1st time with FE4

[Ron]

I've heard that this is probably one of (if not the) best FE out there & it has a good deal of similarities and differences alike compared to the more recent installments such as PoR & RD (remakes don't count imo)

Basically what should I know about FE4 before starting my 1st ever playthrough?

Good units, Bad units, pairings, 1st Gen/2nd Gen stuff, etc.

I would like to know anything that would help make my 1st playthrough of this game any better

[Trueblade]

First bit of advice: DON'T DIE :D lol I know you want more than that. I can help with that when I get back from school.

[Narga_Rocks]

I've heard that this is probably one of (if not the) best FE out there & it has a good deal of similarities and differences alike compared to the more recent installments such as PoR & RD (remakes don't count imo)

Basically what should I know about FE4 before starting my 1st ever playthrough?

Good units, Bad units, pairings, 1st Gen/2nd Gen stuff, etc.

I would like to know anything that would help make my 1st playthrough of this game any better

Are you willing to use FAQs? There is a ton of stuff in this game that you simply won't get if you don't look for it online. Some of it you can reason through on your own, but not all of it.

http://www.serenesforest.net/fe4/event.html

http://www.serenesforest.net/fe4/secret.html

http://www.serenesforest.net/fe4/location.html

Looking through those should get you almost everything you might otherwise miss. Also, some pairings are better than others and have a large effect on certain units later on in the game. It's similar to supports in fe6/7/8 and 10 in that you get "points" towards lover status, you only can "support" one character (fe10), and points come from turns and ending turns adjacent (fe10 gives points for more than simply being adjacent), and no lover points are ever gained after turn 50 on any map. Unlike other games, though, these are exclusively Male <-> Female pairings. That's about all I can say without spoiling anything, if you care about that kind of thing.

[Smiley Jim]

I haven't played this game yet, but I have a list(which I got from this forum)that should help you determine what first generation characters are good:

Top Tier: These units will KILL everything and will basically never die.

Sigurd

Lex

Levin

High Tier: Use of these characters is recommended. Their reasons to be here vary.

Aira

Bridget

Sylvia

Holyn

Cuan

Middle Tier: These guys are useful if trained. They aren't hard to use and are sturdy enough.

Fury

Azel

Jamuka

Fin

Beowulf

Ethlin

Claude

Edain

Midir

Alec

Noish

Low Tier: These guys take a bit of work to get revved up, but can become good.

Lachesis

Dew

Tailto

Bottom Tier: These guys just suck.

Ardan

Deirdre

Now for pairings. This is a big part of the game, since if you don't pair the women, you will get crappy-ass subs. Anyway, here are my recommended pairings.

Edain x Jamuka(Lester will get manly str, as well as good stats all around. He doesn't have pursuit, but has hero bow to compensate. Lana is pretty much a carbon copy of Edain either way.)

Aira x Lex(Elite? 60% def growth on MYRMIDONS of all things? Astra and hero sword from Aira? THIS IS MADNESS!)

Lachesis x Fin(The kids will get high luck and Prayer. Downside is that Fin has to kill Shaagal to get anything for Delmud, and that Fin loses most of his items in the second generation(just give his hero lance to Fury))

Fury x Levin(LOLSETY. Sety is possibly the most broken magic user in FE history. LOLHOLSETY, LOLPURSUIT, LOLCRITICAL, LOL105%SPD GROWTH. Fee actually becomes good with this pairing, and any Str issues she had will be dealt with in a C10 convo.)

Tailto x Azel(The kids will get Fala blood + Pursuit from Azel, so they should double for massive damage. Too bad Arthur's caps let him down.)

Bridget x Holyn(Faval benefits from Odo blood and heightened bases. Patty is still not too good, but is passable with luna and hero sword access.)

Sylvia x DUMMY(Subs are better in this case. Laylea gets Charisma and Sharlow gets us a berserk staff.)

Edited August 31, 2010 by DA125

[Thor Odinson]

[spoiler=Lumi's personal thoughts on Gen1 pairings. IS LONG.]

I think there's a couple of threads talking about pairings, but I don't feel like pulling them up, so I'll just talk about the Gen1 pairings here that would be best for a first timer. Because I love talking about FE4 pairings. <3

Ayra- You don't have to worry about her. Lakche and Ska will kill everything they touch anyway. Especially Lakche. Her combat is ridiculous. She doesn't even need a Holy Weapon to be able to kill things. The only bad pairing for her is leaving her unpaired, seriously.

Her three best pairings are with Holyn, Lex, and Noish. I don't recommend Noish for a first time player since they don't have a conversation and takes a long time, and if you want Skasaher to have better bases you want to train Noish, and training Noish, IMO, is a pain in the ass.

So that's down to Holyn and Lex. I personally prefer Holyn because he makes them absolutely overkill with Lunar Sword, but Lex gives Elite (Paragon) and overkill DEF growths. 60% on Swordies, what is this madness? It all comes down if you want fast-growing, sword-wielding tanks of death, or the ability to oneshot someone with 47 Defense. Oh, and Holyn looks better in family pictures because he has a sword and doesn't look out of place like Lex with his Axe, but that's me as a fanartist. Holyn also gives obscenely high HP growths, with Lakche averaging out at 70 and Skasaher at 76. Which is better for lategame mageland, while Lex is better for midgame physical land.

It all comes down to personal preference for this one, and either is very fast and gives a conversation in C3 that gives Ayra a Hero Sword. Epic.

Okay. I just really love Ayra's kids due to my swordie bias. The rest won't be as long as this... I hope.

Aideen-Midir>Jamka for pursuit and better spread growths. Enough said. You can do Azel for Rescue Staff, but that's pretty much making Lester unusable and Rana's mag will be very good for healing even with physical fathers. Midayle is also pretty fast. There's a conversation in C1 for love points as well.

Lachesis-Fastest would be Beowulf, and he makes the kids pretty good. I personally don't like him as a character but at least he redeems himself with this. Azel and Fin are also good choices, but are harder to make and you want Fin to have his lances come Gen2. So BeoLachesis works best here.

Sylvia-Claude or leave her unpaired. DON'T LET HER MARRY LEVIN. Claude has a conversation in C4 with her, so that's pretty fast.

Actually, you can pair her with anyone who doesn't have a better girl to be dating just so she doesn't fall for Levin. I'm serious.

But seriously, the subs are better in some ways. Laylea is one extra Charisma since not everyone on your team has god-like dodge like Sety and the Issacians, and Sharlow gets a Beserk Staff. ClaudeSylvia is also okay for crazy Res on Leen (65% WTF) so she is pretty magic-resistant (useful later on in sleepstaffer-land), and if you want to do Balmung Glitch (not recommended for a first timer, however), Corple can Valkyrie.

Fury-Her fastest is Levin, and broken as hell, too. The kids will have obscene speed (though you should reset at the beginning of Gen 2 due to Wraparound Glitch on Sety's SPD because it got too high). Claude is also a valid option, but there's no conversation versus an instant-marriage conversation in C4 with Levin. For first timers, I suggest Levin. MAKE SURE LEVIN ENTERS SILESIA CASTLE AFTER YOU CAPTURE IT OR YOU DON'T GET HOLSETY.

Tiltyu-Azel, Levin or Lex are best choices. Azel's major Fala and high speed fixes Tiltyu's low Mag and works well with the high SKL, and it is the fastest pairing for her. With Levin you get Holsety in the beginning of Gen2 and he promotes to a mounted unit, which is awesome because maps are HUGE. The only downside to that is lack of Pursuit and speed. Lex gives the kids high DEF (both capped DEF for me) and Paragon Elite, as well as Ambush. With their high enough DEF and respectable HP, they actually won't get one-shotted by things, and once you get them to 50% HP, they will attack first with a crit. It's pretty fun, but isn't exactly efficient, though I don't think you will be going efficiency on the first time through. I suggest Azel because it's fast and LevinFury is the easiest pairing to make in the game unless you waste too many turns and Sylvia married Levin instead, which is BAD.

Briggid-Dew or Holyn. It depends on the Ayra pairing. Ayra takes Lex, pair Holyn with Briggid. Ayra takes Holyn, pair Briggid with Dew.

Holyn's benefits: Lunar Sword for Patty, B-rank Sword due to minor Odo, great growths, obscenely high HP, Patty gets better bases.

Dew's benefits: All around great growths besides Mag, Res, and HP, Sun Sword for Patty, Bargain (Faval wants to repair Ichival and Patty wants to buy the Elite ring). Make sure you have Patty inherit a Return Ring and a Pursuit ring, as well as a two-range sword since she'll want that to chip damage.

Make sure you have Aideen talk to Briggid in C3 for Ichival.

Edited August 31, 2010 by Luminescent Blade

[Narga_Rocks]

Top Tier: These units will KILL everything and will basically never die.

Sigurd

Lex

Levin

Two of these (actually, arguably all 3), however, are reliant on certain events that are missable. They aren't nearly as good if they don't have these special events, though they are still both pretty good without them. Just not amazing.

Bottom Tier: These guys just suck.

Ardan

Deirdre

While it's true that they both pretty much suck, they do have special uses in a few cases. In other words, don't just leave them in a castle.

Edited August 31, 2010 by Narga_Rocks

[BEST TRYNDAMERE PLAYER]

Here's some pairing advice:

MidirxAideen

AiraxLex(Noish is okay too, though)

LachesisxBeowulf or Fin or Alec- Although I recommend Beowulf because pairing Fin means he loses all his items when he returns in the second generation even if his son isn't a lance user

FuryxLevin or Claude or Azel- I recommend Claude but for first timers Levin isn't a bad idea.

BriggidxHolyn or Dew or Lex - Dew and Holyn are good options, Lex is okay but he makes a better husband for Aira.

SylviaxHerself - Her substitutes are better.

TiltyuxLevin - Holsety for the entire second generation and upon promotion your Holsety wielder gets a horse.

I haven't played this game yet, but I have a list(which I got from this forum)that should help you determine what first generation characters are good:

Top Tier: These units will KILL everything and will basically never die.

Sigurd

Lex

Levin

High Tier: Use of these characters is recommended. Their reasons to be here vary.

Aira

Bridget

Sylvia

Holyn

Cuan

Middle Tier: These guys are useful if trained. They aren't hard to use and are sturdy enough.

Fury

Azel

Jamuka

Fin

Beowulf

Claude

Edain

Midir

Alec

Noish

Low Tier: These guys take a bit of work to get revved up, but can become good.

Lachesis

Dew

Tailto

Bottom Tier: These guys just suck.

Ardan

Deirdre

You forgot Ethlin, who should be somewhere in high.

Edited August 31, 2010 by Joey

[Nice]

FESS guide Prolog and chapter 1 walkthrough is good for basic diffence to GBA FEs which I'm more familiar with.

[spoiler=pairing]I'd say don't pair Tiltyu with Lex. their kids will suffer with Magic growth and no Persuit as the mages who can't kill in 1 round

(TiltyuxAzel seems to be canon. easy and good for first-timer)

I prefer BrigidxHolyn

Ayra kids can be great with almost any father.

( I used to pair her with Lex then I thought, huh? I don't need to waste Lex's growth and skill on these kids. They can be good on their own)

important, don't let her marry before she can get the Hero sword.

[Smiley Jim]

You forgot Ethlin, who should be somewhere in high.

I put her in Mid, but she is higher than Claude and Edain because she's a Paladin as opposed to a High Priest(Mounted wins in this game. If this wasn't FE4, Edain would be above Ethlin.)

Also in the pairings list. I forgot to mention some alternate pairings.

Midir is a decent enough choice for Edain. Lester will get pursuit and the hero bow from this, at the cost of having less manly stats.

Aira can be paired with anyone except the magic dudes and the kids will still be good. One guy recommended Dew/Aira due to him(Dew) having Sol and Bargain. LB approves of Holyn/Aira due to major Odo + Luna, but that pairing is worthless unless the Balmung glitch card is played(which she did, mind you.)

Pairing Lachesis with Fin actually isn't a good idea for beginners. I'd recommend Beowulf for noobs. Azel is actually a decent option because Delmud will still have manly str(so will Nanna), and can utilize Flame swords.

Many players recommend Levin/Tailto due to the fact that Arthur shows his face in C6 as opposed to C8, and actually becomes mounted after he promotes. No Pursuit and shitty caps just sucks, though. Oh and Tinny is going to suck.

If you are going to use the above pairing, then Claude/Fury is recommended. Sety will become a good healer, but a mediocre attacker compared to his Levin incarnation(Fury/Levin IS canon BTW)

If you pair Aira with Holyn, then Dew is your next best bet for Bridget. Patty is going to suck even more, but Faval benefits from Bargain(since the Ichival is so damn expensive to repair)

If you are going to pair Sylvia with anyone, you may as well pair her with Claude since Corple is going to suck, so he may as well be a Valk staff bot.

Also my second generation Tier List.

This is assuming the following pairings were used:

Edain/Jamuka, Aira/Lex, Lachesis/Fin, Fury/Levin, Tailto/Azel, Bridget/Holyn, Sylvia/Herself

Oh and we are assuming Johavla is the axe guy who is recruited.

Top Tier: These units will KILL everything and will basically never die.

Sety

Aless

Celice

High Tier: Use of these characters is recommended. Their reasons to be here vary.

Lakche

Altenna

Shanan

Julia

Faval

Laylea

Mid Tier: These guys are useful if trained. They aren't hard to use and are sturdy enough.

Skasaher

Delmud

Johavla

Fee

Arthur

Nanna

Lester

Oifey

Fin

Lana

Low Tier: These guys take a bit of work to get revved up but can become good.

Leaf

Tinny

Patty

Bottom Tier: I wouldn't touch these guys with a 10 foot lance.

Hannibal

Sharlow

Note, I could have done every possible pairing. But I can tell you that some placements would change. For example, if Levin/Tiltyu and Fury/Claude were played, Arthur would be in at least High Tier(he'd most likely be top, but not as good as Aless), and Sety would be lowered to high because he can at least be a reserve/valk staff bot. If Holyn!Ayra was used, Lakche and Skasaha could potentially be top tier thanks to the Balmung glitch(which would drop Shanan drastically since without the Balmung, he really isn't anything noteworthy), but since glitches aren't assumed, Skasaha would be raised to high and Lakche would pretty much stay wherever she is now.

If Sylvia was paired, Corpul might have a chance of escaping bottom tier, but only and ONLY if his father was Levin(which isn't happening since Fury is superior and Tiltyu is somewhat debatable.)

Edited September 1, 2010 by DA125

[Thor Odinson]

Lakche for god tier.

In all seriousness, I think Altenna should tie Shanan in placement and not above him. Altenna does have awesome flying utility, but Shanan has two chapters of awesome on her and almost as good dodge as Sety, so it really makes them even.

Even without using the Balmung Glitch, I still like HolynAyra more for the sheer overkill abilities of it. But since there's no better kill than overkill for me, don't mind this. The higher lategame HP point still stands, however.

As for Levin!Arthur's lack of pursuit, he still gets Continue from Levin (with a decently high activation rate once he gains a few levels), and Critical as well, so it's not too bad. The real issue is the doability of LevinTiltyu for a beginner since it requires Levin to be practically glued to her for the rest of Gen 1 until they get married, and Sylvia will have to marry Claude quickly or be killed off since she has such a lead with him.

Edited August 31, 2010 by Luminescent Blade

[TheEnd]

Best units (1st gen): the ones you're going to pair.

Okay, they aren't the best. But raising them means that their children get better stats. Sure, the difference won't be higher than 2-4 points for maxed stats and might not make much of a difference in the long run, but it also means (for instance) there's a payoff for raising Diadora to level 15ish so Celice gets a +3 RES bonus.

Also, children inherit all items from their same-sex parent (Ethlin's and Bridget's inheritance genders are inverted) they can use in their base class, save some very specific story exceptions. So, if you pair Ayra and Lex, Skasaher (Ayra's son) won't get any of his axes, as he can't use them, but will get any sword he might have in his inventory, as well as rings. You might want to keep that in mind when getting expensive rings (like the leg ring), or when swapping equips in chapter 5.

As for pairings:

Adean x Midayle. Not stellar, but easy and effective enough.

Ayra x Lex/Noish/Holyn/Dew. Really.

Lachesis x Beowulf. Again, not stellar but easy enough.

Sylvia x Claude, or alone. If you want to keep Claude's Valk Staff (which can res dead characters), it might be better to pair him with Sylvia. If you don't need it or are already pairing Claude with Fury, then just kill her at late chapter 4/early 5 or something.

Fury x Levin. Very easy to make and stellar, unless you're unlucky and get a bug I've yet been unable to reproduce. Levin!Sety is certainly one of the most overpowered characters in the entire series in terms of raw power, though some will argue that you don't need all that power in FE4. Those might prefer Levin/Tiltyu. But I recommend Levin/Fury for beginners.

Bridget x Dew/Holyn. Dew for higher overall stats and Bargain. Holyn for monstrous HP and Luna for Patty.

Tiltyu x Azel. If you aren't going for Levin/Tiltyu.

Those pairings bring two gameplay reminders. Since the fastest way of making people fall in love is leaving them side-by-side when you end a turn...

1. Leave Levin away from Sylvia. THIS IS IMPORTANT. DON'T FORGET THEM TOGETHER.

2. Leave Claude away from Tiltyu. If you don't, their children will be garbage.

[Parrhesia]

Aideen should get Midir or Jamka, and pair them quickly. Unless you seriously don't care about her son, then it doesn't matter so much, but Midir/Jamka do benefit heavily from the relationship due to ... well, you'll find out.

Ardan makes great bait, but...can't usually make it to the frontlines. Get Alec a better weapon at the first opportunity and he'll serve you well for the rest of the game. Midir should take bow upgrades whenever he can; Jamka does fine with Killer/Hero. Infantry are usually better at fighting than cavalry, but will often struggle to hit the frontlines; cavalry meanwhile sometimes don't hit hard enough, although with Cuan/Fin/Sigurd this is never a problem.

More advice; don't seek advice. Play through blindly and you'll have a better experience. EXCEPT for Chapter Four, where you need a thief to unlock a bridge, which is less than obvious, because the thief is bloody useless.

Edited September 1, 2010 by Agent Dale Cooper

[Guy Starwind]

Here's some simple advice.

Fin is your best friend! Make sure you use him as much as you can in the first generation. I wouldn't hook him up but if you did do it with Lachesis. Also if you hook him up give his hero lance to Fury. Then in Generation 2 when you get Fin again give the hero lance back to him. He crits more with it(at least when I played it).