This is my first time playing, I'm in normal mode, and I'm wondering...

[FionordeQuester]

Which units in the Dawn Brigade should I focus on and build up? Also, is there anything really important that I should know that would be easy for any beginner to miss?

[Intoner Two]

Well it wouldn't hurt to build up all of your core Dawn Brigade members because they will be pretty useful at each opportunity you can use them -plus you must have Micaiah built up semi-decently since she functions as a Lord character in each chapter in which she appears and it wouldn't hurt to make use of her talents when you can- so, unless you really like the PoR characters, then it wouldn't hurt training Edward, Leonardo, Laura, Nolan and Aran as much as you can -Meg and Fiona unfortunately aren't considerably strong despite their meager beginnings- if you decide you don't want to train the brigade, just train Micaiah and utilize the powerful promoted characters and laguz who join you part 1, you'll have the Greil mercenaries available again later on and they're all worth using just as much as they were in PoR; this is all my own conjecture, use your best judgment once the characters are roughly even -on 2nd tier-, decide who you really like and take just them onto 3rd tier -your Part 4 line up is semi-limited anyway, space-wise-

[FionordeQuester]

What about Jill and Illyana? How good are they? I here they make a reappearance in this part.

[Intoner Two]

This is true and yes I would say they are worth the effort to train -Illyana will be considerably handy late game when you fight a large number of dragons since she'll be the only one who can use Rexbolt- Jill is just as useful as in PoR, they also reappear and join Ike once again later on, use them as you see fit, just don't neglect your Dawn Brigade; also Zihark reappears, and of course Sothe, use them as you might any powerful pre-promote, let them weaken enemies to help your weaker units get stronger quicker

[FionordeQuester]

Alright, last question, if I was to promote three characters by the end of Part 1, which ones would be the best choices in your opinion?

[luigi bros]

The only one I've used is Edward and he was pretty good. The others I can't say because I've never used them.

[Loki Laufeyson]

Alright, last question, if I was to promote three characters by the end of Part 1, which ones would be the best choices in your opinion?

Fiona..despite what folks may tell you, shes damn useful for the dawn brigade

Edward

Jill

and maybe Nolan

[Herr Wozzeck]

I'd definitely go with Edward whatever the case is; he's simply the best Trueblade in the game and worth using in the endgame (and this game has some good Trueblades, too). If you're fixated on Wyvern Knights, Jill isn't a bad unit, either. I usually dump anybody else pretty early as for me Nolan tends to get pretty screwy if you're not careful, Leo sucks, and Laura is a pain to level. (I'm not counting Zihark since he's already a prepromote in this game.)

[_____]

This is true and yes I would say they are worth the effort to train -Illyana will be considerably handy late game when you fight a large number of dragons since she'll be the only one who can use Rexbolt- Jill is just as useful as in PoR, they also reappear and join Ike once again later on, use them as you see fit, just don't neglect your Dawn Brigade; also Zihark reappears, and of course Sothe, use them as you might any powerful pre-promote, let them weaken enemies to help your weaker units get stronger quicker

Ilyana's speed sucks. She has trouble doubling and has bad accuracy later on. High availability doesn't remedy this. Jill's inferior to Haar in every chapter that isn't the Endgame.

Alright, last question, if I was to promote three characters by the end of Part 1, which ones would be the best choices in your opinion?

Edward, Nolan, and Aran are the three best units in the "Dawn Brigade". I'm not counting the Liberation Army, though.

Fiona..despite what folks may tell you, shes damn useful for the dawn brigade

No, she isn't. She gets ORKO'd inher joining chapter. That's bad.

Edited December 28, 2008 by Harold

[Saaji]

What make things easier is putting Edward second gear to Zihark so you don't have to focus raising has many characters in the dawn brigade, you probably want to make good use of Nolan and Alan, Nolan being a good all round character, and Aran being your tank pretty much for the DB...Jill is helpful as well.

So a good core party would be something like Micciah, Nolan, Aran, Jill,Laura, Zihark and Sothe. Focus on getting levels for the characters that are still only first tier. While letting Zihark and Sothe help Aran in tanking a bit one of them can get Paragon and gain pretty good experience even getting as many as 4 levels without taking too much away from the rest of your party.

I'd still raise Edward and Leo but not soo much since they generally get out done by other characters, I'd stay away from Meg and Fiona[i love her but she's more trouble then she's worth]

Aside you get a few other characters, Volug is good filler but dont worry about using him until later with the DB. Almost every other unit doesnt stick around long enough to be helpful...

Or you could simply just use the units you like.

[dondon151]

Jill's inferior to Haar in every chapter that isn't the Endgame.

Except those chapters where, you know, Jill's playable and Haar isn't.

[Penitent]

If you train Edward, he'll be the best Trueblade in the game. Partly for his inherent ability, but also for his time to grow. By Swordmaster, unless he's been stat-screwed, he should rival Zihark.

Nolan is just as viable as Boyd. Leonardo is also handy, but use him as an archer and keep him safe, not as a frontline unit. Aran is a very potent unit, as he'll max out his primary stats (strength, defence and skill) quite quickly.

It goes without saying that you train Micaiah. Have her at nearly level 18 or 19 by the endgame, and fully level her to 20 within that mission. Also, give her Discipline (if you got it from the boss of 1-3) to train her weapon level.

Don't use Sothe too heavily when attacking. For the first few missions you have him, unequip his weapons and have him tank/steal things, he'll get more experience that way. By 1-8 and/or the endgame is when you start using him. If Micaiah needs help and you want to leave their support, stick him by her for Guard and their bond to kick in.

Believe it or not, this time is also vital for training Volug. Don't have him hog everyone's experience, but let him level up his Strike level - which, in a laguz' case, will increase his attack and hit power.

Laura's not just your only healer, she's a good unit. If you make her a Saint early via Master Seal, start chucking about Ellight.

Jill's very handy too - try using her even in the missions where she has a movement penalty, she's worth it.

[Mekkah]

If you want an easy time, I would recommend picking four or so Dawn Brigade members to stick with, and add the somewhat overpowered prepromotes to the mix when you need them (Sothe, and others). And you'll probably want to train Micaiah.

I would recommend picking from Volug, Aran, Nolan, Jill and Zihark. Edward can work, I guess.

[Seph]

Zihark is much better than Edward, as long as you give him an A support with Nolan, giving both of them +45 avoid.

[CGV]

have Sothe steal EVERYTHING in part 1. It's a good way to get exp and let the others kill. IMO, use Eddie, Aran, Jill, Ilyana, Leonardo (watch his speed), Zihark, Nolan, and Laura... not all at once of course

[Wolf]

Which units in the Dawn Brigade should I focus on and build up? Also, is there anything really important that I should know that would be easy for any beginner to miss?

I say Edward, Nolan, Aran, and Fiona if you have patience. Fiona's Savior and Imbue are awesome.

If your going Liberation Armies I would say Jill, and Zihark because they are great.

[dondon151]

You should definitely get Fiona.

Her Savior and Imbue skills are great on other units.

[Clonez]

I just have Zihark, Nolan, Volug and Sothe solo maps. Micaiah is there for support/healing.

[Geist]

I'd recommend you to use Edward, since he is a really great unit later. If you want to take over more than one Unit, go for Jill and eventually Laura. They are really good units as well and I think Jill can be more useful than Haar because of her resistance and speed growths.

You can pick Nolan as well, but I think Boyd does the job very well and is easier to level up before part 4 starts(especially if you level up more than one unit from the Dawn Brigade).

[Florete]

Make sure you look up the list of hidden items and find all of them with Sothe, especially the Master Seals. I suggest using Laura, Edward, Nolan, and Jill for the Master Seals with Volug, Zihark, Sothe, and Micaiah on the side. You can try Aran if you want but I find he's kind of overrated.

Remember that you can remove and reassign skills, so Fiona doesn't get to keep Imbue or Savior. Try to get your DB units all promoted by the end of part one from level 20, though Laura is fine promoted at ~15.

Never forget to check for hidden items and use BEXP wisely.

[Vykan12]

This topic makes me sad seeing how freakishly overrated Edward is. Haven't people noticed he gets 2-3HKOed at high hit rates for about 75% of his playtime?

I just have Zihark, Nolan, Volug and Sothe solo maps. Micaiah is there for support/healing.

If you want an easy time, I would recommend picking four or so Dawn Brigade members to stick with, and add the somewhat overpowered prepromotes to the mix when you need them (Sothe, and others). And you'll probably want to train Micaiah.

I would recommend picking from Volug, Aran, Nolan, Jill and Zihark.

IMO the best advice in the topic given so far.

[Florete]

This topic makes me sad seeing how freakishly overrated Edward is. Haven't people noticed he gets 2-3HKOed at high hit rates for about 75% of his playtime?

IMO the best advice in the topic given so far.

Saying 75% is a bit much. And you can say the same for Micaiah, Leonardo, Ilyana, and everyone else that isn't someone else that was suggested. Edward's only that frail for a little less than half of part 1, when you don't have many others to frontline anyway. From there he turns into possibly the best SM in the game. If anything, Edward is underrated.

[Vykan12]

Saying 75% is a bit much. And you can say the same for Micaiah, Leonardo, Ilyana, and everyone else that isn't someone else that was suggested. Edward's only that frail for a little less than half of part 1, when you don't have many others to frontline anyway. From there he turns into possibly the best SM in the game. If anything, Edward is underrated.

Yeah but Micaiah, Leo and Ilyana are awful units (well at least Micaiah has thani and healing utility, but wtv). You're best using Nolan and Sothe almost exclusively when they join and add in h3x units as they join, otherwise you're really just making yourself suffer for nothing.

And I don't know where you're pulling these numbers from. Tigers in 3-6 have 32-37 attack power and 130ish hit. For Edward not to be 3HKOed by the lower end tigers, he needs 40 hp and 19 def, which requires him to be level 20/13 and have an A def support by average stats. Major lulz at that when he's easily 10 levels below that coming out of part 1. The cats only have about 3 attack less, so he's definitely getting pwned at a realistic level (ie 20/1-3ish). His avoid at 20/5 is only 64, and even with an earth support it's only 86, so he's easily facing 50+ hit rates. Pretty horrible durability if you ask me and don't pull the "all the DB have sucky durability card" since you have Aran, Jill, Zihark and Volug all being more durable, and some of the people who are 2HKOed can also attack at range on player phase, so they're probably more durable in the big picture as well. 3-13 is pretty similar as Eddie might've gained some levels but the laguz also gained 15 hit from Ike's leadership bonuses and are more likely to have S strike than the laguz in 3-6. The same can be said about 1-E since the enemies there are completely broken, though I don't feel the need to pull those numbers as well.

I also don't get where you claim he's the best swordmaster in the game. Zihark beats him in base level, innate skill, affinity and overall durability while Mia does the same in addition to having a much larger level lead on him going into part 4.

Oh, and if you don't believe Zihark is more durable than Edward, then let's compare them at the same level, which obviously bodes heavily in Edward's favor (Eddie would have to gain something like 18 levels to Zihark's 0).

Zihark lv 20/3 (A Jill): 30 hp, 17 str, 22 skl, 23 spd, 11 lck, 15 def, 11 res, 87 avo

Edward lv 20/3 (A Aran): 34 hp, 19 str, 22 skl, 22 spd, 17 lck, 15 def, 6 res, 69 avo

18 avo and 5 res >>>>> 4 hp. Also, giving Edward all these levels only has him beating Zihark's damage output by 4, and that lead is always temporary because of BEXP cap ramming in second and third tier. I think it's pretty clear by now that Zihark and Mia are leagues beyond Edward, though I can bring in more evidence if you wish.

Edited December 29, 2008 by Vykan12

[dondon151]

You're best using Nolan and Sothe almost exclusively when they join and add in h3x units as they join, otherwise you're really just making yourself suffer for nothing.

I disagree with this somewhat. Nolan isn't one-rounding anything for awhile and, though relatively durable, still can't take hits all day. Even though Eddie sucks, it's still more beneficial to use him in the early DB chapters because not doing so compromises Nolan's durability. Of course, you can drop him when you get Jill and Zihark.

Edited December 29, 2008 by dondon151

[Florete]

Yeah but Micaiah, Leo and Ilyana are awful units (well at least Micaiah has thani and healing utility, but wtv). You're best using Nolan and Sothe almost exclusively when they join and add in h3x units as they join, otherwise you're really just making yourself suffer for nothing.

And I don't know where you're pulling these numbers from. Tigers in 3-6 have 32-37 attack power and 130ish hit. For Edward not to be 3HKOed by the lower end tigers, he needs 40 hp and 19 def, which requires him to be level 20/13 and have an A def support by average stats. Major lulz at that when he's easily 10 levels below that coming out of part 1. The cats only have about 3 attack less, so he's definitely getting pwned at a realistic level (ie 20/1-3ish). His avoid at 20/5 is only 64, and even with an earth support it's only 86, so he's easily facing 50+ hit rates. Pretty horrible durability if you ask me and don't pull the "all the DB have sucky durability card" since you have Aran, Jill, Zihark and Volug all being more durable, and some of the people who are 2HKOed also can attack on range on player phase, so they're probably more durable in the big picture as well.

I also don't get where you claim he's the best swordmaster in the game. Zihark beats him in base level, innate skill, affinity and overall durability while Mia does the same in addition to having a much larger level lead on him going into part 4.

Oh, and if you don't believe Zihark is more durable than Edward, then let's compare them at the same level, which obviously bodes heavily in Edward's favor (Eddie would have to gain something like 18 levels to Zihark's 0).

Zihark lv 20/3 (A Jill): 30 hp, 17 str, 22 skl, 23 spd, 11 lck, 15 def, 11 res, 87 avo

Edward lv 20/3 (A Aran): 34 hp, 19 str, 22 skl, 22 spd, 17 lck, 15 def, 6 res, 69 avo

18 avo and 5 res >>>>> 4 hp. Also, giving Edward all these levels only has him beating Zihark's damage output by 4, and that lead is always temporary because of BEXP cap ramming in second and third tier. I think it's pretty clear by now that Zihark and Mia are leagues beyond Edward, though I can bring in more evidence if you wish.

Nolan isn't that hax. He's not doing so much alone until Sothe comes, and then some even when Sothe does come. Over-using just a few units is probably bad anyway.

Pretty much every character you have is 1-2 rounded in 3-6, including Edward. That's why you have Micaiah and Laura. At least Edward, unlike somebody like Aran, can actually dodge on occasion. The only ones that aren't killed off so easily are a transformed Volug and maybe Sothe and Nolan, though Zihark and Nolan can have an easy B support by now, which helps a lot. Still, you'll need to be healing pretty much every turn.

He has the best BEXP potential in the game as well as capping his more important stats fairly fast. And I said "turns into" not "is overall."

Overall, they are better than him, I won't deny that. However, he is capping his stats much easier than the other two with the exception of lolMagic and Resistance. He has a fairly bad start, but he turns out amazing. And his start isn't as terrible as some seem to think.