Best/Worst in the Series: Round 55

[Silent Mercenary]

Like corrosion.

And in case, what mercy does < taking up capacity.

Mercy and Flourish (both 10 capacity) are both optional skills you give to your units when you want to train someone, and you are assured they'll take their respective effects. Shriek is also optional but takes 20 capacity, and the effect will only help you raise the chances of criticalling the ranged unit the next turn, if it activates (highest Luck% is 35% on Non-Naesala hawks/ravens), and if you leave your bird out in the open for ranged units. And unless you have Nullify too (20), you would not want to leave your bird in the range of wind magic/bows, cutting down the usefulness to fire and thunder magic/ranged melee weapons. There's no harm in leaving Shriek on, but there's no use either. Criticals remain unpredictable (unless you have a Wrath trueblade nearby with a Killing Edge for 100% Crit).

[Zkirsche]

you give to your units when you want to train someone

why would you give them the skills, when theres a readily made option available for nerfing your units (bronze wepons) which aren't nearly as permanent (thanks to trades/turns you don't have it equipped).

[Florete]

For a whole chapter? I could just throw a bronze sword on Elincia or something so I can switch back to amiti whenever.

A whole chapter is much longer than Shriek is being useful. And a Bronze Sword? Really? Either she won't do enough damage because that weapon's MT fails and she might not even double, or she'll proc Stun and outright kill (this applies to any weapon, btw). And there's also 4-5 where it can be put to use, if you choose to and/or need it. How the hell is Shriek useful in any way? To more easily see what someone's critical looks like?

Oh, and even though it hurts my side of things, I should add that Elincia doesn't get Mercy for free. It still takes capacity.

Edited September 5, 2010 by Red Fox of Fire

[Zkirsche]

Either she won't do enough damage because that weapon's MT fails and she might not even double

Fine then, use a forged silver sword or something. No skin off my nose. I'd rather do that than be forced to be locked to not being able to use Elincia period.

[Florete]

Fine then, use a forged silver sword or something. No skin off my nose. I'd rather do that than be forced to be locked to not being able to use Elincia period.

Hello Stun. Solution: Only leave Elincia with Mercy if you don't plan on seriously using her. It never has to hurt you if you don't want it to.

But honestly, for me to even start taking your side of things seriously, you need to provide some way for Shriek to actually be useful.

[Anouleth]

I'm willing to accept Mercy just because it's a cool skill that fits Elincia's personality. I think there should be more unique skills like that to make characters feel different to one another.

[Zkirsche]

It never has to hurt you if you don't want it to.

Neither does shriek.

[Just call me AL]

How is Aether not winning this? It essentially allows Ike to be nearly invincible for the last bit of FE9. Or maybe it's less useful on HM or something. I'm not pro enough for HM most of the time.

I'm pretty sure it has to do with the fact that it really wasn't properly introduced until FE9. (The Luna/Sol combo in FE5, IIRC, did have the same effect as Aether however, minus the attack twice effect.) Edited September 5, 2010 by LittleAl

[Florete]

Neither does shriek.

But Shriek is never going to help you, either.

[luigi bros]

Best:FE9!Aether

Worst:Great Shield

I nominate Best/Worst Recruitment Theme (3)

Edited September 5, 2010 by luigi bros

[CT075]

Best: Canto. FUCK YEAH MOUNTED UNITS

Worst: Pursuit. Can you say, OUTDATED?

[Rewjeo]

How is Pusuit worst? Like, really? I don't get how it's outdated. At all.

[eclipse]

Mercy: Great for making sure Elincia doesn't get all the kills. I have her hold on to Amiti for the defensive bonuses, and I'm assured that the kills go to units I want to train (like others from the DB). Elincia is the only one that can use this skill. If I want Elincia to gain experience, I'll have her heal.

Shriek: I have yet to see this activate.

EDIT: Forgot my nomination of Best/Worst Support Conversation!

Edited September 6, 2010 by eclipse

[CT075]

How is Pusuit worst? Like, really? I don't get how it's outdated. At all.

I guess I kind of overemphasized how obselete Pursuit is.

But really, nowadays you have FEs with the traditional doubling system. Then you go back to FE4 and realize how annoying it is the suddenly remember that Noish only gets one attack and can't finish off that bandit. (or at least I did.)

[Chalis]

I guess I kind of overemphasized how obselete Pursuit is.

But really, nowadays you have FEs with the traditional doubling system. Then you go back to FE4 and realize how annoying it is the suddenly remember that Noish only gets one attack and can't finish off that bandit. (or at least I did.)

Pursuit was a very helpful, almost necessary, skill in the only game it appeared in.

Saying a character's lack of Pursuit is what makes Pursuit bad is a bit...

[Rewjeo]

Therefor, Shriek must be one of the best skills in anything ever because NOT having it is potentially helpful and never hindering.

Also, recent FEs do NOT have the traditional doubling system. It was, IIRC, SPD-WT=AS, and if your AS was at all higher than the enemy's, you doubled.

[AstraLunaSol]

Best:Me FE5 Meteor Sword

Worst: Mercy, why

[CT075]

Pursuit was a very helpful, almost necessary, skill in the only game it appeared in.

Saying a character's lack of Pursuit is what makes Pursuit bad is a bit...

Eh. Each to his own, I suppose.

[Kay]

Worst: Mercy, why

At least you can sell Mercy. In addition, it is amusing to do so.

Best: Summon (FE8, if it matters)

Worst: Flourish

Nominate: Best/Worst Weapon Name

[Narga_Rocks]

How is flourish worse than Mercy? Flourish allows you to choose to leave an enemy alive (well, probably leave it alive) if you want but you can still kill stuff in that chapter. Mercy is stuck for an entire chapter at a time and that unit can never kill anything. Mega pain.

As for shriek, at least it does something. Quickclaw is even worse. It barely does any damage. In the hands of Lethe and Lyre it probably does none. In the hands of Mordy or Ranulf, sure, it actually causes damage. But it still causes so little that it is probably not changing 2HKOs into 1HKOs and only characters like Mia have a 3HKO turn into a 2HKO. Or how about Guard? 20 capacity. Has anyone ever seen it work? How often are you sticking two buddy units adjacent anyway? How about Miracle? If it doesn't activate, you are reseting unless you like losing characters. Maelstrom has similar problems to Quickclaw. Really, at least if luck drops to 0 then your crit rates increase greatly.

Oh, the description says "attacked indirectly". Does anyone actually know that you need to be hit? Someone earlier seems to have assumed that you need to get hit. Isn't it possible that "attacked" means, well, "attacked". If you get attacked, whether you dodge or make it tink or take damage you are still being attacked.

[Shadow Mir]

As for shriek, at least it does something. Quickclaw is even worse. It barely does any damage. In the hands of Lethe and Lyre it probably does none. In the hands of Mordy or Ranulf, sure, it actually causes damage. But it still causes so little that it is probably not changing 2HKOs into 1HKOs and only characters like Mia have a 3HKO turn into a 2HKO. Or how about Guard? 20 capacity. Has anyone ever seen it work? How often are you sticking two buddy units adjacent anyway? How about Miracle? If it doesn't activate, you are reseting unless you like losing characters. Maelstrom has similar problems to Quickclaw. Really, at least if luck drops to 0 then your crit rates increase greatly.

Oh, the description says "attacked indirectly". Does anyone actually know that you need to be hit? Someone earlier seems to have assumed that you need to get hit. Isn't it possible that "attacked" means, well, "attacked". If you get attacked, whether you dodge or make it tink or take damage you are still being attacked.

IIRC, Shriek/Howl/Maelstrom/Quickclaw all require you to get hit. Which brings me to my next point: You'd have to be pretty (un)lucky to see Shriek activate, because birds have good evade. Also, there's the fact that most ranged attacks that birds face are coming from bows or wind magic.

Edited September 6, 2010 by Ein Lanford

[eclipse]

How about Miracle? If it doesn't activate, you are reseting unless you like losing characters.

Miracle saved me from a reset once (Pelleas ate a 3% critical because RD hates me).

How is flourish worse than Mercy? Flourish allows you to choose to leave an enemy alive (well, probably leave it alive) if you want but you can still kill stuff in that chapter. Mercy is stuck for an entire chapter at a time and that unit can never kill anything. Mega pain.

Mercy is only for Elincia, and if I'm using Elincia, I don't want her decimating 4-2 by herself. I use it to feed kills to units I want to gain CEXP (efficiency can go to hell, I wanna level Pelleas!)

[Silith]

Best Skill.

Err hard to say. Tear and Rend are both so good. I'll go with Rend for instant OHKO's.

Worst Skill.

Sure Strike (Snipers in FE:8) yes let's add a 100% hit skill on people who already have 100% hit all the time.

[Fei Mao]

Best:FE5 Wrath

Worst:Shriek

[Anouleth]

How is flourish worse than Mercy? Flourish allows you to choose to leave an enemy alive (well, probably leave it alive) if you want but you can still kill stuff in that chapter. Mercy is stuck for an entire chapter at a time and that unit can never kill anything. Mega pain.

As for shriek, at least it does something. Quickclaw is even worse. It barely does any damage. In the hands of Lethe and Lyre it probably does none. In the hands of Mordy or Ranulf, sure, it actually causes damage. But it still causes so little that it is probably not changing 2HKOs into 1HKOs and only characters like Mia have a 3HKO turn into a 2HKO. Or how about Guard? 20 capacity. Has anyone ever seen it work? How often are you sticking two buddy units adjacent anyway? How about Miracle? If it doesn't activate, you are reseting unless you like losing characters. Maelstrom has similar problems to Quickclaw. Really, at least if luck drops to 0 then your crit rates increase greatly.

Oh, the description says "attacked indirectly". Does anyone actually know that you need to be hit? Someone earlier seems to have assumed that you need to get hit. Isn't it possible that "attacked" means, well, "attacked". If you get attacked, whether you dodge or make it tink or take damage you are still being attacked.

Dealing damage is better than reducing luck to 0.

Guard is supposed to work. I mean, it works for Sephiran and Ashera just fine.

Miracle is okay on any character that has chance of death from crits. Not significantly, because if you have crit rates on you, you don't have good luck to begin with, but I can see myself throwing it on someone like Muarim to turn the 10 crit on him into 8 or 9 crit.

And I think the luck drop is useless. Admittedly, you can get good crit rates, but it's not reliable like reducing their health to 2HKO territory or OHKO territory. Unless you have a Trueblade sitting around to ambush them and have a crazy high proc rate, it seems useless.