Newbie question about maxing stats/reclassing/skills

[Astrum]

Hello,

I'm relatively new to Fire Emblem (and new to the forums), having finished my first playthrough on normal/casual a few days ago. I've just started a new game on hard, but I'm still not sure I understand stats/skills/reclassing.

I would like to max all stats for my characters, but I don't mind not taking the shortest route to get there. Have I understood the following correctly?

1) Second Seals and Master Seals will always allow me to reclass (or just go back to level 1 in the same class) to any base class/advanced class available to that particular character. I can use these in any desired order, and as many times as I want.

2) No matter how I use the seals, I will eventually be able to max my stats for any character. If I use them "incorrectly", it'll just take me longer.

3) No matter how I reclass, I will be able to get all available skills eventually, as long as I fully level to 20 at least once in each class (I'm aware that some skills aren't as useful).

Is this correct?

Also, I would like to know how the game decides which stats to increase when leveling (is it randomized?), and if I need to get particular skills before recruiting children post-chapter 13, or if the children will be able to get all possible skills eventually, regardless of their parents' skills.

Thanks a lot, and sorry for my newbie questions! :)

[Vascela]

Point 3 is slightly incorrect. You get certain skills at certain points, but you never get skills at level 20. For example, you will get finished with base classes by level 10 (of course, I suppose in a way you are right because if you are level 20 it means you passed level 10). To expedite your process, you can leave the class when you reached the second skill (10 unpromoted or 15 promoted).

Level ups are random. Different characters have different growths that make characters tend to lean towards certain stats (but that being said, they will all reach their own caps eventually).

You should note that there are gendered exclusive skills--so if you want a child to have that gendered exclusive skill (or even a class semi-exclusive in Yarne's anomaly case), then you need make sure the child inherits it. For example, if you want Laurent to have Dual Support+, he needs to inherit it (since he doesn't get that class). So take Henry!Cynthia as an example, there is nothing that she can't get that her parents can't get. So it doesn't matter what you pass. But if you take Gregor!Laurent, Laurent can get everything Gregor has... and most of Miriel's. But he will never get all of Miriel's. As you can only pick one gendered exclusive from Miriel to pass.

edit: it's worth noting that the classes that you don't inherit from gendered specific characters are replaced with extra classes (the class trades are 1 for 1 or 2 for 2.

Edited April 9, 2015 by Vascela

[astrophys]

1. Essentially, yes, although if you want to go back to one of the DLC classes (Dread Fighter or Bride) you'll need the DLC item from that level again (Dread Scroll or Wedding Bouquet). Otherwise entirely correct.

2. Yes, completely correct.

3. Almost correct, but the highest you ever need to go for a skill is level 15.

Stat growths are randomized based on growth rates. Growth rates are the sum of a character specific growth rate and the growth rate of their current class.

Children cannot get gender-exclusive skills from their opposite gender parent unless the skill is equipped to that parent's final occupied skill slot at the time that you ENTER the map in which the child is to be recruited. Likewise, for skills that come from classes that are promoted off of the gender-specific base class that the parent has.

e.g. Lissa has Galeforce access thorough Dark Flier. Dark Flier is female excessive. The only way for her son to ever get Galeforce is for him to have it inherited to him by having Lissa learn the skill and equip it to her final occupied slot before entering the map in which you recruit him [if you make a mistake, you can always exit the map, rearrange your skills, and re-enter, as it isn't truly finalized until you start the map, recruit him, and save your game].

Similar principles apply to Maribelle and Olivia's sons.

e.g. Gaius has the hero class. While this is a gender neutral class, he gets it through the promotion of his Fighter class, which is male-exclusive. Children inherit base classes from their parents and then get promotions from those base classes, but if a base is gender exclusive it gets replaced with a different class. As such, while Gaius can become a hero, any daughters he has cannot because while hero itself is gender neutral, the Fighter class they'd otherwise get it from through Gaius is male-exclusive. So if they want something like Sol or Axebreaker it needs to be inherited onto them from Gaius.

[Czar_Yoshi]

The only way you can ever miss a skill is by not passing it down if it's gender-exclusive. Otherwise a given character will always be able to get all their skills eventually (though do note that depending on their parents, some children may have much larger skill selections available to them than others).

So take Henry!Cynthia as an example, there is nothing that she can't get that her parents can't get.

Barb skills?

[Vascela]

Yeah, I'm pretty dumb. my b

http://serenesforest.net/awakening/characters/children/

Goes for the class swaps.

[Astrum]

Thanks, everyone! Much appreciated! :)