PAIRINGS The Pairing Thread

[isetrh]

Even within what's considered optimal, there's a lot of room to make your team unique. If all you want is a cookie cutter team, that works, but you can do a lot more. I recommend trying to understand why each pairing is good, and knowing why you want to use it. The ones you put all look fine. Panne x Vaike is odd, but I guess it works if you want Yarne to be an Axefaire Hero. Personally I would think about the roles I want each character to play and pick fathers to fit that. You can ask here about what roles a character is good for.

Lastly, sometimes these rants sometimes give people the impression that I know what I'm talking about, so you should know that isn't true at all.

[bodybagfor8bucks]

Lastly, sometimes these rants sometimes give people the impression that I know what I'm talking about, so you should know that isn't true at all.

Well you sure do make a great point. I have the idea stuck in my head that there is a Best pairing for each child.

If anyone has advice or anything i should take into consideration while making my team I would like to hear it. I'll go finish making my team.

[Czar_Yoshi]

Chrom x Sumia/Maribelle/Olivia

Lissa x Stahl/Ricken/Libra/Henry

Sully x Donnel/Gaius

Miriel x Lon'qu/Ricken/Gregor/Libra/Henry

Sumia x Chrom/Henry

Maribelle x Chrom/Virion/Lon'qu/Ricken/Libra/Henry

Panne x Fred/Virion/Vaike/Stahl/Lon'qu/Gregor/Henry

Cordelia x Virion/Vaike/Stahl/Lon'qu/Ricken

Nowi x Virion/Vaike/Stahl/Henry

Tharja x Donnel/Gaius

Olivia x Chrom/Fred/Stahl/Ricken/Libra/Henry

Cherche x Virion/Vaike/Stahl/Ricken/Gregor/Henry

Generic cookie-cutter pairings. Everyone on that list has everything they need to fill a useful role in Apo, though personal creativity will still get you far more mileage than following a predefined build. There are also a good number of pairings not on that list that, while holding potential, require a more specific strategy to function well (they're not plug-and-play, basically).

[Alastor15243]

Hey, is the fact that Gaius is far more useful for Kjelle and Noire the ONLY reason why he's not recommended as a good father for Cynthia? He gives Cynthia 6 speed and 5 skill and the ability to Astra procstack if for whatever reason you refuse to use Chrom as her father. For one thing this means that she can hit 75 speed as a sniper without AS+2 with a paladin or grandmaster, though I'm sure there are other uses. While Chrom is obviously better, how would Gaius compare to Henry as a father for Cynthia if Kjelle and Noire were banned for whatever reason?

[SorasKingdomKey]

Hello again everyone! I have 2 quick questions. Are there any suggested paths for a MaMu dread fighter who I plan to pair with Lissa or Nowi? And for a FeMu in lunatic with +SPD/-LUK, what would be a good class and path for her if she's paired with Chrom (I know he's not optimal, but I prefer having that particular pairing)? Thank you for any and all advice!

[Ownagepuffs]

@ Alastor. Yes, that is the only reason. Gaius!Cynthia is actually pretty boss but is more or less permanently locked to Dark Flier since her class selection isn't too hot. Henry still gives Auras and what not so it is arguable if Gaius would be better than Henry.

@Sora Dread Fighter Robin can pretty much go straight to Dread Fighter after Grandmaster. Robin F can go through almost any class of your choosing. It's hard to determine a best path. But Sorcerer is recommended.

[Czar_Yoshi]

Gaius only gives Cynthia three new promoted classes to work with- she's got awesome mods but isn't too flexible. I'd rate her pretty much the same as Henry!Cynthia, as you're basically trading 1 Mag for 2 Spd and Vengeance for SF Assassin.

He'd still be on my recommended list if it weren't for Kjelle, though. She has no other options even remotely close to how good he is.

Avatar-F usually either goes Tactician -> Merc -> Hero -> DF -> ending class or Tactician -> Tactician -> GM -> DF -> ending class in Lunatic.

[SSJDennis]

Going to attempt (if I will ever survive the early game...) Lunatic+. Full party used. I also don't think that solo Avatar/Chrom will be of much help in most stages... Though she would survive with infinite Aversa's Night. To bad I first have to find one XD

To let you know, I'm fond of the Sorcerer class, but my party setup will probably spoil that quickly enough. Here goes;

Virion!Yarne. Support unit. Berserker class. Axefaire. Swordbreaker. Aggressor. Hit rate+20. Limit Breaker. Marries Cynthia.

Chrom!Cynthia. Main unit. Dark Flier class. Luna. Dual Guard+. Pavise. Galeforce. Limit Breaker.

Stahl!Laurent. Support unit. Sage class. Tomefaire. Dual Guard+. Aggressor. Hit rate+20. Limit Breaker. Marries my Avatar.

Female Avatar. Main unit. Sorcerer class. Luna. Armsthrift. Pavise. Galeforce. Limit Breaker.

Gregor!Gerome. Support unit. Berserker class. Axefaire. Swordbreaker. Aggressor. Armsthrift. Limit Breaker. Marries Kjelle.

Gaius!Kjelle. Main unit. Dark Flier class. Luna. Dual Guard+. Pavise. Galeforce. Limit Breaker. I think she will miss daddy Libra.

Sumia!Lucina. Support unit. Dark Flier class. Luna. Tomefaire. Pavise. Galeforce. Limit Breaker. Marries Brady.

Henry!Brady. Main unit. Sorcerer class. Luna. Dual Guard+. Aggressor. Galeforce. Limit Breaker.

Vaike!Nah. Support unit. General? No clue. Axefaire. Swordbreaker. Dual Guard+. Armsthrift. Limit Breaker. Marries Morgan.

Laurent!Morgan. Main unit. Sorcerer class. Luna. Armsthrift. Pavise. Galeforce. Limit Breaker.

Ricken!Inigo. Support unit. Sage class. Luna. Dual Guard+ Aggressor. Galeforce. Limit Breaker. Marries Noire.

Donnel!Noire. Main unit. Sorcerer class. Luna. Armsthrift. Pavise. Galeforce. Limit Breaker.

Frederick!Owain. Support unit. Sage class. Luna. Dual Guard+ Aggressor. Galeforce. Limit Breaker. Marries Severa.

Kellam!Severa. Main unit. Sorcerer class. Luna. Armsthrift. Pavise. Galeforce. Limit Breaker.

Things I wonder;

Does Armsthrift work when a unit is in "the back"? I think it does. If not, I might make some changes.

I dislike Nah. I think Vaike would be better on Severa. Libra probably on Kjelle, but I will lose out on Galeforce that way. But Sorcerer > Dark Flier. Especially if I want to survive.

Might want to mix Kellam, Frederick, Ricken and Stahl differently. But main thing I wanted was Sage on Inigo. Not a big fan of physical Inigo, actually the biggest reason I never went for Chrom.

How great/essential is Vantage on Lunatic+? It saved me just minor times in Lunatic. And that was BEFORE I turned Sorcerer. Vantage might be a better "filler" then Pavise. I made Pavise a staple, because of the many Luna+ skills in Lunatic+.

I guess some skillset might want to get updated too. I believe it really is a big step forward from Lunatic to Lunatic+? I can't remember ever having a hard time in Lunatic, outside of the early game levels. Yes, I will use DLC to level up.

Thanks in advance everyone.

[Alastor15243]

Why do you have Chrom!Cynthia without Aether? What's the point of Chrom!Cynthia without aether? The mods he offers are meh, Aether's the entire point.

[SSJDennis]

Why do you have Chrom!Cynthia without Aether? What's the point of Chrom!Cynthia without aether? The mods he offers are meh, Aether's the entire point.

I know Chrom is not the best for Cynthia. But I believe that Lucina needs Sumia. With Sumia she gets Pavise and Tomefaire.

I mentioned that I dislike Chrom!Inigo. Henry would make a great Sorceror out of Cynthia. Aether over Luna would to the trick?

[Alastor15243]

I know Chrom is not the best for Cynthia. But I believe that Lucina needs Sumia. With Sumia she gets Pavise and Tomefaire.

I mentioned that I dislike Chrom!Inigo. Henry would make a great Sorceror out of Cynthia. Aether over Luna would to the trick?

You have it wrong. Chrom is the best for Cynthia, because of Aether. It's that good. Replace either Dual Guard + or Pavise with Aether.

Edited February 5, 2015 by Alastor15243

[Czar_Yoshi]

I know Chrom is not the best for Cynthia.

Chrom!Cynthia is so far out of other Cynthias' leagues it's not even funny. She's fabulous.

Anyway, you're not going to be able to get a full team going ingame, just so you know. It's pretty hard to pull more than five pairs at once without grinding. If you are using DLC (which I assume you are), then offense > defense as you can just KO everything before it touches you- so things like PavGis and Sorcs won't be very useful. So are you primarily caring about ingame, postgame skirmishes, or...?

[Azz]

I have gotten in to competitive battling with my friend via street pass and we tend to make challenges every week for when we fight and this week is Kids only(Also no DLC skills,they are banned since my friend has no DLC).Was wondering what setups I should have for the following:

Chrom x Sumia=Lucina and Cynthia

Ricken x Lissa=Owain

Frederick x Olivia=Inigo

Virion x Maribelle=Brady

Donnel x Sully=Kjelle

Lon'qu x Cordelia=Severa

Vaike x Cherche=Gerome

(M)MU x Aversa=Morgan

Stahl x Panne=Yarne

Gregor x Miriel=Laurent

Gaius x Tharja=Noire

Henry x Nowi=Nah

[Czar_Yoshi]

Counter+procs+1-range braves on everyone.

[bodybagfor8bucks]

Here is the pairings/team I plan on making on lunatic mainly for Apo but also the dlc chapters and Skrims. I'm not great at creating teams nor am I creative but I tried and I put a fair amount of thought in this for a casual player. Any advice or suggestions are welcome

Lonqu!Severa Lead unit, Hero (LB/SwordFaire/Vengeance/GF/Vantage)
Fred!Yarne Support Berserker (LB/Axefaire/Agg/DG+/Beastbane)

Gaius!Kjelle Lead unit, Wyvern Lord (LB/Luna/GF/AS+2/Iote's Shield)
Gregor!Gerome Support Wyvern Lord (LB/Agg/Axefaire/AS+2/Swordbreaker)

I'm using Iote's shield on most of my flying units since i know there will be many snipers and valkyries with wind magic in Apo.

Stahl!Ingio lead unit, Assassin (LB/GF/Luna/Agg/AS+2)
Vaike!Nah Support, General (LB/DG+/Slow Burn/Axefaire/AS+2)

The next pair i thought would be fun to use although they might not prove too well in Apo
Libra!Owain Dread Fighter (LB/GF/Agg/Slowburn/Tomefaire)
Donnel!Noire Bride (LB/GF/Luna/Slowburn/Bowfaire)
Either one can lead as they both give support bonuses that are relevent and both have GF. Since I will be using both as lead units i gave them slowburn because Apo takes a large number of turns to finish and i think having +15 avo and hit is better than +20 hit. If the turn count resets please correct me.

Female MU w/+spd-skl Lead unit, Dark Flier (LB/GF/Luna/Iote's Shield/AS+2)
Ricken!Laurent Support, Sage (LB/Agg/tomefaire/hit rate +20/DG+)
I honestly do not know what skills to give my avatar.

Laurent!Morgan Sage (LB/Luna/GF/Tomefaire/Agg)
Sumia!Lucina Dark flier (LB/DS+/GF/Luna/Aether)
With both unit having GF and (i think) 100% dual strike i decided i should go all out on damage.

Chrom!Cynthia Lead unit, Dark Flier (LB/GF/Aether/Luna/Iote's Shield)
Henry!Brady support, Sage (LB/Agg/Tomefaire/Slowburn/DG+)

Does DG+ stack? Do skills such as Outdoor fighting, Patience, and -breaker activate on someone in the back/support and are they useful in Apo?

Sorry for the long post but I do not know how to make a spoiler drop box.

I'm ready to take all the, hopefully constructive, criticism. Thanks!

[Czar_Yoshi]

Beastbane doesn't do anything on non-Taguels.

There aren't any Valkyries in Apo, wind magic only shows up on one round, NS will ORKO you whether you have Iote's Shield or not and the rest of the bows will 2HKO regardless as well. It doesn't do much.

As far as I know, Slow Burn ceases to have any effect after turn 15.

That Brady is missing GF.

DG+ doesn't stack. +Hit/Avo skills will work in the back but since it's not that unit getting attacked the +Avo won't do anything and they'll just get +Hit.

and

, but the other way around.

[astrophys]

I recently settled on the following 1st generation pairings for the playthrough I'm working on.

I've played through the game several times already (including Apotheosis) and thus know from firsthand experience that I have lots of leeway, even for doing things that aren't particularly optimal or for a few things motivated primarily by aesthetics.

That said, I did make sure to cover my bases such a Kjelle/Noire's Galeforce access, etc.

1. Male Avatar (+Mag/-Str) x Cordelia

This one is for aesthetics and personal preference; I know there is a bad mod class with Cordelia here; the asset and flaw are reflective that I like magic and its association with books (tomes) and that I'm very lacking in physical strength in real life. Cordelia is motivated mainly by simply preferring her as a wife, although of course she's also one of the stronger 1st gen pairings.

2. Chrom x Sumia

Probably Chrom's strongest combat oriented pairing. That and I like the aesthetic of a pair of friends (Avatar and Chrom) being married to another pair of friends (Cordelia and Sumia respectively).

3. Kellam x Miriel

I liked the support and it does fill in the Cleric/War Monk classes that Miriel doesn't give Laurent normally, plus it enables Laurent to pull off a bunch of rallies (Strength/Magic/Luck/Defense/Resistance). And he also gets Healtouch if he wants to do staff support.

4. Donnel x Sully

This is one of the classic ones for Galeforce optimization. Actually really liked their support when I tried it.

5. Gaius x Tharja

The same

6. Maribelle x Brady

Mainly for a really fast and skillful Brady… Brady has all the key skills he needs for a Sage role, after all.

7. Panne x Virion

For a support Yarne with high skill (higher accuracy from the rear, slightly better dual strike rate) and useful rear skills like Hit+20, etc.

8. Nowi x Vaike

I planning to leave Nah as the unpaired one, so this gives her Thief/Trickster access (as well as several other classes, such as the Knight/General/Great Knight lines), in addition to her pre-existing Sage, so she can function as a utility unit.

9. Lissa x Frederick

I know that Ricken is a better choice for Lissa so that Owain will excel at Magic and not take a speed penalty. But aesthetically I wanted to have Owain take on physical classes in this playthrough (using his Sword hand). That and I found out when reading transcripts of the supports that Frederick was Lissa's first crush, so that added to the aesthetic motivation to pair them.

10. Olivia x Stahl

Back in my 2nd playthrough, when I last did Apotheosis, I used a Chrom!Inigo as a Sniper to great effect for picking off enemies without threat of a counterattack. I want to use Inigo in this capacity again, so I went with Stahl to provide him with both the Archer/Sniper tree and Luna. With his Natural Armsthrift he'll also let me exploit the Double Bow without breaking it.

11. Gregor x Cherche

They have their shared history over Minerva. Gregor also provides Gerome with a bunch of -faire abilities, such as Swordfaire and Axefaire. Could be useful for a support Berserker or Hero. Also grants Armsthrift, also its more of an afterthought.

Still have not decided how I'm going to pair up the children that result from this, except for leaving Nah unmarried.

Edited February 6, 2015 by astrophys

[Ownagepuffs]

I know you have Cordelia bias but I'm gonna add that the true best friend pairing is Vaike x Cordy and Chrom x Sumia.

Vaike and Chrom are childhood friends and rivals.

Sumia and Cordy are childhood friends and rivals to an extent.

Severa and Cynthia have a rivalry in their supports. They also have a childhood history as shown in the summer scramble.

It's absolutely perfect.

[Shadow Mir]

6. Maribelle x Brady

Mainly for a really fast and skillful Brady… Brady has all the key skills he needs for a Sage role, after all.

What? Would I be correct in assuming that's supposed to be Lon'qu?

[astrophys]

Er, yes, that was meant to be Lon'qu. Typo.

That would be quite the paradox if I had meant it that way without being a typo…. Brady!Brady. How would his stats even be calculated? And that would be even more incestuous than the stuff we got in FE4.

In any event, OwnagePuffs makes a fair points about Vaike and Chrom as friends. Although seeing the prominence of the Avatar and Chrom's friendship as part of the main story I do tend to consider that as more significant than the Vaike & Chrom friendship.

Although, as you noted, I have bias, which is true.

[Alastor15243]

Er, yes, that was meant to be Lon'qu. Typo.

That would be quite the paradox if I had meant it that way without being a typo…. Brady!Brady. How would his stats even be calculated? And that would be even more incestuous than the stuff we got in FE4.

In any event, OwnagePuffs makes a fair points about Vaike and Chrom as friends. Although seeing the prominence of the Avatar and Chrom's friendship as part of the main story I do tend to consider that as more significant than the Vaike & Chrom friendship.

Although, as you noted, I have bias, which is true.

Another great plus of OwnagePuffs' suggestion is that it has absolutely nothing bad with it optimization-wise. ChromXSumia is awesome, and so is VaikeXCordelia.

[bodybagfor8bucks]

@Czar

Thank you! I really appreciate it.

Does anyone know if the difficulty of the game affects the DLC? if im on lunatic will the enemies be stronger than on the lower difficulties?

[astrophys]

Perfectly true, Alastor. Vaike has far better mod synergy with Cordelia than my own Avatar's grossly clashing mods. I won't deny that.

Its the price one pays for aethsetic asset/flaw choices and choosing a preferred wife for the character regardless of the asset/flaw.

[Ownagepuffs]

Lon'qu x Cordy still stands as my favorite Cordy pairing but I have to admit I was extremely surprised by how amazing the Vaike x Cordy support was. Vaike was humble, Cordelia actually taught the Teach and he ended up overcoming Chrom thanks to her advice. Top it off with "The Cordelia" and you have a good support.

You've most likely tried Avatar x Cordy a few times by now, just give it a shot. Of course I have no objections if you stick with Rob x Cordy since it is your game.

[Czar_Yoshi]

@Czar

Thank you! I really appreciate it.

Does anyone know if the difficulty of the game affects the DLC? if im on lunatic will the enemies be stronger than on the lower difficulties?

Depends on the map. Most are affected by Normal/Hard/Lunatic (specifically the Spirit Talismans (Einherjar) maps and Future Past, don't remember about the Challenge Pack and Scrambles but I'm pretty sure they are). The Golden Pack and Apo aren't affected by difficulty at all, though, and I think only Future Past gets extra skills from Lunatic+.