points per turn. They have no notable conversations together. They both start with 8 move, although their ability to stick together will vary with the terrain.

As a daughter of House Dozel, Fee inherits the Paragon and Vantage skills. Vantage, as explained before, will be pretty niche in terms of its utility. Paragon, however, is an excellent skill for any child to receive. In Fee’s case, it means an easier time snowballing in her combat stats, and giving her earlier access to promotion. This gives you another valuable Staff user to call your ally. Lex also passes down minor Neir Holy Blood. This increases her physical bulk dramatically, with +20% HP and +25% Defense. However, her Skill will falter by -10%, relative to the control.

How about Ced? Like his sister, he inherits the Vantage and Paragon skills. Vantage can save him at low HP levels, sometimes securing the kill in tandem with Adept, but it’s not a reliable combo. Paragon, on the other hand, is always to a unit’s benefit. Granted, Ced has no promotion to rush toward to, but he joins relatively late with more than a few levels left to go. Paragon also means he’ll never have a motive to buy the Paragon Band, meaning more gold to spend on Staves. Minor Neir Holy Blood doesn’t give him any new weapon access, but it definitely impacts his stats. With 115% HP and 65% Defense, his physical bulk will reach astonishing levels, at least for a magic user. Then again, his Skill (30%), Speed (35%), and Luck (30%) won’t necessarily keep up. And he’ll retain the Magic issues he gets from most physical fathers. Lex cannot pass down tomes or staves, but as long as he ends the first generation wealthy, he can buy a “nest egg” item, like the Return Band, which Ced can sell to buy staves.

Rating: A. Another day, another physical father. Lex and Erinys shouldn’t be too hard to keep together, given similar movement. They have a lot of time to making their pairing happen, and while Lex can promote early (thanks to Paragon) to bump up to 9 Mov, that can allow him to Canto back further. Paragon is always a great ability, and while neither child necessarily “needs” it here, the chance to promote Fee (and give her staves) early really opens up your options. Getting this level of physical bulk on two classes usually regarded as “frail” is also welcome. And unlike most of Lex’s potential pairings, neither kid will be missing out on Pursuit. All considered, a great pairing, whose only real detriment is doing the kids no favors in the Magic stat.

 

vi. Finn

Spoiler

 

Finn and Erinys start with 50 love points together, and gain 2 points per turn. They have no notable conversations together. They both start with 8 move, although their ability to stick together will vary with the terrain. This is especially crucial for Finn, because he leaves at the end of Chapter 3.

If Finn fathers Fee, then she will inherit the Miracle skill. Finn normally passes down Pursuit, but it is rendered redundant on Fee and her brother. While she won’t generally struggle in the Arena, Miracle can help her against particularly terrifying opponents. In the field, it may save her life in a rare case. As far as her stats are concerned, she will have higher Luck, while nothing else will vary from the control.

If Ced calls Finn his father, then he will also inherit Miracle. This can help him against tough Arena foes, and in rare field situations. Finn can only wield Lances, and while he can secure a staff or two via enemy drops, he won’t pass down any tomes. Moreover, like any Finn pairing, this will leave the grown-up Lance Knight “naked” upon his return in chapter 7, with only an Iron Lance to call his own. As stats go, nothing will really differ from the control, except for the boost to his Luck growth (+20%).

Rating: C. These two units have similar movement, so you wouldn’t think it’s hard to get them together. But they only have a chapter and a half together. And both of those chapters have a wide variety of terrain – in chapter 2, Erinys is your only unit who can cross the cliffs to reach the villages freely, or to potentially use “hit-and-run” tactics on the last wave of enemies. And in chapter 3, Erinys can reach the swarm of Pirates (and their gold) far faster than any of your cavalry can. Keeping them together means forsaking these neat uses, while also slowing Finn down on roads and keeping him out of ballista territory. As for the kids, Pursuit is redundant, while Miracle has limited uses. By no means will they be bad, but there’s nothing about the results that justify the expenditure.

 

vii. Midir

Spoiler

 

Midir and Erinys start with 50 love points together, and gain 2 points per turn. They have no notable conversations together. They both start with 8 move, although their ability to stick together will vary with the terrain.

With Midir as her father, Fee inherits the Accost skill. Again, this can be a double-edged sword, although there are certainly cases in which it will help. Midir’s Pursuit skill is redundant, and he provides no Holy Blood. Compared to the control, her Luck (-10%) will falter, while no other stats will vary significantly.

As for Ced, he also inherits the Accost skill. In conjunction with Adept and Pursuit, there are few foes he won’t be one-rounding. He inherits no Holy Blood and no weapons from Midir. In terms of growths, his HP (-10%), Skill (-10%), and Luck (-10%) will be less than the control, while his Speed (+10%) will be higher.

Rating: C. This pairing gives the kids good Speed, but they were hardly struggling there, and it comes at some detriment to other stats. As with all physical fathers, Ced won’t inherit any weapons or staves, excepting enemy drops, and his Magic growth will be lacking. Accost can be useful, but it can also have a backlash effect, and Midir is hardly the only father offering it. It’s not too hard to set up, given Midir’s and Erinys’ similar movement, but there’s little reason to recommend it.

 

viii. Dew

Spoiler

 

Dew and Erinys start with 50 love points together, and gain 2 points per turn. They have no notable conversations together. As a 6-move infantry unit, it may be tricky to keep him adjacent to Erinys, although this becomes easier when he promotes and increases to 7-move.

If Fee is the daughter of Dew, she will inherit the Bargain skill. While Fee can use Swords, she cannot inherit Sol, as a mounted unit. Still, Bargain is one of the strongest skills in the game. Once she has a net worth of at least 20K gold, she can freely buy and sell the Paragon band, letting her regularly net boosted experience from the Arena. She can also afford expensive rings and, after promotion, staves. At a certain point, she’ll be swimming in the gold, which can make her a great partner for someone like Arthur, Seliph, or Diarmuid. As far as her stats go, she will have less HP, but more Speed, than the control, but other stats will not differ substantially.

What about Ced? Like his sister, he will also inherit the Bargain skill. Again, this is an excellent skill. Now Ced can save money on staves, while also repairing tomes at a much lower cost than usual. He should have no problem picking up the Paragon Band to maximize Arena utility, while being able to buy the Magic Ring or Barrier Ring at-cost can help him in the last couple chapters. Unfortunately, as a sword-locked unit, Dew won’t be passing down any weapons or staves to his son. Ced also won’t inherit any Holy Blood, but his growths will be quite good nonetheless: less HP (-20%) than the control, but more Speed, Luck, and Defense (+10%) each.

Rating: B. Like Erinys, Dew often wants to be in a lot of different places on the field, whether it’s about getting gold from rich enemies or replenishing his allies’ own pockets. Dew has less Mov than Erinys, of course, but with road tiles and then promotion, he can match or even surpass her. As for the kids, their HP will be on the lower side, and they won’t get any cool new combat skills. The Bargain skill, however, is just so useful, and lets these kids get away with murder in the Pawn Shop. Cheaper staves, rings, and bands are always welcome, and that’s before considering repairing weapons at-cost! That’s enough of a niche to make this pairing considerable, even if it’s hardly an intuitive one.

 

ix. Jamke

Spoiler

 

Jamke and Erinys start with 50 love points together, and gain 2 point per turn. They have no notable conversations together. As a 6-move infantry unit, it may be tricky to keep him adjacent to Erinys.

If Fee is a princess of Verdane, she will inherit the Accost and Adept skills. Accost, again, is a double-edged sword. Adept, meanwhile, may seem redundant, since she normally receives it upon promotion. Still, receiving it earlier is better than having to wait for it. Combined with Pursuit, these skills give Fee good odds of fighting any slower foe to the death. In terms of growths, she will have very solid HP (+10%) and Strength (+10%), whereas her Skill (-15%) will fall short.

Ced also receives the Accost skill if Jamke is his father. He would receive Adept, but he gets it from the Sage class, so it’s redundant. Still, in combination with Pursuit, he should have little trouble one-rounding any foes. As a Bow-user, Jamke has nothing to pass down to his son, unfortunately. Ced has no Holy Blood, so how are his stats affected? His HP (+20%) and Luck (+10%) receive buffs, but his Skill (-30%) will be dramatically reduced. And, as with any physical father, his Magic level-ups will be few and far between.

Rating: C. There are very few draws to this pairing. Accost can help secure kills, but it can also get its user killed in the wrong scenario. Early Adept is nice on Fee, but redundant on Ced. Fee can do a little more damage, but her hit rates will be less reliable – an issue Ced will suffer from, too. Moreover, Erinys probably doesn’t want to be constrained by Jamke’s infantry movement.

 

x. Chulainn

Spoiler

 

Chulainn and Erinys start with 50 love points together, and gain 2 points per turn. They have no notable conversations together. As a 6-move infantry unit, it may be tricky to keep him adjacent to Erinys.

With Chulainn as her father, Fee does not inherit any skills. Chulainn can only pass Luna down to sword infantry units. It’s a shame, but it’s one of the few scraps infantry units get. Still, Chulainn will grant Fee a different niche – namely, minor Od Holy Blood. This boosts her Sword rank up to A, from the get go. Thus, she can inherit the Silver Sword, or any of the Blades, from a promoted Erinys. These provide solid damage against defensive foes she may otherwise struggle to crack. In terms of stats, her HP (+30%) and Skill (+30%) will ascend to new heights, while other stats will vary little from the control.

Ced will be affected similarly, if not in direction, then in degree. Like his sister, he receives no skills from this pairing. He also gets minor Od Holy Blood, but in Ced’s case, it doesn’t affect what he can wield. Chulainn can only use Swords, so he’s unlikely to have anything to pass down to Ced. As growths go, relative to the control, Ced will do much better in HP (+40%) and Skill (+40%), while his Luck (-10%) will be a little behind.

Rating: B. Chulainn is an infantry unit who passes no skills and gives Ced no weapons or staves, so why would he ever be considerable? It’s all about the Holy Blood. Minor Od Holy Blood boosts Fee’s Sword rank from the get-go, opening up inheritance options that wouldn’t otherwise be possible. And both children receive a major buff to their HP and Skill, bolstering their survivability and hit rates, respectively. It’s an interesting pick that provides Fee something of a “head start”, even if it’s not the easiest to set up.

 

xi. Beowolf

Spoiler

 

Beowolf and Erinys start with 50 love points together, and gain 2 points per turn. They have no notable conversations together. They both start with 8 move, although their ability to stick together will vary with the terrain.

If Beowolf is her father, Fee will inherit the Accost skill, which may be either to her benefit or her detriment. Beowolf has Pursuit, but it’s redundant on her. She will inherit no Holy Blood, and none of her stats will differ significantly from the control.

As for Ced, he will also inherit the Accost skill, which I’ve explained to death. As a sword-user, Beowolf cannot pass down anything of interest to Ced, outside of Rings or enemy drops. Ced will inherit no Holy Blood, and his growths will only vary a bit from the control: +10% to HP, -10% to Luck, and all else are negligible.

Rating: C. This pairing is Midir all over again, with barely different growths. It’s not hard to set up, but it doesn’t do much for the kids, either. Accost is… its own thing. Basically, this pairing produces a “bare minimum” version of the kids – they’re competent, but no more so than they would be with any other father.

 

xii. Lewyn

Spoiler

 

Lewyn and Erinys start with 210 love points together, and gain 2 points per turn. In chapter 2, Lewyn can speak to her to recruit her. In chapter 4, there is a secret conversation between Silvia and Erinys. If they are placed adjacent to each other before Tofa Castle is seized, then Silvia will gain 50 love points with Lewyn, while Erinys will gain 25 love points with Lewyn. Later in chapter 4, after Silesse Castle is seized, if neither is married, then Lewyn and Erinys will have a conversation granting them 290 love points together, instantly causing them to marry. Finally, in chapter 5, she can initate a conversation with Lewyn after Phinora Castle is seized if they are married, but nothing will come of this. As a 6-move infantry unit, it may be tricky to keep Lewyn adjacent to Erinys, but this is not necessary to pair them up.

If Fee is a daughter of the errant King of Silesse, she will inherit the Adept and Critical skills. While neither skills is particularly reliable, they do increase her odds of securing a kill, both in the field and the Arena. She also inherits minor Sety Holy Blood. While this won’t impact her weapon ranks, it will have a big effect on her growths. Her Speed growth will increase by +40%, while her HP will be great with +10%. Her Strength will decrease (-10%), but her Magic will increase (+13%). Her promotion to Falcon Knight will give her a big boost to Magic, but what about her physical offense? Well, in chapter 10, Seliph can interact with Fee, if Lewyn is her father. This opens up a conversation where Lewyn speaks to his daughter, and boosts her Strength by a hefty 5 points.

If you think I had a lot to say about Fee, how about her brother? Players of Thracia 776 will be familiar with Ced as the Crown Prince of Silesse, searching for his father. In that game, he absolutely slays, but does he do the same in Genealogy? First off, he inherits the Adept and Critical skills. Adept is redundant since he has it as a class skill, granted, but Critical gives him just one more chance to kill, even in cases where Adept doesn’t trigger. The big draw, of course, is Major Sety Holy Blood. This is one of the few blood types that affect his ranks, boosting him from B-rank to *-rank Wind. So long as Lewyn paid a visit to his mother in the first generation, he can pass down the mighty Forseti tome to his son. +20 Speed synergizes tremendously with Pursuit and Adept, while also boosting his avoid rates; meanwhile, +10 Skill helps him hit, and potentially even crit, high-Authority bosses on gates. And even if he doesn’t want to overuse the Forseti tome, this pairing also opens up Tornado (dropped in chapter 9) as a less costly option. Assuming Lewyn made it to promotion, he can also use up to B-rank Staves, which he can then pass down to Ced. This includes the likes of Recover, Warp, and the status staves. Of course, he needs the Magic stat to be effective with status staves, so how do his stats go? Relative to the control, he receive modest buffs to HP (+20%) and Magic (+25%), alongside a tremendous boost to Speed (+60%). Do note, however: due to an overflow glitch, Ced’s starting Speed may barely exceed the Sage class base (15), but it’s not as though he’ll have trouble doubling even then, and it’ll catch up rather quickly. The only considerable detriments are to Luck (-10%) and Defense (-10%). One more potential boost – in chapter 8, he can interact with Seliph, allowing him a chance to speak to Lewyn. This conversation, which no other potential son of Lewyn gets, gives Ced 3 additional points of Luck.

Rating: *. There’s very little doubt that Lewyn produces the best possible version of Ced. Forseti is hilariously overpowered, Critical is a great skill on him, he can inherit Staves, and his stats will be excellent for a Sage. As for Fee, it’s not quite as fitting, since she faces a cut to her Strength stat. But with Adept and Critical, she can secure kills in spite of that, while also being more effective than usual with magical swords. The Speed buff is great, too, both on the offensive and defensive sides. And given Lewyn’s chapter 4 conversation with Erinys, you can keep them apart continuously from Erinys’ join time, and they’ll still tie the knot (assuming Lewyn survives the “Silvia gauntlet”). All told, an excellent pairing, both for the parents and the kids.

 

xiii. Claud

Spoiler

 

Claud and Erinys start with 100 love points together, and gain 3 points per turn. They have no notable conversations together. At 5 move with typical infantry terrain costs, it is rather difficult to keep Claud adjacent to Erinys.

As a daughter of Claud, Fee will not inherit any skills. She does, however, inherit minor Bragi Holy Blood. This does not affect her ranks at first, but upon promotion, it will enable her to use B-rank Staves. Suddenly, tools like Warp and the status staves are available to a flier. Her stats will be impacted, too – her Strength will fall a bit short, by a -10% to the growth. However, her Magic (+18%), Luck (+10%), and Resistance (+23%) will all receive heightened growths. The Resistance buff, in particular, can be a major boon in the final two chapters, where siege tomes and status staves abound.

Ced, similarly, does not inherit skills from his father, so he’ll have to make his way in the world with “just” Pursuit and Adept. But where his sister received minor Holy Blood, Ced gets Major Bragi Holy Blood from this pairing. This lets him use any Staff in the game. Even if he never finds a case to use the Valkyrie staff, getting access to Fortify and Rescue is definitely great. Notably, as a green unit, Ced can provide Fortify support to members of your army, without burning through any Fortify uses. I haven’t tested whether he can use the Sleep Staff to harass Thracia’s finest, but it seems plausible, if a bit gimmicky. Ced can also inherit tomes from his father, but only at C-rank, and all of them are worse than the Light tome he joins with (excepting cases where Wind’s lower weight and cost are relevant). Measured against the control, Ced will have less Skill (-10%) and Defense (-10%), but his Magic (+25%), Luck (+20%), and Resistance (+45%) are all boosted in a big way. His joining Resistance will also start higher than most physical variants, so he should be quite comfortable ignoring status staves and siege tomes in the last two chapters.

Rating: A. In terms of mobility, Claud and Erinys could hardly be further apart. And yet, Erinys can reach Claud sooner than any other potential mother (save for Brigid and Tailtiu, who start closer to him). Combine this with their higher base love, and increased per-turn gain, and they can get a head start on their relationship. As for the kids, the benefits aren’t immediately obvious to Fee – no skills, and worse Strength than usual? Still, she does more damage with magical swords, she gets more Staff options upon promotion, and the Resistance boost gives her way more lategame utility. Ced, of course, doesn’t care about any losses to his Strength. He’ll have great stats for a Sage, however, and while he won’t reach the combat highs of Lewyn!Ced, he’ll always have good combat with Light or Elwind. This pairing just expands his supportive options, and lets him shrug off status staves. It’s a bit tricky to set up, but this pairing bolsters both kids in a way that no other pairing can.

 

xiv. Summary

So, how do the fathers stack up? Who is the best husband for Erinys? Let’s look at them again, grade-by-grade:

*: Lewyn

A: Naoise, Lex, Claud

B: Alec, Azelle, Dew, Chulainn

C: Arden, Finn, Midir, Jamke, Beowolf

How do these ratings sound? Fair, or ill-considered? Please let me know, in the comments! And thank you for waiting for me! Hopefully these delays won’t become a recurring thing, eh heh.

Edited February 17, 2022 by Shanty Pete's 1st Mate
Previously a placeholder post.

[AnonymousSpeed]

On 2/14/2022 at 9:12 PM, Shanty Pete's 1st Mate said:

Finally, he joins with the Light tome (also called “Lightning”)

Not to be confused with the medical term "lightening".

The ratings for Erinys seems fair, although I'm wondering if you're factoring in opportunity cost for this. For instance, a lot of people prefer Forseti Arthur to waiting for Ced, and naturally you can't pair Lewyn with both, as much as he might want you to.

On 2/9/2022 at 9:30 AM, Shanty Pete's 1st Mate said:

Yep, Charlot gets Paragon - and he receives the otherwise-unobtainable Berserk Staff. I've never acquired it, but it seems like it could enable some fun strats. If nothing else, he can sell it for 15K and buy the Recover Staff.

As for Laylea, she gets the Charm skill, which isn't available to Lene. This lets her provide additional support. She can also acquire the Barrier Blade, which boosts Resistance while equipped. Unfortunately, no Miracle gives her a much tougher time in the Arena than Lene - she can use the Miracle Sword as a substitute, but that may not be cost-effective.

Are you going to review substitutes?

 

[Shanty Pete's 1st Mate]

9 minutes ago, AnonymousSpeed said:

Not to be confused with the medical term "lightening".

The ratings for Erinys seems fair, although I'm wondering if you're factoring in opportunity cost for this. For instance, a lot of people prefer Forseti Arthur to waiting for Ced, and naturally you can't pair Lewyn with both, as much as he might want you to.

This is one of those tricky matters. In theory, Lewyn could be the best partner for both Erinys and Tailtiu; in practice, however, I'm trying to limit each potential husband to one * ranking. If I were factoring in opportunity cost, I'd probably drop all the pairings which prevent Gen II Forseti access down to C-rank. As it stands, though, his skills and Holy Blood are usually good enough to make the resultant kids better than some other versions of the kids (i.e. Lewyn x Ayra is an odd choice, but the Sword twins will still end up better than Midir x Ayra, because Adept + Critical > Accost). In the particular case of Forseti Arthur, I definitely don't want to spoil my rankings for Tailtiu, which will be coming next week. That said, "Forseti Arthur" vs. "Forseti Ced" is definitely a debate to be had. Ced is more reliable, due to Pursuit, but Arthur offers more availability - and, upon promotion, a horse. Arthur can patch up his biggest issue with the Pursuit Band, while Ced needs both the Leg Ring and Knight Band to imitate his mounted mobility. While I stand by the notion that Lewyn is the best, and most practical, husband for Erinys, that isn't to say that "Lewyn x Erinys" is a pairing that the player should always choose for a ranked run.

24 minutes ago, AnonymousSpeed said:

Are you going to review substitutes?

I will indeed! My plan is review them during Week 8, after the last two mothers have been considered. The "abstinence" option will receive a rating, from C to *, based on how I think it compares to all other possible pairings. If the substitute kids are totally outshone by all instances of whoever they're replacing, they'll get a C. But those who offer a worthy niche may see their stock rise.

I recognize that, organizationally speaking, it would make more sense to consider the substitutes alongside each mother unit. That said, considering 13 possible pairings each week is already a whole mess of writing. I'd rather give myself some breathing room, by holding the subs off until the end.

[Shanty Pete's 1st Mate]

Chapter 6: Tailtiu

Tailtiu, also known as “Tiltyu” or “Tailte”, is the daughter of Reptor, the Duke of House Friege in Grannvale. She is introduced in chapter 3, “Eldigan the Lionheart”. She travels to northern Agustria, where she meets Sigurd of Chalphy. From there, she travels with Father Claud of House Edda to the Bragi Tower, located on the Orgahill landmass. Unfortunately, after visiting the Tower, the two are ambushed by the many Pirates of Orgahill. With some help from the Sniper Brigid, they manage to fend off the pirates, and reunite with Sigurd. From there, Tailtiu joins his army in traveling to Silesse, and aids his quest from then on.

Tailtiu joins as a level 3 Thunder Mage. Normally, this class has access to B-rank Thunder tomes, but thanks to her minor Thrud Holy Blood, this is bumped up to A-rank. As a result, not only can she wield the Thunder tome she joins with, but also the Thoron tome which she brings with her. In addition, she starts out with 5000 Gold. Tailtiu joins with the Wrath skill, which is very useful in Genealogy. It ensures that, any time she has half HP or less, her attacks will always be critical hits. This applies whether she initiates combat or is under attack. It also applies in the Arena – notably, if she is defeated and returns to the Arena with 1 HP, she will still activate Wrath (contrary to how Miracle works). At level 20 onward, she can promote to the War Mage class (also known as “Mage Fighter”). This grants her the Adept skill, while also giving her access to B-rank Fire, B-rank Wind, B-rank Staves, and C-rank Swords. Her stats, including bases, growths, Thunder Mage caps, promotion bonuses, and War Mage caps, are as follows:

Spoiler

 

HP: 28 + 0.60x / 80, + 0 / 80

Str: 0 + 0.10x / 15, + 3 / 18

Mag: 10 + 0.20x / 22, + 5 / 27

Skl: 15 + 0.60x / 24, + 3 / 24

Spd: 10 + 0.40x / 21, + 6 / 27

Lck: 9 + 0.50x / 30, + 0 / 30

Def: 1 + 0.10x / 16, + 4 / 20

Res: 9 + 0.10x / 20, + 5 / 25

Mov: 5, + 1

 

Tailtiu may be thought of as the closest thing the first generation of Genealogy has to an Est-type unit. She’s one of the last units to join, and she does so at a very low level. If you’re expecting her to have outstanding level-ups, though, prepare to be disappointed, as her growths are pretty middling. Her physical bulk is very poor, and even leveling and promoting won’t really solve it. She takes hits better on the magical side, but still, not great. Still, her starting Magic, Skill, Speed, and Luck aren’t bad, and she can expect to grow in all those areas. Her most distinctive trait is her ability to combine Wrath with Thoron – if she attacks with Thoron from below half-HP, she’ll crit to hit with 60 power, which is enough to shred most low-Res enemies. And her relatively high Skill means that Thoron’s low hit rate of 70 is less of an issue. Of course, you need to play her carefully – once she’s in Wrath range, any further hit is likely to finish her off. And with no ability to double until promotion, foes that can survive an attack present a serious problem. 5 move is another issue, meaning her in-field utility will be limited. She can use Staves after promotion, but joining late at such a low level, it’s pretty hard to get her there.

Tailtiu has two children: a daughter named Tine, and a son named Arthur. If she dies during the course of the first generation, or otherwise ends it without a partner, these children will be replaced by Linda and Amid, respectively.

Tine, also known as “Teeny” or “Tinny”, is the daughter of Tailtiu. After her mother’s death, she lives with her Uncle Bloom, and serves House Friege. This brings her to the Munster District, which is occupied by House Friege under the Grannvale Empire. She first appears in Chapter 7, “Beyond the Desert”. After Seliph defeats Ishtore and seizes Castle Melgen, Tine will take the field as an enemy. If spoken to by her brother, Arthur, she will join the player’s side. In doing so, she turns on her family, in order to help Seliph in his quest to stop the Grannvale Empire and the Loptyr Cult.

Tine joins as a level 3 Mage. Note the lack of “Thunder”. Thanks to her minor Thrud Holy Blood, she joins with C-rank Fire, B-rank Thunder, and C-rank Wind. She starts with the Elthunder tome, as well as any tomes, items, and gold that her mother may have passed down to her. Like her mother, she joins with the Wrath skill, but she can also inherit skills from her father. From level 20 onward, she can promote to the War Mage class. This bumps up all her Tome ranks, to B-rank Fire, A-rank Thunder, and B-rank Wind, while also granting her C-rank Swords and B-rank Staves. It also provides her with the Adept skill, unless she already inherited it from her father. This time, let’s go back to Naoise as her “control” father. In such a case, here are her stats, including bases, growths, Mage caps, promotion bonuses, and War Mage caps:

Spoiler

 

HP: 28 + 1.00x / 80, + 0 / 80

Str: 1 + 0.30x / 15, + 3 / 18

Mag: 8 + 0.22x / 22, + 5 / 27

Skl: 9 + 0.75x / 21, + 3 / 24

Spd: 9 + 0.50x / 21, + 6 / 27

Lck: 8 + 0.60x / 30, + 0 / 30

Def: 1 + 0.30x / 16, + 4 / 20

Res: 6 + 0.12x / 20, + 5 / 25

Mov: 5, + 1

 

As you can see, Tine is pretty similar to her mother, as far as stats go. Broadly speaking, her bases will be lower, while her growths will be higher. With a physical father, her Strength is much better than her mother’s (which is only relevant after promotion), while her Magic may be lower. Still, she can expect solid growths in HP, Skill, Speed, and Luck. With a different father, she can improve in pretty much any stat relative to this version. There are a couple things setting Tine apart from her mother – for one, she can’t wield Thoron, nor can she inherit it. This means her strongest tome is Elthunder. With 8 base Magic and 14 Might, she’ll have 22 Attack, or 44 with a crit – so she’s not securing the same one-shots her mother got. On the other hand, Tine joins much earlier, so she has more easy Arena foes to grind up against and get to promotion before too late. At that point, she adds Staff support, whereas she probably won’t have much use for Swords, even with a physical father.

Her brother, Arthur, joins in Chapter 6, “Heir of Light”. As a young child, he lived in Silesse with his mother and sister. However, they were separated, with Arthur remaining in Silesse. Once he learns that his sister is in Ulster, he travels to meet her there, with some help from Fee. En route, however, they meet up with Seliph’s nascent army. Rather than travel alone, he elects to join Seliph’s army. This eventually reunites him with his sister, and together, they end the oppression of House Friege and the Grannvale Empire.

Arthur joins as a level 2 Mage. Owing to minor Thrud Holy Blood, he will generally share his sister’s weapon ranks, with C-rank Fire, B-rank Thunder, and C-rank Wind. But where his sister uses Thunder magic, Arthur joins with the Wind tome, as well as any tomes, items, and gold that he may have inherited from his father. He starts with the Wrath skill, but may also receive skills from his father. While he shares his sister’s starting class, he has a different promotion: Mage Knight. This gives him a big boost to movement, while also raising his tome ranks to B-rank Fire, A-rank Thunder, and B-rank Wind. In addition, he gains access to B-rank Swords. Let’s again assume Naiose as the control father. In such a case, his stats, including bases, growths, Mage caps, promotion bonuses, and Mage Knight caps, are as follows:

Spoiler

 

HP: 28 + 1.20x / 80, + 0 / 80

Str: 2 + 0.45x / 15, + 5 / 20

Mag: 7 + 0.15x / 22, + 3 / 25

Skl: 8 + 0.75x / 21, + 1 / 22

Spd: 7 + 0.40x / 21, + 1 / 22

Lck: 6 + 0.45x / 30, + 0 / 30

Def: 2 + 0.45x / 16, + 4 / 20

Res: 5 + 0.10x / 20, + 2 / 22

Mov: 5, + 4

 

I like to think of Arthur as something of a “composite” of three offensive mages from the first generation. Like Azelle, he joins in the first chapter of his generation, as a Mage who can eventually become a Mage Knight. Like Lewyn, he starts out with Wind magic, which can help his Attack Speed (although, this is only really relevant if he inherits the Pursuit or Adept skills). And, like his mother, he comes with the Wrath skill, and can wield Thoron (only after promotion, admittedly). Looking at the case of Naoise – who could be considered a typical “physical father” for Arthur – his HP and Skill will both be really strong. Pretty solid Speed and Luck, as well. His Strength (irrelevant until promotion) and Defense start low, but they’ll grow pretty well. Conversely, his Magic and Resistance start out okay, but don’t expect them to get much better. His promotion helps – both in terms of stats, and in the sense of completely turning around his movement issues – but unlike his sister, he doesn’t even get Adept for a chance to hit twice. As such, he really wants a father who’ll pass down the right skills, to help him be effective.

So, who makes the best husband for Tailtiu, and father for Tine and Arthur? Well, that’s just what we’re here to answer! So, let’s get to it.

i. Naoise

Spoiler

 

Naoise and Tailtiu start with 120 love points together, and gain 3 points per turn. They have no notable conversations together. As a mounted unit, it may be difficult to keep Naoise adjacent to Tailtiu, who tends to fall behind due to lower movement.

With Naoise as her father, Tine will inherit the Accost and Critical skills. Accost can help her hit more than once per combat session, although it’s not reliable, and it puts her at risk of taking more damage from enemies. Critical is nice as a way to deal bonus damage regardless of HP, although it’s rendered redundant when she’s below half-HP, where Wrath will guarantee the critical hit. As stats go, they are covered above: she’ll be pretty solid in HP, Skill, Speed, and Luck. Magic and Res start decent but don’t grow well, while Strength and Defense function inversely. She can inherit C-rank tomes, gold, and potentially Bands or Rings from her mother.

How about Arthur? He will also inherit Accost and Critical. These aren’t reliable, but in combination, they can help him deal far more damage than you might expect when sending him into combat. Of course, Accost can put him at risk, too. Since Naoise can only use Swords and Lances, he cannot pass down any Tomes to Arthur; then again, since Elthunder is available only in the second generation, there’s really nothing better for Arthur than the Wind tome he joins with. He can, however, pass down Bands or Rings to his son, as well as gold. Arthur’s stats in such a scenario are covered above: solid HP, Skill, Speed, and Luck; Magic and Resistance start good, but don’t grow; Strength and Defense start bad, but they’ll get better.

Rating: C. There’s not much particular motive to make this pairing happen. Critical is nice, albeit unpredictable, and redundant when in Wrath range. Accost can be to the kids’ benefit… or detriment. As for their stats, they… won’t be great. Their physical bulk and hit rates will be decent, but their Magic won’t grow well, curbing their offensive potential. And since this pairing requires Naoise to slow down, when he could be making his way to the frontlines, I don’t see much point in it at all.

 

ii. Alec

Spoiler

 

Alec and Tailtiu start with 120 love points together, and gain 3 points per turn. They have no notable conversations together. As a mounted unit, it may be difficult to keep Alec adjacent to Tailtiu, who tends to fall behind due to lower movement.

If Alec is Tine’s father, then she will inherit the Nihil and Pursuit. Nihil is pretty niche for her, as she doesn’t have to deal with any type effectiveness, but it can come in handy against a select few foes. Pursuit, on the other hand, is excellent for her. The ability to reliably double foes is excellent, letting her finish off foes who would normally survive a Wrath hit, or otherwise just deal more chip damage while outside of Wrath range. None of her stats will differ significantly from the control. As usual, her item inheritance will depend on her mother.

As for Arthur, he will also inherit Nihil and Pursuit. Nihil is, again, pretty niche on him – even when he gains a horse upon promotion, enemy Ridersbanes are quite rare. But like his sister, he benefits immensely from Pursuit. Actually being able to double foes lets him cross the line from “chip” to “kill”, or to at least set the enemy up for an ally to finish off. It helps him in the Arena, too, especially with the lightweight Wind tome – he’ll be fairly evasive, and respond with two attacks for every one the opponent launches. And that’s before even considering Wrath strategies. Unfortunately, like Naoise, Alec can only use Swords and Lances, so he can’t really pass down any tomes. As his stats go, relative to the control, this Arthur will be better in Skill, Speed, and Luck (+10% each), while falling behind in HP, Strength, and Defense (-10% each).

Rating: B. This pairing isn’t super practical to set up, since Alec has much more movement than Tailtiu. However, if you’re willing to keep Alec back from the frontlines, he’ll leave the kids with a crucial skill in Pursuit. Moreover, the Speed and Skill boosts mean Arthur should have no trouble doubling and hitting the foe. The loss to physical bulk isn’t great, but it can actually help get him into Wrath range. Nihil is niche, but it can let the kids stand up against certain fearful foes, like the Deadlords.

 

iii. Arden

Spoiler

 

Arden and Tailtiu start with 120 love points together, and gain 3 points per turn. They have no notable conversations together. As they both have 5 Movement, it will not be hard to keep them together; this may change, however, when Tailtiu promotes, or in light of terrain such as the mountains in chapter 4 (which Arden cannot cross).

If Tine is the daughter of Arden, she will inherit the Vantage skill from her father. Vantage and Wrath are highly regarded in combination, and this is well-deserved in Genealogy. Whenever she is at or below half HP, she will score a critical against the foe before they can touch her. Of course, this is a somewhat risky strategy – if she misses, or if the foe survives a critical hit, then Tine will be left exposed. After promotion, Adept might save her with a second hit, but it’s not something to rely on. That said, Vantage also offers utility in the Arena, letting her get the first strike against faster foes – in conjunction with Wrath, she can trivialize the Arena. As far as stats go, she will have less Skill (-10%) than the control, but nothing else will vary significantly.

Looking at Arthur, he’ll also inherit Vantage with Arden as his father. He can use it to a similar effect as his sister, both inside the Arena and on the field. Of course, he’ll lack any way to strike more than once, so he’d definitely appreciate being gifted the Pursuit band by his father. Speaking of which, while a promoted Arden can use a wide variety of physical weapons, he won’t be able to pass any of them down. As growths go, Arthur will have more HP and Strength (+10% each) than the control, but his Skill (-20%) and Luck (-10%) will be hindered.

Rating: B. This is a pretty easy pairing to get going – while it may be tricky to get them together in Chapter 3 (unless you Return or Warp Tailtiu), their similar movement will help them stick together for much of Chapters 4 and 5. Vantage and Wrath make for an undeniably clean combination, and he gives the kids pretty good physical bulk. That said, the benefits stop there – these kids don’t particularly care for the Strength boost, while the lowered hit rates and inability to double are pretty disappointing.

 

iv. Azelle

Spoiler

 

Azelle and Tailtiu start with 120 love points together, and gain 3 points per turn. In chapter 4, if neither is married, she can speak to him. This will grant her +5 HP, and 100 love points between the pair. If they become lovers, then they will also have a conversation together in chapter 5, after Phinora Castle has been seized; however, nothing comes of it. As they both have 5 movement, they should not be too hard to keep together after chapter 3; after promotion, Azelle will have much more movement, but he will also have the option to Canto back to her.

If Tine is a daughter of House Velthomer, she will inherit the Pursuit skill. This is excellent for her, giving her a way to strike twice in any given combat. Combined with Adept after promotion, it’s very reasonable for her to get 3 hits in against the foe. Even more significantly, however, she will inherit minor Fjalar Holy Blood. This impacts her weapon ranks, as well as her stats. With a B-rank in Fire, she can use the Elfire tome, and can even inherit it, if her mother was promoted. And after her own promotion, she will be able to use the powerful Bolganone tome, dropped by her Aunt Hilda. As stats go, they differ from the control in a big way. Less Strength (-15%) and Defense (-10%), but much more Magic (+33%) and Speed (+15%). The lower Strength is irrelevant until promotion, while the lowered Defense is a plus and a minus – her durability suffers, but she can more easily get into Wrath range. The benefits of higher Magic on a Mage, and higher Speed on a Pursuit unit, should be quite apparent. Once she promotes, the boost to Speed synergizes great with Adept, while the heightened Magic makes her a better healer and more viable status staff user.

Arthur also gets quite a bit out of being able to call Arthur his father. Pursuit is the single-best skill he could ask for, revolutionizing his combat potential. Like his sister, he gets minor Fjalar Holy Blood. This boosts his Fire up to B-rank, so if Azelle picked up the Elfire tome from the shop in Chapter 3, he can then pass it down to his son. While using a high-Weight tome may be counter-intuitive with Pursuit, it provides a big power advantage over Wind, and it’s not like he’ll have trouble doubling any of the Axe-users in chapter 6. Once he promotes, Bolganone also becomes an option, although Thoron is also available at that point. Like his sister, he finally gets to experience what it’s like having a magical daddy. Sure, his HP (-10%), Strength (-30%), Skill (-10%) and Defense (-20%) will suffer, but he makes serious gains in Magic (+35%) and Speed (+30%). His strength loss is hardly an issue, and while losing physical bulk isn’t necessarily pleasant, it can help him get into Wrath range. And with his higher Magic growth, combined with access to stronger tomes, he’s more likely to one-shot with a crit. And even against foes who survive, he’s got Pursuit to finish them off.

Rating: *. I know, it’s early to declare a winner in this list, but I honestly think Azelle is the best possible partner for Tailtiu. While they don’t start with a high love level, their chapter 4 conversation makes up for it, while also boosting Tailtiu’s own survivability. And, as far as the kids go, it’s the only pairing to combine respectable Magic growths with reliable doubling. Add in access to stronger Fire tomes, and these kids will be combat-ready. Tine can provide stronger staff support than usual after promotion, and while Arthur always appreciates a horse, coupling it with Pursuit and a great offensive stat can make him a key contributor.

 

v. Lex

Spoiler

 

Lex and Tailtiu start with 120 love points together, and gain 3 points per turn. If they are married, they will have a conversation together in chapter 5, after Phinora Castle is seized. Nothing will come of this, however. As a mounted unit, Lex will have an easier time reaching her in chapter 3, but may have trouble sticking with her in the subsequent chapters.

If Tine is a daughter of House Dozel, she will inherit the Vantage and Paragon skills. The utility of Vantage, in combination with Wrath, has already been described, so I won’t beat that drum any further. Paragon, however, is a new arrival. It’s a very welcome skill on Tine, who joins at a low level and has a hard time keeping up with her mounted allies. Through Paragon, she can reliably get doubled experience, inside the Arena and out, while never needing to worry about buying the Paragon band. And the more experience she gets, the sooner she will promote, letting her wield stronger tomes and provide staff support. Lex also passes down minor Neir Holy Blood, which impacts her growths: relative to the control, she will have higher HP (+15%) and Defense (+20%), with no other stats varying significantly. This heightened physical durability can be a “blessing-and-a-curse”, in light of Vantage and Wrath, but the extra security against, say, enemy ballistae is always welcome.

Like his sister, Arthur will also receive the Paragon and Vantage skills. Vantage combines splendidly with Wrath in this game, as I’ve already said, with the necessary caveat that foes he doesn’t one-shot with a crit may present a problem. As for Paragon, it’s good on Arthur. Like, really good. I’d go as far as saying that, among all units in generation two, only Leif and Seliph are more improved by their own promotion (and in Seliph’s case, it’s debatable). Neither of whom can even inherit the Paragon skill. If Tine is a good candidate for Paragon, then Arthur is a great one. He’ll also inherit minor Neir Holy Blood. Arthur can’t use Axes, nor can he inherit them from Lex, so it won’t affect his ranks, but it will impact his growths. Relative to the control, he’ll get more HP (+10%) and Defense (+10%), although his Skill (-10%) takes a slight hit. Still, he shouldn’t have many problems hitting, and while the higher physical bulk impacts Wrath strats, it’s generally to his benefit on the field of battle.

Rating: A. Let’s get the problems out of the way: Tailtiu is much less mobile than Lex, the kids’ Magic growths will be poor, and they won’t have a way to double. But honestly, Vantage and Wrath make for a killer pair. Throw Paragon into the mix, and these kids are hitting their promotion that much faster. That means sooner staff support from Tine, actually good mobility for Arthur, and access to more powerful tomes for both. And with the money they save on never buying the Paragon Band, one of them will have the option of picking up the Pursuit Band to reinforce their combat potential. This pairing does enough interesting stuff that it’s at least worth considering.

 

vi. Finn

Spoiler

 

Lex and Tailtiu start with 180 love points together, and gain 10 points per turn. They have no notable conversations together. Since Finn leaves at the end of chapter 3, they only have a very narrow window to establish their relationship; in this light, Finn’s higher movement helps somewhat, as getting him to the Bragi peninsula is more achievable.

With Finn as her father, Tine will inherit the Pursuit and Miracle skills. Pursuit, again, is great on her – possibly the best skill she can receive for her combat. As for Miracle, it’s an interesting one. Since it activates at low HP, it should synergize well with Wrath, right? Well, sort of. If she gets knocked below 11 HP, she’ll get a proportional Avoid boost for the rest of the turn. So, with careful preparation, she can ensure that any lethal attack will miss her, and can respond with two (thanks to Pursuit) critical hits. However, the effect is exhausted once the turn ends, so she will need to be healed and knocked back down again to make Miracle strats work. Similarly, unlike Vantage, it doesn’t apply if you return to the Arena with 1 HP, although it can be useful with careful preparation against fast and tough foes. As far as growths go, she’ll have more Luck (+15%) than the control, but nothing else will vary by much.

Like his sister, Arthur will also inherit the Pursuit and Miracle skills. Pursuit is one of the most desirable skills on him, although Finn is hardly the only father who can pass it on. Miracle has good, albeit not complete, synergy with the Wrath skill, and can enable seriously effective (although risky) enemy-phase strategies. Unfortunately, since Finn only wields Lances, he cannot pass tomes down to Arthur. He can pass down Rings or Bands, like any other father, although it comes at a cost – he will rejoin in chapter 7 with only an Iron Lance. While he doesn’t offer Holy Blood, he does impact Arthur’s growth rates: relative to the control, he’ll have less HP, Strength, and Defense (-10% each), but more Skill (+10%), Speed (+10%), and Luck (+30%). While his raw damage output won’t be great, he’ll have few issues with doubling or hit rates, and can expect solid Avoid, even before Miracle.

Rating: C. This really hurts, but we have to do more math. Finn and Tailtiu start with 180 love points together, and gain 10 per turn. This means that, after 32 turns, they will automatically marry (unless Brigid has priority over Tailtiu? Not sure on this one.). If Finn is adjacent to Tiltiu, they will gain 15 points per turn, so this can be cut down to 22 turns. Of course, the closest Finn can start to Tailtiu is Castle Madino, and even if he kills Pizare to get the Leg Ring, it will take him several turns to reach Tailtiu. So the true value is somewhere between these two values (if we estimate 11 turns non-adjacent, then it’ll take an additional 14 turns to reach 500 points, so 25 turns total). That means you either have to book it on the first two castles (say, defeating Chagall and seizing Syvale by turn 15), or else accept that you’ll spend more than 40 turns here (thus needing to make up the turns in another chapter). I don’t believe this pairing is impossible while going for a perfect ranking, but… it’s gonna be hard to pull off. And it’s a shame, too – Pursuit is really great on the kids, and Miracle is a fun tech, especially in conjunction with Wrath.

 

vii. Midir

Spoiler

 

Midir and Tailtiu start with 120 love points together, and gain 3 points per turn. They have no notable conversations together. As a mounted unit, Midir will have trouble staying adjacent to Tailtiu, especially beyond chapter 3.

If Midir is Tine’s father, she will inherit the Pursuit and Accost skills. I’ve covered them separately, but not in combination. Needless to say, however, if she outspeeds an enemy who doesn’t have Pavise or high Resistance, she is almost sure to send them to an early grave with these skills, with or without Wrath. And this is just compounded when she receives Adept upon promotion. Of course, Accost can also backfire, particularly where ballistae and status staves abound. As far as growths are concerned, she will have less HP (-10%) and more Speed (+10%) than the control, with other stats differing little.

Like sister, like brother: Arthur will also receive Pursuit and Accost from this pairing. In combination, he’s likely to take his foes down, perhaps before they even know what hit them. Since Midir wields Bows, he won’t be able to pass any Tomes down to Arthur, although he can pass along Bands and Rings. As for his growths, he’ll have less HP (-20%), Strength (-10%), Luck (-10%), and Defense (-10%), but a boost to his Speed (+20%) to compensate.

Rating: B. There’s not much special to say here – it’s a Pursuit pairing. It’s the single most significant gift the kids can get for their combat. Sure, it can be hard to keep them together – Midir, for instance, especially wants to be in the fray against Chapter 4’s Pegasus Knights and Chapter 5’s Wyvern Knights. But they have a decent amount of time together, so it’s definitely achievable. At least they’ll have a good Speed growth with this one.

 

viii. Dew

Spoiler

 

Dew and Tailtiu start with 120 love points together, and gain 3 points per turn. They have no notable conversations together. Dew will have 1 more Mov than Tailtiu, so he will need to slow down a step to keep pace with her. However, in chapter 3, Dew has an additional motive to travel to the Bragi Peninsula, as doing so enables an event where he receives the Wind Sword. If he does so, he should be able to end the chapter adjacent to Tailtiu.

If Tine is fathered by the happy-go-lucky Thief, she will inherit just one skill – Bargain. This does nothing for her combat… at least, not directly. With Bargain, she will be able to afford expensive items, either immediately (via inherited items), or after Arena-ing in chapter 7. This lets her buy the Paragon Band, and/or the Pursuit Band, at-cost. A Magic Ring can be handy, too, giving her +10 damage in Wrath range. And once she’s promoted, making staves like Recover, Warp, or the status staves more affordable is certainly welcome. As far as growths go, she’ll have less HP (-15%) than the control, but she gains an edge in Speed (+10%) and Luck (+10%).

Arthur receives the same inheritance, in the Bargain skill. He can use it to a similar effect, buying useful Rings and Bands more easily, while also repairing his tomes at-cost. As Dew only wields Swords, he cannot pass Tomes down to his son. Compared to the control, he’ll have less HP (-30%), but more Skill (+10%), Speed (+20%), and Luck (+20%). He’ll be a bit frailer, but that’s not necessarily bad with Wrath, and he’ll have little trouble dodging.

Rating: B. Dew finds himself wanting to hit plenty of parts of the map, and Tailtiu can tag along… although, being a step behind may mean a village takes more damage. And the kids are missing out on the crucial Pursuit skill. However, Bargain is an exceptionally powerful tool, allowing the kids to buy and sell the powers of Pursuit and Paragon on a whim. It also makes them great romantic partners (not for each other, Kaga!), as they can pass excess Gold onto a lover. Overall, it’s a pairing worth considering.

 

ix. Jamke

Spoiler

 

Jamke and Tailtiu start with 120 love points together, and gain 3 points per turn. They have no notable conversations together. Jamke has 1 more Mov than Tailtiu, so he will have to slow down a step to stay with her, although this is resolved once she promotes.

As a Princess of Verdane, Tine will inherit the Adept and Accost skills. Adept may seem redundant, since she normally gets it upon promotion, but it’s not like it’s a bad thing to get it earlier. Accost, again, is a bit of a double-edged sword. Tine may attack a slower enemy just once, or she may turn it into a duel to the death, and it’s hard to predict which. In terms of stats, she will have lower Skill (-10%) and higher Luck (+10%), while others will not differ by much.

Arthur gets the same skills out of this: Adept and Accost. Adept isn’t redundant, since he wouldn’t have gotten it upon promotion, but it’s still less reliable than Pursuit. Accost can help, but it can also screw him over. Since Jamke is a Bow specialist, he cannot pass Tomes down to his son. Looking at his stats, he’ll have more HP (+10%), Strength (+10%), Speed (+10%), and Luck (+20%), but less Skill (-20%) and Defense (-10%).

Rating: C. Tailtiu and Jamke have pretty similar movement, so this pairing isn’t a hard one to set up. But there isn’t much it provides for the kids: they’ll do quite poorly in the magical stats, and they won’t have a way to reliably double. Their reduced Skill can harm hit rates, too, although they should at least have pretty good avoid. There’s just nothing here of considerable value.

 

x. Chulainn

Spoiler

 

Chulainn and Tailtiu start with 120 love points together, and gain 3 points per turn. They have no notable conversations together. Chulainn has 1 more Mov than Tailtiu, so he will have to slow down a step to stay with her, although this is resolved once she promotes.

If Tailtiu is fathered by Chulainn, she will not inherit any skills. Alas, even though she is an infantry unit, since she can’t use Swords (at first), she will not inherit the Luna skill. She does receive minor Od Holy Blood, so when she promotes, she’ll gain access to B-rank Swords. This lets her use the powerful Brave Sword, as well as effective weaponry, although I can’t imagine many scenarios where she’d prefer a sword to her spells. Her growths will be affected, too: she gets a big bump to HP (+25%) and Skill (+40%), while her other growths will differ little from the control.

Arthur, likewise, won’t receive any skills from Chulainn. However, he does get minor Od Holy Blood. Once he promotes, he’ll gain access to A-rank Swords, such as the Silver Sword and the Blades. This could be useful for interesting mixed offensive options, but with no ability to double, he won’t be getting a kill outside of Wrath range. Since Chulainn only uses Swords, he cannot pass down Tomes to his son. As his stats go, he’ll have way more HP (+30%) and Skill (+50%), plus a little more Speed (+10%), but at a cost to Strength and Defense (-10% each). He’ll have a few problems, but hit rates won’t be one of them.

Rating: C. This isn’t a hard pairing to set up, since Chulainn is just one step ahead of Tailtiu, and she closes the gap upon promotion. And boosting these kids’ Sword ranks is… an interesting niche. At the end of the day, though, they have no Pursuit. Arthur can only hit once every combat, while Tine can at hope for an Adept proc post-promotion. I’d say Tine benefits more from this pairing, since getting the Brave Sword is a bigger deal than getting the Silver Sword or Blades. Still, mediocre offensive stats and no reliable doubling means these kids will struggle to make a real impact.

 

xi. Beowolf

Spoiler

 

Beowolf and Tailtiu start with 120 love points together, and gain 3 points per turn. They have no notable conversations together. As a mounted unit, Beowolf will have an easier time reaching her in chapter 3, but may have trouble staying adjacent to her in subsequent chapters.

If Tine is fathered by Beowolf, she will inherit the Accost and Pursuit skills. If this sounds familiar, go back and read the Midir review. Being able to actually double is great on her, while Accost can help or hinder situationally. None of her growths will differ significantly from the control.

Arthur, too, will gain the Accost and Pursuit skills. There’s not much here to say here beyond: Pursuit good, Accost situationally good or bad. Beowolf only uses Swords, so he’s not passing Tomes down to his son. As growths go, he’ll have a touch more Skill and Speed (+10% each), but less Defense (-10%).

Rating: B. This is a pretty boring pairing, and I wouldn’t say it differs from the pairing with Midir or Alec in any appreciable way. The last of them grants Nihil, which will help less often than Accost, but will at least never hurt. Any one of them requires letting one of your mounted units stick with the low-mobility Thunder Mage, so pick your (least?) favorite among them.

 

xii. Lewyn

Spoiler

 

Lewyn and Tailtiu start with 120 love points together, and gain 3 points per turn. They have no notable conversations together. Lewyn has 1 more Mov than Tailtiu, so he will have to slow down a step to stay with her, although this is resolved once she promotes.

If Tine is a Princess of Silesse, she will receive the Adept and Critical skills. Adept, again, means she has something less to look forward to on promotion, but at least she’s not stuck waiting to ever double. Critical is redundant when she’s in Wrath territory, but can be a nice boon outside of that. She’ll also inherit minor Sety Holy Blood, which impacts her in a big way. For starters, she’ll join with B-rank Wind. This lets her use the lightweight Elwind tome – and, if Tailtiu promoted, she can pass it down to her daughter. Once Tine promotes, she can also use the powerful Tornado tome. As growths go, relative to the control, she’ll have less Strength (-15%) and Defense (-10%), but more Magic (+13%), and her Speed glows up in a big way (+35%). One more consideration - in chapter 10, Seliph can speak to her after Rados Castle has been seized. This initiates a conversation between Tine and Lewyn, which awards +3 Magic to Tine.

Thracia 776 gamers may know Ced as the Prince of Silesse, but what if the royal role falls to Arthur instead? Like his sister, he’ll receive the Adept and Critical skills from his father. Neither are reliable, but with a little luck, they can really help him overcome his foes. The biggest inheritance, however, is in his blood, as Arthur will inherit Major Sety Holy Blood. This grants him access to any wind tome, including the formidable Forseti, which Lewyn will pass down to him. With 30 Might, 90 Hit, and providing an immense +10 Skill and +20 Speed, this might just be the single most powerful weapon in the game. In Arthur’s case, the boost to Skill and Speed will also increase his Critical and Adept activation rates, so very few foes will survive a round of combat with him. And what’s more, the tome brings Weapon Triangle Advantage over Thunder Mages, who show up plentifully in chapters 7 and 8. Lewyn can also pass down the Elwind tome, as a less costly option, but Tine wants it, too. In terms of growths, he’ll have a touch more HP and Skill (+10% each), plus monstrous boosts to Magic (+25%) and Speed (+70%), although his Strength (-30%) and Defense (-20%) will suffer for it.

Rating: A. I’d consider it an open question whether these versions of the kids, or the ones fathered by Azelle, are better. Wind is the best of the Anima magic types, owing to its light weight, while Critical and Adept can really punish their enemies. Forseti is tremendous, and getting it early – and later, on a horse – is incredible. At the same time… no Pursuit. And while their Magic stats will be good, it won’t be quite as good as those with Fjalar blood. Plus, where Azelle has a conversation to speed the relationship along, Lewyn… doesn’t. He has to make Tailtiu fall in love with him the old-fashioned way – by refusing to leave her side, no matter what funny looks she might give him. This is a very, very good pairing… but I don’t think it’s quite the best.

xiii. Claud

Spoiler

 

Claud and Tailtiu start with 180 love points together, and gain 3 points per turn. In chapter 5, if they are lovers, she can speak with him once Phinora Castle has been seized. Nothing will come of this conversation, however. When they join in chapter 3, they are close to each other, so it will not be hard to keep them adjacent. This also holds true in subsequent chapters, where both will have only 5 Mov until Tailtiu promotes.

If Claud as her father, Tine will not inherit any skills. However, she will receive minor Bragi Holy Blood. This doesn’t affect her ranks (at first) or item inheritance, but lets her use A-rank Staves once she promotes. There are only a couple in the game (Rescue and Fortify), but having the option to provide that support is certainly nice. As growths go, she will have less Strength (-15%) and Defense (-10%) than the control, but more Magic (+18%), Luck (+15%), and Resistance (+23%). The heightened Magic can help her combat and effectiveness with status staves, while the Res boost helps her resilience against lategame status staves and siege tomes.

How about Arthur? Unfortunately, he also will not receive any skills. But he does get Major Bragi Holy Blood. You’d think this would affect his Staff rank, and Claud will, indeed, pass the Valkyrie staff on to his son. However, Genealogy takes place in a bizarro-world, where you can’t count on Mages turning into Sages. Claud can pass down other C-rank Tomes, but none of them will be better for him than his default Wind tome. Where Claud’s impact shines, then, is in the growths he passes on. Arthur will have much more Magic (+35%), Luck (+30%), and Resistance (+45%) than the control, alongside a little more Speed (+10%), but at a cost to HP (-10%), Strength (-30%), Skill (-10%), and Defense (-20%). The Res boost, in particular, lets him ride comfortably into the midst of siege tomes and status staves, while his heightened Magic stat makes Wrath one-shots more achievable.

Rating: A. Like Lewyn x Silvia, Claud x Tailtiu has been considered a “trap pairing”. They start near each other, with a heightened starting love level, so it’s quite easy to get the pairing set up. But is it really the best for the kids? No, but it’s not that bad, either. They both appreciate the boost to their Magic stat, while getting respectable Resistance will help them take on the many magical threats who show up in the second generation. Tine with A-rank Staves is an interesting niche, too. The lack of doubling hurts, granted, but it doesn’t totally undermine what they bring to the table. This shouldn’t be on the top of your list, but it shouldn’t be outside the realm of consideration, either.

 

xiv. Summary

So, how do the fathers stack up? Who makes the ideal husband for Tailtiu? Let’s review:

*: Azelle

A: Lex, Lewyn, Claud

B: Alec, Arden, Midir, Dew, Beowolf

C: Naoise, Finn, Jamke, Chulainn

In any case, how do these rankings sound? Was I fair in my assessment, or have I made some errors of judgement? Please let me know what you think in the comments!

Edited February 22, 2022 by Shanty Pete's 1st Mate
Missing detail.

[Dark Holy Elf]

I really have a hard time not seeing Tailtiu/Lewyn as *. Forseti!Arthur feels like playing with a cheat code. More than once I had someone say "hey did you have trouble with [x thing in FE4 gen 2] and I was like "haha no, I sent Arthur at it". I guess you can do similar things with Ced, but he would need a Leg Ring (much more demanded than the Followup Ring, which if you set up your pairings to spread Followup around, you'll barely need in gen 2) and misses two chapters by comparison.

Fully acknowledge that this is another Sophie's choice situation where Lewyn is definitely not so good for Tinny/Tine, but as far as just making the game easier goes, one game-breaker is better than two pretty good units.

[Shanty Pete's 1st Mate]

9 hours ago, Dark Holy Elf said:

I really have a hard time not seeing Tailtiu/Lewyn as *. Forseti!Arthur feels like playing with a cheat code. More than once I had someone say "hey did you have trouble with [x thing in FE4 gen 2] and I was like "haha no, I sent Arthur at it". I guess you can do similar things with Ced, but he would need a Leg Ring (much more demanded than the Followup Ring, which if you set up your pairings to spread Followup around, you'll barely need in gen 2) and misses two chapters by comparison.

Fully acknowledge that this is another Sophie's choice situation where Lewyn is definitely not so good for Tinny/Tine, but as far as just making the game easier goes, one game-breaker is better than two pretty good units.

In this case, I think there are a few factors at play. Even if Lewyn x Tailtiu produces the best kids (which I'll get back to in a minute), that doesn't necessarily mean it's the best pairing. Other factors need to be considered: namely, how it affects the parents, and how convenient it is to set up. The Azelle pairing gives Tailtiu an HP boost of +5 in chapter 4 - a small buff, but a buff nonetheless. In terms of pairing them up, Azelle and Lewyn each need 380 points to reach marriage. In Lewyn's case, this works out to between 127 turns (non-adjacent) and 48 turns (adjacent). As for Azelle, the chapter 4 conversation grants 100 love points, dropping the turn-based margin down to 280. This means between 94 turns (non-adjacent) and 35 turns (adjacent). So it's more practical to get the Azelle pairing set up by the end of chapter 4, than the Tailtiu one. I'd say it's the easiest pairing to give her, aside from maybe Claud.

As for the kids, I definitely understand the merits of Forseti Arthur, whom I have personal experience with. With a horse and a Pursuit Ring, he's one of the best offensive units possible. I do think there are a few limitations to consider, though. The Pursuit Ring is in high-demand early in Gen 2 (i.e. on Leif), so if Arthur doesn't start with it, he's less reliable at dealing damage. Forseti is expensive, too, so if he overuses it, he'll have to eat a big repair cost. His Resistance won't be the best, either, so without a Barrier Ring, he may be "zoned-out" by enemy Sleep or Silence staves (Azelle!Arthur needs one, too, but he doesn't have to worry about Pursuit Ring or Forseti repair costs).

Looking at Tine, I actually think the margin by which this pairing screws her up is (slightly) overstated. Elwind is just a better version of Elthunder (especially when dealing with enemy Thunder Mages), and inheriting it is really cool. She'll have a little less Magic than the Azelle version, but the chapter 10 conversation should close the gap. Tornado is better than either Thoron or Bolganone. Given a Pursuit Band, I'd say this version of Tine has the best possible combat. Of course, Arthur wants it as much, and with a horse, he can do more with it.

Broadly speaking, I would agree with the notion that at least one of the Lewyn kids will be better than their corresponding Azelle version. But whichever one doesn't get the Pursuit Band just won't be as consistent in their combat. Beyond that, it's more effort to set up, and doesn't benefit Tailtiu in the way Azelle does. I absolutely think Lewyn x Tailtiu is a viable and considerable pairing, but I'd consider it just slightly less optimal than Azelle x Tailtiu.

[Dark Holy Elf]

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

In terms of pairing them up, Azelle and Lewyn each need 380 points to reach marriage. In Lewyn's case, this works out to between 127 turns (non-adjacent) and 48 turns (adjacent). As for Azelle, the chapter 4 conversation grants 100 love points, dropping the turn-based margin down to 280. This means between 94 turns (non-adjacent) and 35 turns (adjacent). So it's more practical to get the Azelle pairing set up by the end of chapter 4, than the Tailtiu one. I'd say it's the easiest pairing to give her, aside from maybe Claud.

Hm, yeah, I admit I'm not inclined to weight this that much, since I got Lewyn and Tailtiu married on my first run knowing nothing about the specifics except that I should try to get them turns beside each other, and I didn't need to drag out my maps to accomplish it (though I'm sure some players are faster than me, so might have more of an issue). I've generally spent more time reading your analyses on what the results of the kids are, since unless a pairing requires you to truly warp your playstyle, I feel that most pairings can't be too hard to get if you're dedicated to doing so. But I can absolutely see your point of view on this.

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

The Pursuit Ring is in high-demand early in Gen 2 (i.e. on Leif), so if Arthur doesn't start with it, he's less reliable at dealing damage.

Even if we want to give the Followup Ring to Leif (I'll admit I was in no way tempted to do so myself), there's no reason Arthur can't get it from his join time until whenever you consider it convenient to pawn over to him. It helps that Lewyn is (IMO) an outstanding candidate for the Followup Ring in gen 1, so he'll naturally pass it on to his son, while I would consider it a huge waste to give it to Ethlyn since that means nobody is making use of it in Chapter 4, 5, or 6.

[Shanty Pete's 1st Mate]

17 hours ago, Dark Holy Elf said:

Hm, yeah, I admit I'm not inclined to weight this that much, since I got Lewyn and Tailtiu married on my first run knowing nothing about the specifics except that I should try to get them turns beside each other, and I didn't need to drag out my maps to accomplish it (though I'm sure some players are faster than me, so might have more of an issue). I've generally spent more time reading your analyses on what the results of the kids are, since unless a pairing requires you to truly warp your playstyle, I feel that most pairings can't be too hard to get if you're dedicated to doing so. But I can absolutely see your point of view on this.

Yeah, it's tricky to know how much I should factor in effort in these rankings. If I weren't considering it at all, then Finn would have a lot of higher rankings. I did Finn x Tailtiu on my latest playthrough, and I think the kids turned out at least as good as any other physical Pursuit pairing. But if I were basing the rankings on a pure efficiency playthrough (rather than a full ranked run), some of these pairings would be totally inconsiderable (wait, is that even a word?), like Claud x Erinys. Probably, I don't know efficiency all that well.

17 hours ago, Dark Holy Elf said:

Even if we want to give the Followup Ring to Leif (I'll admit I was in no way tempted to do so myself), there's no reason Arthur can't get it from his join time until whenever you consider it convenient to pawn over to him. It helps that Lewyn is (IMO) an outstanding candidate for the Followup Ring in gen 1, so he'll naturally pass it on to his son, while I would consider it a huge waste to give it to Ethlyn since that means nobody is making use of it in Chapter 4, 5, or 6.

Outside of a substitutes run, or one where all the kids have Pursuit (just barely possible, since the Sword Twins and Erinys' kids have Pursuit by default, while Alec, Azelle, Finn, Midir, and Beowolf can all pass it down to the five other mothers), I would agree with not passing it down to Leif. That said, I've never really handled Leif well. Like, I'll get him to promotion, but usually not until well into chapter 9. With how big of a deal his promotion is, I figure any tactic that helps him get there sooner is worth considering.

[LoneRecon400]

You don't have to pass the Pursuit Ring to Leif for him to use in Chapter 7. You could just pass him down the Return Ring with some high value items like the Skill Ring and have him buy the Pursuit ring in Rivough.

By adding the Bargain and Paragon Ring to the mix, you can have Leif promote by the end of chapter 7 pretty easily if you have him grind on the Darna Reinforcements while Seliph takes his time coming back from Melgen.

As for Arthur, I always found Horesti to be pretty overrated myself. It's very overkill in the early gen 2 chapters and not as good at bosskilling in the later chapters compared to Ced. Adding on other annoying aspects such as having low resistance for status staves and really wanting the Bargin Ring, I never found it to be Horesti to particularly worthwhile.

Edited February 24, 2022 by LoneRecon400

[Shanty Pete's 1st Mate]

15 hours ago, LoneRecon400 said:

You don't have to pass the Pursuit Ring to Leif for him to use in Chapter 7. You could just pass him down the Return Ring with some high value items like the Skill Ring and have him buy the Pursuit ring in Rivough.

By adding the Bargain and Paragon Ring to the mix, you can have Leif promote by the end of chapter 7 pretty easily if you have him grind on the Darna Reinforcements while Seliph takes his time coming back from Melgen.

Interesting approach, although I am concerned about the costs involved. The Return Ring only sells for 10k, while the Pursuit and Paragon Bands cost 40k each. This can be cut in half with the Bargain Band, but buying the Bargain Band is 40k, so the total price is still 80k. Leif could inherit the Bargain Band so that he only needs 40k for both the Pursuit and Paragon Bands, but that means missing out on Bargain utility for 3 chapters. He can shore up his loose gold count by visiting all six Villages (30k), and getting the Speed Ring (10k), so... I guess it's feasible with just an inherited Bargain Band. Wonder if it's worth not having it for three chapters, though...

You mean, like, have Leif kill all of Javarro's troops, but leave him alive, so that he can return to Darna Castle to pick up more? I guess that's reasonable, although he'll need a magic sword to EP the enemy Arch Knights. It might hurt your turncount, too, although if you bum-rushed Aed and Melgen, then that'll be less of a concern.

15 hours ago, LoneRecon400 said:

As for Arthur, I always found Horesti to be pretty overrated myself. It's very overkill in the early gen 2 chapters and not as good at bosskilling in the later chapters compared to Ced. Adding on other annoying aspects such as having low resistance for status staves and really wanting the Bargin Ring, I never found it to be Horesti to particularly worthwhile.

If I recall, when I used Horseti Arthur, I found him competing for the Pursuit Band with Jamke!Lester, of all people. If I'd gone with Midir!Lester, that wouldn't be a concern, but then again Lester wouldn't have Adept. Arthur was excellent as long as he had the Pursuit Band, but inconsistent without it. Still think that Horseti versus Forcedi is a worthwhile debate.

[LoneRecon400]

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

...I guess it's feasible with just an inherited Bargain Band. Wonder if it's worth not having it for three chapters, though...

It might hurt your turncount, too, although if you bum-rushed Aed and Melgen, then that'll be less of a concern.

 Arthur was excellent as long as he had the Pursuit Band, but inconsistent without it. Still think that Horseti versus Forcedi is a worthwhile debate.

By the time Ethlyn and Quan leave by the end of Chapter 3, the Bargain band as already seen most of it's use swapping around the Paragon Ring since most Gen 1 units have already promoted by then. Missing it out on Chapter 6 doesn't really matter since that chapter should be almost completely dedicated to raising Seliph, leaving minimal time for Paragon swapping shenanigans.

Having Lief at Darna doesn't hurt the turn count if he goes while it's neutral. Even when promoted and with the leg ring, it still takes Seliph a couple turn to reach the castle, leaving Leif ample time to tear through the enemies there with the Light Brand.

Main reason why I don't like Horseti is that Leywn Arthur takes too much away from other units in the earlygame of Gen 2. He requires a lot of Exp to promote at a time when other units also really need thee Exp, needs valuable rings to one round anything without Forseti, needs a lot of gold to fuel his Forseti usage, and pales lategame comparative to Ced. It's just a lot of hassle for a unit that substantial overkill when most units in Gen 2 are already super overkill.

[Punished Dayni]

Sorry, I forgot this was ongoing. Well, catchup time.

On 2/7/2022 at 8:25 PM, Shanty Pete's 1st Mate said:

*: Claud

A: Alec, Lex, Lewyn

B: Azelle, Dew, Chulainn

C: Naoise, Arden, Finn, Midir, Jamke, Beowolf

For once, more pairings are in C than in B! Still, I don’t regret any of the placements – there are a lot of fathers who aren’t convenient to set up, and provide little helpful to either child. Perhaps it’s because of how uniquely these two play, and how unimportant their field combat is relative to other child units?

In any case, let me know what you think! Was I fair with my ratings, or do you think I’ve made a mistake anywhere? One more thing: this is a particularly popular pairing to skip, and to go for the substitutes instead. My plan is to consider the substitutes in their own special, and give them a rating respective to the potential child units. This will happen after I have reviewed all the child units. Look forward to it!

Ranked run makes Lex oddly based for this huh?

Sylvia and pairings can be odd to discuss, even ignoring the meta debates around leaving her unpaired her kids aren't exactly pulling in the same direction for combat even if they don't want to be anywhere at the front line so her options can be harder to choose between than might be liked in the context of a playthrough where most of her better ones could be wanted elsewhere.

On 2/15/2022 at 2:12 AM, Shanty Pete's 1st Mate said:

there are no ledges to easily traverse

I do disagree with this, as cliffsides can still provide fliers with advantages.

Then again I'm a flier apologist.

On 2/15/2022 at 2:12 AM, Shanty Pete's 1st Mate said:

While Erinys can’t take advantage of Road terrain costs or avoid boosts from forest or mountain tiles, flying mobility lets her reach places no one else can. In chapter 3, for instance, she can fly to the Bragi peninsula, to aid the trio who find themselves trapped out there. And in chapter 5, she’s uniquely able to reach and defeat the Meteor Mages, giving her allies less to worry about.

Has better reach to the second half of chapter 4, says F the desert in Phinora, which is nice with the garrison, meteor mages and dracoknights, can provide a flanking option with the Cross Knights using the woods in the right circumstances, I know I'm an apologist, but I really think fliers get a bad rap in this game.

On 2/15/2022 at 2:12 AM, Shanty Pete's 1st Mate said:

But enough about the legendary Light tome

The sacred Light, so dangerous the Loptous Sect had to keep the second one in case of emergencies and when they realised Julia was unarmed panicked when Manfroy revealed his crazy final plan and saw they had to make a hard choice and unseal it.

On 2/15/2022 at 2:12 AM, Shanty Pete's 1st Mate said:

Do note, however: due to an overflow glitch, Ced’s starting Speed may barely exceed the Sage class base (15)

I find it hilarious that the overflow isn't even constant as there's a chance you don't hit the threshold for it to occur.

On 2/15/2022 at 2:12 AM, Shanty Pete's 1st Mate said:

assuming Lewyn survives the “Silvia gauntlet”

Ah yes, the pairing trap that includes a surprise in Chapter 4 that he's not a part of.

Sorry, I had to link these when I remembered I made them last year.

Spoiler

On 2/15/2022 at 2:12 AM, Shanty Pete's 1st Mate said:

*: Lewyn

A: Naoise, Lex, Claud

B: Alec, Azelle, Dew, Chulainn

C: Arden, Finn, Midir, Jamke, Beowolf

How do these ratings sound? Fair, or ill-considered? Please let me know, in the comments! And thank you for waiting for me! Hopefully these delays won’t become a recurring thing, eh heh.

I'd probably put Holyn down a little as A rank swords isn't pressing for the early game, so can wait imo for promotion and Def is the stat I could see them missing in particular.

Ced is an interesting case in that I want to see him get Magic growths as that can be a real concern for him if you, say, wanted to get use of staves in the endgame with the high Res bosses, especially Ishtar who you need to near cap Mag and equip a ring to get. This is something that's alleviated with Ced!Tinny, but it's tricky enough to get Gen 2 pairings to the point it wouldn't have been my first thought either. But other than niches like that he's not someone you necessarily need to stress about getting high Mag as his combat's real solid on his bases and thus the argument to focus on Fee's potential makes a good deal of sense.

On 2/22/2022 at 4:08 AM, Shanty Pete's 1st Mate said:

If Tailtiu is fathered by Chulainn

Funni typo

On 2/22/2022 at 4:08 AM, Shanty Pete's 1st Mate said:

He has to make Tailtiu fall in love with him the old-fashioned way – by refusing to leave her side, no matter what funny looks she might give him.

FE.txt

On 2/22/2022 at 4:08 AM, Shanty Pete's 1st Mate said:

*: Azelle

A: Lex, Lewyn, Claud

B: Alec, Arden, Midir, Dew, Beowolf

C: Naoise, Finn, Jamke, Chulainn

In any case, how do these rankings sound? Was I fair in my assessment, or have I made some errors of judgement? Please let me know what you think in the comments!

Yeah, I get your point on Azelle over Lewyn in context, but Horseti gets a ~70% Adept proc in fairness, which is fairly solid to 1-round and the Pursuit Ring does allow for consistent reliability.

Not much for me to add on the basis of what you've said however, Prayer is something that unfortunately requires persistent calculating to perform safely and combined with the time limit on it I understand the low ranking for Finn, poor guy just can't catch a pairing break huh?

On 2/24/2022 at 9:56 PM, Shanty Pete's 1st Mate said:

If I'd gone with Midir!Lester, that wouldn't be a concern, but then again Lester wouldn't have Adept.

I'm assuming mostly using Killer bow there because Adept doesn't work with the brave weapons so it's irrelevant for the Brave Bow.

[Shanty Pete's 1st Mate]

2 hours ago, Dayni said:

I'm assuming mostly using Killer bow there because Adept doesn't work with the brave weapons so it's irrelevant for the Brave Bow.

Yeah, that's a good point. Also Adept + Pursuit is nice in the Arena with an Iron Bow, when I don't want to be burning through pricier weapons. Of course, if they're weak enough to beat with an Iron Bow, I probably don't need the Adept.

"Killer Bow vs. Brave Bow", I think, is interesting fodder for discussion. They're both excellent weapons, but which is better? Should I put them both on one unit, or spread them among multiple users?

2 hours ago, Dayni said:

Yeah, I get your point on Azelle over Lewyn in context, but Horseti gets a ~70% Adept proc in fairness, which is fairly solid to 1-round and the Pursuit Ring does allow for consistent reliability.

This is a slight overestimate, even looking at endgame performance. Mage Knight caps at 22 Speed, and Forseti grants +20 Speed. But it also weighs 5, for a total AS of 37. Per the Adept formula, add 20% onto it, and we get a 57% proc rate. I suppose you could bump it up to 62%, with a Speed Ring. Very good by Adept standards, but not exactly reliable (until you add in the Pursuit Band, of course).

2 hours ago, Dayni said:

Ced is an interesting case in that I want to see him get Magic growths as that can be a real concern for him if you, say, wanted to get use of staves in the endgame with the high Res bosses, especially Ishtar who you need to near cap Mag and equip a ring to get. This is something that's alleviated with Ced!Tinny, but it's tricky enough to get Gen 2 pairings to the point it wouldn't have been my first thought either. But other than niches like that he's not someone you necessarily need to stress about getting high Mag as his combat's real solid on his bases and thus the argument to focus on Fee's potential makes a good deal of sense.

Yeah, I don't think Ced's combat will ever be a problem. Even just going by bases, with 15 Magic and a Light tome, that's 29 base power. So against foes with single-digit Res (the vast majority of non-bosses), he's doing at least 20 damage per hit. With 15 Speed, and a tome weight of 5, that's 10 AS for a 30% Adept rate. Assuming he outspeeds the enemy, that's a 51% chance of at least attacking three times. And it's not as though Hit rates are a problem. So he's doing 60 damage in one round, generally at a safe distance from the foe, more often than not.

Re: Status staves, I think it's good to have at least one potential user with "sky-high Magic". The game doesn't give us a Gotoh, so we'll have to make our own. 
High Priest caps Magic at 27, so with a Magic Ring, variants of Lena and Coirpre who have a magic daddy are obvious candidates (their Movement sucks, so they'll need support from a Warper). Tine and Ced can be useful to this end, too, with slightly better movement. Unfortunately, Falcon Knight caps at 22, and Paladin at a mere 20, so even Claud!Fee and Claud!Nanna are hung out to dry toward the endgame.

...And I just realized - the Book of Naga is the game's true Gotoh.

2 hours ago, Dayni said:

Beautiful. See, I've always imagined it as something like this:

Spoiler

The Myth of "Consensual" Pairings

Sylvia: "I consent!"

Lewyn: "I don't!"

Erinys: "I don't!"

Sigurd: "Isn't there someone you forgot to ask?"

But I'm too lazy to make an actual meme of it.

3 hours ago, Dayni said:

I'd probably put Holyn down a little as A rank swords isn't pressing for the early game, so can wait imo for promotion and Def is the stat I could see them missing in particular.

Well, I think it's just interesting enough of a niche to be slightly more considerable than anyone in C-tier. Less Defense, sure, but more HP, so it's sort of a bulk trade-off. Inheriting Blades, if nothing else, can be a nice nest egg for Fee to sell (IMO she's a good candidate for the Paragon Ring in chapter 7, since it lets her promote as early as chapter 8 post-Arena, giving you a mounted healer).

3 hours ago, Dayni said:

The sacred Light, so dangerous the Loptous Sect had to keep the second one in case of emergencies and when they realised Julia was unarmed panicked when Manfroy revealed his crazy final plan and saw they had to make a hard choice and unseal it.

Laughs in promoting Julia just to give her a Fire tome so she'll have awful combat.

Cries in discovering that, due to promotion bonuses, she'll do 1 more damage and have 1 more AS than a same-level unpromoted Julia with a Light tome.

3 hours ago, Dayni said:

Has better reach to the second half of chapter 4, says F the desert in Phinora, which is nice with the garrison, meteor mages and dracoknights, can provide a flanking option with the Cross Knights using the woods in the right circumstances, I know I'm an apologist, but I really think fliers get a bad rap in this game.

All good points, too. Erinys is easier to get to promotion than Lachesis, too, so once Ethlyn leaves, she may be your only mounted staff user. I like using her to Return a bunch of folks after seizing the far northeast castle, so they're not stuck backtracking. 

3 hours ago, Dayni said:

Ranked run makes Lex oddly based for this huh?

Sylvia and pairings can be odd to discuss, even ignoring the meta debates around leaving her unpaired her kids aren't exactly pulling in the same direction for combat even if they don't want to be anywhere at the front line so her options can be harder to choose between than might be liked in the context of a playthrough where most of her better ones could be wanted elsewhere.

Yeah, their combat potential matters far less than that of basically any of the other kids, excepting Lana. Lene can have base strength and no extra combat skills, and still trivialize the Arena with Miracle, while Coirpre hardly has a chance to get into the Arena. Speaking of which, getting him to promotion is... a chore. My last playthrough did Alec as his father, who was at least decent enough to pass down a Shield Ring to sell. But I didn't get him more than a handful of levels in chapter 9. Also I traumatized the kid by seizing Kapathogia and Thanos-snapping Hannibal in front of him, since the damned fool picked up reinforcements who proceeded to attack the boy. Anyway, just to get him to level 20, I had to feed him practically all of the green units in chapter 10. Which, with 5 movement, took some doing. Point being, Lex!Coirpre is probably your best bet to get a promoted Coirpre before the end of chapter 10 without feeling the urge to pull your hair out. Or just use Charlot.

3 hours ago, Dayni said:

Sorry, I forgot this was ongoing. Well, catchup time.

Thanks for coming back to it! Just a few weeks to go - Brigid's kids, then the substitutes, then finally a recap.

On 2/24/2022 at 5:50 PM, LoneRecon400 said:

Having Lief at Darna doesn't hurt the turn count if he goes while it's neutral. Even when promoted and with the leg ring, it still takes Seliph a couple turn to reach the castle, leaving Leif ample time to tear through the enemies there with the Light Brand.

So, uh... how bulky is your Leif at this point? Javarro brings 8 Free Knights with Steel Swords (20 Attack), and 3 Arch Knights with Steel Bows (24 Attack). Even if we assume 40 HP and 12 Defense (IMO pretty reasonable if he's beaten up some bandits and handled most of the Arena), that's 8 damage from each Free Knight and 12 from the Arch Knights. If just 5 out of 8 Free Knights (or 4 Free Knights plus 1 Arch Knight, or 2 Free Knights plus 2 Arch Knights) hit Leif, the kid's dead. I don't particularly like those odds, especially if he's not taking advantage of terrain.

On the other side, let's assume around 14 Strength and 4 Magic. So with the Light Brand, he has 26 Attack power (physical) at melee, and 18 Attack power (magical) at range. The Free Knights have 43 HP and 9 Defense, so Leif is doing 17 damage per hit. Even assuming he always hits, it's not a kill without an Adept or Critical activation. Side note - Leif needs 12 Speed to even double the Free Knights, since at 11, he has 6 AS with the Light Brand, speed-tieing them. How about against the Arch Knights? They have 43 HP and 1 Resistance, so Leif hits them for 17 damage. What a coincidence, Leif again needs an Adept or Critical to kill. And if he doesn't deal with all of them, then Javarro - yeah, a *** Authority unit with 28 Attack power, 15 Attack Speed, and Adept - is coming in for the kill.

[LoneRecon400]

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

So, uh... how bulky is your Leif at this point? 

Leif needs an Adept or Critical to kill. 

Giving him the things i have mentioned, having Leif clear out the arena and bop some dark mages on the way, he should reach Darna at Level 9. That gives him ~41 HP, 17 Str, 13 Spd, and 13 Def. With the Chapter 6 Silver Sword he can cleanly one round the Sword Cavs and gets 6 Round KO'd by them.

Here's the thing though: Those enemies are at level 13, which makes Leif gain 80-60 Exp a pop for everyone he offs. On an Enemy Phase facing off against 5 Sword Cavs, he can gain as many as 4 levels in a single Enemy Phase. Suddenly gaining ~+5 HP, +2 Str, +2 Spd, +3 Def is what allows him to take on the Reinforcements with the Light Brand pretty comfortably. 

Javarro does have a pretty high chance of killing if he targets Leif. But if everyone he comes out of the castle with is wiped out even on enemy phase, he will always resort running back into the castle for reinforcements. So you can manipulate him into not attacking all if you keep your distance and manage to off his squad before he can attack.

Now admittedly, this whole strategy relies on blatant favoritism to have a unit snowball. If this were anyone but Lief, I would decry it for taking too many resources for not enough gain. But a mounted Rescue Staff is so inordinately useful that it makes it worth this investment worth it. Being able to rescue a dancer after refreshing, for example, allows them to keep up so much better with mounted units without having to rely on the Knight and Leg Ring and frees those up for other units to use. That Rescue utility is what makes putting up with Leif through all of this worth it.

Edited February 27, 2022 by LoneRecon400

[Shanty Pete's 1st Mate]

2 hours ago, LoneRecon400 said:

Now admittedly, this whole strategy relies on blatant favoritism to have a unit snowball. If this were anyone but Lief, I would decry it for taking too many resources for not enough gain. But a mounted Rescue Staff is so inordinately useful that it makes it worth this investment worth it. Being able to rescue a dancer after refreshing, for example, allows them to keep up so much better with mounted units without having to rely on the Knight and Leg Ring and frees those up for other units to use. That Rescue utility is what makes putting up with Leif through all of this worth it.

Oh, I certainly agree that getting the Rescue Staff onto a mounted unit is excellent for saving turns. I used it with Leif and Lene on Endgame to get to Manfroy quicker. I'd say it's less valuable in a "ranked run" scenario than a strict LTC, but certainly still useful.

Your numbers for Leif work out. I didn't think to give him the Silver Sword, but that does let him one-round the Free Knights, assuming enough Strength levels. If he's not one-rounding, the Steel Blade could be an alternative, although that presents its own issues (less Hit, less Avoid, higher Speed required to double).

I guess I'm still not getting how you handle the Arch Knights, though. If Leif can't counter them, why wouldn't they just safely attack him at range? You could lure them away with a squishier unit, I guess, but as long as they survive enemy-phase, Javarro is still a threat. Is the proposal that other units kill the Arch Knights in the first wave, then Leif handles some/all of the remaining Free Knights, pushing Javarro to retreat, and leaving Leif leveled-up enough to take out all the enemies in the next wave with his Light Brand?

[LoneRecon400]

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

I guess I'm still not getting how you handle the Arch Knights, though. Is the proposal that other units kill the Arch Knights in the first wave, then Leif handles some/all of the remaining Free Knights, pushing Javarro to retreat, and leaving Leif leveled-up enough to take out all the enemies in the next wave with his Light Brand?

Pretty much. The 3 Bow Cavs are at the back of the squad Javarro comes out with. So you can put Leif in range of 5 Sword Cavs without being in range of them and then clear them out on player phase. Javarro will then get his reinforcmenets and you can repeat the process until Seliph's catches up. 

[Shanty Pete's 1st Mate]

Chapter 7: Brigid

Brigid is first encountered in Chapter 3, “Eldigan, the Lionheart”. She is a member of a pirate crew in the Orgahill region, north of Agustria. She lives as the captain’s adoptive daughter, but when the captain dies, the rest of the crew mutinies. Fed up with her honorable ways, they chase after her, intent to kill. Making her way to the Bragi peninsula, she meets up with Father Claud and Tailtiu, and together they fend off the pirate forces. Eventually, she reunites with her long-lost sister, Edain. After being gifted the holy bow Yewfelle (also known as “Ichaival”), her long-lost memories of growing up in House Yngvi return. She joins Sigurd of House Chalphy on his quest, eventually facing her brother Andrey in battle. After the Battle of Belhalla, she disappeared, and it’s said she uses another weapon under another name. But that is a story for another day.

Brigid joins as a level 12 Sniper, after Sylvale Castle has been seized. She comes with a Steel Bow and 10k gold. As a Sniper, she possesses the Pursuit skill by default. Since she is already promoted, she does not receive any promotion gains. Brigid also has Major Ullr Holy Blood. This allows her to use any bow in the game, including the legendary Yewfelle, which she receives from Edain in chapter 3. While equipped, this bow grants +10 Strength (for an effective Might of 40) and +10 Speed (coupled with 13 Weight, for an effective Weight of 3), as well as the Renewal skill. Her stats, including bases, growths, and Sniper caps are as follows:

Spoiler

 

HP: 40 + 0.90x / 80

Str: 20 + 0.30x / 27

Mag: 0 + 0.20x / 15

Skl: 22 + 0.30x / 27

Spd: 21 + 0.20x / 27

Lck: 7 + 0.70x / 30

Def: 14 + 0.20x / 22

Res: 9 + 0.05x / 8

Mov: 6

 

As a pre-promoted Sniper, Brigid has pretty solid stats for her join time, with only Luck being much of a sore spot. Add in access to a legendary weapon, plus the Pursuit skill, and we have the makings of one of the best units in the game, right? Well, not exactly. Brigid is foot-locked in a game where cavalry reigns supreme, so she’ll never have access to the mobility and Canto-ability that many of her comrades offer. Technically, the Leg Ring and Knight Band can solve this, but those items are costly, and in high demand. And as for combat, lacking access to any melee weaponry really hinders her capabilities on enemy phase. That said, this hindrance actually helps in chapter 3, where she can function as a “wall” guarding Claud and Tailtiu from the majority of the Pirate forces. And Brigid can be a solid help in chapters 4 and 5, too, where flying enemies have a significant presence. And with access to the Yewfelle, Killer Bow, and potentially the Brave Bow, she should have little trouble clearing the Arena. She’s far from a game-breaker, but the series’ first bow-wielding lady certainly has her uses.

Brigid will have two children: a son named Febail, and a daughter named Patty. In case Brigid never gets married, or dies before the end of the generation, they will be replaced by Asaello and Daisy, respectively.

Febail, also known as “Faval”, first appears in chapter 8. He is employed by Bloom of House Friege, as a mercenary. Though he does not agree with Bloom’s methods or cause, he needs the money to support the orphanage in Conote where he grew up. Upon being confronted by his sister, Patty, however, he deserts his former employer, and fights on behalf of Seliph’s Liberation Army instead. This eventually forces him to face his cousin, Scipio, on the field of battle. If he survives the war, he goes on to become the head of House Yngvi.

Febail joins as a level 9 Archer, also called “Bow Fighter”. He comes with a Silver Bow, as well as any weapons, items, and gold he may have inherited. In an inversion of the norm, he inherits principally from his mother, Brigid. So he will be able to inherit the Bows she used, including the holy bow, Yewfelle. And since he inherits his mother’s holy blood, he will have Major Ullr Holy Blood, letting him use any bow in the game. He may inherit additional minor holy blood from his father. He will come with the Pursuit skill, by merit of his class, and may receive additional skills from his father. From level 20 onward, he can promote to the Sniper class. This does not give him any skills or weapon ranks, but it does provide a stat boost. For these kids, let’s treat Alec as the “control” father. With Alec as his father, Febail will have the following stats, including bases, growths, Archer caps, promotion gains, and Sniper caps.

Spoiler

 

HP: 39 + 1.35x / 80, + 0 / 80

Str: 12 + 0.45x / 22, + 5 / 27

Mag: 1 + 0.15x / 15, + 0 / 15

Skl: 17 + 0.55x / 25, + 2 / 27

Spd: 15 + 0.40x / 25, + 2 / 27

Lck: 13 + 0.95x / 30, + 0 / 30

Def: 9 + 0.40x / 20, + 2 / 22

Res: 0 + 0.07x / 15, + 3 / 18

Mov: 6, + 0

 

To a certain extent, Febail can be viewed as a redux of his mother. He joins at a lower level, and in an unpromoted class, but he operates in a very similar manner. He enjoys the benefits of a legendary weapon and baked-in Pursuit, but chafes at the lack of a mount and inability to counter at 1-range. Still, he joins at just the right time. The boosts from Yewfelle let him take on Ishtar right after he joins, although his Hit rate makes it an uncertain gambit. If the Brave Bow was not obtained in generation one, or otherwise not passed down, then he can kill an enemy General just west of Conote to receive it directly. And not long after he joins, Seliph’s army travels into the Kingdom of Thracia, where Wyvern Knights predominate. Febail will be an excellent player-phase tool against these foes, although again, his limited mobility and lack of 1-range hold him back. Finally, he has little trouble clearing the Arena, especially in cases where his father granted him additional combat skills.

Patty grew up with her brother, in a Conote orphanage. To make money for the other orphans, she turned to thievery. Patty first appears in Chapter 7, “Beyond the Desert”. She is introduced departing the Aed shrine, after robbing it to acquire the legendary sword, Balmung. She is immediately confronted by Prince Shannan, who demands she hand over the weapon. Together, they flee from Myrmidons and Dark Mages of the Loptyr Cult. Soon, they unite with Seliph’s Liberation Army, eventually displacing the tyrannical rule of the Grannvale Empire.

Patty joins as a level 1 Thief, from the start of chapter 7. She joins with a Sleep Sword, and may inherit gold, items, and weapons from her father. She has minor Ullr holy blood, and may receive additional holy blood from her father. As a Thief, she has access to C-rank Swords. She joins with the Steal skill from her class, and may also receive personal skills from her father. From level 20 onward, she has the opportunity to promote into the Rogue class, also called “Thief Fighter”. This provides her with the Pursuit skill, if she did not have it already. It also boosts her movement, along with her other stats. Assuming Alec as her father, here are her stats, including bases, growths, Thief caps, promotion bonuses, and Rogue caps:

Spoiler

 

HP: 29 + 1.05x / 80, + 0 / 80

Str: 5 + 0.45x / 18, + 4 / 22

Mag: 0 + 0.22x / 15, + 3 / 18

Skl: 6 + 0.50x / 18, + 4 / 22

Spd: 9 + 0.35x / 22, + 5 / 27

Lck: 7 + 0.55x / 30, + 0 / 30

Def: 3 + 0.35x / 16, + 4 / 20

Res: 1 + 0.07x / 15, + 3 / 18

Mov: 6, + 1

 

Patty offers a similar function that Dew provided in the first generation. Perhaps that’s why she looks a bit like Dew? Her combat won’t be too great, but she’ll provide valuable utility collecting gold and sharing it with her allies. This can be especially useful against Brigand-types, who carry 5K each, and a magic sword can let her rob her foes from a safe distance. Most of her variants will struggle to make it through the Arena, but the Miracle Sword is an option for her. Additionally, she can trivialize foes by putting them to sleep with the Sleep Sword, but it’s heavy and inaccurate. As such, it can be hard to get experience on her, although it’s worth keeping in mind that Patty gets 10 exp for each time she gives gold, regardless of how much she gives. Once she promotes, her combat ability improves dramatically, since she gets Pursuit and access to all Swords. And while movement may be a problem for all infantry, it’s slightly less of one for her post-promotion. Patty may not be a dominant force in battle, but she grants considerable utility that no one else in Seliph’s army offers.

So, who makes the best partner for Brigid, and father of these children? Let’s find out!

i. Naoise

Spoiler

 

Naoise and Brigid start with 50 love points together, and gain 4 points per turn. They have no notable conversations together. Since Naoise has cavalry movement, he will have a relatively easy time getting to Brigid in chapter 3, but it may be difficult to keep them adjacent in future chapters.

With Naoise as his father, Febail will inherit the Critical and Accost skills. Critical can enhance his damage dealt, although it is redundant with the Killer Bow, or against flying enemies. As for Accost, it can help when fighting enemies who can’t counter at range, but may harm him while under attack from ballistae, or else at melee range. He will inherit Major Ullr Holy Blood from his mother. He also inherits Brigid’s items, gold, and weapons, including Yewfelle. As stats go, Febail will have more HP, Strength, and Defense (+10% each), but less Skill, Speed, and Luck (-10% each), relative to the control.

As for Patty, she also inherits the Critical and Accost skills. Unlike her brother, she doesn’t really have access to effective weaponry or any with the ability to score a crit (outside of, say, a 50-kill Iron Sword), so this skill can make a big difference for her damage output. As for Accost, it may let her get in more hits, but it’s likely to hurt her against hard-hitting foes, especially since it’s rare for Patty to get the kill. As Naoise is a Sword-user, he can pass C-rank Swords down to Patty. These include the Shield Sword, as well as the magical swords, which come with the benefit of letting Patty rob people at range. Patty will also receive items and gold from her father. As growths go, none of them will differ substantially from the control.

Rating: B. Looking at some numbers, these two need 450 love points to get married. They can reach this in between 113 turns (non-adjacent) and 50 turns (adjacent). Of course, if Naoise has business on the frontlines, it can be tricky to secure time for him and Brigid to connect. Critical is a nice skill for sure, but often redundant on a Bow-user in this game, while Patty’s Skill may not be high enough for it to activate very often. I’d say Accost is broadly better on Febail (since he won’t often initiate combat against foes who can counter), while in Patty’s case, it may help or hurt. Patty does appreciate inheriting Swords, though. Not a bad pairing, to be sure, but the kids won’t really stand out with it.

 

ii. Alec

Spoiler

 

Alec and Brigid start with 50 love points together, and gain 4 points per turn. If they are married, she will be able to speak with him in chapter 5, but nothing will come of this. Since Alec has cavalry movement, he will have a relatively easy time getting to Brigid in chapter 3, but it may be difficult to keep them adjacent in future chapters.

If Alec is the father of Febail, then he will inherit the Nihil skill. Normally, Alec passes down Pursuit, but it is redundant on Febail, as he has Pursuit as a class skill. The Nihil skill will be of occasional use against the handful of foes who have threatening combat skills. He will not inherit any additional holy blood, and his equipment inheritance depends on his mother. As his stats go, they are covered in the control above – excellent HP and Luck, while other stats are more moderate, outside of a poor Resistance.

In the case of Patty, not only does she get Nihil out of this pairing, but also the Pursuit skill. Nihil is only an occasional benefit to her. As for Pursuit, it may seem redundant, since she normally gains Pursuit upon promotion. But it’s tricky to get levels to Patty, so she’ll be spending most of her time unpromoted. In that light, of course she’d prefer it sooner than later. With Pursuit, she has double the chances of robbing most foes, and she’s more competent in the Arena. In terms of inheritance, Alec, like Naoise, can pass-down C-rank Swords. As for her growths, they are covered above – solid HP, bad Resistance, and everything else is pretty balanced.

Rating: B. This pairing is definitely better for Patty than it is for Febail – while he only receives the Nihil skill, she also gets early access to Pursuit. On top of that, Alec can also pass down Swords, like the light and accurate Slim Sword. Still, they don’t start with many love points, and with their different mobilities, it’s not always convenient to keep them together. And Febail gives a very ordinary performance. Not a bad pairing, for sure, but there isn’t much special about it.

 

iii. Arden

Spoiler

 

Arden and Brigid start with 50 love points together, and gain 4 points per turn. They have no notable conversations together. Arden’s low movement means he will have trouble reaching Brigid in chapter 3, while in future chapters, he may force Brigid to slow down a step.

As the son of Arden, Febail will inherit the Vantage skill. This can be occasionally useful in the field against foes who can only attack him at range, or in the Arena against faster foes. Since Febail’s greatest uses tend to be on player phase, however, this utility will be limited. As his stats go, he will have more HP (+20%), Strength (+20%), and Defense (+10%), but quite a bit less Skill (-30%), Speed (-10%), and Luck (-20%). He’ll deal more damage, but his Hit and Avoid rates are likely to suffer.

Regarding Patty, she also receives the Vantage skill. This is of little benefit to her in the field of battle, as she is unlikely to be one-shotting many enemies, or even finishing off weakened foes before they can touch her. However, it does have a place it’s useful – the Arena. Even with the heavy Sleep Sword, she can be guaranteed to get the first hit, so it’s just a matter of inflicting Sleep, and then switching to an Iron Sword to chip them to death. Arden is a Sword-user, so whether or not he’s promoted, he can pass C-rank Swords down to Patty, alongside other inheritance items. As growths go, she’ll have more HP and Strength (+10% each) than the control, but her Skill (-15%) and Luck (-10%) will fall by the wayside.

Rating: B. Brigid has higher movement than Arden, especially where mountain tiles are concerned, but it’s not that wide of a margin. Arden offers a couple neat traits to the kids – both get a boost in physical bulk and power, relative to the control. And while Vantage may be of occasional use to Febail, it’s particularly nice for Patty, letting her get a first strike in the Arena with the Sleep Sword. Arden can pass Swords along to her as well. Still, the cost to their hit rates may be too much to bear.

 

iv. Azelle

Spoiler

 

Azelle and Brigid start with 150 love points together, and gain 3 points per turn. They have no notable conversations together. Azelle’s low movement means he will have trouble reaching Brigid in chapter 3, while in future chapters, he may force Brigid to slow down a step. After Azelle promotes, this relationship is inverted, as he acquires mounted mobility.

If Azelle is his father, Febail will not inherit any additional skills. Azelle normally passes down Pursuit, but this is redundant on Febail. He will, however, inherit minor Fjalar holy blood. This impacts his growths in a rather significant way – his Magic (+35%) and Speed (+20%) will be quite a bit higher, but his Strength (-20%), Skill (-20%), Luck (-10%), and Defense (-10%) will all be lower. As there are no magical bows available within the game, this means his offensive output will be uniformly lower than usual.

Regarding Patty, she will inherit the Pursuit skill from Azelle. Of course, this is always useful for a unit who will be seeing any combat. If Azelle is promoted, he can use Swords, which he can then pass down to Patty, alongside other items and gold. Patty will also receive minor Fjalar holy blood. This doesn’t impact her weapon ranks, but as with her brother, it affects her growths. Relative to the control, she’ll have more HP (+10%), Magic (+33%), and Speed (+10%), but lower Strength (-10%) and Skill (-10%). Unlike her brother, she at least has the option of magical swords to make use of her holy blood.

Rating: B. This pairing starts at a relatively high level, taking between 117 and 44 turns to set up. Early Pursuit is certainly nice on Patty, as is Azelle’s ability to pass down weapons, including magical swords. And both kids appreciate the Speed boost. Patty can also deal more damage than usual with magical swords, although this is of no help in the arena. Still, this produces possibly the worst version of Febail – his Strength and Hit rates are undermined, and he gets no skills to compensate for it. Do this pairing for a weird “Mage-Thief Patty” if you wish, but don’t expect much good to come out of Febail.

 

v. Lex

Spoiler

 

Lex and Brigid start with 50 love points together, and gain 4 points per turn. They have no notable conversations together. Since Lex has cavalry movement, he will have a relatively easy time getting to Brigid in chapter 3, but it may be difficult to keep them adjacent in future chapters.

As the son of Lex, Febail will inherit the Paragon and Vantage skills. Vantage, as covered above, may be of some use to him, but only in rare instances. Paragon, however, is always an excellent skill to receive. Since Febail has trouble keeping up with his mounted allies and gaining experience on the field of battle, a skill that ensures his Arena experience is always doubled is a major boon in getting him to promotion, and eventually to level 30. Febail will also inherit minor Neir holy blood, affecting his growths. Compared to the control, he will have more HP (+20%), Strength (+10%), and Defense (+20%), while his Skill (-20%), Speed (-10%), and Luck (-10%) will all be lower.

Patty, too, will inherit Paragon and Vantage if Lex is her father. As with Arden, Vantage is only particularly useful for Sleep Sword Arena strats. Paragon, however, is a huge benefit to Patty. She has a hard time getting kills to secure experience, and she’s not too gifted in the Arena (aside from trivializing strategies), so doubled EXP for every interaction makes getting her to promotion much less of a headache. Additionally, since Patty normally receives 10 EXP every time she gives gold, now she’ll receive 20 EXP from this transaction. In other words, if she beats an Arena enemy, then immediately leaves the Castle to give gold to an ally, that’s an extra 20 EXP on top of her doubled Arena experience. Unfortunately, since Lex uses Axes, he cannot pass down Swords to Patty. Like her brother, Patty receives Neir holy blood, impacting her growths. She’ll have more HP and Defense (+20% each) than the control, but her Skill (-10%) will fall somewhat short.

Rating: A. Hear me out – 20 EXP every time Patty gives gold. Basically, it’s a similar argument to Lex!Lene, who gets 20 EXP every time she dances: give Paragon to the unit who has a hard time leveling up in conventional fashion. As for Febail, while he’ll have no problems in combat, he may struggle to keep to the forefront of the squad. With Paragon built-in, he barely needs more than the Arena to reach his maximum level. Add in Vantage for its niche uses, and the boost to physical durability that Neir blood offers, and you have a great recipe for the kids. Still, it may be hard to keep these parents together, in light of their differing mobilities.

 

vi. Finn

Spoiler

 

Finn and Brigid start with 180 love points together, and gain 10 points per turn. They have no notable conversations together. Since Finn has cavalry movement, he will have a relatively easy time getting to Brigid in chapter 3. It is imperative to make Brigid spawn early and move Finn toward her as soon as possible, because Finn will leave Sigurd’s army once the chapter ends.

If Febail is fathered by Finn, then he will inherit the Miracle skill. This can be decently useful for him in the Arena, allowing him to beat tough opponents even with a relatively inexpensive Bow, so long as he manages his HP carefully. It is less likely to come into play on the field, but it may just save his life in select scenarios. As far as growths go, his Luck will be higher than the control (+20%), giving him a guaranteed point every level-up, while his other stats will not differ much.

What if Patty is the daughter of Finn? She will inherit the Miracle and Pursuit skills. The benefits of Pursuit to her combat ability should be pretty clear at this point, especially with lightweight swords against slower enemies. As for Miracle, it’s actually very useful on Patty. It provides her with another way to trivialize the Arena, outside of Sleep Sword shenanigans. While it may be seen as “redundant” since the Miracle Sword exists, that weapon is pretty expensive, and Patty can’t inherit it directly. Regarding growths, Luck (+10%) will differ slightly from the control, while other stats will be the same.

Rating: C. Unfortunately, this pairing suffers from the usual problems with Finn pairings – limited time to pair the units together, and loss of Finn’s equipment. They’ll get together after between 32 turns (non-adjacent) and 22 turns (adjacent). While it’s possible to put Finn close to Brigid when she spawns, there are a ton of enemies between the two of them, preventing you from kicking off the relationship immediately. And it’s a shame, too – Miracle is actually very nice for Patty’s Arena performance. Still, this pairing just isn’t practical to accomplish.

 

vii. Midir

Spoiler

 

Midir and Brigid start with 100 love points together, and gain 3 points per turn. In chapter 3, Midir can speak with her any time after she spawns, granting an additional 100 love points between the two. If they are married as of chapter 5, Brigid can speak to him, but nothing will come of this. Since Midir has cavalry movement, he will have a relatively easy time getting to Brigid in chapter 3, but it may be difficult to keep them adjacent in future chapters.

With Midir as his father, Febail will inherit the Accost skill. This can help him finish off foes that he can’t normally one-round, although it may hurt him against ballistae and melee foes. In terms of growths, he will have a bit more Speed (+10%), but less HP (-10%) and Luck (-20%). The Speed edge can help him double and Accost, although his durability may be lacking.

As for Patty, she will inherit the Accost and Pursuit skills. Pursuit is always great to receive early on, while Accost can be to her benefit or detriment. As a Bow-user, Midir can’t pass down swords to Patty, with the exception of the Thunder Sword, which is dropped by Jacobi in chapter 3. In terms of stats, she’ll have a bit less Luck (-10%) than the control, but other stats won’t differ significantly.

Rating: A. This pairing is one of the most convenient ones to set up. With their starting point, plus their chapter 3 conversation, they have just 300 points to go. That’s between 100 turns (non-adjacent) and 38 turns (adjacent), making it very practical to set up before chapter 4 ends. Midir won’t be able to pass down swords (aside from the dropped Thunder Sword), but Patty can still inherit rings, along with the valuable Pursuit skill. Both kids get Accost, which can be a bit of a mixed bag, but the Speed boost is certainly welcome. A pretty easy pairing to set up, and one that’s fairly good for both kids.

 

viii. Dew

Spoiler

 

Dew and Brigid start with 50 love points together, and gain 2 points per turn. They have no notable conversations together. Since they both have 6 movement, at least until Dew promotes, it will not be difficult to keep these units adjacent to each other.

If Febail is fathered by the blonde thief, he will inherit just one skill: Bargain. This doesn’t do any immediate favors to his combat. However, it is an incredibly powerful skill. Once he hits 20K gold, he can readily buy the Paragon Band to use in the Arena. Have him buy a Leg Ring and Knight Band, and suddenly he’s a mounted unit. It’ll also be cheaper for him to repair powerful weapons, like the Killer Bow and his signature Yewfelle. As his stats go, he’ll take a cut to HP (-20%), but his Strength, Speed, Luck, and Defense will all rise (+10%) to the occasion.

As for Patty, she won’t just inherit Dew’s ponytail, but also his two personal skills: Bargain and Sol. Bargain is excellent on Patty, allowing her to buy useful items like the Paragon Band or Pursuit Band. Plus, not losing money every time she uses the Pawn Shop means more money to share with her allies. As for Sol, it provides her with a modest chance of restoring her HP after an attack. It’s based on the damage dealt, though, and since Patty doesn’t deal much damage, she won’t be restoring much HP. In terms of growths, she’ll have a bit less HP (-10%), but other stats won’t differ much from control.

Rating: A. This pairing starts at a low point count, with a low per-turn boost as well, so it takes more turns to set up than Brigid’s other pairings. Still, Dew can pass down Swords, so that’s cool. And the Bargain skill is excellent on both kids. They can buy valuable rings, more easily repair their weapons, and be more financially secure in giving away their gold. Outside of the HP, their stats will be very solid, and Sol is just a cherry on top for Patty.

 

ix. Jamke

Spoiler

 

Jamke and Brigid start with 150 love points together, and gain 3 points per turn. If they are married as of chapter 5, then Brigid can speak to him, but nothing will come of this. Since they both have 6 movement, it will not be difficult to keep these units adjacent to each other.

As a prince of Verdane, Febail will receive the Accost and Adept skills. In combination with class-based Pursuit, this makes him into something of a “second coming” of Jamke. Imagine Jamke, with broadly higher growths, and access to the Yewfelle. Together, these three skills mean that, should he enter battle with a slower opponent, he is almost certain to finish them off. Adept is also a solid boon in the Arena, letting him get as many as four unanswered hits in, even without the Killer Bow. Getting back to growths, he’ll have more HP (+20%), Strength (+20%), and Luck (+10%) than the control, but at a cost to Skill (-30%).

If Jamke fathers Patty, then he will pass down the Accost and Adept skills. Accost may help her, but honestly, it’s more likely to hurt her. As for Adept, it gives her a chance to score an additional hit for more damage. She’s not likely to be one-rounding anyone, at least not before promotion, but it can help her out in the Arena. As a Bow-user, Jamke won’t be able to pass down swords to Patty, aside from the aforementioned Thunder Sword. As stats go, Patty will have more HP and Strength (+10% each), but less Skill (-15%).

Rating: *. This was a hard one to pick, but I honestly think this pairing comes at the intersection of convenience and effectiveness. Jamke starts at a fairly high love level with Brigid, comparable to Azelle or Chulainn, and the two units will have similar mobility throughout. Moreover, it produces perhaps the best version of Febail possible, combining the strengths of both his parents into one unit. His Hit rates may be an issue, but with Adept and Accost, he’s likely to get second chances. And when in doubt, he can just use the accurate and light Killer Bow. As for Patty, she’ll do a touch better in the bulk and offense department than usual, albeit at a cost to hit rates. And while Adept certainly isn’t as good as Pursuit, she gets to combine the skills after she promotes, giving her fairly formidable offense. It’s not her best pairing, but it’s certainly not a bad one for her, either.

 

x. Chulainn

Spoiler

 

Chulainn and Brigid start with 150 love points together, and gain 3 points per turn. They have no notable conversations together. Since they both have 6 movement, it will not be difficult to keep these units adjacent to each other.

If Chulainn is Febail’s father, he will not inherit any additional skills. As a Bow-user, he cannot use the Luna skill. He will, however, inherit something else – minor Od Holy Blood. This has a significant impact on his growth rates, leaving him with much more HP (+40%) and Skill (+40%), but with a slight loss of Luck (-10%). As such, he should have better bulk, and no problems hitting his mark.

As for Patty, she will receive the Luna skill from Chulainn. This gives her a chance to ignore the enemy’s defense or resistance, potentially greatly improving her damage output. What’s more, she’ll also receive minor Od holy blood. This boosts her Sword rank up to B, allowing her to use effective weaponry, as well as the formidable Brave Sword. Even without the Pursuit skill, this gives her the best possible combat pre-promotion. And Beowolf can directly pass down the Brave Sword, or other B-rank Swords. This holy blood affects her growths, too, giving her higher HP (+30%) and Skill (+35%), while her other stats remain relatively unaffected.

Rating: A. This pairing produces, perhaps, the best possible version of Patty. At least in terms of combat. Not only does she get early access to the Brave Sword, but she can also get a damage boost from the Luna skill – something exclusive to this pairing. The HP boost helps out her bulk, while the Skill boost gives her a better shot at Luna activation. The stat impacts to Febail are similar, and although he can’t take advantage of Luna, he certainly appreciates the increased hit rates.

 

xi. Beowolf

Spoiler

 

Beowolf and Brigid start with 50 love points together, and gain 4 points per turn. They have no notable conversations together. Since Beowolf has cavalry movement, he will have a relatively easy time getting to Brigid in chapter 3, but it may be difficult to keep them adjacent in future chapters.

As Beowolf’s son, Febail will inherit the Accost skill. As covered above, this can present a boon or a burden. In terms of stats, he’ll have more HP and Strength (+10% each) versus the control, but a bit less Luck (-10%).

Patty will inherit both Pursuit and Accost. Early Pursuit access is great, as always, while Accost may help or hinder her. Essentially, it’s like the Midir pairing, but with the advantage that Beowolf can pass down C-rank Swords. None of her growths will differ substantially from the control.

Rating: B. There isn’t an appreciable difference between this pairing and the Alec one. They both require similar effort, and they both produce a Patty with sword inheritance and Pursuit. The stat differences will be slight, so it turns into a question between Nihil and Accost – the predictable skill that rarely makes a difference, or the unpredictable one that can make all the difference in the world? The kids will end up pretty solid, sure, but there’s nothing unique or interesting here.

 

xii. Lewyn

Spoiler

 

Lewyn and Brigid start with 50 love points together, and gain 4 points per turn. They have no notable conversations together. Since they both have 6 movement, it will not be difficult to keep these units adjacent to each other.

If Febail is Lewyn’s son, he will inherit the Adept and Critical skills. Both are situationally redundant – Adept with the Brave Bow, and Critical with the Killer Bow and against flying enemies – but they do help his damage output with mainline bows. Febail also gets minor Sety holy blood, which won’t affect his ranks, but will make an impact on his growths. His Magic (+25%) and Speed (+30%) will climb, while his Strength (-20%), Luck (-10%), and Defense (-10%) will be undermined.

If Patty is a princess of Silesse, she will also inherit the Adept and Critical skills. Both skills will be too her benefit, potentially boosting her damage output beyond what her stats may suggest. Unlike her brother, Patty won’t have immediate access to any Brave or Killer weaponry. Patty also inherits major Sety holy blood, along with the Forseti tome, which she unfortunately cannot use. Still, the holy blood has a big impact on her stats, increasing her HP (+10%), Magic (+13%), and especially Speed (+30%); however, it comes at a cost to her Strength (-10%).

Rating: B. Yet again, a Lewyn pairing that doesn’t provide Forseti access in the second generation. For that reason, expect most players to write it off immediately. To be sure, it’s not the best for either kid, who don’t appreciate the cut to Strength. Febail especially so, since he has no magical weapon options. Still, Adept is a pretty nice skill for the kids, especially in conjunction with their heightened speed from Sety Holy Blood. And Critical can increase their damage output, although not in a reliable fashion.

 

xiii. Claud

Spoiler

 

Claud and Brigid start with 50 love points together, and gain 4 points per turn. They have no notable conversations together. In chapter 3, they are likely to spend a lot of time in proximity on the Bragi peninsula. But in future chapters, Brigid will be forced to slow down a step, to stay adjacent to Claud.

If Claud is his father, then Febail will not inherit any additional skills. He does, however, receive minor Bragi holy blood. This has a significant effect on his stats. He’ll have more Magic (+25%), Luck (+10%), and Resistance (+25%), but at a cost to his HP (-10%), Strength (-20%), Skill (-20%), and Defense (-10%).

Likewise, Patty misses out on inheriting any skills from this pairing. She will, of course, get major Bragi holy blood, alongside a Valkyrie Staff that she can’t use. Since Claud can’t use weapons, he can’t pass anything down to Patty; not even the Thunder Sword, since Jacobi is defeated before Claud shows up. Looking at her growths, she’ll have more Magic (+18%), Luck (+10%), and Resistance (+23%), but at a cost to her Strength and Skill (-10% each).

Rating: C. This pairing isn’t too difficult to set up, especially since Brigid’s natural course of action tends to bring her right next to Claud in chapter 3. However, it doesn’t do many favors for the kids. Sure, they get higher Magic, Luck, and Resistance than usual, but at the cost to Strength and Skill. The Resistance boost is a slight help against lategame siege tomes and status staves, but really, both kids would rather have skills and/or stats that would increase her damage output.

 

xiv. Summary

So, how do these pairings stack up? Let’s review the placings:

*: Jamke

A: Lex, Midir, Dew, Chulainn

B: Naoise, Alec, Arden, Azelle, Beowolf, Lewyn

C: Finn, Claud

How do these rankings sound? Fair and reasonable? Or have I lost all credibility in the eyes of the Serenes Forest public? By all means, please make your opinions known! I am happy to read any feedback.

Thank you, everyone, for waiting a few days for this list. I really appreciate everyone’s patience on this front. Right now, I’m planning on one more entry, to cover the substitute units. Then, we’ll wrap it all up with a Conclusion week. Look forward to it!

Edited March 3, 2022 by Shanty Pete's 1st Mate
Previously a placeholder post.

[AnonymousSpeed]

I always misread "Tailtiu" as "Titty Lou", although I suppose the official name makes more sense.

[Shanty Pete's 1st Mate]

Chapter 8: Substitutes

Well, they said it couldn’t be done, but now we’ve done it: we’ve looked at every possible pairing among the Generation I units, discussing them and assigning them grades. So, our work is done, right? Well, not quite – although we’ve considered all possible pairings, we haven’t considered another possibility – the lack of a pairing. If a mother dies, or ends her generation unpaired, then her children won’t exist – instead, we’ll get their substitute units. There are 14 in total, each replacing one of the child units we’ve already examined in-depth. How do these children perform? How viable a decision is it to leave the prospective mother units unpaired? Let’s examine the possibilities!

i. Muirne and Deimne

Spoiler

 

Muirne, also known as “Mana”, is a cleric from Isaach. She is a member of Seliph’s Liberation Army from the start of chapter 6, “Heir of Light”. She aids him in overcoming the Grannvale occupation of Isaach and other lands, in spite of the young prince’s insistence that “nuns and warfare do not mix!”. She is the replacement unit of Lana, in case Edain was not paired up or died in the first generation.

Muirne joins as a level 1 Priest. She comes with a Heal Staff and 2000 Gold. She has no holy blood and no skills. She can use up to B-rank Staves. From level 20 onward, she can promote to the High Priest class. This lets her use up to A-rank Staves, while also giving her access to C-rank Fire, Thunder, and Wind magic. It also boosts her stats, but does not grant her skills or increase her movement. As a substitute unit, Muirne will have fixed bases and growths, independent of any choices made in the first generation. Here are her stats, including bases, growths, Priest caps, promotion bonuses, and High Priest caps:

HP: 24 + 0.50x / 80, + 0 / 80

Str: 0 + 0.10x / 15, + 0 / 15

Mag: 10 + 0.30x / 22, + 5 / 27

Skl: 7 + 0.20x / 21, + 3 / 24

Spd: 10 + 0.20x / 21, + 2 / 23

Lck: 5 + 0.40x / 30, + 0 / 30

Def: 1 + 0.10x / 16, + 2 / 18

Res: 10 + 0.20x / 22, + 1 / 23

Mov: 5, + 0

In most cases, a substitute unit will have similar events and conversations to whoever they’re replacing. For instance, Lester can speak with Lana, granting her +1 Luck. Likewise, Deimne can speak with Muirne, granting her +1 Luck. I won’t be discussing such events at any length, because they don’t serve to offer a distinction between the substitutes and the child units. However, there are certain events that are exclusive to the substitutes, and I will be covering those. In Muirne’s case, this is a secret conversation with Seliph in chapter 8. If he stands next to her after seizing Conote Castle, no playable units have died yet, and neither of them are married, then they will have a conversation together, granting her +5 Luck.

Compared to Lana, Muirne offers vanishingly few advantages. Her bases may exceed Lana’s in a few areas, such as Magic, Speed, and Resistance. However, even with a physical father, Lana will have a comparable Magic growth and significantly better Speed growth. All Lana variants can expect to surpass Muirne in HP, Skill, and Defense. As for Luck, Muirne’s base is more consistent, and she has access to the chapter 8 conversation to reinforce it, but her growth rate will always be worse than Lana’s.

There’s a bigger problem than stats, however. Muirne is missing two key components that Lana brings to the table. The first is skills. Depending on who her father is, she can benefit from useful skills like Bargain, Paragon, or Miracle. And when she promotes, skills like Pursuit and Critical can give her an edge in combat. Muirne starts the game with no skills, and she ends the game with no skills. Lana’s other big advantage is inheritance. Based on Edain’s inventory at the end of the first generation, Lana can start out useful and valuable staves like Physic, Restore, and the status staves. And if Claud is her father, she can inherit Fortify and Rescue as well. As for Muirne, all she starts with is a Heal Staff and 2K gold to her name, in a game where the cheapest staff costs 5K gold, and the best ways to get money are competing in the Arena (which she can’t do) and visiting Villages (which her movement does her no favors on). Muirne is a serviceable healer, but she’s worse than just about every conceivable version of Lana.

Now, how about her brother? Deimne, also known as “Dimna”, is another member of Seliph’s Liberation Army. He first appears in chapter 6, “Heir of Light”. Isaachian by birth and upbringing, he seeks to liberate his country from the rule of House Dozel. However, this mission ends up taking him even further – to the very heart of the Grannvale Empire. He is the substitute unit for Lester, in case Edain died, or else finished the first generation unpaired.

Deimne joins from the third turn of chapter 6, as a level 1 Arch Knight. He comes with an Iron Bow and 2000 Gold. He has no holy blood, but he does join with the Pursuit skill. He can use up to B-rank Bows. From level 20 onward, he can promote to the Bow Knight class. This raises him up to A-rank Bows, while also boosting his stats and movement. Like his sister, Deimne will have fixed bases and growths. What follows are his stats, including bases, growths, Arch Knight caps, promotion gains, and Bow Knight caps:

HP: 30 + 0.90x / 80, + 0 / 80

Str: 9 + 0.30x / 22, + 3 / 25

Mag: 0 + 0.05x / 15, + 0 / 15

Skl: 7 + 0.50x / 21, + 2 / 23

Spd: 9 + 0.20x / 21, + 2 / 23

Lck: 3 + 0.30x / 30, + 0 / 30

Def: 8 + 0.40x / 21, + 2 / 23

Res: 0 + 0.05x / 15, + 3 / 18

Mov: 8, + 1

There is one notable event that Deimne has access to, which Lester does not. After Seliph conquers Isaach Castle in chapter 6, if Deimne enters the castle, then he will have a conversation with an old friend. This grants him an immediate boost of +5 Strength.

In broad strokes, compared to Deimne, most versions of Lester will have better growths in all areas. In particular, Deimne never beats Lester when it comes to HP, Speed, Luck, and Resistance growths. Deimne’s Strength and Defense growths, however, will be better than those of Lester variants who had a magical father. And his Skill growth is quite competitive with Lester variants. In terms of bases, Deimne can expect to have a slight edge of a point or two in areas outside of Luck and Resistance. And the Isaach Castle conversation, in particular, gives him a big Strength bump, with at least 14 Strength going into chapter 7.

Of course, Deimne deals with similar problems to his sister, although whereas Muirne’s problems were unique to her, Deimne’s issues are shared with quite a few Lester variants. For one, there’s the skill consideration. In this regard, Deimne is… actually at an advantage over many breeds of Lester. Pursuit is the best possible skill for a unit’s combat, and plenty of popular partners for Edain, like Jamke and Claud, don’t pass it down. And one of the popular Pursuit fathers, Azelle, produces a Lester whose Strength is lacking. The other side is inheritance – Deimne starts with just an Iron Bow, and a rather paltry purse. But whereas Edain could pass down staves regardless of whom she married, only a handful of potential father figures can pass down bows to Lester: Midir, Jamke, and (promoted) Arden. If Lester is fathered by anyone other than these three, he’ll join with the same simple Iron Bow as Deimne. Of course, even non-Bow fathers can pass down useful (and valuable) Rings, so inheritance is still an advantage for Lester over Deimne – just not to the same degree as it was for Lana over Muirne. Either kid will have the chance to buy Brigid’s Steel Bow from the start of chapter 7, while the Killer Bow and Brave Bow are both dropped in chapter 8, assuming none of those weapons were inherited. In summary, Deimne is a fairly solid unit, who actually brings a few advantages over some variants of Lester.

Rating: B. If this rating were just considering Muirne, then it would be a C, no contest. Muirne has her uses, yes, but she does practically nothing better than any given variant of Lana. The more consistent Resistance than physical-father Lana could help against lategame status staves, but… yeah, that’s about it. Even her secret event boosts a stat of little use that practically all variants of Lana beat her in regardless. With Deimne, however, the story takes a much different tone. Pursuit is a legitimately good skill that only certain variants of Lester will have. And his secret conversation in Isaach Castle gets him reliably up to at least 14 Strength by chapter’s end, something Lester just can’t boast. Assuming an additional Strength level-up, and two HP levels, before leaving Rivough Castle in chapter 7, and he’s reliably one-rounding the enemy Dark Mages from Aed Castle with a Steel Bow. Generally speaking, I would say Deimne is inferior to those versions of Lester fathered by Jamke or Midir, but he’s at least competitive with those fathered by a different physical Pursuit father, like Alec or Beowolf. And he’s certainly better than variants of Lester fathered by the likes of Chulainn or Claud.

So, should you pair Edain up in the first generation? In a word, probably. If you don’t find her a partner, you can expect a mediocre healer in the second generation, in the form of Muirne. On the other hand, Deimne may pleasantly surprise you with what he’s able to pull off. So if you didn’t get Edain paired up, it’s not optimal, but it’s also hardly the worst oversight in the world.

 

ii. Creidne & Dalvin

Spoiler

 

Creidne, also known as “Radney”, first appears at the start of chapter 6, “Heir of Light”. She is a swordfighter from Isaach, who joined Seliph’s Liberation Army after being saved from the Grannvale army by Prince Shanan. Together, they redeem Isaach, and eventually the whole continent, from the rule of the Empire. She is the replacement unit for Larcei, in case Ayra was unrecruited, killed in battle, or otherwise unpaired before the end of the first generation.

Creidne joins as a level 1 Myrmidon. She has an Iron Blade and 2000 Gold. She has the Pursuit skill, by merit of her class, but no additional skills. She has no Holy Blood, but can use up to A-rank Swords regardless. From level 20 onward, she can promote to the Hero class, also known as “Forrest”. This gives her a stat boost, but does not affect her movement, weapon access, or skills. Here are her stats, including bases, growths, Myrmidon caps, promotion bonuses, and Hero caps:

HP: 28 + 0.70x / 80, + 0 / 80

Str: 9 + 0.40x / 22, + 5 / 27

Mag: 0 + 0.05x / 15, + 3 / 18

Skl: 13 + 0.30x / 25, + 2 / 27

Spd: 15 + 0.40x / 25, + 2 / 27

Lck: 3 + 0.20x / 30, + 0 / 30

Def: 7 + 0.30x / 20, + 2 / 22

Res: 1 + 0.20x / 15, + 3 / 18

Mov: 6, + 0

In Creidne’s case, most of her events and conversations are analogous to those experienced by Larcei. Either can speak to Shannan in chapter 7, for instance, and gain +2 Strength and 100 love points. Yes, Shannan, who is Larcei’s cousin. That said, Creidne does have access to an exclusive secret event. In chapter 6, if Creidne waits next to either Iuchar or Iucharba (whoever she recruited) for ten turns in a row, it will cause a conversation that grants +2 Strength and +3 Luck to Creidne.

When considering stats, compared to most versions of Larcei, Creidne will have roughly similar bases. Maybe a point or two higher in some areas, such as Speed and Resistance, albeit lower in Luck. As for growths, however, Creidne falls rather short. Her growths in HP, Magic, Skill, Speed, Luck, and Defense will be no higher than those of any version of Larcei. And her Strength growth will only be higher than those version of Larcei who had a magical father. Her Resistance growth will be better than most versions of Larcei, unless she was fathered by Claud. The secret event makes up somewhat for her lower Luck, while also giving Creidne a Strength advantage over Larcei, at least for a time. Since Creidne promotes into a different class than Larcei, she will receive different promotion bonuses. This manifests as 3 more points in Magic, but 3 fewer points each in Speed and Skill. So Hero Creidne may be a bit more effective with a magical sword than Swordmaster Larcei, but in all other cases, she gets the short end of the sword.

Looking at skills and inheritance, the picture turns even bleaker. Creidne joins with just the Pursuit. Make no mistake – Pursuit is an excellent skill, and Creidne would be far worse off without it. However, it’s a default skill to the Myrmidon class and its promotions, so it’s hardly something she can claim to her unique credit. Larcei also has the Pursuit skill, and adds the Nihil and Astra skills on top of it. Nihil provides some insurance against the rare foes with threatening combat skills, like Critical, but it’s hardly essential. Astra, however, is a game-changer, letting Larcei quintuple her damage output. Even if she’s defeated in the Arena, so long as she has a weapon that does at least one-fifth of the enemy’s HP as damage, she just has to wait for an Astra activation. It’s less significant on the field of battle, but it can let Larcei punch above her weight, if she gets lucky. And this is before considering skills from her father – Ayra’s best pairings also pass down skills like Luna, Paragon, and Bargain. Creidne has… none of the above. She doesn’t even get Adept upon promotion. Likewise, while the Iron Blade has decent power, Larcei can inherit a wealth of weapon options from her mother – the accurate and light Slim Sword, the Defense-disregarding Wind Edge, or the mystifying Miracle Sword, to name a few. Creidne will have no such options when she joins, and she’ll need to find a source of gold before any of them become available. And this is before considering Larcei’s ability to inherit the Skill Ring, or other valuable items that she can use as a “nest egg”. In short, Creidne possesses no traits that give her any considerable advantage over even the worst-off incarnations of Larcei.

Dalvin, also known as “Roddlevan”, is the twin brother of Creidne. Alongside his sister, he first appears at the start of Chapter 6, “Heir of Light”. They both take part in Prince Seliph’s Liberation Army, seeking to redeem their country, and eventually the whole continent, from Grannvale’s rule. He is the substitute unit for Scathach, in case Ayra was unrecruited, died in battle, or otherwise ended the first generation unpaired.

Dalvin joins as a level 1 Myrmidon. He has an Iron Blade and 2000 Gold. He comes with the Pursuit and Vantage skills. While he has no Holy Blood, he can still use up to A-rank Swords. From level 20 onward, he can promote to the Hero class, also known as “Forrest”. This boosts his stats, but doesn’t grant him skills or movement. His stats, including bases, growths, Myrmidon caps, promotion bonuses, and Hero caps, are as follows:

HP: 30 + 0.80x / 80, + 0 / 80

Str: 10 + 0.30x / 22, + 5 / 27

Mag: 0 + 0.05x / 15, + 3 / 18

Skl: 13 + 0.50x / 25, + 2 / 27

Spd: 13 + 0.30x / 25, + 2 / 27

Lck: 4 + 0.20x / 30, + 0 / 30

Def: 8 + 0.30x / 20, + 2 / 22

Res: 0 + 0.05x / 15, + 3 / 18

Mov: 6, + 0

As with his sister, most of Dalvin’s conversations are shared with the unit he’s replacing, which is to say, Scathach. However, there is one secret conversation available to him. In chapter 7, one Melgen Castle has been seized, he can interact with Tristan if they wait adjacent to each other. Each of them will receive +2 Strength and +1 Defense, with Tristan also getting +1 Speed, and Dalvin getting +1 Skill. Note that this conversation can only occur if both units are below level 10 at the time.

Viewed against most versions of Scathach, Dalvin’s base stats are pretty comparable. He tends toward the high end of the range of most versions in several stats, including HP, Strength, Skill, Speed, and Defense. His Luck, though, is more toward the low end. Still, how do his growths stand up? Well, Dalvin’s growths in HP, Skill, Speed, Luck, Defense, and Resistance are no higher than those available to any versions of Scathach. His Strength growth is only higher than those versions of Scathach who have a magical father, while conversely, his Magic growth is only slightly higher than those of a Scathach fathered by Jamke or Beowolf. Since the units get the same promotion, they receive the same boosts when it occurs, and can get up to the same caps. The secret conversation compensates somewhat for his lackluster growths, although Skill is actually the area he’s least likely to struggle with.

As with his sister, we also need to take a look at inheritance. Unlike his sister, however, Dalvin comes with a personal skill: Vantage. It’s an alright skill, although without a Brave or Critical weapon, he’s not likely to kill the enemy before they get a chance to hit him. Still, it synergizes pretty well with the Sleep Sword in the Arena, so he can get the first hit in and proceed to wreck the enemy. However, this isn’t exactly unique to Dalvin, as Scathach can also possess the skill if he’s fathered by Lex or Arden. Moreover, Scathach will always inherit Nihil and Astra from his mother. Astra, in particular, gives Scathach a fearsome offensive output, and is something that Dalvin can never really imitate. Moreover, Scathach can inherit almost any sword from his father, such as the effective Armorslayer or the hard-hitting Silver Blade. Even a father who doesn’t use Swords can pass down a Return Ring or Shield Ring. All Dalvin gets is the Iron Blade – decently strong and cheap, but heavy and inaccurate. Despite their similar looks, Dalvin is missing so many of the tools that make Scathach a potent unit.

Rating: C. Players: “Hey Kaga, can we have Sword Twins?” Kaga: “We have Sword Twins on a substitute run.” Sword Twins on a substitute run:

If there’s any crime these kids are guilty of, it’s being boring. Creidne only has her class-based skill, and while Dalvin is livened up somewhat with Vantage, it doesn’t do him many favors. They lack all the varied skills that a father could grant them, like Bargain, Paragon, or Critical – not to mention the Astra that Ayra’s children always inherit. Regarding stats, outside of Creidne’s slight Resistance edge, and the small boosts from the kids’ secret conversations, they have no particular advantage over any reasonable incarnation of Larcei and Scathach. And this is compounded by their lack of inherited weapons and items. Sure, they can become interesting once they get some money, and have a chance to buy tools like the Brave Sword or a magical sword, but Ayra’s kids have such options by default. At the end of the day, they’re plain old Myrmidons.

Is leaving Ayra unpaired in the first generation a reasonable choice to make? To put it plainly: no. There is no meaningful advantage offered by either of these kids over even the worst-off versions of Ayra’s kids. And it’s not like it’s particularly tough to pair Ayra up, since you have her for a long time. Just have Chulainn give her the Brave Sword, and let them hang out together. Or if Chulainn is busy, park her next to Arden. The kids you’ll get from either pairing will outshine Creidne and Dalvin in just about every sense.

 

iii. Jeanne and Tristan

Spoiler

 

Jeanne makes her first appearance in chapter 7, “Beyond the Desert”. She is the daughter of Eve, one of the Cross Knights who served under Eldigan. Following her father’s death, she is taken in by Lord Sigurd of Chalphy, alongside her brother, Tristan. After the battle of Isaach, she traveled to Isaach, but wound up separated from her brother. After the death of her surrogate father, she is taken in by Finn, and raised with Leif. From there, she assists the young Prince of Leonster in restoring his rule, and eventually joins up with Lord Seliph’s Liberation Army. She is the substitute unit of Nanna, in case Lachesis died, or otherwise ended the first generation unpaired.

Jeanne joins as a level 3 Troubadour. While most units start chapter 7 in Castle Rivough, Jeanne is joined by Finn and Leif shortly outside of Castle Leonster. She also starts Chapter 8 just outside of Castle Leonster, regardless of what she did in the previous map. She joins with an Iron Sword, the Mend Staff, and 2000 Gold. She comes with no skills. She has no holy blood, and can use B-rank Swords and C-rank Staves. From level 20 onward, she can promote to the Paladin class. This boosts her stats and movement, while also letting her use C-rank Lances. Her stats, including bases, growths, Troubadour caps, promotion bonuses, and Paladin caps, are as follows:

HP: 30 + 0.60x / 80, + 0 / 80

Str: 6 + 0.20x / 18, + 6 / 24

Mag: 7 + 0.20x / 18, + 2 / 20

Skl: 9 + 0.50x / 21, + 3 / 24

Spd: 11 + 0.20x / 21, + 3 / 24

Lck: 4 + 0.10x / 30, + 0 / 30

Def: 5 + 0.30x / 18, + 6 / 24

Res: 6 + 0.20x / 18, + 2 / 20

Mov: 8, + 1

In terms of events and conversations, Jeanne has access to one event that Nanna doesn’t. In chapter 9, she can visit one of the villages in Tahra to speak with a Shannan impersonator (Shannam, perhaps?). This will reward her with +3 Defense. Hermina has access to this conversation, too, but only one of them can access it in a given playthrough. On the other hand, Jeanne misses out on a couple conversations available to Nanna. In chapter 8, for instance, Nanna can speak with Ares after Conote has been seized, gaining +2 in Strength and Defense, each. Also, if they (cousins) are married, she can speak to him in the Endgame, granting Ares +3 Defense. Jeanne doesn’t have access to either conversation with Ares.

How do Jeanne’s stats compare to Lachesis’? Jeanne’s bases compare pretty well to the high end of most versions of Nanna, for the most part. That said, her starting Magic, Speed, and Resistance are each a couple points higher than Nanna will generally start with. On the other hand, her Luck and Strength are a bit lower. As for growths, Jeanne will be no higher in terms of HP, Strength, Speed, Luck, and Defense than any version of Nanna. However, Jeanne’s growths in Magic, Skill, and Resistance will be higher than most incarnations of Nanna. Since they promote to the same class, the promotion bonuses will not differ between the two units. The only difference, otherwise, is the different conversations available to them.

Next, let’s consider skills and inheritance. Jeanne has none. No matter what choices you make, or what you have Jeanne do, she will be utterly devoid of skills. Whereas, even an incarnation of Nanna who inherits no skills from her father (Chulainn or Claud, for instance) will still offer the Charm skill to support her allies. Plus, Nanna can inherit various useful skills from her father, such as Pursuit, Adept, or Critical. As a result, Jeanne’s offense will always fall short of that offered by Nanna. She can do a bit more damage with magical swords than non-magical Nanna variants, but she lacks any skills to let her hit more than once. The higher Magic does provide another boost, of course, increasing Jeanne’s healing with staffs like Heal and Mend. Of course, item inheritance is one area where Nanna has a clear advantage. Whereas Jeanne only has the Iron Sword and Mend Staff, Nanna can inherit the valuable Earth Sword, or the powerful Silver Sword. Similarly, Nanna can inherit the Return Staff and Return Ring, letting the whole Leonster bunch retreat to Rivough Castle; Jeanne has no such option. Unlike Muirne, Jeanne at least has the option to train up in the Arena, but she’s unlikely to make it past the third opponent without a Brave or Miracle Sword. All things told, while Jeanne has a couple advantages over most versions of Nanna, she comes with some serious flaws that render her less effective overall.

Tristan is the elder brother of Jeanne, joining in chapter 6, “Heir of Light”. Along with his sister, he was brought into the care of Lord Sigurd’s army following his father’s death. After the Battle of Belhalla, he travels to Tirnanog in Isaach alongside Oifey and Shannan. Over the years, he received training in riding and swordplay from Oifey. This allowed him to become a part of Lord Seliph’s Liberation Army, eventually reuniting with her sister, and redeeming the continent from the rule of the Grannvale Empire.

Tristan joins two turns into chapter 6, as a level 3 Free Knight. He comes with an Iron Sword and 5000 Gold. He comes with the Critical skill. He has no holy blood, and is able to use B-rank Swords upon joining. From level 20 onward, Tristan can promote to the Ranger class, also known as “Forrest Knight”. This increases his stats and movement, while also giving him the Adept skill and access to A-rank Swords. His stats, including bases, growths, Free Knight caps, promotion bonuses, and Ranger caps, are as follows:

HP: 30 + 1.30x / 80, + 0 / 80

Str: 11 + 0.30x / 22, + 1 / 23

Mag: 0 + 0.05x / 15, + 0 / 15

Skl: 10 + 0.30x / 21, + 9 / 30

Spd: 10 + 0.20x / 21, + 6 / 27

Lck: 5 + 0.10x / 30, + 0 / 30

Def: 10 + 0.30x / 21, + 2 / 23

Res: 0 + 0.05x / 15, + 3 / 18

Mov: 8, + 1

As events go, Tristan will mostly have access to the same conversations as Diarmuid. However, there is one secret conversation, exclusive to Tristan. I mentioned it earlier in the Dalvin blurb. If they are under level 10, and wait next to each other after Castle Melgen is seized in chapter 7, they will have a conversation together. This grants Tristan +2 Strength, and +1 Speed and Defense; Dalvin’s boosts are the same, but substituting Skill for Speed.

Now, how do their base stats compare? Relative to Diarmuid, Tristan will have more Skill, while his other stats will lean on the high side of Diarmuid’s ranges. The exceptions are Luck, Magic, and Resistance, which are all rather low for Tristan. As for growths, no versions of Diarmuid will have lower growths in Strength, Speed, Luck, Defense, or Resistance. And only with Jamke or Beowolf as a father will Diarmuid have a lower Magic growth than Tristan. Only in two areas can Tristan’s growths compete with Diarmuid’s – Skill, where he has a respectable 30%, and HP, where he has a genuinely astonishing 130%. As a result, Tristan is broadly competitive with Diarmuid in terms of bulk and hit rates, but he won’t be dealing as much damage. The secret conversation in chapter 7 can make up for this somewhat, though.

Speaking of dealing damage, how is Tristan on items and skills? He does come with one skill, in the form of Critical, giving him a decent chance at increasing his damage output. And upon promotion, he gains the Adept skill, letting him get a second hit in. Of course, neither skill is exactly reliable. Diarmuid also gains the Adept skill upon promotion, and he can have Critical with the right father. Plus, Diarmuid always comes with the Charm skill, which Tristan doesn’t have access too. Moreover, Tristan has no way to hit more than once before promotion, while Diarmuid can inherit skills like Pursuit and Accost. As for item inheritance, it’s the same old song and dance. Tristan joins with just an Iron Sword, but Diarmuid with a sword-using father can inherit a wide variety of weapons – a Thief Sword, to gain more money, or a Steel Blade, to hit harder. And of course, Diarmuid can inherit useful Rings or Bands. Tristan may start with a bit more funds than most substitutes, but it’s nothing compared to what a well-prepared child unit can bring to the table.

Rating: C. Players often prioritize the Pursuit skill when finding a partner for Lachesis, and Jeanne and Tristan may explain why. Neither child is able to hit more than once, with Tristan only gaining a chance of it upon promotion. This seriously undermines their potential damage output. Sure, they could buy the Pursuit Band, but they’re starting with far fewer funds than even Pursuit-less versions of Nanna and Diarmuid. The substitutes do have a couple things going for them, sure – Tristan has better bulk and accuracy than some versions of Diarmuid, plus the Critical skill, while Jeanne’s higher Magic and Resistance can help her or her allies in certain scenarios. But the kids are missing so much: the Charm skill, the boosts to Strength and Sword rank from Hezul holy blood, additional skills from a potential father, and Swords, Staves, and other items that the child units could start with.

In other words – pair Lachesis up. Even if you don’t really want to train her up, it’s easy enough to plant someone like Dew or Arden next to her. Those aren’t even the best partners for her, but the kids they produce will be much better than the substitutes. Beowolf has an easy time via their conversation, which also boosts Lachesis’ stats further. With the wealth of husbands available to her, and the long time Lachesis spends in Sigurd’s army, there’s little reason not to get her paired up.

 

So, where are we? Well, I've only covered three pairs of the substitutes, but that's all I've got for now. It was more work than I expected! As such, I'll finish up Chapter 8 next week. After that, we'll summarize all the ratings in Chapter 9. Thanks for reading, and let me know what you think!

[Punished Dayni]

On 3/1/2022 at 12:44 AM, Shanty Pete's 1st Mate said:

xiv. Summary

So, how do these pairings stack up? Let’s review the placings:

*: Jamke

A: Lex, Midir, Dew, Chulainn

B: Naoise, Alec, Arden, Azelle, Beowolf, Lewyn

C: Finn, Claud

How do these rankings sound? Fair and reasonable? Or have I lost all credibility in the eyes of the Serenes Forest public? By all means, please make your opinions known! I am happy to read any feedback.

Thank you, everyone, for waiting a few days for this list. I really appreciate everyone’s patience on this front. Right now, I’m planning on one more entry, to cover the substitute units. Then, we’ll wrap it all up with a Conclusion week. Look forward to it!

I understand the general aim you're going for with this set, much as I'd be pushing Chulainn myself.

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

Rating: B. If this rating were just considering Muirne, then it would be a C, no contest. Muirne has her uses, yes, but she does practically nothing better than any given variant of Lana. The more consistent Resistance than physical-father Lana could help against lategame status staves, but… yeah, that’s about it. Even her secret event boosts a stat of little use that practically all variants of Lana beat her in regardless. With Deimne, however, the story takes a much different tone. Pursuit is a legitimately good skill that only certain variants of Lester will have. And his secret conversation in Isaach Castle gets him reliably up to at least 14 Strength by chapter’s end, something Lester just can’t boast. Assuming an additional Strength level-up, and two HP levels, before leaving Rivough Castle in chapter 7, and he’s reliably one-rounding the enemy Dark Mages from Aed Castle with a Steel Bow. Generally speaking, I would say Deimne is inferior to those versions of Lester fathered by Jamke or Midir, but he’s at least competitive with those fathered by a different physical Pursuit father, like Alec or Beowolf. And he’s certainly better than variants of Lester fathered by the likes of Chulainn or Claud.

Funny to see this be B entirely on Deimne's having Pursuit and +5 Str for free.

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

Rating: C. Players: “Hey Kaga, can we have Sword Twins?” Kaga: “We have Sword Twins on a substitute run.” Sword Twins on a substitute run:

If there’s any crime these kids are guilty of, it’s being boring. Creidne only has her class-based skill, and while Dalvin is livened up somewhat with Vantage, it doesn’t do him many favors. They lack all the varied skills that a father could grant them, like Bargain, Paragon, or Critical – not to mention the Astra that Ayra’s children always inherit. Regarding stats, outside of Creidne’s slight Resistance edge, and the small boosts from the kids’ secret conversations, they have no particular advantage over any reasonable incarnation of Larcei and Scathach. And this is compounded by their lack of inherited weapons and items. Sure, they can become interesting once they get some money, and have a chance to buy tools like the Brave Sword or a magical sword, but Ayra’s kids have such options by default. At the end of the day, they’re plain old Myrmidons.

RIP, Even Cluade's a better choice?

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

Rating: C. Players often prioritize the Pursuit skill when finding a partner for Lachesis, and Jeanne and Tristan may explain why. Neither child is able to hit more than once, with Tristan only gaining a chance of it upon promotion. This seriously undermines their potential damage output. Sure, they could buy the Pursuit Band, but they’re starting with far fewer funds than even Pursuit-less versions of Nanna and Diarmuid. The substitutes do have a couple things going for them, sure – Tristan has better bulk and accuracy than some versions of Diarmuid, plus the Critical skill, while Jeanne’s higher Magic and Resistance can help her or her allies in certain scenarios. But the kids are missing so much: the Charm skill, the boosts to Strength and Sword rank from Hezul holy blood, additional skills from a potential father, and Swords, Staves, and other items that the child units could start with.

Good bases seem less of a certainty in Gen 2 when kids can have great growths, not helping matters. These and the Ayra subs make the point that you need something that the kids don't have that can't really be replicated (so stats aren't guaranteed to work for this)

Looking forward to the more interesting debates around subs.

[Shanty Pete's 1st Mate]

12 minutes ago, Punished Dayni said:

understand the general aim you're going for with this set, much as I'd be pushing Chulainn myself.

IMO Chulainn makes the best Patty, whereas Jamke makes the best Febail. Originally, I planned to put Dew at the top. Bargain works great with a Thief's ability to give Gold, and Febail enjoys buying the Paragon Band and stat-boosting Rings at-cost. Plus, Patty inherits Sol and Dew's swords. But, for whatever reason, Kaga decided to give Dew worse numbers with Brigid than everyone else (all other potential husbands have either a higher base, a higher growth, or both). In that light, giving him the top spot didn't feel proper.

16 minutes ago, Punished Dayni said:

Funny to see this be B entirely on Deimne's having Pursuit and +5 Str for free.

I haven't used Deimne, granted, but just theory-crafting, I think there's a solid case that he gives a better performance in chapter 7 than any version of Lester (save for those fathered by Midir or Jamke). Of course, even Bow-less versions of Lester could inherit the Power Ring, but I'd imagine that's a fairly contested resource. Over time, Deimne's lower growths will probably catch up with him, but he at least seems far less hurt by the lack of inheritance than any other substitute I've considered thus far.

22 minutes ago, Punished Dayni said:

RIP, Even Cluade's a better choice?

I would say so, yeah. It basically comes down to "Astra good". Creidne and Dalvin have no hope of replicating the performance of the units they're replacing, whether inside the Arena or out.

Incidentally, I have a perverse desire to try Claud x Ayra sometime. I don't think it'll be "good" in any sense. But the thought of getting actually good Resistance on the Sword Twins is... interesting, to say the least. And it's not as though they're starved for skills.

29 minutes ago, Punished Dayni said:

Good bases seem less of a certainty in Gen 2 when kids can have great growths, not helping matters. These and the Ayra subs make the point that you need something that the kids don't have that can't really be replicated (so stats aren't guaranteed to work for this)

Yeah, I'd say the best substitutes are the ones who get something unique over whoever they're replacing. Like Linda, getting Thoron access before promotion. Or Charlot, getting the Berserk Staff. If we were to get an FE4 remake, I wouldn't mind some units like Muirne or Creidne being "spiced up" a bit more.