something I never understood *spoilers*

[Claude C Kenny]

if you beat the black knight in chapter 27, you get nasir, the better, more powerful dragon. but if you have to retreat, or can't beat him in time, you get ena, the weaker dragon. shouldnt it be the other way around? if you can beat BK, even though most of it is luck, you need pretty much a max--stat ike to even have a chance. so if ike is at least good enough to hurt BK, he should be good enough to tackle/solo the last 2 chapters, meaning you don't need a really powerful extra unit. but if he isn't that good, and is only around level 5-10, and/or most stats are less or around 20, you probably need some help, in the form of the more powerful extra character. what do you think?

[Dr. Tarrasque]

Success = Better Unit.

Failure = Worse Unit.

Similar to how greater performance in old platformers results in a greater score and greater chance of getting extra lives. Perhaps the developers simply neglected the possible need for a stronger unit to compensate for failure.

[Junkhead]

It's not our fault the RNG can troll us. 8[

[dondon151]

I think IS assumed that Ike would be powerful enough to defeat the BK on his own. Of course, whether he does so or not depends, in most cases, on luck.

[Timbjerr]

You're assuming that Ena/Nasir are meant to play the Gotoh role instead of Naesala/Tibarn/Giffca.

Edited January 22, 2011 by Timbjerr

[Mikethfc]

You're assuming that Ena/Nasir are meant to play the Gotoh role instead of Naesala/Tibarn/Giffca.

In HM yes, Ashnard will have tried to charge down your units long before any of those three are called.

[Anouleth]

In HM yes, Ashnard will have tried to charge down your units long before any of those three are called.

If you're playing Hard Mode, that means you've already beaten the game and should be aware that only Ike can harm Ashnard and trained him appropriately.

[Narga_Rocks]

If you're playing Hard Mode, that means you've already beaten the game and should be aware that only Ike can harm Ashnard and trained him appropriately.

fe9 doesn't prevent you from playing the hardest mode first, though.

However, if you are playing HM and can't beat it without a crutch then you probably shouldn't have started on HM.

[Trueblade74]

Yeah, you BETTER have a godly Ike and a fair Nasir in order to survive HM Repatriation. And you'll probably need to make them a bit better when he goes berserk, because you only get the Laguz Kings after he does so.

[Smiley Jim]

Yeah, you BETTER have a godly Ike and a fair Nasir in order to survive HM Repatriation. And you'll probably need to make them a bit better when he goes berserk, because you only get the Laguz Kings after he does so.

Well, you don't really need an absolutely godly blessed Ike to survive HM Repatriation. As long as he's at 20/20 with his average stats(or slightly above it)with the Aether skill and a healer with Physic on standby, he can definitely solo Ashnuts' first form without Nasir/Ena's help. Now, you can also use Resolve and Wrath to get an even greater effect, but using two valuable scrolls for just one battle when other people use those scrolls better makes me feel like I wasted the skills for nearly nothing. Besides, Ike is basically guaranteed to receive an Occult.

Edited March 13, 2011 by DA125

[Anouleth]

Now, you can also use Resolve and Wrath to get an even greater effect, but using two valuable scrolls for just one battle when other people use those scrolls better makes me feel like I wasted the skills for nearly nothing.

The thing is that Resolve only exists for one map before Final. And you very well might still want to give it to Ike so he can solo the left hand side of Chapter 28. I can't really think of anyone who outright uses it better than him.

[StinDuh]

I feel like Aether is and will always be the best skill for Ike to have. It's activation is (skill)%, and Ike normally caps skill at 27, which is a damn good percentage for skills. When using the Resolve/Wrath Combo, you run the high risk of getting killed with your max HP at only 29(since for the skills to activate, your HP must be under half(assuming HP is at 60)). Ashnard's might is 32. Thats a one hit kill if you get RNG screwed and don't Critical. And that's just for his first form in Hard Mode. When he goes berserk, his Str is raised by 5, and his Skill is raised by 3. Therefore having a 37 might and a higher chance to his(i didnt do the Hit calculations, I'm too lazy right now.)

[Anouleth]

I feel like Aether is and will always be the best skill for Ike to have. It's activation is (skill)%, and Ike normally caps skill at 27, which is a damn good percentage for skills. When using the Resolve/Wrath Combo, you run the high risk of getting killed with your max HP at only 29(since for the skills to activate, your HP must be under half(assuming HP is at 60)). Ashnard's might is 32. Thats a one hit kill if you get RNG screwed and don't Critical. And that's just for his first form in Hard Mode. When he goes berserk, his Str is raised by 5, and his Skill is raised by 3. Therefore having a 37 might and a higher chance to his(i didnt do the Hit calculations, I'm too lazy right now.)

Well, the chance to get hit is pretty low, and it's possible to set it up so that Ashnard will attack Ike, reduce him to <50% HP, and Ike will proceed to activate Wrath and Resolve on the counter-attack, which is still faster than relying on Aether to activate.

[StinDuh]

Well, the chance to get hit is pretty low, and it's possible to set it up so that Ashnard will attack Ike, reduce him to <50% HP, and Ike will proceed to activate Wrath and Resolve on the counter-attack, which is still faster than relying on Aether to activate.

Which then relies on Ike to critical, which I admit is a high chance. That being, though, I prefer to play it safe. I'm not one to take risks in Fire Emblem. So I stick with Aether. And Rhys with a physic.

[aku chi]

Which then relies on Ike to critical, which I admit is a high chance. That being, though, I prefer to play it safe. I'm not one to take risks in Fire Emblem. So I stick with Aether. And Rhys with a physic.

A max-Strength Ike normally deals 9 damage to Ashnard per round. With Resolve, Ike will deal 22x2=44 damage per round. Guaranteed. With Aether, Ike has a 27% chance each round of combat to deal 35 damage (and he still needs to hit, which might not be guaranteed). Resolve is quite clearly the better choice here.

Oh, and there's no risk if you set Ike up to be put into Resolve range on enemy phase. Then he can heal (or be healed) on player phase.

Edited May 5, 2011 by aku chi