Thinking of trying this game.

[CrashGordon94]

Ah, are those easily attainable stats for Rutger? The Averages page says he has to be pretty high levelled for 27AS and mildly high levelled for 25 ATK, is it relatively feasible to have him at those parameters by then? I nany case, thank you for letting me know.

[Nanami Touko]

Relying on averages in a game that runs purely on RNG is pretty silly, when wanting to do a playthrough. I highly doubt that Rutger will get screwed over enough to not have enough AS.

[CrashGordon94]

Okay then, cool!

I've heard mentions of early promotions for Dieck and Rutger, is this a good idea?

[Thor Odinson]

Rutger doesn't even need to double this guy to kill him. Just give him a killing edge and let him at it.

And if you're not going for speed, it really doesn't matter, I mean if you're playing slow enough for exp might as well let them get a few more levels, but 15 is generally a pretty good level to promote IMO.

Edited February 14, 2012 by Luminescent Blade

[tiff]

You've already dismissed the worst of the worst units and your "want to use" list contains most of the best units in the game. As far as unit selection goes I'd just roll with the earliest of your choices and then replace RNG screwed characters with one of your approved prepromotes/late joiners as necessary. There's more than enough there.

If you're fine with short term Marcus use then I'd reconsider using Zealot. He's got better bases than Marcus, you can just replace him with Zealot when you recruit the latter and get a little more mileage out of your Jeigan.

Oh, and for all those who say that it carries on to real life: IT DOESN'T! No matter what you say, I have the capability, even if you or others don't.

I just want to say this is pretty funny considering you're using a real-life stereotype to dismiss her as a slut in the first place.

Edited February 14, 2012 by tiff

[CrashGordon94]

Rutger doesn't even need to double this guy to kill him. Just give him a killing edge and let him at it.

Ah, cool. I'm not worried anymore then.

And if you're not going for speed, it really doesn't matter, I mean if you're playing slow enough for exp might as well let them get a few more levels, but 15 is generally a pretty good level to promote IMO.

Sounds fine as well, I typically promote people at 15 anyway, give or take a few levels.

You've already dismissed the worst of the worst units and your "want to use" list contains most of the best units in the game. As far as unit selection goes I'd just roll with the earliest of your choices and then replace RNG screwed characters with one of your approved prepromotes/late joiners as necessary. There's more than enough there.

Ah, excellent. I guess I can put character selection to rest then.

If you're fine with short term Marcus use then I'd reconsider using Zealot. He's got better bases than Marcus, you can just replace him with Zealot when you recruit the latter and get a little more mileage out of your Jeigan.

But it sounds like he'd be coming after I'm done with crutches. I really meant SHORT short-term. I would avoid Marcus altogether but apparently there are tricky earlygame chapters in this one.

[Integrity]

Ah, excellent. I guess I can put character selection to rest then.

Just like I said in FE5, bro. If you're not concerned about ranks or turncounts, just go with it. Don't plan what you're doing, use whoever does you well and keep at it.

chill the fuck out and roll with it as it goes mang

why do you hate and ignore me

Edited February 14, 2012 by Integrity

[CrashGordon94]

He directly evaluated my choices though.

[Raven]

You should use Fir, even if she doesn't have her HM bases. She's a fuckton of fun to use, and nothing hits her.

[Balcerzak]

I'm just looking for advice now.

I will be playing on Normal Mode and I am not in any way concerned with turncounts or Ranks.

The best advice is always, "Don't go into the game with your heart so set on a particular team that you refuse to alter it to adapt to changing conditions." Also, "Use the units that allow you to have the most fun." On normal mode there's plenty of flexibility to trade out units and try new things. Some of the maps have huge deployment limits, so there's room for all sorts of assorted filler too. The only thing that will really kill you and force restarts will be ninja-reinforcements taking down an unprotected rear flank or something. (Or attempting to train Sophia.)

Characters I want to use:

Alan

Lance

Miledy

Rutger

Dieck

Gonzales

Lugh

Ray

Saul/Ellen

Klein

Percival

Echidna

Lalum

Shin

I've personally never had much luck with my Deak's, I'm not sure if they were actually speed-screwed, or if his averages are just shy of doubles. This probably won't be as much of an issue in NM, but it is something to keep in consideration. Also, there are a limited number of early crests, and if you're thinking of all three of him, Rutger, and Gonzales, with the possibility of Fir, then you will definitely feel the crunch.

My Lugh's have always had a tendency to get Mag screwed. If this starts to happen to you, don't be afraid to bench him, as there are plenty of anima alternatives.

Characters I'm on the fence about:

Sue

Fir

Thany/Tate

Hugh

Both Thany and Tito are excellent units, though I've had a tendency with the middle peg sister to get stat-screwed more often than not. Also be aware that she is a pain in the ass to recruit, so be quite careful there.

I don't know that I've ever seriously used Hugh, but everyone says he's fairly tanky.

If your Rutgar has been having Str problems, Fir is a very viable alternative, and is easily trained on the Western Isle pirates. Don't be too concerned about the loss of HM bonuses, cause Rutgar was in the same boat, losing almost identical stats across the board as Fir does.

If you can get Sue even a little bit of Str blessing, she can be a godsend. My first ever Sue had better stats all around than Shin when the latter arrived. This is not the typical case of things, so don't be surprised if she ends up struggling somewhat.

Characters I DO NOT want to use:

Lilina

Clarine

Cecilia

Zealot

Juno

Igrene

Wendy

Sophia

Lilina is actually incredibly viable on NM, as there's less effort needed to get her up and doubling. Of course you still could get screwed, but I always enjoy her instant support with Roy.

Clarine and Cecilia are both invaluable mounted healers, and I'm not sure you really want to leave them by the wayside. I mean, Clarine has initial durability issues with low HP, but she should build a healthy AVO buffer relatively quickly, which only gets better if given supports with either Rutgar or Klein. Cecilia has low-ish speed, but can suffice in a pinch.

In NM, you likely won't really feel quite the crunch and need for Zealot that you would in HM, so I could see leaving him on the bench. Just don't let him die, or you might have issues unlocking Gaidens.

You should probably field Juno in Ch21, just to help ferry around the reinforcement triggers. Aside from that, she isn't terrible with a Killer Lance, but by then you'll have better options.

Igrene is actually an incredibly solid choice for NM play. While Klein has availability and initial Bow Rank on her, his low-ish stats on NM mean he may have just caught up to Igrene's bases when she arrives, depending on how heavily/lightly you've been leaning on him. Aside from that, I think they're mostly interchangeable.

Open to any other suggestions though.

Use Dorothy and Saul. They have an easily built support, and Dorothy is massively under-rated. Saul is a better choice than Ellen because of higher initial Staff rank, and higher speed, meaning he's not going to be doubled whereas Ellen might be. Saul's low luck shouldn't be too much of a problem, and is somewhat mitigated by the aforementioned support.

Use Fa. Wrecking enemies with manakete's is one of the most fun things you can do. Bench her after she's been reasonably trained to leave her with enough uses on her stone for Final (probably 5-8 is good).

Use Zeiss. He's a very solid flier with only minimal resources expended.

[dondon151]

Gel. Apparently he's a pain in the ass.

Easy solution would be to not go to Sacae; you'll have to use your pegasus knights pretty religiously, though, and hold back on the nomads until after chapter 16x. I'm not too sure why everyone believes that Sacae is easier than Ilia even on NM - the difficulty is more arguable there, but some of the Sacae bosses are still really mean, and a couple of the maps like to be total douchebags. Ilia has harder maps but easier enemies in general.

Nosferatu. Some dudes on GameFAQs claimed that it would be a gamebreaker if it didn't wreck your Funds rank with its high cost. Does that mean it'll rock my world since I don't care about those?

It's very easily buyable in huge quantities. A bigger problem is finding a good user for the tome.

[Shadow Mir]

Use Dorothy and Saul. They have an easily built support, and Dorothy is massively under-rated. Saul is a better choice than Ellen because of higher initial Staff rank, and higher speed, meaning he's not going to be doubled whereas Ellen might be. Saul's low luck shouldn't be too much of a problem, and is somewhat mitigated by the aforementioned support.

Fire/Ice support bonuses aren't exactly impressive, IMO... And Saul's support situation just looks to me to be the worst out of the healers (read: his fastest supports don't do enough to fix his crit evade problems, and they're with characters who aren't even that good). (Ignoring my general scorn for male healers, of course.)

Edited February 14, 2012 by Metal King Slime

[Parrhesia]

Yes, and there's nothing wrong with that. Hating them is more fun than liking them would be so I'd rather stick to the former.

...And people think I am hateful.

You sound like you really don't want to use Jagens. You don't need to use Marcus at all in NM. Keep him hovering in the background, with, like, Iron everything, but he's really not necessary.

Overall just use who you want to use, because it seems like the people you actually like are adequate fighters.

And to be honest, I'm inclined to try Dorothy out after hearing Balcerzak's take on him.

[Thor Odinson]

I can agree to you trying Dorothy, darling. While she still loses to Shin, Shin is motherfucking Shin and she isn't all that terrible in her own right if you aren't going to go at superbreakneckspeeds.

[xblade]

Wendy is cool with quite a lot of babying and i mean alot not so much as sophia but still quite a lot. give clarine a couple of energy rings when she upgrades and she is da bomb. i prefer grandmaster fir to rutger. alan is pretty snapage. milerdy is freaking bloody epic. but yeh go with whatever well maybe execpt sophia.

[Shadow Mir]

Wendy is cool with quite a lot of babying

I don't even know how you can say this with a straight face...

[CrashGordon94]

You should use Fir, even if she doesn't have her HM bases. She's a fuckton of fun to use, and nothing hits her.

I'll give her a shot and see how things go, maybe I'll have her do that "dodge Pirates" thing people talk about.

The best advice is always, "Don't go into the game with your heart so set on a particular team that you refuse to alter it to adapt to changing conditions." Also, "Use the units that allow you to have the most fun." On normal mode there's plenty of flexibility to trade out units and try new things. Some of the maps have huge deployment limits, so there's room for all sorts of assorted filler too. The only thing that will really kill you and force restarts will be ninja-reinforcements taking down an unprotected rear flank or something. (Or attempting to train Sophia.)

Okay, I guess I can be a bit more flexible then.

I've personally never had much luck with my Deak's, I'm not sure if they were actually speed-screwed, or if his averages are just shy of doubles. This probably won't be as much of an issue in NM, but it is something to keep in consideration. Also, there are a limited number of early crests, and if you're thinking of all three of him, Rutger, and Gonzales, with the possibility of Fir, then you will definitely feel the crunch.

Ouch on both accounts, I kinda forsaw both points but I'm still really worried...

My Lugh's have always had a tendency to get Mag screwed. If this starts to happen to you, don't be afraid to bench him, as there are plenty of anima alternatives.

I'll keep this in mind then.

Both Thany and Tito are excellent units, though I've had a tendency with the middle peg sister to get stat-screwed more often than not. Also be aware that she is a pain in the ass to recruit, so be quite careful there.

I don't know that I've ever seriously used Hugh, but everyone says he's fairly tanky.

If your Rutgar has been having Str problems, Fir is a very viable alternative, and is easily trained on the Western Isle pirates. Don't be too concerned about the loss of HM bonuses, cause Rutgar was in the same boat, losing almost identical stats across the board as Fir does.

If you can get Sue even a little bit of Str blessing, she can be a godsend. My first ever Sue had better stats all around than Shin when the latter arrived. This is not the typical case of things, so don't be surprised if she ends up struggling somewhat.

Not much to say here except "cool".

Lilina is actually incredibly viable on NM, as there's less effort needed to get her up and doubling. Of course you still could get screwed, but I always enjoy her instant support with Roy.

...I guess she can replace Lugh if he turns out crap.

Clarine and Cecilia are both invaluable mounted healers, and I'm not sure you really want to leave them by the wayside. I mean, Clarine has initial durability issues with low HP, but she should build a healthy AVO buffer relatively quickly, which only gets better if given supports with either Rutgar or Klein. Cecilia has low-ish speed, but can suffice in a pinch.

Being mounted healers is what makes me want to "leave them by the wayside" in the first place! My hatred for mounted healers is known far and wide and I suspect using them would make the game less fun to play because I really hate them that much for being Troubs/Valkyries. I don't know what to say to the rest.

In NM, you likely won't really feel quite the crunch and need for Zealot that you would in HM, so I could see leaving him on the bench. Just don't let him die, or you might have issues unlocking Gaidens.

That's fine, he can't die if he doesn't see combat!

You should probably field Juno in Ch21, just to help ferry around the reinforcement triggers. Aside from that, she isn't terrible with a Killer Lance, but by then you'll have better options.

Fair enough.

Igrene is actually an incredibly solid choice for NM play. While Klein has availability and initial Bow Rank on her, his low-ish stats on NM mean he may have just caught up to Igrene's bases when she arrives, depending on how heavily/lightly you've been leaning on him. Aside from that, I think they're mostly interchangeable.

People have pretty much said this already.

Use Dorothy and Saul. They have an easily built support, and Dorothy is massively under-rated. Saul is a better choice than Ellen because of higher initial Staff rank, and higher speed, meaning he's not going to be doubled whereas Ellen might be. Saul's low luck shouldn't be too much of a problem, and is somewhat mitigated by the aforementioned support.

I'll give Dorothy a shot (lolpun) and I want to use Saul anyway. He was already on my "must use" list because he sounds very helpful (more than those fucking Valkyries...) and I have a bit of a soft spot for male healers due to them breaking a lame stereotype (that nevertheless sometimes produces likable characters).

Use Fa. Wrecking enemies with manakete's is one of the most fun things you can do. Bench her after she's been reasonably trained to leave her with enough uses on her stone for Final (probably 5-8 is good).

Will do.

Use Zeiss. He's a very solid flier with only minimal resources expended.

...Maybe. I'm a bit iffy on Est archetypes but "minimal resources" allieviates that a little I guess.

Easy solution would be to not go to Sacae; you'll have to use your pegasus knights pretty religiously, though, and hold back on the nomads until after chapter 16x. I'm not too sure why everyone believes that Sacae is easier than Ilia even on NM - the difficulty is more arguable there, but some of the Sacae bosses are still really mean, and a couple of the maps like to be total douchebags. Ilia has harder maps but easier enemies in general.

Well, most people have suggested Sacae and I want to use Shin rather a lot. I still appreciate this though. It's something to think about at least.

It's very easily buyable in huge quantities. A bigger problem is finding a good user for the tome.

I'm not really concerned about that, I have a serious hankering to use Ray anyway. If I can buy it easily then I'm okay with it.

...And people think I am hateful.

Honestly, you do sometimes come across like that. I don't mean to insult or offend you by that, you just seem very easily angered sometimes.

You sound like you really don't want to use Jagens. You don't need to use Marcus at all in NM. Keep him hovering in the background, with, like, Iron everything, but he's really not necessary.

Overall just use who you want to use, because it seems like the people you actually like are adequate fighters.

I might need Marcus as a fallback still because I really suck but otherwise, cool. Good to know I won't need him much at least.

Wendy is cool with quite a lot of babying and i mean alot not so much as sophia but still quite a lot. give clarine a couple of energy rings when she upgrades and she is da bomb. i prefer grandmaster fir to rutger. alan is pretty snapage. milerdy is freaking bloody epic. but yeh go with whatever well maybe execpt sophia.

@Bold: Too bad, she isn't getting it from me.

@Italics: Too bad, I'm not willing to try her because she's a Troub.

Otherwise, all fine.

On another note, who should get the Body Ring? I've contemplated Thany (because her CON sucks and I don't give a crap about ferrying), Miledy (because she wasn't going to be ferrying in the first place) and Ray, though I'm open to others as well.

[BBHood217]

Because troubs are just too much trouble, right?

[CrashGordon94]

I just despise the class...

[Mekkah]

asks for advice

argues against it with bullshit

acts like a victim

dreams of mist

[Baldrick]

Isadora.

[CrashGordon94]

asks for advice

argues against it with bullshit

acts like a victim

dreams of mist

Look, what do you expect when you tell me to use one of the characters I explicitly said "anyone but these" to?

[Thor Odinson]

Echidna or else >|

Edited February 15, 2012 by Luminescent Blade

[xblade]

What did troubs do to you

[CrashGordon94]

Echidna or else >|

Don't worry, she was in my "must use" list from the start!

What did troubs do to you

Piss me off, eclipse Priests/Clerics/Bishops in the eyes of what seems like a very large portion of this fanbase, etc.

Edited February 15, 2012 by CrashGordon94