PAIRINGS The Pairing Thread

[Waifu Severa]

Ok cool, so i can use Spotpass Saias(not Cyas) as my rallybot and then beat apo and unlock DLC Katarina as my second rally bot, correct? Or can i use my brother's avatar from the logbook as my male rallybotter?

And can staffbots be any spotpass character?

Edited July 22, 2014 by Waifu Severa

[Czar_Yoshi]

Here we go.

Staffbots: Celica, Nomah, Ethlyn, Julia, Saias, Lilina, L'Arachel, Elincia, Micaiah, Sephiran, Ishtar. These are all the Spotpass characters who either have at least a B in Staves, or a C and 40+ Mag. Special mention to Sephiran, who has both the highest Mag and an A (L'Arachel and Saias are the only others with A). Staffbots tend to be better female, so you could narrow it down a bit.

As for Rallybots, Horace has Def/Res, Julia has Mag/Mov, Saias has Mag/Spc, L'Arachel has Lck/Res, and Micaiah has Mag/Lck.

Personally, I'd use Horace and Julia as Rallybots- if Saias is used, he'll have to go with L'Arachel to avoid Mag overlap, and there goes two automatic Staff As). For staffbots, it depends on how many you want, but I'd at least include L'Arachel and Ishtar- add Lilina and Celica if you have room.

[Nang Trong Vuon]

A question probably unrelated to pairings, but do battle pairs have to match? As in, should they both be physical or magical, or can they be 1 phys 1 mag?

[GinRei]

It's more about matchup bonuses matching than actual offensive traits, I believe. Like, Grandmaster can support anyone, since it'd give the same boost to the primary stats regardless of their weapon choice.

Another one I've been toying around with is using a physical Bride Nah to support a magical Brady. Since Nah doesn't have galeforce anyway, she doesn't care what pair up bonus Brady would give her as he'd stay in the front. Only problem I'm having with this at the moment is getting a Faire on Nah.

Of course, I'm not an expert on this, so it'd be best to get more opinions, but this is how I've taken it to seem.

[Waifu Severa]

Thank you so much Czar for all the help you have given me, i really appreciate it :)

And what skills do staffbots need?

Edited July 22, 2014 by Waifu Severa

[Czar_Yoshi]

A question probably unrelated to pairings, but do battle pairs have to match? As in, should they both be physical or magical, or can they be 1 phys 1 mag?

As a rule of thumb, make them match. You can get away with pretty much anything if you know what you're doing, but if you don't have a specific goal in mind for a pair (like getting 100% DS on a non-Lucina Sage) then keep them the same. Bride counts as a magical support, though.

Speaking of Bride Nah, give her Virion or Stahl for Bowfaire.

Staffbot skills: they don't actually need any. If you want to spend time grinding them, though, LB is a must, Mov+1 is pretty much always helpful, use Tomefaire for Valkyries and Lancefaire+Shockstick for Falcos, Mag+2 can be nice, Acrobat is good on Valkyries but doesn't do anything on Falcos, and Anathema can be used if you're confident (set the staffbot next to an enemy, kill enemy, rescue staffbot away) but only helps if you have a lot of staffbots.

[GinRei]

How do Heroes factor in to pairing up in regards to Physical vs Magic? They don't boost either, but still give a nice speed and skill boost. Are they (and, by extension, Bow Knights) worthwhile alternatives if you need to give a speed boost and don't have other worthwhile options due to losing more power than you'd gain?

Unlike Tricksters, their stat caps aren't god awful at least.

[Waifu Severa]

How do Heroes factor in to pairing up in regards to Physical vs Magic? They don't boost either, but still give a nice speed and skill boost. Are they (and, by extension, Bow Knights) worthwhile alternatives if you need to give a speed boost and don't have other worthwhile options due to losing more power than you'd gain?

Unlike Tricksters, their stat caps aren't god awful at least.

Assassins give a pretty good Speed and Skill boost as an alternative for pairing Magic and physical units together.

[GinRei]

True, but in some cases they might not be able to get Swordfaire or Bowfaire to make use of Assassin.

For example, Nah (again... this girl needs a better mother). Not counting Tomefaire, since she gets that baseline, I've been having trouble getting her anything but Axefaire (which Heroes can use) since she's such a low priority child (again, needs a better mother).

Though for the most part, an Assassin pairing up with a magic user is only +1 speed -1 skill -2 defense difference from Hero, since the strength doesn't matter unless the other character has access to Ignis.

[Ownagepuffs]

How do Heroes factor in to pairing up in regards to Physical vs Magic? They don't boost either, but still give a nice speed and skill boost. Are they (and, by extension, Bow Knights) worthwhile alternatives if you need to give a speed boost and don't have other worthwhile options due to losing more power than you'd gain?

Unlike Tricksters, their stat caps aren't god awful at least.

Heroes and Bow Knights have the special niche of having universally appreciated pair up bonuses. +3 Skill and +3 Speed, which translates to +8 Skill and +8 Speed after bonuses are applied, can go a long way. Heroes add another +2 (+7 after bonuses) defense and Bow Knights add +1 Mov.

One of the reasons I like Grandmaster is because every single class in the game benefits from its pair up bonuses and it benefits from every class's pair up bonuses.

You could be a nutcase like me and rock Sniper x Sage. Both classes give +Skill to each other and you can get Celica's Gale backup damage from 3 range.

[Czar_Yoshi]

Yeah, Heroes can go on magical units. Only Vaike!Nah really does it well, though, because a) the Hero must be a dedicated support due to not caring for Sage's boosts, and b) all the other dedicated supports have Berserker which gives the same amount of Spd but also gives +Str and is stronger.

Bow Knight is mainly a Chrom thing, but it can work too.

That's why I recommend figuring out what to do with Nah early on- she's kind of restricted to hard support and needs first choice of husbands. Or you could give her Avatar as a father, which I've probably put too much effort into making work (it payed off, though).

Edited July 22, 2014 by Czar_Yoshi

[GinRei]

You could be a nutcase like me and rock Sniper x Sage. Both classes give +Skill to each other and you can get Celica's Gale backup damage from 3 range.

I'm doing close. Got Chrom!Cynthia set up (well, planned set up) to go either Sniper or Paladin (depending on the map), supported by Berserker Gerome.

And good to know Vaike!Nah does it well, as that was one of the two fathers I was considering for her (and honestly, the one I preferred).

[DrDankness]

Sigh reading the last few pages of this thread gives me a headache. I've never seen a game that's this damn complex.

Czar_Yoshi do you mind giving me a rundown of what you run?

Which parents for which children and what classes/skills/supports they run? I know its complex but honestly at this point I'm starting to find it incredibly difficult to conceptualize everything with the million and 1 things going on.

Edited July 22, 2014 by DrDankness

[Czar_Yoshi]

Well, this thread is pretty much several dozen personalized mini-guides made over the course of a year of metagame evolution and mixed together, so yeah I should hope it's confusing. Otherwise no progress would have been made over the last year.

If there's any particular bit you need clarification on, asking will get you an answer a lot quicker than trying to dig something up.

[DrDankness]

Ok so at this point I am thinking of these parent pairings:

Olivia! Lucina
Chrom! Inigo

(M)Avatar! Nah

Stahl! Yarne

Lon'Qu! Severa

Donelle! Kjelle

Ricken! Laurent

Virion! Brady

Henry! Cynthia

Libra! Owain

Gregor! Gerome

Gaius! Noire

Now that I do that I'm still unsure of which skills i MUST pass down from which parent.

And after that I'm still lost as to figure out which ones are going to be physical/magic offensive frontliners and which ones are going to be support pairs.

Also not sure which ones should have rally/support skills.

Also still unsure of how people figure out the best possible class supports and pairings D:<

[Waifu Severa]

I heard Sniper x Sage was actually good, especially if the Sniper had Ignis and i suddenly thought of my Noire x Brady. Would Sniper!Noire x Sage!Brady outclass DarkFlier!Noire x Sage!Brady? Dat 3 range Celica's Gale tho, and the awesomeness of Sniper Noire.

Also thinking of benching Lucina and Gerome just because i hate my Frederick!Gerome now, and maybe i can use those extra slots for more Staffbots or Lucina paired with Avatar A rank.

And do rallybots/staffbots need their stats capped other than magic? Because im having a hard time maxing out their stats.

Also what is the best class for Rallybot Horace? Sage or Wyvern Lord?

Edited July 22, 2014 by Waifu Severa

[Czar_Yoshi]

Ok so at this point I am thinking of these parent pairings:

Olivia! Lucina Lck+4

Chrom! Inigo Galeforce

(M)Avatar! Nah Despoil/Axefaire

Stahl! Yarne Str+2/Swordbreaker

Lon'Qu! Severa doesn't matter

Donelle! Kjelle Underdog

Ricken! Laurent Dual Support+

Virion! Brady Galeforce

Henry! Cynthia Despoil/Axefaire

Libra! Owain Galeforce

Gregor! Gerome Dual Support+

Gaius! Noire Sol

Now that I do that I'm still unsure of which skills i MUST pass down from which parent.

And after that I'm still lost as to figure out which ones are going to be physical/magic offensive frontliners and which ones are going to be support pairs. Galeforce = frontline, no Galeforce = hard support

Also not sure which ones should have rally/support skills. None, use Spotpass units for Rallying

Also still unsure of how people figure out the best possible class supports and pairings D:<

Pair physical with physical, magical with magical and avoid pairing two units without Galeforce. Generally.

I heard Sniper x Sage was actually good, especially if the Sniper had Ignis and i suddenly thought of my Noire x Brady. Would Sniper!Noire x Sage!Brady outclass DarkFlier!Noire x Sage!Brady? Dat 3 range Celica's Gale tho, and the awesomeness of Sniper Noire.

Also thinking of benching Lucina and Gerome just because i hate my Frederick!Gerome now, and maybe i can use those extra slots for more Staffbots or Lucina paired with Avatar A rank.

And do rallybots/staffbots need their stats capped other than magic? Because im having a hard time maxing out their stats.

Also what is the best class for Rallybot Horace? Sage or Wyvern Lord?

Sage x Sniper makes it possible to get 100% DS on a Sage (and thus use Vantage/Vengeance) without DS+, assuming everyone's mods are very high. If you're going for getting the most out of Ignis, go for a class with 35+ in both Str and Mag, and choose a support that gives both Str and Mag (otherwise you'd see higher results by just picking a support that boosts your main attack stat instead of your Ignis one).

[GinRei]

I'm assuming that 100% DS without DS+ requires a third generation Morgan? I'm not seeing a combination that quite reaches it otherwise.

[Waifu Severa]

Eh, i dont like VV combo because it's too dumb for me honestly, but i might try out Sniper Noire without VV.

Also what about the stuff i said about the rally bots/staffbots? Do they need their stats maxed?

[GinRei]

Staffbots would at least need their Magic and Weapon Rank maxed. Rest I don't see mattering, as long as you don't let enemies near them.

[Waifu Severa]

So i can just recruit a spotpass Ishtar lets say, and not even change any of its skills, but just get its magic maxed? Healtouch does look nice, but i doubt i want to spend my time trying to get lv 10 cleric. I'll just use the skills she comes with: Tomefaire, Magic +2, Rally Magic, Astra, Focus. And Czar said Staffbots dont need skills anyway, so im guessing im good to go.

EDIT: wait, Ishtar only gets 34 max magic as Falcon Knight....Is that even good?

Edited July 23, 2014 by Waifu Severa

[Nang Trong Vuon]

Well so far, I've worked around these pairings with input from people here.

Chrom x Sumia

Lissa x Ricken

Sully x Donnel

Olivia x Libra

Nowi x Henry

Miriel x Gregor

Maribelle x Lon'qu

Cherche x Stahl

Tharja x Gaius

Cordelia x Vaike

Panne x Frederick

(This playthrough features Male MU with +Spd/-Lck.)

But I've having trouble figuring out skill and classes now. So far, here's what I've thought of:

Lucina - Dark Flier (Galeforce, Rightful King, Aether, Luna, Dual Strike+)

She's mostly complete at the moment. Can't really figure out a better skill build. Her Mag is kind of low at the moment though, so I guess I'll have to work on that. She's coming with male MU ( I actually prefer Male Morgan x Lucina more.. ) who has:

Male MU - Dread Fighter (Tomefaire, Aggressor, Mag+2, Dual Guard+, Solidarity?)

I don't know what to put in male MU's final skill slot.

Cynthia - Dark Flier (Galeforce, Aether, Luna, Tomefaire, Spd+2)

Almost as badass as her sister. Almost. I don't know who to put her with, though.

Laurent - Sage (Armsthrift, Vantage, Vengeance, Tomefaire, Aggressor )

I feel like Aggressor is overkill since he has Vantage, but meh. Also don't know where to put this guy, probably with Cynthia above.

Owain - Sage (Luna, Tomefaire, Galeforce, Aggressor, Vantage?)

Well here's the generic Owain mage guy, I guess. Or maybe he could live his dream and become a physical lead or something. I dunno.

Yarne - Berserker (Axefaire, Swordbreaker, Dual Guard+, Aggressor, Even Rhythm?)

Don't know what to put in his last skill slot...

Nah - Wyvern Lord (Axefaire, Wyrmsbane, Dual Guard+, ?,?)

I want her to support Inigo (who is also physical) but I don't know what to put in her skills.

Noire - Sniper (Bowfaire, Galeforce, Astra, Luna, Mov+1)

Simple enough, I guess. She probably goes with Gerome who is a Bow Knight.

Gerome - Assassin/Bow Knight? (Bowfaire, Dual Guard+, Dual Support+, Aggressor, ?)

He's probably going to go with Noire? I don't know. Or maybe Kjelle?

Kjelle - Hero (Armsthrift, Swordfaire, Galeforce, Luna, ?)

She seems like the kind of person who would use swords, in my opinion.

Inigo - Hero (Armsthrift, Vengeance, Galeforce, Aggressor, Possibly a faire)

He's gonna go with Nah, I guess.

Brady - Sage (Luna, Tomefaire, Aggressor, Galeforce, Mag+2)

Just a generic Brady mage guy.

Severa - Hero (Armsthrift, Luna, Galeforce, Axefaire, something?)

My 2nd favorite child besides Lucina. She's probably going to be a physical lead.

...

So there. Here's what I've come up with at the moment. More input would be really appreciated, I guess.

[DrDankness]

Thanks a bunch Czar. Quick question do you mind giving me an idea of what classes I should have on each of my kids to maximize their stats? Also who should I pair with who during combat to maximize their support values? Is it anyone that can pair with someone else to S?

[Czar_Yoshi]

So i can just recruit a spotpass Ishtar lets say, and not even change any of its skills, but just get its magic maxed? Healtouch does look nice, but i doubt i want to spend my time trying to get lv 10 cleric. I'll just use the skills she comes with: Tomefaire, Magic +2, Rally Magic, Astra, Focus. And Czar said Staffbots dont need skills anyway, so im guessing im good to go.

EDIT: wait, Ishtar only gets 34 max magic as Falcon Knight....Is that even good?

Well, if you give her LB then it's 44... Add Mag+2, Tonic and Lancefaire (15 levels on her shouldn't be too bad) and she's got 53. If you don't want to do all that, she can be a Valkyrie instead for a small Mag boost (and she already has Tomefaire, add Valflame to that and she should be pushing 50 Mag without LB).

As for those pairings, assuming the only DLC is LB2:

Lucina: swap RK for Tomefaire, it's more reliable and has a higher average damage output.

Avatar: Anathema or Hit+20 in the last slot.

Cynthia: swap Spd+2 for Renewal/DG+ unless you know you need it for something. Pair her with Brady or Owain.

Laurent: skills are fine, but he has to go with Lucina to use VV.

Owain: swap Vantage for Astra.

Yarne: Outdoor Fighter over Even Rhythm.

Nah: Wymsbane only affects Dragonstone damage. Have her use Axefaire/Anathema/Demoiselle/Mov+1/Deliverer. Str+2 can go over Demoiselle if you want.

Noire: with Mov+1 and Gerome's pairup bonus she'll only have the same Mov as he does, use Anathema instead and have Gerome be a ferry. Mov+1 is fine if he's an Assassin though.

Gerome: Warrior is better. Add Hit+20.

Kjelle: add Astra.

Inigo: add Swordfaire.

Brady: Deliverer over Mag+2 unless he's going with a Dark Flier.

Severa: add Vengeance.

Thanks a bunch Czar. Quick question do you mind giving me an idea of what classes I should have on each of my kids to maximize their stats? Also who should I pair with who during combat to maximize their support values? Is it anyone that can pair with someone else to S?

Are you talking about growth rates? If so, here: http://serenesforest.net/fe13/class_growth.html

Child pairs should always have at least one Galeforce, and the attack stat support bonuses should match up. Those are the two rules of thumb for pairing children.

Edited July 23, 2014 by Czar_Yoshi

[DrDankness]

Nope I just mean for my above pairs what classes should they be in the end so that they are at their full potential.

The growth rates are useful though thank you. I am the kind of guy who likes to grind perpetually. Went through hard and lunatic by myself without really worrying about kids/guides etc but now that I am in Lunatic+ I finally want to make a true endgame team.

I definitely appreciate the depth this game offers but MAN trying to understand everything is like learning an entirely new game franchise :X

Edited July 23, 2014 by DrDankness