Do you (ab)use arenas?

[RNG Princess]

I used them in GBA FEs a bit just for extra cash or help training some newbies, but it wasn't anything crazy.

For FE4 I always used them

but for FE5 after I got Selphina&Robert I abuse them 0w0 I stay a few turns abusing even though my healers get fatigued.

[Light Lord]

Just when checking stats for other characters in the group, usually with a few cheating for promotion items.

Outside of it, to get supports filled up.

[Smiley Jim]

I already told you about my bad habit of arena abuse, but I mostly use the arena to make a quick peso, in case I run into a secret shop or if I'm running out of cash. Basically, I do it mostly for the money, though I also do it to give a weaker character a fighting chance in the main game(an example would be Heath from FE7, and I want to give him a few extra levels.)

However, I will only consider arena abuse if a character I want to use is lower leveled and will get good stats later on(like Heath, Tate, or Marisa), otherwise it's a complete waste of fucking time(an example of this would be Barth. His stats all suck except for HP/str/def and he doesn't make good arena fodder anyway due to facing thugs who double his ass and use silvers.)

Edited March 4, 2011 by DA125

[Paperblade]

If I feel like it. For example :

This was on Lunatic no less. I could only kill Dragon Knights, Generals, Warriors and Berserkers. I had the prices memorized so that I'd fight only them, but occasionally undefeatable Paladins would spawn at the same price as Generals.

In a normal, quicker playthrough, I'll always try to leave a good arena fighter and a healer at the arena while the rest to the team clear the map objective. Free levels and easy money.

The Lunatic Arena is so dumb ._.

[Icon of Sin]

The Lunatic Arena is so dumb ._.

I'm not denying that, but Berserker!MU capped pretty much everything and proved he could fight at least the four mentionned classes very well, though he'd lose to Berserkers once in a while due to crits.

[Paperblade]

I'm not denying that, but Berserker!MU capped pretty much everything and proved he could fight at least the four mentionned classes very well, though he'd lose to Berserkers once in a while due to crits.

I was trying to use it for some extra gold and Dracoknight MU couldn't beat anything

[Ken Zomg]

I cheat most of the time anyway.

[Icon of Sin]

I was trying to use it for some extra gold and Dracoknight MU couldn't beat anything

Don't even bother with a 23 Speed cap. Berserkers are probably the best, but Snipers aren't too awful either with their high critical and speed.

I found Horsemen and Swordmasters to be a bit lacking in might, for example :

Edited March 6, 2011 by Flying Spaghetti Monster

[Tony]

Only FE6, because I could use CRTL + F1 and just go back if my character died :P

Other then that, not really. I don't find it fun, more annoying if a character dies D:

[Specta]

I never use it. I don't have the attention span for the arena, really.

>__>

[Rewjeo]

Only FE4's, which you can't really "abuse" since the outcome of a match is always the same unless your character gains a (probably very good) level and there are only so many matches. FE12's base arena some, too. Won't touch the others, though. I've been incredibly unlucky before, and I don't like playing with chance. And abusing is boring as hell. Spend hours entering the arena, healing, and using savestates just so that the rest of the game is me doing the same thing over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again. Moving units anywhere, watching them kill enemies, repeatrepeatrepeat.

[TheEnd]

Only FE4's, which you can't really "abuse" since the outcome of a match is always the same unless your character gains a (probably very good) level and there are only so many matches.

If that's what you think, then you aren't abusing it at all. You can very often change a match's outcome through RNG manipulation.

Edited March 14, 2011 by TheEnd

[Dr. Tarrasque]

If that's what you think, then you aren't abusing it at all. You can very often change a match's outcome through RNG manipulation.

Having Arden lose at the Arena would be an example of this right?

[Ercdouken]

Unless it's FE4 or making a WiFi team for FEDS, I tend not to use them.

[Shin]

When I first started FE3 I used them a lot, FE4's goes without saying. Although FE5 taught me waiting around on a level is bad so I stopped using them so much. If a chapter's almost done, I'll send a few free units for a go.

[Rewjeo]

If that's what you think, then you aren't abusing it at all. You can very often change a match's outcome through RNG manipulation.

I tried this before and no matter what I did, the battle was always identical. Even if I tried the match in the first castle, fought my way to the second (without that unit leveling up) and the battle was identical.

[Anouleth]

I already told you about my bad habit of arena abuse, but I mostly use the arena to make a quick peso, in case I run into a secret shop or if I'm running out of cash. Basically, I do it mostly for the money, though I also do it to give a weaker character a fighting chance in the main game(an example would be Heath from FE7, and I want to give him a few extra levels.)

However, I will only consider arena abuse if a character I want to use is lower leveled and will get good stats later on(like Heath, Tate, or Marisa), otherwise it's a complete waste of fucking time(an example of this would be Barth. His stats all suck except for HP/str/def and he doesn't make good arena fodder anyway due to facing thugs who double his ass and use silvers.)

Marisa doesn't end up good.

[TheEnd]

Having Arden lose at the Arena would be an example of this right?

Classic example.

I tried this before and no matter what I did, the battle was always identical. Even if I tried the match in the first castle, fought my way to the second (without that unit leveling up) and the battle was identical.

You're... doing it wrong, I'm afraid.

The enemies are fixed, and the arena uses the available RNs to decide the outcome of battle. The castle you use doesn't matter, except that you have far more flexibility in the home castle (you don't need to end a character's turn to have somebody else try the arena there). Leveling up makes a clear difference because it burns many RNs.

What happened to you was quite probably a coincidence.