Shephen

She is fine with the Hand-Axes. Forged and with Arthur pair up she can orko like every unpromoted enemy and deal a giant chunk to promoted.

You could, but Camilla prefers going Wyvern Lord for the better stats/growths and using lances so she roll over everything in chapter 19.

1.) You can abuse the My Castle battles, I was just assuming you weren't 2.) Certain times, but most reset after you complete a chapter(ie collect milk before starting chapter 7 and after completing chapter 7 you can go get more Milk).

1.) I doubt it if you don't grind. Otherwise you will be spreading your exp really thin and will need to plan things out in advance. 2.) You can also collect resources after completing a chapter/skrimish 3.) I believe so. 4.) For Hoshido best subclasses are Cavalier/Ninja/Spellcastor. Lancer and Samurai are unnecessary here. Same for Nohr, but Samurai works here since the offense is more appreciated against the tougher targers. 5.) I doubt it. You'll have enough funds for good weaponry and staves

Dumping all the Spirit Dusts and the Chapter 7 Seraph Robe into Hinoka is already the most optimal use of them lol. With her base, Falco promo bonus, spirit dusts, and forged Shock Stick(13 MT) she orko's most things and she gets pretty bulky in the process. She also likes the chapter 12 Draco Shield as well.

Azura should never be in the back giving boosts or in any other class but dancer. She should pretty much always be on her own dancing for people. Hana/Kagerou would be a better pair for Takumi since they help out Takumi more than Oboro. Baki only gives +2 Def at S support as a Falcon Warrior(Which is what Baki should be). Silas gives +3 at S support when he is a Cav/Paladin as well as +4 Str. Not to mention that Hinoka can reclass to Cav easily since she keeps her lance rank and pick up Open Assault which is a free +3 damage since she flies.We can get similar boosts without needing to reclass Hinoka by foddering off Hinata to her. S support Shura Hinata gives +6 Str and +6 Def. Anything Baki gives Hinoka gives other can give and then some.

For main game purposes Hinoka doesn't want anything to do with the Samurai line since she doesn't keep her weapon rank as a Trueblade and Weapon Master is just a worse Lancer for her since she has no Sword or Axe Rank. She would benefit much more from Silas who gives the cav line to her which gives Open Assault, Rescue, and Defender while his bonuses work well for her. Hinoka also gives Silas all the bonuses he wants(Aka Speed). And if you are bringing grinding and min-maxing into the equation then Oboro is still better since it allows Matoi to rock the Extravagance/Line of Death combo. Hinoka wants Silas way more than Baki.

For in game practicality Oboro/Orochi/Setsuna > Hinoka. Oboro!Matoi and Hinoka!Matoi have near identical growths and any difference is negligible. Oboro also has an easier time passing down Lancer skills to her since she doesn't need to reclas. Oboro x Baki is also a really beneficial pairing for both of them. Orochi gives the mag to use the shock stick to its maximum potential for both Matoi and Baki while Baki gives the speed and def that Orochi would like. Setsuna gives Baki and Matoi Victory which is a pretty great skill, fodders Setsuna basically other than Baki giving her bulk. Pairing Baki and Hinoka usually leads to sandbagging one of them since they don't help out each other in any way other than Hinoka giving Baki Lancer.

Most bias poll I've ever seen. That aside, he/she is alright in my book. Could be better, but I've seen worse.

In Hoshido you get a lot of money. In IK you get a lot of stuff. Nohr is really the only route where you would really like the extra cash she can bring in. Her combat isn't very notable anyways. For astophys, a +Mag/Str Cavalier for Lunatic Hoshido would be really good. The +mag would come in useful with the shocksticks since you can get the Open Assault boost to it which is basically a +6 damage. Granted Kamui's offense will be pretty middling till he gets his hands on it.

It is worth noting that taking +mag allows Kamui to take advantage of marriage sealing the servant into Strategist giving them a mounted magic class. Revenant Knight also works if you want to marry Camilla/Belka. A sorta niche build for Kamui in IK is a +Str/Spd Lancer. Kamui can take Azura's lance and build up his weapon rank in 7 and 8 and he can use the seals to set up kills for others or himself which is nice given how much stronger the enemies are in IK. Pretty niche and I wouldn't put it above the other options(Cav/Ninja/Spellcastor/Samurai). Kanna is about as meh as you can get. She won't ever really excel at anything but she will always exist and could do something if you wanted to. Lutz, Velour, Sophie, Matoi and Shino(if you are fine with the rescue cost) are the best kids. Siegbert, Grey, Ophelia, and Eponine are all pretty good should you get them. Midoriko is really only good in Nohr. Either Zero, Eponine or Asyura with pass and 1 rescue charge is recommended for clearing Nohr Endgame on Lunatic.

Just going off the top of my head for most of these. It is a mix of mutual benefits and foddering. Mostly in no particular order. Also from all the guys perspective since I'm lazy. Both: Kamui x Azura is only good since it gets a really good Shigure. Without taking kids into account then there isn't any reason to pair up with Azura over the Servants and Gunter since their personals are really good for him. Silas also works to an extent. Hoshido: Kaze x Rinka/Oboro Baki x Oboro/Rinka/Orochi Silas x Hinoka/Kagerou/Hana Saizou x Kagerou/Hana/Setsuna Yomi x Orochi/Sakura/Felicia Asama x Kagerou/Hana/Setsuna Hinata x Kagerou/Oboro/Hana Takumi x Kagerou/Hana/Oboro Nishiki x Oboro/Rinka/Kagerou Ryoma x Kagerou/Rinka Nohr: Silas x Luna/Charlotte Arthur x Camilla/Effie/Luna Zero x Camilla/Belka/Nyx Odin x Felicia/Elise/Nyx Kaze x Belka/EffiePieri Lazward x Luna/Charlotte/Pieri Benoit x Camilla/Belka/Luna Leo x Nyx/Felicia Flannel x Charlotte/Camilla/Luna Xander x Charlotte/Luna

Outclassed does not mean bad. The early game and mid game are the majority of the game and Hinata and Baki are really good then. They are still pretty good in the late game as well. There is no difference between 20 Str and 30 Str if both still orko which Hinata and Baki can still do. Bases have always been better than growths in basically every Fire Emblem game except for like FE12 and 13 where they are still really important to a unit. Baki has 7/8 Move(Which is more than most of Hoshido), Flight(which is useful in about half a dozen chapters), and can use Rescue Staffs as a Falco since they are E. Hana needs quite a bit exp to get going and start functioning. Hinata doesn't really need much to function.

Ignoring the Mozume part Reclassing Hinata into the Oni line cuts his really good base speed into meh and he now has to deal with E-clubs which are pretty bad. Hinata's speed growth is pretty irrelevant for the most part when he can double everything anyways. Base 14 Speed, +1 from using Katanas, +2 from Tonics, + 3 from Trueblade bonuses and then any speed pair up partner puts him at 20+ spd which doubles everything in the game except Maids, Beserkers, Heroes, Bow Knights, Paladins, Sorcerers, and Strategists. The latter 3 he only needs like a point or 2 to double. The late game however is littered with armors which everyone and their mother can double and you spend 70% of the game fighting unpromoted units. Sure Trueblade Hana may have better offense than Trueblade Hinata, but Hinata has way better bulk and requires less investment than Hana since he comes up good to go while Hana needs a couple of levels. And there is no reason you can't have 2-3 Trueblades. Trueblade > Weapon Master since the Trueblade passives are really good and going weapon master just leaves you 2 E ranks which won't ever do much. Reclassing Baki into Samura/Weapon Master is one of the worst things you can do. It takes all of the redeeming qualities of Baki and makes him into a worse Hinata. Baki is already pretty bulky as a peg as well and can fairly easily push getting 3hko'd by bowman/thieves in the early-mid game and there are barely any bows in the late game. Reclassing them is pretty much a straight up down grade and a waste of a parallel seal. You get 1 parallel seal from the level 1 shop until you get the one from the village in chapter 13. Kamui and the Servant use the first seal way better than a reclassed Hinata/Baki. When they do get the next chance to reclass, Ryoma joins at the end of chapter 13 and dealing with scrubs at that point is just not worth it. Hinata remains relevant because of his really good bases, good bulk and the Trueblade qualities. Baki is relevant because of Flight, High move, Staves(Rescue), solid offense, and his good bulk. Take those things away and then there is no point in using them.

You can't really switch to your secondary until the end of chapter 7. Kamui is most likely going to hit level 10 here for Dragon Fang which is what you really want out of the prince line. If you hit level 10 in chapter 6 then you could switch at the start of 7. You get the first parallel seal from the level 1 shop. Problem is most of the time Kamui reclasses he loses his sword rank and he needs a weapon. To get a weapon you either need to steal Azura/Rinka's E weapons, or wait for a level 1 armory which you can't build until after 7.

Baki only really needs a Str pair up and he is good to go. His speed isn't really to big an issue since you fight unpromoted enemies for a majority of the game and they are slow in addition to his decent base speed with Falco Promo bonuses and tonics. For the pair up partner it is between Oboro and Rinka where Oboro gives Baki Breaking Sky, and Rinka has better bonuses. He can use Rinka in chapter 7 and 8 since Kaze has to get the robe in 7 which puts him away from everything at the start and chapter 8 is the desert chapter. He would like the Energy Drop and Speedwing, but they aren't necessary(except in LTC where he needs the speedwing to double the Hosh!11 pegs). You also have access to a metric crap ton of lance equipment as well so he has the right tool for any job. Dude also has the ability to rescue staves which is always great.

Not that good for main game. The Trueblade passives are way better than dealing with double E ranks. No one wants to be a Weapon Master.

When you only have Kamui, Kaze, and Rinka as combat units for chapter 4 and 5, yes. In chapter 4 she isn't really doing much since the seals and her combat is terrible. In Chapter 5 she is basically unusable as a combat unit. Chapter 6 is just Ryoma bopping Xander so not much there. Then chapter 7 is the first chapter where she can actually do stuff, but is still stuck with her E axes and still low speed which kills her combat. Chapter 8 is a Desert and Baki, Hinoka and Orochi will be doing most of the work since they are unhindered. Then chapter 9 Hinata joins.

In chapter 4 you probably could. Ain't happening in chapter 5 though. Then if you just give her the Ch7 Seraph Robe, Ch9 Speedwing, Kagerou's Energy drop, and then all the talismans you can get a hold of then yeah she can be pretty good. At the very least there is some incentive for her to get to level 10 for Shove.

Rinka has to take exp away from Kamui and Kaze at a critical time to be able to do anything. Hinata only needs 150 gold for a speed tonic to go for a majority of the game. Rinka's join time works against her since she has to spend the prolog glued as guard stance for Kamui and Kaze, so she gets no exp. Hinata joins at a good time where the exp scramble is starting to end and can easily fit on the team without any hassle. Hinata doesn't reclass well since he loses too much speed and his sword rank. Kagerou and ninja line is his best option if you want to reclass him since he keeps his high speed and sword rank. Hana works as well in terms of pair up fodder spouse.

Jakob, Lutz, and Leo don't really interest me at all.

But when Hinata has Flowing Strike and the Trueblade avoid passive he won't get hit on PP and is less likely to get hit on EP. Rinka's Hp doesn't help her at all against the Mages and Sorcerers given how low her Res is and how she faces WTD. This is all still ignoring training Rinka when training her means taking away exp from Kaze and Kamui in the prolog. Both of who are way better units than both Hinata and Rinka.

Ignoring the exp opportunity cost of training Rinka in the prolog, and the fact that Kaze can use her pair up bonuses to be pretty good in chapter 4 and put in an absurd amount of work in chapter 5, and the mages that nearly ohko her in chapter 5, and the feeding Rinka to help her get to D-axes so she can have the standard weapon rank as everyone else, and Hinata's superior weapon rank for his join, and the trueblade passive +10 Crit/Avoid, and the great skills that Trueblade has to offer, and both unit's personals. Then the stat break down looks like this: Level 10 Savage Rinka: 22.4 Hp, 10.7 Str, 3.5 Mag, 9 Skl, 11.3 Spd, 7.1 Luck, 13.9 Def, 4.2 Res Base level 10 Hinata: 26 Hp, 11 Str, 0 Mag, 9 Skl, 14 Spd, 10 Luck, 12 Def, 4 Res So training up Rinka 6 levels(exp that could have gone to Kaze and Kamui), Rinka ends up about the same in everything except she is significantly slower. The Def lead she has over Hinata is offset by her lower hp. Level 20 Savage Rinka: 26.4 Hp, 15.2 Str, 6 Mag, 14 Skl, 16.8 Spd, 10.6 Luck, 19.9 Def, 6.2 Res Level 20 Samurai Hinata: 32.5 Hp, 15.5 Str, 0 Mag, 13 Skl, 17.5 Spd, 16 Luck, 16.5 Def, 6.5 Res Now after leveling both up to level 20, they are still basically the same as at level 10, except Hinata has widened the Hp gap, and lowered the Spd gap. So let us move onto promotions Level 5 Shura Rinka: 28.6 Hp, 20 Str, 12.2 Mag, 16 Skl, 21 Spd, 12 Luck, 25.5 Def, 8.2 Res Level 5 Trueblade Hinata: 36.1 Hp, 19.3 Str, 2.2 Mag, 16.6 Skl, 21.9 Spd, 19.4 Luck, 20.3 Def, 9.5 Res Rinka wants Shura since E Tomes > E Swords. Hinata goes Trueblade for the promo bonuses, skills, and passives. So after promotion and leveling up to their first promoted skill, they now have the same offense, and Rinka's def is still offset by Hinata better Hp. Level 15 Shura Rinka: 31.6 Hp, 24.5 Str, 15.2 Mag, 21 Skl, 26.5 Spd, 15.5 Luck, 32 Def, 10.7 Res Level 15 Trueblade Hinata: 42.6 Hp, 23.8 Str, 2.7 Mag, 20.6 Skl, 25.4 Spd, 25.4 Luck, 24.8 Def, 12 Res. So now we are basically at the end of Hoshido at either chapter 25 or 27, and Rinka has finally overtaken Hinata offensively, but still has a massive Hp deficit. They still do the same thing though at this point which is cleaning up after Ryoma, Kamui, Hinoka, Crimson, Silas, and the Ninjas. Only thing Rinka has going for her really is her personal skill, but since she is perpetually just a love tap away from getting ohkod by mages, she needs to be way to cautious. But also going against her is that her pair up bonuses are way to good, and are easily better than what she can do as a combat unit so she will never gain much exp. Hinata shows up turn 3 in chapter 9 ready to go with no effort required unlike Rinka

Except Hinata actually has good base stats and an existent weapon rank.

His growths are fine and match up with his bases well. He is only a speed tonic away from doubling like 70% of the game just from his base speed and he takes little effort to use. Even in the late game he is still pretty good thanks to most of the enemies being slugs in terms of speed(Generals, Great Knights, Sorcerers, Wyvern Lords) and he doesn't get doubled by the faster stuff as well. Hinata is just plug and play for any chapter really and performs pretty well thanks to his bases and Trueblade bonuses.