Characters to level for Final Chapters

[Shadow Mir]

Both the double bow and wishblade are 1-2 range. Marksmen make all bows usable at 3 range (and longbows at 4?) so for them it's 1-3, but the double bow alone is just 1-2 range.

Longbows don't get the range boost (though they suck anyhow)...

[dondon151]

If I were to make an endgame class tier list (assuming max stats), it might look something like this:

I'd definitely put dragonlord (M) and gold knight above Ike, and I don't think there's a big enough difference between the lions + Tibarn and Naesala + Nailah to warrant a tier gap.

[Tormod]

As mentioned, if you're worried that members of your team won't hold up come Endgame, the game throws a truck full of royals at you that pretty much ensure you enough firepower.

As hasn't been noted yet, mostly because most veterans know enough to not be bothered by this, but... if you're still capable of doing so and aren't concerned with speed, levelling up the Mandatory characters for Endgame isn't a terrible idea if you're the type to do so. They're not the best units for it (Aside from Ike who holds his own very well, but he needs to be levelled anyway for it); but if you actually raised them they can be fairly useful instead of being dead weight. Just don't expect them (or most units, really) to get a free pass to safety for Endgame even if trained.

Other than that, yeah. You can certainly beat Endgame with a team that includes no Royals at all, but if you want to take that challenge you'd better be ready to slow down and soak up some EXP (4-5 will practically max out characters you send into it, if you don't go straight to the boss and kill it). For that, there's a pretty good suggestions list already given; Shinon/Rolf especially I can back because of their great stats (They have caps that look remarkably similar to Ike's; with some BEXP use Rolf especially will turn out stellar if you're willing to deal with the initial EXP disadvantage compared to Shinon) and the fact that the Double Bow you will get in 4-E-1 is the most hilariously powerful Beorc weapon in the game. I also suggest going through with Nephenee; she's got surprisingly balanced DEF and RES for a physical unit and does great with the Wishblade, all of which are pros that will definitely be noticeable. And, if you do 4-5 through, Elincia will also rack up a tonne of EXP since she's mandatory, and she comes with her own awesome Brave Brave-style weapon for the finale.

Also, easily overlookable advice I only thought of just before finishing this post:

*Have a staff user or two, who have some good durability. A well-levelled Micaiah can fulfill this, but so can others. The main thing that you need is someone who can use a Fortify staff effectively for the final battle (Or preferrably an SS-rank staff), because you are going to need it because of the way the battle is structured.

*Level your Heron of choice. It's up to you who you want to bring, but you'll be bringing one with you, and if you want to use them in the final battle you want them to be able to actually survive or, quite simply, they will be killed.

In later playthroughs you won't need to worry too much since you'll know what you're getting into; but honestly this game probably has one of the harder final couple battles than most of the FE series (especially the english-released games), in my opinion. Or at least, one of the more initially daunting and overwhelming.

Edited October 19, 2011 by Garlyle

[aku chi]

I'd definitely put dragonlord (M) and gold knight above Ike, and I don't think there's a big enough difference between the lions + Tibarn and Naesala + Nailah to warrant a tier gap.

Why on earth would Haar or the Gold Knights be better than Ike in Endgame? In 4-E-1, all three can ORKO Cover Generals with Hammers and ORKO non-Cover Generals at perfect accuracy with the Urvan, but Ike can also ORKO most non-cover Generals at 1-2 range with high accuracy by using Ragnell (he can also ORKO both Generals and Sages on the same enemy phase, unlike Haar and the Gold Knights). Granted, +2 mov and canto are especially valuable in 4-E-1, but even if Ike loses in this section of Engame, it's by the narrowest of margins. In 4-E-2, Ike is entirely essential to the clear. And he's so awesome that he can 1-turn clear it for us with high accuracy. In 4-E-3, Haar is useless against Dheginsea. He can take Dragonfoe to clear out a dragon blocking the way, but so can just about everybody. The Gold Knights can wield Wyrmslayer, but because they don't double, even Kieran tops out at 24 damage to Dheginsea with Ena and a Wyrmslayer. Ike can deal 50 damage to Dheginsea with a Wyrmslayer and Ena! Hell, Ike can deal more damage than Kieran with the Urvan. In 4-E-4, Ike is the only one who can double Sephiran, so he's clearly dealing the most damage to this boss, if he can reach him (which might require a shove or two - no biggie). Moreover, Haar and the Gold Knights can only double Thunder Spirits (Kieran can't even do that), so they aren't even good at clearing out the Guard Spirits around Sephiran. In 4-E-5, Ike is the only one who can double the Wardwood Auras with Nasir. In fact, he can ORKO them with the Brave Axe and all three dragons. Haar is second best here, but he needs a Red Dragon and the Brave Axe to even 2RKO Wardwood Auras. Even without Nasir, Ike out-damages the Gold Knights in every situation. Canto is certainly nice when Aura-killing, but Ike's clear damage lead gives him the win. Ike is also required to kill Ashera. Thankfully, he deals great damage and can double her naturally. So, why on earth would Haar or the Gold Knights be better than Ike in Endgame?

Regarding the Royals, Caineghis stomps Nailah so badly in endgame. In 4-E-1, the Lions can 2HKO Cover Generals with perfect accuracy - the rest need skill procs. Tibarn has +1 mov, which can be useful. In 4-E-3, the Caineghis and Giffca can deal up to 50 damage to Dheginsea with Ena's help. Tibarn can deal 38 damage and has canto. Naesala can dela 26 damage and has canto. Nailah deals an unimpressive 30 damage without canto. In 4-E-4, Naesala cannot ORKO Sephiran with Parity. The other Royals can (Nailah only because we're assuming max stats - she'll realistically never get the 20->40 Str she needs to pull this off). In 4-E-5, the Lions again demonstrate their dominance. They can ORKO Wardwood Auras (at max stats, they only need one Red Dragon). With both Red Dragons and a +Atk support, Tibarn can also ORKO Wardwood Auras. Nailah and Naesala cannot. Against, the Cover Auras, all of the max-stats Royals double them with Parity (again, 20->40 AS doesn't seem realistic for Caineghis - it's just an assumption). Caineghis and Giffca can deal 80 damage, Tibarn 68 (with canto), Naesala 56 (with canto), and Nailah 60. It's a similar story against Ashera, where the Lions deal the most damage by far, Tibarn comes second with canto, Nailah and Naesala trail behind, but Naesala at least has canto going for him. While the Lions and Tibarn have unmatched utility in endgame and Naesala is a great boon, Nailah is merely good.

[dondon151]

First part regarding Ike, dragonlord (M), and gold knights

The answer is really simple. The value of Ike is strictly contingent on the other characters the player has deployed for 4-E.

You said that Ike can ORKO most non-cover generals at 1-2 range. Mounted axe units can ORKO "most" non-cover generals on this map, as only 5 out of 30 starting generals on this map have 2 range. Simple solution is to nip them in the bud on player phase, and there will be no problems. This is easier when you take canto into account. ORKOing both generals and sages in the same enemy phase is not really a point in Ike's favor when you take into account that dragonlord (M) at least can get there easily on turn 1.

4-E-2 is a stupid argument in Ike's favor. Either put him at the top of top for that contribution or ignore the chapter entirely. I prefer to do the latter.

In 4-E-3 and 4-E-4, Ike's contributions are significantly lessened by the presence of laguz royals, to the point where he doesn't even have to do anything. This is also true to a similar extent in 4-E-5, where laguz royals have enough damage output to kill Ashera in 2 turns with or without significant contributions from other combat units. On the other hand, neither royals nor Ike can duplicate the utility that dragonmaster (M) and gold knight have in 4-E-1.

To put it simply, can you 2 turn 4-E-1 without dragonmaster (M) and/or gold knights? Probably not. Can you 1/1/2 turn 4-E-3/4/5 without Ike (ignoring the fact that Ike has to kill Ashera)? Definitely. Obviously it's not a good idea to load up on dragonmasters and gold knights (no more than 4 is ideal), but there's enough endgame slots available to deploy 4 mounted axe users and 5 laguz royals.

Second part regarding laguz royals

Lions vs. Nailah is valid, but I don't see how Tibarn doing 8 more damage than Naesala per round of combat warrants a tier difference. They both ORKO non-cover generals in 4-E-1 and Naesala's damage contribution in the other 4-E maps is high enough as to not warrant a tier difference between them.

Edited October 19, 2011 by dondon151

[Anouleth]

To put it simply, can you 2 turn 4-E-1 without dragonmaster (M) and/or gold knights?

Probably. I had some leeway with my 4-E-1 2-turn and I wasn't using an "optimal" team by any means.

[Rexaura888]

Depends on who you like to use and what weapons you want to bring in. If you want to use Rexbolt, you'd need Illyana. Otherwise, bring a Marksman, a Trueblade, one or two mobile units, at least one healer, an Archsage that is not Micaiah, and a Sentinel/Marshall. I would consider those the bare minimum, though any of them can be replaced with Laguz/Royals. Technically, you could bring anyone, but certain groups like the Greil Mercenaries are just going to have more screen time and, therefore, more experience. I'd say that you should plan ahead and train the units you are planning on bringing in.

Who I generally bring to endgame (as a reference):

Ike

Reyson

Sanaki

Sothe

Micaiah

Soren

Boyd

Rolf

Mist

Rhys

Oscar

Nephenee

Mia

Marcia

Jill/Haar (depends who does better)

Kurth

Ena

Supports: Ike-Soren, Reyson-Sanaki, Sothe-Micaiah, Rolf-Oscar, Mia-Rhys, Mist-Boyd, Nephenee-Marcia, Jill-Haar (don't like splitting them up :( ), Kurth-Ena (if they ever get it).

I personally don't like using Royals in endgame. They take the challenge and fun out of the first two parts. I'd only use them if RNG decided to run over my team's stat growths with an eighteen wheeler.