Best Heroes

[Admiral "Bull" Halsey]

The title says it all, now whats yours? (Ike[FE10] is not included <_<)

I pick Raven, just because of his character and his personality. Also he's my number 1 hero in the GBA FE, especially he gets a additional HM bonus making him much more worth it in EHM/HHM.

[Meteor]

Raven never fails me. I don't have enough FE6 experience to really compare them.

[Wist]

I used Oujay in my first playthrough of Fire Emblem 6 but I dropped him near the end of the game. I tried to use Dieck in my second playthrough but he leveled up poorly and I cut him from my team before he could be promoted. I have only used Echidna during the chapter in which she is obtained.

I am inclined to agree with you and Meteor in choosing Raven. When I first played Fire Emblem 7 I neglected Raven because I considered the mercenary class an equivalent to bandits. The reason for this is that mercenaries were used frequently by enemy forces in the early stages of the game. It wasn't until I went back to build up the support room that I used Raven and I am pleased that I decided to give him a try sooner rather than later.

Raven is a fairly sturdy unit. I have also found him to be one of the better axe users in the game so I oftentimes have him rely predominantly on hand axes after promoting to the hero class. This is useful not only because I don't employ many axe users on my team but also because I will only use one archer (if I opt to use one at all).

I don't recall Garcia standing out when I used him and I always promoted Ross into a berserker. I have heard and read that Gerik is a great unit but I played Fire Emblem 8 before I began building up the Fire Emblem 7 supports so I was, at the time, biased against mercenaries.

[Admiral "Bull" Halsey]

Raven is a fairly sturdy unit. I have also found him to be one of the better axe users in the game so I oftentimes have him rely predominantly on hand axes after promoting to the hero class.

You do realize that Raven can't even wield a simple Iron Axe without a penalty because of his atrocious 9 Con eliminating what little speed he has comparing to other heroes in the game, same applies for Oujay as well considering he to suffers a speed penalty as well as Raven because he too has 9 Con. Thus, he wasn't really meant to wield any axe IMHO. He was only meant to wield swords such as Regal Blade since he can only wield any other sword lower or equal to his Con. Unless you give him a Body Ring or two he shouldn't have any problem of wielding any axe especially Basilikos. However, those Rings could've been given to other people who desperately needs it.

[Florete]

Raven. Hands down

[uguu]

I've only ever used Gerik (not including Ross, but I find he's better as a Berserker than anything) so... Gerik.

[nacho]

I'm the other one who voted for Gerik. I played FE7, but don't remember it well enough to say whether I like Raven over Gerik, so Gerik it is!

[Aurion_Emblem]

I like Gerik, 'cause he had enough con to wield a Steel Sword...that won lots of respect from me...

[CGV]

seems like Raven and Gerik are the only ones people choose as a favorite (which makes sense). I chose Raven. He has never let me down before, but Gerik is pretty good too

[Meteor]

The reason I like axes on Raven (and Heroes in general) is the Hammer. It will deal massive damage against Armors, against whom he'd otherwise struggle.

[Cute Chao]

I quite like Heroes over all. Raven is my favourite, like with most other people but I did like the rest... except Harken who I have yet to use... and Gerik who is awesome for me but I always promote him to ranger.

[Pitbuller26]

Gerik gets my vote due to having a high con(can use a steel weapons without much penalty) and having a likable personality unlike Raven.

[Admiral "Bull" Halsey]

I quite like Heroes over all. Raven is my favourite, like with most other people but I did like the rest... except Harken who I have yet to use... and Gerik who is awesome for me but I always promote him to ranger.

Why the hell would you even bother consider promoting him to a ranger. Rangers are just complete offspring of FE6 and FE7's Nomadic Troopers but lack of looks/coolness and they have complete different animations comparing to their counterpart Nomadic Troopers. Also promoting Gerik to a Ranger won't even fit his character at all. I mean sure most people would perfer him as a ranger but hes completely stuck with mainly bow which is a total lack short range attacks than swords. <_<

[Cute Chao]

He works a lot better as a ranger for me. I can complete the lagdou ruins with him on his own (Him and Cormag got me Lyon lol). Plus I love the nomad troopers but hated their animation with the sword, which the rangers in fe 8 have fixed.

[Wist]

You do realize that Raven can't even wield a simple Iron Axe without a penalty because of his atrocious 9 Con eliminating what little speed he has comparing to other heroes in the game, same applies for Oujay as well considering he to suffers a speed penalty as well as Raven because he too has 9 Con. Thus, he wasn't really meant to wield any axe IMHO. He was only meant to wield swords such as Regal Blade since he can only wield any other sword lower or equal to his Con. Unless you give him a Body Ring or two he shouldn't have any problem of wielding any axe especially Basilikos. However, those Rings could've been given to other people who desperately needs it.

EDIT 01 (18.01.2008): All information written in an “EDIT 01” category takes precedence over any related information in this post which does not fall into an “EDIT 01” category. This is due to incorrect information and calculations which were brought to my attention by Colm whom I must thank for bringing these errors to my attention as efficiently as he did. All amended information and calculated results are written under the “EDIT 01” sections. If further corrections are required, they will be written under “EDIT 02” sections and will take priority over both the original information and information written in “EDIT 01” sections.

- End of edit. -

Raven’s superior speed far outweighs the constitution advantages that axe specific characters generally receive. On the theoretical level Raven’s inferior constitution should prove most disadvantageous for him, especially when using axes, but if one looks at the numbers it becomes evident that this is not the case. I have neglected supports entirely as they not only make the equations much more tedious to perform but many people use different teams and may create a team with the intention of maximizing the support options available with a particular cast of characters. Raven gains hard mode bonuses which will further improve his usefulness early on but leave him the same in terms of speed by the time he is a level 20 Hero. I have not included hard mode bonuses in these calculations. Geitz and Harken are the only competitors who would also be affected by hard mode bonuses. Lastly, before the central point of this post, Raven receives a constitution bonus of 1 upon promoting so he can wield an Iron Axe without any penalties by the time he is permitted to use axes.

EDIT 01: Raven’s constitution starts at 8, not 9. After promoting his constitution is 9 which leaves him one point below what is necessary to wield an Iron Axe without any penalty.

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Dorcas first joins at level 3 with 6 speed. His speed growth rate is 20 percent and he received no speed upgrade upon promotion. Bartre joins at level 2 with 3 speed and a 40 percent speed growth rate. Being of the same class as Dorcas, his speed is also entirely neglected upon promotion. Dorcas has 16 con while Bartre has 13.

EDIT 01: Dorcas starts with a constitution of 14, not 16.

[/i]- End of edit. -[/i]

Upon reaching level 20 (and becoming level 1 Warriors due to the lack of a speed increase during promotion), Dorcas’s speed will average at 9.4 while Bartre’s speed will average at 10.2. Compare this to Raven who joins at level five with 13 speed and possesses a speed growth rate of 45 percent. At level twenty he will average at 19.75 which fits comfortably with his cap of 20. Upon promoting into a Hero, when he can make use of axes, Raven will have an average of 21.75 speed. This more than makes up for his lower constitution in comparison to Dorcas who has a promoted constitution of 18, and Bartre, with a promoted constitution of 15. As level 20 Warriors, Dorcas and Bartre will average at 13.4 and 18.2 speed respectively while Raven, as a level 20 Hero, will easily max out at his cap of 26. This leaves him with superior speed, in comparison to Dorcas and Bartre, using any axe.

EDIT 01: Dorcas’s constitution after promoting is 16, not 18. This further weakens Dorcas’s speed when using high level weapons but has no adverse effects when he uses more common kinds of axes.

- End of edit. -

Geitz proves stiffer competition in that he, with his starting level of 3, starting speed of 13, and speed growth rate of 40 percent, will average at 19.8 speed upon reaching level 20. Due to his low constitution of 13, however, he will not reach the same speeds as Raven (who will exceed Geitz by at least 3 speed if both characters reach their average stats). One must also keep in mind that Raven will usually cap his speed before reaching level 20 which means that he will further exceed the speeds attainable by Geitz before reaching his cap.

EDIT 01: If both Geitz and Raven reach their average speed then Raven will have an advantage of 2 speed, not 3 speed, with any axe.

- End of edit. -

Dart is a fair character. He begins at level 8 with 8 speed and has a 60 percent speed growth. His constitution, however, is only one more than that of Raven and his skill growth is only 20 percent as opposed to Raven’s 40 (and Raven starts with 3 higher skill at three levels below Dart). Dart will reach 15.2 speed at level 20 and promote into a Berserker with 16.2 speed (therefore still overshadowed by Raven’s speed which will be about 6 more, minus 3 factoring in the change on constitution). As a level 20 Berserker, Dart will have is apt to max out his speed of 28 which is 2 superior to Raven (4 including promoted constitution differences). Dart will, however, average at 13.4 skill as a level 20 Berserker (including his promotion gain of 1) whereas Raven will reach 27 by the time he is a level 20 Hero (again, this included his promotion gain of 2).

EDIT 01: After promoting, Raven loses 4 speed to Dart in terms of their constitutions, not 3. He therefore has an initial advantage of 2 speed instead of 3. If both characters reach their average speeds, which would cap at 28 for Dart and cap at 26 for Raven, Dart enjoys an inherent speed advantage of 4.

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If Dart proves to have decent skill then he will most likely be a superior choice of an axe wielder than Raven. Dart is most hindered by his inherent lack of skill which, if stat gains are unfavorable, may prompt the player to drop him for a more accurate character. If Dart works well (and I have had a Dart who turned out to be extraordinarily useful) then he is a great candidate to be the primary axe user but Raven is usually going to be more reliable (I have only promoted Dart that one time he was not missing every other attack).

EDIT 01: I have yet to check the numerical difference in accuracy between the two characters. I have also yet to check how poor Dart’s accuracy will be, on average, while he is a Pirate. I will do this shortly as it may or may not affect how often a player may choose to drop him from his or her ranks.

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EDIT 02 (19.01.2008): When Dart is first recruited (with 8 skill and 3 luck), his accuracy with the Iron Axe is 92.5 percent and his accuracy with the Steel Axe is 82.5 percent. When Dart is an average level 1 Berserker (with 10.4 skill and 7.2 luck), his accuracy with the Iron Axe is 99.4 percent and his accuracy with the Steel Axe is 89.4. When Raven is an average level 1 Hero (with 19 skill and 7.25 luck), his accuracy with the Iron Axe is 116.625 and his accuracy with the Steel Axe is 106.625. That is a difference of 17.225 (which the difference between an 85 percent hit rate and a 68 percent hit rate). Dart is therefore relatively disadvantaged in terms of his hit rate, depending on the avoid of enemy units.

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Hawkeye begins with 15 speed, at level 4, with a speed growth of 25 percent and a constitution of 16. By level 20 he will average at 19 speed. In comparison to Raven’s speed of 26, Hawkeye loses by one point when considering each unit’s constitution. Hawkeye will also have less skill than Raven and is also likely to slightly lose out in strength. Dart is a great Berserker if he is lucky with his skill. Hawkeye is usable and may be on par with Raven if one considers his HP advantage (which narrows significantly as Raven reaches level 20) and 15 percent critical bonus. Hawkeye will start with a higher axe level which will probably make him a better choice if the player wishes to use Basilikos (which I do not think is entirely necessary).

EDIT 01: Hawkeye begins with 11 speed, not 15 speed. Therefore, he will average at 15 speed upon reaching level 20. When each unit’s constitution is considered, Raven’s speed exceeds that of Hawkeye by at least 4 and at most 10 (with the Iron Axe).

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Raven is thus superior to every character specifically made to wield axes, in regard to speed, excluding Dart, Hawkeye, and Hector (the latter two of which are near evenly matched). Raven or Hawkeye would both make decent replacements for Dart should Dart find himself incapable of hitting anything although I would personally choose Raven. Keep in mind that Raven has access to two weapons of the weapon triangle and an thus find an advantage in any fight affected by the triangle given the right reaver weapon is used (in this case, the Swordreaver or Swordslayer) which will both weigh Raven down by 3). Hector is obviously a good axe user but if a player is looking for variety in his or her team then it would be beneficial to have another axe user. This is especially true in Hector’s route in which Hector’s promotion is delayed significantly.

EDIT 01: Hawkeye is no equal to Raven unless one greatly favors his 15 percent critical bonus and slightly superior HP of 60 in comparison to Raven’s worthy 54.75.

- End of edit. -

The other candidates for axe users lie with Harken, the Paladins, and the Generals. Generals are slow units which does not fit into my playing style of spreading across a map and then quickly converging on troublesome spots. If you are a player who instead opts to steamroll across the map with a strong central front then I will draw up comparisons between Wallace, Oswin, and Raven (making the assumption that the player didn't promote Wallace until he reached level 20).

Harken joins at level 8 with 17 speed, a speed growth of 40 percent, and a constitution of 11. By level 20, Harken will average at 21.8 speed (at 4 below that of Raven, the slight advantage in constitution is negligible.

EDIT 01: When considering each units correct constitutions, Raven exceeds Harkens speed by 2.

- End of edit. -

Kent, Sain, and Lowen are the primary usable Paladins (for the record, Marcus will average at 15.75 speed with a constitution one higher than that of Raven and Isadora will average at 25.5 speed but is hindered by her horrible constitution of 6, 4 below that of Raven). Kent, with his starting speed of 7 and speed growth of 45 percent will max at 24 speed as a level 20 Paladin. His constitution will be 11, and he is thus at a disadvantage to Raven. Sain, with his starting speed of 7 and speed growth of 40 percent will average at 23.6 speed (including the promotion bonus of 1) and a constitution of 11, again less effective than that of Raven. Lowen, with his starting speed of 7 and speed growth of 25 percent will average at 17.75 speed (including the promotion bonus of 1) and again, a constitution of 11 which leaves him inferior to Raven.

EDIT 01: For Kent and Sain, I will use the default starting speeds the characters are given if the player does not play through Lyn’s mode. Kent’s starting speed is 8, not 7. Lowen’s constitution after promotion is 12, not 11, as his base constitution is 10. Lowen’s speed growth is 30 percent, not 25 percent. Kent’s average final speed is still above his cap of 24, even considering his starting at level 5, and Sain’s final average speed is 22.4 with the same considerations as used for Kent. Considering their constitutions, Raven final average speed will equal that of Kent, exceed that of Sain by 2, and exceed that of Lowen by 5.

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Raven is one of the most reliable axe users in the game, and the second fastest alongside Hector who will end up with about 21.65 speed and a constitution of 15 (which leaves the two nearly dead even). If Dart is lucky with his skill stat then he will undoubtedly be the best axe user in the game. However, Dart is difficult to use and may need to be dropped if he skill stat does not increase favorably. Hawkeye has his own advantages and disadvantages so a player may choose to use Hawkeye instead of Raven of doing so better suits his or her playing style.

EDIT 01: Kent’s average speed is also on par with that of Raven and Hector. Hawkeye is not, however, as good an alternative to Raven as I had previously determined.

-End of edit. -

EDIT 01:

It is worth mentioning that Raven’s most prominent setback is his lack of defense and resistance (with a 25 percent growth rate and a 15 percent growth rate, respectively). His HP makes up for this to a degree but he is not as hardy as Hector and, to a degree, Kent. Raven’s defense is slightly superior to that of Dart. Raven’s resistance is nearly exactly on par with that of Dart.

I may still have made some slight errors or miscalculations although I hope that is not the case.

[Admiral "Bull" Halsey]

I think you made a small miscalculation there.

Dorcas has 16 con while Bartre has 13.

its actually 14 con for Dorcas when hes a Fighter...

As level 20 Warriors, Dorcas and Bartre will average at 13.4 and 18.2 speed respectively while Raven, as a level 20 Hero, will easily max out at his cap of 26. This leaves him with superior speed, in comparison to Dorcas and Bartre, using any axe.

Bartre average out 17.8 speed at Lv. 20/20 and Dorcas average out 13.2 speed at Lv.20/20 Warriors.

Hawkeye begins with 15 speed, at level 4

Hawkeye starts out at 11 speed when you first recruit him

[Wist]

Where did you get your information from? It is entirely possible that my source was inaccurate. I used the article entitled "Average Max Level Stats FAQ" by "Salasar Elerital" on GameFaqs's Fire Emblem page. It mentioned tactician's bonuses, which I believe have been determined nonexistent, but the article was written in 2004 so I disregarded mention of the tactician bonus as a trusted myth of the time. I did, however, use the base stats, growth rates, and promotion gains listed in the article so as to calculate average stats myself as opposed to trusting the maths of the article's writer.

I appreciate your checking my information and calculations; I will amend the errors you mentioned, if I find that you are correct, and review the calculations I made more carefully.

EDIT 01 (18.01.2008):

Upon checking the information you suggested to be incorrect against the information on Serenes Forest's Fire Emblem 7 page, it would appear that you are correct. I will check all my information against that which is provided by Serenes Forest, assuming this site is more likely to be accurate.

EDIT 02:

I checked Dorcas's constitution against that of the game; you and Serenes Forest were indeed correct. I will add the correct information and calculations into my prior post right now so as to determine whether Raven's standing as an axe user is different from what I had initially concluded. Again, than you for alerting me to the fact that some of my information is incorrect.

EDIT 03:

I still get an average speed of 10.4 for Dorcas. He joins at level 3 and therefore has 37 levels to go. His speed growth is 20 percent which will not result in speed capping before promotion. His speed increase is 7.4 (.2*37). Added to his base speed of 6, he will average at 10.4. I also still get an average speed of 18.2 for Bartre. His speed increase is 15.2 (.4*38) and, like Dorcas, will have no conflicts with capping the stat before promotion. When added to his initial speed Bartre is left with an average speed of 18.2. How did you come across your results? I may again be in error.

[Vangaurd]

I like Gerik because he is cool. And he is bad at dying, unlike most of my characters.

Does anyone else wonder how much time wist spends typing these essays on the forums? Every post I have seen is at least four beefy paragraphs long.

[Hanz]

Wow, out of those I like Harken the best. Has nothing to do with stats, I just like him.

And those long "essay" posts are brilliant. Nice to know someone is putting some thought into things.

[Admiral "Bull" Halsey]

Where did you get your information from? It is entirely possible that my source was inaccurate. I used the article entitled "Average Max Level Stats FAQ" by "Salasar Elerital" on GameFaqs's Fire Emblem page. It mentioned tactician's bonuses, which I believe have been determined nonexistent, but the article was written in 2004 so I disregarded mention of the tactician bonus as a trusted myth of the time. I did, however, use the base stats, growth rates, and promotion gains listed in the article so as to calculate average stats myself as opposed to trusting the maths of the article's writer.

This is the site of where I got my information from: http://www.rpgdl.com/FE.php

I NEVER reasearch off games from GameFaqs. GameFaq's board is completely corrupt by trolls thus their topic board is full of crap. One time, I saw lots of posts bashing on Ike; claiming he's a bad character on the of the that sites board and I was like WTF?! There are plenty of boards that are corrupt other than that. I prefer to spend my free time at Fire Emblem Fusion Forum. They have like a whole list of debates for FE4 to FE10.

[Admiral "Bull" Halsey]

And just so you know that personal experience means nothing in the game.

[Meteor]

And those long "essay" posts are brilliant. Nice to know someone is putting some thought into things.

It takes more thought to be concise.

[Vangaurd]

Well, to be concise while making a point, at least.

[Meteor]

Yes, I was implying that. Understand?

[CGV]

Raven is still owning. And Gerik is even taking second. I like how this poll is going