How do u manage to make the DB good?

[Princeofstar]

i see people writing about their kickass nolan or edward, but really all the Daein soldiers seem to suck, to usually win in the BEXP turn limits i have to use the ubercrutches u get like nailah and BK and tauroneo. i just cant ever seem to get them good in battle or ever even come close. in part 3 they never double against laguz and are greately outclassed and underleveled. even my Jill who had a Str/Spd/Skl/Def transfer has huge trouble in part 3. how do u guys make them even decent, let alone make some tier 3 and ORKOing???

[dondon151]

You use Paragon. Or you just don't use them.

[Xander]

It sounds like you're relying too much on units who suck up exp way too much. Even so, if you're always within the bexp turns limit, you should be able to channel it into a few units to make them solid, along with paragon. On easier modes, you're given more bexp to throw around, but if you're playing on more difficult modes, you probably won't be able to make the DB super units anyway. No matter what you do, pretty much all of them except Jill, Nolan, and Micaiah won't amount to anything worth promoting. You should really ignore people who write about their kickass edward, because most of the time they're playing on easy mode, where everyone is usable, and you can battle save abuse, and it's really not all that impressive.

Edited December 28, 2010 by Xander

[Princeofstar]

oh ok i usually pass paragon to the much more skilled and hardcore greil mercenaries so forget about them then. i remember the first playthrough i was in 3-13 i was like gonna shit myself when shinon and gatrie appeared and mia and titania and i was like OMG its almost over. in part three i hate how i rely on the daein army partner units way too much but i guess they are hopeless

[dondon151]

If you're playing NM, a "kickass Edward" is most certainly within reach. Just feed him a lot of kills.

For Nolan, you'll want to give him Beastfoe in 3-6 (assuming you found it in 1-4 in the first place) and let him use Tarvos to his heart's content. If you like hoarding rare things, you're never going to get him good.

Similarly, for Jill, she wants Paragon through all of part 3, as well as a max MT and hit Steel Axe forge from 1-E and probably her Brave Axe from 3-6. Again, if you like hoarding rare things, you're never going to get her good.

And if you're playing NM, you're likely getting a lot more BEXP. Use it not to finish off levels when your DB units are in first tier, but BEXP them to 99 EXP for a small boost in between maps. Also make sure that you get those Master Seals and use them if and when a first tier unit hits level 20. If a unit is not level 20 by the end of 1-E, BEXP a level in 3-6 and promote immediately.

[whase]

if you manage to use only 2 or 3 units earlygame, they will be such a high level later they can solo maps. of course, this only counts for easy and normal mode.

[RNG Princess]

Actually Jill and Nolan are just as easy to raise as some of the mercenaries and are definetly worth using, because of Tarvos and flight respectively. You just have to use kills and skills wisely. They also level up alot faster than the Mercs, and pemn but imo both are a lot more worth raising than most of the Mercs.

[Princeofstar]

maybe one of my mistakes is using master seals, promotion bonuses are +1 for first to second tier rather than +2 and even +3 for relevant stats for a second to third tier, and also they level up more slowly. however to save experience points, ive considered using the master seal when they are naturally 20 to save a level of BEXP or CEXP

[eclipse]

Hmmm. . .why not a character-by-character analysis? Feel free to correct me, since my memory's kinda foggy.

Micaiah - Forced, healbot, etc.

Edward - Frail, and requires a lot of kills and 99 BEXP (don't touch BEXP levels until he's maxed out a few stats, or it's a waste), but will usually turn out good.

Leonardo - Don't you have better things to do with your time? He'll forever have Speed problems, and his Strength is not something to brag about. The best he can do is loan his Water affinity to someone temporarily.

Nolan - Wields axes, and tends to hit with them. He's got good stats all around, and Tarvos turns him into a scary tank.

Laura - Healbot hampered by bad movement and worse caps. Once Micaiah gets staves, she drops off. At least she can hoard her own damn experience.

Sothe - Forced, steals stuff, opens chests and doors, etc.

Aran - See Nolan, but replace axes with lances, drop the Speed, and take away the awesomeness that is Tarvos. Unless you truly hate Nolan (or really like this guy), you're probably better off going with Mr. Facial Hair.

Meg - Oh gosh, where do I begin? Like Edward, she needs A LOT of experience. Unlike Edward, her movement is horrid, and she doesn't get a shiny weapon for free. At least her Heaven affinity will help with her early accuracy issues.

Volug - Forced Halfshift isn't fun, but at least it gives him the ability to level up his claws. He's got an awesome affinity, and once he's able to de-shift, he's hilarious.

Fiona - Never used her, but it looks like she requires a ton of experience, too.

While Jill and Zihark belong somewhere on here, I don't count them as true DB members, due to their, erm, special properties. Tauroneo is not there half the time, and Tormod's group has even less screen time.

Notice a trend? You've got a lot of units who need a lot of experience to be good. There simply isn't enough to give to everyone, short of major boss abuse.

[Princeofstar]

if only u could keep the badass level 17 Warrior that was protecting the bridge T_T i guess ill have to rely on the daein army, right now im playing3-13, and i came up with the nice idea of using jill and fiona to ferry lazy allied daein units out of the safe zone. the daein army is kicking ass now that the level 12 Lance general is actually doing something, and each side is also bolstered by a fire sage as well as a pair of halberdiers... i wish i could actually have USEABLE men rather than just crowning tauroneo and giving beastfoe

Edit: wow my strategy kicked ass, the only yellow unit left in the safe zone was the bishop with physic, and everyone else the the partner daein army is pure pwnage

Edited December 29, 2010 by Princeofstar

[Excellen Browning]

I don't really know how you play, but do you crown as soon as a unit hits lvl10 or something?

[Darros]

Hmmm. . .why not a character-by-character analysis? Feel free to correct me, since my memory's kinda foggy.

Micaiah - Forced, healbot, etc.

Edward - Frail, and requires a lot of kills and 99 BEXP (don't touch BEXP levels until he's maxed out a few stats, or it's a waste), but will usually turn out good.

Leonardo - Don't you have better things to do with your time? He'll forever have Speed problems, and his Strength is not something to brag about. The best he can do is loan his Water affinity to someone temporarily.

Nolan - Wields axes, and tends to hit with them. He's got good stats all around, and Tarvos turns him into a scary tank.

Laura - Healbot hampered by bad movement and worse caps. Once Micaiah gets staves, she drops off. At least she can hoard her own damn experience.

Sothe - Forced, steals stuff, opens chests and doors, etc.

Aran - See Nolan, but replace axes with lances, drop the Speed, and take away the awesomeness that is Tarvos. Unless you truly hate Nolan (or really like this guy), you're probably better off going with Mr. Facial Hair.

Meg - Oh gosh, where do I begin? Like Edward, she needs A LOT of experience. Unlike Edward, her movement is horrid, and she doesn't get a shiny weapon for free. At least her Heaven affinity will help with her early accuracy issues.

Volug - Forced Halfshift isn't fun, but at least it gives him the ability to level up his claws. He's got an awesome affinity, and once he's able to de-shift, he's hilarious.

Fiona - Never used her, but it looks like she requires a ton of experience, too.

While Jill and Zihark belong somewhere on here, I don't count them as true DB members, due to their, erm, special properties. Tauroneo is not there half the time, and Tormod's group has even less screen time.

Notice a trend? You've got a lot of units who need a lot of experience to be good. There simply isn't enough to give to everyone, short of major boss abuse.

You forgot Ilyana, but you have her for pretty much the entire game, andthough she's slow, she's the only character that can use Rexbolt.

[eclipse]

She defects to the Greil Mercenaries, which means she's unusable where she's needed the most.

[Smiley Jim]

My view on each DB character:

Micky: Well, she's forced, can Thani-bomb and heal(with good mag) as well as making a great res tank, but that's where her good points end.(6/10)

Eddie: He's good, but he's frail and is borderline on doubling shit(he CAN double, which is a plus). Obviously hard to raise, but worth it.(8/10)

Leo: Honestly, he's only good as support fodder for good characters like Eddie and BROlan. His stats other than skl/luk/res are bad(HP/str/def)to really bad(spd)(4/10)

BROlan: One of the few DB's that will rarely disappoint. Good stats, wields axes, and gets a Prf that turns him into the equivalent of Chuck Norris. Has Earth affinity.(8/10)

Laura: Healbot. Nuff said. Good growths, but shitty bases and being Lv1/0/0 on a staff user is ASS. Also has bad 3rd tier caps.(5/10)

Sothe: He's good in Pt1, but slowly turns to shit. Needs his Micky support to function properly. Is also a thief and levels like one.(6/10)

Samus: He's Nolan with more def, but less HP/atk/AS/hit/avo/crit/CEV and uses lances instead of axes. He's a loser. Don't use(5/10)

Meg: She's underleveled with poor bases and growths not suited for her class. Don't use unless you like pain.(2/10)

Volug: Wildheart just fucking sucks, but he can use the time to get his Strike up. Once he can remove it, he's actually useful(and is decent for Endgame to boot). Also has Earth affinity.(7/10)

Zihark: A suitable replacement for RNG screwed Eddies. Doubles everything and has the coveted Earth affinity. He sucks compared to Eddie later on, but is good in his own right.(7/10)

Jill: Obvious flying unit and Cormag's successor. Doubles with goodish durability and has epic 3rd tier caps.(9/10)

Tauroneo: In part 1, don't attack with him unless you have to. Base stats suck too much to be useful past 3-13.(5/10)

Fiona: Thought Meg was bad? Well, let's just say Fiona is a PHAILURE! Does like 4 damage at ~50 dis. hit, gets doubled and 2HKO'd. Don't use unless you are a masochist.(-9000/10)

I'm not including Ilyana because she deserts the Dusk Brigade and joins Ike's epic posse as a piece of fresh smelly cat shit. Same with Torfuck's group, all they do is just help out for 2.5 maps then start playing Superman 64 until 4-4, where they are the equivalent of shit taking a shit.

Edited January 3, 2011 by DA125

[Byte2222]

How you should manage the DB is very much down to your play style, personally I play defensively and slowly, making heavy use of chokepoints to minimise enemy damage, indirect folks to do the main damage without fear of counterattack and healers to keep everyone healthy. This means I'm usually fielding Micaiah and Sothe (a bronze knife's perfect for weakening enemies for the others), Nolan (personally I can manage without Tarvos), Edward (mainly to plug formation gaps), Leonardo and Ilyana (mainly due to lack of choice), Jill (particularly good for hit and run attacks with beastfoe in 3-6 but a rock solid unit all round) and Laura. I should probably be using Aran instead of Edward. I also normally manage to promote Laura, who has good growths but awful caps and will probably remain more useful as a healer.

Having said all that though, I'm not as experienced as most others here, I'm just giving my two cents for what they're worth so feel free to ignore me if you so choose.

Edited December 31, 2010 by Byte2222

[Colonel M]

For Nolan, you'll want to give him Beastfoe in 3-6 (assuming you found it in 1-4 in the first place) and let him use Tarvos to his heart's content.

Actually, you want to use Crossbow from time to time (on top of Tarvos). It's pretty effective with reaching things while he's kiting through the swamp. Best keep a trade partner near him though, but he does love Crossbow for sure.

[Loki Laufeyson]

Nolan with a crossbow weapon (taksh or whatever its called) in 3-13 is awesome. He can one shot those birdy guys and get massive amounts of experience.

What i do is usually the following:

Eddie usually gets the bench after Zihark comes along. Depending if i want Zihark on the GM team, i build him up accordingly. If he doesnt defect, he gets use of his Killing edge a lot and he keeps adept.

Leo i dont use. Ever.

Micaiah always gets trained. She thanibombs and staffbots everything.

Sothe usually doesnt get a lot of combat use. Hes not worth using after part 3 anyway. However, he does get some throwing knives and a beastkiller.

Meg, i dont use much at all.

Jill gets a transfer usually. She also goes in for kills after stuffs been weakened.

Fiona, i use. A lot. She usually gets paragon once she promotes (BEXP spam) and a secret book to help with that bad skill of hers. A forged lance helps her out too.

Volug gets lots of use. I take off wildheart after part 1 though cuz it really sucks. He gets healthy amounts of olivi grass to help him stay in form and then he murders everything.

Laura is just used for healing and restore staff.

Aran...ehhh...his speed. UGH! He does tank well so sometimes i use him.

Tauroneo kills some stuff in 1-6 and in 3-12. Thats it. He also helps guard a ledge in 3-13. After that i dont bother with him.

[Tormod]

The problem is probably that you're trying to play for speed (Likely on Normal or Hard), and still expecting to be able to raise up multiple lower-level units. If you want to play fast with the Dawn Brigade, you kind of have to limit the number of lower-level units you train, because you won't have enough EXP to raise them all up and they'll all be below-average if you try.

If you really want to try levelling up some of the DB's units and try to create something awesome, forget about playing under turn limits and play more defensively, taking your time - losing the BEXP will feel like less of a loss when you have the time to gather much more EXP on your lower-level units in the first place (And BEXP is more advantageous when you've already levelled enough to have capped stats), and taking your time allows you to avoid using the higher-level units (and their lower EXP gains) that would be necessary for speed play.

Edited January 2, 2011 by Garlyle

[Pitbuller26]

Seeing as how people still don't know. Wildheart doesn't lower experience gain, it uses the exact same formula as a normal shifted laguz. So there's no particular reason to take Wildheart off of Volug unless you're trying to free up some capacity.

[Narga_Rocks]

Seeing as how people still don't know. Wildheart doesn't lower experience gain, it uses the exact same formula as a normal shifted laguz. So there's no particular reason to take Wildheart off of Volug unless you're trying to free up some capacity.

Are you kidding me? In part 3 Volug is much better without Wildheart simply due to having way better stats when you full shift. Wildheart is part of the reason some people think Volug isn't so good in part 3 (they halfshift instead of full shift and so he's not as good). If you aren't going to ever use halfshift then there's no real point in having it, so you might as well take it off of him.

As for the exp gain thing, transformed units get so little experience that it hardly matters. Unless it's like Lyre or another of the low level ones, of course. Even if Wildheart did cut exp gains (yeah we know it doesn't) it wouldn't make much difference for the laguz royals and ranulf/ulki/janaff. The royals would never notice the difference and Ranulf wouldn't notice until part 4. At least, on HM.

Edited January 2, 2011 by Narga_Rocks

[Loki Laufeyson]

Are you kidding me? In part 3 Volug is much better without Wildheart simply due to having way better stats when you full shift.

Exactly. Its basically the demi band from PoR. That decrease in speed is definitely noticeable.

[Galenforcer]

Steps to make DB KICKASS:

Step 1:

Forge weapons strong enough to hurt bosses on thrones(1-7 and 1-E).

Step 2:

Wear out thier weapons with a meatshield(BK, Sothe, anyone durable).

Step 3:

Repeatively hit unarmed boss with forged weapon for EXP.

Step 4:

If boss is low on HP, wait some turns so the throne heals them.

Step 5:

???

Step 6:

PROFIT!

Actually, I never train most of the DB(except for Nolan, Aran, Jill and Zihark) in a efficient playthrough or even use this strategy in a casual run because boss abuse is boring and you can clear the game faster than getting characters up to par.

[Anouleth]

i see people writing about their kickass nolan or edward, but really all the Daein soldiers seem to suck, to usually win in the BEXP turn limits i have to use the ubercrutches u get like nailah and BK and tauroneo. i just cant ever seem to get them good in battle or ever even come close. in part 3 they never double against laguz and are greately outclassed and underleveled. even my Jill who had a Str/Spd/Skl/Def transfer has huge trouble in part 3. how do u guys make them even decent, let alone make some tier 3 and ORKOing???

It is a struggle, but from experience, I can tell you this:

-Only train 3 unpromoted units at once, and preferably just one or two.

-Part 1 is a constant battle for units to gain experience from the leavings of Jeigans. Often, reinforcements make a good source of experience.

-Use stat boosters. Dracoshield, Energy Drop, and the Seraph Robe all help units a lot.

-Use BEXP. Generally, you'll want to take units to .99 exp and let them gain the rest naturally. You can do this several times over the course of Part 1, especially in Normal Mode.

-Use Master Seals when you approach promotion.

-Use Paragon in Part 3. You can reap enormous experience gains from good use of Paragon in 3-6. For example, I was capable of taking Jill to level 20/15 (Edward and Nolan were level 7 and 5 respectively). Overall, that's 24 levels in just one chapter. And obviously, 24 levels is a lot more useful if it's split between 3 units instead of 6!

-Use Tarvos on Nolan, give forges to other people. As long as you sell Fortune, you have plenty of money to spend, don't be stingy.

-Use Crowns as you approach Part 4. One of the good things about most DB units, like Edward, Jill and Nolan, is that they're statistically good enough that they don't mind losing out on a few levels.

[Trueblade]

For Jill, supprorting with Zihark works wonders for her, actually USE her. For Leo, supports with Volug helps. Edward and Nolan support well, and when you get to the chapter where all those Laguz units are, when you are using the Dawn Bridage, and you get some NPCs and eventually the Black Knight, I would suggest unequipping his Alondite and telling the NPCs to halt, that was a major help in leveling the DB, especially Jill, and my first use of Jill, level 20/20/20, has all of her stats maxed but skill and defense, and both of those are like 2 short from the cap, she's a beast, I suggest you use her.

[Timbjerr]

battle save abuse for +4 level-ups works wonders for pretty much every first-tier unit. When used in conjunction with boss abuse in 1-7 and 1-E to get everyone to second-tier, you'll end up with some pretty sweet powerhouses that can hold their own in the DB's part III battles easily enough.

Even still, their counterparts in the GM's will usually heavily outshine the DB because of the massive level lead. XD