Tombstone88

Apparently I'm Petra. The description is surprisingly accurate. Also the Harry Potter question was random; it doesn't help that I know nothing about the series.

I've only just finished Chapter 5 of Black Eagles Maddening, but I can offer a bit of personal input on the characters: Edelgard: I go back and forth on whether she's S Tier or A Tier. She hits like a truck, but she gets doubled pretty frequently and her bulk really isn't all that great. For reference, back in Chapter 2, the enemy axe fighters could almost ORKO Edelgard unless I equipped her with a sword (IIRC, they did 14 x 2). She also has a weakness in Bows, which hurts when Bows are so useful on this difficulty. I'll have to keep playing to formulate a final opinion on her (and everyone else, for that matter). Petra: High A Rank is accurate to her performance for me thus far. Hubert: Hubert is interesting because he hits very hard, as well as having early 1-3 range magic. However, Hubert is made of paper, and his accuracy is really shaky. I constantly have to gamble on 55% hit rates with Mire with him. B Rank is probably proper placement for him, IMO. Linhardt: He should be either bottom of B Tier or top of C Tier. I appreciate his accuracy and chip damage with his magic, and healing is always is useful; however, you can't put him at risk at all. The guy just evaporates. Ferdinand: His start is rough, but he gets a bit better as time goes on. Low B Tier is probably fitting. Bernadetta: My Bernie has gotten a little stat screwed, but she still's fairly useful. Her chip damage with bows is fairly useful but her real strength lies with lances; with Vengeance, she can really pile the damage on. She might honestly be B Tier. Dorothea: Dorothea's early game utility can not be understated. Her personal is extremely useful on Maddening difficulty. Her base Magic is 11, only 1 point lower than Hubert; granted, her growth rate is 15% lower, so she might fall off later down the road. Her HP is also slightly better than Hubert's, which might not sound like a huge deal, but it has made the difference between dying and not dying for me. Thoron and Physic are always useful. I would personally put her at B Rank, but she should at the very least be near the top of C Rank. Caspar: I've had very little success with Caspar; my personal Caspar would probably be E Rank, but he might be closer to D Rank or low C Rank. Again, only finished Chapter 5, so none of this is concrete; just early impressions.

Damn. Felix and Petra have really good Speed and Strength. Lowest Magic on a spellcaster is Linhardt with 21. Not sure if their high Magic stats will offset not having Fiendish Blow, though. Ingrid has high Speed, coupled with the 3rd-highest Res and 4th-highest Defense of the students. Leonie is a juggernaut. Cross recruitment is probably going to be very valuable for mid-to-late game in Maddening runs.

Manuela - If she could become a Dancer, she would be a perfect fit for it. Unfortunately, she cannot; thus, her next-best option is Bishop. Gremory would theoretically be better, but good luck getting her Reason to A in any reasonable timeframe (even getting B/B+ and saving before trying certification will take a while). Seteth - Wyvern Lord. Catherine - You can either keep her as Swordmaster for better growths + Sword Crit, go Assassin for 6 Movement + occasional utility, or attempt to go for something else (say, Falcon Knight), and then realize that she starts at E rank in almost everything else and her only boons are Swords and Fists. I'd say it's best to stick with Swordmaster for a while, get her some levels, then finish up in Assassin for the movement. In other words, her best endgame = Assassin.

I'm thinking Ingrid might be a case where she's not very good in-house on Maddening, but really good out-of-house. Recruiting her into, say, Black Eagles, she'll start as a Pegasus Knight (so you don't have to bother grinding her up yourself) and you can then do her Paralogue to get Luin, which will patch up her lower Strength.

Can't say definitively, but my impression is that Black Eagles is the hardest for early game and Blue Lions is the easiest for early game. Black Eagles don't have a proper tank, so they struggle a lot with staying alive. Caspar and Ferdinand really struggle initially due to their bases, and I've had issues with Bernie. Hubert and Dorothea are both good, but Dorothea often runs out of spell casts early on and Hubert has accuracy issues. Blue Lions, meanwhile, have Felix (extra 5 Might with his personal), Dedue (amazing early game tank), Annette (magic + rally), Dimitri (better defense than Edelgard), and Ingrid (about on par with Petra).

Well, Bernie has a 35% Strength growth (40% once you hit Fighter), so her average Strength at level 7 is a little over 10 points. At 12 Strength, you've gotten a little lucky maybe, but nothing crazy. I think it's more likely that I've been unlucky with her than anything. Ah, that makes sense. Tempest Lance is the real MVP of Maddening mode. 😀 Yeah, having a bow on everyone is probably one of the single biggest necessities of Maddening mode. That and keeping spare lances for Tempest Lance. I've had the opposite issue: Dorothea has been fairly easy for me to level, but my Caspar and Bernie have been struggling hard. Linhardt has also been surprisingly useful offensively.

As someone who is currently doing BE on Maddening (just beat Chapter 3), I have 2 questions: 1.) How is your Bernie doing so much damage? Mine was averaging 5-8 damage on Chapter 3; even with her personal active, that would only be 10-13 damage. Yet you're hitting 20+ damage on DK without her personal? How? (what's his Defense, anyway?) 2.) If I'm reading your post correctly, your Bernie has 33 HP? What level is she? I'm assuming you got HP +5 from Noble mastery, bringing her to 30 HP. However, her HP growth is a measly 35%, so getting 3 HP level-ups in a row seems unlikely. Or maybe I'm just unlucky? Legitimately curious, btw; Maddening for BE is enough of a struggle, so any info can be useful.

There are definitely extra enemies/enemy changes. Off the top of my head: 1.) On the Prologue, there's 2 extra mooks on the east side of the map. 2.) On Chapter 2, there are at least 2 extra fighters in the middle of the map; in addition, the fighter with the battalion that guards the west staircase is now a brigand.

I'm not the most well-informed on translation stuff, so I can't give too much input here. It's good enough for me. The only thing I find irritating is Edelgard's "my teacher" thing. It might sound better in Japanese (perhaps endearing), but it's awkward and a little annoying in English.

Ah, I always forget about the (Str/5) part of the AS in this game. Yeah, Dedue has 16 Strength on Maddening.

I've only done the first two battles so far (I decided to go Black Eagles), but I've noticed two major changes thus far: 1.) EXP gain seems to be half (or maybe even slightly less than half) of what you earn on Hard mode. 2.) Enemy stats are increased... a lot. It's not hugely noticeable during the Prologue; the only real difference I noticed was that Edelgard got doubled now when using an axe. However, the mock battle was an entirely different beast. Their stats were hugely inflated. Even Petra, the fastest character on my roster, got doubled by Claude. Dimitri and Ashe also double her unless she uses a training sword. Claude can ORKO just about everyone from Black Eagles. I'm not even entirely sure how Maddening calculates enemy AS. Dedue has 9 Speed during the mock battle and uses a Training Axe, which has 6 weight. 9 - 6 = 3, but he somehow ends up with 6 AS. I checked his skills and all he has is Dexterity +4. I guess Maddening just gives the enemy free AS.

Was just about to make a topic stating this as well 😁

Raphael: Raphael really only has 2 viable options: Wyvern Lord and War Master. War Master is easier to attain and has a really good class mastery, while Wyvern Lord is Wyvern Lord. Technically Wyvern Lord is best if we're talking LTC/max efficiency play, but I'm gonna vote War Master purely because it's not Wyvern Lord, and I want a bit of diversity. Hanneman: He has strengths in Reason and Riding, and he's neutral in Lances. He's geared toward Dark Knight. Pretty straightforward. Cyril: Cyril has the aptitudes to be either a Wyvern Lord or a Bow Knight. His defense growth is really, really bad though, so even with Aptitude's 20% growth increases, he'll be rather frail. As such, I find that Bow Knight suits him better, so he can capitalize on his strengths without putting himself on the front lines.

Mercedes: Mercedes has 3 viable options: Bishop, Gremory and Dark Knight. Bishop is easy to access and maximizes her utility, but she's stuck on 4 range and loses out on some killing power. Gremory is easy for her to access and gives her a combination of power and utility without maximizing either. Dark Knight is a pain to access but maximizes her mobility and killing power. Overall, I'd say Gremory is best for her. Ignatz: I've only ever used Ignatz once, mainly because he's just so weak compared to every other archer in the game. That said, Bow Knight is the obvious best choice, as he gains mobility and bowrange +2. I haven't tried utility Ignatz, so I can't really comment on how effective it is. Flayn: I've also only ever used Flayn once, so I can't say I'm very familiar with her. She just starts off so weak compared to the rest of your units when she joins. The two best fits seem to be either Gremory for double Rescue/Fortify casts or Dancer for pure utility. I'd say Gremory is best overall.

The units that come to mind off the top of my head are: Caspar: Caspar's two biggest weaknesses are his low bases and his weakness in authority. You can just buy his Authority in NG+ and you can buy his Heavy Armor skill to hit Armor/Fortress Knight while training him manually as a Wyvern Lord or Warmaster. Buying Death Blow and Quick Riposte can also help him early on. Annette: Annette's biggest hurdle is her early game. Buy Fiendish Blow and Darting Blow for extra damage/AS and she's basically golden. NG+ also carries over battalions, which, if you've done Crimson Flower, means you can give her Supreme Armored Co. for a boost to both physical and magical prowess. Dedue/Raphael: Both have the same issues; buying Quick Riposte is very helpful, as is buying ranks in Flying/Riding to mitigate the grind. Manuela: Grinding out her Reason is a slog; NG+ lets you completely bypass this major weakness. Hilda/Felix: Authority weakness is a pain; NG+ fixes that pain.

I did BL -> BE:E -> GD -> Church and, with hindsight, I wish I'd done it in the order TC did. If I were ranking them, I'd say: Story: GD -> BL -> Church -> BE:E In regards to Part 1, GD doesn't hammer major plot points in your face as hard as BE/BL. Part 2 for GD also explains a bit more lore, which is sorely lacking in BL/BE. BL gives a nice character story, which is entertaining for a second playthrough but can leave you scratching your head at points. BE:E doesn't really elaborate on anything storywise, so it should honestly be done last. The Church route is... fine, I guess; my biggest issue was playing it back-to-back with GD. Gameplay: BE:E -> GD -> BL -> Church BE:E was definitely my favorite gameplay-wise; the one issue was that it felt too rushed. BL was hit-or-miss; some battles I enjoyed, others felt lacking. GD was much the same, but I liked its final battle more. Playing Church right after GD was a huge mistake, as it made the route feel like a waste of time.

Ashe: I've tried going Bow Knight for Ashe, and while it eventually turned out good, the problem was getting there; he struggled from levels 10-30. On the other hand, when I trained him to be a wyvern, he only struggled from levels 10-20. Wyvern Lord's flying has more utility than Bow Knight, which compliments Ashe's personal better. Both are ultimately good choices, but my personal experience with trying both makes me lean Wyvern Lord on this one. Ingrid: I've done both Wyvern Lord and Falcon Knight for Ingrid, and I had great success with both. Although it's close, I'd say Falcon Knight is ever-so-slightly better for her. The main reason is the higher res; while early game res isn't a big deal, late game there are a lot of enemy gremories (especially on the Blue Lions route). Being able to tank enemy magic and keep on going is very useful. You honestly can't go wrong with either choice though. Lorenz: Lorenz is interesting because he's designed to be good both magically and physically. You can build him either physically or magically early on, but no matter your choice, you'll likely end up finishing at Dark Knight. The class complements his skill boons and both of his primary early choices (cavalier or mage) will end up gearing him toward Dark Knight. Honestly, it's pretty cut-and-dry that it's his best end-game option.

I understand that typos are just a thing that comes with the territory on games this long, but it amuses me that this one exists considering how frequently the message pops up. Anyone else notice a typo that you found amusing?

Linhardt: Bishop for sure. His main purpose is utility with Physic and Warp; since he can't become a Gremory, Bishop is the class that best optimizes these spells. Annette: This one is a bit tough. Wyvern Lord is an appealing option for her, as she is good with axes and flight/mobility/axefaire are useful. On the other hand, Dark Knight tanks her axe prowess a bit while increasing her black magic prowess. My gut wants to go with Dark Knight, but both seem to have their pros and cons. Marianne: After having tried Marianne as a Dancer recently, I never want to have her as anything else. Her Riding boon means she can (somewhat) easily have 7 move, her Sword boon means she can take advantage of the Dancer's Sword Avo +20, and Dancers can still cast magic, meaning she can still utilize Physic/Silence/Thoron/anything else you take. Marianne's Crest of the Beast increases her might on standard weapon attacks, which has good synergy with a Levin Sword or Blutgang. Her Soulblade combat art is very good, at least until late game. She's basically a high movement magical dodge tank. If you're not making her Dancer, then I'd probably go Holy Knight.

Hubert: "HAHAHAHA!" Hubert: "Just a bug to squash!" Hubert: "Bow before Her Majesty!" Dimitri: "I'll destroy you!" Dorothea: "One of us has to die!" Claude: "Don't hold this against me, okay?" Claude: "Shall we dance?" Hilda: "You're making me work!" Lysithea: "You're irrelevant!" Lorenz: "In a hurry to die, are you?"

1.) Supports can be viewed in the Monastery and, if gained while exploring, the conversations will pop up after you fast-travel to any other location (took me until the end of Part 1 on my first playthrough to realize this one). 2.) This is more of a hindsight thing, but all of your weapons have their durability restored when you transition to Part 2; would've spammed the Relics more if I'd known. 3.) You can steal enemy shields, even if they have it equipped. 4.) You don't need to have the specific Crest to use a Relic; in fact, you only need to have a Crest to avoid taking the damage. Also, Sacred Weapons/Items (the ones with silver borders) don't even have the damage downside, so a Crest isn't even necessary. 5.) Edelgard's unique classes can't cast magic; all that time training Reason, and it was basically pointless 😞 (Should've trained Riding for Dark Knight) 6.) Forging magic weapons increases the max range; this is especially useful for units like Annette (no 3-range spells but good with Axes) 7.) Adjutants earn not only regular EXP, but skill and class EXP as well. 8.) If you mount/dismount before moving, you can press 'B' and back out of the menu and move with the new movement type.

Well, the topic was talking specifically about spell lists; relics/stats/skills/etc. aren't part of spell lists. If I was rating all factors, my list would be a bit different.

First off, I thought Shamir got Recover, not Physic? Not that it really matters, as you'll never realistically be using her as a spellcaster. S-Tier: Dorothea - Easily the best spell list in the game. Only thing you could say she's missing is one extra utility spell on the Faith side. A-Tier: Hanneman - His Reason list is just as good as Dorothea's and he gets Ward on the Faith side. No Physic is enough to knock him down a tier, though. Lysithea - Has loads of powerful spells (Dark Spikes, Luna, Seraphim, etc.) and gets Warp at B. No Physic, though. Marianne - Very good Faith list and pretty good Reason list; just an overall solid list. Mercedes - Excellent Faith list, but a rather poor Reason list sans Ragnarok. Linhardt - Excellent Faith list, but a rather poor Reason list sans Cutting Gale/Excalibur. Bernadetta - Thoron, Fimbulvetr, Physic and Rescue? Quite a good spell list for someone you'll never use as a spellcaster. B-Tier: Flayn - I debated on whether she's A-Tier or B-Tier. She gets Fortify and Rescue on the Faith side, which are both great. However, she lacks Physic, and her Reason list is lackluster other than Cutting Gale and Excalibur. She's essentially a worse Linhardt. Manuela - She gets Bolting and Warp, two very good spells. However, she lacks Physic and the rest of her Reason list is poor. Sylvain - He has a decent Reason and a decent Faith list, although he doesn't excel in either area. Hubert - Lots of power in his spell list, as well as early 3-range. Has absolutely no utility Faith-wise. He gets Meteor as an enemy but he unfortunately doesn't get Meteor when you use him. Lorenz - Lots of power in his spell list, including late-game nukes. Very limited utility Faith-wise in the form of Ward. Basically equal to Hubert spell-wise. Edelgard - Has a ton of powerful spells, although no utility. It's a shame her unique classes (Lord, Armored Lord, Emperor) can't cast magic, so she'll probably never utilize her spells (or her 45%(!) base magic growth). Annette - Pretty much the same as the previous three, but her spell list is the weakest of the four. Ingrid - Thoron, Fimbulvetr, Physic and Seraphim? That's pretty good. Plus she has a 35% magic growth. I smell a meme run incoming... C-Tier: Hilda - Thoron and Bolting are both good Reason spells. That's basically all she has, though. Byleth - Why is it our protagonist, who has a budding talent in Faith and a unique class that Edelgard would kill for, has such a bad spell list? Ignatz - Not a bad spell list, although not great. Leonie - Ragnarok, Physic and Restore isn't half-bad for a non-mage. D-Tier: Everyone else - Not really worth going into any of the others, as they don't offer much.

This game, more so than any other Fire Emblem game, is a technical mess. I really hope IS releases some patches for this game in the future; I love this game, but sometimes the long (by Fire Emblem standards) load times, slowdowns and other general issues get to me. As for more specific issues: 1.) In the Monastery, when you fast travel to a location and then immediately fast travel to another location, the game will occasionally fail to load the models for nearby NPCs. You can still talk to them, but they'll be completely invisible. Usually they'll load in after a while, although one time Rhea just refused to ever come back into existence. 2.) I have had the game crash on me twice; once was on Day One, and once was after playing the game for about 5 hours straight. I've no idea if these crashes are a software or hardware issue, sadly. 3.) I've had the game soft-lock during a tournament. The characters engaged in one round of combat and then they just stood around. I had something similar happen in another tournament, but in that instance, after about 30 seconds, the game flashed black and then the next round of combat started. 4.) Two times, upon activating Divine Pulse, the game slowed to about 2-3 frames per second for about 10 seconds. I've tried to replicate this one to capture on video, but every time I try to it works normally 😔. 5.) I'm not sure if this is a glitch or not, but during the Blue Lions battle at Gronder Field in Part 2, Edelgard eventually lights the central platform on fire. Upon doing so, 1 of my 3 characters in the central area ended up stunned (as if hit by a Gambit), but the other 2 didn't. If it matters, the 3 characters I had in the middle were Gremory Dorothea, Dimitri and Wyvern Lord Ingrid; Dorothea was the one that ended up stunned. I don't know if it's supposed to stun them or isn't, but either way something seemed to go wrong. 6.) Again, this one may not be a glitch. Monster/Beast/Golem A.I. behavior seems semi-random; sometimes I'll move a unit into the attack range, the line and attack preview will show that the enemy is going to attack them, and then, on Enemy Phase... they walk away. They just wander off. The first time I saw this was during the Rhea Paralogue, so I thought it was specific to that map (the battle mentions the generals controlling the Golems). However, this has happened in at least 3 different battles now. 7.) Speaking of the attack indicator, it's not always accurate. One time I had both Felix and Leonie in range of a mage, and the indicator said Felix would be attacked, but come Enemy Phase, the mage attacked Leonie. This has happened in several other instances. That's all for now, but I'll post more if/when I come across more.