Sire

RNG will likely always be the most profitable (which is why it is favored instead of alternatives) but from a consumer standpoint, a man can dream.

It's already pay to win. Throw down hundreds or thousands of dollars and players can already get their 5* +10 merge. Besides, Arena Tiers exist for a reason. As Fire Emblem: Heroes grows and matures, those with highly merged characters and efficient teams will be pushed to the higher tiers while others will remain in the lower ones. Unless Tiers are just an indication of ranking and have no effect on matchmaking, this helps keep F2P players away from those who spent lots of money (as well as a 4 Takumi team). Then, besides Arena, there is the PvE aspect. Who cares if someone is running a four 5* +10 Takumis through the Training Tower? Sure, players will be envious and jealous of what they do not have, but that is just how it works. It is entirely possible for a F2P player to get to that same height, but it will only take longer. If such a system was added (it never will), I'm sure there will limitations such as one purchase per hero to prevent buying characters in bulk. The point of the system is to provide convenience for players who really want their favorite heroes instead of relying on RNG. Playing with heroes that one fancies is far better than playing with heroes one does not care about. * * * * * Also, like Roflolxp54, I wouldn't mind a paid version of FE Heroes. Orbs can still remain the same currency, but the game gives them out in far more plentiful amounts and some systems would be adjusted to suit more classic Fire Emblem gameplay and progression instead of relying on the Gacha model. (Say beating a chapter unlocks a set of characters from that world.)

As many stated here, the "RNG System" in the west is common practice in the East with Gachapon-style monetization. Fairly recently (past few years) Western developers have started incorporating RNG into their games (Loot Crates and all variants thereof), but there are plenty of ways to go about the system of RNG progression. While I don't mind the Gacha system too much (even though pure RNG sucks), I would love a "Guaranteed Option" that instantly gives what the player is looking for, but at a higher price. So, instead of paying ~$11 to pull five random heroes, pay $5 to instantly purchase a "Focus" hero, such as Erika. In essence, I want an alternative method of obtaining things instead of relying on pure RNG all the time. The alternative may not be as efficient, but that is the price of convenience. Other alternatives that have been used are crafting systems, point systems, or simply have the game up for purchase and the Loot Boxes contain only cosmetic items (Overwatch). However, the nature of most Gachapon games tends to stick to the pure-RNG formula and not give alternatives so players can keep "gambling" for what they are looking for, especially games with Eastern developers. Also, keep in mind Fire Emblem: Heroes is a free to play game. While it is free to play, it still requires money to actually operate and continue development, so it needs to have some form of monetization somewhere. The alternative to FE:H is just making another Fire Emblem title that is bought and played like most games. I would like to see Orb prices lowered as they are a bit steep at current. $2 per hero but costing only $8 for a full batch (5 heroes) sounds a lot more reasonable compared to the current ~$11 for a full pull. Alas, I don't see a price reduction happening unless there is some form of sale, provided sales are even a thing in these games.

Man, this came on a little late for me. I spent the last couple days training on my Tiki and Nowi up to 40 to beat 9-5, and now that I did (with a Light's Blessing...), I have no real reason to be training units. I have most of the characters on my roster at level 20 waiting for a promotion, but I'm blocked by Feather progression. While I still have some heroes I could promote from 3* to 4*, I have become far more conscious on "min-maxing" and don't want to put my effort into characters with poor Boons & Banes. Then, 4* to 5* takes an insane amount of feathers and I don't see myself getting that many anytime soon. I suppose I can work on a few of my character favorites to build up that SP (including Alfonse, Sharena, and Anna), but right now I exhausted most of the current content. I can't build a proper Arena team without Orbs, and there are no remaining Orb sources for me to work towards. Tower Runs are all right but they get repetitive after a while. Arena wants me to have a good proper team which I currently lack. So, I guess without Orbs (for new heroes) and Feathers (to promote units), I'm burned out on FE:Heroes. Granted, I have been "hardcore" playing it since release, even with the Stamina restrictions (and I still have plenty of spare Stamina potions), but as a story guy I find it difficult to keep playing even when there is solid mechanics in place. For those curious, this is my current roster.

These are my 5* units that I am actively using. Ryoma, +SPD, -ATT: My main man and tank. He can handle almost any threat 1 on 1: Takumi, Tiki, Lyn, Lucina, and so on. However, if he begins to get swarmed or is caught in a bad position, Ryoma perishes. His greatest threats are magic users and Azura. As for his stats, I enjoy having his extra speed as he will double almost anyone while never be doubled himself. As I use him as a tank, I don't mind the -ATT, especially since Ryoma enjoys a naturally high ATT stat anyway. Cain, +DEF, -HP: My off tank and flanker, mainly due to Threaten ATT. He was a main unit in my team to catch out of position greys (save Takumi) and greens as well as take on Lyn and Lucina. However, as I have been seeing more Dragons in the Arena of late, I had to replace Cain for Marth. As a Brave User, offensive Cains will no doubt want +ATT as their boon. However, as I use my Cain somewhat defensively and to handle lower DEF units, he does not really need the extra ATT. Marth, +RES, -DEF: While sounding crazy at first glance, this is not a bad setup for Marth. He has 25 DEF and 26 RES, which is fairly balanced, and Marth's SPD makes it difficult for enemies to double him. The extra RES makes it easier for Marth to handle magic users (such as Dragons) and if things get out of control, Marth can use Escape Route and flee to safety. My main reason to use Marth is due to all the Dragons I have been encountering in the Arena and the lesser amount of Lyns and Lucinas. Marth can still handle Lyn and Lucina, but he is not as good at this task as Cain was. Camilla, +RES, -DEF: Not the best setup, but for most of the game Camilla was my primary anti-magic unit. I still use her in Arenas as I have no better units available and she can counter Blues which is one of Ryoma's weaknesses, despite the prevalence of Takumi. I personally would prefer a +ATT, -HP (or even -DEF) Camilla, and while I leveled my current one up to 40, I would take the +ATT one immediately since Camilla can take advantage of it due to her Brave Axe and Darting Blow. * * * * * These units are only 4*, but I calculated their Level 1 5* stats by checking through Unlock Potential Chrom, +SPD, -HP: An excellent choice for Chrom due to his naturally lower SPD and naturally high HP. SPD is far more important than HP, and Chrom still remains tanky due to all of his skills (Falchion Heal, Sol, Defiant DEF). I did have a 5* Chrom I leveled up to 32 or so, only to discover he had terrible Boon and Banes. Since leveling past 20 takes forever, needless to say I was not too happy investing my time and effort into merging fodder... Nino, Balanced: A character that actually doesn't have a Boon or a Bane! The good thing is, I don't actually mind having a balanced Nino. Sure, most players will likely want Nino to have +ATT and sacrifice HP, DEF, or RES, but Nino is already fragile as is and the extra ATT may be overkill. Also, now that I understand how the (name)blade actually works (It adds buffs from the user to ATT. So, if you Rally ATT Nino, she gets +4 ATT from the rally and an additional +4 from the buff, for a total of +8 damage!), she just shot up my list of characters to use. Adult!Tiki, +SPD, -RES: The extra SPD helps Tiki here. While she will still be doubled by the super speedy characters, if the current party has a speed buff (Rally SPD, Hone SPD, Spur SPD), then Tiki has a chance at not being doubled by speedsters. The negative RES hurts a bit, but one should not be using Tiki to tank magic characters in the first place, even with her ranged counter. Felicia, +ATT, -HP: Perhaps it is strange to see +ATT on Felicia given her main role is to debuff units, but the extra ATT actually helps out in her supporting role in taking out magic users (as Felicia naturally has high RES) and even provide some chip damage that can turn the tide of a near kill to an actual one. Felicia is squishy as is, so I don't mind the HP sacrifice. Min-maxers may want -DEF, but I want Felicia to take a hit from other Dagger users and Bow users as well. Nowi, Balanced: A balanced Nowi. Considering her niche as a Dragon Tank, I would like her to have more SPD, but can't see her sacrificing anything besides HP. However, by checking the numbers, Nowi can still function just fine as a balanced build since most speedsters (Lucina, Lyn, Linde) will double her anyway even with the extra SPD. If I happen to get a +SPD, -HP Nowi, I would probably pick that one up instead, but my Balanced Nowi seems "2nd best" to me and I am content. This is especially the case due to the RNG nature of obtaining Heroes and their particular natures (or IVs). Caeda, +SPD, -HP: Not really an exciting combination since Caeda is naturally fast and does not need extra Speed (she just has an Armorslayer), but I suppose it can be useful when dueling the speedsters. I mostly plan on using Caeda on my hypothetical "Flier Team" (Caeda, Camilla, Catria, Hinoka), so I would have prefered if she had extra RES (which I thought she had originally). * * * * * I don't have these characters (or that particular Boon & Bane), but since I do want to mix-max a bit, here are my notes. D!Camilla, +ATT, -HP: Discussed as above, Camilla can really make use of the extra ATT due to her Brave Axe and Darting Blow skill. D!Hinoka: +ATT, -RES: Brave weapon user so she will benefit from extra ATT. I chose -RES as Caeda should fill the mage hunter role. D!Catria: +HP, -RES: My "flying tank" unit. She is meant to deal with physical units as well as dive in and weaken targets before the other fliers go for the killing blow. D!Leo: +ATT, -HP: One cannot salvage Leo's poor speed, but one can take advantage of his Quick Riposte by taking +ATT. It also makes him just hit harder in general being a "single nuke" character. D!Cecilia & D!Gunter & D!Hector, +SPD, -HP: To fix their poor SPD issues.

While I spent $40, I would not recommend spending money on FE:Heroes unless... 1. You want to support Fire Emblem: Heroes. [This was why I spent $40.] 2. You have excess money lying around. 3. You really want, nay, need a particular hero (normally a Focus Hero). [I was also guilty of this. Of course, this did not come to pass...] Also, just because you spent money does not mean you are guaranteed a 5* hero pull. RNG is still RNG. You can get lucky and get several good characters or unlucky and end up with an army of 3 stars. The Orb prices are expensive (~$11 for just 5 characters of unknown quality, leaning towards low quality?). Personally, I would find it a bit more bearable if it was a straight $10 for 5, but $8 would be a far better deal (Get 4 heroes for $2 each and get the 5th hero for free!) However, given how much money Heroes has made, I doubt any permanent reduction will occur. As for discounts and sales, I am uncertain. This is my first ever mobile game (and first real foray into Gachapon-centric progression), so I do not know if Heroes will have orb discounts or special sales.

It's a little hard to recommend what character without context of the rest of the team. However, considering they are both Blues and are somewhat tanky, I am going to assume whatever unit chosen will be used for the same role. So... Effie - Has greater potential in tanking due to Wary Fighter. - Low movement, but offers maneuverability options for allies with Smite. - Has insane Physical damage, so much so that not even Physical Tanks can handle Effie effectively. Those who have low DEF will take terrible, terrible damage. - Vulnerable to Armorslayers (uncommon in Arenas, but still a concern) and magic. Nowi - Is a Dragon, so is weak to Falchion users (which are rather prevalent in the Arena with Lucina being the most common. Luckily, Nowi's a blue and has the Weapon Triangle on her side, but it will still hurt.) - Can counter ranged attacks, but is still a bit weak to Magic. - Offers utility with Rally Defense and Threaten RES. I would recommend Effie if you run a healer (so she can keep Wary Fighter up and continue tanking effectively) or Nowi if you are running other magic units (like Robin) to take advantage of her Threaten RES. Just remember that both units are slow and can be doubled, although Effie has Wary Fighter to tip the scales in her favor.

My reasoning for Hector (and Ryoma and Takumi, Felicia is just there as a personal preference) is for against teams that do not have a healer. Opposing teams will have to take damage from these units in order to progress, and my hope is that my units can deal enough damage and have Hector outlast whoever is left. Actually, the more I think on this, I probably should use Lucina instead of Felicia to counter dragons, but then that's another character I don't have that I need to obtain... As for Nowi (some math checking later...), I originally concluded she had +DEF and wondered what would be her Bane. However, checking the math again, I did not factor in her +DEF skill, so my Nowi is actually balanced with no Boon or Bane. Alternatively, the Calculator did a stealth update and is now showing proper values.

Since I am also trying to beat 9-5 on Lunatic and took some notes, here are the enemy stats. It is not fully complete (Xander has Distant Counter, Veronica has a special weapon that does stuff, and so on), but it should help provide a rough guideline of what one is going up against. 9-5 Lunatic Stats Xander: 47 HP, 51 ATT, 27 SPD, 42 DEF, 19 RES Troubadour: 32 HP, 41 ATT, 24 SPD, 22 DEF, 46 RES (Gravity, Recover) Veronica: 49 HP, 54 ATT, 29 SPD, 33 DEF, 26 RES Sword Fighter: 47 HP, 49 ATT, 34 SPD, 33 DEF, 25 RES (Sacrifice Skill) Blue Mage 40 HP, 47 ATT, 35 SPD, 22 DEF, 31 RES While Hector is awesome, I would not necessarily pick him for 9-5 due to Xander's presence as a Red, another Red Fighter, and 2 powerful mages (Veronica and Blue Mage). The Weapon Triangle can easily screw him over despite his insane HP and DEF and his RES is rather poor while enemy Magic ATT is high. Out of your current roster, I would choose... 1. Takumi - He is anti-everything and can counter in melee. I would use him to snipe the Troubadour, off-tank, and provide supporting fire (as well as his Threaten SPD passive). 2. Robin - Even at 4* rank, I think Robin should be able to handle his own against Xander, which is my primary reason for selecting him. It also helps many enemies do have low RES, although Robin will be at a disadvantage against Veronica due to the Weapon Triangle. 3. Lucina or Lyn - Your choice, the primary reason for this fighter is to counter Veronica. At max level and with medium RES, both units should survive a hit (Lyn has more RES, but Lucina has more HP). I'm personally leaning towards Lucina since I think she can one-round Veronica without aid while Lyn may need some more help even if Defiant ATT is active. 4. A Healer or a Dancer - Your choice. For healers, I recommend Serra due to her Recover staff (flat 15 Heal), extra speed ability, and Hone ATT passive. Alternatively, if you have the DPS and want to go on the offensive, try using a Dancer (Olivia) to wipe out enemy units quickly.

The next focus (Fir, Hawkeye, Adult!Tiki, & Maria) is all right. I do really want a Fir and wouldn't mind a Hawkeye, but I already have Adult Tiki (although not a 5*) and don't care much for Maria. However,, my hero wishlist is growing and now I really need want Elise, Takumi, and Azura to make my ultimate main team (paired with Ryoma). Then I wanted a Hector (and Takumi) for my Defensive team. Of course, the chances of getting all of them any time soon is slim to none, but a man can try to dream, right? I also just did some more calculations with my Boons and Banes using the Fire Emblem Heroes Calculator, but it is clear that it is still incomplete and has errors in places. I need to double check my Nowi, Clarine, Gunter, and Sheena because the stats are not lining up right (mostly ATT, even with some modifications with and without weapons). Also, some data I thought I had right was apparently wrong, as my "Chosen Chrom" is actually +SPD, -HP instead of +ATT, -HP. While the ATT was nice, buff Chrom's speed is definitely better considering he is naturally slow. Also, my Caeda who I thought was +RES, -HP is actually +SPD, - HP. This is not as exciting as Caeda is already fast (with poor damage) and I planned to use her as my "mage tank" for a planned Flier team, but I guess +SPD is okay for her. Slowly but surely I am filling out my roster. I have plenty of dream teams, but I am in desperate need of a good mage. When I did my Arena runs today, I was getting overrun by Young Tikis (which were not a problem before, so I swapped out my Cain for Marth) and the mass usage of Dancing Azura (screwing up my placements and calculations, and it doesn't help I rely heavily on Ryoma who is countered by Azura).

Man, I'm depressed now. Hoping for an Erika or an Ephraim, got Seliph instead. It doesn't help his skills do not look interesting at first glance as I prefer to run my teams with a healer. His "half health" mechanic is not something I am particular fond of. It doesn't help that I perceive him as the weakest of the four Focus Heroes. Ephraim's skill set looks amazing for physical teams. His weapon gives ATT to allies and he debuffs DEF like nothing. His special, Moonbow (I was close to calling this, I thought he would have Luna), also relies on ignoring their Defense! Erika focus a bit more on maneuverability, allowing herself to Pivot (I called this skill!) and Drag Back opponents to be defeated by allies. She can also increase she SPD of her allies with Hone SPD, allowing her to "double buff" (+ATT & SPD). Also, as an aside, it seems like the Twins are unmounted, but I'll wait until someone can confirm that. Julia looks interesting. Her weapon is effective against Dragons, has Dragon Fang, and can provide off-heals with Breath of Life. I'll just need to know how fast she is before deciding if Julia is any good. Oh well, perhaps when the numbers are in and the tacticians gather together to update the Tier List, maybe Seliph will surprise me and actually be better than I think he is. At least I can say I got a 5* character where others did not... @Jayvee94 - Only the 4 new heroes were added as a focus. All other characters seem to remain in the pool as before, but someone else can confirm that for certain.

Round 13 [Family Bonds]: 3* Cherche || 3* Viron || 4* Jegan || 4* Gwendolyn || 5* Seliph Well, I shouldn't complain, even if there was no Focus Movie. While I was really gunning for an Erika or an Ephraim, I got 5* Seliph instead. Not exactly who I was looking for, especially since I didn't play his game, but there went my last scraps of orbs. Now I gotta rely on handouts to get anywhere... Seliph's skill set relies on him fighting enemies when below half HP. His weapon grants him +4 DEF when below 50%. He has a support skill with Rally Speed, and his passives are +HP and Brash Assault (follows up when below 30%-50% HP if attacking a foe that can counter). Unless he has amazing stats or an amazing voice (credits are "Christian La Monte), I don't see him on my main roster as I like to run with a healer. Hype is a two way street, folks. When it delivers, it is the best thing ever. When it doesn't, there is naught but the void. As for the others, I'll need to check the Boons & Banes of Cherche and Jegan to see if they are worth keeping as I already have those characters. Viron will likely remain around as I retired his starter version, and Gwendolyn can go home. Now to check out the Paralogue... Past Pulls

Update is live! Doesn't look like there's anyone else besides the new 4 Focus heroes, so those expecting a large roster update will have to wait a bit longer. This focus lasts until 2/27/2017 (2 weeks). However, there's a Paralogue up! It's called Family Bonds, and I'll put my thoughts here once I've played it. There's also related special quests to the Paralogue. Hype time, and let's start a full pull. Wish me luck!

I agree the Training Tower is fine for what it is. Unlike Story Mode, I don't feel as bad if I end up losing or needing to surrender at the higher tiers (where stamina is 7-9 per run past level 30). As FE: Heroes is a free mobile game, I know it relies on various factors to increase income. While the majority of it will no doubt come from players buying Orbs to summon new characters, some of it will come from players who want to play more (Stamina Potions, Dueling Crests) or or those who really do not want to restart a mission (Light's Blessing, especially on high-stamina cost missions). Story Mode's stamina costs are rather high, but when one considers the rewards (precious, precious Orbs), I can see why they begin to get a bit insane. However, it would be nice (as a compromise) to lower the Stamina requirement of Story missions after the player successfully clears them. There is already the penalty of getting less EXP for the clear (and no reward at the end either), so making the stamina requirement less makes some sense. It also offers some replayability for other teams that may want to mess around in Story Mode instead of training in the Tower constantly. As for Orbs, from a business standpoint, it is obvious why they are so limited (and somewhat addicting. Give plenty of free and easy orbs at the start, lots of summons and item usage, and then later when there's an orb drought, the temptation to buy more is very real). I wouldn't mind a "free hero summon" once a week. While I would love the "free summon" to use the same chances as everything else (3* to 5* rank), if such a system was added I'm sure players would only obtain 1* to 3* heroes. Still, it is better than nothing. I am in a lucky (or unlucky, depending on perspective) position where I happen to have lots of ample free time on my hands. So, I can easily manage FE:H stamina system without much "excess loss" (save for when one needs to sleep). My main bottleneck is lack of income, so I cannot splurge on Orbs and feast on the results.

Can confirm it's real. Just checked my own file and it's there on the Bulletin Board. Now, as for my comments... 1. App Release Bonus Extension - More Orbs! Woo! 2. Worldwide Launch Celebration - I guess there were plans that changing out skills would cost Stamina and Training Tower would have been more, but that is now changed to present values. So, current stamina costs for Tower will remain the same! And there was much rejoicing. 3. Rewards will be added to the Training Tower for "Monday," provided I read that correctly. I'm personally hoping for bonus EXP or farmable shards & crystals as I have excess badges (including Great Badges) and a lack of feathers... 4. Units earn EXP when killing low level (5 levels lower) units - An excellent quality of life change. I look forward to this! Now, if only I could get my hands on more Feathers and Orbs...

I haven't encountered the Takumi Apocalypse yet, although that may be because... 1. I am not running a full Level 40 Team (While Ryoma, Cain, and Camilla are 5* & 40, Sakura is just a 4* and not yet 40. || Also, Cain's total stat pool is fairly low.) 2. I do not always run max level arena runs. Instead, I'll try to level up an alternative team using the Arena system. I mainly do this because of all of the Arena quests. 3. I have not merged any 5* characters. I managed to get 2000 feathers for my Arena Ranking (Rank 5001-10000 ||| Last I checked I was around 6k rank), so I am content with my current team and runs. I could try to be in the top 5000, but I'm sure I'll start running into all sorts of nonsense then. I'll handle my Lucinas, Lyns, Tikis, Robins, and the single Takumi. I may not win all the time (curse Lyn and her Hone Speed combined with Young Tiki), but as long as I get a good rank, I am content and can do other Arena runs besides competing for high scores.

More hero predictions & speculation! I decided to leave off Reasoning because I am lazy, but can give explanations if anyone wants them. This time I did Nolan, Micaiah, and L'Arachel. * * * * * Title: Wise Champion Name: Nolan Orb Affinity: Green Axe HP: Good (4) ATT: Average (3) SPD: Good (4) DEF: Poor (2) RES: Poor (2) MOV: 2, Infantry 5* Weapon: Tarvos (MT 15, Range 1 || Grants +4 DEF when this unit is attacked.) Support Skill: --- Special Skill: Nihil (Negates opponent's special ability. || Charge: 4 // Example: If Lucina procs Aether on Nolan who has Nihil, then Nolan's Nihil will cancel Lucina's Aether. Lucina will then have to charge up Aether again to use it.) Skill A: HP +[3-5] (Grants HP +[3-5]) Skill B: --- Skill C: Threaten DEF 1-3 (Inflicts Def -[3-5] on foes within 2 spaces through their next actions at the start of each turn.) ========== Title: Priestess of Dawn Name: Micaiah Orb Affinity: Blue Tome HP: Poor (2) ATT: Excellent (5) SPD: Poor (2) DEF: Terrible (1) RES: Excellent (5) MOV: 2, Infantry 5* Weapon: Thani (MT 12, Range 2 || Effective against armored and cavalry units.) Support Skill: Ardent Sacrifice (Heals adjacent ally 10 HP. Unit loses 10 HP but cannot reach 0 this way.]) Special Skill: Blazing Light (Before initiating a combat, foes in an area near target take damage equal to unit's 1.5xAtk minus foe's Def or Res. || Charge: 5) Skill A: --- Skill B: --- Skill C: Fortify Res 1-3 (Grants adjacent allies Res +[2-4] through their next actions at the start of each turn.) ========== Title: Queen of Light Name: L'Arachel Orb Affinity: Grey Staff HP: Average (3) ATT: Average (3) SPD: Average (3) DEF: Poor (2) RES: Good (4) MOV: 3, Cavalry Weapon: Silence (MT 5, Range 2 ||After combat, opponent's special ability does not activate or charge through its next action.) Support Skill: Martyr (Restores HP=7+ this unit's suffered damage. Unit heals HP=half suffered damage. Slows Special trigger [cooldown count+1].) Special Skill: Heavenly Light (When healing an ally with a staff, heal every ally's HP by 10. || Charge Cost: 2) Skill A: --- Skill B: Wings of Mercy (Enables unit to warp adjacent to any ally with HP ≤ [30%-50%].) Skill C: ---

Round 2: Cain, Marth || Round 3: Camilla || Round 4: Ryoma || Round 12 (Last Pull): Chrom || Investments: $40 After a few initial lucky pulls, I had a long period (5-11) without getting a 5* units. I did eventually pull Chrom, but the Chrom I pulled sucks in terms of Boon & Bane and now he is just merging fodder (despite having put my time and effort into training him...) Ryoma is the best 5* unit I have, with Cain and Camilla following closely behind. Marth is okay and did well when I first got him, but I find other units to be more useful than Mar Mar. I could really use Takumi, Hector, or a good magic character (preferably a speedy one), but right now I'm saving my 20 orbs for tomorrow to see what the new Focus has in store.

Red: Ryoma - This man has been with me since my 4th pull. He is extremely fast, hits hard, and can counter ranged attacks. For the most part, Ryoma can handle anything, but at endgame he does suffer from magical units and high DEF characters. HM: Marth - My initial 5* character I got with me 2nd pull, Marth helped out early game and early arenas when I ran up against Dragons. However, he was replaced by Ryoma as I found Ryoma to be much more useful than Marth. HM: Cain - My other initial 5* character, joining up with Marth. Cain has been with me ever since the 2nd pull due to his Brave Sword, Threaten ATT passive, and extra mobility since he is a Cavalry unit. He works well in the Arena baiting Lucinas and Lyns, reducing their ATT, and can even defeat some of them on his own despite his lower SPD. ========== Blue: None - I honestly never had a good Blue unit (even into Lunatic) as my main team was always Ryoma, Cain, Sakura, and Camilla (with Felicia subbing for Sakura sometimes). While I have some Blues now, such as a 4* Nowi and a 3* Robin, they haven't contributed much to my overall progression of the game to be worthy of mention. ========== Green: Camilla - For the most part, Camilla was my only good Green unit, but she did her job rather well. She is resistant to Magic and has an edge in offense due to her Darting Blow, and her Brave Weapon makes Camilla scary to go up against. She is a bit squishy when not on the offensive though. ========== Grey: Sakura - My main healer. While she is only a 4* unit, she proved to be invaluable in healing her big brother Ryoma who was my main tank, and occasionally heal my off-tank Cain and flier Camilla as needed. Her Defense buff is also useful. HM: Felicia - My main debuff unit. Also just a 4*, Felicia provided amazing utility and was my anti-mage character for a time. However, she was replaced by Camilla in my main team composition, but Felicia remains a strong alternative character due to her debuffs. She is my prime candidate to 5* so she can get her Silver Dagger+ for extra damage and a stronger debuff (-7 instead of -5).

I can't confirm this information, but if I remember right, the free characters are guaranteed to be "Average" or "Medium" in all 5 stats (HP, ATT, SPD, DEF, RES), like Alfonse, Sharena, and Anna. This can be useful for some individuals who like having a balanced character instead of a Boon & Bane from normal summoning. Otherwise, unless that particular character is one of your favorites or happens to fulfill a role the player doesn't have (Olivia for dancing, Lissa or Wyrs for healing, etc.) then the only thing they are good for is for merging or sending home for a small amount of feathers. I personally kept Lissa, Cecilia, Felicia, and Olivia while everyone else was sent home. Lissa is an alternative healer, Cecilia is one of the rare magic units I have, Felicia (both of them) I plan on raising to 5* for the "Ultimate Felicia Merge," and Olivia fulfills the dancer role as I do not have Azura.

No. Here are some stats I had on hand when I was strategizing beforehand (information is not complete). As I have stated, enemies on Lunatic have insane DEF and I have no speedy magic characters on my roster to take advantage of their poor RES. Ryoma is the best unit I have, so I will not be ditching him. 9-5 Lunatic Stats (Incomplete - Weapon Abilities, Special Ability, and Passives) Xander: 47 HP, 51 ATT, 27 SPD, 42 DEF, 19 RES Troubadour: 32 HP, 41 ATT, 24 SPD, 22 DEF, 46 RES (Gravity, Recover) Veronica: 49 HP, 54 ATT, 29 SPD, 33 DEF, 26 RES Sword Fighter: 47 HP, 49 ATT, 34 SPD, 33 DEF, 25 RES (Sacrifice Skill) Blue Mage: 40 HP, 47 ATT, 35 SPD, 22 DEF, 31 RES = = = = = Ryoma: 41 HP, 47 ATT, 38 SPD, 27 DEF, 21 RES vs Veronica - Deal 28 "32", Recieve 33 "27" Kills Troubador Cain: 39 HP, 40 ATT, 27 SPD, 31 DEF, 21 RES vs Veronica - Deal 14 "16", Recieve 33 "27" Kills Troubadour Camilla 37 HP, 38 ATT, 27 SPD, 24 DEF, 34 RES vs Veronica - Deal 10, Recieve 20 Kills Blue Mage Kills Troubadour Minimum Speed: 23 (Xander), 25 (Veronica)

Posting this from the Create-A-Hero Thread. I tried predicting Ike, Eirika, and Ephraim there, so I'll post it over here too!

Well, it seems I have run into an impasse on Chapter 9 Lunatic. After grinding up my 4* Tiki in an attempt to beat 9-5 Lunatic, it seems I am still fated to fail that chapter (and 9-4 Lunatic) without usage of a Light's Blessing (which I did use on 9-2 Lunatic). Taking into account starting positions and attempting to do some strategizing beforehand, I my team was 4* Tiki (Level 38), 4* Sakura (Level 37), 5* Cain (+DEF, -HP), and 5* Ryoma (+SPD, -ATT). My plan used Tiki to take on Xander and have Ryoma handle Veronica, while Sakura provides heals and Cain provide flanking support (and the helpful Threaten ATT). However, my Ryoma did not have the damage output to kill Veronica in one round (perhaps the one time I regret having the -ATT on him), and while Tiki can kill Xander, it takes her too long to do so. In the end, I did manage to take out both Xander and Veronica, but the generics killed finished off what remained of my team. If there was one thing I would have tried differently, it would be swapping Tiki and Sakura's placement so Tiki could immediately move up. The problem with this though is that Xander (with Battle Troubadour) would likely kill Tiki and I would have a difficult time taking out Xander with the rest of my party. I beat Normal and Hard with Ryoma, 4* Sakura, Cain, and Camilla (and 4* Felicia as an alt), but that setup does not work on Lunatic due to the opposition's high DEF rating and the greater importance of the Weapon Triangle. As it stands, most of my raised units are Physical based but the enemies deal massive damage (physical and magical) and tend to have high DEF. So far, I mainly relied on Ryoma to handle everything, but he can only take so many hits. Cain has a Brave Weapon, but enemies have high DEF. Sakura can heal and offer extra DEF, but a Recovery or Rehabilitate staff may be the superior option here. Camilla works well against Blue units, but there are not many Blues in 9-4 & 9-5. Here is my current roster (image in the spoiler). So, I am at a loss. I'm sure if I had a 5* Takumi (anti-everything), 5* Hector (walking juggernaut), or a good mage (5* Robin or 5* Linde), I probably could beat the map. With my current roster, I could try leveling up Nowi and replace Tiki with her, but I have no desire to level up another non 5* unit to level 40 as it takes forever to do so (and will be even longer once the Tower promotion goes away). I could also try to get someone with Hone, Spur, or Rally ATT for Ryoma in an attempt to one-round Veronica, but there is still everyone else to deal with. I could level up Olivia and get Dance, but she would be far too weak at the bare minimum 3* and I already have a lot of Red characters. As for pulls, I exhausted my main Orb supply with Story Mode and quests. I am also currently saving up for the 15th with my scraps in anticipation of a new Focus. While I would still love a Lyn, Lucina, and a Takumi (with a proper 5* M!Robin), I already spent $40 and don't plan on spending another $40 any time soon (unless I win the lottery or something). So yeah... I don't think I'll be clearing Lunatic Story any time soon unless you guys have any suggestions.

Q: When do Arena rewards go out again? I visited the Arena while it was closed thinking that is the time to claim rewards, but is it when the Arena re-opens? The only thing I can see being a problem is that I left Heroes on the Arena screen before it was closed, then tapped out to the Home screen and back before it could update normally.

Here are some quotes that stood out to me, no doubt there are many more by others (like Odin or Narcian). Caeda - Character Screen (Voiced): "Tell me... Do you believe in love?" [Caeda's gonna recruit the enemy team, folks.] Cain - Entering Map (Voiced): "HA! Gored by the horns!" Cain - Home Screen: "HA! Sorry-HA! Training! HA! Talk later! HA!" Matthew - Character Screen (Voiced): "No need for a shakedown, I never hide my weapons." Matthew - Home Screen: "The way this strange world works... I wonder... Could I ever be reunited with my dear Leila again?" A!Tiki - Character Screen (Voiced): "I wonder if Mar Mar is here as well."