Choosing the Best Class for Odin (Poll 12)

[Jayvee94]

Odin. A sorcerer of Nohr; Leos subordinate. His origins and past are a complete mystery. He often speaks in a theatrical fashion, bestows obscure names upon weapons and loves thinking up names for his special moves. The most hot-blooded.
[spoiler=Marriage/Buddy Seals]
Spoiler (Marriage/Buddy Seals)

A Marriage/Buddy seal allows a unit to reclass into one of the select class trees of his spouse (S support) or buddy (A+ support). A unit may only achieve an S support with units of the opposite gender (exc. Kamui, Syalla, Zero), and may only achieve an A+ support with units of the same gender.

(The credit for the following information goes to Gayserbeam, as I copied the wording of his explanation. Check out the Class Changing and Inheritance Thread for more information.

• If the users Primary Class is different than their Spouses/Buddys Primary Class, then the Marriage/Buddy Seal will reclass them to the Spouses/Buddys Primary Class, even if the user has that class as a Secondary Class already.
• If the users Primary Class is the same as their Spouses/Buddys Primary Class, then the Marriage/Buddy Seal will reclass them to the Spouses/Buddys Secondary Class.
• If the user is married or buddied with a unit who has an unlearnable class, then the Marriage/Buddy Seal will reclass them to the Spouses/Buddys Secondary Class.
  • An unlearnable class is a class that may be unique to a character or their children. The following units have unlearnable classes: Nishiki (Fox Spirit), Flannel (Garou), Azura (Singer), Mozume (Villager).
• If the user is married or buddied with a unit who has an unlearnable class, and their Primary Class is the same as their Spouses/Buddys Secondary Class, then the Marriage/Buddy Seal will reclass them to the Spouses/Buddys Substitute Class.
  • A Substitute Class is simply a select class a character with an unlearnable class passes down under certain circumstances. The following units have Substitute Classes: Nishiki (Herb Merchant), Flannel (Outlaw), Azura (Rod Knight), Mozume (Herb Merchant).

If youre still confused, let me use Odin as an example to try and clarify matters!

• Odin/Elise: Odin's Primary Class is Dark Mage, and Elise's is Rod Knight. Therefore, Odin would Marriage Seal into Rod Knight.
  • Odin/Hinata: Odin's Primary Class is Dark Mage, and Hinata's is Samurai. Therefore, Odin would Buddy Seal into Samurai. As Odin's Secondary Class is Samurai, he would not receive a new class tree from Hinata.
• Odin/Nyx: Odin's Primary Class is Dark Mage, and Nyx's is Dark Mage. Therefore, Odin would Marriage Seal into Nyx's Secondary Class-- Outlaw.
• Odin/Mozume: As Mozume's Primary Class is Villager, an unlearnable class, Odin would Marriage Seal into her Secondary Class-- Bowman.
• Odin/Dark Mage!Avatar: Avatar's Primary Class is Nohr Princess, an unlearnable class. Odin's Primary Class is Dark Mage, and Avatar's Secondary Class is Dark Mage. Therefore, Odin would Marriage Seal into her Substitute Class-- Spellcaster.

[spoiler=Possible Classes]

• Classes in black are ones Odin can only achieve in either the Nohr or the Invisible Kingdom campaign.
• Classes in blue are ones Odin can only achieve in the Invisible Kingdom campaign

Base Classes (5H, 8N, 13T)

• Bowman
• Cavalier
• Dark Mage
• Fighter
• Knight
• Mercenary
• Ninja
• Outlaw
• Pegasus Warrior
• Rod Knight
• Samurai
• Spellcaster
• Wyvern Rider

Promoted Classes (10H, 12N, 22T)

• Adventurer
• Basara
• Berserker
• Bow Knight
• Brave Hero
• Butler
• Dark Knight
• Exorcist
• Falcon Warrior
• General
• Golden-Kite Warrior
• Great Knight
• Holy Bowman
• Jonin
• Paladin
• Puppeteer
• Revenant Knight
• Sorcerer
• Strategist
• Trueblade
• Weapon Master
• Wyvern Lord

[spoiler=Expansion of Possible Classes]
Primary Base Class: Dark Mage
Primary Promoted Classes: Dark Knight, Sorcerer
Secondary Base Class: Samurai
Secondary Promoted Classes: Trueblade, Weapon Master

Marriage Seal Classes: These are organized alphabetically based on the localized names of the spouses. we listed the Hoshido characters first, the Nohr characters second, and the shared characters last.

• Kagerou: Ninja -> Jonin, Puppeteer
• Orochi: Spellcaster -> Basara, Exorcist

​

• Berka: Wyvern Rider -> Revenant Knight, Wyvern Lord
• Camilla: Wyvern Rider -> Revenant Knight, Wyvern Lord
• Charlotte: Fighter -> Berserker, Brave Hero
• Effie: Knight -> General, Great Knight
• Elise: Rod Knight -> Butler, Strategist
• Luna: Mercenary -> Bow Knight, Brave Hero
• Nyx: Outlaw -> Adventurer, Bow Knight
• Pieri: Cavalier -> Great Knight, Paladin

​

• Azura: Pegasus Warrior -> Falcon Warrior, Golden-Kite Warrior
• Felicia: Rod Knight -> Butler, Strategist
• Mozume: Bowman -> Golden-Kite Warrior, Holy Bowman

Buddy Seal Classes: These are organized alphabetically based on the localized names of the buddies. we listed the Hoshido characters first, the Nohr characters second, and the shared characters last.

• Hinata: n/a
• Lazward: Mercenary -> Bow Knight, Brave Hero
• Leo: Rod Knight -> Butler, Strategist
• Zero: Outlaw -> Adventurer, Bow Knight
  

[spoiler=Notice]

• In the previous optional poll, Camilla placed 2nd and Zero and Rinka tied at 3rd (3.5). Therefore, Camilla would get 3 votes and Zero and Rinka will get 1 vote each.
• Hana received only one vote while Tsukuyomi recieved none. So Hana will be out for two polls (return at poll 14) and Tsukuyomi will be out for four (returns at poll 16)
• Benoit, Jakob, Xander and Oboro have been added back to the poll. if it is demonstrated again is that the forum is not interested in them, the latter 3 will be out for 4 polls (would return poll 16) and Benoit will be out for 8 polls (poll 20).

​

[spoiler=Possible Skills]
Personal Skill: Blood-tingling: When equipped with a forged weapon whose name is written with 8 kanji, Critical rate +10
Skills are organized alphabetically based on the classes. Within the classes, skills are listed in the order of achievement (e.g. a GK earns Luna at Lvl. 5 and Diamond Strike at Lvl. 15, so Luna is listed before Diamond Strike).

Base class skills are listed before promoted class skills. Descriptions of skills Sakura can acquire through her primary and secondary class trees are listed below.

Descriptions of all the skills are located on the skills pages.

Base Classes Skills

• Bowman: Skill +2, Prescient Victory
• Cavalier: Open Assault, Rescue
• Dark Mage: Bind, Devilish Wind
• Fighter: HP +5, Roundhouse
• Knight: Defense +2, Confined Defense
• Mercenary: Stubbornness, Patient Assurance
• Ninja: Locktouch, Snake Venom
• Outlaw: Locktouch, Movement +1
• Pegasus Warrior: Swallow Strike, Eastern Heart
• Rod Knight: Resistance +2, Distinguished Son
• Samurai: Flowing Strike, Vantage
• Spellcaster: Magic +2, Fortune
• Wyvern Rider: Strength +2, Cut Through

Promoted Classes Skills

• Adventurer: Lucky Seven, Pass
• Basara: Breaking Sky, Flamboyant
• Berserker: Rally Strength, Axefaire
• Bow Knight: Rally Skill, Kunaibreaker
• Brave Hero: Sol, Axebreaker
• Butler: Servant's Joy, Tomebreaker
• Dark Knight: Magic Seal, Lifetaker
• Exorcist: Rally Magic, Tomefaire
• Falcon Warrior: Rally Speed, Mirror Strike
• General: Defensive Formation, Pavise
• Golden-Kite Warrior: Soar, Sun God
• Great Knight: Luna, Diamond Strike
• Holy Bowman: Raven Strike, Bowfaire
• Jonin: Lethality, Kunaifaire
• Paladin: Defender, Aegis
• Puppeteer: Puppet Break, Copycat Pupper
• Revenant Knight: Deadly Breath, Overbearing
• Sorcerer: Vengeance, Bowbreaker
• Strategist: Rally Resistance, Battle Command
• Trueblade: Astra, Swordfaire
• Weapon Master: Strength Seal, Line of Death
• Wyvern Lord: Rally Defence, Swordbreaker

Bind: When fighting adjacent to an enemy, enemys Avoid -20
Devilish Wind: Enemies within a 2 tile radius receive 2 extra damage from magical attacks
Magic Seal: After battle, enemys Magic -6
Lifetaker: When user triggers the battle, recover 50% HP after defeating the enemy
Vengeance: Skill x 1.5% chance of adding half the users (Max HP Current HP) as damage
Bow Breaker: Hit rate and Avoid +50 when the enemy is equipped with a Bow

Flowing Strike: When user triggers the battle, Avoid +30
Vantage: At the start of battle, when the user has under half HP, they attack first
Astra: Skill x 0.5% chance of triggering 5 consecutive hits with half damage
Swordfaire: When user is equipped with a Sword, damage +5 during battle
Strength Seal: After battle, enemys Strength -6
Line of Death: During battles, damage +10, damage received +10

For more info about stats and growths, please go to http://serenesforest.net/fire-emblem-fates/

[spoiler=Summary]

Another classic example which the most favored class is non-canon (not the official cipher promoted class).

I guess you really want his SWORD-HAND twitch

Optimal

1. Trueblade [34.21%]

2. Sorcerer [31.58%]

3. Dark Knight [13.16%]

Practical

1. Trueblade [39.47%]

2. Sorcerer [31.58%]

3. Dark Knight [18.42%]

Prefered

1. Trueblade [42.11%]

2. Sorcerer [28.95%]

3. Dark Knight [15.79%]

DLC

1. Grandmaster [34.21%]

2. Dark Falcon [21.05%]

3. Dread Fighter [18.42%]

Optional Poll
1. Zero (9+1 votes)[23.68%]

2. Camilla (6+3 votes)[15.79%]

3. Oboro (5 votes)[13.16%]

Edited October 9, 2015 by Jayvee94

[Luninareph]

Odin's tricky. His stat growth is really spread out, so the RNG can make him a freaking beast or a total joke, depending. (Both appropriate in their own way.)

Adventurer: 20% SPD growth. Gives staffs in case he gets stat-screwed. Needs to learn bows and staffs, though.

Basara: Odin's a great hybrid, but might need bigger focused stat gains than Basara offers.

Berserker: Better than it initially sounds. He gets solid HP, STR, and SPD out of it. Needs to learn axes, though.

Bow Knight: Has some nice SPD, but STR remains a little shaky and he needs to learn bows or swords for it.

Brave Hero: Stats are pretty good for him and he can get swords easily via Samurai. High SKL for Sol, too.

Butler: Guaranteed to be useful. Staff safety net, plus kunai don't need to do damage to be useful. Good SPD, hybrid stats, pulls up his low RES, too.

Dark Knight: Risky because it doesn't help SPD much, but has a lot of STR, MAG, and DEF. Not a safe choice, but can pay off.

Exorcist: Good SPD, high MAG, and Tomefaire. It's actually pretty nice if you can get it to him.

Falcon Warrior: Good SPD, great RES, hybrid stats, staff utility. Has to learn spears and staffs, though.

General: Foregoes SPD entirely and gets Defensive Formation. Probably works.

Golden Kite: The SPD is nice, but the other growths are poor and he doesn't have spears or bows by default. Probably a bad choice.

Great Knight: Doesn't help his SPD and doesn't offer much in exchange. Luna's good on him, though.

Holy Bowman: Good SPD, great SKL, some defensive and offensive stats... has to learn bows, though.

Jonin: WILL fix his SPD and RES, he can get swords from Samurai, and kunai utility. Axes his offense but has high SKL for Lethality.

Paladin: Has Basara's problem of giving a good stat spread but not where he wants it.

Puppeteer: Copycat Puppet aside, the stats aren't ideal and he needs to learn both weapon types.

Revenant Knight: Good hybrid stats, but low SPD. Probably better options.

Sorcerer: WILL secure his MAG and has okay SPD and RES, but he can still end up getting stat-screwed in multiple places. Not bad, but not the best.

Strategist: Basically inferior to Sorcerer, which he has by default, and Butler, which he can get if he can get Strategist.

Trueblade: Swordfaire, great SPD, and some extra RES. Plus it's available innately. Might have low STR, but high SKL + Astra can help.

Weapon Master: He becomes somewhat speedy and somewhat tanky, but maybe not enough either way.

Wyvern Lord: See above.

Also: Dark Falcon. Odin REALLY likes Dark Falcon. It pumps up every growth he wants boosted, keeps tomes, adds flight, and gets to be a hybrid attacker to sweeten the deal.

TL;DR:

Particularly offensive options:

Berserker, Brave Hero, Holy Bowman, Trueblade, Dark Falcon

Particularly safe options:

Butler, Exorcist

Honorable Mentions:

Adventurer, General, Sorcerer

[riolumaster]

Wow that was a really detailed anslysis, but it really helped. Thanks

Trueblade for all, it builds up his speed, he has a higher strenght growth, has a unique color scheme, and he'll be in his default Awakening class like Lazward and Luna. On top of that its the easiest to get because you can reclass him immediately using the Parallel Seal that's dropped in Chapter 9.

As said above, Dark Falcon is a great class for him, but Grandmaster also seems good since it would allow him to build up his magic and speed at the same time, and allow him to use both.

I'll let the poll decide which class to put him in.

[AstralWave]

I'd say trueblade for higher growths and Dark falcon for his personal skill.

[riolumaster]

I'd say trueblade for higher growths and Dark falcon for his personal skill.

Doesn't his personal skill work for any forged weapon he has equipped, not just tomes?

[gayserbeam]

Odin's biggest difficulty in Nohr is getting him off the ground. His base stats are not impressive, his low stats and sword rank will impede him if immediately reclassed, and the low deployment numbers early on mean that using him requires benching another unit who is almost certainly more useful, at least at the time.

Dark Falcon gives him an immediate boost equivalent to a promotion, and brings him to 13 Speed, enough to double enemies when paired with Zero. The DLC items in general are best for taking weak units and giving them an early stat boost, and Odin benefits the most from it in Nohr.

[qwertyfatcat]

his early shaky speed can be greatly remedied by class changing him to samurai in the Nohr route (practically unusable in invisible kingdom unless massive grinding ensues). He gets a significant speed boost with enough growths and bonuses on average to make him fairly fast, he's unique in being one of the few units in Nohr to go trueblade, his passive stacks nicely with the class and he could still use something like levin sword if you want to use something like a ranged magic attack.

Mostly, changing him to that class is to help with his abyssmal early game without sacrificing much. In fact, his damage output just increases overall since he can actually double.

[gayserbeam]

his early shaky speed can be greatly remedied by class changing him to samurai in the Nohr route (practically unusable in invisible kingdom unless massive grinding ensues). He gets a significant speed boost with enough growths and bonuses on average to make him fairly fast, he's unique in being one of the few units in Nohr to go trueblade, his passive stacks nicely with the class and he could still use something like levin sword if you want to use something like a ranged magic attack.

Mostly, changing him to that class is to help with his abyssmal early game without sacrificing much. In fact, his damage output just increases overall since he can actually double.

I've done this before and the only pressing problem is that as a Samurai he'll have 9 STR, 12 SPD, and be locked to the 4 mt Bronze Sword. That makes his damage output lower than Zero, Nyx and Luna at base and will definitely be lower Kamui, Jakob, and Kamui have by that point. He's also better off in a magic class if you plan to level him so that he can hit enemies through walls in chapters 9 and 10 (although Nyx, Mozume and Zero do this better).

I like Samurai Odin though, it suits him for obvious reasons and can work well, but you do have to basically feed him kills early on.

[Jakkun]

I'd say as a unit with a crit-based personal, its best to give him a class with S-Rank weapons.

Dark Falcon is indeed a great class to give him for levelling purposes, as through the early-mid game it doesnt really matter what class he's in for that purose, as long as its usable.

As an ending class, I'd probably make him a Trueblade or Sorc. Lodestar's a decent choice too, and being Lucina's cousin makes it kiiiiinda fitting, but eh; you only get one of those, so its all preference in the end.

[iavasechui]

Odin/Hinata: Odin's Primary Class is Dark Mage, and Hinata's is Samurai. Therefore, Odin would Buddy Seal into Samurai. As Odins Secondary Class is Samurai, she would not receive a new class tree from Hinata.

XD amusing typo is amusing

[Jayvee94]

XD amusing typo is amusing

Whoops! XD

[Leif]

I am going to use Odin come hell or high water in Nohr. I think I will have his end class be a sorcerer, but level him up as a samurai and Trueblade. Pairing Vantage/Flowing Strike/Vengeance makes for a deadly combo in theory. +30 avoid when striking and, if under half health, strike first with a chance of activating Vengeance for added damage. A forged Mjolnir tome would be best for decent critical hit chances.

I guess Bowbreaker (to avoid 3 range bows) and Astra would fill up his last two spots.

It's a pity really; he has so much potential to be a good unit (access to a great Hoshidian Class with awesome skills), he was just neutered by bad base stats and a bad joining time (from what I've heard) in IK. Ophelia is, essentially, a better version of him. =/

I don't know why IS seemingly dislikes male mages. The only 'super good' male mages in the entire Fire Emblem series were Sety from FE4, Asvel from FE5, and Pent from FE7. I guess you could include Robin in the list too, but the female version is used more in harder difficulties due to Galeforce access.

Also, is it just me, or do all female units have the potential to outclass all the male units in FE14? Females have access to the ridiculous skill, Awakening, and will have access to Warp once the Witch DLC is released. I can't wait to see what sorts of shenanigans players can get into when using that skill.

Edited October 3, 2015 by Leif

[Folt]

Will be using him come hell or high water. And it'll be as a Sorcerer with a forged crit tome.

Female mages outclassing male mages are kind of a cliché in JRPGs (though it's kind of not the case with Awakening, where second gen males with Galeforce become some of the best FE mages I have ever seen... and played). On the other hand, Awakening is kind of limited to your specific females of choice and if a skill scroll of it appears, males will likely be able to learn it. Witches are more problematic, but eh: I'l find a use for Sorcerers even with the Witch class around.

[Leif]

Will be using him come hell or high water. And it'll be as a Sorcerer with a forged crit tome.

Female mages outclassing male mages are kind of a cliché in JRPGs (though it's kind of not the case with Awakening, where second gen males with Galeforce become some of the best FE mages I have ever seen... and played). On the other hand, Awakening is kind of limited to your specific females of choice and if a skill scroll of it appears, males will likely be able to learn it. Witches are more problematic, but eh: I'l find a use for Sorcerers even with the Witch class around.

I think you may be referring to a +MAG Asset Female Avatar x Ricken!Laurent Morgan right? He is the best mage as a Sage with a Forged Celica's Gale with the Limit Breaker, Vantage, Armsthrift, Galeforce, and Vengeance skills. He has the highest magic growth and stat modifier that way.

However, Morgan isn't technically a 'canon' male mage since both his starting class and gender are variable. Plus he's an optional unit, along with the other second generation kids.

The first generation Awakening male mages, Ricken and Henry, are terrible units to use in higher difficulties. In Fates, the only canon male mages you get are Tsukuyomi, Izana, Odin, and Leo. All, except Leo, are, from what I heard, average units. Leo has a nice personal weapon, but Takumi outclasses him due to having a weapon that allows him to ignore terrain effects. Leo's modifiers aren't that great and he's slow. Granted, Leo is viable unit in harder difficulties (based on what I've heard from people who played the game) than the latter, so that's good.

As I stated before, the only male mages that are commonly referred to as really good units are FE4 (I guess FE5 as well) Sety/Ced, FE5 Asvel, and FE7 Pent. Sety/Ced breaks the Second Generation in FE4 and is rather useful in FE5. Asvel starts with an insane personal tome and can destroy hordes of enemies with it. He is also recruited very early and will be a heavy hitter as well as an eventual staff user for the majority of the game. FE5 Sety/Ced joins late but his Forseti tome gives him those sweet bonuses. FE7 Pent is incredibly useful in HHM with his good growth, bases and high staff rank. He outclasses both Nino and Erk and joins in the middle of the game with a nice, built-in support option with Louise.

With other FE installments, male mages are outshined by other units or are complete garbage. FE10 HM absolutely destroys any hope of even using any magic user.

I have no real problem with OP female mages--I'll be using Crit-stacking Ophelia to death--I just want to see some love for male mages too. =/

I hope I am not coming across as ranting/derailing the topic; I just hope to see another useful male mage for harder difficulties in future Fire Emblems just to go against the relative trends we've been seeing in FEs lately. In any normal mode Fire Emblem, you can make any unit good. It's the harder difficulties that really tests the mettle of a FE unit.

TL:DR - More good male mages in the future please..

Edited October 4, 2015 by Leif

[Folt]

I think you may be referring to a +MAG Asset Female Avatar x Ricken!Laurent Morgan right? He is the best mage as a Sage with a Forged Celica's Gale with the Limit Breaker, Vantage, Armsthrift, Galeforce, and Vengeance skills. He has the highest magic growth and stat modifier that way.

However, Morgan isn't technically a 'canon' male mage since both his starting class and gender are variable. Plus he's an optional unit, along with the other second generation kids.

The first generation Awakening male mages, Ricken and Henry, are terrible units to use in higher difficulties. In Fates, the only canon male mages you get are Tsukuyomi, Izana, Odin, and Leo. All, except Leo, are, from what I heard, average units. Leo has a nice personal weapon, but Takumi outclasses him due to having a weapon that allows him to ignore terrain effects. Leo's modifiers aren't that great and he's slow. Granted, Leo is viable unit in harder difficulties (based on what I've heard from people who played the game) than the latter, so that's good.

As I stated before, the only male mages that are commonly referred to as really good units are FE4 (I guess FE5 as well) Sety/Ced, FE5 Asvel, and FE7 Pent. Sety/Ced breaks the Second Generation in FE4 and is rather useful in FE5. Asvel starts with an insane personal tome and can destroy hordes of enemies with it. He is also recruited very early and will be a heavy hitter as well as an eventual staff user for the majority of the game. FE5 Sety/Ced joins late but his Forseti tome gives him those sweet bonuses. FE7 Pent is incredibly useful in HHM with his good growth, bases and high staff rank. He outclasses both Nino and Erk and joins in the middle of the game with a nice, built-in support option with Louise.

With other FE installments, male mages are outshined by other units or are complete garbage. FE10 HM absolutely destroys any hope of even using any magic user.

I have no real problem with OP female mages--I'll be using Crit-stacking Ophelia to death--I just want to see some love for male mages too. =/

I hope I am not coming across as ranting/derailing the topic; I just hope to see another useful male mage for harder difficulties in future Fire Emblems just to go against the relative trends we've been seeing in FEs lately. In any normal mode Fire Emblem, you can make any unit good. It's the harder difficulties that really tests the mettle of a FE unit.

TL:DR - More good male mages in the future please..

Well, yeah. Technically though, you may as well say M!Morgan's canon class is Tactician. since that's the class he defaults to if he for some reason can't inherit his father's class. Which technically makes him a magic user by default.

Also, other second gen males can reclass into mage classes and kick all kinds of ass. They're not the default classes for those characters, but I don't really care. A Galeforce male with Vengeance and Vantage will own the majority of the game anyways.

Also, given that Odin is a Dark Mage instead of a Myrmidon in this game, IS probably knows the common opinion we have of him, even if he's not exactly good in this game. (Also, I'm really glad Odin uses Tomes instead of Swords in this game: If all the Awakening units that appear in this game were primarily sword users, I'd scream.)

(As for Henry, I've had success with him on Hard actually.)

Also, I don't really have any problems with Odin's low level for Invisible Kingdom, since character balance on that route is already kind of out of the window already (and seem to encourage grinding your personal favorites or stick with the royals anyways). While, as I've said, I will make him good on Nohr, no matter what (mostly because no matter how much Nyx outclasses him, I want someone who can hit stuff).

Also, I've already made up my mind in that I want to use both Odin and Ophelia so...

But yes, more good male mages in the future please (like Pent or Robin).

Edited October 4, 2015 by Folt

[gayserbeam]

I think you may be referring to a +MAG Asset Female Avatar x Ricken!Laurent Morgan right? He is the best mage as a Sage with a Forged Celica's Gale with the Limit Breaker, Vantage, Armsthrift, Galeforce, and Vengeance skills. He has the highest magic growth and stat modifier that way.

However, Morgan isn't technically a 'canon' male mage since both his starting class and gender are variable. Plus he's an optional unit, along with the other second generation kids.

The first generation Awakening male mages, Ricken and Henry, are terrible units to use in higher difficulties. In Fates, the only canon male mages you get are Tsukuyomi, Izana, Odin, and Leo. All, except Leo, are, from what I heard, average units. Leo has a nice personal weapon, but Takumi outclasses him due to having a weapon that allows him to ignore terrain effects. Leo's modifiers aren't that great and he's slow. Granted, Leo is viable unit in harder difficulties (based on what I've heard from people who played the game) than the latter, so that's good.

As I stated before, the only male mages that are commonly referred to as really good units are FE4 (I guess FE5 as well) Sety/Ced, FE5 Asvel, and FE7 Pent. Sety/Ced breaks the Second Generation in FE4 and is rather useful in FE5. Asvel starts with an insane personal tome and can destroy hordes of enemies with it. He is also recruited very early and will be a heavy hitter as well as an eventual staff user for the majority of the game. FE5 Sety/Ced joins late but his Forseti tome gives him those sweet bonuses. FE7 Pent is incredibly useful in HHM with his good growth, bases and high staff rank. He outclasses both Nino and Erk and joins in the middle of the game with a nice, built-in support option with Louise.

With other FE installments, male mages are outshined by other units or are complete garbage. FE10 HM absolutely destroys any hope of even using any magic user.

I have no real problem with OP female mages--I'll be using Crit-stacking Ophelia to death--I just want to see some love for male mages too. =/

I hope I am not coming across as ranting/derailing the topic; I just hope to see another useful male mage for harder difficulties in future Fire Emblems just to go against the relative trends we've been seeing in FEs lately. In any normal mode Fire Emblem, you can make any unit good. It's the harder difficulties that really tests the mettle of a FE unit.

TL:DR - More good male mages in the future please..

One explanation for the lack of useful male mages is that mages in general aren't useful early-game in most Fire Emblem titles. Unless the mage has high enough MAG and SPD to ORKO enemies, mages are often a liability early on due to their fraility, so they earn less EXP and require more management. When the game progresses and the player's healers begin promoting, they fill the role of magic-users and are used in favour of the dedicated mages. Prepomoted mage units also take the spotlight from the early mages with their immediate utility and power. This was especially the case in the GBA games, where Saul, Niime, Serra, Pent, Moulder and Saleh were generally more efficient and useful than basic mages like Lugh, Erk, or Artur. When there is an early-game mage who is powerful enough not to be a liability, it is almost always a female unit as they generally have higher MAG, SPD and RES than males. In the case where you get multiple similarly-leveled mages early on, the one who is faster and stronger always wins out, just like how Soren was more efficent than Ilyana in FE9, how Miriel was more efficient than Ricken in FE13, and how Nyx is more efficient than Odin in FE14. Edited October 4, 2015 by gayserbeam

[Jayvee94]

Majority votes :

Optimal - Sorcerer, Trueblade

Practical (Nohr) - Sorcerer, Trueblade

Preferred - Sorcerer, Trueblade

DLC - Dark Falcon, Grandmaster

Optional poll - Camilla, Zero, Oboro