Barren

I think it’s safe to say that I’m going to approach this pretty much the same way everyone else is. The Jaegan of this game Vander, certainly serves a crucial role in the early game of Maddening especially for the first 4 chapters where his starting high HP stat comes into play quite nicely. This allows him to effectively bait in enemies for you without needing immediate healing afterwards provided that the damage he took to begin with isn’t all that high. He starts off as a axe variation of Paladin and will mostly like stay that way for the rest of your play through. It’s unlikely you’ll want to use him beyond chapter 6 because by the time you get to the Brodia arc of this story, his ability to tank a few hits start to ware off as enemies will hit harder from here on then. And you might even be even using Boucheron at that point assuming you’ve been funneling exp into him as a axe user, or even Anna for that matter. His persona ability allows himself and Alear to have a crit + 5 when they are adjacent. Of course that’s nice for Alear, but for Vander it might end up him kill stealing when you didn’t want him to thus making it into wasted exp. If one really wishes to use him, you could turn him into a Hero with B rank in axes and have him use Dual Assist, Warrior if you like chain attack spamming with a long bow, or a Royal Knight with staff utility he can achieve thanks to Sigurd and Micaiah respectively. I’d give him a 6/10. His early game will always be appreciated but like nearly every Jaegan he will start falling off by chapter 7 or so and he’ll just end up as a bench warmer. It’s too bad he couldn’t be like Seth or Titantia. It’s almost like he’s Frederick-lite but on a much smaller scale.

Okay fair enough. I was just worried that I may have missed out on rewards that would have been useful during the campaign. I didn’t want to start over again if I could help it.

I have a quick question: I accidentally picked up blue cheese on alm’s route act 1 and didn’t deliver the ram wine on celica’s route act 2. Act 3 began and the route is blocked. Am I missing out on some of these side quests that I have to apparently now wait til much later to access or are they now completely locked out? I’m trying to achievement hunt in this game.

So we start off this discussion with Pepsi-Man...I mean Toothpaste-chan...I mean (okay I'll stop) Alear! Ill be basing my rating not only off of these guidelines but also a couple of other factors I like to throw in like availability and short/mid/long term potential as a unit. I would also like to note that not everything in this game is all about growths and raw stats but also what can they bring to the table as a overall package. Also for Alear I'll use "their" for example because Alear can be male or female just so we're clear. I'm also going to assume fixed growths maddening. So Alear has perfect availability which is great considering that Alear is the protagonist here. Out of the game their combat is fine even for early game maddening's standards. Divinely Aspiring giving adjacent allies +3 true damage is pretty big considering that some units might miss out on kill thresholds. Alear also supports every unit in the game so they are a number of party comps that the player can use very effectively along with other support cores that they like to use i.e Chloe, Citrinne and Merrin who all share supports among each other. The weapon you get by the end of chapter 2 Liberation, is a slightly stronger Iron Sword with a perk. This allows you to recharge your engage meter at a faster rate if you used this weapon to secure a killing blow on the enemy. It's good to have early on and is one of the cheapest options to upgrade and forge. But come later on you may find yourself wanting better weapons to use as it pales in comparison to a forged Silver Sword or Killing Edge or even effective weaponry like Armor Slayers and Wyrm Slayers. Engravings are also a factor in improving weapons as well some of which like Marth, Sigurd and even Leif are mostly beneficial. Should also mention that if you download the Fire Emblem Heroes bonus items, one of which you’ll get is the Folkvangr Sword which is even a better weapon for Alear and deals extra damage when under a certain amount of HP at the start of combat. Alear can also use Alfonse’s S rank ring and which grants Spur Attack. That allows adjacent allies +2 attack. Combine that with Divine Aspiring grants adjacent allies +5 damage. Now that’s spicy. Another point in Alear's favor is having Emblem Marth auto equipped a couple of turns in during chapter 1 and the buffs Marth offers early on pushes Alear's combat potential to greater heights. Having the ability to strike 3 times with a normal attack (assuming you have weapon triangle advantage) along with Break Defense on atop of having other abilities synced like Perceptive and Divine Speed makes this a safe player phase option for Alear. Mercurius also grants Alear extra EXP when killing an enemy, making it easier to level up. Not to mention that in this game, emblems can provide certain stat buffs and engage attacks that some might be able to take advantage of more than others, but Alear is among the best to do so thanks to their Dragon type class Dragon Child then later after master seal promotion Divine Dragon. Divine Dragon offers an A rank in swords and B rank in Artes. Artes is a weird choice for Alear considering that this class still lacks 1-2 range not counting Levin Sword, but you could in theory give Alear Shielding Artes if you like that +5 def for tanking purposes. Artes can also break enemy Mages, Archers and Thieves but it's low might may let you down at certain points. Obviously going over every capable emblem would be redundant and just take way too long in general because there are so many options. But I'll go over some of the more popular picks for Alear emblem wise in another paragraph. Alear is force deployed so you would have to use them and honestly not as much of a burden as one might think. Nearly every classes move stat got nerfed with no one having more than 6 move (not counting the boots). So early game combat Alear can hold their own with Vander being able to soften up enemies for you as a Jaegan would (more on him next time). By the end chapter 7 when you start getting master seals it becomes a dilemma on who gets it first. Alear might be worth considering promoting at least either first or second because of the extra stat boosts the Divine Dragon including build. For me I waited until Alear was at least level 11 since in fixed growths Alear can increase their build from 4 to 5 allowing them to wield heavier weapons without being weighed down as much including the +3 build Alear gets upon promoting, which means that Alear can now wield a non-forged Steel Sword without being weighed down. You can even forge a Steel Sword to decrease it's weight even before promotion if you desire. Build maybe a stat that some people might gloss over but I like to make sure that I'm not being weighed down too much or can I find a way to increase someone's build so they can hit harder without much of a speed penalty. By mid/late game assuming no second sealing Alear starts to dwindle a bit as a combat unit considering that some of your other units would have better move (fliers in most cases) as well as better 1-2 range options. Alear could wield a Levin Sword but their magic stat isn't the highest. You can however have Alear inherit Sword Power from Emblem Roy before you begin chapter 10 because if you don't, By end game when you get Wille Glanz right before you face the final boss, it would not matter as much because you get to use this pretty strong 1-2 range sword for 1 chapter. Quick tangent but this pisses me off because they do this in about every fire emblem game and it's such a trope that I feel like IS loves to keep using as a cruel joke to the player. Okay slightly exaggerated but seriously, they could have at least let you have access to this sword a couple or so chapters sooner. But it is what it is. As far as Alear's performance in the mid game, that can be adjusted to a now more support focused role with Emblem Lucina, Byleth and Corrin. Lucina for Bonded Shield and being a dragon type class, increases the chances of blocking an attack to 90%. You could use the Parthia while engaged giving you bow access against fliers. Byleth for a Omni Rally Goddess Dance. You also get Aymr for dragon enemies though it is a smash weapon so you'll go second. Corrin for summoning which ever Dragon Vein you need to maintain control like Fire Vein or Fog Vein. Alear can do a number of roles quite well despite having balanced stats that are not exactly specialized. Though considering fixed mode Alear tends to have more speed with equal strength and defense. When I played this game, I played it on hard for the first time and went with Divine Dragon and then later on second sealed to Wyvern Knight with lances as a secondary weapon. Alear makes a very good combat efficient unit as a Wyvern. Alear can also go Griffon with staff utility, Hero if you like Brave Assist or Paladin if you like having 6 move with a arrow weakness. I gave Alear Canter from Sigurd's emblem since being able to move 2 more tiles after combat increases the overall flexibility for Alear (Canter does it for everyone but in Alear's case it allows more people to take advantage of Divinely Aspiring). Then eventually after the well come out and I had enough SP, I gave her Hold Out from Roy so it can serve as a line of defense to keep Alear alive from otherwise fatal blows. That with Marth as a emblem ring and their bind maxed out also can activate Unyielding for emergency HP regeneration to keep Hold Out online. Obviously this is a lot of SP to spend especially when you factor in SP books you could get from the well and post game when you grind for more books at the relay trials, but if achieved you make a pretty damn powerful unit. In between chapters Alear can also participate in the somminel activities including working out which pending on your choice can give Alear a boost in HP, strength or dex for the next chapter. This I recommend on maddening mode so you can give Alear whatever kind of boost you feel you need. Cooking also is helpful as you can potentially buff yourself and other allies' stats, just be careful to not get an E rank or F rank meal as they will decrease your stats. Funnily enough they count as achievements you can get for bond fragments. Edit: I can’t believe I forgot about this important detail for the end game. But after chapter 22 you complete a paralogue that gives you the pact ring which pending on who you give it to can make use of the S rank support buffs and Engage+ which is a really strong attack that even puts a huge dent to even the tougher enemies. So overall, I'd honestly give Alear 9/10 rating because to summarize my thoughts: Alear is a good combat unit that later evolves to a proficient support unit with still good enough offense and utility to where you still find a number of things for Alear to contribute in battle. Their mid game combat to me feels like more of a adjustment period rather than Alear falling off because Alear doesn't really fall off at all. It's just that Divine Dragon as a class weapons wise doesn't have the most favorable combo for me. But it still keeps the Dragon Emblem bonuses that will always come in handy. (If anyone feels that my analysis/opinion is too long I'll make them shorter in the future)

Awesome. I’ll mostly comment on hard and some of the early game maddening with fixed growths in mind but I’ll contribute to the discussion as best as I can.

I do like the bit where Panette discovers Lucina’s fear of bugs. It gives a bit more flavor to the supports that are otherwise mostly the same. “I’m glad to have you on my side.” “Yes I feel the same, let’s bring peace to this world together.”

Sorry for the double post since I was initially waiting for other’s responses on master seal recommendations. But I did already go ahead and promote Alear to Divine Dragon, Chloe to Wyvern Knight, and Anna to Warrior. I’m probably going to do the Veronica paralogue next (haven’t done everyone else’s yet) and then create a separate save file for the Xenologue characters. That said, I’m thinking of promoting Framme next because her as a Martial Master will increase her build from 3 to 6 and equip her with a Shielding Art with Micaiah’s engraving on it which adds 40 avoid. I already gave her avoid +10 from Marth so she should be rocking +5 defense and 50 avoid. I’m definitely saving the other master seals for Ivy, Hortensia, and maybe Alcryst pending on how many more I can accumulate throughout the play through.

That I can agree too. We have our opinions and have valid reasons why we feel that way. Plus we don’t need to be at each other’s throats too just because of a disagreement.

I think it’s okay to include fixed mode as you would get to see how a unit typically performs whereas random one could rig for a RNG blessed unit based on their personal bias. Plus it makes more fair side by side comparisons between two units that function similarly i.e a level 10 Lapis and a level 10 Chloe. Also we should include cooking because some units could really benefit from the bonuses and they aren’t all that bad either. Alear may have an edge though because you can choose HP, strength or dex to increase for the next battle depending on which work out session you choose to do. I would also add that I think doing the sominel activities is fair game because on maddening mode (at least as far as I’m aware) there are no skirmishes for you to farm more bond fragments and the amount you get can do quite a bit for you. So limiting how you get bond fragments further can basically have a negative impact no matter how small on how we rate units overall.

Ahh very nice. I’ll have to give it a try at some point.

Is this maddening or hard/normal mode you were able to do this?

While it is generally easier to avoid the death knight when he shows up, I’ve always managed to beat him in a number of ways. This would require you picking up a Rapier via Abyss’s shrine where you offer reown points but it is relatively cheap and effective. One example I can offer is in chapter 4, have Byleth be in position to lure the Death Knight. Myrmidon is recommended here so you wouldn’t be slow. The Death Knight does have a 1/4 chance to crit so it isn’t full proof but odds are you won’t die in one hit and more likely than not he won’t be able to double you. This is on maddening btw. From there you just use battalions to lock him down and then pass the Rapier to Yuri who should have Wind Sweep at the point for a free attack. Then if need be have someone with a steel/training lance finish him off with Knightkneeler pending on how much HP he has left.

Not that it’s a question but it turns out that if you’re a lance flier i.e Chloe, if you have developed a sword proficiency you can go to sword griffon knight via master seal. No second seal necessary.

So far I just completed Tiki's paralogue. It took me a number of tries but I managed to do it with only about 4 charges to spare. It was the reinforcements and admittedly some bad plays on my part that got me in trouble in the first place but then chain guarding Eite who thankfully got a speed point in one of her level ups to where she chip with a long bow without getting doubled by those phantom dragons. Tiki wasn't that bad if I'm being honest. Though it is because I'm facing her now with only 1 revival stone as opposed to if she had 2. Anyways, I have 1 master seal to my name so far and I'm about to tackle chapter 7 and I'm trying to figure out who should it go to. I am thinking Chloe most likely, but I am open to other ideas. Hopefully you guys can see the pics from down below but these are the units I've been training so far. And yes I was using the bond ring exploit to get the S rank rings with the abilities that I wanted. I even nabbed a couple of extra S rank rings along the way. As far as Clanne, Alfred or Boucheron goes, I could use them for another maddening run and see how well they do. I know Mekkah recently talked about Alfred and Clanne and he had someone along side him talk about their good qualities that people tend to gloss over due to their rather bad first impression. Alfred's especially with his sub par base stats starting out.

How is she as a sage for you?

I have heard that she can make for an interesting sage. Also the fact that she starts out with Micaiah gives her a boost in SP assuming that you are using her regularly. Her magic growth would jump from 25% to 55% which is pretty nice.

Definitely. I did beat chapter 5 a while ago. I haven’t gotten further because work has been taking up out a lot of my time. But ai do certainly plan on trucking through. I may even provide pics of their stats and what not so far. I am playing with fixed growths yes. And I’ll keep Zelkov and Goldmary in mind as I go on.

I am using DLC in this case. Is enchanter Qi Adept? If so then I think that this is going to shoot her utility to the top. Or at least higher up than normal. Veyle and Soren do have good synergy since it adds a crit chance when using tomes. I might go for it.

I remember the hand axe boss hitting really hard. You would have to feed Etie that boss kill in order to get her going.

Him being able to take more than one hit is what’s in it for me personally. To be fair, archers shouldn’t get hit at all but if I can’t avoid it at least Alcryst can take at least one at full hp.

I’ve had Alcryst trigger Luna like crazy for me when I was playing this on hard mode. Though I will give Etie a shot and see how she does. She only got 1 HP on her first level up so not exactly a great start for her. Plus Alcryst has a better passive than Etie so that is in his favor. I have heard cases that Thieves struggle in the late game. Still, It’s to see at least she can contribute early game. I might replace her later on for a better unit down the line. That’s good to note. I’ll have to remember to not spread exp too thinly as I go forward.

Hi, after putting this game off after I beat it on hard classic (the way they handled acquiring the xenologue characters and the xenologue itself really turned me off), I'm going to go for a maddening run. I'm thinking of two separate runs. One with the Xenologue characters and one without them. Fixed growths is going to be interesting. Here is what I am thinking for a team: Alear (Divine Dragon). May turn her into a Griffon Knight or Wyvern Knight for a bit pending on my team comp. Framme (Martial Master). I've been hearing good things about her with Lucina's Bonded Shield. Plus she supports a lot of good units like Chloe and Kagetsu. Chloe (Griffon/Wyvern Knight). She's really good. I might even try Mage Knight since Chaos Style helps her double enemies. Yunaka (Thief). Figured her higher res could make a difference. Though Zelkov hits harder. Alycrst (Tireur D'Elite) His high dex growth should pay off by the end. Anna (Warrior) Despite people saying that Sage or Mage Knight are natural fits (and yes they are), I kind of like the low investment build of Radiant Bow/Hurricane Axe Anna. Lapis (Hero/Wyvern Knight) She could be a low investment Hero as a chain attack bot with Dual Assist+. I could also go for Citrinne as a Dire Thunder bot for a bit Ivy (Lindwurm) She is quite good despite her shortcomings which can be pathed up easily. Could do either Draconic Hex Thoron poke for support or a typical speedtaker sweeping set. Kagetsu (Hero/Wyvern Knight) He's great. Very good bases even for a Swordmaster. I understand that Swordmaster is underwhelming though I don't think Run Through is that bad. But I can agree that Swordmaster is not his best option. Pandreo (Sage/Mage Knight) He's another really solid mage. Party Animal is a cool ability. Merrin (Wolf Knight/Wyvern Knight) I like the idea of a mounted dagger unit that can poison with dual assist. Could give her Erika or Corrin for piercing/debuff support. Pannette (Warrior) I love this woman so much! She's so great. A good user of Vantage + Wrath. Hortensia (Slepnir Rider) Probably the best healer in the game. Enough said honestly. Seadall (Dancer) Self Explanatory Now this is just a WIP for me as I could easily replace one of them with Goldmary, Mauvier, or even Velye. I know that Etie and Fogado are also worth mentioning but that's only if youre willing to invest into them. Please any tips or recommendations would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.

I’d imagine that Alfred with lifesphere would make sense because he’s a work out nut and wants to get a second wind. Plus when you look at his character lore, he did have health issues growing up.

I wonder if there was some early development of the game they forgot to patch out?

That is a nice attention to detail since Framme wears some red and Clanne wears some green. Most would have associated the Cain and Abel archetype as duo Cavaliers. Or in the case of Birthright: Kaze and Saizo the twin ninja brothers since Kaze has green hair and Saizo has red hair.