Killer Poleax

Let's hope that the next FE has a group like the GM only better. They're my fave group in FE and I wanted to see more of them in RD. They should have explained what they've been doing for the last 3 years plus Mia joined at the end of PoR so it would've been nice to see what effect she had on the mercenaries. There wasn't enough BoydXMist and Rhys/Gatrie/Mia were only in one base conversation each. I guess the lack of character development in RD (this goes for all characters) makes me want them in another game cause I feel like there's so much we don't know about them. It would be nice to have new characters but I wouldn't mind seeing them again. If anything, they could travel with Ike to unknown lands and the game wouldn't have to be on Tellius. It'd be like the adventures of the Greil Mercenaries. Personally, I woudln't care how similar it is to past FE games as long as the gameplay kicks ass.

I think magic is the least important stat for non magic users. Besides recovering health from imbue there isn't any other reason for non magic users to have a magic stat cause there aren't any weapons that do magic damage and who actually uses spectre/reaper/daemon cards. I also think its pointless for magic users to have a strength stat. I guess it kind of makes sense that they need strength to carry their tomes without losing AS but why do they need strength while non magic users don't need magic?

Boyd's speed is actually not hard to fix if you know what to do. You just need to give him a speedwing (or two depending on how slow he is) and one or two level ups in speed. Then he can double most if not all the enemies in 3-2 and his speed will just take off from there. He does one round every enemy that he doubles (except generals). He's obviously not the fastest character but he's still not that slow. Maybe I just had good luck with him, I dunno. I still like Boyd more than Nolan cause Nolan needs so much BEXP to make him good (I know he turns out good but my Boyd usually turns out a little better). They're both good anyways but Nolan's less playtime is unappealing to me (that goes for the rest of the DB).

It's true that both of them have time to grow. I just think it'd be better if they started promoted so you could level up other members of the DB and you'd have a better overall team instead of only a few good units. The main reason why I don't use Ilyana much is cause she leaves after part 1 and takes all that exp with her, making the DB even lower than they would be. When she joins the GM she's underleveled and not as good as the rest of them and has some catching up to do. I've never recruited Jill to the GM cause I think the DB needs her more than they do. She is one of the best on Micaiah's team but she comes at the same time as Zihark does except he's promoted and she's not. Zihark might have bad base stats but at least you don't have to give him exp to promote him. The exp used to get Ilyana and Jill to 2nd tier could be used on other DB units and then maybe they wouldn't seem so crappy. It would benefit the team alot more if they started 2nd tier like every other PoR character.

I always play with animations on. I like seeing the characters battle and its cool when they activate their mastery skills or get a critical. The victory poses are a nice touch too.

I know that if they were promoted the game would probably be easier but its just weird. They were in the last game so they should start promoted like everyone else. Sothe couldn't even promote in PoR and he starts promoted. Its true that they could have given us another mage or dracoknight and have these two start in tier 2. I know Jill turns out good (I use her a lot) and I wasn't sure if I should include Tauroneo in that first post. I just find it weird that they're the only two that aren't promoted (regardless of gameplay reasons). I'm just saying that they should have started promoted since everyone else from PoR starts promoted.

It bugs me that they're the only two returning characters from PoR who aren't already promoted. You get Ilyana after Sothe and get Jill at the same time as Zihark and Tauroneo so there's no reason why they should be unpromoted. Ilyana should have started as a level 1 or 2 thunder sage and Jill should have been a level 2 or 3 dragonmaster. Plus it would really help Ilyana's weapon ranks in fire and wind magic (when she promotes to thunder sage she starts with E-fire and E-wind, that's worse than Brom starting with E-sword)

This Also some of the character's base levels and stats were really unbalanced compared to the rest of the team (Meg, Fiona, Astrid & Lyre were much lower and Ike was too high for his level). Plus the fact that about half the characters (or more) need BEXP abuse to even be usable in part 4 & endgame and you can tell that IS didn't plan this out very well. Also, the laguz transformation guage. It lowers way too fast and you have to use olivi grass every 2-3 turns (especially for cats). So you can't have them swarmed by enemies so they can level up their strike. Plus they don't gain experience for killing enemies, making them even harder to level up.

I totally agree with this. Nolan is so overrated. I think people only use him cause he has Earth affinity (I've never cared much for affinities but its probably useful on hard mode). Its weird how Nolan can be strength screwed (45 Strength growth?!) in a class that is known for its power. Nolan might cap more stats than Boyd but Boyd caps the important ones (HP, STR, DEF) and he's only a point or two away from capping SKL & SPD. Boyd's got the stats that a warrior should have. Play to his strengths and he is unbeatable. Boyd can kick ass even earlier if you give him a speedwing. Make sure you get the speedwing from 2-3 and that Marcia is holding it before you end the chapter. In 2-E, trade it to Neph, Brom, Heather or Haar. When you get them back in 3-2 use the speedwing on Boyd. He should be able to double most of the enemies depending on how well he leveled up speed. Any enemy he can double is ORKOed (except generals but they're pretty close to dying). Boyd has the potential to be one of the best characters in the game and he has a lot of time to reach his max potential. I can't say enough good things about Boyd. He's just that damn good!

The Greil Mercenaries are my favourite Fire Emblem characters and I'd like to see them in another game or more FE games. It'd be cool if they were the Fire Emblem mascots. They're a pretty balanced group and they kick a lot of ass. There wasn't enough screentime of them in Radiant Dawn and I'd like to see how close they really are.

Wow, sorry, I'm new to the boards and I didn't see a topic like this (of course I didn't look through all the old topics). Well I'll keep it up in case anyone else didn't see that topic or you just want to share your thoughts again.

This poll is just for fun. Whose your fave Greil Mercenary and why? They all kick ass in their own ways but if you could only pick one as your favourite who would it be? For me, its Boyd. He might start off slow but once he gets going he's able to one round most enemies. He actually just needs a level up or two in speed and a speedwing to be able to double enemies and then he'll be racking up the kills. He's got the potential to surpass most of the GMs. He gives out the best offensive damage once he can double and nothing can survive his attacks (except a few generals). He's my fave character and i can't say enough good things about him.

They're both pretty good but I like Boyd a lot more. Nolan needs a hell of a lot of BEXP to catch up to Boyd. I use Nolan for his chapters but usually ditch him cause Boyd is usually so much higher and kickin ass. Boyd just kicks so much ass with the Greil Mercenaries and his artwork is just badass. Definately one of the best units in the game and he's my fave character. http://www.serenesforest.net/media/fe10illust/e/boyd_en.png

I usually get Edward, Nolan, Jill & Aran to promote. I don't really like any of the other unpromoted units.

I've taken both Mordecai and Muarim to endgame and both were okay. They're slow and can't double attack plus they have horrible resistance. I'm not a fan of laguz in general (cause of the transformation guage) but I use Mordecai sometimes in part 2. He's around longer than Muarim so you should use him.

Micaiah is alright. She's useful in part 1 to defeat armors and cavalry but other than that she's mediocre. She can't double and gets 1 or 2HKOed by everything. I use her as a healer in part 3 over Laura but that's about it. If she wasn't forced into endgame, I probably wouldn't play as her much (except in part 1 and in part 3 as a healer). She's a good healer with Physic staves but then again every magic user is.

Support conversations, lack of character availability for characters outside the Greil Mercenaries, lack of character development, the fact that I don't really care about any of the "important" characters. Otherwise, it was pretty good. It improved on Path of Radiance's gameplay in every area and its my fav Fire Emblem because the gameplay rocks. Plus the "villians" in this game. The senators were horrible and I can't kill them enough times for all the shit they did. They're not even good fighters and are easily one rounded by most characters.

Boyd is so fucking awesome! He's my favourite character in both PoR and RD. He gets the job done and anyone he faces dies in one round. I can't say enough good things about him. For those of you who have Boyd speed problems in Radiant Dawn, have you tried doing this? You know that speedwing you can get in 2-3? Well here's what you do: 1) Kill the halberdier holding the speedwing 2) Make sure Marcia has it in her inventory before the chapter ends 3) In 2-E have Marcia trade it to Nephenee, Brom, Heather, or Haar 4) When you get above characters back in 3-2 use the speedwing on Boyd He only needs to have one or two level ups in speed. After using the speedwing, he should be able to double attack most of the enemies. And you know what happens when he double attacks, right? With a steel poleax he kills all enemies in one round and when his strength is higher he can oneround with a hand axe! He doesn't even need BEXP to start owning the map. He's my fav cause he has the potential to be one of the best units and he has lots of time to reach that. Plus, he just looks badass in Radiant Dawn (people say Ike is buff but take a look at Boyd!)