Rate the Unit - Felix

[Dark Holy Elf]

2 hours ago, Fabulously Olivier said:

There's a disconnect in attitude between FE fans and Warriors fans. The reason why investment is seen as a negative in FE is that the series is supposed to be designed around proper use of limited resources. For Warriors games, the grind is just a natural part of the experience, much like it is for a Diablo-like or looter.

I'm obviously outing myself as an FE fan first and a Warriors fan second, here, but I just don't understand how you can compare units without considering differences in investment. Because with maximum investment, every character is going to destroy everything in their path. That's the design of the game: you can turn your fave into an unstoppable killing machine, and neither you nor I would have it any other way. But there's no need for a tier list under such circumstances.

Every character is going achieve (essentially equal) success if given infinite investment. So surely characters who need less investment to achieve the same success are better.

In the case of spells, etc., I definitely think "innately learns a good spell" vs. "has an A support with someone can teach them the spell" vs. "can only learn a spell via C support" is worth noting.

Hubert's definitely in the second category, of course. His own innate list of spells isn't great, but he has A supports with Dorothea, Monica, and Lysithea, so he can get pretty much every really useful spell. And he's got a good action ability. I wouldn't put him in S tier because my S tier is very small (just Shez and Lorenz, pretty much.. maaaybe Edelgard?). He doesn't do anything irreplaceable, but he is solid. So sure, A tier.

[ZanaLyrander]

See, I don't mind grinding, I don't mind investing in a character I like in order to make them strong. But grinding for spells/arts is kinda the worst sort of grinding because it's entirely random. You could learn the spell the very first time you use it, and it could take hours and hours, there's no way to know. But the odds of learning it each time the art/spell is used are really crappy at C rank support, so it's probably gonna take a long, long time. And until it happens, you won't even feel like you're making progress, because you're not, it either happens or it doesn't, and using it more doesn't make the next use any more likely to work.

That's the reason I pay attention to who gets A rank supports with who in terms of arts/spells, because it's certainly possible to learn spells from a C rank support, I've done it many times. But I minimize it when I can, because it's fairly unpleasant. But with A rank support, there's no reason not to, it's easy and quick.

Edit: This is, by the way, another thing that makes Shez and Byleth so damn strong. The two of them are unique in that they can form A rank supports with basically everyone, and thus can learn whatever arts/spells you want. It also makes the arts they teach tremendously easy to grant to others. Anyone can learn Dark Spikes or Aura without much effort, because everyone can form an A rank support with Shez and Byleth. 

Edited August 16, 2022 by ZanaLyrander

[Fabulously Olivier]

Dedue

 

Availability - A

Dedue is available for a full route.

Stats - D

Dedue has high hp, str, and def. His other stats are mediocre to bad. His 60% Str is the only reason I'm not giving an F rating. Because otherwise, he excels at dump stats.

Here's the thing. He isn't even good a using his Def, since he lacks Armored Knight's Wisdom. I guess Armored Strike or Glowing Ember will hit hard.

Skills - D, maybe C

Notable skills - Essence of Fire, Armsthrift, Prepared to Die, Absorb Defense, Dual Onslaught, Death Blow, Burst of Valor, Piercing Gaze

Honestly, I think Dedue's skills lack synergy. Some of them are really good individually, but the only thing Dedue really excels at is Warrior gauge filling. And again, Absorb Def isn't amazing because he lacks the key skill to convert that to damage.

Arts - C

If I'm not mistaken, Dedue is the only teacher of Lightning Axe. That's the only thing notable. Also, Essence of Fire does nothing for an axe user without Freikugel.

Assist - F

Awakening Assist

I think we found the worst adjutant in the game!

Preferred Class - B

Axes are naturally good, but Dedue lacks anything to make him excel at any axe moveset beyond base level. And indeed, many non-native users are better with axes than he is.

Alternative Class - D

Dedue can probably chunk with Glowing Ember & Ragnarok as a Dark Knight (this is far from a unique role as THREE native lance users have Essence of Fire). He's just not excelling in.... anything.

Crest - F

Dedue has no crest.

Unique Action - D

Strong chargers are universally mediocre.

Unique Support - F

A guard based skill is doing nothing for him.

Hilariously, he doesn't even have any complementary skills in his learn set like Knucklebreaker that could make him excel in this very niche role. Every time any unique role of even the smallest value could be given to this poor man, he does not get it.

Unique Tactical - D

Guard skills are only marginally better than defense.

Bias - C

I like Dedue, but not substantially more than average.

Overall Ranking - D

I think Dedue is a bottom tier character, full stop. He's mediocre or bad at everything and doesn't excel in any role at all.

Edited August 17, 2022 by Fabulously Olivier

[ZanaLyrander]

Ugh, I've been dreading this one. I feel so bad for Dedue, this game did him dirty.

Spoiler

Availability - A

Available for the whole route, minus one chapter.

Stats - C

He's got good Strength, and he's fairly durable, but he still gets wrecked by magic, and he sucks at just about everything else.

Skills - B

Armsthrift, Underdog, Death Blow, Rejuvenation, Lifetaker, Dual Onslaught. Nothing spectacular, but not terrible.

It's worth noting that Dedue is well setup to be an effective tank, with Provoke, Absorb Defense, Pavise, and numerous self-heal abilities. The problem is, Tanks aren't actually all that useful or necessary in Three Hopes.

It's also worth noting that not giving Dedue any super armor abilities is nothing short of criminal, being tough and powering through when hit is kinda his whole thing.

Arts - B

All he really needs is War Strike and whatever other axe art you'd like, and he's got what he needs.

Assist - F

Awakening Assist and not much else.

Preferred Class - B

Dedue isn't terrible as a Great Knight, but he's not all that impressive either.

Alternative Class - B

With Deadeye, Essence of Fire boosted Flame Volley, and Armsthrift, Dedue actually makes a surprisingly effective Bow Knight, spamming arts with the Inexhaustible. Still, he's nothing terribly impressive.

Crest - F

Unique Action - D

Personals that require you to charge strong attacks are hard to use, generally underwhelming and prone to interruption.

Unique Support - D

Dedue does build Warrior Gauge fairly quickly, and this theoretically helps, but in practice it's not all that helpful.

Unique Tactical - D

Bias - A

I like Dedue a fair bit, and they do him justice in the story of Three Hopes.

Overall Ranking - C

Dedue is about as bad as it gets. He's still perfectly viable, but that's not saying much, just about everyone is viable. Tragically, I can see what they were going for, he's well set up to be a tank. It's just a shame that tanks aren't a necessary or useful role in Three Hopes.

Edit: It is interesting, I personally don't have a D or F tier, because this game has better balance than that, even the worst character in the game is totally viable, no one is so bad that they're not usable. That said, I'm kinda glad you put Dedue as D tier, because that's put him on track to be at the absolute bottom of C tier, which is where he belongs in my opinion. Dedue is viable, and he can be useful, but with so many other better options, there's really no reason to use him unless you enjoy him as a character.

Edited August 18, 2022 by ZanaLyrander

[Fabulously Olivier]

23 hours ago, ZanaLyrander said:

Edit: It is interesting, I personally don't have a D or F tier, because this game has better balance than that, even the worst character in the game is totally viable, no one is so bad that they're not usable. That said, I'm kinda glad you put Dedue as D tier, because that's put him on track to be at the absolute bottom of C tier, which is where he belongs in my opinion. 

I was going to ask why you think he's worse than Ashe, but then I looked at Ashe's learned skills and saw some actually decent things in his skill pool (Lifeforce/Impossible Feat with Rejuvenation), and then I'm like "yeah, Ashe is better."

 

I still think even in a well-balanced game, wider tiers are valuable since there's a pretty stark difference between viable, good, amazing, and god walking amongst mere mortals. But everyone being viable is the whole reason why there isn't an F tier.

[ZanaLyrander]

29 minutes ago, Fabulously Olivier said:

I was going to ask why you think he's worse than Ashe, but then I looked at Ashe's learned skills and saw some actually decent things in his skill pool (Lifeforce/Impossible Feat with Rejuvenation), and then I'm like "yeah, Ashe is better."

 

I still think even in a well-balanced game, wider tiers are valuable since there's a pretty stark difference between viable, good, amazing, and god walking amongst mere mortals. But everyone being viable is the whole reason why there isn't an F tier.

That's valid, I just would define F tier as 'practically unusable', and D tier as 'will struggle greatly', and frankly I don't think anyone in the game fits in either of those, even the worst characters can get through Maddening without much difficulty. D and F tiers would imply to me more variance than exists in the game, the differences between characters of varying strengths are less significant than that.

On the subject of Ashe, I think Ashe can actually be fairly good. Between Death Blow, Heavy Hitter, a ton of Awakening boosting abilities, and Essence of Wind to juggle enemies, Ashe is actually really well setup for a Stun Gauge build. Plus, he's just generally handy to have around for his Lockpicking skills, not to mention Appraisal and Despoil. He's nothing exceptional since his stats are fairly mediocre, but he's got some really nice utility.

Edited August 18, 2022 by ZanaLyrander

[Fabulously Olivier]

Dedue is bottom C tier, unless more ratings come in.

 

From the worst axe user to one of the very best. Today is Hilda.

 

Availability - A

Hilda is available for a full route.

Stats - B, maybe C

Hilda has good Strength, HP, and Speed, but falters in Lck and Dex, both of which she needs. Leveling her as a Sniper or Trickster helps. But no matter what, she will likely need plenty of boosters to shore up some weakness in her growths.

Skills - S

Notable skills - Wild Abandon, Darting Blow, Offensive Tactics, Essence of Lightning, Specials Master, Luna, Flare, Undaunted, Big Game Hunter, Burst of Resolve. Hilda is so stacked!

Arts - B or A

Hilda's got everything she needs, and she also has easy access to a semi-exclusive CA in Freikugel.

Assist - B if C or B support, A if A support

Trust, One Heart One Mind, Awakening Assist, Lightning Assist.

Lack of Rally and Harmonious Specials is unfortunate, but anyone with an elemental assist is at least a B in my book.

Preferred Class - A

Axes are a naturally great preference, and Hilda is best in class in having an excellent weapon with a great combat art, and natural synergy with Lightning axe. Or you can take War Strike, of course. 

Alternative Class - B

I wouldn't consider lightning to be an amazing focus element, but she could make a solid Trickster/Mortal Savant with Electric Grounder and Thoron. She has the key skill to make use of Bishop. She has Flare to make a solid Gremory or Dark Knight. She also has Falcon Knight access, and should be pretty decent at it.

Crest - A

Hilda has got a solid crest effect with a good relic.

Unique Action - D

Strong chargers are universally mediocre. She's probably a little better than the others.

Unique Support - A

Hilda's unique support ability is pretty solid as a lead unit, and makes her an excellent pairup for M!Shez, Byleth, and Claude in particular. 

Unique Tactical - A

Seize attack is probably the second best tactical after Attack attack.

Bias - C

Hilda is unlikeable in pre-timeskip, acceptable in post-timeskip, and actually pretty great in Hopes.

Overall Ranking - S

Hilda is a high investment unit because of her stat spread, but her uppermost potential is one of the very best in the game. She excels in the most important categories. And unlike regular FE, being a growth unit is kind of the point. Give her boosters and watch her smash everything.

[ciphertul]

I don't see it being brought up much but EoL Bolting is great.

[ZanaLyrander]

From the bottom of the barrel to the cream of the crop

Spoiler

Availability - A

Available for the whole route.

Stats - B

Hilda has good strength and speed, and her luck isn't terrible, but it's lower than I'd like for someone who actually uses luck for her abilities. Her dexterity is low, as is her resistance.

Skills - S

Despoil, Essence of Lightning, Offensive Tactics, Sol, Luna, Flare, Big Game Hunter, Undaunted, Burst of Resolve, Darting Blow, Battle Instincts... Hilda is swimming in good abilities, it's a real challenge to pick her loadout, it's rare to find a character where ten slots really doesn't feel like enough.

Arts - A

War Strike and Apocalyptic Flame, what else do you need? Well since you asked, Essence of Lightning boosted Lightning Axe to target Resistance. Axe combat arts have always been more about quality than quantity, there's only a few really good ones, and Hilda's got 'em.

Assist - A

Trust, One Heart One Mind, Awakening Assist, Lightning Assist, and a very nice Unique Support.

Preferred Class - A

Hilda is a really scary Wyvern Lord, and Great Knight is a very viable alternative. Axes are her jam, and she's damn good with them.

Alternative Class - B

I admit, I've seen little reason to swap Hilda out of an axe wielding class, but she does have Flare, which means despite her weak magic stat, Swords, Lances, and Tomes are also on the table. Lightning magic isn't quite as impressive as other types, at least in terms of combo potential (in terms of pure damage, Thoron has some of the best bang for your buck of any spell, and Bolting is quite powerful).

Crest - A

As if a War Strike from Hilda wasn't enough to utterly delete an enemy commander, her crest gives her arts a high chance to crit. It almost seems like overkill.

Unique Action - D

Personals that require you to charge strong attacks are hard to use, generally underwhelming and prone to interruption. Hilda's is definitely cooler than most unique actions of this type, but not much more effective.

Unique Support - B

If you make heavy use of Adjutants, Hilda is quite powerful when paired up with a male unit, especially one she has A rank support with, in which case it is powerful regardless of whether or not she's the lead unit or the adjutant.

Unique Tactical - A

A quite useful Tactical, seize damage tacticals are some of the best in the game.

Bias - A

I love Hilda, honestly for a lot of the same reasons other people dislike her, I like her for her flaws. She's self-centered, and lazy, yet kind at the same time, and her growth over time is enjoyable to see. Three Hopes in particular did a great job with her, showing her maturing into her role as Claude's right hand, and exploring her relationship with her brother and Balthus. I also enjoyed that Three Hopes actually called attention to how freakishly strong she is.

Overall Ranking - S

Hilda isn't perfect, but it's hard to argue that she's not top tier all the same. She hits like a truck, and is useful as a front line solo unit, a lead unit, or an adjutant.

I personally don't believe Hilda belongs at the very top of S tier, she's certainly not as good as Shez or Edelgard in my mind. But regardless of where in S tier she fits, there's no denying that's where she belongs.

Edited August 22, 2022 by ZanaLyrander

[Dark Holy Elf]

Hilda is solid but not exceptional. She's got a good set of skills for sure. A tier.

She felt a little disappointing to use as a primary axe-user compared to Edelgard but honestly was still one of the most useful units on my GW run.

[ZanaLyrander]

14 hours ago, Dark Holy Elf said:

Hilda is solid but not exceptional. She's got a good set of skills for sure. A tier.

She felt a little disappointing to use as a primary axe-user compared to Edelgard but honestly was still one of the most useful units on my GW run.

To be fair, I can't think of a single primary axe-user who doesn't feel disappointing compared to Edelgard, that's hardly a point against Hilda. But I agree she's not quite that good.

[Dark Holy Elf]

Oh, for sure, I agree with that! And it's not like they can ever directly compete anyway, at least in the content we have right now.

[Fabulously Olivier]

Catherine is the character I feel fits the retainer slot for the Church, so she's next.

 

Availability - D

Catherine has poor availability in one route.

Stats - A, maybe S

Catherine has good hp, str, dex, and speed. Her durability and luck are mixed to poor, but her innate Mortal Savant does a great job of compensating.

Skills - A

Notable skills - Armsthrift, Wild Abandon, Offensive Tactics, Essence of Fire (unfortunately not Lightning), Flare, Big Game Hunter, Burst of Valor, Thief's Wisdom, FOUR catalyst skills.

Catherine is right up there with Shez in terms of Warrior gauge generation, and she's got pretty solid damage skills.

Arts - A

Catherine is sitting pretty with CA's and has everything she needs. Chances are, you'll be doing Foudroyant Strike and Firesweep with her sword.

Assist - D

Trust, Awakening Assist, Safeguard

She has an acceptable baseline, but offers nothing exceptional. Also, much like Felix, she basically doesn't have a Unique Support skill.

Preferred Class - A

While it's hard to justify deploying other swords when Shez is a forced playable deployment in all main missions, all of the sword classes are good. And Thief's Wisdom arguably makes her even better at Trickster than at Mortal Savant.

Alternative Class - B

Catherine has acceptable magic proficiency, but what really sets her apart is her godlike proficiency with combat arts, and her unique ability complementing any class that attacks fast. So she will be amazing as a Bow Knight or Falcon Knight.

Crest - S

Catherine has an extremely strong major crest with a damn good relic.

Unique Action - A, maybe S

Catherine has quite possibly one of the best unique actions in the game. It's a Dark Sword of the Creator on demand.

Unique Support - F

Like Felix, Catherine doesn't have a unique support. Seriously, she doesn't. There is zero reason to not run a battalion.

Unique Tactical - A

Seize attack is probably the second best tactical after Attack attack.

Bias - F

Me no likey Catherine. Anyone who would choose faith over friendship is a scumbag in my book.

Overall Ranking - A

Based on her skills, crest, and unique action, I strongly feel that Catherine is an exceptional unit.

[ZanaLyrander]

Ugh, Catherine. My feelings about Catherine are complicated

Spoiler

Availability - D

Catherine joins late on a single route, she has some of the worst availability in the game.

Stats - A

Catherine is strong, fast, and skilled. She's quite fragile, and her magic stat is pretty low for a sword wielder, but she tends to use arts instead of spells anyway.

Skills - B

Armsthrift, Essence of Fire, Offensive Tactics, Sol, Flare, Big Game Hunter, Burst of Valor... Catherine has some nice skills, even if not all of them are perfectly suited to her.

Arts - A

Catherine has everything she need in terms of combat arts, she's got Firesweep, and easy access to Foudroyant Strike. And if you decide to give her magic, she has Bolganone and Ragnarok to take advantage of Essence of Fire. It's a bit of a shame her sword arts that target resistance (Iceblade and Magic Blade) aren't all that impressive.

Assist - D

Nothing all that impressive.

Preferred Class - A

Catherine is an extremely strong sword wielder. She's a fantastic Mortal Savant, Trickster, or Dancer. Her focus on combat arts and physical damage makes her a bit less versatile then many sword users, but she's still quite powerful

Alternative Class - B

Catherine has the Essence of Fire, Flame Volley, Deadeye combo that allows her to be an extremely powerful Bow Knight, and she's got stats well suited to most physical classes.

Crest - A

Catherine's crest is very well suited to her combat art focused playstyle, and it gives her easy access to a unique combat art with Thunderbrand.

Unique Action - B

Catherine's unique action is very nice, allowing for a temporary boost in damage akin to the Dark Creator Sword's double hit. Unfortunately, having this action means not having an action that gains strength with number of hits, nor does Catherine have any abilities that trigger every 800 hits like Rejuvenation, Piercing Cry, or Piercing Gaze, so this action is sadly more useful on others than on her.

Unique Support - F

Catherine somehow has an even worse version of Felix's Unique Support, which is an impressive accomplishment. Though admittedly, if your battalion endurance has been depleted, reducing damage you take might be useful, since self-evidently you've been getting your ass kicked.

Unique Tactical - A

Sieze Damage, useful stuff.

Bias - D

Never been a huge fan of Catherine. I like her design, but her personality irritates me a bit. I enjoy loyalty in a character, but Catherine's loyalty to Rhea is really cultish and unhealthy.

Overall Ranking - A

I'm giving Catherine an A, yet I admit I feel like she doesn't deserve it, and I have a hard time articulating why. She seems to me to have everything she needs to be a powerful character, good stats, decent skills, a good relic... She definitely seems like she should be A tier... yet I don't enjoy playing her. It certainly doesn't help that you barely get the chance to use her in this game, since she joins halfway through a single route. I feel like perhaps I haven't given her enough of a chance as a result of this, and I don't want a personal dislike of her and her play style to downplay what is otherwise a powerful character. I don't see much reason to use her, but that doesn't make her weak.

Also, did we skip over the Ashen Wolves this round? I was expecting Balthus to be next, and was surprised we went straight to the Church.

Edited August 26, 2022 by ZanaLyrander

[Fabulously Olivier]

14 minutes ago, ZanaLyrander said:

Ugh, Catherine. My feelings about Catherine are complicated

  Reveal hidden contents

Availability - D

Catherine joins late on a single route, she has some of the worst availability in the game.

Stats - A

Catherine is strong, fast, and skilled. She's quite fragile, and her magic stat is pretty low for a sword wielder, but she tends to use arts instead of spells anyway.

Skills - B

Armsthrift, Essence of Fire, Offensive Tactics, Sol, Flare, Big Game Hunter, Burst of Valor... Catherine has some nice skills, even if not all of them are perfectly suited to her.

Arts - A

Catherine has everything she need in terms of combat arts, she's got Firesweep, and easy access to Foudroyant Strike. And if you decide to give her magic, she has Bolganone and Ragnarok to take advantage of Essence of Fire. It's a bit of a shame her sword arts that target resistance (Iceblade and Magic Blade) aren't all that impressive.

Assist - D

Nothing all that impressive.

Preferred Class - A

Catherine is an extremely strong sword wielder. She's a fantastic Mortal Savant, Trickster, or Dancer. Her focus on combat arts and physical damage makes her a bit less versatile then many sword users, but she's still quite powerful

Alternative Class - B

Catherine has the Essence of Fire, Flame Volley, Deadeye combo that allows her to be an extremely powerful Bow Knight, and she's got stats well suited to most physical classes.

Crest - A

Catherine's crest is very well suited to her combat art focused playstyle, and it gives her easy access to a unique combat art with Thunderbrand.

Unique Action - B

Catherine's unique action is very nice, allowing for a temporary boost in damage akin to the Dark Creator Sword's double hit. Unfortunately, having this action means not having an action that gains strength with number of hits, nor does Catherine have any abilities that trigger every 800 hits like Rejuvenation, Piercing Cry, or Piercing Gaze, so this action is sadly more useful on others than on her.

Unique Support - F

Catherine somehow has an even worse version of Felix's Unique Support, which is an impressive accomplishment. Though admittedly, if your battalion endurance has been depleted, reducing damage you take might be useful, since self-evidently you've been getting your ass kicked.

Unique Tactical - A

Sieze Damage, useful stuff.

Bias - D

Never been a huge fan of Catherine. I like her design, but her personality irritates me a bit. I enjoy loyalty in a character, but Catherine's loyalty to Rhea is really cultish and unhealthy.

Overall Ranking - A

I'm giving Catherine an A, yet I admit I feel like she doesn't deserve it, and I have a hard time articulating why. She seems to me to have everything she needs to be a powerful character, good stats, decent skills, a good relic... She definitely seems like she should be A tier... yet I don't enjoy playing her. It certainly doesn't help that you barely get the chance to use her in this game, since she joins halfway through a single route. I feel like perhaps I haven't given her enough of a chance as a result of this, and I don't want a personal dislike of her and her play style to downplay what is otherwise a powerful character. I don't see much reason to use her, but that doesn't make her weak.

Also, did we skip over the Ashen Wolves this round? I was expecting Balthus to be next, and was surprised we went straight to the Church.

Tbh, I'm not paying attention to the rotation order of Church/Wolves, only that they will both be in every rotation until the Wolves run out.

 

Also, since the theme this time is retainers, I kind of feel like Hapi is the closest thing Yuri has to a retainer (and Constance is the closest he has to a rival).

[ZanaLyrander]

1 minute ago, Fabulously Olivier said:

Tbh, I'm not paying attention to the rotation order of Church/Wolves, only that they will both be in every rotation until the Wolves run out.

 

Also, since the theme this time is retainers, I kind of feel like Hapi is the closest thing Yuri has to a retainer (and Constance is the closest he has to a rival).

Yeah, that was what I figured, the Wolves don't really have a retainer position, so I assumed we were just skipping them this rotation.

[Fabulously Olivier]

Hapi is the closest thing Yuri has to a retainer, IMO. 

 

Availability - A

Hapi has almost perfect availability in two routes, and middling availability in a third.

Stats - B

Hapi has decent mag, dex, spd, and res. But nothing exceptional, and her stats are seriously outclassed by multiple other mages.

Skills - B, maybe A

Notable skills - Armsthrift, Heaviest Hitter, Deathblow, Lifeforce, Wrath, Defiant Crit, Forethought, Magic Attack Range, Miracle

The combination of Deathblow and Heaviest Hitter makes her very good at bar breaking. The combination of Miracle, Lifeforce, Wrath, and Defiant Crit makes her excellent at high risk playstyles. There is quite a bit of synergy between these skill sets. Though personally, I'd highly recommend using a much better moveset than Gremory to take advantage of this. Giving her Crusher with Wyvern Lord or Great Knight is a great way to synergize with her bar breaks. 

Arts - A

The only thing she is missing is Dark Spikes, which is easily provided by multiple A supports and through her relic.

Assist - F

Warrior Assist

Hapi is a uniquely terrible adjutant.

Preferred Class - D

Personally, I think Gremory is the worst moveset in the entire game, and Hapi is not especially good at it. Other mages outclass her in spd, mag, and dex. Her prf tome does no favors for her. She has no essence skill. And her high-risk skillset lends itself to movesets that are faster, safer, and less fragile.

Alternative Class - A

Hapi's skill set synergizes heavily with Wyvern Lord and Great Knight, much like Annette.

Hapi's powerful dark magic leans well into Dark Knight, Trickster, Mortal Savant, and Dancer. She also feels particularly natural as a Dark Knight.

Crest - D

Hapi's healing-based Crest does nothing for her, and her unique tome is ironically more useful on other characters. The only real benefit is the ability to use other characters relics without the benefit of their unique combat arts (without crest stones).

Unique Action - C

C might be generous. I don't find myself using it much and I must admit that I think Hubert and Lysithea outclass her.

I think it is highly advisable, if using her optimal high risk build, to take Lorenz' unique action.

Unique Support - D (but situational)

Her unique support rarely helps. But when it does, it can really help destroy monsters.

Unique Tactical - D

Guard passives are only a bit more useful than Defend ones.

Bias - S

Hapi is love. Hapi is life.

Overall Ranking - Sigh.... B

Honestly, I struggle with whether to place her in B or C. I don't feel like she deserves to be lumped in with bottom tier characters, since she does have some solid skills. It's hard to justify calling her anything other than average.

Edited August 30, 2022 by Fabulously Olivier

[Dark Holy Elf]

Hapi seems like one of the absolute best units to bring to any fight which is mostly about monsters. Otherwise I agree that she's fairly middling (and also agree that her unique action is definitely not on the level of Hubert's or Lysithea's). She's really not in a great position for spells IMO - nobody who can teach her Thoron or Bolganone or Excliabur or... much of anything that isn't a dark spell (I guess Constance can teach her Bolting, at least? I've not used that much myself). It particularly stands out on Eagles runs where the other mages can put together some amazing spell lists.

Edited August 30, 2022 by Dark Holy Elf

[ZanaLyrander]

I haven't used Hapi that much, so I don't think I'm going to write up a full analysis this time, but I agree with B rank. She's not a bad unit, she just gets overshadowed by other magic users, and in the specific niche of monster slaying, she's quite useful, but it is a fairly small niche, monsters aren't that common after all.

I did have a weird build I've been experimenting with for her that I haven't had time to properly test. I made her a Bow Knight, and gave her Failnaught and the Reigan Crest Stone so she can use Fallen Star. Fallen Star scales with magic, meaning she can actually use it more effectively than Claude can, and it does massive damage to monster stun gauges. Combined with her Unique Support, it should theoretically make her into a monster-killing machine, but I confess I haven't done much testing with the build yet, so I don't know how good it is.

All I know is that I agree that keeping her as a Gremory feels like wasting her talents.

[Fabulously Olivier]

Rivals time, and we're starting with Ferdinand VON AEGIR

 

Availability - A

Ferdinand has perfect availability in one route.

Stats - A, maybe S

Ferdinand has good Str, Dex, and Lck with great Spd. The only unfortunate thing here is low Mag, if running a spell.

Skills - S

Notable skills - Concentration, Luna, Lifeforce, Impossible Feat, Wild Abandon, Renewal, Essence of Fire, Fiendish Blow, Offensive Tactics, Armored Cavalry's Wisdom, Absorb Spd, Specials Master, Burst of Valor

Ferdinand is almost as stacked as Edelgard, only notably lacking Dual Onslaught and Big Game Hunter. He's also the only hit-count character with access to Concentration.

Arts - A

Ferdinand rocks everything he needs to make great use of Essence of Fire, aside from potentially Hades.

Assist - A

Trust, One Heart One Mind, Rally Dex, Warrior Assist, and a good passive. He's as good as male adjutants get.

Preferred Class - S

Lance is IMO the best native weapon type, and Ferdinand makes phenomenal use of all of them.

Alternative Class - S

Like Edelgard, Ferdinand is good at everything. Having arguably the best unique action in the whole game, alongside an excellent skill list makes him good to great at every class. His only drawback is his low mag growth.

He is also especially exceptional at Great Knight (armored cavalry's wisdom, kit synergy with Gloucester axe), Bow Knight (kit synergy with The Indomitable), and War Master (sacred Cichol gauntlet that works with his two hp drain skills).

Crest - S

Ferdinand has one of the best crests in the game and is perfectly equipped to maximize its potential.

Unique Action - S

Ferdinand's unique action is one of, if not the, best unique actions in the entire game. The only one on par with it is Sylvain's.

Unique Support - B, maybe A

His unique support is always useful, and really works with his designation as a character you want under player control for as long as possible.

Unique Tactical - C

Seize defense is a middling tactical skill.

Bias - S

Ferdinand is just great.

Overall Ranking - S

Despite his lack of unique class and arts, I feel that Ferdinand belongs in the same conversation as Edelgard. He is great to gamebreaking at everything, and is in the top level of S tier.

[ZanaLyrander]

Here he is. The man. The myth. The legend. Ferdinand. Von. Aegir.

Spoiler

Availability - A

Available for a full route

Stats - A, maybe S

Ferdinand has crap magic, and middling resistance, and he's good at... basically everything else. His stats are solid.

Skills - S

Concentration (wouldn't list it usually, but for him it's very nice to have), Despoil, Rejuvenation, Essence of Fire, Heavy Hitter, Offensive Tactics, Absorb Speed, Luna, Burst of Valor, Lifeforce, Impossible Feat... I normally wouldn't list those last two since I'm not a fan of self damage abilities, but his sacred weapons and sacred shield make them much less of a concern for him. Ferdinand is stacked.

Arts - A

Ferdinand has a lot of good fire arts and spell to benefit from Essence of Fire. And while his magic stat sucks, he does have an A rank support with Lysithea, giving him easy access to Hades.

Assist - A

He's a surprisingly good adjutant, with a lot of abilities that suit that role. I personally consider it a waste, he's too strong as a primary unit to use as an adjutant, but he's certainly a viable choice.

Preferred Class - S

Ferdinand makes a fantastic Dark Knight. His magic stat isn't great, but it's good enough to deal heavy damage to units he'd have trouble killing with physical damage, and that's really what matters. 

Alternative Class - A

Ferdinand can kinda be good at anything that's not pure magic. I wouldn't recommend using him as a Dark Bishop, but other than that, he can fill whatever role you want him to. Of particular note, he's a surprisingly good War Master, whose crest lets him use the sacred gauntlets with great efficiency.

Crest - A

Ferdinand has a really nice crest that both increases his damage with arts and gives him a ton of extra healing with the right sacred weapons.

Unique Action - S

No two ways about it, Ferdinand has probably the second best Unique Action in the entire game, and its a close second place. The only character in the entire game I consider to have a better Unique Action is Sylvain, and it's a tight race. When Ferdinand gets going, watch out.

Unique Support - B

Free Awakening Gauge with every defeated commander ain't nothing to sneeze at. I'd probably rate it at A if it synergized with the rest of his abilities better. 

Unique Tactical - C

Sieze Defense, not terrible, but not great.

Bias - A

I wasn't a huge fan of Ferdinand in Three Houses. I liked him, but he was hardly a favorite. He's definitely a favorite in Three Hopes, his story has left me so much more endeared to him.

Overall Ranking - S

Ferdinand is fantastic, that's all there is to it. He can fill almost any role on a team, while excelling at most of them to boot. I can't possibly rate him any lower than top tier.

It amuses me how the story and support conversations try to paint Ferdinand as the jack of all trades, master of none, as if he's good at everything, but not great at anything. In reality, he's jack of all trades, master of several.

[Fabulously Olivier]

27 minutes ago, ZanaLyrander said:

Here he is. The man. The myth. The legend. Ferdinand. Von. Aegir.

  Hide contents

Availability - A

Available for a full route

Stats - A, maybe S

Ferdinand has crap magic, and middling resistance, and he's good at... basically everything else. His stats are solid.

Skills - S

Concentration (wouldn't list it usually, but for him it's very nice to have), Despoil, Rejuvenation, Essence of Fire, Heavy Hitter, Offensive Tactics, Absorb Speed, Luna, Burst of Valor, Lifeforce, Impossible Feat... I normally wouldn't list those last two since I'm not a fan of self damage abilities, but his sacred weapons and sacred shield make them much less of a concern for him. Ferdinand is stacked.

Arts - A

Ferdinand has a lot of good fire arts and spell to benefit from Essence of Fire. And while his magic stat sucks, he does have an A rank support with Lysithea, giving him easy access to Hades.

Assist - A

He's a surprisingly good adjutant, with a lot of abilities that suit that role. I personally consider it a waste, he's too strong as a primary unit to use as an adjutant, but he's certainly a viable choice.

Preferred Class - S

Ferdinand makes a fantastic Dark Knight. His magic stat isn't great, but it's good enough to deal heavy damage to units he'd have trouble killing with physical damage, and that's really what matters. 

Alternative Class - A

Ferdinand can kinda be good at anything that's not pure magic. I wouldn't recommend using him as a Dark Bishop, but other than that, he can fill whatever role you want him to. Of particular note, he's a surprisingly good War Master, whose crest lets him use the sacred gauntlets with great efficiency.

Crest - A

Ferdinand has a really nice crest that both increases his damage with arts and gives him a ton of extra healing with the right sacred weapons.

Unique Action - S

No two ways about it, Ferdinand has probably the second best Unique Action in the entire game, and its a close second place. The only character in the entire game I consider to have a better Unique Action is Sylvain, and it's a tight race. When Ferdinand gets going, watch out.

Unique Support - B

Free Awakening Gauge with every defeated commander ain't nothing to sneeze at. I'd probably rate it at A if it synergized with the rest of his abilities better. 

Unique Tactical - C

Sieze Defense, not terrible, but not great.

Bias - A

I wasn't a huge fan of Ferdinand in Three Houses. I liked him, but he was hardly a favorite. He's definitely a favorite in Three Hopes, his story has left me so much more endeared to him.

Overall Ranking - S

Ferdinand is fantastic, that's all there is to it. He can fill almost any role on a team, while excelling at most of them to boot. I can't possibly rate him any lower than top tier.

It amuses me how the story and support conversations try to paint Ferdinand as the jack of all trades, master of none, as if he's good at everything, but not great at anything. In reality, he's jack of all trades, master of several.

Do we have confirmation that Hades works off both Essence of Fire and Darkness? I just kind of assumed.

 

Also, while he doesn't explicitly have abilities that synergize off Awakening, having a passive that generates tons of Awakening is naturally synergetic with a character you naturally want to keep high playtime upkeep on (which is to say any character with a powerful hit count passive).

[ZanaLyrander]

6 minutes ago, Fabulously Olivier said:

Do we have confirmation that Hades works off both Essence of Fire and Darkness? I just kind of assumed.

 

Also, while he doesn't explicitly have abilities that synergize off Awakening, having a passive that generates tons of Awakening is naturally synergetic with a character you naturally want to keep high playtime upkeep on (which is to say any character with a powerful hit count passive).

I admit, I'm a bit unclear on that. I feel like the AoE of Hades doesn't increase when you have Essence of Fire equipped (though Hades' AoE is so enormous natively it can be hard to tell), and yet the game certainly seems to think Essence of Fire affects Hades: whenever you use a spell or combat art that is affected by the the Essence you have equipped, it pops up in the upper left corner along with any other abilities that are activated, and Hades definitely gets that popup for both Essence of Fire and Essence of Darkness. So, we have confirmation that Hades triggers Essence of Fire and Essence of Darkness, but what they're actually doing to the spell is unclear.

And that's true, Awakening is intended for characters you want to play for extended periods, and Ferdinand definitely qualifies, but by itself his unique support doesn't provide a ton of Awakening Gauge. It's nice to have, but not terribly important, which is why I give it a B for him.

Edited September 2, 2022 by ZanaLyrander

[Archeleon]

Augmented Hades creates explosions at the base of the column of fire. There is a mix of fire and dark explosions. They effectively increase the spell's radius a bit. I can confirm at least that bit.

[Fabulously Olivier]

Now here's an interesting question for Ferdinand. What would you consider to be his optimal leveling profession? 

 

His native HK provides pretty well-rounded growths for patching up magic, and some Lck for Luna. War Master also seems like an awesome option for focusing on what he excels at, albeit without Lck.