Shanty Pete's 1st Mate

True enough, althlugh I don't necessarily trust IS to balance Unit Type classification with other class aspects (like weapon ranks or stat caps). If the Unit Types are self-balancing, so to speak, then this is less likely to be an issue. One more warm take: Pegasus Knights should be Cavalry + Flying. They're not just flying, they're riding flying horses. The 3DS games seemed to get this, by making them weak to anti-cavalry weapons. "Pure Flying" as a Unit Type should be reserved for units who can fly in their own right, like Hawk laguz.

I do think that, if we see classes with multiple "unit types", then there should be some sort of penalty to the class. Otherwise, "Mystical + Qi Adept" would be strictly superior to "Mystical", for instance. Maybe each "unit type" can have an associated weakness? Some ideas: Mystical: Ignore terrain when attacking with magic, BUT lose HP when attacking with magic. Qi Adept: Can use the Chain Guard command on an ally, BUT cannot be the recipient of the Chain Guard command. Armored: Receive no damage from indirect sources, BUT lose a point of movement. Cavalry: Gain extra movement and Canto, BUT cannot cross certain terrain types (basically canon). Flying: Can cross almost any terrain type, BUT does not gain benefits from any terrain (again, canon). Covert: Can "Pass" through other enemy types, BUT can also be passed through by enemies. Backup: Can assist a neighboring ally with a "Linked Attack", BUT takes extra damage from enemy's linked attacks. Something like that!

Because some men just want to see the world burn. Really, it seems to just be a gameplay thing. When player-controlled castles get taken by the enemy army, they are destroyed. Notably, some of the potential enemies who can take your castle are bandits or pirates. You know, the sort of folks who would have little interest in keeping a castle, and would likely be inacapable of holding one.

At long last, we come to the possessive namesake of the website we all occupy. It's her Forest, and we call her Syrene. + Flier good. Not much more to say here. + 13 Aid is good enough to carry most allies, even if it's a bit lower than what the other Falcoknights offer. + A-rank Lances let her wield the Silver Lance from the start. + Triangle Attack! You need two other fliers to trigger it, but Syrene is the one missing piece who makes it possible. - Pretty mediocre stats across the board. Her bulk and damage output are both poor, and her Myrmidon stats ain't much better. - Not very much time to build her supports up before the Endgame. Syrene is definitely a filler flier, feeling very much like the second coming of FE6's Juno. Of course, Syrene occupies a much easier game. So she's good, right? ...Eh, not really. She'll be strictly inferior to... well, any other trained flier. At best, she can do chip damage, and ferry a couple not-too-heavy allies over the mountains. That's worth a 1 out of 10. ...Is what I WOULD say, if not for the TRIANGLE ATTACK! Finally, a chance for Vanessa toone-shot her foes! This nets Syrene an additional point for each side of the triangle. She swoops in at 4 out of 10. That would've been a neat touch, as your other fliers don't really have time to build their rank up to Silver Sword, much less Audhulma. Has vibes of Geitz being able to use the Brave Bow at join, too.

Probably not. He always came across as a very feminine boy, not a girl. It'd be cool to see an explicitly trans character in FE, sure, assuming they're handled well. But Rosado ain't it.

The game gives you a ton of gold, and no frankincense, but only one Myrrh: - She's actually in competition with Ewan for worst base stats in the game. Single digits all around, seriously? + ...What are these green bars next to some of her stats? + Actually obscene growth rates, with a guaranteed point of HP and Defense with every level-up. - Her Luck is her one consistent weak point, poor in both base and growth rate. - No promotion, so she only has 19 levels to take advantage of those growths. + But the game seems to treat her as unoromoted, as she gains almost a full level from just killing one mook. + Does effective damage against monsters, which predominate in about half the remaining chapters. - Only has the one Dragonstone, and when it's gone, it's gone for good. + Low Con is perfect shen she doesn't have a weapon to hold, as anyone can take-drop her. + Did I mention that she flies? This is a huge help in chapters 17 and 20. There are definitely a few factors working against Myrrh: her low Luck, lack of attacking options, and vulnerability to bows among them. But really, who cares? Her Dragonstone rips through low-quality monster enemies, and she grows like a weed. There's little more "fun" than a low-bases unit who gains experience quickly, and then gets at least 4 stat-ups every single time. I debated whether Myrrh was this game's Est, or its Gotoh, until I realized - she's neither. She's this game's Wolf/Sedgar. That's why I'm pleased as punch to give her a 10 out of 10.

We're on a roll, so let's check in on Knoll: + He's the only (default) Dark magic user in your army. That's a pretty cool niche. + Dark magic includes unique options like the Res-piercing Luna and HP-restoring Nosferatu, either of which Knoll can use at join. + He comes with solid bases and growths in Magic and Res. What's not to like? - How about the rest of his stats? Despite tolerable Myrmidon stats, his Luck and physical bulk are in the basement. - This man has 0 Luck, before and after promotion. I cannot stress enough how vulnerable to crits he will be. - Joining at level 10, unpromoted, on chapter 15 is... not the best first impression. + At the very least, he can promote ASAP. And the game isn't exactly stingey with Guiding Rings. + Summoning is a neat parlor trick to manipulate enemy AI. Phantoms can lure in possible threats. - His other promotion option, Druid, feels kinda like a waste. It's not a bad class, but Knoll's not a very good combat mage, so... I find myself walking into a very polarized room, it seems, when it comes to Knoll. Is Summoning good, or bad? Well, that doesn't matter - the question is, is Summoning fun, or unfun? I think it can be fun, in the right situation. If I have a use in mind for the Phantom, that is. I do feel like it makes Knoll something of a one-trick pony. Yes, he has Heal staves, and yes, he has combat. But he has a long road to higher-ranked staves, and his combat is... usually suicidal. I think he has good value, but only enough to earn a 6 out of 10.

Anything that isn't equipped can be stolen. This includes weapons, if the target unit has a different weapon equipped. It also includes all staves, which aren't equipped in this game (unlike the sequel).

The last member of our trio, it's the reluctant rogue, Rennac: + Rogue utility! This is great for his join map, as well as a few later maps with chests and/or fog. + Of course, having a guaranteed pickup rate in the desert map is a big help, too. + Unsurprisingly good Myrmidon stats make him quite dodgy and accurate. - But his physical bulk is quite poor, unfortunately. - Low Strength limits his damage output, especially as a low-Con Swordlocked unit. - Speaking of which, lacking range as a Swordie kneecaps his offensive options further. - Can be difficult to recruit, and potentially expensive if you didn't bring L'Arachel. Rennac is mostly there for Thief utility. To this end, is he better than Colm? I would say so, in most cases, unless you've been training Colm. Of course, Colm gets credit for joining earlier. There's kind of a "Matthew and Legault" vibe going on. I do think the fact that Rennac is the second-joining Thief takes the pressure off a bit. His combat won't be good without serious babying. But then again, it's hard to quantify the fun that can be bought by all the stuff he steals. Eh, let's give him a 5 out of 10.

At long last, the teacher, Saleh: + Excellent base Skill, and quite solid base Magic, too. He can hit hard and accurately. + A Anima, B Light grants him a wide variety of tome options, and also lets him pick which legendary tome to go for. + 8 Con is in the "sweet spot": he can be carried by any infantry, can take-drop many lighter allies, and can offset the Weight of a fair few tomes. - His physical bulk isn't the best, at 8 Defense. And 11 Luck isn't the biggest vote of confidence. - While it's great to have another healer, C Staves is a bit lacking for his jointime, especially on Ephraim's Story. Man can't even Physic yet. I don't have the most to say about Saleh. He's pretty good, sure, but is he fun? I'm not sure about that, necessarily. His stats are good, but won't generally be as impressive as someone you promoted into the class. Saleh doesn't have a training arc, either, since he joins pretty good, and will stay pretty good. He can become more impressive with Excalibur or Ivaldi, I guess. Let's give him 4 out of 10. And now the student, Ewan: - It's over halfway through the game, and these are his bases? All but HP sub-5? The boy better have some killer growths to make up for it. - His growths are... well, 15% Defense is the only "bad" one. But none of them are better than a coin flip, which is depressing for a "growth unit". + Of course, as a trainee, he gets 10 extra levels-up, and first-tier "promotion" bonuses. + He has the most possible final class options of any unit in the game, at 4. 5 if we count Super Pupil. + The options let him pick between a horse, the Summon ability, and taking up multiple offensive magics. Obviously, Ewan has a rough start. Not showing up until midway through his join map enhances this, as I can't seem to secure him enough EXP on either route to get him to level 10. Thankfully, since he's targetting Res, he has an easier time doing damage against most foes than Amelia. Then again, he's somehow even frailer. Ewan is a labor of love, but one that I've used in almost every one of his five final promotions. So, I guess he's doing something right. Let's give him an 8 out of 10.

Gameplay-wise, it would've been nice to control their boons and banes, too. If I'm going one run where I want to make Teach a Falcon Knight, then I'll give her boons in Lances and Flight, and offset them with banes in Reason and Riding. The game feels very contradictory about whether Byleth even talks. You can choose their lines in supports... but then they don't speak them, even though every character speaks. They'll audibly speak on crits and level-ups, the one time it's actually useless. And Hapi calls them "Chatterbox", which seems an ironic nod to their relative silence. Helluva choice for the game to say "finally, you can choose what your Avatar says", and then... not let them say anything.

Huh. Somehow I gaslit myself into thinking Rennac would be today, and I could knock the whole trio out at once. My mistake. Anyway, first, the elven priestess, L'arachel. + She gets a horse! Even with only 6 move, that's usually better than infantry. + Low Con is actually ideal for a mounted staffer, as she can be rescued by - and rescue - nearly anyone. + Good Magic and Res, as you'd expect from a staffer. - Low HP, coupled with paper Defense, makes her a frail duck. - She joins midway through the game at... level 3 unpromoted. Is this some type of twisted joke? - At least she can gain EXP quickly, right? Er, wrong. She needs 700 EXP to reach level 10. The Mend Staff grants 12 EXP per use. It will take 59 Mend uses - nearly three full staves worth - to reach promotion. - And she joins with D Staves, so she can't provide support like Restore or Barrier without training. L'arachel leaves a rather pitiful first impression as a playable character. Her base level and staff rank look like they belong to someone who should've joined 7 chapters ago... y'know, when she met Eirika in the woods? Regardless, if you're willing to train her, and do a lot of "topping off" allies who don't really need it, she can turn out not bad. And even as a flunkie, the combination of Mend and Rescue-Carry may be worth it on a few maps. I think L'arachel deserves a 6 out of 10. And next, the dwarven warrior (well, Berzerker), Dozla: + Gwahaha! His HP and Strength stats are through the roof! - Alas, his other stats are midfling to poor. In particular, 4 Luck undermines his survivability sans Hoplon Guard. + His high Con means he isn't losing Speed from any Axes... - But it also means he's almost impossible to Rescue-Carry, - And his base Speed is 9, so it's not like he'll be doubling. + Axes are a good weapon type, and with B-rank, he's not too far from Garm. + Berzerkers do get +15 crit, which is of questionable utility, but definitely adds to the sense of "fun". As does water-walking. So, I was about to conclude this by castigating Dozla for being "kinda bad, actually". But is he? It's easy to look at stats like 9 Speed and 4 Luck, and condemn him. But he's a Berzerker in a game where Axes are great, and with a fair few mountain- and river-filled maps. Dozla's not necessarily a bad choice, but nor is he the most thrilling one. Uh... I guess 4 out of 10?

He joins with C Lances. Which is needed to use the Killer Lance he brings. Anyway, onto Cormag: + He's a flier. That mobility is great, especially if your next stop is Phantom Ship. + Excellent Armor Knight stats, with raw power and physical bulk to spare. + Myrmidon bases are meh, but the good growths make up for it. + 11 Con means that he can handle heavier weapons much more comfortably than your more delicate Pegasus Knights. - His Resistance is bad, and it's not getting any better. - Weakness to Bows and anti-dragon weapons. Huh, this class has a lot of weaknesses, doesn't it? - Can crash the game as a Wyvern Knight. Cormag is definitely better on Ephraim's route, as you get more time to spend with him. But even in Eirika's army, he can make for a great pick - as filler/support, or as an outright combatant. Cormag starts strong, and has no problem gaining EXP and racking up more sweet sweet stats. There's a lot you can do with him, too, like Rescue-Dropping light allies. It's enough to earn him a solid 8 out of 10.

While the other generals may fade into oblivion, there's one who's playable: Duessel the Obsidian! + Second-best physical bulk in the game, after a trained Gilliam. + A-rank in all melee weapons means he not only has a huge selection, but can also go S-rank in whichever one you want. + A very solid starting Strength stat, plus high-Might weapons, means he's hitting everything hard. - His Luck and Res are both weak spots, leaving him vulnerable to Mages, status staves, and Crits. - Joining as high-leveled as he does, he gains very little experience against non-boss enemies. - Being horseback, and armored, means he has two vulnerabilities that can undermine his physical bulk. - He has 6 move, but being horseback, he's actually less mobile than promoted infantry in forests and deserts. - His High Con makes him hard to Rescue-Carry, while also undermining his Aid as a mounted unit. + Did I mention his full weapon triangle mastery? That part is cool. Duessel serves as a great representation of the strengths, and weaknesses, of the Great Knight class. They can Rescue-Carry allies... who are light enough. They tank physical enemies... who don't bring effective weaponry. They're fast enough to usually not get doubled... while rarely doubling in return. On Ephraim's Story, he's a must-bring for the midgame, and a solid choice thereafter. While on Eirika's Story, he's just kinda... there. There's no real growth arc, but Duessel is a solid tank who can crack particularly tough nuts. All told, I'm giving him a 6 out of 10.

Celeste if I feel platformy, or Suika Game if I feel puzzley.