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Battle of the Battalions, Endgame: Which Battalion was Best?


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35 minutes ago, LoneRecon400 said:

...I seriously don't understand how Hit on mages is apparently so vital that it's worth equipping a 0 atk battalion for.

That goes double when you gave Seiros Mercs, a battalion that gives the same amount of Hit plus 3 Atk, a half point better than some of the worst battalions in the game.

I have spent so many more divine pulses after missing a crucial attack (or gambit, hint hint) than I ever have on being two points of damage short of making a kill. That is as true of late game as it is of early game. Are you suggesting the Seiros Mercs should be put on our mages instead? Because they penalize you by two points of magic attack. Frustrating, I know. I brought up that exact point during my write up. You know, that wall of text next to my score you so keenly observed? Seiros Mercs gets by on being free and already leveled up by the time you have any other options available for purchase. 

There's been a lot of nitpicking already about my ratings, but you're on me for a half a point? Let it go, dude. How would you feel if I backseated your ratings down to each half point?

 

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13 hours ago, Zapp Branniglenn said:

I have spent so many more divine pulses after missing a crucial attack (or gambit, hint hint) than I ever have on being two points of damage short of making a kill. That is as true of late game as it is of early game.

There's been a lot of nitpicking already about my ratings, but you're on me for a half a point? 

The issue I'm having is that I don't see how that logic is consistent. It's apparently worth putting a zero might battalion on mages just for the Hit, but it's not as worth doing the same for physical battalions that have actual stats somehow? 

I don't get that mindset at all, especially since it should be the opposite. Physical units should prioritize Hit a lot more than them, as if they miss a finishing blow on enemy, they'll be the ones facing a counterattack instead unlike mages with spells.  

What gets me isn't the ratings of the battalions, it's the reasoning behind the ratings and if they're being applied consistently. Rating something like Kingdom Lancers better than Seiros Mercs when you'd accept no stats from Sacred Monks just for better Hit requires more elaboration than just saying it's bad for mages.

Edited by LoneRecon400
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7 hours ago, LoneRecon400 said:

I don't get that mindset at all, especially since it should be the opposite. Physical units should prioritize Hit a lot more than them, as if they miss a finishing blow on enemy, they'll be the ones facing a counterattack instead unlike mages with spells.  

 

To add on to this, both Chapter 3 and Chapter 6 have a significant amount of +avoid terrain which severely affects physical accuracy, so upping their hit has a pretty pronounced effect. Mages already ignore this terrain which means the lowest hit numbers you get out of something like Miasma/Thunder even without +hit from a battalion or supports in range is around 75-80 displayed, which is still 88-92% real. That's the lowest; average accuracy is on the high end of that. "my chipping attempt misses one time out of ten" doesn't seem like it'd be a great cause for concern even if Divine Pulse didn't exist. Losing 3 damage surely costs you more than 10% of possible 2RKO situations (and in still others, makes you use less accurate attacks than you'd like to do the other part of the 2RKO, e.g. steel instead of iron, tempest lance/helm splitter instead of knightkneeler/smash, natural doubles/gauntlets instead of a combat art, etc.).

In fairness, Marianne early is stuck with the mediocre Blizzard (and takes longer to get Reason ranks), so I see the case for Hit on her a bit more. But I find Seiros Magic giving +5 is still a good fit for her, especially because she actually has a decent charm stat for landing Group Flames, and the +damage is appreciated for finishing with Frozen Lance.

For what it's worth, I've done an all-magic run and it was possibly the least concerned I've ever been with accuracy, particularly in Chapter 3.

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10 hours ago, LoneRecon400 said:

The issue I'm having is that I don't see how that logic is consistent. It's apparently worth putting a zero might battalion on mages just for the Hit, but it's not as worth doing the same for physical battalions that have actual stats somehow? 

Physical units have a far wider variety of battalions to choose from and they care a great deal more about other stats than mages do, like avoid, crit, charm. And a lot of great value battalions just sort of have Hit to begin with. The +10 hit of Seiros Mercs isn't the premier reason why you take that battalion (once again, read my writeup before jumping to these conclusions?), it's the fact that you're getting several relevant stats at once. And the fact that it's free. I think that's worth a half point over bad battalions you've got to buy and level up just to try out. And yes I feel a need to stress again we're arguing the minutiae of half a point.

2 hours ago, Dark Holy Elf said:

To add on to this, both Chapter 3 and Chapter 6 have a significant amount of +avoid terrain which severely affects physical accuracy, so upping their hit has a pretty pronounced effect.

Chapter 3 is a unique case because if you care about keeping green units alive you'll want to keep pace with them and eventually overtake them in pushing forward. That means beating up three enemies in that first forest to the southeast of your starting position. Beyond that map, fighting enemies on terrain is almost entirely at the discretion of the player. Bait them out of there, or consider some other unit who can deal with the situation.

And physical units definitely have a greater variety of ways to boost their accuracy. Each point of Dex is another point of hit, while mages need a point each of Dex and Luck for the same boost. Their greater battalion selection helps as well as being able to swap to a more accurate weapon or combat art. Every single D rank combat art in the game gives at minimum +10 hit. Access to magical weapons for fighting on terrain. And if all else fails, nail them with a gambit. You can still set up gambit boosts in a forest, and gambit accuracy ignores terrain just like magic does.

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Mages already ignore this terrain which means the lowest hit numbers you get out of something like Miasma/Thunder even without +hit from a battalion or supports in range is around 75-80 displayed, which is still 88-92% real. That's the lowest; average accuracy is on the high end of that.

You're fudging numbers hard here. Enemies have Avoid stats too. I just loaded a chapter 4 battle preps save and had my level 1 Annette go after the archer right at the start with Wind. 92 displayed accuracy with Reason prowess lv 2, no Hit on her batallion, and no linked attacks. If she were using Miasma or Blizzard instead, that'd be 72 and 62 respectively. Lysithea and Marianne would like some Hit, please.

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2 hours ago, Zapp Branniglenn said:

And yes I feel a need to stress again we're arguing the minutiae of half a point.

Physical units have a greater variety of ways to boost their accuracy. Every single D rank combat art in the game gives at minimum +10 hit. Their greater battalion selection helps as well as being able to swap to a more accurate weapon or combat art. And if all else fails, nail them with a gambit. You can still set up gambit boosts in a forest, and gambit accuracy ignores terrain just like magic does.

Lysithea and Marianne would like some Hit, please.

Physical units have a far wider variety of battalions to choose from and they care a great deal more about other stats than mages do, like avoid and crit. And a lot of great value battalions just sort of have Hit to begin with.

The +10 hit of Seiros Mercs isn't the premier reason why you take that battalion.

I need to stress again that it was never about the actual rating, it was the about the logic that went into it.

Combat arts alone are not enough to secure hit rates. Going from hit rates mid 70's to to mid 80's on dangerous enemies like thieves is huge boon considering true hit. And outside of battalions, there's no other good way of increasing Hit in the earlygame. Weapons can't be forged, Supports are non existent, and there are no great hit boosting skills in play. Mages don't need Hit as badly because they are either attacking at range or have accurate magic arts.

Golden Deer Mage hit rates with spells are still terrible even with +10 Hit. Magic Combat arts are the best way of growing mages in the earlygame precisely because they don't have to worry about to their hit rates as much. Lysithea using a Steel Soulblade can have as much as +15 hit over miasma with +6 Might. With a Training Sword that's +30 while still hitting as hard as a tempest user. Alliance Mages can make it such that they can secure a kill with the training sword and still be able deal out damage with a steel as an option.

What selection of good +Hit battalions does Golden Deer have in the earlygame? Because there's only one that comes close to +10 Hit, and there's no way it's good.

I just legitimately don't understand how you value extremely inconsistent boons like avoid and crit greater than a way to actually get help with hit rates at a section where barely anything can be done about them.

Edited by LoneRecon400
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2 hours ago, Zapp Branniglenn said:

You're fudging numbers hard here. Enemies have Avoid stats too. I just loaded a chapter 4 battle preps save and had my level 1 Annette go after the archer right at the start with Wind. 92 displayed accuracy with Reason prowess lv 2, no Hit on her batallion, and no linked attacks. If she were using Miasma or Blizzard instead, that'd be 72 and 62 respectively. Lysithea and Marianne would like some Hit, please.

For the record, you chose one of the most magically evasive enemies in the chapter (the soldiers, fighters, and magic-users all have 4-7 points less; the Myrmidons admittedly have 1 more). Even then, if you'd actually gained levels would bring that 72 up to ~74, about 86.5% real. 73 = 85% real against the Myrms. Against the other enemies, that should be 78-81, so 90-93%. I will acknowledge my error of the low end of the range being 2 points lower than I realized; I was just looking at spreadsheets and doing some quick mental arithmetic. I don't really appreciate being accused of fudging numbers (especially since you responded by quoting Level 1 stats at me).

For the record, the average enemy avoid in Chapter 5 is actually lower than 4 (thanks, armour knights!), and then in Chapter 6 we have Fire.

2 hours ago, Zapp Branniglenn said:

Access to magical weapons for fighting on terrain. And if all else fails, nail them with a gambit. You can still set up gambit boosts in a forest, and gambit accuracy ignores terrain just like magic does.

Yes, offensive gambits are useful for this purpose. Particularly ones that can be fired at range, since movement flexibility is at a premium when trying to reach enemies in forests and take advantage of links. Which is another reason I think you're underrating the +mag battalions: I feel even Group Lightning is better than Resonant White Magic.

2 hours ago, Zapp Branniglenn said:

Chapter 3 is a unique case because if you care about keeping green units alive you'll want to keep pace with them and eventually overtake them in pushing forward. That means beating up three enemies in that first forest to the southeast of your starting position. Beyond that map, fighting enemies on terrain is almost entirely at the discretion of the player. Bait them out of there, or consider some other unit who can deal with the situation.

Inconveniently, Chapter 6 has a time limit as well. Also, a number of enemies there have gambits they can use if baited, so I prefer not to waste time baiting them when they might rattle me at a point of the game where I probably don't have Restore, causing me to waste even more time.

I do agree with, when possible, finding other units who can better deal with the situation of enemies on avoid panels. Just, the other units I would consider who can better deal with this situation are typically mages, and they'll have an easier time dealing with said situation if I'm not sandbagging their damage. The specifics vary by what level we are and which enemies we're looking at, but it's safe to assume that Marianne + Lysithea with +mag battalions will have a much better array of options to 2RKO an enemy on +avoid terrain than Marianne + Lysithea both using Seiros Monks. (Replace one of them with Lorenz and/or a recruited mage if you prefer.)

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33 minutes ago, LoneRecon400 said:

I need to stress again that it was never about the actual rating, it was the about the logic that went into it.

Where? Is that an edit? I already wrote my response from beforehand. In any case, what makes you so certain this thread needs a Logic Officer screening every number? My ratings make sense to me, and I don't see anybody else getting dogpiled. I can go about my day knowing people are posting numbers I don't agree with. But if it bugs you so much then I just won't post.

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I just legitimately don't understand how you value extremely inconsistent boons like avoid and crit greater than a way to actually get help with hit rates at a section where barely anything can be done about them.

Because all stats can be useful if you're considering all the game's mechanics. Nothing I said is wrong, it only conflicts with your playstyle. And a core tenant of this thread is that rating battalions based on how you play the game is totally okay. I value 5 Hit and 20 Hit on the single-use Gambit higher than I value 10 avoid on my mages. That's the crux of my argument with this batallion. You don't need to sit there making guesses at my logic when I've already spelled it out.

36 minutes ago, Dark Holy Elf said:

For the record, you chose one of the most magically evasive enemies in the chapter

I chose the one enemy she could reach at her starting position, actually. I wasn't about to play the map for more evidence that mages don't have 90 true hit at base, because I've played the game before and already know they miss with relatively higher frequency than the physical units.

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@LoneRecon400 @Zapp Branniglenn @Dark Holy Elf I appreciate the continued discussion on these battalions! That's the point of the thread, after all. That said, I hope we can acknowledge how subjective these ratings often are. Even within a prescribed set of boundaries, people play the game differently, and value different boosts and benefits as a result. Let's keep on discussing - and disagreeing! - while resisting the urge to turn things personal. At the end of the day, it's just a game.

Now, some news for everyone: in the next round, we'll be discussing the following six battalions:

Spoiler

Merchant Military

Bandits

Seiros Archers

Remire Militia

Kingdom Youths

Empire Youths

Due to a number of personal factors, however, I won't be able to kick it off by tonight. You can expect Round 6 by tomorrow (Monday) evening. I hope to hear a bunch of productive discussion on these particular battalions!

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Welcome back, one and all, for another round! Sorry about the delay this time. My weekend really got away from me. Anyway, first off, we'll be covering the past week's battalions, as follows:

Spoiler

Alliance Infantry received 7 scores, averaging out to 2.014

Alliance Duelists received 7 scores, averaging out to 2.186

Alliance Brawlers received 7 scores, averaging out to 5.229

Alliance Magic Corps received 7 scores, averaging out to 4.371

Alliance Knights received 7 scores, averaging out to 6.136

It seems that the Infantry and Duelists weren't much to stand up and shout about. But the Brawlers and Knights were appreciated about as much as any other Brawler or Knight battalion. Now, onto the next round!

Chapter 6: The Cream of the Best Always Rises to the Quest

Over the last four weeks, we've been covering battalions that can be hired from the Battalion Guild, from chapter 3 onward. With those addressed, we'll be pivoting to another batch. These battalions can all be acquired in the pre-skip period, and (with one exception) they are acquired by completing a battle quest on a free weekend. Rather than costing Gold, they cost time and turns. The battalions are as follows:

Merchant Military

Spoiler

Accessibility: E-rank Infantry

Availability: From chapter 5 (all routes), complete “Clearing the Way” battle quest

Gambit: Poison Tactic

Endurance: 75

Phys: -1

Mag: 0 / +2

Hit: 0 / +5

Crit: 0

Avo: 0

Prt: 0 / +2

Rsl: 0

Cha: +1

Bandits

Spoiler

Accessibility: E-rank Infantry

Availability: From chapter 5 (all routes), complete “Clearing the Way” battle quest

Gambit: Disturbance

Endurance: 75

Phys: 0 / +2

Mag: 0

Hit: 0 / +5

Crit: 0

Avo: 0

Prt: 0 / +2

Rsl: 0

Cha: +1

Seiros Archers

Spoiler

Accessibility: D-rank Infantry

Availability: From chapter 6 (all routes), recruit Shamir and they join automatically

Gambit: Fusillade

Endurance: 45

Phys: 0 / +2

Mag: 0

Hit: +10 / +15

Crit: 0

Avo: +5 / +10

Prt: 0

Rsl: 0

Cha: +3

Remire Militia

Spoiler

Accessibility: E-rank Infantry

Availability: From chapter 7 (all routes), complete “Banish the Bandits” battle quest

Gambit: Disturbance

Endurance: 30

Phys: 0

Mag: 0

Hit: 0

Crit: 0

Avo: 0

Prt: +1 / +3

Rsl: 0

Cha: +1

Kingdom Youths

Spoiler

Accessibility: E-rank Infantry

Availability: From chapter 7 (all routes), complete “The Best of the Best” battle quest

Gambit: Disturbance

Endurance: 30

Phys: 0

Mag: 0

Hit: +5 / +10

Crit: 0

Avo: 0

Prt: 0

Rsl: 0

Cha: +1

Empire Youths

Spoiler

Accessibility: E-rank Infantry

Availability: From chapter 10 (all routes), complete “The Cream of the Crop” battle quest

Gambit: Disturbance

Endurance: 30

Phys: 0

Mag: 0

Hit: +5 / +10

Crit: 0

Avo: 0

Prt: 0

Rsl: 0

Cha: +1

Next, I'll be posting my own thoughts about these particular battalions - spoiler-tagged, as ever.

Spoiler

Availability:

Merchant Military, Bandits (chapter 5), Seiros Archers (chapter 6), Remire Militia, and Kingdom Youths (chapter 7) each receive a 4. They aren't around for the super-hard earlygame, but being usable in the mid-pre-skip is still very cool. As for Empire Youths, they don't arrive until chapter 10, so they get a 3.

Accessibility:

Seiros Archers, as D-rank Infantry, get a 4 here. The others are all E-rank Infantry, so they get a 5 each.

Gambit:

Merchant Military offer Poison Tactic, a weaker-but-more-accurate form of Blaze, for 5 points. The Seiros Archers bring the powerful Fusillade to the table, for a solid 7. But it gets boring from here: Bandits, Remire Militia, Kingdom Youths, and Empire Youths all have Disturbance. So they get 3 each.

Stats:

Merchant Military is an odd one. It has a physical gambit, yet it lowers physical attack (-1), while also being the first E-rank battalion we've seen to grant magical attack (+2). The other boosts are rather modest: +5 Hit, +2 Prt, and +1 Charm. I'll give this one a 2.

Bandits start out offering literal zeros across the board (aside from +1 Charm). But they grow into their other boosts: +2 physical attack, +5 Hit, +5 Avoid, and +2 Prt. All modest, but I think 3 is appropriate here.

Seiros Archers are where things start to get good: +2 Physical Attack, +15 Hit, +10 Avoid, and +3 Charm. I'd say these are roughly comparable to Empire Archers, so I'll grant them a 4.

Remire Militia... I think we've found it, folks. I think this battalion gives the worst stat boosts of any battalion we've seen yet. +3 Protection and +1 Charm. Finally, I get to pull out a 1.

Kingdom Youths have a similarly unimpressive statline, awarding just +10 Hit and +1 Charm. Is 10 Hit worth the loss of 3 Protection? I don't know, but I do know that it's worth no more than 1.

Empire Youths bring exactly the same statline as their counterparts from the Kingdom. Easy as pie to knock them down to 1.

Uniqueness:

Merchant Military are the first battalion to offer the Poison Tactic gambit, while Seiros Archers are the first battalion (if you didn't choose the Black Eagles) to offer Fusillade to your army. So each of them earns a 2. The others... they offer lackluster boosts and another source of Disturbance. 0 each.

Convenience:

The Seiros Archers essentially come free with Shamir... but how much does Shamir cost? If your Professor has made it to level 15, she joins for free. But you're probably not there by chapter 6, so you may have to do some schmoozing. Still, you're gonna get her eventually, so I think 3 is appropriate. As for the others, you'll need to spend some weekend time on the battlefield. That said, the battles themselves are pretty easy, so I'll give them a 1.

Endurance

The first two here are some of the bulkiest ones we've looked at yet, with 75 durability each. So the Merchant Military and Bandits get 2 points here. The Seiros Archers have a much more modest 45, so they get 1. The last three sit at a paltry 30, for 0 points in this regard.

Experience:

I've gotten some use out of the first three. Merchant Military offer a "shiny new (toxic?) toy" syndrome, with Poison Tactic, so I want to make them work. Seiros Archers offer a very strong gambit for when they come, alongside an excellent Hit boost. Even Bandits... mundane as they seem, I love the image of bringing these rowdy ruffians to my side. I don't tend to keep any of them along into the late pre-skip, but they give me enough for 1 each.

Remire Militia? Kingdom Youths? Empire Youths? These are all chumps from the start, with nothing drawing me in. Sorry, but it's 0 for each of them.

Overall Ratings:

Merchant Military: 4 + 5 + (5 * 2) + 2 + 2 + 1 + 2 + 1 = 27 -> 5.4

Bandits: 4 + 5 + (3 * 2) + 3 + 0 + 1 + 2 + 1 = 22 -> 4.4

Seiros Archers: 4 + 4 + (7 * 2) + 4 + 2 + 3 + 1 + 1 = 33 -> 6.6

Remire Militia: 4 + 5 + (3 * 2) + 1 + 0 + 1 + 0 + 0 = 17 -> 3.4

Kingdom Youths: 4 + 5 + (3 * 2) + 1 + 0 + 1 + 0 + 0 = 17 -> 3.4

Empire Youths: 3 + 5 + (3 * 2) + 1 + 0 + 1 + 0 + 0 = 16 -> 3.2

So, what do you think of this bunch? They may have the fighting spirit, but are they worth actually fielding? Let me know in the comments!

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  • Shanty Pete's 1st Mate changed the title to Battle of the Battalions, Round 6: The Cream of the Best Always Rises to the Quest

Merchant Military: 3 stats, 6 gambit. E rank grounded, Chapter 5.

An interesting battalion with some negative synergy with itself. On paper, it's a magic gambit with slightly worse stats but a slightly better (in theory) gambit. In practice, being a +mag -atk battalion with a physical gambit means said gambit barely does any damage on most people you'd give it to. Oh well, big AoE rattle is still worth something. Its main niche is that if you recruit a mage at E rank authority, this is briefly their best option (aside from Stride, which is good on anyone).

In a vacuum: 4. Adjusted: 4/10.

Bandits: 3 stats, 4 gambit. E rank grounded, Chapter 5.

It's tolerable, if you got it in Chapter 3 it might see some use. As is, hard to justify levelling it up since its base stats are so low and the max stats are mediocre. At least it has endurance?

In a vacuum: 3.5. Adjusted: 3/10.

Seiros Archers: 4 stats, 7 gambit. D rank grounded, Chapter 6.

It's a worse Empire Archers, both in terms of stats (mostly the lower atk) and when you get it. But that's still a very solid choice by D rank battalion standards, obviously the star of this group.

In a vacuum: 6. Adjusted: 6.5/10.

Remire Militia: 1 stats, 4 gambit. E rank grounded, Chapter 7.

Like Alliance Duelists, it has absolute garbage stats and its only positive attribute is a 60-hit gambit. Unlike Alliance Duelists you don't get it until Chapter 7. Terrible.

In a vacuum: 2.5. Adjusted: 1.5/10.

Kingdom Youths: 1 stats, 4 gambit. E rank grounded, Chapter 7.

See above. 10 hit instead of 3 prot yeah I don't care.

In a vacuum: 2.5. Adjusted: 1.5/10.

Empire Youths: 1 stats, 4 gambit. E rank grounded, Chapter 10.

Same garbage as before, but now it's even later. Worst battalion yet.

In a vacuum: 2.5. Adjusted: 1/10.

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General philosophical comments: The way that 3H makes battalions need some grinding time to reach their full potential really makes the value proposition of some late-joining battalions questionable, when they're not keeping pace with Authority benchmarks or offering a uniquely notable Gambit. This is why even the "bad" early battalions merit at least a 2/10, because if you do use them, at least you can get them trained up on time and there'll be plenty of low-Authority rank characters out there who want a battalion, any battalion.  By the time you're in C7, sure, maybe you're using some later recruits with trashy starting Authority like Manuela or a late-recruited Felix, but if you are, any new E-rank battalions are competing with already fully trained Jeralt's Mercenaries and Seiros Holy Monks.  They'd need to be balanced substantially better than those two to be worth a look, and they're not.  So there's just utterly no point, unless you're doing some sort of goofy no-battalion-guild challenge run perhaps that only uses Quest Reward battalions.

Now, that said, just because there's no "optimal gameplay" point doesn't mean I'm complaining about the battalions' existence - letting the players use various enemy-side battalions for giggles like Bandits is cool.  It's just purely an aesthetic option for completeness rather than a competitive one.

Merchant Military: 1/10 2/10.  A goofy side option if you're running 7+ mages or something crazy.  Maybe.  (EDIT: Eh, I suppose the big AoE rattle is enough to upgrade this from "goofy" to "highly suspect but I guess there's some vague upside.")

Bandits: 1/10.  Two chapters too late.  The sole merit I can see is that if you're conserving money *hard*, they do join "for free", and maybe you use it as a 10th or 11th battalion as filler.

Seiros Archers: 6/10.  Yep, serviceable D-rank filler.

Remire Militia: 0/10. 

Kingdom Youths: 0/10.

Empire Youths: 0/10.  

I can squint and claim that maybe Bandits saves you some cash, but C7-C10 is absolutely too late for an E-rank battalion to matter, see general philosophical comments above, just use Jeralt's or Holy Monks for any stragglers with low Authority.  There's just no point in training these up from a gameplay perspective.  (And hell, if you do train them up out of completionism, you probably won't even use them in an NG+ either when they'd join much earlier.)

Edited by SnowFire
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Merchant Military: 5/10. I actually think that this is (just barely) good enough to see actual use. It's one of only two E rank battalions to give a boost to magic attack (and we will get to the other one, oh yes we will), and comes in just about early enough that that still matters. I also don't overly mind the weird anti-synergy of having a physical damage gambit on a magic damage battalion. For my play style, I very rarely find myself caring about damage on gambits. I use them mostly for rattle and for breaking monster shields. So I mostly see Poison Tactic as having considerably better accuracy and AoE than Group Lightning. The worse range is a bigger drawback for me than the bad damage.

Bandits: 1.5/10. I am pretty sure that I have never used this and will never use this. Still, if I did have to use it for some reason, it's early enough and tolerably OK enough that I could imagine getting at least a bit of value from it.

Seiros Archers: 6.5/10. Fusillade is really good. When we did our gambit grading thread, we collectively ranked it as the third best offensive gambit in the game, excepting the unique gambits on the house-leader battalions. And of the two we ranked better, Resonant Flames attacks using magic, and Poisoned Arrows has poor availability. So, the combination of "Fusillade" and "D-rank" means this is definitely seeing some use. I think this is probably at its strongest for the Blue Lions, who don't have another comparable option available, and are actually a little bit lacking when it comes to good battalions with offensive battalions. Just solid overall.

Remire Militia: 0/10 and Kingdom Youths: 0/10 and Empire Youths: 0/10. These are bad. They are notably worse than the Church of Seiros Soldiers, the worst of the battalions that you get get given for free in Chapter 2. Except that you get them between Chapters 7 and 10, far beyond the point where they might have had any relevance.

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Merchant Military - 3/10

I went up and down on this. I definitely have used this, because it gives a boost to Mag for magical CA/weapon users, especially if I've recruited them at E Authority, and I quite like Poison Tactics for its wide AoE. However, it's obviously worse stats-wise than other magic-boosting battalions, and the gambit damage/poison effect isn't impressive. Despite using it in basically all my playthroughs, it gets a 3 because there is only a small window where it gets used (when deploying more than 2-3 mages, but before about Ch. 7 where the competition is too great for it to stick around). 

Bandits - 2.5/10

Not as terrible as I thought it was, looking at its stats. Still not great though - maybe I've used it when I've fielded 9-10 physical units at once. 

Seiros Archers - 6.5/10

Not quite as good stats-wise as Empire Archers, but there are a couple of available copies for non-BE routes, it has Fusillade, it's still pretty decent stats-wise and it always sees use for a while.

Remire Militia - 1/10

Finally, we've gotten to the tier of 1 and below! I distinctly remember using this battalion on Raphael for his paralogue one time to buff his Prt (I had other new recruits using better E-rank battalions, including Church of Seiros with its Prt) - I remember because the battalion stood out to me as crap. It gets a 1 simply because I used it that time. 

Kingdom Youths - 0.5/10

0.5 is a reflection on the fact that technically, this battalion does provide a stat boost, and a 0 to me is something that provides no benefit whatsoever. Even still, this feels charitable. 

Empire Youths - 0.5/10

See above.

9 hours ago, SnowFire said:

(And hell, if you do train them up out of completionism, you probably won't even use them in an NG+ either when they'd join much earlier.)

Can confirm that an NG+ run where you have most/all the E-rank battalions from any previous route is enough not to use even a fully-levelled Youths battalion.

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8 hours ago, lenticular said:

Seiros Archers: 6.5/10. Fusillade is really good.

This says it all. And you get 2 uses. The other battalions in this group are assorted rubbish. If poison tactic had 2 uses, I would rate battalions with PT much higher.

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Merchant Military: 3.5/10 I'll be honest I overlooked this one to the point where I didnt even know it provided magic. Having know that now, I can see it being okay filler for mages 2-3 chapter. Poison Tactic is cool even if doesn't have any might since its the stagger effect that makes gambits good anyways. Having 1 charm would mean it'd need a lot of set up though.

Seiros Archers: 7/10.

Bandits: 3/10. Worse Seiros Mercs with half the availability. Really by the time you get it there's no almost no practical reason to use it, but it's still has ok stats on paper, so it escapes the absolute worst category.

The Rest: 1/10. Not even worth typing out for.

Edited by LoneRecon400
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Welcome back, one and all! Today, we're kicking off another round. But first... the results show!

Spoiler

Merchant Military received 6 grades, averaging out to 3.817

Bandits received 6 grades, averaging out to 3.2

Seiros Archers received 6 grades, averaging out to 5.85

Remire Militia received 6 grades, averaging out to 1.15

Kingdom Youths received 6 grades, averaging out to 1.067

Empire Youths received 6 grades, averaging out to 0.95

Seiros Archers may not strike the bullseye, but they hit close enough to be useful. Meanwhile, the young folks from the Kingdom, the Empire, and Remire probably don't belong anywhere near a battlefield. Moving on...

Round 7: Pay to Win

In this round, we'll be discussing another handful of battalions, all available during the pre-skip time period. Of these, one requires access to Nintendo Switch Online, while three of them only available to players who have purchased the Season Pass DLC. As for the last two, they are available to all players - just hire them at the Battalion Guild from Chapter 8 onward. So, what do these look like?

Essar Research Group

Spoiler

Accessibility: E-rank Infantry

Availability: From chapter 5 (all routes), complete 4 online liason missions (NSO required)

Gambit: Blessing

Endurance: 60

Phys: +1 / +5

Mag: +1 / +5

Hit: +20 / +30

Crit: 0

Avo: 0

Prt: 0

Rsl: 0

Cha: +1

Nuvelle Chamberlain Co.

Spoiler

Accessibility: C-rank Infantry

Availability: From chapter 9 (all routes), complete “A Servant’s Essentials” quest (DLC required)

Gambit: Battleground Café

Endurance: 45

Phys: +3 / +8

Mag: 0

Hit: +5 / +10

Crit: +5 / +10

Avo: 0

Prt: +1

Rsl: +3 / +7

Cha: +5

Nuvelle Attendants Co.

Spoiler

Accessibility: C-rank Infantry

Availability: From chapter 9 (all routes), complete “A Servant’s Essentials” quest (DLC required)

Gambit: Absolute Defense

Endurance: 45

Phys: 0

Mag: +3 / +8

Hit: 0

Crit: +5 / +10

Avo: +5 / +10

Prt: +1

Rsl: +3 / +7

Cha: +5

Nuvelle Stewards Co.

Spoiler

Accessibility: C-rank Infantry

Availability: From chapter 9 (all routes), complete “A Servant’s Essentials” quest (DLC required)

Gambit: Battleground Clean Up

Endurance: 45

Phys: +1 / +5

Mag: +1 / +5

Hit: +5 / +10

Crit: +5 / +10

Avo: +1 / +5

Prt: +1

Rsl: +3 / +7

Cha: +10

Seiros Brawlers

Spoiler

Accessibility: E-rank Infantry

Availability: From chapter 8 (all routes), hire at the Battalion Guild

Gambit: Disturbance

Endurance: 30

Phys: +2 / +4

Mag: -2

Hit: 0

Crit: 0

Avo: +5 / +10

Prt: 0

Rsl: -1

Cha: +1

Seiros Armored Co.

Spoiler

Accessibility: D-rank Armors

Availability: From chapter 8 (all routes), hire at the Battalion Guild

Gambit: Onslaught

Endurance: 60

Phys: +2 / +4

Mag: 0

Hit: 0

Crit: 0

Avo: -10

Prt: +2 / +4

Rsl: 0

Cha: +3

So, how do I assess these particular battalions? See below to find out!

Spoiler

Availability:

Essar Research Group, available as soon as chapter 5, get a 4. The rest of them, first available in chapter 8 or 9, receive a 3.

Accessibility:

Essar Research Group and Seiros Brawlers are E-rank Infantry, so they get 5. Seiros Armored Co. is D-rank Armor, so they get 4. Finally, the C-rank Infantry of the Nuvelle Battalions earn a 3 here.

Gambit:

Essar Research Group provide Blessing, which I previously granted a 4. Nuvelle Chamberlain Co. offer Battleground Cafe, which is good for 5. Nuvelle Attendants Co. give you Absolute Defense, which grants them 3. Nuvelle Stewards Co. provide Battleground Clean Up, which gives them 3. Seiros Brawlers have the classic Disturbance, so that's worth 3. Finally, Seiros Armored Co. offer Onslaught... also good for 3.

Stats:

Here's where the magic happens. Essar Research Group offers +5 each to physical and magical attack, alongside +30 Hit. That's quite stellar, especially for an E-rank battalion available this early on. There are no defensive boosts, and +1 Charm is poor, but the sheer boost to attacking potential is not to be denied, particularly for hybrid units. This comfortably earns a 7.

The stat boosts heighten further with the Nuvelle battalions. The Chamberlain Co. grants up to +8 physical attack, alongside +10 each to Hit and Crit, and a juicy +7 Resilience. +1 Protection and +5 Charm round it out. This is an excellent choice for physical combatants, particularly those who want a slight booster in Hit and Crit. And the Resilience boost can turn enemy two-shots into three-shots. This is an awesome kit, worth a 9.

When it comes to Nuvelle Attendants Co, the bulk and Charm stat boosts stay the same, but the attack boost switches to +8 on the magical side. The +10 Crit is still there, but they trade the Hit boost for +10 Avoid instead. I would count this as roughly comparable to the last one, so it gets a 9, too.

The last Nuvelle battalion is the Stewards Co. Again, the same bulk boosts, but now it offers +5 to each side of the attacking formula. The +10 Hit and Crit boosts are there, while the Avoid boost is just +5. The standout here is a +10 boost to Charm, which helps its less-than-perfectly-accurate battalion land. They don't offer the biggest boost to any one area, but they boost literally every stat - in some cases appreciably. I feel comfortable awarding this bunch a 10.

Seiros Brawlers are just the same thing as any other "Country Name Brawlers". Took 'em long enough to show up. They get a 4.

As for Seiros Armored Co., the +4 boosts each to physical attack and protection feel pretty nice. Then again, +3 Charm isn't great, and -10 Avoid is a disappointment (enjoy the bulk boosts, because you won't be dodging). These ones get a 4 as well.

Uniqueness:

Essar Research Group are the first battalion to grant you Blessing, along with as high as +30 Hit, and hybrid attacking boosts in general. It's not unique in either regard forever, but it still gets a 2.

The three Nuvelle battalions are each the only ones offering their respective battalions. Yep, these are totally unavailable for anyone who hasn't ponied up the dough to Uncle Nintendo. Anyway, that earns them a 3 all around.

Seiros Brawlers and Seiros Armored Co. offer nothing new. You've already gotten a "Brawler Battalion" on every route, and the defensive boost of Seiros Armored Co. is no better than that of other Armored battalions that show up at the same time. These each get a 0.

Convenience:

Many players, even those with access to Nintendo Switch Online, will go several playthroughs without knowing of Essar Research Group's existence. They're hidden behind a totally optional activity, and never mentioned as a reward otherwise. Either you get them accidentally, or you make yourself play hide-and-seek several times over. I like the minigame, but still, they get a 0.

The other Nuvelle battalions, though, could hardly be easier to get. It's done through a quest, which (if I recall) is just going to the right place in the monastery and picking up the requested items. Less effort, even, than going out for a quest battle. These get a 2.

Finally, the Seiros Brawlers and Seiros Armored Co. can readily be bought at the Battalion Guild... if you feel like it. 2 for each of them.

Endurance:

With a miserable 30 durability, Seiros Brawlers get just 0 on this front.

The Nuvelle battalions increase this to a modest 45, so they each earn 1 when it comes to endurance.

Finally, what to Essar Research Group and the Seiros Armored Co. have in common? Not much, aside from 60 durability. They each get a 1.

Experience:

Essar Research Group became one of my favorites from first discovery. The boosts are absurd for when they show up, turning even lowly out-of-house recruits into killing machines. Plus, as an E-rank Battalion, they guarantee that even a filler unit will be able to provide Blessing support. This group studies their way to a 2.

As for the Nuvelle battalions, I've made some use of each of them. I never really used the DLC characters and items until my fourth playthrough, so I've played more without them than with. Still, despite showing up pre-skip, their stats hold up to the endgame. And with their unique gambits, they have a monopoly on at least one function, including sort-of-Fateswakening-style-rallies. So they get a 2 as well.

As for Seiros Brawlers and Armored Co... what's the draw here, really? These are gambits that should've shown up five chapters ago. By the time they become available, I've usually got something better to use. These each get a 0.

Final Scores:

Essar Research Group: 4 + 5 + 4 + (7 * 2) + 2 + 0 + 1 + 2 = 32 -> 6.4

Nuvelle Chamberlain Co.: 3 + 3 + 5 + (9 * 2) + 3 + 2 + 1 + 2 = 37 -> 7.4

Nuvelle Attendants Co.: 3 + 3 + 3 + (9 * 2) + 3 + 2 + 1 + 2 = 35 -> 7.0

Nuvelle Stewards Co.: 3 + 3 + 3 + (10 * 2) + 3 + 2 + 1 + 2 = 37 -> 7.4

Seiros Brawlers: 3 + 5 + 3 + (4 * 2) + 0 + 2 + 0 + 0 = 21 -> 4.2

Seiros Armored Co.: 3 + 4 + 3 + (4 * 2) + 0 + 2 + 1 + 0 = 21 -> 4.2

In any case, what do you think of these battalions? Let me know below!

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Essar Research Group: 8/10 if gotten early, 6/10 if gotten later?  I have never acquired Essar Research Group despite having an NSO subscription because Recon quests seem terribly boring (note that doing online shopping is way easier, and I was willing to go fish up Ore & friend shops in Fates, but...  really?).  Also note that you can only do 1 Recon mission per explore so getting this ASAP is a little tricky.  Anyway, insane Hit bonus and nice mixed damage option, but nothing else.  If you get it ASAP then it's a Nuvelle Stewards variant.  Durability shows this was clearly balanced as a C or B-rank battalion but made an E-rank battalion because Recon quests open up earlier I guess in case someone grinded it out.

Nuvelle Chamberlain Co.: 9/10  

Nuvelle Attendants Co.: 9/10

Nuvelle Stewards Co.: 9/10

The Nuvelle battalions are all significant enough to shake up the "meta", notably reducing the importance of building Authority long-term (buff for Felix/Caspar/Hilda!).  These are all end-game qualified battalions, except they join pre-timeskip and with only C-authority as a requirement, so they'll get a ton of use.  The quest is trivial as well, doesn't even require an Aux battle.  The buffing Gambit on Chamberlain/Attendants is kind of garbo, but I will absolutely take that for +8 PAtk / +8 MAtk on a C-rank battalion when that kind of boost was restricted to A-rank battalions pre-DLC.  Stewards, meanwhile, has a better Gambit if requiring a mixed-damage unit to optimize properly.  They're still very solid.  The only mild "flaw" is that +1 Prot isn't that great for frontliners, but Defense doesn't matter THAT much by midgame & lategame 3H, and of course they're all packing +7 Resilience and other handy boosts as well.  Even if you believe it's a more serious flaw, whatever, use Chamberlains on a Sniper or Bow Knight that never gets hit but appreciates +16 damage Hunter's Volleys and Attendants on a backline Gremory that never gets hit.  I guess the other "flaw" with heavy quotation marks is that if you do truly use these into the endgame, their Durability will stand out as suspect, but see above about just not letting them get hit that much.  When I played Azure Moon, Sniper Felix's Nuvelle Chamberlain did come somewhat close to breaking in Oath of the Dagger, but that was because that map features an inconvenient range 32 attacker wearing him down despite attempts to keep him safe.

Seiros Brawlers: ?/10.  

Seiros Armored Co.: ?/10. 

Remind me if these join in C3 or C8?  If it's C3, they're fine per the other Brawler battalions, if it's C8, they're garbage.  Write-up says 8 but there's wikis that say C3, but wikis can and often are wrong.

Edit: C8?  Flush it is then.  1/10 for both.

Edited by SnowFire
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I imagine people may have plenty to say about the pay-to-win nature of NSO/DLC battalions. I think paying real money is a significant mark against an in-game tool from an availability perspective, but it isn't one I've taken into account for these gradings, mainly because I would then give them 0/10 on principle and that isn't helpful for this thread. With that said, I did pay for NSO (not specifically because of 3H) and the DLC and would do so again in the same situation, so make of that what you will. 

Essar Research Group - 8/10

Excellent stats, especially given its E-rank Authority requirement and that you can obtain it early on. An amazing tool that finds use on just about anybody in your army, for quite a long time or even the entire game depending on how many units have shaky hit rates. I don't care about Blessing even in the early game, and it's really difficult to find without a guide, which is why the score isn't even higher.

Nuvelle Chamberlain Co. - 7.75/10

Top-tier physical attack boost alongside good availability are the reasons for this score. I'm not sold on Battleground Cafe, despite it being theoretically great (multi-unit Rally Str, three times per map). I think that's because I'm already not using rallies by Chapter 9 - but I can certainly imagine niche uses of this gambit. A high-Str high-Res battalion is also niche but appreciated.

Nuvelle Attendants Co. - 8/10

The extra 0.25 compared to Nuvelle Chamberlain Co. is due to the relative paucity of magic compared to physical battalions. As far as I can see, only one route (VW) guarantees you access to a magic battalion with equivalent attack power, while Nuvelle Chamberlain Co. has peers in every route. Again, I don't use Absolute Defense, although I'm inclined to think it's better on paper than Battleground Cafe (because there aren't as many defence-boosting tools in the game).

Nuvelle Stewards Co. - 7.5/10

Another battalion that will see use for a long time, with a great stat range. However, it is not quite as competitive as the above battalions in the later game, because battalions with significant boosts to attack and one other relevant stat normally outweigh battalions with fairly even spreads like this. Still great though. The +10 Charm/40-hit gambit combination is interesting too. Apart from its hit rates, the gambit is top-tier in its own right - but I have no recollection of using it or needing it. Similarly, the +10 Charm is impressive, although its main use lies in avoiding hits from enemy gambits - and yet, I've never made or needed a unit to fill that particular role. So, despite being quite good on paper, it feels like a fairly superfluous tool.

Seiros Brawlers - 2.5/10 

2.5-point deduction compared to the house equivalents for being five chapters later than them. I could still be recruiting at this point depending on run, so they can see use - but it's not for very much longer.

Seiros Armored Co. - 4/10 

There still isn't much choice for Prt-boosting battalions at this stage of the game. I'm unlikely to care hugely about that by this point, but I accept that the niche exists, and it is a toss-up between this and the house equivalent for it, so that's what the four is for. Everything else is either underwhelming or soon to be outmatched.

EDIT: @SnowFire good point about whether the joining time is ch.3 or ch. 8 - if ch. 3, both battalions go up to 5.

NEW EDIT: thanks for clearing up below - we will stick with original scores then

Edited by haarhaarhaar
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Oh boy.

Essar Research Group: 0/10. Going to start this one with what I suspect might be a controversial take. So, first off, I'll just acknowledge that mechanically and statistically these are pretty great. In a hypothetical game where I had all battalions unlocked and available starting in chapter 2, I would definitely use these. However, this is not that hypothetical situation. And in reality, we have to do multiple online liason missions if we want to get these. And let me tell you, I am not doing multiple online liason missions.

There are multiple different reasons why I play video games. Mostly I play to have fun. But sometimes I want to challenge myself, relax, or express myself creatively. Maybe I enjoy following a story, appreciating the graphics, or just generally seeing the game as art. The online liason missions do not offer me any of these experiences. Rather, I find them tedious, annoying, and a waste of my time. As such, I don't do them. As such, I have never got the Essar Research Group, probably will never get the Essar Research Group, and prior to this thread, I didn't even know that they existed.

Since using this inherently requires an activity that detracts from the central point of a video game, I cannot give them anything other than 0/10. I would give the same score if they gave +100 to all stats and came with a gambit that combined Stride, Retribution, Resonant Flames, and Ashes and Dust all at once. For people who actually like the minigame, I can easily see how you would score this very highly. However, I don't like it which my score reflects.

(For the record, if a battalion existed that was unlocked through tea parties or fishing, I would probably give it the same score.)

Nuvelle Chamberlain Co: 6/10. For this and the next two, I will admit that I may have a degree of personal bias here, since I find the idea of sending maids and butlers into battle to be extremely silly. I've tried to score them as objectively as I can, but I will acknoweldge that some of the bias may have managed to sneak in. That said:

Great stats, awful gambit. I think the main source of contention here will be on how to weigh those two factors. For me, this battalion will typically see a little bit of use when I first get it, but ends up getting swapped out before too long for something with a better gambit. And if that means I have to sacrifice a couple of points of attack then so be it. I find that having a gambit that I will actually ever use will make a difference to more battles than that extra attack will.

Nuvelle Attendants Co: 6.5/10. Basically the exact same comments as the Chamberlains, except that we're now dealing with magic attack rather than physical. Which is the reason for the slightly incresed score. There just aren't as many other options that does what this does, which is more incentive to keep with it.

Nuvelle Stewards Co: 5/10. I find it hard to get excited about battalions with hybrid attack stats. Because, ultimately, how many hybrid attackers am I running in a single game? Often none. Sometimes one. Maybe two, at a push. And for that matter, they also need to be grounded hybrid attackers, which means that it's even less likely that I'm running more than one other unit that might want this. And there are enough other better options for hybrid attackers (Leicester Dicers, Gloucester Knights, Edmund Troops, and Supreme Armored Co.) that I'm just not interested in these in the long term. And if I'm using only magical or only physical attacks, then these end up just having OK stats and a somewhat poor gambit. I might use these a little, but not for long.

Seiros Brawlers: 1/10 and Seiros Armored Co: 1.5/10. I'm also on team "wait, when do we get these again?" which I think is pretty telling. We're a bunch of Fire Emblem nerds who are choosing to spend our free time discussing intricate nuances of this game that was released over three years ago. And even we don't remember these. My assumption is that we don't remember them because they appear at a time when they're completely irrelevant and we don't actually use them or even think twice about them. Of course I'm not buying mediocre E and D rank battalions in chapter 8, when most of my team have moved onto C or even B rank authority, and those stragglers who I do have left behind are using the fully leveled up battalions that I've been using since early game. That's so obvious that I wouldn't give it a second thought.

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Since there's some confusion: Seiros Brawlers and Seiros Armored Co are indeed both Chapter 8, not 3.

 

Essar Research Group: ???

I've never done an online liason mission. They sound boring. And you have to do four of them? I'm... definitely leaning towards scoring this similarly to lenticular, but feel unqualified to weigh in on content I haven't done myself. Abstain for now.

Nuvelle Chamberlain Co.: 8 stats, 3 gambit. C rank grounded, Chapter 9.

The stats are good, though I wouldn't say "requires an A rank" good, 8 atk is available at B on a few battalions. That said, they're still a steal at C rank. Their gambit is quite poor, though, so I do find that I eventually prefer to get to B and move onto something better, but you definitely don't need to. Same score as the Knights works for me; it's better, of course, but getting it 6 chapters later does offset that.

In a vacuum: 6.5. Adjusted: 7/10

Nuvelle Attendants Co.: 8 stats, 3 gambit. C rank grounded, Chapter 9.

Basically see above. It's arguably more in demand when you get it, but ages worse, since magic battalions have even better gambits on average as the game goes on. I think this balances.

In a vacuum: 6.5. Adjusted: 7/10

Nuvelle Stewards Co.: 7 stats, 3 gambit. C rank grounded, Chapter 9.

In a vacuum: 5.5. Adjusted 6/10

As lenticular mentions, if you have the DLC, then hybrid battalions aren't exactly in poor supply (with Leicester Dicers joining the "you know you're recruiting Lorenz" Gloucster Knights, plus more post-TS). If you only need one offensive stat, it's... honestly still not bad for C rank (10 charm's nice, helps this gambit actually see use), but doesn't really stand out either.

Seiros Brawlers: 4 stats, 4 gambit. E rank grounded, Chapter 8.

Well we've already rated this one! ... except now it's Chapter 8 instead of 3. So uh suddenly it struggles to have much use at all. Maybe on a no-divine-pulse, no-reset run where you've lost a lot of E rank battalions already and are recruiting new characters in the second half of White Clouds, at E authority? Yeah.

In a vacuum: 4.5. Adjusted: 2/10.

Seiros Armored Co.: 4 stats, 3 gambit. D rank grounded, Chapter 8.

See above, except this one's D rank. (The higher charm offsets the on-paper-worse gambit.)

In a vacuum: 4.5. Adjusted: 2/10.

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2 hours ago, haarhaarhaar said:

EDIT: @SnowFire good point about whether the joining time is ch.3 or ch. 8 - if ch. 3, both battalions go up to 5.

 

3 hours ago, SnowFire said:

Remind me if these join in C3 or C8?  If it's C3, they're fine per the other Brawler battalions, if it's C8, they're garbage.  Write-up says 8 but there's wikis that say C3, but wikis can and often are wrong.

I will double check when I get home, but I'm pretty sure they're not among those that can be bought in chapter 3 (assuming an NG playthrough). If you're doing NG+, all battalions can be purchased from the Guild starting in chapter 3. I think that's what creates confusion among the Wiki contributors. 

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Can confirm neither battalion shows up in Chapter 3.

Essbar Research Group: N/A. I don't have online services, so I wouldn't have any way to obtain it normally. Based off it's stats I'd give it an easy 8/10, but I have no idea how obtainable it is. Personally, I don't think this battalion should be rated at all just because I don't think anyone here has actually used it.

Nuvelle Chamberlain: 8/10. It has stats on par with Leicester Mercs at C Rank. B Rank battalions are some of the biggest increases in power you can give to a unit, so having one almost just as powerful at C Rank is a really big boon on authority bane units like Felix. Not having access to a offensive gambit is something I find not to be a big deal, as it arrives when units are starting to consistently one round and enemy phase set ups are also starting up. Shame how they patched the Battleground Cafe glitch though. 

Nuvelle Attendants: 6.5/10. Basically the same as the above except on mages. Which is good considering how lacking good mage battalions since it's pretty much Gloucester and that's it until either the time skip or A authority.  Hapi really appreciates it, but having no hit on it makes it kinda of suffering until Uncanny Blow comes in, and so it makes me knock down the score.

Nuvelle Stewards: 5.5/10. Mixed setups in Three Houses rightfully get a bad rep, but I don't think that should be applied to the battalions. Even without any focus on magic at all, units like Grapplers are pretty easily able to one round things like Fortress knights with Aura Gauntlets when they wouldn't be able to with regular gauntlets. The only problem with this battalion is that there's really not much reason to use it over Leicester Dicers. But hey, at least it has a good gambit with some amazing charm to go with it for some of the harder paralogue fights.

Seiros Brawlers: 2/10 Brawlers without any of the availability, which was the only reason why they were any good to begin with. 

Seiros Armored: 2/10 If it had Impregnable Wall maybe there could be some discussion here. As is it's just bad filler.

Edited by LoneRecon400
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22 minutes ago, LoneRecon400 said:

Personally, I don't think this battalion should be rated at all just because I don't think anyone here has actually used it.

Given the massive disparity in scoring patterns for Essar Research Group, I also wonder whether there is any point in @Shanty Pete's 1st Mate coming to an aggregate score - the average score won't reflect the battalion-specific reasons why people rated it 0 or N/A. 

3 hours ago, lenticular said:

prior to this thread, I didn't even know that they existed.

I don't think you could find out about the battalion unless through sheer luck (me, spending too much time on SF) or following a thorough walkthrough. I didn't know what recon missions were till then either, and I only did them because my completionism demanded a copy of every battalion. While I didn't think they were any less tolerable than the other monastery stuff, I'm also someone who speaks to everyone/runs through the entire monastery every month to look for the random item drops, so I think my tolerance for that kind of thing is higher than the average player. 

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2 hours ago, haarhaarhaar said:

I don't think you could find out about the battalion unless through sheer luck (me, spending too much time on SF) or following a thorough walkthrough. I didn't know what recon missions were till then either, and I only did them because my completionism demanded a copy of every battalion. While I didn't think they were any less tolerable than the other monastery stuff, I'm also someone who speaks to everyone/runs through the entire monastery every month to look for the random item drops, so I think my tolerance for that kind of thing is higher than the average player. 

Well, I think it wasn't until my fifth time through the game that I stopped making a point of running around the monastery and speaking to everyone every month, so I think it's fair to say that my tolerance (and in many ways even like) for the Monastery is also pretty high. But even so, I did one or two recon missions in an early playthrough, decided I didn't like them, and haven't done anyt since.

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In vague fairness...  Recon Missions aren't my thing either as noted, buuuut, at least some (many?) people who bother to set up their character have them standing immediately next to the Online guy, either as a manners thing or because that's where you start when setting up and a confused player may just stop there.  Kind of like how in Fates, people would name their castle "free win here" and have a single level 5 character out front for people farming PvP wins for renown.  If you are interested in Essar Research Group but don't want to waste excessive real-life time, you can do a recon mission, see if the hiding other player is in the open / initial area, then disconnect if not.  You'll potentially get them a little slower (hence two rankings for getting ASAP vs. getting later), but you'll get them without EXTREME time-wasting, like doing multiple spa minigames every month (which is...  sadly kinda optimal in midgame...).  And there's something said for taking battalions at their best; the C5 battalions like Merchant Military and Bandits might join in a later chapter if you're waiting on hitting the "two auxiliary battles in one action" professor rank, say, and then they're even worse.

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