Dr. Silent

If that's the case, we could also say that Titania and Oscar aren't much good... Titania's base Spd is poor for her level. She probably won't cap it before promotion. Unless you kill enemies with her frequently early on to level her up, as opposed to using the early chapters to train up other units, then you'll be surprised at how little she double-attacks mid-Part 3. In if we're comparing to Kieran, her Spd cap is one point higher, and her HP and Defence are much worse (I find her too fragile to use on Hard mode). As for Oscar, I've already mentioned him. But if you have a problem with Kieran's bad Spd cap, then just remember that Oscar's Str and Spd caps are BOTH pretty damn bad. So yeah, he will stop doubling, and/or won't be strong enough to ORKO much (although that's pretty much Oscar's story in the entire game, so...). Most of the upcoming chapters are 'Paladin-hate'? 3-11? Nah. 3-E? Nope. Stick him in Tibarn's team...4-2? Not really. 4-5? Given that most of the enemies are going to be fought on the island you start out on...no. 4-E? Nope.

Calill's Magic growth is acceptable enough at 40% (or was 45%? I forgot). Not nearly as unreliable as Marcia's 30% Str. Yes Marcia turns out well enough if trained and if her Str growth was lucky, but ultimately she gets thrown into the "too much effort required" pile. If it's any consolation, so does Calill. Of all the Crimean buddies that join Ike's team in 3-11, Kieran is easily the best investment. He initially joins at a high level with good stats, has enough base Spd to double most enemies early on, and will cap HP, Str, Def, and Skill quickly enough so that his Spd will catch up quickly enough (RD mechanics - at least one stat must increase per level up). Let him solo 3-9 in its entirety (except the five enemies who spawn at the starting point...leave them to Geoffrey and Devdan) with Paragon equipped, boss abuse the boss if you feel you have to, and in 3-11 he'll be joining Ike's team at a similar level to most of Ike's crew (that you've been using) with the majority of his stats capped. All that for considerably less effort than training up any of the others. Replace Oscar with him pronto!

^The Marcia thing is irrelevant. Raising her up is risky due to her really poor Str growth (30%). If she gets Str screwed, you basically wasted your time and resources. If she didn't, then she's still not half as good as Jill/Haar. Not to mention she will have trouble killing things for quite some time in any difficulty not called Easy. Calill, on the other hand, has a wonderful time in 2-E if you play it defensively. She can easily gain 3+ levels, hopefully getting her stats good enough for 3-9 so she can be given Paragon to gain more levels. If you do this, chances are she'll join Ike's team at a similar level to Soren (who is always going to lag behind level-wise). Or you could just ignore both and solo 3-9 with Kieran.

RD Boyd has a poor base Speed and a really average Speed growth. Because it takes at least ten level ups for Boyd to cap anything more than HP, BExp won't help his Speed out a whole lot until he's almost at third tier. Boyd is a useful fill-in unit for the Greil Merc chapters in Part 3 and Part 4, but he ain't gonna turn out as good as Chuck Nolan. Soren has always swayed opinions. In PoR, he was great but outclassed by Calill simply because she could wield the heavy tomes without any AS penalties. In RD he's the best Archsage in the game, but due to mediocre stat caps (notably Speed) it isn't such a great class.

Jill is excellent in both games. Other good units from both games include Kieran, Titania, Ike, Soren, and Nephenee. Boyd is debatable...his Speed is very unreliable in RD. Calill is another...pretty good in both games but limited game time before 3-11. Tanith is pretty good in both games, but nothing special in either. Volke is quite useful in both games, but not as a combat unit in PoR so I don't know if he counts. Elincia is a possibility, but was only good as an ultra-mobile healer in PoR and is much improved in RD. Tibarn, Naesala and Giffca are all a bit obvious. Oscar was awesome in PoR but is ridiculously overrated in RD...really poor Str and Spd caps, bad Str growth, average bases and generally can't ORKO anything (except Bishops and friends). Marcia was also awesome in PoR but suffers from limited game time pre-3-11 AND has a really unreliable Str growth...not helped by the fact that Dragonlords are much better than Falconknights this time around and both Jill and Haar are much easier to train. In RD Hard mode, Soren, Boyd, Calill and Tanith struggle a bit too much to make the list, and Nephenee without PoR transfer data could be considered debatable.

Part 1 - Jill, Nolan, Volug. Part 2 - Haar. May want to consider training up Nephenee and Kieran. Part 3 - Ike, Haar, Shinon, Mia, Titania (if you're not training Kieran), possibly Boyd, Janaff, Ulki. Part 4 - Tibarn and Naesala. \m/

If Boyd dodges 2/6 attacks then he'll live. His HP should hit 40 pretty quickly. As for the Poleaxe, it's all dependent on how much you actually trained him. Boyd has very reliable Str growth, and if he's leveled enough it shouldn't reduce his AS and Dodge too much. I use the same strategy in any playthrough, any difficulty. Position Boyd in the chokepoint, the mounted knights with Javelins will attack first, then move one space to either side. The four close-range units attack, and Boyd hopefully one-shots all four of them with the Poleaxe. If he doesn't, it's possible to plan around it, as not a whole lot happens down there for a couple of turns. Either way, Rhys moves up, heals Boyd, Boyd moves one space forward (still preventing enemies passing him), one-shots one of the Javelin throwers. At the enemy phase on the next turn, chances are five of the mounted units will be dead and Boyd can safely chase down the remaining mounted unit (which will retreat further away from the castle after attacking on the second turn). I prefer to forge a Lance of some kind for Oscar in this chapter, as his Str won't quite be at Boyd's level and there are few sword-wielding enemies he can dig into. ...don't BExp Mist? Mist should be trained up by having her heal as much as possible, even if it's only for 1HP. If she's still unpromoted by Chapter 18, use a Master Seal. Never waste BExp on units that don't attack. A good way to buff her up in Chapter 17 is to let your units get poisoned wherever possible (and when it won't be much trouble) and have her on hand with a Restore staff.

- Chuck Nolan: Solo an entire map with Nolan. - Kill Jill: Solo an entire map with Jill. - This still feels too easy...: Bring Tibarn, Naesala, Jill and Haar into Endgame in Hard mode. - Are you insane??!?!: Don't let the Black Knight kill anything whatsoever in a single playthrough. - Dedication: Raise Meg, Fiona and Lyre to maximum level in a single playthrough. - Theatrical: Kill over 50 enemies with Bastian in a single playthrough. - Continuity error uncovered!: Promote Lucia to third tier in 2-2 - You know the prequel, now get on with the sequel!: Transfer every single support conversation from Path of Radiance into Radiant Dawn's archive. - Buffing it up!: Transfer Path of Radiance data to give at least one character a stat boost in Radiant Dawn.

Boyd shouldn't be getting killed going south unless you didn't level him up enough earlier on, but this is irrelevant anyway as you're past that point. Mordecai gets Smite yes but that doesn't justify training him up. Muarim will be joining at a higher level with better stats. Don't use Rolf, he's a waste of time. To avoid Jill and Marcia getting RNG screwed, use BExp resets. The chances of both of them getting RNG screwed are extremely slim, however. Don't use Generals at all. Their piss-poor mobility and crap Res will easily get the better of them late-game. Great tanks early on, but you kinda need Gatrie in those chapters anyway.

...or the Greil Mercs' outhouse has nothing to sit on.

You know who also start out (if not quite amazingly) strong? Shinon and Gatrie! Yeah, so let's put them in 2nd and 3rd positions because they start out strong. No, but seriously though, once Oscar hits around level 14, his stats will roughly be the same as Titania's, who most likely won't have grown more than two levels (thus most of her stats will have increased once). Considering Oscar is likely to hit level 14 somewhere between Chapter 8 and Chapter 10 (Difficult mode...he'll be even higher on Easy/Normal, but so will Titania) if you've been using him as one of your main units, Titania isn't hogging the spotlight for all that long. Then again, you called Boyd an average unit, so you're clearly thinking about speed playthroughs too much.

If this isn't solely based on speed playthroughs, then why is Titania still no. 1? She's too mediocre during the latter half of the game to be no. 1. No. 1 is Oscar. Get him to around level 10 - 12 and his stats will practically be the same as Titania's. Then he be just as useful. After that he's flying. Assume we're talking Difficult here. Easy/Normal can be beaten quite easily using just about anyone. Yep, so I'm thinking Difficult here. Titania is top for speed playthroughs. Otherwise no. Excuse odd typing. Currently high.

Not entirely sure if Micaiah would be included in the curse's hit list because she was originally from Begnion (not that she knew it).

Same here. The whole thing was pretty vague. I'm sure I read somewhere that until the release of RD it was generally accepted that Rajaion's death was changed following the Japanese release because his survival would be met with more positive reaction from Western fans than his death. Maybe it was true for a while, until IS realized that continuing the regional plot difference regarding Rajaion in RD would create too many plot holes and differences. Who knows.

Mordecai joins too underlevelled to be much use. Because Laguz Exp metres grow really slowly, he'll be at a lower level than Muarim when Muarim joins, and they're pretty much the same unit if they're both at the same level, so just use Muarim.

Her five possible supports are Gatrie, Mia, Zihark, Mordecai and Lucia, who all range from mediocre to terrible. So no. However, she's a backliner who doesn't really need supports. Personally, I prefer Calill. The majority of her stats won't be as good as Ilyana's, but she is guaranteed better Spd and can wield the Rexbolt effectively (although an Arms Scroll will probably be needed to raise her weapon level from A to S by the time you get it), plus she can support with a character who's actually good (Nephenee). She joins pre-promoted too, which is a bonus as you have one less early-game unit to train up. As for going through all that trouble to recruit her (although I have no idea why you sent Boyd, and not Ike, that way. Ike goes west with whatever, Boyd goes south with Poleaxe and Hammer to destroy the mounted units and the boss with little effort). You're right. You are going to get criticized for that. If it's a toss up between Marcia and Nephenee, you want Marcia. Her aerial ability is incredibly useful and she will always have superior stats to Tanith when both are at the same level (except for less important things like Magic and Luck), although Tanith is usable enough in her own right. Marcia is worth training over all of the other units you mentioned, except Kieran. It is possible to use Tanith over her (much more possible than it is to use Haar over Jill, by any means), but the difference is very noticeable. I agree that Tormod > Ilyana, and that Rolf isn't worth using, though.

lol That's just a gameplay mechanic, probably to save space. Greil, Rajaion, Pelleas, Zelgius, Sephiran etc. didn't just disappear when they died. Not to mention at several points in both games the dialogue mentions corpses (which probably aren't seen to keep a lower age rating).

Ike, Oscar, Boyd, Soren, Marcia, Jill, Kieran, Mist and Reyson. Nephenee, Calill, Ilyana (Randon growths only), Muarim, Astrid, Makalov, Tormod and possibly Stefan are all pretty good additions, too, although most are difficult to raise due to low joining levels. It's better not to take on too many units or your team, minus Ike of course, can only realistically get to level 14 or thereabouts by Endgame. Generals aren't recommended as, although they are great tanks in the first half of the game, fall well below par in the second half. Myrmidons are really poor because they can't deal enough damage (something they never really get over due to average Str growths, low Str caps and being locked onto Swords) and are too fragile. Stefan is an exception as he joins pre-promoted with good stats for his level, although there are better units to use. Never use more than two Sages, usually Soren + one who can wield heavier tomes. Volke is also essential for treasure looting and occasionally stealing an item or two, but don't bother training him up. For the most mobile team, Ike w. Knight Ring + Boots, Oscar, Kieran, Makalov, Astrid, Jill, Marcia, Mist and Reyson (and possibly Muarim if you feel there's room) is your best bet. Probably the best team in Random mode where you have more offensive freedom. Oh, and for Endgame, Giffca is by far the best Royal to call.

Abundance of Laguz enemies in Part 3 results in her losing her only useful combat prowess - Thani-bombing, and her promotions are over-delayed, so using her as a healer after Part 1 ends is the best option anyway. She can grow into a good attacking unit if trained, but so can all the others in the 'too much effort required' pile.

FE10 Sothe is average at best. Therefore, FE9 Sothe is shit.

Micaiah is effective as a backliner and for Thani-bombing, and is a good healer once promoted. If we're talking Hard mode, that's a lot more than Edward can say.

I think a sequel was planned, but more due to lack of disk space and whatnot rather than "let's see how well this one does and if it does well enough, we'll make a sequel!" As far as the story of both games go, it would have been better if PoR was longer and explained the majority of what would become the unsolved mysteries of the game (Black Knight/Zelgius, Bertram/Renning, Micaiah, amongst others...although the Dark God should have remained ambiguous). These PoR 'plot-holes' were clearly more thought out, and better, than the rest of RD's plot (which started out quite well with Parts 1 & 2 but after that regressed into over-the-top averageness that could best be described as a bit too silly and immature towards the end). Of course, if RD didn't exist, we'd be missing out on some kick-ass gameplay, so no complaints. It looked epic and memorable (and pretty nifty, too).

Nephenee. Unlike Aran, she won't be underlevelled throughout the whole game. She has plenty of time to gain Exp and her Str problems are really over-exaggerated. Plus, she can get PoR transfer bonuses. A much better choice than Aran who is always too slow to be an effective combat unit, especially in Hard mode. Mia. She has slightly better growths than Zihark, and if you use both in their respective parties, Mia will end up at a higher level by the end of Part 3. Neither is all that great before promotion. As for Edward, if we're talking Hard mode then he doesn't even come into contention, as he practically dies in one hit from pretty much anything and is almost impossible to raise. You can only really train up two first tier DB members in Part 1, who should always be Nolan and Jill.

Problem with Mordecai is his terrible Spd. Magical enemies utterly rape him. Good if you need to smack something hard, though. Better than Lethe and Lyre, anyway.

Ulki is by far the best of the four. Not as good as Tibarn/Naesala but certainly useful when it comes to adding numbers to your crew (helpful in Part 4). Boyd is good but needs some luck with his Spd growth or he will never double anything. Only train him if you don't want to bother with Nolan (who will always outclass Boyd when you campare them both at third tier). I usually use him in Part 3 though. Oscar suffers from mediocre Str (he will rarely two-shot much) and piss-poor stat caps in Str and Spd. Inferior to Titania and Kieran. Since Paladins are, this time around, completely outclassed by Dragonlords in pretty much every aspect and suffer from far more terrain disadvantages than in PoR, it's not really worth training up more than one and you're already using Titania. Like Boyd, I still use him in Part 3 though as he's good backup. Ranulf is forced throughout all the Part 3 chapters he's around for so it's worth using him when you have to. He's decent enough in Part 3.