Cysx

That's not a thing. I tried. When you change into Dark Bishop with Fiendish Blow learned from Mage, the one you learned disappears from your list, as if already equipped(which is technically the case). At best what it does is save a slot for it in that situation. However, keep in mind that Black tomefaire doesn't apply to Hubert's spells(outside of Fire, which is not the worst thing ever granted), so Warlock isn't that good for him either. Tier 3 just kinda sucks for him. Edit: ninjad

Hubert is Dark knight, because male and bad at Faith. Dark Bishop brings extremely little in comparison. Dedue I'm low key thinking Grappler over Warmaster. I think many people haven't realized, but Grappler ignores terrain restrictions, while Warmaster does not, making it considerably less mobile on some maps. Its unique art can be pretty nice, too, though losing out on +3 str and +20 crit for +1 spd and that is questionable for sure. Oh and axefaire, but eh. Wyvern lord works too by the way, even with a weakness, but you do have to start working on it immediately. Hilda is Wyvern lord, like half the roster. Great knight is a terrible class(+5 def isn't worth -8 speed, -3 str, -1 mov and no flight) that you should never put anyone in, novelty aside(which is why I did it and know how bad it is). Voted Lysithea because she's less straightforward than others, though I think the 3 units at once thing is perfectly fine.

True. Since assassin doesn't get bowfaire, I tend to see it as a sword class first and foremost.

You forgot Fierce Iron Fist on Grappler. I actually don't think Pavise and Aegis are that good at all, with Pavise in particular being on the class that needs it the least. I see them as Miracle that can proc at any HP %, but only on certain attack types. Agree with the replacements, but as for Paladin... whatever was the name of that skill that cancels all types of effectiveness? Give it that one. That or a buffed Renewal(from 20-< 30%) Since bows are the primary enemy of mages(ballista as well), and tend to go through accuracy maluses, I'd definitely give bowbreaker a little more credit as a survival tool. Similarly, considering that there is a gambit in this game that gives you unlimited counter range for 5 turns, fist users can be really effective siege tomes killers and stuff. I'd say tomebreaker deserves niche, and Grappler does get a combat art as well so overall I wouldn't touch it. Lethality to bad. You don't just go for 1 range attacks that won't ORKO by that point in the game, and the amount of times it'll save you from a counter is negligible. I'd give assassins Mov+2, doesn't stack with +1/outright replaces it; that, or scrap it and make assassinate considerably better. Same for Astra, no need to change it, but it should cost 4 uses or something. It's only 1.5 times damage stuck on a specific class, no need to treat it like it's the holy grail. Seal Def is bad but the class it comes from is absurdly good so I'm absolutely fine with it in terms of balancing(not that it's enough). I agree that Renewal doesn't really belong on Bishop, I guess they could get Aegis+Pavise instead, since it's a thing in this game? Call it divine intervention or something. Generally we're in agreement on the rest.

Yes.

It doesn't, or rather, they can't both exist at the same time. If you have learned Fiendish blow when you switch to Dark bishop, the skill disappears from your list while you're in that class. The game probably considers that it's already equipped. Dunno about the BE, but Lorenz, Hilda and Raphael are totally into it. Flayn as well.

At the same time, when Echoes released people playing Heroes might not have been willing to buy another new FE game just yet. I've been wondering for a while if Heroes didn't end up hurting Echoes overall as a result.

For Soulblade and Frozen Lance, the formula is Main attack stat(so Magic in these cases) + (Secondary stat *0.3). So at 20 Mag 25 Dex, Frozen Lance would get a 20 + 7.5 = 27 damage bonus from stats alone. Then you add battalion bonuses and all that jazz. Interestingly, Fiendish blow applies to both of these(well, Soulblade for sure, I'm just assuming for Frozen Lance), as they're considered magic attacks and all. I've only checked for those two however.

Yes, exclusively. (Your charm - the enemy's)*5 is your accuracy/avoid bonus(or malus). Both cap at 30/-30, meaning you can't make a 60 hit rate gambit(which is what most enemies have) have a lower hit rate than 60-30 = 30. To my knowledge anyway. Ideally a dodgetank should also have good charm as a result(which makes going for dancer make even more sense, thanks to the charm +5 bonus), but you'll still be somewhat vulnerable to them no matter what. Adjutants and assistants can help with hit(a lot), but not avoid.

You should try out nosferatank Byleth sometime. It takes a while to get going, but once it's there, not much that can stop it. White tomefaire from Holy knight helps.

Awakening also got a pretty popular demo, from my understanding. Beaten by Madden... guess there's nothing to be surprised at.

There are alternatives for sure, but archer and sniper aren't bad bow classes. Cavalier/Paladin has even less speed unless dismounted, fliers won't want to face other archers, and other foot units... it varies. Frankly for the most part anyone wants to go Brigand as said above, bow users included. But while it's no Deathblow, I do think +20 hit is actually really useful. First, a high Dex growth is meaningless, as Dex barely gives accuracy, and there are quite a few weapons in this game with very low hit, which become much more useful with that skill in hand. It also allows very long range sniping with Hawkeye, since -60 accuracy is a lot. It will rarely kill anything but is still a pretty good option to have. Even at just 3 range it helps a lot. +1 range also means they'll assist in battle much more often, which is decently useful normally, but makes a pretty big difference for gambits and with + damage supports. Now is Bow knight superior, absolutely, but it is a master class and all. No, I'm pretty sure anyone with the appropriate Bow rank can. A majority of classes at the very least.

Pretty much this. Flayn takes ages to get to a respectable rescue range(especially since she doesn't have many ways to obtain exp), and her 4 move make its offensive applications very limited. I agree that benched units are the best picks, but I do think Flayn is a solid choice as well. Evasion builds are nice too, yet I'm not sure I'd say it beats out dancer utility.

Yes. But there are only two of them to my knowledge, one of which is Caspar.

The only genuine restriction on a first playthrough is battalions and adjutants. Which is something, for sure, but clearly not enough, and it's not like most units will get an adjutant anyway. Flier battalions aren't even bad, you just don't get that many. It's really unfortunate too, because for once they put enough terrain for cavalry not to be completely overpowered(I mean, it still is, because canto and dismounting, but baby steps). But then they made fliers way too good. It's not like most of the previous games where they were regular combat units with flight, it's worse, because they're also the best at combat, and Bandit(aka Death blow) -> Wyvern rider is a very smooth transition, while pegs get Darting blow. Archers could have been an issue, but not with canto/MA. So yes, those classes are way too good in this game.

Hard to say; it's heavily reliant on supports, so it depends on whether or not everybody can reach C/B at the same rate. Characters who like to cook or to sing should be at a slight advantage too, but I don't think we know by how much yet? Then there are factors like the availability of faculty training(you have two riding trainers for a good while, but one armored until Gilbert shows up). Faith requirements in general are hard to gauge because they're higher and you need to awaken Byleth's budding talent before it becomes a strength, but you do have choir to increase it further. Still, they're probably among the worst. Caspar should be one of the easiest since there's no shortage of brawling instructors, and it's a strength of Byleth. Stat requirements in general don't seem too egregious, outside of Charm ones(and even then from experience it's not really a big deal), so it's largely about just getting those weapon ranks. Recommended strategy for a majority of them is to take them to B rank support by way of gift showering, then save scum until they ask to join your house. It's considerably easier, especially on a first playthrough.

I'd say hybrid as well. I get away with mediocre hit rates way more than I should, but comparatively I don't dodge that much.

Okay, I apologize about the few questions I didn't address, I didn't know the answers and still don't... but didn't want to quote you guys just to tell you that. I do have the gambit formula figured out, it's a bit unorthodox so it took a while. I don't know if it's common knowledge by now but I edited the OP with it regardless, especially since I originally got it wrong. The most important part being, Cha actually barely affects Gambit damage, it's mostly for accuracy/avoid. As for class changing, as expected classes have base stats AND modifiers. I also edited the OP with that information. I'm not expecting most of that to still be unknown at this point, but I had to correct myself anyway, so I thought, might as well.

This is a really good question, actually. Despite Lysithea having a major version of Lorenz' crest, I'm not seeing a big difference in activation rates, and the effects should be the same, judging from the description. The game is pretty explicit about there being a difference between minor and major in general though, so I don't really know. Every recruitable character grows as the game progresses, one month at a time. So whenever they do join you, yes, but their level is also higher. EDIT(PLEASE READ): Okay, I need to drive for 6 hours or so, then sleep immediately afterwards; in other words, I won't be available to answer questions anymore. Most of you will get the game in your hands pretty soon anyway; have fun!:D

Didn't see any reinforcement at all thus far. From what we've witnessed during advertising, no, that's not a thing. You can go from Hard to Normal, but you're then stuck with normal. Dunno about the opposite. Yeah, I had read about it earlier. That's good. Although 3H's hard mode is a bit more difficult than Echoes' thus far.

Not necessarily; combined attack(or whatever that's called, the boost you get when allies can also reach the enemy), certain proficiency skills(swords, faith and gauntlets especially should give + 22 at level 5 if things stay consistent), battalions, and certain skills can all be stacked to reach pretty respectable numbers. The difference this time is, you'd have to spec into it, so to speak

Just as a heads up, those also refresh every week. I just checked. 4.

1 - Restricted by class as far as we're aware. 2- Not yet, but I'm still fairly early.

Name, gender, birthday. That's it.

Gotta like France sometimes;)