A thought experiment: What happens if we give Fiona all our DB Bexp in NM?

[Colonel M]

I believe the best way to use Fiona and make her good is to give her an Energy Drop and Seraph Robe and always make sure she goes into maps at 99 experience, feeding her kills at every opportunity. A few initial levels of BEXP at 1-7 might be good, but all of it is probably only making her worse.

Let's not forget that we should probably give her an Iron Lance forge, which helps alleviate her Str issue a bit, but I doubt she's going to be anywhere near Nolan even with that much blatant favoritism. This is about the best way to use her in EM / NM, though.

[aku chi]

ROUND 2

Fiona didn't turn out so well last time. Let's perform the analysis again with a few changes. We're still going to give Fiona all of the DB's Bexp. But this time, we won't finish off her last level of Bexp before each chapter. This will allow Fiona to get more Str and Skl from her Cexp level-ups. We'll also give Fiona (and Jill, whom we're comparing her against) a Seraph Robe and Energy Drop on top of all of this Bexp. Finally, I'll be using a different Bexp level-up heuristic that more closely matches empirical data on Fiona's Bexp level-ups. The heuristic I'll be using this time is to cube and normalize Fiona's growths. Before any stats are capped, her Bexp-growths will look like this:

0.31 HP, 0.21 Str, 0.01 Mag, 0.21 Skl, 0.72 Spd, 0.56 Lck, 0.56 Def, 0.42 Res

Our analysis begins in 1-7: Fiona's first chapter of availability. This time, we give Fiona (and Jill) a Seraph Robe and Energy Drop. Fiona then has these base stats:

Level 9 - 32 HP, 10 Str, 6 Mag, 8 Skl, 10 Spd, 7 Lck, 8 Def, 6 Res

Again, we have 5410 Bexp (mostly from 1-6). (I've assumed that we always reach the Bexp turn limit, a few units escaped in 1-3, and 10/13 Knights + Civilians survived in 1-6.) If we give Fiona all of this Bexp, she can just barely reach level 17. This time, we'll Bexp her up to 16.99 and let her reach level 17 with Cexp. Here are her stats at that point:

Level 17 Fiona - 34.6 HP, 11.9 Str, 6.2 Mag, 9.9 Skl, 15.7 Spd, 11.5 Lck, 12.5 Def, 9.4 Res

Level 16 Jill - 32 HP, 13.9 Str, 1.3 Mag, 12.9 Skl, 16.3 Spd, 15.2 Lck,, 13.7 Def, 3.9 Res

Fiona's Speed looks pretty good (like Jill's). Unfortunately, it's only enough to double Armors and Mages. With a max-Mt Iron Lance forge, Fiona has 23.9 Atk. That's enough to 2HKO Mages, so she can ORKO them. But she can only 3HKOing Archers, Soldiers, and Fighters. And she doesn't double them. So that's pretty bad. Even with doubling Armors, Fiona 2-3RKOs. BTW, even with a max-Hit forge, Fiona doesn't quite have perfect hit. Jill has a 3 Atk advantage plus Hammer access. On the defensive end, Fiona is getting 3-4HKO by just about everything - except Myrmidons, who 5-6HKO. Jill is similar, except she might get 2HKO by some Mages. Oh, this map is indoors - so Fiona (and Jill) has -2 mov. There are also ledges which Fiona is unable to traverse. An unimpressive start, to be sure, but let's see how things pick up for Fiona down the line.

Fiona is unavailable in 1-8, which is just as well considering the terrain, so Fiona's next chapter of availability is 1-E. Let's assume Fiona (and Jill) got one (additional) regular level-up in 1-7. By 1-E we can have accumulated 10,550 more Bexp (assuming all Prisoners survive and 3/5 escape in 1-7 and 5/6 survive in 1-8). Crazy! This is enough to Bexp Fiona all the way to 20/6.99! This is getting unfair for Jill, right? Let's give her a Master Seal. (BTW, Fiona capped Res in tier 1.)

Level 20/7 Fiona - 39.7 HP, 15.3 Str, 8.6 Mag, 13.3 Skl, 23.2 Spd, 16.6 Lck, 18.6 Def, 14.5 Res

Level 17/1 Jill - 34.5 HP, 16.4 Str, 3.5 Mag, 14.4 Skl, 18.0 Spd, 15.8 Lck, 16.1 Def, 6.4 Res

Let's see how this overleveled Fiona can tear up 1-E! She doubles everything (even Myrmidons) with her massive Speed. That's a good start. Jill can only double Mages, Armors, and maybe some slow Fighters. But... Fiona's Strength is still poor. With a max-Mt Steel Lance, Fiona has 30.3 Atk. This is enough to 2HKO Mages, Myrmidons, Archers, and some Soldiers. It's enough to 2RKO everything, so Fiona's offense isn't too bad here! Fiona has imperfect (but generally high) accuracy with a max-Hit forge. Fiona has 22.3 Atk with a Javelin, so she can 2HKO Mages at 1-2 range - with poor accuracy. Now, Jill still has a 2.1 Atk advantage over Fiona with a Steel Axe forge. Jill can 2HKO Soldiers and Fighters. Fiona does have a notable offensive advantage against Myrmidons, Archers, and some Soldiers when compared with Jill. Things look good for Fiona in the durability department. Decent HP and high defense means that even the toughest enemies 4HKO her. Many are in the 5-8HKO range. Jill isn't doing quite as well, but with her C support, she avoids all physical 2HKOs and is more often 4-5HKO. Mages still 2HKO Jill, which makes Jill sad. Oh, this map is also indoor, so Fiona (and Jill) suffer from -2 mov. There are also tons of ledges which Fiona cannot climb; she must go the long way around. This chapter is pretty good for Fiona on the whole.

Ages later, we return to the Dawn Brigade. I'll assume 1 additional level for Fiona and 2 levels for Jill in 1-E (maybe they used Paragon). 1-E gave us 3750 Bexp. That's enough for 1.99 more levels of Bexp (and a little to spare). Fiona caps Speed here.

Level 20/10 Fiona - 41.0 HP, 16.3 Str, 8.9 Mag, 14.3 Skl, 24 Spd, 18.4 Lck, 20.4 Def, 16.0 Res

Level 17/3 Jill - 35.5 HP, 17.3 Str, 3.8 Mag, 15.3 Skl, 19.3 Spd, 17 Lck, 16.9 Def, 7.3 Res

Fiona again has impressive Spd. It's not only enough to double all of the Tigers, but even the majority of the Cats. Fiona also continues to demonstrate poor Str. She has 31.3 Atk with a Steel Lance forge. This 3HKOs all of the Cats. Fiona can 4HKO most of the Tigers but falls short against the toughest. With Beastfoe, Fiona can OHKO all of Cats but only 2HKOs Tigers. Jill, meanwhile, doubles nothing to start but will start doubling Tigers after one level. Jill has a 2 Atk advantage with a Steel Axe forge, but also has the option to use the Brave Axe with 3 less Atk than Fiona (albeit with imperfect hit). So, Jill soon deals more damage against Tigers (4HKOing all of them) and similar damage vs. Cats with the Brave Axe (she 3HKOs some and 4HKOs the rest). Fiona's durability is pretty impressive, she just barely avoids 2HKOs from the S-Strike Tigers, no small feat. The A-Strike Tigers and S-Strike Cats 4-6HKO and the A-Strike Cats tink. Jill is in worse shape on the durability front, but she still avoids 2HKOs from all but the S-Strike Tigers. Jill also has the option to canto over the swamp to strategically expose herself to the desired attackers. Fiona is, instead, locked to the starting island. While a lot of laguz can come to her, the freedom to pursue them would have been welcome. So, Fiona is decent in a tough chapter.

Let's suppose Fiona got 3 additional levels from this chapter (thanks to either Paragon or Beastfoe, perhaps). Let's suppose Jill got 5 levels thanks to Paragon, a lower level, and flight. With the 4500 Bexp from 3-6, we can give Fiona 3 more levels. I'll finish off the Bexp level here because Fiona has now capped Def and Res in addition to Spd.

Level 20/16 Fiona - 44.3 HP, 18.9 Str, 9.5 Mag, 16.9 Skl, 24 Spd, 22.8 Lck, 23 Def, 18 Res

Level 17/8 Jill - 37 HP, 19.5 Str, 4.5 Mag, 17.5 Skl, 22.5 Spd, 20 Lck, 18.5 Def, 9.5 Res

Fiona's Speed is still very good. She can't double Swordmasters, but she can double every other enemy in the chapter. Jill isn't far behind. Warriors and a few Halberdiers may elude her to start the chapter, but a level or two will bring them into doubling range as well. Fiona's Atk is a mediocre 33.9 with the Steel Lance forge. This is enough to 2HKO Sages, Swordmasters, and non-Armor tier 1 units, but that's it. Fiona 3-4HKOs most tier 2 enemies, but Generals are 5-6HKO. Jill has 35.5 Atk with a Steel Axe forge or 30.5 with the Brave Axe. (Silver Great/Pole weapons are available for purchase but neither Fiona nor Jill has the Hit to wield them reliably - nor does Fiona likely have the weapon level.) Offense goes to Jill. Fiona is quite durable. The very strongest enemies will 4HKO her, and most are in the 5-8HKO range. Jill's durability isn't too shabby, but she faces 3-5HKOs from most enemies. Fiona finally doesn't suffer any major movement penalties, but Jill's ability to fly up and down the cliff is nice.

Let's suppose overleveled Fiona comes up just short of one level in 3-12. We'll give Jill 2 levels (she doesn't even need Paragon for that). With the 7500 Bexp from 3-12, we have just enough for Fiona to promote before 3-13 (before which, she caps HP as well). We'll throw Jill a Master Crown.

Level 20/20/1 Fiona - 49 HP, 25.5 Str, 13.6 Mag, 22.5 Skl, 26 Spd, 26.8 Lck, 26 Def, 22 Res

Level 17/10/1 Jill - 43 HP, 23.4 Str, 8.8 Mag, 20.4 Skl, 25.8 Spd, 21.2 Lck, 22.2 Def, 14.4 Res

26 Spd likely doubles all of the laguz. Unfortunately, it doesn't double even base Ike. Fiona's Atk is now at a respectable 40.5 with a Steel Lance forge. Jill has 39.4 Atk with a Steel Axe forge and 34.4 Atk with the Brave Axe. Fiona and Jill cleanly 2HKO all of the Cats and Hawks. Fiona can 3HKO Tigers but Jill can ORKO them with the Brave Axe (with imperfect accuracy), so Jill has a slight offensive advantage. Against a base Ike with Ragnell equipped, Fiona can deal ~15-16 damage compared to Jill's ~12-13 (due to WTD). Jill, however, has a higher chance to proc Stun against Ike (Skill% vs. Skill/2% activation).

Fiona's durability is good; Cats and Hawks will 10HKO at best. S-Strike Tigers (the majority) only 4HKO, which is cool. Jill is 3HKO'd by those same Tigers, and takes more damage from Cats and Hawks as well. Both take heavy damage from Ike. Even a base Ike has 42 Atk with Ragnell, dealing 15 damage to Fiona and ~19 damage to Jill. Both can canto away to avoid a counter-attack when needed. Oh, both Fiona and Jill's mounts decided that the snow was a conspiracy and they were really indoors: -2 mov. Fiona can't mess with ledges and so has to go the long way around. Fiona is almost as good as Jill here, which is an underwhelming compliment for a unit that's taken over 30,000 Bexp, but there you have it.

We might as well make good on our promise to give Fiona all of the DB's Bexp - including the Bexp from 3-13. Suppose that Fiona got one level in 3-13. There's enough Bexp to give Fiona another 3 levels. Fiona certainly isn't heading with the Silver Army, so a comparison with Jill is no longer appropriate. Let's use an 18/4 Oscar, instead (that seems like a reasonably leveled Oscar entering Part 4 in NM with no Bexp).

Level 20/20/5 Fiona - 50.4 HP, 26.5 Str, 13.8 Mag, 23.5 Skl, 28.8 Spd, 29.0 Lck, 28 Def, 23.8 Res

Level 18/4 Oscar - 46.5 HP, 25.2 Str, 12.8 Mag, 28.0 Skl, 27.8 Spd, 23.0 Lck, 21.7 Def, 18.8 Res

Hmm, this Fiona is actually very similar to a low-resources Oscar in Part 4. They even have similar growths. Fiona does have noticeably more concrete durability, but Oscar will easily have an A support, which gives him good avoid in the Greil or Hawk armies (where they're going). Even if Fiona's partner comes with her (he/she has received no Bexp, and so probably isn't great), she's only had 5 chapters to build up a support, so it's probably only at the B level to start Part 4. So, this Fiona's Part 4 performance is about as good as Oscar's (i.e. not especially good). While they can double most enemies, 2HKOing anything tougher than a Swordmaster is pretty much impossible for them in the Greil Army. With a Silver Lance forge, Fiona and Oscar can pull off some 2HKOs in 4-2 against Warriors, Halberdiers, and Snipers. That might be their preferred route, but then they get slowed down by thickets and can't do much in 4-5.

What happens if we bring Fiona into 4-E? Let's assume 7 levels of Cexp for Fiona in Part 4 (that means she probably went with the Greil Army, where she can't contribute much). Let's bring our Jill back for the 4-E comparison, assuming she got 1 level in 3-13 and 8 levels in 4-P and 4-3.

Level 20/20/12 Fiona - 53.5 HP, 29.3 Str, 14.9 Mag, 26.3 Skl, 33.0 Spd, 32.9 Lck, 28 Def, 27 Res

Level 17/10/10 Jill - 47.5 HP, 27.5 Str, 10 Mag, 24.5 Skl, 31.7 Spd, 26.6 Lck, 25.4 Def, 18.5 Res

Fiona and Jill can both double everything in 4-E-1. General-slaying is definitely not a task for Fiona in 4-E-1. Even with a max-Mt Silver Lance, Fiona has 47.3 Atk, nowhere near enough to 2HKO non-cover Generals. Fiona also has a low mastery activation rate and a merely decent Adept activation rate. Jill has 49.5 Atk with the Urvan, which is also insufficient to 2HKO Generals, but with a Hammer (66.5 effective Mt), Jill can even 2HKO most cover Generals (unfortunately, Jill has poor accuracy with the Hammer). Jill even has a higher mastery activation rate. Fiona does have just enough Atk with a Javelin forge (41.3) to 2HKO all of the Sages. With Fiona's high Resistance, she is well suited for this role. Jill also has enough Atk with a forged Hand Axe (40.5) to 2HKO Sages, but her Thunder weakness and lower Resistance do present some problems, though her flight lets her escape to safety.

Getting the Wishblade in 4-E-2 helps Fiona. But not in 4-E-3. Even with 34 AS (which is likely), neither Fiona nor Jill can deal much damage to Dheginsea. Neither Fiona nor Jill can reach the 36 AS to double Sephiran without Nasir, so they aren't much help in 4-E-4. They can both ORKO Spirits with their SS weapons. Fiona can do so at 2-range, if needed. Against the Auras in 4-E-5, Fiona and Jill are likely to deal a similar amount of damage (either with Brave weapons or SS weapons). It takes 53 Atk to 4HKO a Wardwood Aura. Fiona needs all three dragons and either 33 Str, 32 Str and a +Str support, or 31 Str and an A-level +Str support to ORKO an Aura with the Brave Lance. Jill needs one less Str for the same feat with the Brave Axe. Neither unit has very good Hit with the Brave weapons, though, even with both Red Dragons.

In conclusion, Fiona does appear to be usable in NM if we give her all of the DB's Bexp (almost 40,000!) plus their Energy Drop and Seraph Robe. On the whole she's almost as useful in her chapters as a Jill with the same stat boosters but 0 Bexp. I would hesitate to call this "good", but I would have no problem labeling her performance as "decent" in round 2 of this thought experiment.

[Wooster]

Trivia:

As an NPC, you can still build support points between her and whoever you want Earth Support with. However, because she was not one of your deployed units, she (and those you want to support with her) do not gain the chapter start bonus to their support array, thus she is still difficult to build. This should also apply to Aran and other late arrivals.

I will also say, I have my thoughts about the intended construction of the level she joined in. I've hacked Radiant Dawn to make her playable in 1-6. Using her as you would any other unit, she gains a level or two, and this makes her 'premier' in 1-7 much less of a hassle. She's weak, no doubt, but not glaringly weak. Considering she and Michy have a conversation mid 1-6, I think she was supposed to be recruited mid battle as Aran was earlier.

[Narga_Rocks]

Trivia:

As an NPC, you can still build support points between her and whoever you want Earth Support with. However, because she was not one of your deployed units, she (and those you want to support with her) do not gain the chapter start bonus to their support array, thus she is still difficult to build. This should also apply to Aran and other late arrivals.

As far as I'm aware, and I did the testing, you have to be on the same "team" to build support points from being adjacent (and I never tested picking up an NPC, I guess, so I can't tell you about rescue points). Nobody in those chapters can shove her and this isn't a GBA game so you can't rescue her, so only Laura and Micaiah (sacrifice) can build any decent amount of support points with Fiona in 1-6-2.

[Anouleth]

Trivia:

As an NPC, you can still build support points between her and whoever you want Earth Support with. However, because she was not one of your deployed units, she (and those you want to support with her) do not gain the chapter start bonus to their support array, thus she is still difficult to build. This should also apply to Aran and other late arrivals.

I will also say, I have my thoughts about the intended construction of the level she joined in. I've hacked Radiant Dawn to make her playable in 1-6. Using her as you would any other unit, she gains a level or two, and this makes her 'premier' in 1-7 much less of a hassle. She's weak, no doubt, but not glaringly weak. Considering she and Michy have a conversation mid 1-6, I think she was supposed to be recruited mid battle as Aran was earlier.

I doubt she would be able to gain a level in HM, where most of the enemies double and some 1-round her since her weapons only weigh her down. She has 7AS with the Javelin, meaning that she's doubled by all enemies except some Axe Knights, and her 15ATK is not impressing anyone either, and neither is her ~50 display hit.

So yeah, if she is still getting 1-rounded and is basically incapable of killing anything on her own, she is still glaringly weak.