Who should I make a sniper?

[AlexTheAbsol]

Hey guys. I was playing through my game and I've just realized I don't have anyone to be a sniper. Virion I never used and Noire to me is the best sorcerer (especially with libra as the father) so who can be a good sniper? If you're wondering about my pairings they are:

ChromxSumia

AvatarxOlivia

VaikexCherche

TharjaxLibra

RickenxMiriel

SullyxStahl

NowixDonnel

MariebellexHenry

GaiusxCordelia

LissaxGregor

PannexLon'qu

[Knight]

No one.

(or someone you don't like)

[AlexTheAbsol]

How come? I always thought snipers were pretty good units to have. Bows can be really broken.

No one.

(or someone you don't like)

[Shadow Mir]

How come? I always thought snipers were pretty good units to have. Bows can be really broken.

Personally, I never really saw much use for snipers outside of a select few Fire Emblem games (those being Sword of Seals, Radiant Dawn, Shadow Dragon, and its sequel). Also, the big reason snipers generally get a lot of hate is bow-lock, given that a lot of action in these games tends to be on Enemy Phase.

Edited June 11, 2014 by Levant Caprice

[Just call me AL]

There's not much reason to make one of your guys a Sniper outside of giving someone some Longbow/Double Bow usage. (Though personally, I did find making Longbows and the Double Bow exclusive to Archers/Snipers only pretty dumb.) Outside of the fact that Archers are infamous for being unable to attack directly, their roles are generally filled by other classes in their games. In 80s & 90s Archanea, there's guys like Castor. In the Elibe games, there's the likes of Nomadic Troopers, Lyn, and Geitz. In FE8, there's Rangers. In FE9, there's Astrid. And in this game, there's Bow Knights and Assassins.

Of course, there's some exceptions. In FE4, you pretty much field everyone in your party, so there's nothing to lose by having two or three bow users on hand. Though I did mention that there's Nomadic Troopers and Rangers in the GBA FEs, there's also the likes of Klein, Igrene, and Innes, which are pretty decent in their own right. In FE10, there's Shinon. And the DS FEs, generally the best Snipers are those that don't directly start off as an Archer, unless if you're talking about Ryan.

But if you MUST have a Sniper on your team, I would have to ask what mods you gave to Robin. Kjelle would be my second suggestion, but then there's the issue of her not being able to move again after attacking. Laurent can access the class, but he's pretty much better off as a Magic user anyways. Same with Noire.

EDIT: Also, why is this on the Intro board? Wouldn't this be better off on the Awakening board?

Edited June 11, 2014 by Just call me Al

[Nightmare]

Yes, it would be. The intro board is only for introductions.

MOVING.

[MisterIceTeaPeach]

However I use sniper(s) in FE13, just because they can attack in a range of three with the longbow or doublebow. They don't give you penalty in accuracy unlike in FE9 and 10 (if I'm not wrong). Otherwise I don't like this class. Kjelle is a good contender for a sniper.

Edited June 11, 2014 by TalesOf Hysteria

[Refa]

Make Chrom an Archer, but never promote him into a Sniper. Archer!Chrom is game breakingely good, too good to promote in fact.

[Roivann]

Snipers are a godsend on Lunatic+. Other than that... kind of lackluster, I guess. Fliers aren't a huge enough problem in Awakening that it's necessary to have a unit specializing in taking them down, and this game has more bow-wielding classes than ever. Longbows are kind of neat, but it's really a niche role. Make a legacy unit a sniper if you have your heart set on it, but don't count on them being a game-changer at all.

[AMCC4728]

The problem with snipers is that even in this game, which is the most offense oriented in the series, there is too much enemy phase focus. Even assuming you have two galeforce snipers they can only take out 3 units on player phase, the same as any other class, and they don't have the range to make enemy phase count. I liked FE10 because they solved this problem by not only giving the marksman great caps/stats but also giving them innate 3 range. I think that FE should go back to the range that archers had in gaiden. Atleast then they have their own niche.

[Refa]

Their niche was being obnoxious because you couldn't hurt them on enemy phase.

[Duke of Dozel]

Morgan makes the best sniper, especially if "she" is born from a child who has good speed and STR. Lucina is especially recommended, but not limited to.

[MelonGx]

An alternative answer:

All girls available to access Archer.

Because Archer gives them Boingy Bits.

[sirmola]

If you are playing lunatic plus, there is a playstyle where the correct answer is "as many people as possible to avoid broken enemy skills that are not on lower difficulties", but i doubt that that's what you're doing. Honestly, if you really need a long range attack, use a dark mage/sorcerer/shadowgift unit with mire(which i belive you can buy from the garnef spotpass legacy team as much as you want early in the game).

[Czar_Yoshi]

An alternative answer:

All girls available to access Archer.

Because Archer gives them Boingy Bits.

On Lunatic+, everyone you can. On Secret Apo, Chrom and/or DLC Ike. Everywhere else, they aren't that good.

Edited June 12, 2014 by Czar_Yoshi

[Torva]

Snipers are like Swordmasters with bows, so consider that before you make someone a Sniper. IMO, a Bowknight or an Assasian would be better.

Also, Inigo.

[Roflolxp54]

Here's an answer: use Logbook units like legacy characters. An example would be Spotpass Jamke since he is essentially a male Avatar with Strength Asset and Skill Flaw (max stat cap mods of +3 Str, -1 Skl and +1 Def) and comes with Galeforce. Since he is a male legacy unit, he can reclass to learn other skills. One such skill he can learn is Counter, which is rather troll on a Sniper. And of course, he can pick up other skills like Armsthrift, Bowbreaker, Pavise/Aegis, Vantage, etc.

Edited June 26, 2014 by Roflolxp54