Red Fox of Fire's character review topic (Complete)

[Mekkah]

[Anouleth]

I really don't have anything to say, other than criticising the concept of assigning a numerical value from 1 to 10 for any character in the game.

Tibarn and Naesala aren't very interesting anyway, because they're useful. It's far more entertaining to read someone ripping into a failure like Lyre, Fiona or Meg.

[Colonel M]

To be honest, I'd say there's a .5 difference between Naesala and Tibarn, but I won't dig deep into that hole since there's a +/- .5 leeway.

[Florete]

Well, I think that people have nothing to add, except smiley faces and banality. Your ratings in this new thread differ from your older writings, in that they have been informed by years of experience playing and arguing about this game; you don't really miss stuff anymore. The most that I can think to comment on is the hilarity of Naesala + Tear + Adept never going below a 90% ORKO on anything at all, even with his lowest bio; but that's just trivia more than anything else.

So don't feel sad. You get more juice out of an orange than Mother Nature ever intended; be in awe of your prowess.

I suppose that works too, I guess I just figured there'd be some issue with a full point gap here while they're chillin' right next to each other on the tier list. I wrote up the ratings before I saw that but decided I'd post them and see what anyone had to say about it (I inquired about it in the tier list thread as well but only got a small response).

[Narga_Rocks]

I really don't have anything to say, other than criticising the concept of assigning a numerical value from 1 to 10 for any character in the game.

0 to 10. Unlike smash, RF believes units can be so bad that giving them a 1 is a travesty (kidding, I have no idea if that's why she liked 0 to 10 more than 1 to 10).

Anyway, yeah, I saw that on the list. I think I was focused on something else at the time otherwise I might've tried to pull up the discussions (mostly brought on by kirsche, actually) that made Naesala so close to Tibarn.

[Florete]

0 to 10. Unlike smash, RF believes units can be so bad that giving them a 1 is a travesty (kidding, I have no idea if that's why she liked 0 to 10 more than 1 to 10).

A few reasons.

1. This has been my third try at getting this finished and I wanted to change something up to avoid redundancy.

2. I like the idea of 5 being average as opposed to 5.5

3. I see absolute failure as 0%, not 10% as 1/10 implies.

Edited June 2, 2010 by Red Fox of Fire

[Interceptor]

I suppose that works too, I guess I just figured there'd be some issue with a full point gap here while they're chillin' right next to each other on the tier list. I wrote up the ratings before I saw that but decided I'd post them and see what anyone had to say about it (I inquired about it in the tier list thread as well but only got a small response).

You have a moratorium on movements of only 0.5 points, so that sort of kills that kid in the crib unless someone thinks that the two of them need to be exactly equal, or rise/drop together. I personally think that given what the two of them are used for, there isn't a whole lot of difference between them in terms of efficient completion. They sit in roughly the same niche pre-Endgame, and the differences don't favor Tibarn absurdly in Endgame when they compete, although he does have a distinct edge due to his raw mt (I am thinking corner aura combos with a Trueblade, here).

[Junkhead]

Are you going to rate all characters, Fox? Sorry if this is a trivial question, but I just have my doubts due to the large number of them.

[Ether]

Considering how far she's gotten on it,it seems likely she won't quit on it now.

[Anouleth]

Well, I'm looking forward to Pelleas, Bastian, Oliver and Stefan!

[Dark Sage]

More ratings Red Fox of Fire. I want to read some more ratings.

[Florete]

Let's finish this SoB.

Pelleas

Why do most of the Dark magic users in this series simply suck? Of all the games I've played I think Canas was the best, and even he was just decent.

Needless to say, Pelleas is not exception. Coming in at 4-2 on your 2nd playthrough + (but these reviews are based on Hard mode anyway), Pelleas brings...well, practically nothing to the team. A level 12 Dark Sage (that's still 2nd tier) showing up in the top right corner of the map a few turns in when you've got Tibarn, Elincia, Reyson, and any number of other badass dudes working for you isn't very special. Coming in a few turns does not only mean he's late to the fighting but that you can't prepare him very well; no extra skills (so no Paragon), no BEXP, and anything else you want him to use must be traded to him, and if you want him using something like a Master Crown or stat booster (don't know why you would use a stat booster) right away it just means you lose another turn on him.

And you'll want to give him something else, too. He's horribly inaccurate without a +Hit Thunder forge (already bad accuracy and they made his secondary weaponry Thunder?). Like, on the wrong side of biorythm, he can actually drop below 50%. He'll sooner be doubled than double anything himself (he can cap Speed, promote, and still double only Generals) and just like any other Mage his concrete durability is nothing special.

He's the classic Est of the game. Low and late start, grows fast, good growths (mostly). So, what's his saving grace?

Surprisingly enough, Pelleas actually can be a little useful. He is the only available user of Fenrir and by 4-5 will have two, so if you want a quick clear his sniping of an annoyingly-placed enemy Laguz can be helpful, or any enemy in 4-2 as well. Of course, the afore-mentioned accuracy will not be good, so he still can't be relied on to perform this task without a paddle. Other than that, as long as you're good enough to keep him away from enemies, he can always sit back and attack enemies at range who can't attack him back (or Snipers up close), and with 4-2 as a Rout map every kill counts. If you can get him promoted, such as an early Master Crown, he can also provide extra healing with an automatic B in staves (allowing such staves as Physic and Recover) should you need it.

There's not much else worth mentioning. He doesn't find a spot in most Endgame teams so likely just won't go, which also means he'll never be building support with his Water affinity. Even if he does go, he won't do much. 31 Speed cap is pretty horrid, so he'd mostly be reduced to a healbot, but there are better options for that that don't cost a Master Crown.

1/10

Stefan

Hey, it's...that guy. The guy no one finds without looking up where he is from another source, in either game (if you found him on your own, you're lying).

Stefan has an interesting position in this game and therefore has little that needs to be said. He'll join likely at the tail end of 4-3. It's a Rout map, though, so anything he kills is at least helping for completion of the map. But then that ends, and...Endgame! Yeah, I've already gotten to the people who join right before Endgame. Sigh.

Well, at least he's good. You'll likely get him if only for the Vague Katti, so there's no reason to assume he isn't recruited. I like to have Micaiah hold a Wyrmslayer that can be given to him so he can slay the Dragonriders nearby his position, but 4-3 really won't last long enough so there's not much to say about it. Then it's Endgame. He faces the issue of sort of maybe not really being a candidate. He is, at the very least, a safety net. His bases are Endgame-worthy if not great, so if you are for some reason in desperate need of a Trueblade and none of the others are cutting it for you, he's your man. He'll double everything as long as he gets 3 Speed (~5 levels) by 4-E-5, has decent Strength and durability, and good crit. He's not the greatest out there but he'll get the job done. Aside from Luck his growths are all good, as well, so you won't be relying on his bases forever.

That's pretty much it for his performance. Though he comes late, having Heaven affinity is actually good what with the high Avoid of Ashera's Auras, so he can help someone and himself with likely a C or B there, depending on how fast you are in Endgame. Overall he just isn't that special due to joining too late and when things are easier due to a stronger team. Not really bad, just not very useful.

3.5/10

Transfers!:

Strength, Skill, Speed. It's nice, and it'll definitely help his performance, but it's really just too little too late to actually do much for his case.

Oliver

Ugh...Why did they have to make him actually playable? Did they like him that much?

Well, I'm happy that I can say with great truth that Oliver sucks. Like, bottom 5 suckage. I could even see him as bottom 3 (though probably no further than that). Like Stefan, he joins at the tail end of his first map, but unlike Stefan, Oliver is joining at the very tip of the tail. Being the map boss does that to you. It's actually very possible that his recruitment will be the end of the map since it's Rout and...well, he's the boss, so he's at the end. With that said, Oliver and 4-4 are done.

So, Endgame. What does Oliver do? He shouldn't do anything, because you shouldn't take him, at least if you're going for a fast and efficient completion. Anything he can do can be done by the Other Sage, only better. Want a last minute healbot? Take the Other Sage, he has more Magic. Want a last minute ranged attacked? Take the Other Sage, he still has more Magic as well as stronger tomes and a wider range of siege tomes not being used by someone who's already forced. Want a last minute tank? Take just about any other character in the game, including the Other Sage, because Oliver's durability is awful. Like, doubled by Generals bad (and one rounded by nearly everything, too).

Even if the Other Sage is dead somehow, you still don't want this guy. His potshots are weak and there are still other choices for better healing. The only real advantage he has on anyone, including the Other Sage, is the ability to reach S and SS Staff rank, while non-Dark Archsages can only reach A and Dark Archsage, Valkyrie, and Queen can only reach S. This would be cool...if Micaiah, that forced unit who beats or ties Oliver everywhere, didn't exist, and/or if reaching that high really meant much. As far as I know there's only one Fortify staff, which is the only available S rank staff, and the SS staves really aren't even that useful, and even if they were, Micaiah. Oh, and his Fire affinity won't be helping much, if at all, either.

So, as you can see, Oliver is a useless pile of crap. The only reason I'm not giving him a rock bottom score is because he can at least do something (heal), while the ones at 0 mostly can't even manage that.

0.5/10

Bastian

Hey look, it's the Other Sage!

So, I think the above review is a good indicator of what this guy does. He's a last minute healbot. Fortunately for him, though, he actually joins his first map, 4-5, in preparations, so he's got some time to do other stuff. Not much, since his durability isn't very good, but his Magic shots can be useful for those pesky leftovers and he can heal your injured guys. If you don't clear out 4-5 very fast this can be really nice because the enemies can hit hard.

And then, Endgame. Not much to say. Healbot, potshot, keep him safe from enemies, it's not even third grade math (I don't really remember third grade math, though, so don't take my word for it). Wind affinity is nothing special, neither is healbotting, but he'll work in a pinch.

2/10

Transfers:

Strength? Lol, as if that would help him. It won't even help BEXP because it's already his lowest growth.

Volke

I hope I don't get modded for this (I started this review as a song from a show about gruesome murders started playing. Coincidence?).

Volke is, for the most part, just like Stefan. They are very similar statistically and their weapons have similar MT. Volke is slightly better, but not by much. He has higher base Strength but his weapons are weaker, so it usually evens out unless they have a chance to cap their Strength (not likely, but possible), in which case Stefan would pull ahead in raw damage. Volke, however, has better durability and more crit, so against enemies they wouldn't normally kill he has a better chance, and he can also survive slightly better. He also has more time before Endgame in 4-5, but he has Stillness there and it's a Boss kill, so it's worth about as much as Stefan's 4-3.

Now I know this isn't supposed to be Stefan vs. Volke, but it's better to do this because otherwise I'd practically be repeating myself. His usefulness is very similar and thus he receives...

3.5/10

Transfer:

What do you know, also Strength, Skill, and Speed. Helpful, but ultimately too late to really do much.

And now I eat dinner.

Edited November 5, 2010 by Red Fox of Fire

[Dark Sage]

Hey Ray didn't suck. Neither did Salem.

[Shadow Mir]

Hey Ray didn't suck. Neither did Salem.

Salem only really stood out because of staffhax. Ray... I dunno what to say, but he really wasn't that great.

[Smiley Jim]

Ray... I dunno what to say, but he really wasn't that great.

He has a bit of a rough start(not doubling, his concrete durability not being the best in the world, slight hit issues), but if you feed him kills like you fed Lugh/Lilina 9/4 chapters back, he's actually pretty good. But I know people here don't really like to spoon-feed units. I can agree on one thing though; Sophia is probably the worst unit in FE6, along with Juno(Lv9 prepromote with shit bases/growths) and Wendy(bad bases, not-so-good class, Bors is 20X better than her at tanking anyway).

Really IS? A unit with 15 HP/1 Def with only 2 AS is most definitely not good. She actually has severe hit issues due to FE6 enemies actually having avoid, and joins at Lv1 in a FoW desert map, possibly the worst join scenario in FE history. There is no way I could recommend her over Lleu. Or Niime, but I would only use her if Ray turned out to be mush.

IS really likes to troll us with dark magic. Faileas is no exception

though I brought him to the endgame as a combat unit/healer

Bad bases, good growths, absolutely ass spd cap.

Edited July 21, 2010 by DA125

[Shadow Mir]

He has a bit of a rough start(not doubling, his concrete durability not being the best in the world, slight hit issues), but if you feed him kills like you fed Lugh/Lilina 9/4 chapters back, he's actually pretty good. But I know people here don't really like to spoon-feed units. I can agree on one thing though; Sophia is probably the worst unit in FE6, along with Juno(Lv9 prepromote with shit bases/growths) and Wendy(bad bases, not-so-good class, Bors is 20X better than her at tanking anyway).

Really IS? A unit with 15 HP/1 Def with only 2 AS is most definitely not good. She actually has severe hit issues due to FE6 enemies actually having avoid, and joins at Lv1 in a FoW desert map, possibly the worst join scenario in FE history. There is no way I could recommend her over Lleu. Or Niime, but I would only use her if Ray turned out to be mush.

IS really likes to troll us with dark magic.

To be honest, what I'd like to know with Sophia, Yunno, and Wendy is "What in the world was IS thinking???" Oh, and I would've mentioned the fact that Wendy joins at level 1 right before an axefest. At least Bors actually has time to grow before that point and joins at a point in time where I can at least make use of him.

Bold: Indeed.

Spoiler: Now THAT's a unit that'd be able to rival Lyre's level of fail.

[Florete]

So...a debate about a line I added that doesn't actually have anything to do with ratings? Okay...

Hey Ray didn't suck. Neither did Salem.

I did say 'most,' and that the best was decent, so that doesn't necessarily mean they both suck. But I also specified the ones I've played, and since I don't know which one Salem is from I have to assume it's one of the ones I haven't played.

[Smiley Jim]

To be honest, what I'd like to know with Sophia, Yunno, and Wendy is "What in the world was IS thinking???" Oh, and I would've mentioned the fact that Wendy joins at level 1 right before an axefest. At least Bors actually has time to grow before that point and joins at a point in time where I can at least make use of him.

Bold: Indeed.

Spoiler: Now THAT's a unit that'd be able to rival Lyre's level of fail.

And the funny thing is that, when I skimmed through some of the character guides at GameFAQ's, and a few guys said that Wendy is the best general in FE6. Now that is a downright lie. Bors and Douglas tie for best general in that game, not that armors are even that great in FE6; Bors because he's been around since Ch1 and has OK durability as he grows, Dougie because he's practically invincible in Sacae/Ilia(not that Bors isn't either, since he has 47.4 HP/24.1 Def at Lv8 promoted, assuming averages. I had him with 47HP/27 Def at Lv5 promoted once. Note PEMN.)

P.S: What kind of rating do you predict Kurth and Ena will get?

Edited July 21, 2010 by DA125

[Defeatist Elitist]

And the funny thing is that, when I skimmed through some of the character guides at GameFAQ's, and a few guys said that Wendy is the best general in FE6. Now that is a downright lie. Bors and Douglas tie for best general; Bors because he's been around since Ch1 and has OK durability as he grows, Dougie because he's practically invincible in Sacae/Ilia(not that Bors isn't either, since he has 47.4 HP/24.1 Def at Lv8 promoted, assuming averages. I had him with 47HP/27 Def at Lv5 promoted once. Note PEMN.)

Being the best General in FE6 is like being the best sharpshooter in the Stormtrooper corp stationed on the Death Star.

[Shadow Mir]

And the funny thing is that, when I skimmed through some of the character guides at GameFAQ's, and a few guys said that Wendy is the best general in FE6. Now that is a downright lie. Bors and Douglas tie for best general in that game, not that armors are even that great in FE6; Bors because he's been around since Ch1 and has OK durability as he grows, Dougie because he's practically invincible in Sacae/Ilia(not that Bors isn't either, since he has 47.4 HP/24.1 Def at Lv8 promoted, assuming averages. I had him with 47HP/27 Def at Lv5 promoted once. Note PEMN.)

P.S: What kind of rating do you predict Kurth and Ena will get?

Then again, those guides were written aeons ago, during the era where people worshipped Nino and whatnot.

[-Cynthia-]

Wendy comes like 7 chapters later than Bors with worse bases and about the same growths. So terrible.

Speaking of FE6, Niime had her uses. Not great though.

[Zkirsche]

Now THAT's a unit that'd be able to rival Lyre's level of fail.

Tbh, it sounds worse than Lyre's level of fail.

If Volke/Stefan got a 4, I'd say the dragons get a 3 or a 3.5.

[Fenrir]

Tbh, it sounds worse than Lyre's level of fail.

If Volke/Stefan got a 4, I'd say the dragons get a 3 or a 3.5.

The dragons should get 4.5 if Volke/Stefan get 4.

[Florete]

Kurthnaga

And now we hit the only-Endgame units. Fun.

So, Kurthnaga is only available for Endgame. Forced, fortunately for him, but still not good. It's easy to see his stats aren't going anywhere. 55 HP and 30 Defense is actually kinda good, but only 20 Speed is awful for his durability. It would be easier to forgive him (still hard, but easier) if he could reliably hit stuff, and then do decent damage on top of it. As things are, Kurth is sitting at 163 base Hit, which means he sees around the 80's for a while until later when avoid goes even higher and his 20% Skill growth doesn't. That would be bearable...if, in order to have him fight, you didn't need him to be handling the leftovers. 42 atk and never doubling means he does in the 10's and maybe low 20's of damage if he's lucky.

In the end, Kurth as a combat unit is technically fixable if you have BEXP, a Secret Book or two, and time to waste feeding him enemies. But I don't have that kind of time, so I have to judge him on his use as a utility unit.

Night Tide. That's all he's really good for this late in the game. +5 Defense and Resistance to anyone next to him. Of course, with his horrible durability, you won't always want him right next to someone else, so it's far from perfect. And he can't even reliably double with potshots because he actually loses one move when he transforms. What the hell? Unfortunately for him, that kind of stat boost just isn't very useful anymore. Those without massive concrete durability should have things like avoid and ranged attacking to keep them safe, and people like Micaiah have nothing to do but heal anyway.

There is also the point about Kurth being a wall for the Dragons on 4-E-3, but 4-E-3 only lasts so long. Kurth is generally one of the first I dump come 4-E-4. He just isn't really useful. Still, he has three forced maps, so you might as well make use of him.

1.5/10

Ena

Pretty much the same as Kurth in the combat department, except even worse. She can hit stuff better but her damage is beyond repair.

And so, if you couldn't guess, Ena's usefulness is also based purely on utility. Except, unlike Kurth, Ena's utility is actually useful. The main point is Blood Tide, increasing allies Strength and Skill by 5. Considering how likely it is for someone to be short of a kill in Endgame, especially when enemies stand on Defense tiles, the Strength is obviously always useful. The Skill is also very useful, since 10 more Hit when Ike is often seeing 60's at the end can be the difference between life and death. Needless to say, Ena is one you'll want for all of Endgame. Just be sure to keep her safe...same problem as Kurth in that her durability sucks, so you might not always be able to have her next to a combatant.

Then there's also Boon. Not as good, but it is still a boon, specifically in 4-E-1 where you're facing two Sleep staves and Lekain AOE's with Silence. Again, it has to be standing next to them, but if someone's been put to sleep they aren't going anywhere anyway. Sure, you have Restore staves, but they can only reach so many people, and you might not have a healer in range at the right time.

I might make it sound pretty good, and in a way it is, but the reality is that she's not the first nor the last case of too little too late. Her skills last for what might be 10-15 turns, and she can't use them all the time. Or, she just might not be useful. She's more likely to find use than Kurth is, but your units are still awesome already and the offense boost can easily be just as superfluous as it can occasionally be helpful, especially if you have Laguz Royals running around.

3/10

Transfers:

Lol right.

Caineghis

OH MY GOD, IT'S THE LION KING! But Simba Skrimir's his nephew, that makes no sense.

So, like, only available for Endgame, and not forced either, but no one cares about that when he's one of the strongest choices of team members available, possibly the strongest. 66 MT is hard to top, as is 76 HP and 46 Defense. A machine that's ready to kill and never die. 34 Speed could be a little better, but at least he hits the breaking point of the minimum to double all Spirits and double Auras with White Pool.

So...yeah. Powerful attacks, awesome durability, 9 move, what more could you want? I know, I know, 2 range, flight, and an active support. He can't have it all, I guess. But he does have a lot. Availability is all that really keeps him down.

5.5/10

Giffca

The king's shadow, but he isn't evil like Scar.

Giffca is, pretty much, exactly like Giffca. Like, they're more worthy of being reviewed together than Janaff and Ulki but I didn't think of it until now and I've already written Caineghis so I'm continuing like this. They're so similar they've actually had the same slot on the tier list for like, a year or something. He still has super durability, he has 2 less MT but I don't think I could find a single scenario where that mattered, he has similar mastery activation, the same move, and the same availability. The only notable difference is that he doesn't have Formshift, but Lion gauge goes down so slow and Endgame goes by so quickly that the 5 lost player phases just aren't worth much.

So yeah. Read this again: Powerful attacks, awesome durability, 9 move, what more could you want? I know, I know, 2 range, flight, and an active support. He can't have it all, I guess. But he does have a lot. Availability is all that really keeps him down.

5.5/10

Transfer?:

Strength. I did the calculations a while ago and this actually brings him into killing range of a few enemies Caineghis misses, but not enough to change his score.

Edited November 5, 2010 by Red Fox of Fire

[Anouleth]

I'm surprised Ena isn't being rated more highly. I'd put her at least equal to Stefan.