Galeforce + Lifetaker

[Rhaegar Targaryen]

I put this combo on as many kids as possible, since I just find it so darned useful. For those characters who aren't Sorcerers, how valuable is this combo? Personally, I think it's very good, since Lethality/Astra can rob my units of opportunities to heal themselves. A flat +50% max HP per kill on my turn is just too good to pass up, especially when it procs with Galeforce.

[Momentai~]

Can lifetaker activate more than once per turn? I've never tried pairing it with galeforce (or rather I haven't grinded enough to get it and galeforce on the same unit) and Olivia is almost never a dancer so I've never had the opportunity to test it.

[LycopolisKing]

Used this on my first myUnit and it was spectacular. Rather stumbled upon the combination, but it made for a great Sage, who could heal herself and then heal others after dispatching an opponent.

I have to say I don't understand the flack that Galeforce has been getting recently, because on a healer, particularly one who can use tomes, it is a great skill to have. On a fighter, it is essentially Canto+ on any unit, which is always great for strategies.

While i really only like Lifetaker in conjunction with Galeforce, it's useful for Solo-tanks as well. For a healing skill in general, I'd say Renewal is the best - if you have the stomach to wade through 15 levels of War Monk/Cleric.

[Rhaegar Targaryen]

Can lifetaker activate more than once per turn? I've never tried pairing it with galeforce (or rather I haven't grinded enough to get it and galeforce on the same unit) and Olivia is almost never a dancer so I've never had the opportunity to test it.

Yes, it can. It's beautiful. Going from 1 HP (Miracle says, "Screw you!" to Lethality) to 80 HP in a single turn without wasting another unit's turn to use a staff on the damaged unit is invaluable.

Used this on my first myUnit and it was spectacular. Rather stumbled upon the combination, but it made for a great Sage, who could heal herself and then heal others after dispatching an opponent.

I have to say I don't understand the flack that Galeforce has been getting recently, because on a healer, particularly one who can use tomes, it is a great skill to have. On a fighter, it is essentially Canto+ on any unit, which is always great for strategies.

While i really only like Lifetaker in conjunction with Galeforce, it's useful for Solo-tanks as well. For a healing skill in general, I'd say Renewal is the best - if you have the stomach to wade through 15 levels of War Monk/Cleric.

I have Lifetaker on non-Galeforce units; while it's still great, I much prefer Renewal for such units.

Galeforce has been getting flack?

[Ekhynoxx]

This combo could be even better with Agressor. Too bad just a few characters can have those three skills...

[Jakkun]

Heh, I may have to have my Morgan play around with this skill set.

[Silver Lightning]

I currently have this set on my main avatar, and it rocks! Any little scratches I get from fights are instantly healed and I get another turn to boot. Only sad thing is that it's not as useful to have on a streetpass tream as Renewal.

[Folt]

Galeforce has been getting flack?

Galeforce, while having an incredibly useful effect, only works on the player phase, in a game where the enemy phase is still much more important. Also, you still have to kill the enemy in order for it's effect to kick in, which means you need to be strong. That's why it's getting flack.

Nevertheless, I could see Galeforce + Lifetaker combo be useful. Moreso if you combine it with Aggressor. Pity only a couple of characters can get the classes needed to do that.

Also, I do believe people still agree that it is a legitimately good skill anyways, just not that useful in spite of things.

[I.M. Gei]

Galeforce is definitely the most useful female-exclusive skill, but it just isn't necessary unless you're playing the very hardest postgame DLC or on Lunatic+ that force you to employ hit and run tactics; it breaks the normal game in half.

Edited April 5, 2013 by Black★Rock Shooter

[Loki Laufeyson]

Ive had that combo before. Its pretty damn nice for gamebreaking spam.

[sunshineYON]

Wow, great idea. Also, TIL Miracle can bypass Lethality... which bypasses pretty much everything else.

[catastrophe_2]

Lifetaker is a great skill, it's just really overshadowed by Sol IMO since Sol can activate on the enemy phase and make your chars nearly impossible to kill once you get 40+ Skill and a Brave weapon. Still, Galeforce + Lifetaker is pretty good.

[PuffPuff]

I have Lifetaker on non-Galeforce units; while it's still great, I much prefer Renewal for such units.

Get em both.

Renewal+Lifetaker

Galeforce is definitely the most useful female-exclusive skill, but it just isn't necessary unless you're playing the very hardest postgame DLC or on Lunatic+ that force you to employ hit and run tactics; it breaks the normal game in half.

Makes it handy for those who don't use Olivia. Like me. =)

[paladin21]

Get em both.

Renewal+Lifetaker

I think that's redundant. Renewal is for characters that are going to take damage during the enemy turn and need to be healed for the attacks you'll make during yours (it's best used with other defensive skills like Vantage, Wrath, Pavise or Aegis), and Lifetaker is for offensive characters that will need their health back to withstand any probable damage they'll take (it's better in combination with Galeforce, Counter or Vengeance).

Makes it handy for those who don't use Olivia. Like me. =)

Olivia can learn Galeforce...

[Ekhynoxx]

Olivia can learn Galeforce...

That's not the point ; she's not using Olivia. I think she meant that Galeforce is a good skill 'cause it allows your character(s) to move again without using Olivia.

[Rhaegar Targaryen]

Sol is a great skill. However, since no one can proc more than one offensive skill at a time, it's not reliable in conjunction with other skills for which the RNG rolls before Sol (e.g. Lethality, Aether, Astra). Further, the activation of Sol prevents the activation of Luna, Ignis, and Vengeance. Renewal and Lifetaker are much more reliable under such circumstances.

[Redwall]

...so just remove Luna, Ignis, and Vengeance. Lifetaker heals a maximum of 40 HP in a player phase; Sol has no restrictions. Because this is a game where enemy phase is so important, Sol can and will heal well over 40 HP per enemy phase in enemy-dense chapters like Chs 23 and 24. It is highly reliable when your Sol-tank doubles everything; a unit with 40 Skl and sufficient Spd has a 64% of activating Sol on any particular enemy, which is high enough to guarantee your survival a vast majority of the time when enemies are numerous and generally don't do enough to 2HKO. I consider Sol to be cheat-code-esque; the only other non-DLC skills which compare are Veteran and Rally Spectrum. Galeforce is good, but it's not an ability that lets you get away with mashing Start to skip enemy phases, whereas Sol is.

Edited April 8, 2013 by Redwall

[Rhaegar Targaryen]

...so just remove Luna, Ignis, and Vengeance. Lifetaker heals a maximum of 40 HP in a player phase; Sol has no restrictions. Because this is a game where enemy phase is so important, Sol can and will heal well over 40 HP per enemy phase in enemy-dense chapters like Chs 23 and 24. It is highly reliable when your Sol-tank doubles everything; a unit with 40 Skl and sufficient Spd has a 64% of activating Sol on any particular enemy, which is high enough to guarantee your survival a vast majority of the time when enemies are numerous and generally don't do enough to 2HKO. I consider Sol to be cheat-code-esque; the only other non-DLC skills which compare are Veteran and Rally Spectrum. Galeforce is good, but it's not an ability that lets you get away with mashing Start to skip enemy phases, whereas Sol is.

Activating Sol on the second strike, and probably healing for less, is annoying. Also, having a skill that lets you kill things faster helps you mash skip, which I also do. I prefer Renewal for that sort of thing. If you're mashing skip, you're probably not in any real danger, so healing for 28 HP each turn, while also activating any of the skills I mentioned earlier, can actually save turns.

[Folt]

Activating Sol on the second strike, and probably healing for less, is annoying. Also, having a skill that lets you kill things faster helps you mash skip, which I also do. I prefer Renewal for that sort of thing. If you're mashing skip, you're probably not in any real danger, so healing for 28 HP each turn, while also activating any of the skills I mentioned earlier, can actually save turns.

Renewal only activates at the start of the player phase. Sol can activate anywhere, anytime, so long as the unit is seeing battle, and its activation rate is actually quite high. Not to mention, to get Aether/Ignis/Astra/Lethality/Luna and Renewal on the same person, we are expecting a Second Seal and some grinding, so I could see this work out for postgame, or with Avatar around endgame, but not before.

[Rhaegar Targaryen]

Renewal only activates at the start of the player phase. Sol can activate anywhere, anytime, so long as the unit is seeing battle, and its activation rate is actually quite high. Not to mention, to get Aether/Ignis/Astra/Lethality/Luna and Renewal on the same person, we are expecting a Second Seal and some grinding, so I could see this work out for postgame, or with Avatar around endgame, but not before.

And now we come to the heart of the matter. I've played hundreds of hours across multiple files, so I usually presume grinding is involved. Anything that makes grinding safer or quicker is a good thing in my book.

Also, Galeforce-Lifetaker helps against units with Counter quite nicely. If you're locked into 1 range, pairing two units with Galetaker, Brave weapons, and an A Support can keep you alive long enough to kill three Counter units in a row.

1) You hit for 20 damage and suffer the same

2) Your partner hits twice, dealing 40 damage

3) You hit for 20 damage, receiving the same in return

4) Enemy is now dead and you regenerate 40 HP

This way, you can also activate Lethality, Astra (which I hate to use against Counter units), Luna, Ignis, or Vengeance, thus possibly killing the enemy faster.

[Folt]

And now we come to the heart of the matter. I've played hundreds of hours across multiple files, so I usually presume grinding is involved. Anything that makes grinding safer or quicker is a good thing in my book.

If you're grinding, you've likely got the stats necessary for making dying not matter by the time you have the skills. Sol can help you off the bat when you get it, and doesn't become any less useful, even if you have Renewal or Lifetaker.

Also, Galeforce-Lifetaker helps against units with Counter quite nicely. If you're locked into 1 range, pairing two units with Galetaker, Brave weapons, and an A Support can keep you alive long enough to kill three Counter units in a row.

1) You hit for 20 damage and suffer the same

2) Your partner hits twice, dealing 40 damage

3) You hit for 20 damage, receiving the same in return

4) Enemy is now dead and you regenerate 40 HP

This way, you can also activate Lethality, Astra (which I hate to use against Counter units), Luna, Ignis, or Vengeance, thus possibly killing the enemy faster.

Once again, we're assuming that you've grinded them enough, in which case you likely have the stats needed to deal with enemies anyways. And why would I bother with such a setup when I can send in a tome user or two and damage them from further away, and possibly proc a skill that way as well. Much easier to do.

[Rhaegar Targaryen]

If you're grinding, you've likely got the stats necessary for making dying not matter by the time you have the skills. Sol can help you off the bat when you get it, and doesn't become any less useful, even if you have Renewal or Lifetaker.

Sol is a godsend early on. However, it doesn't work well with other activated skills, since it has a different purpose. I'll disregard Aether in this discussion, since it's Sol followed by Luna. Lethality, Astra, Luna, Ignis, and Vengeance are meant to make other things die; Sol is meant to keep you from dying. If you dedicate only one skill slot to healing, and already have at least one activated skill, I believe Sol is less useful than either Renewal for durable units or Lifetaker for units that proc Galeforce.

Double Duel, of course, is another matter entirely, since Sol is the only way for a unit that wields neither dark tomes nor swords to regain health during the battle.

Once again, we're assuming that you've grinded them enough, in which case you likely have the stats needed to deal with enemies anyways. And why would I bother with such a setup when I can send in a tome user or two and damage them from further away, and possibly proc a skill that way as well. Much easier to do.

Tougher DLC warrants the use of activated skills. How annoying is it to hit a unit who activates Aegis or Pavise, in addition to having high defenses? Failing to ORKO sucks when the enemy has Vengeance.

If you use tomes, you're at risk of killing yourself by counter attacking Warriors. If you use bows, you'll need some way of restoring your health while also killing the Warriors quickly. To kill quickly enough, you may need a skill like Luna or Astra, which won't proc with Sol. In this case, both Renewal and Lifetaker are preferable to Sol.

[Shadow Mir]

Also, Galeforce-Lifetaker helps against units with Counter quite nicely. If you're locked into 1 range, pairing two units with Galetaker, Brave weapons, and an A Support can keep you alive long enough to kill three Counter units in a row.

1) You hit for 20 damage and suffer the same

2) Your partner hits twice, dealing 40 damage

3) You hit for 20 damage, receiving the same in return

4) Enemy is now dead and you regenerate 40 HP

This way, you can also activate Lethality, Astra (which I hate to use against Counter units), Luna, Ignis, or Vengeance, thus possibly killing the enemy faster.

I dunno about you, but I'd be more worried about enemies with Counter on Enemy Phase.

[paladin21]

I dunno about you, but I'd be more worried about enemies with Counter on Enemy Phase.

I agree. They have the bad habit of attacking you hand to hand to get hit for great damage but not enough to get killed on the first hit.

[Folt]

Sol is a godsend early on. However, it doesn't work well with other activated skills, since it has a different purpose. I'll disregard Aether in this discussion, since it's Sol followed by Luna. Lethality, Astra, Luna, Ignis, and Vengeance are meant to make other things die; Sol is meant to keep you from dying. If you dedicate only one skill slot to healing, and already have at least one activated skill, I believe Sol is less useful than either Renewal for durable units or Lifetaker for units that proc Galeforce.

Double Duel, of course, is another matter entirely, since Sol is the only way for a unit that wields neither dark tomes nor swords to regain health during the battle.

And Sol can keep you from dying anywhere, anytime, since it's an activated skill like the rest, and you get to fill the rest of your skill slots with things like Swordfaire or Swordbreaker (depending on your class options) to make it even more reliable than it already is, which is to say all the time.

Tougher DLC warrants the use of activated skills. How annoying is it to hit a unit who activates Aegis or Pavise, in addition to having high defenses? Failing to ORKO sucks when the enemy has Vengeance.

If you use tomes, you're at risk of killing yourself by counter attacking Warriors. If you use bows, you'll need some way of restoring your health while also killing the Warriors quickly. To kill quickly enough, you may need a skill like Luna or Astra, which won't proc with Sol. In this case, both Renewal and Lifetaker are preferable to Sol.

Are we talking about the game as a whole, or The Strongest One's Name? Because the latter is basically the only way I can see your point apply. Also, last time I looked over the Warrior class, I don't quite remember them possess great Defense, and especially not good Resistance, meaning you chip of a decent amount of HP and safely get them on the enemy phase (otherwise, that's what we've got Rescue for).

And the thing about Tomes (and by extension, other weapons that are not locked at 1R) is that you'll be able to get in a safe attack on player phase which, so long as your strategy is sound, can chip of enough HP that Counter can be safely worked around and maybe be done into a negligible thing on the enemy phase, because that's when it counts most.