Rate the unit 1: Alear

[Imuabicus der Fertige]

Guidelines:

2.1.) mention the diffculty on which you rate the unit 

2.2.) what classes your unit went through, what skills they had and so on; don´t consider obviously suboptimal builds.

2.3.) no DLC rings, no non-unit DLC bonuses

2.4.) no grinding in skirmishes

2.5.) no rng abuse (no resetting for bond rings)

2.6.) cooking is allowed

2.7.) ratings to be given in the format X/10

2.8.) if it isn´t mentioned above, it´s fair game

2.9.) no "Kagetsu exists and obsoletes Lapis, 0/10", explain your rating

 

 

Unit: Alear                                           Join-Chapter: 1                     Class: Dragon Child                       Base stats, true base stats and growths:                                             Lvl HP STR MAG DEX SPD LCK DEF RES BLD Bases 1 22 6 0 5 7 5 5 3 4 T. Bases / 0 0 0 3 0 3 0 0 0 Growths / 60% 35% 20% 45% 50% 25% 40% 25% 5%   Personal Skill: Adjacent allies deal +3 damage and take 1 less damage.   Innate Proficiency:   Swords     SP: 300                   Support Bonus:                  C Hit+10, Avoid+5     B Hit+10, Critical+3, Avoid+5   A Hit+10, Critical+3, Avoid+5, Dodge+5   S Hit+10, Critical+6, Avoid+5, Dodge+5
Tools and mo stats: Average Stats - Fire Emblem: Engage (FE17) (triangleattack.com) Engage Numbers - Google Tabellen   Rating: 7,6

Edited June 12, 2023 by Imuabicus der Fertige

[Barren]

So we start off this discussion with Pepsi-Man...I mean Toothpaste-chan...I mean (okay I'll stop) Alear! Ill be basing my rating not only off of these guidelines but also a couple of other factors I like to throw in like availability and short/mid/long term potential as a unit. I would also like to note that not everything in this game is all about growths and raw stats but also what can they bring to the table as a overall package. Also for Alear I'll use "their" for example because Alear can be male or female just so we're clear. I'm also going to assume fixed growths maddening.

 

So Alear has perfect availability which is great considering that Alear is the protagonist here. Out of the game their combat is fine even for early game maddening's standards. Divinely Aspiring giving adjacent allies +3 true damage is pretty big considering that some units might miss out on kill thresholds. Alear also supports every unit in the game so they are a number of party comps that the player can use very effectively along with other support cores that they like to use i.e Chloe, Citrinne and Merrin who all share supports among each other. The weapon you get by the end of chapter 2 Liberation, is a slightly stronger Iron Sword with a perk. This allows you to recharge your engage meter at a faster rate if you used this weapon to secure a killing blow on the enemy. It's good to have early on and is one of the cheapest options to upgrade and forge. But come later on you may find yourself wanting better weapons to use as it pales in comparison to a forged Silver Sword or Killing Edge or even effective weaponry like Armor Slayers and Wyrm Slayers.

Engravings are also a factor in improving weapons as well some of which like Marth, Sigurd and even Leif are mostly beneficial.

Should also mention that if you download the Fire Emblem Heroes bonus items, one of which you’ll get is the Folkvangr Sword which is even a better weapon for Alear and deals extra damage when under a certain amount of HP at the start of combat. Alear can also use Alfonse’s S rank ring and which grants Spur Attack. That allows adjacent allies +2 attack. Combine that with Divine Aspiring grants adjacent allies +5 damage. Now that’s spicy.

 

Another point in Alear's favor is having Emblem Marth auto equipped a couple of turns in during chapter 1 and the buffs Marth offers early on pushes Alear's combat potential to greater heights. Having the ability to strike 3 times with a normal attack (assuming you have weapon triangle advantage) along with Break Defense on atop of having other abilities synced like Perceptive and Divine Speed makes this a safe player phase option for Alear. Mercurius also grants Alear extra EXP when killing an enemy, making it easier to level up.

Not to mention that in this game, emblems can provide certain stat buffs and engage attacks that some might be able to take advantage of more than others, but Alear is among the best to do so thanks to their Dragon type class Dragon Child then later after master seal promotion Divine Dragon. Divine Dragon offers an A rank in swords and B rank in Artes. Artes is a weird choice for Alear considering that this class still lacks 1-2 range not counting Levin Sword, but you could in theory give Alear Shielding Artes if you like that +5 def for tanking purposes. Artes can also break enemy Mages, Archers and Thieves but it's low might may let you down at certain points.

 

Obviously going over every capable emblem would be redundant and just take way too long in general because there are so many options. But I'll go over some of the more popular picks for Alear emblem wise in another paragraph. Alear is force deployed so you would have to use them and honestly not as much of a burden as one might think. Nearly every classes move stat got nerfed with no one having more than 6 move (not counting the boots). So early game combat Alear can hold their own with Vander being able to soften up enemies for you as a Jaegan would (more on him next time). By the end chapter 7 when you start getting master seals it becomes a dilemma on who gets it first. Alear might be worth considering promoting at least either first or second because of the extra stat boosts the Divine Dragon including build. For me I waited until Alear was at least level 11 since in fixed growths Alear can increase their build from 4 to 5 allowing them to wield heavier weapons without being weighed down as much including the +3 build Alear gets upon promoting, which means that Alear can now wield a non-forged Steel Sword without being weighed down. You can even forge a Steel Sword to decrease it's weight even before promotion if you desire. Build maybe a stat that some people might gloss over but I like to make sure that I'm not being weighed down too much or can I find a way to increase someone's build so they can hit harder without much of a speed penalty.

 

By mid/late game assuming no second sealing Alear starts to dwindle a bit as a combat unit considering that some of your other units would have better move (fliers in most cases) as well as better 1-2 range options. Alear could wield a Levin Sword but their magic stat isn't the highest. You can however have Alear inherit Sword Power from Emblem Roy before you begin chapter 10 because if you don't,

Spoiler

you lose 6 of your starting emblems after completing chapter 10. You'll get them back between entering late game and headings towards end game.

By end game when you get Wille Glanz right before you face the final boss, it would not matter as much because you get to use this pretty strong 1-2 range sword for 1 chapter. Quick tangent but this pisses me off because they do this in about every fire emblem game and it's such a trope that I feel like IS loves to keep using as a cruel joke to the player. Okay slightly exaggerated but seriously, they could have at least let you have access to this sword a couple or so chapters sooner. But it is what it is.

 

As far as Alear's performance in the mid game, that can be adjusted to a now more support focused role with Emblem Lucina, Byleth and Corrin. Lucina for Bonded Shield and being a dragon type class, increases the chances of blocking an attack to 90%. You could use the Parthia while engaged giving you bow access against fliers. Byleth for a Omni Rally Goddess Dance. You also get Aymr for dragon enemies though it is a smash weapon so you'll go second. Corrin for summoning which ever Dragon Vein you need to maintain control like Fire Vein or Fog Vein. Alear can do a number of roles quite well despite having balanced stats that are not exactly specialized. Though considering fixed mode Alear tends to have more speed with equal strength and defense.

 

When I played this game, I played it on hard for the first time and went with Divine Dragon and then later on second sealed to Wyvern Knight with lances as a secondary weapon. Alear makes a very good combat efficient unit as a Wyvern. Alear can also go Griffon with staff utility, Hero if you like Brave Assist or Paladin if you like having 6 move with a arrow weakness. I gave Alear Canter from Sigurd's emblem since being able to move 2 more tiles after combat increases the overall flexibility for Alear (Canter does it for everyone but in Alear's case it allows more people to take advantage of Divinely Aspiring). Then eventually after the well come out and I had enough SP, I gave her Hold Out from Roy so it can serve as a line of defense to keep Alear alive from otherwise fatal blows. That with Marth as a emblem ring and their bind maxed out also can activate Unyielding for emergency HP regeneration to keep Hold Out online. Obviously this is a lot of SP to spend especially when you factor in SP books you could get from the well and post game when you grind for more books at the relay trials, but if achieved you make a pretty damn powerful unit.

 

In between chapters Alear can also participate in the somminel activities including working out which pending on your choice can give Alear a boost in HP, strength or dex for the next chapter. This I recommend on maddening mode so you can give Alear whatever kind of boost you feel you need. Cooking also is helpful as you can potentially buff yourself and other allies' stats, just be careful to not get an E rank or F rank meal as they will decrease your stats. Funnily enough they count as achievements you can get for bond fragments.

Edit: I can’t believe I forgot about this important detail for the end game. But after chapter 22 you complete a paralogue that gives you the pact ring which pending on who you give it to can make use of the S rank support buffs and Engage+ which is a really strong attack that even puts a huge dent to even the tougher enemies.

 

So overall, I'd honestly give Alear 9/10 rating because to summarize my thoughts: Alear is a good combat unit that later evolves to a proficient support unit with still good enough offense and utility to where you still find a number of things for Alear to contribute in battle. Their mid game combat to me feels like more of a adjustment period rather than Alear falling off because Alear doesn't really fall off at all. It's just that Divine Dragon as a class weapons wise doesn't have the most favorable combo for me. But it still keeps the Dragon Emblem bonuses that will always come in handy.

 

(If anyone feels that my analysis/opinion is too long I'll make them shorter in the future)

Edited June 9, 2023 by Barren
More info

[Imuabicus der Fertige]

I don´t have anything to add, seeing as I haven´t finished the game but because it came up and I may or may not have forgotten......

5 hours ago, Barren said:

The weapon you get by the end of chapter 2 Liberation, is a slightly stronger Iron Sword with a perk. [...] It's good to have early on and is one of the cheapest options to upgrade and forge. But come later on you may find yourself wanting better weapons to use as it pales in comparison to a forged Silver Sword or Killing Edge or even effective weaponry like Armor Slayers and Wyrm Slayers.

The stats and costs of Alear Liberation and Wille Glanz (what a stupid fucken name, it hurts so much, it should be Willensglanz or Glanzeswillen) and the mentioned Silver Sword for reference - I hope I didn´t wildly misunderstand the workings of Engage forging:

	Might	Hit	Crit	Weight
Liberation	6	90	0	4
+1	8	90	0	4
+2	9	95	0	4
+3	10	95	0	4
+4	11	100	0	4
+5	12	105	5	4
Total cost:	4300 Gold	250 Iron	10 Steel	3 Silver
	Might	Hit	Crit	Weight
Wille Glanz*	12	70	0	10
+1	13	70	0	10
+2	14	70	0	10
+3	15	75	0	10
+4	16	75	0	10
+5	17	80	0	10
Total cost:	10000 Gold			35 Silver
	Might	Hit	Crit	Weight
Silver Sword	12	90	0	11
+1	14	90	0	11
+2	14	95	0	11
+3	16	95	0	10
+4	16	100	0	10
+5	18	100	0	9
Total cost:	10000 Gold	800 Iron	100 Steel	20 Silver

 

*Wille Glanz has 1-2 range.

[lenticular]

First off, I'm going to be refering to Alear as "she" here, just because that's the version that I played, but all comments apply just as well to male Alear too. Of all the FE games with selectable protgaonist gender, this is probably the one where it makes the least gameplay difference. Unless you count Mark.

Secondly, my comments are based on having played through the game once on Hard/Classic, and then playing through about half the game on Maddening/Classic before getting distracted and wandering off. So my comments are based on a combination of Hard and Maddening experience, but somewhat more weighted to Hard.

Protagonist units are always weird to rank because of the forced deployment. Do you interpret it as a positive, saying that there's no opportunity cost to fielding them? Or as a negative, saying they take up a deployment slot that could potentially be used by someone else? Or do you pretend that they don't have forced deployment and try to judge whether you'd use them if you didn't have to? I think the last approach is probably the most useful, and I'll answer the question with a big fat "maybe".

Alear's biggest problem is that she is a growth unit in a game that isn't kind to growth units. Early game recruits get you through the early game but are then largely outclassed by the prepromotes that you pick up in the mid game. You can absolutely bring some of your early-game units with you to the end of the game, but it requires a little bit of favouritism. If you try to spread all your experience and resources equally among a full team of early-game units then they will all end up pretty underwhelming.

So does Alear offer enough to be one of the few units that you choose to invest in? (Or would she do so if you had the choice to drop her?) Kind of. In terms of stats, she's nothing particularly special. Her bases are low, as befits a level 1 unit, and while her bases are decent, they certainly aren't spectacular. So she's not really standing out on that front.

However, as protagonist, she gets a bunch of unique special tools that help her stand above the hoi polloi:

• Access to the Dragon Child/Divine Dragon class line.
• Battle access to the convoy.
• Use of the swords Libération and Wille Glanz.
• Supports with every other unit, and eventual access to a 💍 support.
• A really good personal skill in a game with lots of terrible personal skills.
• The whole thirteenth Emblem thing.

All of these things at least have the potential to be useful. I didn't get much value out of the end-game tools (Wille Glanz, the 💍 support, and the 13th Emblem) because, on Hard at least, clearing all the paralogues overlevels your army so much that the end game is trivial and extra power at that point is meaningless.

I'm also not a big fan of the "use your Emblems more often" flavour of Libération and the Divine Dragon class skill, since they don't tend to mesh well with how I use Emblems. I tend to save them for either the times when I really need them, or when I know I'm going to have a recharge spot coming up soo. So these abilities just didn't feel useful to me. I can easily see them being better for people who use their Emblems differently, though.

Divine Dragon is a fairly underwhelming combat class, but the dragon typing does offer some interesting options for using Emblems. Byleth and Corrin are obvious choices here, but they're also both strong Emblems that other units are going to want to have as well.

Convoy access is always handy, and is particularly strong if you turn Alear into a staff user. In my Maddening run, I had her as a Martial Master, which was a bit of a meme, but quite fun and effective. A less memey version would be to go for Griffin Knight or Royal Knight, or just to pair her with Micaiah.

Her personal skill is also really strong, and can surprisingly often make the difference between being able to get a kill and not. Given that most of the personal skills on offer in this game struggle to even achieve mediocrity, having one that is actually legitimately good makes it really stand out.

I don't think that Alear is going to be making use of all of these different tools in very many games, but the vast majority of games are going to be able to get at least something out of some of them. Which ones will vary from player to player and from game to game, but there'll probably be something there.

All of this means that, even if she weren't force-deployed, Alear would still be a decent choice for favouritism among the early game scrub squad, though not an overwhelming one. I really don't feel like I know the game well enough to provide meaningful ratings out of ten, but that's what we're here for so let's somewhat arbitrarily say 7/10.

[SnowFire]

Pre-emptory comments: In general, Engage is a pretty well-balanced game.  If I was doing a cross-FE scale ranking, there aren't really any 10/10s or even 9/10s (your solo-the-game types like FE4 Sigurd, FE10 Ike, or Awakening Tharja), and there certainly aren't any deep failures at 1/10 or 2/10 that are major liabilities to use (your FE7 Karlas).   I'll probably be expanding the scale at least somewhat because a wave of 5s to 7s would be boring and defeat the point, but I'm not expecting any 1s or 10s, and maybe at most a single 2 or 9.

Also, I calc'd out average stats assuming you stay in L20 in the initial class before promoting (which is actually not a very good idea, although it will mildly save some money at endgame for not having to use another Second Seal), and Alear ends up as a 20/20 Dragon Child / Divine Dragon:
51 HP, 25 Str, 9 Mag, 28 Dex, 33 Spd, 26 Def, 18 Res, 17 Lck, 11 Bld, 5 Move

Average HP, very mildly above average Str (but that average is including frail mages, so below average Str if restricted to just fighters), bad Mag, average Dex, great Spd (+5-6 above average), good defense, bad resistance, mildly below average Luck, and average endgame build.

--

Anyway...  Alear's good, but not amazing.  They have a Spd-based build by default.  Liberation is certainly cool to encourage you to Engage a lot, and then Dragon bonuses for better Engage, although the low attack on Liberation starts hurting past C10 or so.   I think the easiest "default" build for them is that of dodge-tank - Marth will give you Avoid +10 easily in part 1, and Lyn can provide useful Spd skills later, so getting Alear to being very, very dodgy is absolutely doable - especially if given Lyn as an Emblem (which also gets a nice range boost for Thief-hunting and boss-annoying).  And even with some system changes that nerf dodge-tanking some, it's still very potent.  Sadly, Alear tends to be a bit behind on non-Engage ultimate damage, unless you're doing something like giving them Roy.  This lack of killing power can definitely be a problem when you just need something really dead.  Wille Glanz is extremely late to give too much hype for, alas.  Dragon weakness is annoying on a few maps, most notably vs. Hortensia & Byleth in C10.

I've seen people hype up a Griffin Knight cross-class for Alear.  Flying is always great, and as has been noted, having access to the convoy lets them use some of the more situational staves like Fracture without running out of space.  It does feel too bad to give up the very rare Dragon typing for this, though, rather than just early-promoting Chloé or something..  for all that Griffin Knight is a good enough class that multiples is totally fine.  (Can also just give Divine Dragon Alear Micaiah Emblem, although Micaiah comes home a bit late in the game.)

As Barren already noted, Alear's passive is "true" damage, which doesn't come up that often, but can be handy for, like, Alcryst Brave Bow strats vs. Corrupted Wyverns where that's 4*3=12 damage flat before Luna & Critical procs even if wildly not breaking defense otherwise.

Basically, this adds up to a 7/10.  Very solid unit, lots of valid builds, can be both a support and a front-liner, gets a nice power-boost late, but the unimpressive Str & Mag keep 'em from being a true star unit.

Edited June 10, 2023 by SnowFire

[LoneRecon400]

Alear's got two claims to fame for most of the game: Early Exp boost from Mercurius allowing them to snowball or going the support route.

Combat wise, the early exp boost they get from Marth can enable them to promote by Chapter 8 and can allow them to one round enemies pretty easily until its nothing but promoted enemies after Solm. After that they become a pretty run of the mill combat unit until Engage +.

On the flip side, they can also not get that much exp and still be useful. +3 Atk is always useful and comes with the added benefit of +10 Hit when you unlock a C Support. That's pairs extermly well with Bonded Shield, especially since being able to support everyone skyrockets Alear's avoid. Convoy acess makes the pretty convenient at staffing since they aren't limited to 5 items unlike other units.

Divine Dragon isn't worth staying in since it doesn't help with combat while also denying other utility such as staff useage or flight.

The only worthwhile benefits dragon gets from rings would be the Omni instruct from Byleth and Veins from Corrin. Issue is with those is raw stats are less in demand since the well dropped and Alear doesn't make use of Thyrus or the stats Byleth gives, while using Corrin denies 3 range Dreadful Aura hits which are helpful for bosses.

Personal weapons aren't great. Liberation is worth forging to +1 due to its low weight, but upon promotion is thown to the wayside since steel weapons are the ideal weapons to forge when considering might, cost, and weight. Wile Glanz has literally 1 chapter of availability so it's pretty irrelevant.

Engage + is something I see to be pretty underrated. Getting +8 Speed / Def on top of +4 Strength after defeating an enemy are some of the best stat boosts you can get in this game. Add on a two tile +30 hit passive for practically everyone, a 24 might sword, and big damage from bond blast, it makes Alear and their partner of choice pretty great for the last handful of maps.

Edited June 10, 2023 by LoneRecon400

[Palasid]

When I used Alear I always felt underwhelmed by their personal class. They start pretty strong, fast and with an average amount of bulk. Without the dragon-emblem bonus, I see no reason to stay in their personal class. The longer I play the weaker Alear feels, even though they aren't ever obsolete.

Alear will continue to be fast and has decent power. However on Hard (Later maps) and Maddening they lose some of their key offensive power. One of the most curious things about Alear is that they seem to have a lower luck stat than almost every other Lord in the series. It doesn't really affect their hit rates but its kind of unique.

The personal skill is great, plus is extra good because Alear supports everyone. Availability is the best, of course. Liberation is a cheap good weapon, but I feel like people put too much stock into its usefulness. The Wile Glanz is a fun sword... but I wish there was more time to use it. Its also just... fine. Not the best, not the worst.

I would probably give Alear an 8/10, because they always feel like they lack something crucial despite in theory being always a really solid unit.

Edited June 10, 2023 by Palasid

[Dark Holy Elf]

I haven't thought about or analyzed this game nearly as much as Three Houses so I'll probably have less to say. Some scattered thoughts:

• Alear's stat build is kinda underwhelming, though not terrible. Their only really noteworthy stat is speed, and even then, they aren't as fast as Chloe, Kagetsu, or Merrin (who all have generally better non-speed stats too). Their strength is kinda average, as is their bulk, and the magic is kinda underwhelming.
• Liberation's slightly better than an iron sword but not great, I basically agree with the argument that it's not worth investing into deeply. Wille Glanz might as well not exist.
• I agree with lenticular's list of neat protagonist advantages, which go a long way towards upping Alear from "meh" to "actually above average". In particular, supporting everyone is nice, as is convoy access (increasing their staff utility if you go that route), as is Engage+ even if it's only for a few maps.
• On the other hand I'm not very impressed with the starting Marth hype, you can move him off of them as early as Chapter 4, well before they're anywhere near Mercuius, so they get no hype for that as anyone can benefit from it. Honestly they're a somewhat underwhelming user of Marth early since they can only Break Defences with one weapon, while a lance- or axe-user will be able to do it with two. I agree that keeping an emblem (maybe even Marth) on Alear is a good idea but that's mostly because they're forced so it makes sense to favour them over e.g. Vander or Clanne long-term, but that doesn't actually speak to anything uniquely good about Alear.
• Dragon typing is... interesting. IMO the main reason to use it is Byleth, Rally Spectrum (and how it automatically applies to Goddess Dance) is indeed cool. I'm not sure if it's the best path, but it does save a Second Seal so it's at least a thought.
• Otherwise you're probably doing staff and/or combat with Alear. Wolf Knight is a nice class to make use of speed, Griffin Knight marries physical combat ability and convoy staff access, I imagine they're fine as a Wyvern / Warrior since anyone is generically solid in those and the sword proficiency is tempting in Wyvern. None of these options really pin ears back though.
• Great personal skill. Camilla's near-identical ability was already good, but the overall lower power level of personal skills in Engage makes this one stand out even more.

Overall I think they're pretty good. If you could bench them I would certainly consider it, but there's enough advantages to get a decent score. No idea what score scale I'll be using for this game, but 7/10 leaves enough space for the units I consider superior while also acknowledging that Alear is clearly above average thanks to their unique advantages.

[LJ_Reflet]

It's been a while since I played Engage and as much as I enjoyed the game, my head wasn't as deep into it as it was for 3H or Echoes. Regardless, I did enjoy doing the 3H Rate the Units so I def wanna put in my thoughts. (Also, apologizing if this is a late post lol)

Analysis
Alear, for a lord unit, is surprisingly lackluster compared to past powerhouse lords like Robin and Byleth. Alear starts off with decent stats with notable speed and average strength. In the long run, Alear grows well, with fairly good speed and dex, but tends to be underwhelming compared to some later recruits. Their performance as a combat unit is passable, and can be amazing with a liiittle bit of babying, but Alear can also work well as a support unit due to their Dragon-typing and its Emblem ring bonuses. Their personal weapon is alright, it's not too shabby offensively and speeds up filling your Engage meter which is pretty handy. Wille Glanz also sounds really good on paper, but I never used it so I can't say lmao.

Alear's biggest boon is being the only unit with a Dragon-type class for the first 22 chapters (aka 80% of the game lmao), allowing them access some nice Emblem ring bonuses and skills. The main ones being Corrin and Byleth, as Alear receives access to all types of Dragon Veins with Corrin and basically Rally Spectrum with Byleth (however, now with DLC, everyone can give Rally Spectrum via Chrobin).

Overall, Alear can be fairly versatile unit, but not in a magical/physical kind of way but more of a combative/supportive type of way. They can excel in either role, but can be outshined by other units.

Personal Experience
My personal experience with Alear was overall positive. He started off okay at best because his strength was never enough to kill, but I ended up babying him for a few chapters and he ended up improving quite a bit. I originally reclassed him into a sword Griffin, but swords weren't doing it for me, so I switched to lance Griffin and I liked it more imo LOL (just cause I like lances).

I found sacrificing the Emblem ring bonuses for a different class was pretty worth it since staves are super helpful. The freeze Griffins combined with the meteor things in that one chapter (I forget which one) were annoying but with Griffin Alear having staff access, I was able to Rewarp into safety which I found to be extremely fun LOL.

 

But anyway, my overall score for Alear is, like many above me, a 7/10. They're not an overpowered lord unit by any means, but they're good and get the job done.

 

Edited June 12, 2023 by LJ_Reflet

[BloodRonin]

Alear imo is challenging to gauge since the game has changed drastically before the well was implemented. I prefer he female Alear due to design in the divine dragon class compared to the male counterpart. 

That being said, you could snowball Alear, (easy to do on Maddening due to early recruitment and extra EXP from Marth Sword) OR you can build Alear into a support unit. I have beaten the game several times exclusively on maddening, and found Support Alear was by far my favorite build. Pure offense, I found making Alear into a Wyvern Knight to be useful for the better str growth. But Support Alear imo, works really well as. 

(Non DLC)(AND NONWELL)

Corrin Alear speaks for itself. Set up whatever dragon vein you need. 

OR make Alear into a Martial Master. Martial Master Alear with Lucina is just bonkers broken with the amount of avoid you gain. This can technically be done as a Divine Dragon as well, though I like having the 100% Bonded Shield vs 90%. 

Byleth Alear support is really really good. +3 to all stats is very nice, and Alear is the only Dragon Unit you have access to until super late game. This was my go to pick for LTC runs. 

I won't comment on other builds, as they involve DLC, and OP mentioned this is without DLC.

What makes Toothpastechan really good is the personal skill. The extra 3 attack is very nice to have, and it makes Alear into a great support if played around. I gave Alear 8/10 because of it.