I think I'm biased against prepromotes.

[Darros]

I never use units that are already promoted, because they don't have as good potential in my experience, am I being biased and wrong?

[Tables]

Sometimes, you're right. Sometimes, you're wrong. Often, a prepromote is the best character in the game (see: FE4, FE8, FE9, FE11), and often, there are other very useful prepromotes in each game - prepromotes give your team a good character available instantly, even if they have less potential than other characters.

Then again, Arran exists.

[Janissary]

Percival.

You tend to be right a lot of times, but you must remember that sometimes, you can be really, really wrong :).

[dondon151]

You're right in that they usually have stunted potential, but that extra potential is generally superfluous on other characters.

[NinjaMonkey]

I have to say that I also hate using prepromotes (with the exception of Calill in PoR and Elincia in RD).

I guess it's because I feels like I've achieved something when I see my (initially weak) units running around pwning everything in sight.

[Strawman]

I also dislike prepromotes. I hardly ever use them and my teams usually end up semi-decent. Though training weak units can be a pain especially when they get screwed on stats.

[Just call me AL]

There was a thread similar to this one.

Mainly ditto what dondon and I Eat Tables said. Also, I'd say "not having as good of a potential as unpromoted characters" really all depends on the prepromote in question. If it's someone like Boah, Midia, Lawrence, or Arran, then that would be the case. But there are some prepromotes that, at the very least, can wind up as good as those who don't start off that way. (Wolf and Sedgar from FEDS, Marcus and Pent from FE7 to name a few.) And others, despite not having growths as good as unpromoted units, can be good themselves due solely for their utility. (Like FEDS's Wendell, who has instant Excalibur utility as well as healing utility. And FE6's Cecelia and Niime, who I imagine are mainly used for their staff utility.) Not all prepromotes are bad, and your team may just be better off with one in several cases.

[SuperTroll Maxim Lapierre]

Apparently, people cannot understand the concept of moderation when it comes to using certain prepromotes that aren't utter suck or are such growthwhores that pretty stats are more important than finishing the game.

Edited July 29, 2010 by Voltaire

[Momo]

I never use units that are already promoted, because they don't have as good potential in my experience, am I being biased and wrong?

Darros is a prepromote now.

[Biabarr]

There are some awesome prepromotes out there (eg: Sigurd, Sety, Sirus, Cuan, Percival, Klein, and Elincia RD are among my favorites). However, there are always those really bad prepromotes that are just terrible and should never be used. It all depends on who you are talking about

[Galenforcer]

Some pre-promotes usually are bad(Most from FE6), however most of them I find useful at times like FE6 Marcus in Hard Earlygame and extra healers. Then there are some that wtfpwn the game with their stats and growths(Duessuel, Seth, Percival and Titania). My take on them is although most pre-promotes aren't usually the best units to use, they have good uses if you use them right and some hard modes might prove to be too tough without them *coughFE11H5andFE12Lunaticcough*

[Thor Odinson]

It really depends on the unit.

God Seth can easily solo his game, and I heard Titiania can solo FE9 as well.

Sigurd is a prepromote and he's the best lord in FE IMO, and Sety is completely broken.

And there's Wolf and Sedgar who made H5 actually bearable.

And numerous others.

My opinions? There are awesome ones, and there are ones that are crap. It all depends.

[Narga_Rocks]

Often, a prepromote is the best character in the game (see: FE4,

There are some awesome prepromotes out there (eg: Sigurd, Sety, [..] Cuan,

Sigurd is a prepromote and he's the best lord in FE IMO, and Sety is completely broken.

Based on the leveling system that fe4 uses, you can hardly count most of them as prepromotes. The only ones that I could buy as prepromotes in fe4 are Claude and Hannibal. The rest can have just as many levels of growth remaining as anybody else (sometimes more), only they get their promo-bonuses before reaching level 20.

While they certainly come promoted, that has none of the disadvantages normally associated with being a prepromote.

edit:

Holyn is more of a prepromote than Sigurd, really. Sigurd starts with 25 levels remaining, Holyn starts with 18. Okay, he's not actually promoted, but he's still closer.

Aside from Claude and Hannibal (which effectively are prepromotes in every sense of the word), I could maybe accept Altenna and Oifaye as prepromotes as well (though Altenna, like Holyn, isn't actually promoted).

Sety is only level 14 so I wouldn't count him. At least he's much closer to being a prepromote than Cuan and Sigurd. I wouldn't count Shanan, though.

Edited July 29, 2010 by Narga_Rocks

[Thor Odinson]

Technically, they're still prepromotes, even though they don't have the disadvantages at all.

But yes. FE4 system is a bit different than the others.

[Narga_Rocks]

Technically, they're still prepromotes, even though they don't have the disadvantages at all.

But yes. FE4 system is a bit different than the others.

Strictly speaking, if you only define it as "recruited as a unit with a class normally associated with promoted units", they would count. However, the word implies more than that. Generally the word implies that when you get them you don't get as much opportunity for growth as the non-promoted units because you get significantly fewer levels.

They are a lot more like tier 1 units that happen to have their promo bonuses rather than actual tier 2 units. Consider them to be units with higher bases (promo bonuses) than everyone else and when they hit level 20 and can "promote", their stats don't actually change. That would be more in-line with how a Sigurd/Cuan/Briggid/etc type unit would exist in other fe games. Simply units with higher bases (including move for units like Cuan) and no promo bonuses when they reach promotion levels. And in Sigurd's case a horse he wouldn't have otherwise.

[Thor Odinson]

All that is true.

Just I define prepromote by their literal meaning rather than all the implications they have.

In case OP decides to play FE4, sees Sety, and decide to bench him because he's a Sage rather than Bard. Not saying it would happen, but... eh.

[Fayt Zelpher]

Strictly speaking, if you only define it as "recruited as a unit with a class normally associated with promoted units", they would count. However, the word implies more than that. Generally the word implies that when you get them you don't get as much opportunity for growth as the non-promoted units because you get significantly fewer levels.

They are a lot more like tier 1 units that happen to have their promo bonuses rather than actual tier 2 units. Consider them to be units with higher bases (promo bonuses) than everyone else and when they hit level 20 and can "promote", their stats don't actually change. That would be more in-line with how a Sigurd/Cuan/Briggid/etc type unit would exist in other fe games. Simply units with higher bases (including move for units like Cuan) and no promo bonuses when they reach promotion levels. And in Sigurd's case a horse he wouldn't have otherwise.

Don't forget increased weapon ranks since they don't go up in FE4 through use like they do in FE8-11 (and probably 6 and 7 as well) (outside of the increases from a promotion).

[Inui]

I never use units that are already promoted, because they don't have as good potential in my experience, am I being biased and wrong?

Yup, you sure are.

[Colonel M]

Some pre-promotes usually are bad(Most from FE6)

Let's see...

- Marcus

- Zealot, though mediocre to some extents

- Klein

- Percival

- Niime

- Yodel

- Echinda

I'd call Cecilia pretty bleh, but she has some moderate uses (auto-Aircalibur and C Staves on a pony is pretty nifty at times).

[dondon151]

I would put Bartre on that list, too. Dayan and Igrene might also be worth deploying if you lack better units (but now we're kind of going into the territory where a prepromote is only good when used a certain way).

[eclipse]

FE6 - Haven't really messed around with the characters enough to say.

FE7 - If you're doing an all-horse run, Marcus gets one distinct advantage over EVERYONE - level 1 with a B in Axes. Even if you're not doing my mounted run, Marcus, Pent, Karel, and Hawkeye can hold their own (and if you're on Hector Hard, Harken).

FE8 - Not my favorite game; hence, I didn't mess with the characters much.

FE9 - Titania can stomp the game flat, with Shinon as support.

FE10 - Elincia. 'Nuff said.

FESD - Not counting the Wolfguard (where Wolf and Sedgar stole part of Roshea and Vyland's growths), it looks like Horace got some decent bases, Wendell got the weapon levels, and Minerva gets her axe and some decent growths (good Strength, insane Defense). I haven't tried using Astram, but his growths (save Speed) don't look too bad.

Some prepromotes are good, just as some unpromoted units are bad *glares at Wrys*. Try everyone out a few times, and see what happens.

[Genericname]

I used to also be super biased against pre-promotes, until I actually figured out that Wolf and Sedgar were pre-promotes. I felt sort of dumb after I figured that out, being that I thought they were not promoted. But anyway, once I got used to using them, I started using Titania and Seth a little bit, and started generally caring less about whether they were pre-promotes and caring more about whether they were good or not.

[Thief]

Prepromotes are only a minus point when the roster is limited. In Seisen, the latter is never a constraint, so there is nothing stopping you from using everyone.

With saving every turn and overpowered units/weapons, EXP distribution isn't much of an issue anyhow.

[Emeraldfox]

Oh hey, prepromotes. I use them until my characters can handle things themselves. So I find them useful.

Edited July 30, 2010 by EmeraldFox

[Charpig]

The prepromotes that start at Level 1 tend to be the best because they get 19 level ups. Even if they have lackluster bases they can make up for it if they have good growths and many levels to take advantage of them. But I am NOT saying that other prepromotes are bad. FE11 just has the worst prepromotes. Jagen might be needed for the first two chapters of H5, but he is nowhere near the ass kicking level of Seth and Titania. Marth, Cain, and Abel quickly surpass Jagen. By the time you get Minerva, you can already get Caeda several levels, AND she's got the Wing Spear. Wolf and Sedgar are only good because of their amazing growths, their bases are crap. The lategame prepromotes (Lorenz, Ymir) are the worst of all. If playing Shadow Dragon, I can perfectly understand Darros's aversion to using prepromotes, I hate them too in that game. Usually in SD I only recruit the prepromotes to get their silver weapons, and then I kill 'em off. But in other Fire Emblems prepromotes are at the very least useable, some of them are even better than all your other units. At the end of the day, I use the units that get the job done, prepromoted or not. The main advantages of prepromotes are:

-You don't have to use a promotion item on them

-They usually start with high weapon levels, even for their secondary weapons

-If they have good stats, they can meatshield and weaken enemies for weaker units to gain EXP, or take out enemies that are too tough for your other units

-As I mentioned for SD, they usually come with good weapons

-They make the game easier (for some people that is actually a DISADVANTAGE)