starburst

It is just a personal preference/ restrain. For me, visiting other castles is way more 'impure' than using the random gifts given by my own units on my own castle. Moreover, I always upgrade the lottery, the mine and the mess hall as soon as possible, so that I can get more and better items/ bonuses on the following chapters. Among the special free weapons that I have seen in Conquest, I think that the only one that could be considered 'overpowered' is the Hunter's Bow, which grants advantage over cavalry and Kitsunes to any archer (mostly for Outlaws/Adventurers, because Snipers kill those units anyway.) The raider weapons (E rank, +3 Spd) are nice to build weapon ranks, Iago's Tome is helpful, I like the Sacrificial Knife, but that is it. And they all sell for 0 G, by the way. On my current campaign, I was lucky and got a Sacrificial Knife by mid-game (11 Might, 110 Hit, reduces -8 Lck -5 Def/Res to enemies and 30 % HP per use to the user.) But I have only got it twice in like thirty campaigns. It is true that you should not depend on food bonuses to face a chapter, but if you already have the food and do not use it, you would be wasting a free bonus just because. In the late chapters, the mess hall grant bonuses equivalent to one or two tonics to your whole party, and you choose the statistics! Do not be a fool and learn how to use it.

Are you going to use Percy, or did you recruit him just for the money? Does your party need those Experience points right now? I have completed Percy's Paralogue without Camilla around Ch 10 (on Hard), but I got about half the money (like 4-5 K instead of 8-9 K.) So, there is that. The issue here early in the game is being able sustain enough turns on the left and (specially) right Dragon Veins, to lure as many enemies as possible, and then activate the DV's. This has to be done almost simultaneously, but two out of your three available royals are the lolis who die after any one hit. Or you could simply wait one more chapter and get Camilla. If you actually care about Percy more than about the money, then you have more options. And have more faith in archer Mozu. If her level is close to that of your main party (and there is no reason why it should not be), she will be the one killing the Wyverns in Percy's Paralogue. She is actually more useful than Cavalier Silas or Knight Effie in most situations on this map.

Those are just random gifts (one also gets ore and food this way.) It was not given to you just because of being online. You at least got something useful, sometimes one only gets 'joke' weapons. Do not worry about restarting the game over and over, it is the best way to learn the mechanics. I have played the first thirteen chapters more times than I can remember (by then the core children of my team had been recruited and my main party promotes), just to realise that the party that I am using is not working well and I start over. For me, auras is the reason why a campaign without Xander, Camila and Leo is easier than a campaign without Elise. Also note that units with supports provide bonuses even if they are not the Attack- or Guard-Stance unit: The attack of units X+Y will be more effective if X has had support with unit Z and X is next to Z. These 'position' bonuses can be critical.

Nope, I usually pair Odin and +Mag Corrin. These were the ten units on this campaign (currently at Endgame, Hard Classic): · Nohr Noble +Mag -Lck Corrin with Pegasus as her talent. · Sorcerer Odin (S Corrin) with one level-up as Pegasus to grab the +5 Speed skill. · Sorcerer Ophelia with Dragon Fang. · Sniper Mozu (S Silas.) · Hero Silas, with two level-ups as archer for Quick Draw, then Mercenary. · Paladin Sophie with Quick Draw and Aptitude, and two level-ups as Great Knight for Luna and Armoured Blow. · Strategist Elise. · Rock singer Azura. · Master Ninja Kaze with two level-ups as Mechanist for Replicate. · Sniper Effie (S Niles) with a couple of levels as Outlaw to gain bow ranks while Mozu and Silas were making out, then Archer. That is it. Ten units, no Internet, no DLC, no pre-promotes, no 'backpacks'. Elise promoted at L17-18 (whenever her Magic reached 20+); everyone else, at L19. Most of the benched units did not gain a single level. (In order to complete Ch 21 in 7 turns, MK Camilla and L10/1 MK Beruka were used to ferry Odin, Ophelia and Corrin against the Stoneborn. Both fliers were unarmed and had never been used after Ch 10.) I give Corrin a talent whose skills benefit her and her suitor. Sometimes I choose an early skill (Seal Defence, Quick Draw, +5 Speed, Vantage); some others, a L25 one (Death Blow, Astra.) But it is important that I do not 'lose' Corrin or her suitor in a strange class for various levels, because they must still be able to fulfil their role in the team. After all, I do not use many units anyway. Due to some RNG madness, Silas only had around 20 Def by Chapter 25 (and stopped at 22 Def), and he was supposed to be my tank! Fortunately --thank you, Aptitude--, Paladin Sophie already had 25 Def at the time (and 31 Def at L19/20), and I could reverse their roles. It was surreal. Everyone else played their roles as expected (Nohr Noble Corrin even reached 35 Speed and 30 Magic by L19/18, go figure.)

It took me a bit longer because even though archer Mozu was recruited right after Ch 7, she was exclusively hooked to Silas until Ch 12 (to 'unlock' Sophie before Ch 13.) In the meantime, and even though I was not going to use Nina on this campaign, I hooked Effie to Niles; so that Effie could at least increase her bow rank as an Outlaw. (The silver lining: the Speed growths and +1 Mov are always helpful.) Immediately after Nina was 'unlocked', I started pairing Mozu and Effie. They need five maps. If you will only use Archer Effie, she can reach A+ with Mozu by Ch 11 (C after Paralogue; C+ after Ch 8; B after Invasion 1; B+ after Ch 9; A after Ch 10.) Note that pairing Mozu and Effie is easier for me because Mozu is always an archer, and their base bonuses are complementary. As a Villager, Mozu is a useless backpack. ------ Yeah, Odin and Ophelia are on a different league. But on the late chapters Sniper Effie basically outputs the same damage as the crazy mages; something like 2x25+ or 2x40+ damage. If you think that Calamity Gate is great against shurikens and lances, you have to behold a Sniper. Sniper Effie kills Master Ninjas and Maids in one hit, and Sniper Mozu kills Spear/Great Masters in one phase. Sniper Mozu in particular ignores weapon triangle disadvantages, Avoid bonuses and thrones, and always lands her hit, no matter what. Kotaro, Swordmasters, Bow Breaker... she does not care. And just like Ophelia, Sniper Mozu lands Crits even when you do not want to (like when they wipe out more enemies than you calculated and then get hit by enemies that would not reach them otherwise.)

I usually do not use Effie as a main unit but as an early mother. But if you have the chance, try Archer » Sniper Effie (A+ Mozu.) She is so overpowered that it may as well be a hack.

I think that the ore restriction is there for balancing purposes, and to fit into Conquet's resource management premise. At the beginning, one has to rely on the mine, the free ore from small talks, whatever comes from the lottery and the arena bets. As random as it may be, there is always a way to make use of the given resources. Upgrade the mine as soon as possible, trade ore (5:1) in the smithy, and then multiply new ore it in the arena. The only unit who actually needs an early forge is Odin, to activate his +10 Crit skill; and maybe Kaze, because of his low strength and the dagger's low might. About the weapons themselves, +2 irons (or Thunder tomes) are awesome in most cases, except for those units with ridiculously high Speed (and Skill), like Kaze or archer Mozu, which can handle steel weapons just as proficiently (do not sell his steel shuriken until after you can forge steel daggers.) For Kaze, note that different daggers cause different, greater de-buffs: iron ones reduce Mag, Def and Res; while steel ones reduce one more point of Str, Def and Res. Thus, Kaze should attack tanks with a steel dagger. (I was lucky enough to get a Sacrificial Knife [11 Mt, 110 Hit, -8 Lck, -5 Def/Res] around mid-game.) Each new unit gives free weapons, since one will not use all units anyway. So, one always has duplicate iron swords and axes after Ch 10, 12, and duplicate steel ones after Ch 13, 15.

I do not remember if the enemy density of those Paralogues in Lunatic is way higher than that of Hard, but these are my approaches before Chapter 13. Sophie Put a javelin in Silas's inventory, regardless of his class. 8-10 units are enough. Send a high-mobility pair south-west to hold the position on the bridge, so that the villagers do not commit suicide (a requirement to get the rewards.) The key here is not to kill the enemies on the bridge in one turn, or the villagers will simply pass through you into the island and get fucked. Use a javelin or hand axe, or just disarm your main unit and heal until the Lemmings go north inland. (I have sent Kaze [main] and Peri, so, no tanks needed.) At the same time, pair Silas with a strong unit (or strong bonuses) and kill the archer, sing to this pair, move right of the mage and kill him. The cavalry will attack Silas and his pair, and Sophie will come down. Hurt the Paladin with your other units and move Silas and his pair north, talk to Sophie, give her the javelin, pair her up and then let Sophie get some Experience points by finishing the Paladin. Then it is all about marching north-west and letting Sophie lead the charge to get as much Exp as possible to catch up with the main party. I kill the boss by turn 6-7 and Sophie gains at least three levels. Ophelia Put any two extra tomes in the inventory. Optional: Equip Elise with the Rescue staff from Ch 9. Send an archer and/or a mage and an extra physical unit west, to deal with the Wyverns and mages and get the Horse Spirit scroll in turn 2. At the same time, send Elise centre-south, right outside of the woods (or you will lure enemies), wait, then visit the house and get the Lightning tome in turn 2. Optional: Immediately send Elise north-west but below the wall where the knights and archer are located. Heal others on her way north. Simultaneously, send a strong, high-mobility pair north-east and face the samurai and mages. Use attack stance and run into the house before the outlaw steals the +2 Magic item. Ignore any remaining enemy and head west; you will face knights and one archer. An Armour Slayer is very handy. Visit the second house from left to right and grab the Calamity Gate scroll. Optional: Let Elise Rescue this pair. Let Ophelia grab the two extra tomes from the inventory so that she activates her +10 Crit personal skill. Send Ophelia, Odin, Azura and one more character (Corrin) to deal with the fighters and ninjas in the centre. Let Ophelia get Experience points (and do not be in awe if she lands a Crit in her first turn.) Once the four houses have been visited the rest of the chapter is straightforward. Focus on Ophelia (and other unit that may need Exp.) Using Rescue is optional, but I do it because I like to level-up Ophelia and let her catch up with the team. If you send a really strong pair to get Calamity Gate and let it there, that pair would wipe half of the enemies on the map (because the north reinforcements attack north first), and suck all the Experience points.

You do basically what I do too. I think that you need more timing than power. For example, Dragon Corrin and Odin can deal with Oboro (in two phases) and all Onis indefinitely, but they will not be able to stop the paired Sky Knights (with high Resistance) that appear last. That is when you need to retreat, hit them with the ballista (or your second archer) and then kill them one by one. The Onis hurt, but they cannot 'win' the chapter, the pesky fliers do. Beruka and Selena are good on the left, but they do not need to engage in battle before the water is drained. Until then, your best weapon against the Oni gangs is the mage on the magic turret (Nyx, most likely.) And two turns after the Onis reach them, the girls need to be helped by Silas or Camilla or both. Camilla only needs one Vulnerary and any pair-up to prevent double attacks. It does not matter who the pair-up is because she does not care about the bonuses. But I usually pair her up with her suitor or Jakob (since I do not care about the prick and he is a useless bencher otherwise.) A bonus if you give her Arthur's Hand Axe. I make her kill the fliers from right to left, then make her lure the lancers to the house next to the centre ballista, and then help Beruka and Selena in the north-west. Oh!, equip the Dual Club and let Hinata suicide on Camilla, just because, even if he is not a threat. He is just fucking annoying and deserves to die every time. I would send Effie with a javelin, PV and Skill tonics with Arthur to deal with the archers on the right. They all have weapon triangle advantage over Effie and her skill is shaky, but she can take hits and kill any of them in two hits. Check Azura's Speed, yes, her Speed. The stupid fliers cannot kill her in one hit, but they will do if they can double her. And many of those fliers have that +5 Speed skill. If she can take a hit, it is actually good for you because the fliers will stop to hit her, giving you more time. On the last turns, hold the last Oni wave on the west and hold the fliers advance on the east. Ignore the centre, no one has enough mobility to 'win'.

Since Shuriken Breaker is a L15 promoted skill, I think that they are most likely talking about Chapter 25 and not 17. But I agree that it is not necessary; I use Entrap, Freeze and bows in Ch 25. And Calamity Gate is too good against ninjas that a fair part of Ch 17 is a level-up-chapter for Ophelia and Odin.

I did not mention Missiletain because I was not sure if expshare wanted to use Ophelia. But, yes, a 9 might tome that grants +1 Skill and Resistance and +10 Crit to a crazy Crit machine is too good. As a Socerer, Ophelia basically has a +30 Crit just because. And I agree that even if one does not use children, any Paralogue helps the main team with Experience points, gold and rewards. I know, right? Too bad that I have not tried her with a magical mother. I mean, Effie's and Mozu's magic growth is very low. At least Mozu passes down Aptitude. However low Nina's magic growth is, the Shining Bow is so good that I let her equip it until a second Short Bow is available or the magical damage is negligible. And they even give you 1,000 G back.

Do you already have a team in mind? Since there Experience spread is tighter in Conquest, I think that you should focus on units which can be recruited relatively soon. For example, I like Velouria as Camilla's daughter, but she would only be available around Ch 20 at earliest. From the early children which I usually use: Ophelia is the best spell caster (specially with a +Mag Corrin mother), and even if you do not user her (or her dad), her Paralogue grants great, unique rewards: the Horse Spirit scroll (+3 to Skill, Speed, Defence and Resistance when equipped; yes, it is that broken), the Calamity Gale scroll (the reverse spell, effective against lances and shurikens), a Bolt tome (attacks twice per turn) and a +2 Magic item. Sophie has great Strenght, Skill, Speed and decent Resistance, but only a bit over 20 Defence by Endgame. She shares the same class tree as her dad. Her Paralogue gives you a Partner Seal and an Energy Drop (or some other +2 item, cannot remember.) You can capture Nichol here, but I have never used him. If Effie and Arthur are not taken, and even if you do not plan to use them in the long term, recruiting their son gives you around 9,000 G, and this Paralogue can be unlocked really fast. I have never used Percy himself, even though he has decent statistics. I have only tried Nina as a physical unit (Bow Knight as Effie's or Mozu's daughter, and Wyvern Lord as Camilla's), and she always had great Strength, Speed and Resistance, but relatively low Defence and HP. Her Paralogue gives your a Shining Bow, a Partner Seal and 3,000 G. I have never bothered to use Kanna, but his Paralogue is basically free Experience. Like when you need some kills to earn one or two levels, or get some skills, before facing a tougher/ tricker chapter, like Ch 17, 19 or 21.

The brave and the bold, man. Playing on Lunatic as your first Conquest experience is commendable. It took me about half a year before trying a serious campaign on Lunatic, and I only played it until Ch 16-18 (I realised that I had more fun on Hard and, well, I may not be that good for Lunatic.) About Corrin +Mag -Luck, which is the build I choose the most, when are you planning to class-change? I my experience (on Hard), by Ch 15 Nohr Noble Corrin (L19/1) has a bit over 20 Mag, by Ch 20 she has around 25 Mag; and by Ch 24, around 30 Mag (these are my usual statistics; I did not check the table of averages.) Thus, with a higher magic growth, a forged Thunder hits as hard or harder than the Levin Sword and lets you trigger Dragon Fang and critical hits. I am not saying that Corrin should be a Norh Noble, but since she is already +Mag and Cavalier has a lower magic growth, if you want a mounted class, she might as well be a Dark Night and use tomes (and still access the Levin Sword, but it might be redundant.) Elbow Room and Shelter are great, though. I prefer Nohr Noble because of the high Speed and Magic (both around or above 30 by the late chapters), and the access to the Dragon Stone bonuses when needed to hold a position. Yet, I also marry Corrin to Odin and recruit Ophelia for a crazy magic trio (quartet if you count Elise later on), and other users might prefer fewer magic units. Good luck, mate. I will be following your campaign.

Once I finish the campaign, I can write down the turn counts of some chapters if you want. From memory... Ch 11 was done in more turns than necessary because my party was still short and those Experience points were handy. (I sent everyone to the left, then came back down right after the Samurai Room.) Ch 12 was completed in 12-13 turns, defeating Ryoma and getting both chests. Sophie's and Kanna's Paralogues were done in 6-7 turns (reinforcements never appeared) before Ch 13. I do not think that Ch 13 or Ophelia's and Nina's Paralogues can be done way quicker than how I did with my party. But I did not pay attention. Ch 14 can be done pretty quickly with a flier, which I did not have. Ch 16 gave me 7,000 G. I think. Ch 17 was done in more turns than necessary because I started from the lower right, got both chests and saved Saizo. Having benched Xander and Camilla, I needed to watch the health of my front liners. Ch 18 in 10-12 turns with the right chest (no final reinforcements.) I did not pay attention to Ch 19, it probably took me twenty turns. I used all ten units and it could not be cheated with a lancer tank (Xander and Camilla had been benched, Effie was a Sniper.) Ch 20 was done in more turns than necessary because Fuga was killed by turn 6-7 but I wanted the chests on the left. Ch 21 in 7 turns with all my ten units and killing the boss. Ch 22 was done in more turns than necessary because Yukimura was killed around turn 8, but I wanted the Experience points. Ch 23 was done in more turns than necessary because none of my units/pairs could handle Rally Man's party or face the roof without retreating once to recover. All three 'bosses' were taken down in one phase. None of my friends play this game and thus I do not know how slow that is. But doing a low turn campaign was never in my mind.

Fair points, mate. Mages cannot kill Niles on Ch 8, so, it is not dangerous for him if he misses. But it is rather funny that the one unit who can attack and take magical damage is the only one in your party who can miss a hit. Odin, Silas, Mozu and Corrin will always hit, and Effie will kill the mages in one hit, only Niles has misses on that map. As always, RNG makes the experiences unique. About babysitting Mozu, I wrote on an earlier post how to level her up to L8-9 in her own chapter. Thus, she is always at the same level (or above) as Niles at the start of Ch 8. That is why I can compare them every time and exchange their inventory. ------ In Chapter 10, only Camilla (or an archer) can kill the Sky Knights in one round, and even she misses from time to time. And while those pesky fliers cannot even kill Azura, they are the only enemies that can 'win' that map, and I prefer to kill them as soon as possible. Falcon Knights are more difficult because the only units who can kill them in one round are someone with a Beast Killer or Kaze with a Hunter's Knife (or an archer). And if they are equipped with a Bolt Naginata or are paired, none of my physical units would sustain the next phase. In my experience, Ch 20, 22, 24 and the right side of 25 can be very tricky without bows. ------ Since I only use 10-12 units, buying a Short Bow is not a big deal. It is used sporadically, when I need one more units to hold their position or kill an enemy which can only be hit at close range because of the positioning. In particular, I gave Sniper Mozu a Short Bow for Ch 19 this time because I am only using ten units and no pre-promotes on this campaign, and she had to attack at close range. I use the star formation in most of this map, and the pairs were H Silas + MN Kaze // Nhr Corrin + Src Ophelia // Pal Sophie + Src Odin // Snp Mozu + Snp Effie // and in the centre were St Elise + Azura. There were no other units available because I focus on ten units and ignore the rest (as in most of them have zero Exp.) So, I had to make it work with those ten. It went better than I expected, actually. ------ This is the first time that I tried Sniper Mozu and Sniper Effie. I had not used Effie lately, and I thought that, in my gameplay, Sniper Effie would be more useful than GK or General. So far, so good. I am about to start Ch 24. Bow users suit my gameplay. Like why eight out of ten of my units are on foot, while other user might have chosen mounted classes; or why I chose Src Odin, Src Ophelia and +Mag Corrin. In all honestly, Sniper Mozu and Sniper Effie have been way more useful than WL Camilla and WL Nina (her daughter) were on my last campaign. I get your points. And I guess that I should try a campaign without bow users and learn more strategies.

Just remember that an increase of 10 percentage points represents a different percentage increase in what is being measured. Say, going from 50 % to 60 % is a 10 points increase, but it is actually a 20 % difference (60/50 = 1.2), and going from 30 % to 40 % represents a 33 % increase. Since we were talking about Sophie as Mozu's daughter: If one ignores Magic and Luck and focuses on the other six statistics, she has 148 points as a L20/10 Paladin; with Aptitude, 159.4 points at the same level. Thus by Level 20/10, on average, Aptitude has already granted Paladin Sophie two extra Perfect Level-Ups on her relevant statistics. (The difference is even bigger if one adds Magic and Luck or if one makes the comparison at L20/15, but you get the idea.)

I play on Hard. I have played until Ch 16 or 18 on Lunatic, but realised that I was not having as much fun. And I may simply not be that good. For me, 'early males' are Silas and Odin, that is it. I never use Jakob, barely use Arthur and when I use Niles, it is usually just for capture. Now you see why I have fewer problems than you do with Experience spread early on. Lately, I have been using around 12 units for the entire game, with no 'backpacks' (all units are around the same level and all promote at L 19.) And in my current campaign I use 10 units, with no pre-promotes and no 'backpacks.' I focus on my main units and ignore the rest. ------ Capture is invaluable, but if you compare Niles and Mozu purely as a bow units and what they bring into the table, Mozu will always perform better. She has way more Strength, Skill and Defence at any given level, and both will have the same Speed around promotion. The only scenario where Niles has an edge is surviving against magic attacks. And I stress 'surviving'. Given his low skill, Niles will often fail to hit the caster because of the weapon triangle disadvantage. Chapter 8 is a good example: Even if archer Mozu and Niles exchanges weapons, Niles has many troubles hitting the mages with a Bronze Bow, while Mozu will never miss (but would be killed by any two magic attacks.) Give Mozu a Short Bow, buff her, pair her up, and let her face Kitsunes (not all of them, obviously, I use a star formation). She will survive and kill or severely wound most of them. Niles cannot even dream about it. I just played that map yesterday, and her pair up was not General Benny or such, but Sniper Effie, who does not even provide Defence bonuses. The Kitsunes that faced her per turn were simply not able to kill her, and would not have killed her even if all of their hits would have landed, there was no luck in any of those phases. To spread the Experience, I used Sniper Mozu on one turn and changed to Sniper Effie to do exactly the same task on the next one. Your gameplay may not need bow users, just like I do not really care about mounted units, and I can perfectly understand that. But saying that Niles outperforms Mozu in those scenarios where a bow user would be helpful has no basis. If you only use bows against Hoshidian fliers, Kaze with a Hunter's Knife is better than Niles. But if you must land strong physical ranged attacks against, say, a Spear Master, Paladin, Kitsune, Ninja Master or Oni Chieftain, Mozu will always be the better choice. Any unit with her statistics would be, just like Archer Silas and Archer Effie perform better in those situations than Niles does. ------ It has been a while since I tried Wyvern Elise. As a Troubadour, I have no problems to level her up up to Level 15 or so before Chapter 12, which is the turning point in my campaigns. After this chapter, I have access to the two or three children that I will use, and Elise can then get to L 17 or 18 in those missions and promote into a Strategist. Granted, since her Experience points come from staves and Wyvern Elise cannot use them, one must rethink the Experience spread. I have to try Wyvern Elise once again.

I concur. But one will always face this dilemma in Conquest. You may argue that Jakob is a more useful unit than Mozu or Odin, but if one chooses the latter, the dilemma is non-existent. The question now is how to make the most of this choice. Archer Mozu recruited right after Chapter 7 gains seven or eight levels in her own chapter, and suddenly has better statistics than any other unit in the party. Relevant, useful statistics, for she will not have 20 points of Luck or such. You only need Silas with a Vulnerary (the Health Tonic from Chapter 5 is a plus.) And this can always be achieved, it is a reproducible puzzle, not a circumstantial statement on my part. It an easy strategy. A video would be nicer, but I posted it a year go: https://serenesforest.net/forums/index.php?/topic/73045-mozu-conquest-lunatic/&tab=comments#comment-4917042 Again, you may not want to invest that Heart Seal and a Bronze Bow on her. I am just saying that once the choice is taken, Archer Mozu will deliver. There is no way to screw her and, in my opinion, she is always useful.

Archer Mozu is stronger, sturdier and defter than Niles. Then again, they have different uses. Sniper Effie is ridiculously overpowered. As in 40+ double hits to her targets by Ch 20. Hand her an Iron Bow +2. Nina with a bow has an edge because of her extremely high Resistance and enough Speed to double 99 % of her targets. She might not hit as hard, but has enough Strength and mobility to finish off any wounded enemy. Bow users are extremely useful (if not a necessity) in Chapter 10, they take care of the Archer and Pegasus Rooms in Ch 11, of Saizo & Tits and crew in Ch 12, of Scarface & Co. in Ch 13 (and even of the mages, in the case of Nina), of all fliers and archers in Ch 14, of any unit during player phase in Ch 17 (including Kotaro), of the Kitsune during player phase in Ch 19 (and even on enemy phase if buffed), of all fliers and of any wounded enemy on player phase in Ch 20... I could go on. Nina, Sophie and Ophelia can be available before Chapter 13 in Conquest. No DLC and no online battles. I do it every time. If one pairs up Effie with Niles, Nina is becomes really strong, and has the Speed, Resistance and mobility to accompany it. Their interaction would go like this: Chapter 8: Support C // Invasion 1: C+ // Ch 9: B // Ch 10: B+ // Ch 11: A // Ch 12: A+. One still needs one more interaction, but if Mozu is recruited right after Chapter 7 or if Corrin interacts with her suitor at least once during all these chapters, there will be one other child available before Chapter 13 (say, Mozu & Silas or Corrin & Odin), which opens the window for Nina. (And I do not even use Jakob, who ends all campaigns at Level 7 or so. He would 'unlock' one or two children even earlier.) Since Nina cannot gain levels during her recruitment chapter, I let her kill all the mages on the left side of Chapter 13 (escorted by Effie or Kaze and Elise) and as many Wyvern Riders as possible. I know that the skill pool is reduced if one recruits the children early, but I value the units themselves above all. For example, I prefer having Ophelia right after Ch 12 and 'enjoy' her for more missions, than recruiting an 'optimised' version of her by Ch 20, with Level 25 skills from her parents. If I could, I would use the desired children by Chapter 8 at trainee levels, just to enjoy them longer and learn how to use them in more situations.

How big is your main party? Depending on the main party, we could provide better tips. In my experience, Conquest does not offer enough Experience Points for so many characters. Or will most of them be "backpacks"? Lately I have only been using 10-12 units for the entire game (no grinding, no "backpacks".) Velouria with Camilla as her mother is a monster, specially as a Hero. Unkillable even on the longest (physical) enemy phase. On my current campaign, using only ten units, no DLC, no pre-promotes and no "backpacks", Hero Silas and Paladin Sophie (Mozu's daughter) are my 'physical tanks', and so far (Chapter 22) I have not used Dragon Shields on them. Aptitude does wonders on Sophie. I do not know how many times I have played Conquest, let us say twenty times; in half of them, I have paired up Silas and Mozu, and Sophie has always been a great unit, mostly because of Aptitude. Go Great Knight if the party needs more defence, Hero for critical hits and long enemy phases, or Paladin for mobility. Master of Arms is a Hero with worse skills, but it lets her keep lances, which may be a determining factor. If you like this family... · Make Silas an Archer right after S-Support for two levels, then Mercenary > Hero, with Elbow Room, Quick Draw, Good Fortune, Strong Riposte and Sol. Later, Axe Breaker is a nice bonus. Mercenary Silas has up to +7 on attack on Player Phase, and +6 on Enemy Phase. Give him the Goddess Icons that no one else needs and Good Fortune will trigger on every turn. And Hero Silas has more than enough Skill to trigger Sol and land critical hits very often. · Elbow Room is already there, so let Sophie inherit Aptitude and Quick Draw; then choose among Defender or Luna, or Strong Riposte, Good Fortune and Sol, or any combination of them. Level 15 skills are only available for a couple of chapters, but Armoured Blow and Aegis are a always plus. · Sniper Mozu is a beast no matter what, and an MVP nominee on every campaign. You could give her a Seraph Robe just in case. She never misses a hit, takes care of Kotaro and Fuga in one turn, kills the Kitsune or any Ninja in one phase, lands critical hits like crazy... There surely is a contest between this family and Odin & Ophelia for the Top Critical Hitters.

Thank you all for your replies. I started playing it yesterday and I am a couple of chapters in. I am still trying to figure out the Dual Support system, but so far, so good. There are a couple of characters which I am liking more than others, but I am still sharing Experience points among the whole party (except Frederick, who will be used once he stops getting zero damage and killing everything in one hit.) Yeah, this is exactly what I was afraid of; that the game would 'break itself' no matter what. Anyway, as you say, I should take it for what it is. Thank you both for your input. If I got you right, and you believe that Awakening is easily abusable but one still needs to do it consciously, then I think that I will be able to 'restrain' myself for doing so and have a more balanced gameplay.

Purchasing my first 3DS console in 2017 gave me the advantage of having information about the whole console's library; and during the past year, I read countless critical comments about Fates. While I agree with most of them, that has not stopped me from enjoying Conquest and playing it many hours a week, almost every week. I started playing Echoes and the Fire Emblem GBA and DS games, but I always came back to Conquest. I love its gameplay. I skipped Awakening on purpose. I read that it had poor map design, that it was unbalanced, easily exploitable, and either very easy or completely unfair. That and the lack of feet. Well, given that numerous criticisms of Awakening revolve around its gameplay, and that Conquest is mostly praised because of its, I may actually not enjoy Awakening after playing Conquest for so long. Anyway, I decided to give it a go and got Awakening earlier this week. So, what are your recommendations to make the most of Awakening's gameplay? I do not want to make it more difficult for the sake of it, say by playing it on Lunatic or using only a couple low-level weak characters, but to have a more 'balanced' experience. I was planning to play it on Hard, with no grinding and only one class promotion per character, to prevent infinite level-ups and engineered skill sets. In the same vein, I guess that I should be cautious about Galeforce and Nosferatu. I would use an unmarried female Daraen, and Owain is the only child that I care about in this run; mostly because of what I have read about Linfan and the children being game breakers. Also, since 'low-manning' Awakening seems to be more abusable than challenging, does using a bigger party improve the balance? (In Conquest, for example, I use twelve-fourteen characters.)

On three recent, separate campaigns, I tried Camilla as a · whole-game Malig Knight, · Malig Knight until Chapter 21 (around Level 6) then Hero (through Keaton), · Malig Knight until Level 5 then Wyvern Lord. Because of my gameplay --and leaving Chapter 10 aside, the only chapter where I actually use a flyer is Chapter 21 (to transport the mage who will kill the Stoneborn); on every other chapter, I am fine with no flyers (and only one or two mounted attackers.) In my case, Camilla starts gaining levels around Chapter 14 if I want to 'unlock' Velouria as soon as possible, or around Chapter 16 otherwise; she is seldom used before (playing the role of a 'panic button.') As a Wyvern Lord, Camilla is sturdier and defter than as Malig Knight. And Rally Defence in addition to her aura strengthens her support role. Now, while Camilla's Resistance growth as Wyvern Lord is still high for a physical unit, giving up Magic is her biggest concession. Yes, there are better magic users in the party, but being able to target Resistance gives Camilla an important edge over other physical units. Magic provides her with a 1-2 range attack that can double, and it may be the key to defeat an enemy with powerful counter attacks (like Generals). Oh!, and the Bolt Axe is overpowered. As a Malig Knight, Camilla would still have the same Defence as other Heroes or Paladins in the party, and would basically be as sturdy as any non-Knight or Xander can be. She would still be among the strongest units in the party and have way higher Resistance than they do. In my opinion, and gameplay, I do not think that re-classing Camilla into Wyvern Lord is such an improvement. It is a good option, but she might as well be a a Hero (or a Berserker, depending on the party.)

I find this discussion really interesting, and have read various clever points for each side. Regarding Nohr being ‘poor’, does it not have the greatest mines? The diverse ore from those mines would not only be highly valuable in trading but also extremely useful for amour and weapons. Granted, one cannot eat rubies or sapphires, but ore can be traded for food and goods (to the Hoshidian Merchants.) The way I see it, Nohr is experiencing a succession of long, terrible winters and worse harvests when the story begins. (I have never considered that there is a literal eternal night in Nohr, as some supports suggest.) And no matter how powerful the House of Garon was, harsh nature will certainly accentuate the struggles within a realm. In this scenario, starting a conquest campaign may be the best solution for an already bellicose people like Nohr: It strengthens the identity of the realm, activates chores on every level of the society and, most importantly, demonstrates power. Blame the ‘greedy Hoshidian Merchants’ for the supplies shortage and there is a foe to defeat. War is a political instrument. I think that Nohr would win the war. They need to.

Oh!, I see; most of you focus on Barney's womaniser trait, rather than on his exaggerated theatrics. Since Odin does not chase a girl, ever, I thought that it was clear what I was referring to their funny mannerisms. I started this thread after watching Owain and Navarre's support conversations in FE: Warriors. Owain's shouting 'Nailed it!' is Neil Patrick Harris as Barney. Anyway... In most of his supports, Odin has one foot on this world and the other one on this epic alternate reality of his. And Barney is just as delusional, whether or not he is talking about women. True Story. Both would take ridiculous lengths to get recognition. Challenge accepted! And there are countless simple, odd things that are only special through their eyes. Legendary! Also, Owain is said to be the most likely to shout 'Level up!' Suit up! In any case, analysing 'How I Met Your Mother' was not my intention. (It is a funny series, though; at least the first seasons.)