Radiant Dawn - Purchased

[Fiora]

I have just purchased Radiant Dawn from a nearby Best Buy.

Does anyone have any tips on who to use or what to do without giving away any uneccessary spoilers?

And what are the archetype characters in this game? I tend not to use archetypes.

[Hibari]

Don't use up the beast killer on chapter 4. You'll know what I mean.

[Liz]

Sothe is pretty much the Jeigan unit for Part 1 of the game. He is a forced unit throughout the game, so it's up to you if you raise him or not, but in higher difficulties, he's pretty much a requirement to survive.

I would also recommend to only use a few of the Dawn Brigade, or they'll probably be underleveled by Part 3 and 4. They simply don't have enough chapters to grow compared to the other units. I think with 3 or 4 units, plus Micaiah and Sothe, you should be fine. I would suggest Edward/Zihark, Nolan, Aran, and Jill, personally.

Tormod, Muarim and Vika have practically zero playability. You see them for a couple of chapters in Part 1, and don't see them again until the final chapters of the game.

[CGV]

Ilyana. She is the only Thunder mage

Nephenee, Haar, Shinon are all awesome

Mia, Gatrie are pretty good, too

[Killer Poleax]

Don't use too many characters in the Dawn Brigade. There's not enough exp to go around. Focus on 3-5 of them.

If you use prepromotes, give them bronze weapons so they can weaken enemies for your weaker characters.

Tauroneo, Nailah, Tormod, Muarim, and Vika leave after part 1 and don't return until later in the game. Try not to use them too much.

Play smart and battle save often. This game is harder than most FEs. Have fun experimenting with different characters and skillsets.

[Hibari]

Oh and make sure Micaiah's lvl 20 by the endgame.

[Liz]

Oh and make sure Micaiah's lvl 20 by the endgame.

this. She force promotes after endgame 1. But keep in mind that Micaiah also has a chapter where you can only use her and someone else, and both of them are forced.

if I remember correctly, its the chapter right before endgame. chapter nine, i believe

[Florete]

In part 1, try to focus on Nolan, Zihark, Jill, and Laura, as well as Micaiah and Sothe, and perhaps Volug as well (but don't let Volug get many kills in part 1). Have Nolan and Zihark support, Jill and Volug support, and if you use someone else, support him/her with Laura. Try to promote everyone by the end of part 1 that starts at first tier with Master Seals. And have Sothe steal. A lot.

In part 2, I suggest focusing a lot on Nephenee, Marcia, and Calill when you have them. They are really the only ones that gain any significant experience that are worth using later.

You can pretty much play how you feel when part 3 comes around.

[Reikken]

also....

and perhaps Volug as well (but don't let Volug get many kills in part 1).

While you don't really want Volug to be getting a lot of kills, you do want him to attack as often as possible. That gives him weapon exp, and when laguz weapon levels go up, they get +5 atk.

A Volug with SS strike (+10 atk) in part 3 is amazingly h4x.

[Mekkah]

Don't bother with Ilyana, and don't give her anything before the final chapter of part 1, because she will eat it.

[TheEnd]

Tormod, Muarim and Vika have practically zero playability. You see them for a couple of chapters in Part 1, and don't see them again until the final chapters of the game.

Which is why taking away Tormod's celerity is a good idea. Oh, and the skill system works a bit differently from PoR's, if you've played it. If you haven't, you should. >:

Ilyana. She is the only Thunder mage

Ilyana sucks in this game, though.

this. She force promotes after endgame 1. But keep in mind that Micaiah also has a chapter where you can only use her and someone else, and both of them are forced.

She'll also die if she isn't almost level 20 by then, however. Terrible durability + lolspeed = 1 rounded by pretty much every (non-magic-using) mook you find. ._.

Edited January 30, 2009 by TheEnd

[Dr. Tarrasque]

Remove Wrath from Edward and give it some1 who use ranged attacks instead (like Leonardo).

[TheEnd]

Remove Wrath from Edward and give it some1 who use ranged attacks instead (like Leonardo).

Remove Cancel from Leonardo and give it some1 who use melee attacks instead (like Edward).

[luigi bros]

If theres one unit your going to use on the Dawn Brigade make it Edward. Ilyana's OK but she doesn't stay with them.

Get Micaiah to level 20 by the end of part 1.

[TheEnd]

If theres one unit your going to use on the Dawn Brigade make it Edward. Ilyana's OK but she doesn't stay with them.

Nolan isn't bad either. Also Jill, possibly Zihark.

Leonardo kind of sucks, but has his uses. Especially when he gets his personal bow.

[luigi bros]

Nolan isn't bad either. Also Jill, possibly Zihark.

Leonardo kind of sucks, but has his uses. Especially when he gets his personal bow.

Edward is my opinion of the best Dawn Brigade Member.

I've never liked Jill and Nolan. Zihark is OK.

[TheEnd]

Edward is my opinion of the best Dawn Brigade Member.

I've never liked Jill and Nolan. Zihark is OK.

Jill is good, and the only Liberation Army member with mobility. Fiona is crap, she doesn't count.

I was lucky with Nolan's level-ups, so he was quite decent. I was unlucky with Zihark's though, so he was kinda meh.

[luigi bros]

Jill is good, and the only Liberation Army member with mobility. Fiona is crap, she doesn't count.

I was lucky with Nolan's level-ups, so he was quite decent. I was unlucky with Zihark's though, so he was kinda meh.

Jill is OK but not great.

I've bever actually used Nolan and I don't plan on starting. When I was stuck on Part 3 chapter 12 I had to use BEXP to make Zihark a trueblade and without that I don't think I would have won.

[Dr. Tarrasque]

Aran's a good tank and can end up quite decent through wise BEXP usage.

[luigi bros]

Aran's a good tank and can end up quite decent through wise BEXP usage.

Anybody can be good with wise BEXP usage though.

[Dr. Tarrasque]

Anybody can be good with wise BEXP usage though.

I'm aware >_>. Thing is that Aran's got 70%+ growths in 3 areas. As level 8 2nd tier, he'll have those 3 maxed out on average, which makes it a perfect time to level him with BEXP since it's 3 stat ups being distributed and 5 areas unmaxed so there's pretty high chances of getting him to max SPD and HP. If maxes any of those stats in the 1st tier with some1 levels to gain, even better.

Edited January 30, 2009 by Levin

[TheEnd]

Jill is OK but not great.

I've bever actually used Nolan and I don't plan on starting. When I was stuck on Part 3 chapter 12 I had to use BEXP to make Zihark a trueblade and without that I don't think I would have won.

Jill is actually quite good. She tends to cap pretty much everything.

I did 3-13 with mid-level 2nd tier Nolan/Edward/Jill. Others weren't much above their base levels.

Anybody can be good with wise BEXP usage though.

lol Meg

[luigi bros]

I'm aware >_>. Thing is that Aran's got 70%+ growths in 3 areas. As level 8 2nd tier, he'll have those 3 maxed out on average, which makes it a perfect time to level him with BEXP since it's 3 stat ups being distributed and 5 areas unmaxed so there's pretty high chances of getting him to max SPD and HP. If maxes any of those stats in the 1st tier with some1 levels to gain, even better.

I'm not disagreeing with Aran being easyier than others, I'm just saying anyone can be good with BEXP.

[CT075]

If you enjoy sitting in front of the screen and praying that an Armour will get good growths, try Meg. If not, use Aran. And, unless you like the DB, don't try to balance them out. If you do like them, ... ... ...well, good luck.

[Killer Poleax]

Edward, Nolan, Jill and Zihark are all good. Aran's also good but his lack of a personality makes me not want to use him.

Heal your guys often cause most of them can't take more than 2-3 hits.

Ilyana leaves after part 1 and joins a superior team in part 3. She keeps whatever items she has so feel free to stock her up with items to take to the other team.