Shadow Mir Posted April 7, 2016 Share Posted April 7, 2016 (edited) BR enemy density is exactly the reason you want Ryoma. There's a massive amount of rout missions. Your lack of 1-2 is going to take forever. Did I play the game on Lunatic or did you? Ryoma is not a pure avoidtank. The combination of his sky-high offense with good avo and vantage is what makes him a tank. Sure, sometimes he'll take 1-2 hits and go below 1/2, but then he just starts killing everything in his way before they can attack him. Astra is also free dual guard whenever it procs. I'd do a full mathematical analysis if I had the time but Ryoma's quite reliable at being immortal bar bullshit like 7% hits in which case, well, not like the rest of your units can do much better. As much as I'd like to trust you... I'm afraid I must remain wary. I bought into the Edward hype when Radiant Dawn came out, only to get burned. Disappointment on that scale isn't something I'd want to experience again. Edited April 7, 2016 by Levant Mir Celestia Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leif Posted April 7, 2016 Share Posted April 7, 2016 I always used Marita from FE5. Her personal weapon, plus all the ridiculous skills she can get makes her an absolute monster who decimates anyone in her path. Despite the fact that Thracia has abysmal stat caps, Marita is still a standout sword master and has no problem annihilating tough units. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Espinosa Posted April 8, 2016 Share Posted April 8, 2016 Maybe early on, but Ryoma can later get Life And Death and Swordfaire to have 100% reliability. Also, you know, 1-2 range. Okay, but that happens so late it may as well just never happen. Ryoma's 1-2 ranged offence can also be replicated by MU and Saizo, both of whom become available much earlier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
General Horace Posted April 8, 2016 Share Posted April 8, 2016 i've never been that impressed by saizo without making him one of the ridiculous "prepremoted" classes like darkflier Corrin's 1-2 range is never as strong as Ryoma's outside a magic class, in which case he's not particularly durable Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gradivus. Posted April 8, 2016 Share Posted April 8, 2016 (edited) Okay, but that happens so late it may as well just never happen. Ryoma's 1-2 ranged offence can also be replicated by MU and Saizo, both of whom become available much earlier. I haven't played Fates so I can't comment on Ryoma but Rutger's bosskilling can also be replicated aside from the really obnoxious earlygame bosses (and those are still technically possible without him, but he does make them much easier). FE6 bosses usually aren't very dangerous offensively and they don't move, so unless you want to clear the map more quickly, it isn't a big deal to have other units fish for a bunch of hits at worse reliability, plus many good bosskilling weapons like killers, armorslayer and regalia are pretty accurate on their own. It doesn't help Rutger that the common steel (other units can match his offense due to lowered avoid and AS) and ranged (Rutger can't counter) weapons on mid- and lategame enemies make his swordlocked 6 mov combat a lot less useful. Edited April 8, 2016 by Gradivus. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Espinosa Posted April 8, 2016 Share Posted April 8, 2016 (edited) You only need so much offence for things to fall dead though. It also appears that one doesn't need nearly as much 1-2 range as you'd think, even with Hoshido's abundant rout maps. Good durability, and sufficient offensive stats with a steel or iron forge on a mobile character seem to do the job. Dark Falcon is a p overrated class btw. It might make some units shine early on but you might as well say goodbye to your durability if you opt for it. Galeforce is learnt too late (besides by Jakob/Felicia) and its utility isn't the same it was in FE13. Edited April 8, 2016 by Espinosa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shadow Mir Posted April 8, 2016 Share Posted April 8, 2016 Maybe early on, but Ryoma can later get Life And Death and Swordfaire to have 100% reliability. Also, you know, 1-2 range. Aside from what Espinosa said, Life and Death isn't a very good skill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
General Horace Posted April 8, 2016 Share Posted April 8, 2016 Life and Death is hilariously broken if you know what you're doing. Ryoma becomes very close to invincible with it (if he wasn't already), he flat out OHKO's a lot of enemies. If you toss him Rinkah he's actually invincible if you get him Lancebreaker (although 4 levels in blacksmith is kinda annoying). Saizo's a way better dark falcon than ninja. He loses no durability, gets speed+2 which he sorely needs, and becomes a threat offensively. I still think he's very mediocre, his durability isn't that solid and his strength and speed are very middling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shadow Mir Posted April 9, 2016 Share Posted April 9, 2016 Life and Death is hilariously broken if you know what you're doing. Ryoma becomes very close to invincible with it (if he wasn't already), he flat out OHKO's a lot of enemies. If you toss him Rinkah he's actually invincible if you get him Lancebreaker (although 4 levels in blacksmith is kinda annoying). I doubt that - I fail to see the value in increasing the damage he takes as well when he, not unlike most any other swordmaster, already takes hits like a chump. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
General Horace Posted April 9, 2016 Share Posted April 9, 2016 if he gets knocked into vantage he just flat out OHKO's all non GK/General enemies, so he doesn't even have a chance to get hit It's ridiculous. Without it he still faces threats from magic users. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thor Odinson Posted April 9, 2016 Share Posted April 9, 2016 (edited) Other swordmasters can't utilize vantage the same way Ryoma does--if a +10 flat damage pushes Ryoma into OHKO range instead of ORKO range, he won't even need to rely on crits/astra procs. Often I have Ryoma do high 30s/low 40s damage against an enemy with just swordfaire, and +10 on that enemy could very well just oneshot them. Ryoma should always have enough durability to eat 1 hit. After that he starts oneshotting the shit out of everything. Edit: dammit horace Also Dark Falcon is p good on Saizo if you're like, man, Hoshido has so many ninjas what do I do with them--not like he's any more durable as ninja anyway, most of that's his personal bulk, and E tomes isn't a big deal because it's still 1-2 hitting res and Horse Spirit is a D. Still would much rather use him as a mage than Hayato and Orochi. Hell, you make him marry Orochi or Kagero, he can easily dip into Basara or Onmyoji if you don't want him on wings anymore for whatever reasons. Sakura also works for Onmyoji access. Edited April 9, 2016 by Thor Odinson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bethany81707 Posted April 23, 2016 Share Posted April 23, 2016 (edited) My favourites would be Ayra, Mareeta and Mia. Mia's the top pick, but I chose to list in chronological order. Reminder, overall choices are: *Navarre *Radd *Athena *Malice *Samto *Ayra *Larcei *Shanan *Eyvel *Shanam *Shiva *Trewd *Karel *Rutger *Fir *Karla *Guy *Joshua *Marisa *Stefan *Lucia *Mia *Zihark *Edward *Say'ri *Lon'qu *Owain *Ryoma *Hana *Hinata *Hisame Assuming I didn't miss anyone. Edited April 23, 2016 by phineas81707 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glitchy Posted April 27, 2016 Share Posted April 27, 2016 Ryoma or Rutger are the best as units without doubt, but as a character, I personally like Joshua the most. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PKSlowpoke Posted May 5, 2016 Share Posted May 5, 2016 Okay but where's Edward???? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yvette Posted May 9, 2016 Share Posted May 9, 2016 1. Rutger: His accuracy is much needed amidst the terror of FE6 hit rates. 2. Navarre 3. Joshua 4. Zihark While Ryoma is a good unit, his reliability is based more off of his master pimp sword than his actual stats and growths. Hana as a level 4 swordmaster will be faster, and Hinata will have more defense. Not that either of them are very good either - Hana is a glass cannon so it's up to the player, and Hinata is too slow to effectively be used as a swordmaster. Ryoma is a good in the middle, and does have decent HP growths. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
henrymidfields Posted May 28, 2016 Share Posted May 28, 2016 I haven't played Fates so I can't comment on Ryoma but Rutger's bosskilling can also be replicated aside from the really obnoxious earlygame bosses (and those are still technically possible without him, but he does make them much easier). FE6 bosses usually aren't very dangerous offensively and they don't move, so unless you want to clear the map more quickly, it isn't a big deal to have other units fish for a bunch of hits at worse reliability... The two problems are that Binding Blade has some of the worse accuracy issues in the franchise, and it essentially has turn limits on certain chapters if you want to play the entire game. I certainly needed all the help I could get from Rutger or Fir. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gradivus. Posted May 28, 2016 Share Posted May 28, 2016 Having played Hard mode a few times, I never was in much need for Rutger after C12x personally. As I said, the hitrate issues disappear from C13 on because the average unit has grown quite a bit of Skl while the enemies are weighed down by their weapons and have poor avoid. Rutger can still kill things, but his hitrates and damage output are no longer as unique, so he's usually just a good filler, whereas other units, who are more mobile and have better options to counter on EP, tend to be more useful. I'd rank swordmasters who remain above average for a longer part of the game above him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thor Odinson Posted May 29, 2016 Share Posted May 29, 2016 (edited) While Ryoma is a good unit, his reliability is based more off of his master pimp sword than his actual stats and growths. Hana as a level 4 swordmaster will be faster, and Hinata will have more defense. Not that either of them are very good either - Hana is a glass cannon so it's up to the player, and Hinata is too slow to effectively be used as a swordmaster. Ryoma is a good in the middle, and does have decent HP growths. Okay but why use anything except Raijinto anyway I mean it's a prf weapon that literally nobody else can use and it's basically a part of his character and should be considered with him Weapon durability doesn't even exist for it to run out It's like nobody considers Shanan without Balmung either Edited May 29, 2016 by Thor Odinson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yvette Posted May 29, 2016 Share Posted May 29, 2016 (edited) Okay but why use anything except Raijinto anyway I mean it's a prf weapon that literally nobody else can use and it's basically a part of his character and should be considered with him Weapon durability doesn't even exist for it to run out It's like nobody considers Shanan without Balmung either Oh, you shouldn't. I was picking best swordmaster based off of growth rates and bases relative to each game though: best unit regardless of weapon, even if it is locked for his use. I'm very aware of how the game can be turned into Ryoma Emblem because of Raijinto. Edited May 29, 2016 by Yvette Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thor Odinson Posted May 29, 2016 Share Posted May 29, 2016 I fundamentally disagree with that metric since it's divorced from practical contexts, and I'd rather judge characters by how they actually practically play like, but to each their own. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harvey Posted May 30, 2016 Share Posted May 30, 2016 (edited) Lon'qou.....He is just incredible. Heck, even better than Hana. Edited May 30, 2016 by Harvey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UNLEASH IT Posted May 31, 2016 Share Posted May 31, 2016 It's most definitely Ryoma. A major problem for SM's in most is the lack of a reliable 1-2 range equivalent to hand axes/javelins. Ryoma completely ignores this with Raijinto which, on top of giving him a stat boost, is one of the few 1-2 range weapons in Fates that has no drawbacks (aside from tomes and shuriken, which suffer from having low Mt). Raijinto has the same Mt as the S-rank Shuriken, and that's before the STR boost is factored in. When you combine that with his decent bulk and ridiculously exploitable personal skill, he's easily better than any other SM in the series, even Rutger. And for the people saying that Ryoma isn't the best because Birthright is an easy game, just remember that you can easily beat Sacred Stones without Seth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Glaceo Posted May 31, 2016 Share Posted May 31, 2016 Joshua is a good unit, but you can't compare him with Shannan and Lackshe from FE 4, they're gods in that game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shanty Pete's 1st Mate Posted June 19, 2016 Share Posted June 19, 2016 Of those listed, I chose Joshua. Strong from the start, great stats, interesting support options, and a cool hat. Having said that, if we're evaluating from the series as a whole, I'm going with Shanan, from Genealogy Gen II. With the Balmung (+10 Skill, +20 Speed) equipped, he's basically the Sheriff of Dodge City. With awesome killing power, too. He starts strong (with a holy weapon from way too early in the game), and only really has trouble in Magic and Res. One of the best units in his game. Also, even if we're just judging from 7, 8, and 13, you're missing Karel, Karla, and Say'ri. C'mon, give those prepromotes some love. I honestly think Karel is superior to Guy, ponytail aside. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gradivus. Posted June 19, 2016 Share Posted June 19, 2016 Having played through Fates, it's definitely BR!Ryoma. He's 3HKOed at 40 hit by promoted lance enemies (and they're not super common) and ORKOes everything except Generals and GKs. He got around 400 kills in my BR playthrough without necessarily going out of my way. Rev!Ryoma is still great, but Generals hit him for around 60% of his HP and also have higher hitrates, so he has to be used more carefully. He still has some of the best damage output and great durability against non-lance enemies. He also still has Dual Katana and Armorslayer to take on Generals. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts