FE4 ranked pairings

[Mexicano]

Trying to pick up FE4 again and do a ranked run. I need some advice on what pairings are smart:

Obvious ones:

SigurdxDiadora - Forced. Seliph should inherit at least Elite and Leg, probably also silver sword. 
QuanxEthlyn - Forced. Altena inherits Gaebolg, so doesnt need much else. Leif should inherit a magic sword and just some stuff not necessary past chapter 3.

No competition:

LewynxTailto - For ranked, neither Sety nor Corpul should get lolseti because of staves. Arthur benefits from it. I don’t think these children need a Lot to inherit apart from generic tomes. Could make a case for magic ring on Tinny but thats also dangerous.

MidalexAdean - Lana who cares, recover ez. Midayle is best dad and just dumps bows, while Adean dumps as many useful staves as possible for early use. Maybe skill ring on Lester too.

BeowulfxRaquesis - Best dad. At least armorcutter should be at Beo, then just some solid swords. Raq should just dump staves and one magic sword in my book, and one generic sword to boot. Defender can also help.

Not-sure but sure enough:

LexxSylvia - Paragon and vantage on Leen. Paragon on Corpul. Nuff said. Corpul should just stavespam and doesn’t inherit anything useful but quick exp makes up. Lene should get knight ring and obtain sleep sword as quick as possible from Patty. No paragon passing makes it easy for her.

ClaudxFerry - Sety inherits staves, Fee is useful anyway and should get stuff like horseslayer and wing clipper in my boom. Also the slim sword.

That leaves me with Ira and Briggid. What I am sure about is that I want Dew to be dad of either, because Bargain is really important in ranked. I feel like bargain is wasted on a thief a bit because they can get easy money, but bargain for yewfelle is huge. Iras kids slay the arena anyway with meteor sword and all around usefulness, so money problems are unlikely past chapter 7, although there is the natural issue of swords that can break more because of meteor. Thief sword maybe helps in the lategame.

Inclined to say Holyn is the best pairing for the other because of skills, growths and possibility to inherit swords (although this also would go for the likes of noish/alec/arden). Arden could be okay because of vantage but thats it.

How would you recommend especially the final two pairings?

[Eltosian Kadath]

1 hour ago, Mexicano said:

 

LexxSylvia - Paragon and vantage on Leen. Paragon on Corpul. Nuff said. Corpul should just stavespam and doesn’t inherit anything useful but quick exp makes up. Lene should get knight ring and obtain sleep sword as quick as possible from Patty. No paragon passing makes it easy for her.

It might be difficult to pull this off, but there is a solid argument for Sylvia's substitutes on a ranked run. Corpul's replacement gets Paragon for free, so that Lex can pass his paragon to other kids giving you a third second gen unit with the innate paragon skill, plus the Berserk Staff unique to Sharlow's event is 100 exp a pop with its one use per 3000 repair (for whatever that is worth). Admittedly a ranked run is one of the few where the combat stats of these two might actually matter (for desperate Arena grinding for exp), so I don't feel confident saying that the substitute is the best pairing, plus keeping Sylvia single without the option of killing her would be a bit obnoxious.

 

If Lex is back on the table because of the single Sylvia plan, Lex x Ayra is a classic combo, while Dew x Briggid leads to the nice combination where Patty is able to do more with less money, and can thus pass off more of her money to other people as a thief

1 hour ago, Mexicano said:

 

Inclined to say Holyn is the best pairing for the other because of skills, growths and possibility to inherit swords (although this also would go for the likes of noish/alec/arden). Arden could be okay because of vantage but thats it.

How would you recommend especially the final two pairings?

Admittedly I do tend to think of Hoyln x Briggid as the best combination for her kids for the reasons mentioned, so if Lex isn't back on the table I would probably go with Dew x Ayra and Holyn x Briggid.

[Shanty Pete's 1st Mate]

Ooh, definitely a fan of this topic! For my part, I actually made a thread on this very topic a couple years ago. You can read it here.

I'd say that all the listed pairings sound good... with a catch. Some of them might take a while to set up. Lewyn x Tailtiu, for instance, start with 120 love points, and gain 3 per turn passively. Coupled with 5 per turn adjacent, this means they will require between 127 turns (separate) and 48 turns (adjacent) to fall in love. Likewise, Claud and Erinys start with 100 love points, and gain 3 per turn. This puts them between 134 turns (separate) and 50 turns (adjacent) to fall in love. Which is definitely not impossible, but its viability will depend on how you play - and how long you're willing to spend in chapters 4 and 5, in particular. Granted, Erinys can fly over to Orgahill in chapter 3, and start on the Claud train early on. Both great pairings, if fairly high-effort.

18 hours ago, Mexicano said:

That leaves me with Ira and Briggid. What I am sure about is that I want Dew to be dad of either, because Bargain is really important in ranked. I feel like bargain is wasted on a thief a bit because they can get easy money, but bargain for yewfelle is huge. Iras kids slay the arena anyway with meteor sword and all around usefulness, so money problems are unlikely past chapter 7, although there is the natural issue of swords that can break more because of meteor. Thief sword maybe helps in the lategame.

Inclined to say Holyn is the best pairing for the other because of skills, growths and possibility to inherit swords (although this also would go for the likes of noish/alec/arden). Arden could be okay because of vantage but thats it.

How would you recommend especially the final two pairings?

Honestly, I broadly like the idea of pairing one of Ayra/Brigid with Chulainn, and the other with Dew. I described Chulainn as Ayra's best partner (yeah, I know some would say Lex), but Dew is probably my favorite partner for her. Bargain is an insanely useful skill on... well, anyone. Myrmidon, Thief, or Archer alike. Chulainn also gives Patty the best possible combat, via Luna and early Brave Sword access. One other possible partner for Brigid is Jamke. This produces (in my opinion) the best possible Febail, as he gets his father's "machine gun build", while Patty... wishes she were inheriting Swords. But it's easy to set up, as they start at 150 love points, and gain 3 per turn. So they'll take between 117 turns (separate) and 44 turns (adjacent) to get hitched. That's at least 13 turns faster than with Chulainn (50 + 3x), which is itself at least 8 turns faster than with Dew (50 + 2x), the latter of which is inexplicably Brigid's slowest pairing.

[Mexicano]

On 5/24/2024 at 1:39 PM, Eltosian Kadath said:

It might be difficult to pull this off, but there is a solid argument for Sylvia's substitutes on a ranked run. Corpul's replacement gets Paragon for free, so that Lex can pass his paragon to other kids giving you a third second gen unit with the innate paragon skill, plus the Berserk Staff unique to Sharlow's event is 100 exp a pop with its one use per 3000 repair (for whatever that is worth). Admittedly a ranked run is one of the few where the combat stats of these two might actually matter (for desperate Arena grinding for exp), so I don't feel confident saying that the substitute is the best pairing, plus keeping Sylvia single without the option of killing her would be a bit obnoxious.

 

If Lex is back on the table because of the single Sylvia plan, Lex x Ayra is a classic combo, while Dew x Briggid leads to the nice combination where Patty is able to do more with less money, and can thus pass off more of her money to other people as a thief

Admittedly I do tend to think of Hoyln x Briggid as the best combination for her kids for the reasons mentioned, so if Lex isn't back on the table I would probably go with Dew x Ayra and Holyn x Briggid.

Problem there is I don't feel Ayra needs her kids having Paragon at all. They can cheat through the arena through Astra anyway, so they have little trouble going around Paragon ring passing. Gen 2 has little trouble getting most characters to lvl 30, but Lene is one of them. I agree that Sharlow is good enough as a sub, but Lene is troubling. Patty is another one, which is why I would like her to have Bargain so she still has some capabilities to buy Paragon ring. Arena is key in ranked. Feebail likes bargain too. I don't say Ayras kids would not like all those buffs, but.. yeah. However, availability of pairings is an issue. Lewyn x Tailto is much harder to get than Lewyn X Erinys/Sylvia, you really have to beeline for it. Dew x Briggid is indeed much harder than Holyn x Briggid and the gains are minor (Patty can be fed a lot of civilians anyway), so I guess Dew x Ayra is totally fine. Lex x Sylvia is more of a case of 'who needs elite the most' and Leen definitely stands out to me. I would consider Delmud as well, but he is probably fine.

On 5/25/2024 at 6:09 AM, Shanty Pete's 1st Mate said:

 

Honestly, I broadly like the idea of pairing one of Ayra/Brigid with Chulainn, and the other with Dew. I described Chulainn as Ayra's best partner (yeah, I know some would say Lex), but Dew is probably my favorite partner for her. Bargain is an insanely useful skill on... well, anyone. Myrmidon, Thief, or Archer alike. Chulainn also gives Patty the best possible combat, via Luna and early Brave Sword access. 

Also this. Brave Sword is the best weapon for Arena purposes, even on someone like Patty. And even though Patty doesn't have Bargain, she can still accumulate loads of money by, well, stealing.

Getting through the arenas as efficiently as possible is key. Even in the first chapters I'm having a hard time doing that. Diadora desperately needs that magic ring for the C1 arena, although afterwards she should just staffbot, do some arena, staffbot more. Can she do the C3 arena (and warp units) there? I can't remember, I think she can do the arena but cannot use the warp staff?

The best way to get through the arena from C3 on is mostly just using brave weapons, passing them around (in case of sword) along Paragon, right? (killer bow for Midayle/Jamka) 
Only Azel, Dew and Arden trouble me. Azel has a hard time passing Lvl4 in C1 and C2 (although I did manage to do it) and Arden is just.. well, Arden. I would love to have him promoted after C3 (then he can make use of Killer Bow as well right?) 
Dew, I can't get him to work. He does like 4 damage a pop. Killing things with Dew is.. at least hard.
Other units are probably fine when brave sword, armor cutter, horseslayer come around.

[Shanty Pete's 1st Mate]

5 hours ago, Mexicano said:

Can she do the C3 arena (and warp units) there? I can't remember, I think she can do the arena but cannot use the warp staff?

Dierdre can definitely Arena in chapter 3 (well, the first portion of it at least). As for Warp, I think she can technically use it... but only to Warp an ally who's already in the home castle... back to the home castle. Haha. If you want to make her slightly more useful, she can use Physic from the home castle.

5 hours ago, Mexicano said:

I would love to have him promoted after C3 (then he can make use of Killer Bow as well right?) 

Yep, he can use the Killer Bow upon promotion. Also the Brave Bow, if you get it.

Usually, though, I think Arden's best bet comes via the Brave Sword. It's such a good weapon that his combat even becomes competent with it in hand.

5 hours ago, Mexicano said:

Dew, I can't get him to work. He does like 4 damage a pop. Killing things with Dew is.. at least hard.
Other units are probably fine when brave sword, armor cutter, horseslayer come around.

Dew is one tough nut to crack. Now, Bargain can help his Arena performance. Get him to 20K gold, and he can take on the Pursuit Band. Another 10K, and he can get a boost like the Shield Ring or Power Ring.

Otherwise, though, you can look at what sword you give him. In the field, I really like Dew having a magical sword, as he can rob targets at range that way. They also have high might in the Arena, but not the best accuracy. Better options might include the Shield Sword and the Miracle Sword. Wait, Miracle Sword? Dew can't use that! Well, if it get broken, and Dew buys the broken sword and equips it before repairing it, then he can indeed.

Azelle, I don't have any tricks for, except to say that he appreciates both the Magic and Speed Rings. It's hard to get those on him, however, especially if you want him to have Paragon through the Arena.

[Mexicano]

Yeah, Miracle abuse on Dew is cute. As is with Patty, that's why I intend to choose Holyn to pair up with Briggid. Bargain will help with Iucharba to get the Elite ring more easily because after Larcei is paired she can do some cashdumps while not being out of the Elite loop if done proper so it still has some use on the DewxAyra.

Finished C1 now. Strategy for prologue was pretty straightforward: Azel cleans up north, Arden cleans up close to home, Lex does chips only, Noishe/Alec try to clean up shop in the middle of the map, Sigurd rushes to Jungby to seize as quickly as possible, then the Lenster brigade cleans up after him. Midayle has gotten the speed ring. I did it in 12 turns which is fine for prologue. I prioritize Cuan a lot, so he has a bit more exp than I usually see in ranked logs, but I rarely see him capping in these logs.

Chapter 1 is always annoying. Dew and Deirdre always have the worst of luck there, miracle abuse on Deirdre is so pesky because she gets health back. Dew also just couldnt get past level 3 of the arena, so he is still only level 5. At least Azel could finish arena to lvl7. Alec obtained skill ring, I gave Azel hand axe for cash because Lex didn't really need it for my C1 plans. Ethlin and Adean did some staff spamming and are at lvl11. Even though Azel finished arena, he is still only 6.85, I really want him to promote right out of C4 castle. At least he can maybe do some arena stuff for C2 with elite ring if I play it smart, then keep it on for C3 arena before passing it back to someone like Quan/Ethlyn/Raquesis. Magic ring went to Deirdre for obvious reasons.

Chapter 2 is the chapter that I always find hardest in any run - the rush to get the bargain ring and I fear the horseslayer quite a bit. For the latter, I hope Deirdre can pick up the sleep staff, then snooze Zyne. For the bargain ring, candidates to me are Adean (to facilitate staff spamming until she can do something in the arena) and Sylvia. I think maybe accumulating some cash on Adean is good, and then pray for the best with Sylvia in chapter 3 to have her buy Bargain, then Knight and Leg ring afterwards in C3/4. Paragon and Return ring are obvious (Quan/Ethlyn) and then Barrier/Defense ring is just going to whoever needs some cash to get into Paragon range. Characters I hope to do Paragon passing with are Azel, Ethlyn, maybe Alec and Noishe. For C3 almost all units should participate in Paragon passing though.

[Mexicano]

Finally got some action in again. Just hate the start of C2, it is so obnoxious to save the crossknights and the bargain village at the same time. Eventually held off recruiting Raquesis one turn, because otherwise one of the CKs was basically just DOA. Too bad the crossknights left not a single unit for the scrubs, zo Dew and Azel have to do without any exp until Mackily comes in, which should be their (only) time to shine. Ethlin gets the Return ring. I have this weird strategy where I want to staffbot Deirdre with Warp, then Warp Adean to Herhein, give her the Warp staff there and then let her pick up the Bargain ring, she seems overall the better candidate over Sylvia, who I just hope to cashdump on mid C3 (Tailto also needs cash for Mag ring though so this might be troublesome to pull off). 

Ethlyn should promote at the end of this chapter so she seems good. Quan is doing pretty well too, I hope to get him to 27-28 at the end of C3. Deirdre is fine too. Only one who troubles me is Finn.. he is pretty underleveled and I like him to be exactly at 20 for C7. Azel and Dew also trouble me, I would like Azel to promote early C4. For Dew.. I just have no idea how to ever get this guy close to 30. I like his cash and all.. but actually make him more than a cashbot I cannot. At least not just yet.