Use Stat bonus items on whom? (and other questions)

[Glenn Magus Harvey]

Well, so I found out that I can't save these, and perhaps I should have applied them earlier anyway, which would really have helped in some situations.

I'm at the end of Lyn's story in FE7. Who should I use the energy ring and the angelic robe on?

Energy Ring (+2 str/mag)

* Lyn - a melee fighter with poor attack power. I once thought she was a glass cannon until I realized that she was dealing relatively low damage anyway. Considering I actually want to make her an important character in my team, and I've been actively manipulating things so she gets more EXP than she otherwise would have...well, no wonder she likes her tactician so much. :P

* Serra - healer, but I've heard that Heal heals 10+mag HP, and presumably the other healing staves also work similarly. This could be very

* Wil - only 6 str, lowest among my mid-strength attackers.

* Erk - only 6 mag.

* Matthew - only 5 str; would giving him better str make him significantly more useful in combat? If I'm stealing, this will probably mostly be in the form of counterattacks.

Angelic Robe:

* Lyn - a melee fighter with poor HP. Whether fragile speedster or glass cannon, she really doesn't seem to have much HP--and especially for melee, that's not good at all.

* Florina - will often be used for transporting other units, or possibly items, as well as getting around obstacles to target things. Problem is, she is weak to both the ranged archers and mobile brigands--which are both very common units. She can try to have revenge by holding a javelin but rarely gets to deal two hits with that.

* Erk - an attack mage with only 20 HP, though his def/res aren't too shabby.

* Serra - a support (healer) with only 18 HP.

* Nils - a support (refresher) with only 18 HP.

* Lucius - an attack mage with only 20 HP.

* Matthew - a thief with only 19 HP, and poor def/res. And thievery and his attacks are pretty much all melee, right?

Relevant stats:

* Lyn - level 9, 23 HP, str 7, def 3, res 2

* Florina - level 7, 22 HP, str 8, def 4, res 5 (I was shocked when realizing that Lyn's str is actually lower than hers...)

* Wil - level 6, 23 HP, str 6, def 7, res 2

* Erk - level 6, 20 HP, mag 6, def 3, res 6

* Serra - level 5, 18 HP, mag 3, def 2, res 9

* Nils - level 5, 18 HP, str 0, def 5, res 8

* Lucius - level 6, 20 HP, def 1, res 8 (lowest def in party)

* Matthew - level 4, 19 HP, str 5, def 3, res 0 (lowest res in party, lost offense in party, but also the lowest level, so he also hasn't quite grown yet)

Other questions:

1. Is there any negative to taking longer than you need to to finish a chapter?

2. Does tactician rank account for the number of times you've let a unit die even if you reset?

3. Can thieves steal? I couldn't use Matthew to steal anything during Lyn's story for some reason.

4. Are there any non-magical healing classes? Or can mounted healers (or healers with Canto(?)) move out of the way after healing?

[Florete]

Energy Ring (+2 str/mag)

* Lyn - a melee fighter with poor attack power. I once thought she was a glass cannon until I realized that she was dealing relatively low damage anyway. Considering I actually want to make her an important character in my team, and I've been actively manipulating things so she gets more EXP than she otherwise would have...well, no wonder she likes her tactician so much. :P

* Serra - healer, but I've heard that Heal heals 10+mag HP, and presumably the other healing staves also work similarly. This could be very

* Wil - only 6 str, lowest among my mid-strength attackers.

* Erk - only 6 mag.

* Matthew - only 5 str; would giving him better str make him significantly more useful in combat? If I'm stealing, this will probably mostly be in the form of counterattacks.

If you want to use Lyn later, definitely give her the Ring, especially over the other ones listed here. Serra won't make nearly as much use of it, Wil just sucks, Erk shouldn't need it because enemies have low Res, and Matthew promotes too late to become a very good fighter.

Angelic Robe:

* Lyn - a melee fighter with poor HP. Whether fragile speedster or glass cannon, she really doesn't seem to have much HP--and especially for melee, that's not good at all.

* Florina - will often be used for transporting other units, or possibly items, as well as getting around obstacles to target things. Problem is, she is weak to both the ranged archers and mobile brigands--which are both very common units. She can try to have revenge by holding a javelin but rarely gets to deal two hits with that.

* Erk - an attack mage with only 20 HP, though his def/res aren't too shabby.

* Serra - a support (healer) with only 18 HP.

* Nils - a support (refresher) with only 18 HP.

* Lucius - an attack mage with only 20 HP.

* Matthew - a thief with only 19 HP, and poor def/res. And thievery and his attacks are pretty much all melee, right?

Either Lyn or Florina. Depending on what mode you take later you might be able to rely on Lyn's avoid (which is generally better than Florina's) but she is also locked to melee until promotion.

1. Is there any negative to taking longer than you need to to finish a chapter?

Unless you care about the Tactics rank, no. Some chapters have sidequests with turn count requirements, though. If you want to know which ones, look here.

2. Does tactician rank account for the number of times you've let a unit die even if you reset?

Do you mean the Survival rank? If so, no (granted you reset). If you mean tactician stars, unit death doesn't affect that at all.

3. Can thieves steal? I couldn't use Matthew to steal anything during Lyn's story for some reason.

They can't steal weapons, tomes, or staves. Items like Vulneraries and stat boosters can be stolen.

4. Are there any non-magical healing classes? Or can mounted healers (or healers with Canto(?)) move out of the way after healing?

No and no.

[eclipse]

Energy Ring - I use this on Lyn, because she's forced. Serra's got 50% MAG growth, and Heal staves will hold you for a good chunk of the game. Erk's Magic tends to take care of itself (and there's other options if he decides to be stubborn), Wil's Strength will do just fine (assuming you use him; I prefer Rath), and Matthew isn't meant to be a front-line fighter.

Angelic Robe - If you plan on using Florina, give this to her. Otherwise, give it to Lyn. Everyone else shouldn't be eating counters (in Matthew's case, if he's being attacked, he should be dodging).

For the rest of your questions:

1. Your Tactics rating suffers, but if you don't care about that, then there's no downside to it.

2. Nope.

3. Yes, but this won't kick in until later in the game.

4. All your healers are magical, and there's no Canto after healing.

[Glenn Magus Harvey]

Do you mean the Survival rank? If so, no (granted you reset). If you mean tactician stars, unit death doesn't affect that at all.

I thought that the game remembers how many losses your characters suffered, as long as you aren't using memory-state-saving devices such as emulators.

They can't steal weapons, tomes, or staves. Items like Vulneraries and stat boosters can be stolen.

What if it's not an equippable item that's NOT in use by the unit? But if what you say is true, then... suddenly, it seems that thieves are much less useful.

3. Yes, but this won't kick in until later in the game.

Wha?

Edited September 5, 2010 by Glenn Magus Harvey

[Florete]

I thought that the game remembers how many losses your characters suffered, as long as you aren't using memory-state-saving devices such as emulators.

It does, but it only matters for the count on each unit's individual page. It affects nothing else.

What if it's not an equippable item that's NOT in use by the unit? But if what you say is true, then... suddenly, it seems that thieves are much less useful.

If it's not equippable and not in use it can be stolen (only "equipped" items are weapons anyway). Unless you meant an equippable item not in use, like a Cavalier using a Lance but also having a Sword, in which case it can't be stolen still.

[eclipse]

Wha?

A Thief can Steal stuff, but units with items that can be jacked won't appear until later in the game. There was at least one thing you could have stolen from Lyn's mode, but I don't think you bothered.

You'll see plenty of things that can be stolen later in the game, and some of it is really good stuff.

[Glenn Magus Harvey]

@ Red Fox: Yeah, I put an extra negative there. My bad. I guess not, then.

eclipse: Yeah, there's at least one vulnerary pack that I could probably have grabbed, I think.

But does this mean that Thief is now a class that I won't use except for those levels with doors, treasure chests, and units with great stuff? How often do these chapters come up?

[eclipse]

But does this mean that Thief is now a class that I won't use except for those levels with doors, treasure chests, and units with great stuff? How often do these chapters come up?

The thing you could've stolen was on a side chapter (not sure if you played it).

The "great stuff" part is a little more often than you think. There's 6-9 bosses with stuff you can steal (it's mode-dependent, and SF doesn't list one of the items that can be stolen), as well as various other units holding stuff (again, mode-dependent). Some of the items that can be stolen are dropped.

Matthew's advantage is that he comes in early, and he supports people that can help with his awful Strength. There's someone else that does the same thing Matthew does, and I prefer him as my combat Thief.

[Glenn Magus Harvey]

Oh, Chapter 7x? I played it; I guess I just wasn't paying enough attention. I should probably pay more attention in the future.

[eclipse]

Chapter 7x - You can steal the other Thief's Lockpick. It nets free Experience, so unless you're doing an efficient run, there's no reason not to.

[Glenn Magus Harvey]

Ahh, darnit, I missed that. And lockpicks are even pretty rare in provision--only 15 charges. Darn.

Then again, I don't think they showed how to steal things from units, so at that time I didn't know to do that. I only knew that thieves could steal like this when Colm got pilfered in my FE8 file.

Anyway, I think I'm gonna give both the Angelic Robe and the Energy Ring to Lyndis. She needs the boost fastest; Florina can wait a bit.

Edited September 5, 2010 by Glenn Magus Harvey

[Parrhesia]

Stealing is just an option under Attack. Then you just select an item. Only shows up next to a dude with something purloinable, though.

[Glenn Magus Harvey]

Oh, I learned when he got pilfered. I pilfered my red gem and vulnerary right back. And chased down the bastard with two characters, Colm and Neimi.