Planning out a team for Birthright? Recommendations? [Probably Hard/Classic, no-grind]

[astrophys]

I don't have the game yet [waiting for Feb. 19th], but I wanted to put some advance thought into it.

My intention is to play in the order of Birthright --> Conquest --> Revelation. I've planning to start on Hard/Classic [i may do Lunatic in a future run, but I just want to get used to the changes from Awakening ---> Fates first], and I want to do no-grind.

I would also like my team to obey a few restrictions or attempt to follow a few guidelines. Some are obvious not optimal by any stretch of the imagination, but I'd like to do them because of personal preference….

Could you guys offer advice of how to structure the rest of my team, what pairings I should try establishing, etc.?

Naturally, availability will also be a concern, as well as having the deployment slots open at any one time to be able to accommodate the characters in question.

That said, my restrictions or preferences/guidelines:

1. I am going to play as a Male Avatar.

2. I would prefer to utilize the 4 Hoshidan royal siblings, although unlike some of the other restrictions I am not adamant about this [but many of them are very good units anwyays]

3. I want to marry my Avatar to Matoi during the course of the game. As Matoi is a 2nd gen, this necessitates using her father [Tsubaki] for AT LEAST long enough to get him married to a character.

3a. I have a preference for either Hinoka!Matoi (redhead, high growths, closest Matoi can look like to Cordelia in Birthright with non-Avatar parents) or Oboro!Matoi (looks vaguely like Lucina, but with a character like Cordelia)

3b. But I am willing to consider other Matoi variants.

3c. Because I want to get my Avatar married to her and I'm doing no-grind, Matoi must be recruited early enough in the game for the Avatar to have enough battles alongside her to gain the S-support with her [preferably with a comfortable safety margin]

4. I want to make sure that all my playable characters end the game alive.

Specifically, this means I must get an A-support between the Avatar and Kaze before Ch. 15

5. I am planning to take Dark Mage as my secondary class tree and am very likely to take a +MAG asset. This is a combination of personal preference and the fact that its one of the only ways to get non-generic/non-captured/non-MyCastle Dark Mages/Dark Knights/Sorcerers as playable characters onto your team in Birthright; none of the other player characters have a Dark Mage primary or secondary in Birthright .

6. I'm probably using Azura as a Singer.

What suggestions might you have? Whom should I use on the team to fill the gaps of the characters I haven't decided on yet? Whom should I pair/support with the characters I am planning to use? etc.

Edited January 6, 2016 by astrophys

[Shephen]

So with your restrictions, you have an initial team of Corrin, Ryoma, Hinoka, Takumi, Sakura, Baki, Azura, Kaze, and Oboro.

So you could use about 3 more. I'd recommend taking Felicia, Silas and probably Saizou. All three of them are pretty great units.

[astrophys]

Well, strictly speaking, Oboro/Hinoka for Matoi would be interchangeable in terms of the preference category, so I could in principle open a fourth slot if I wasn't running Oboro [whereas Hinoka is fixed by running all of the royals], but Oboro seems like a pretty good unit so I imagine that I might very well end up running her anyways [regardless of whether she's Matoi's mother like you suggest might be in-game optimal or whether she's with someone else].

I guess that Felicia might want to go for early strategist?

Well, that or Avatar going unpromoted Dark Mage early on….if I don't have one cover it, I'm likely to have a dearth of tome users….

I'm kind of envisioning taking the Avatar into Dark Knight so that I can get the spells that I like as a personal preference standpoint while not having to give up the ability to use Yato on the final battles. But I can get into Dark Knight by Nohr Prince --> Dark Mage --> Dark Knight or by Nohr Prince --> White Blood --> Dark Knight.

Would it be better for me to give Felicia [if I take her up into my team like you suggest] or the Avatar the early seal.

I suppose Silas makes a lot of sense. I didn't feel necessarily as "committed" to using him as the others, but I imagined that I'd probably use him anyways as he seemed pretty good.

Saizou… well, I have no strong opinions on him one way or the other…. but he and his son seem to have good growths…. seems reasonable enough….

Do you have any suggestions of how to pair off in this pool and to my restrictions?

Assuming I take your suggestions….

Characters available:

Corrin, Ryoma, Hinoka, Takumi, Sakura, Baki, Azura, Kaze, and Oboro. Felicia, Silas and probably Saizou. And of course, Matoi…..

Corrin x Matoi ---> Kanna

Ryoma x ????

Takumi x ????

Tsubaki x either Hinoka OR Oboro ---> Hinoka!Matoi/Oboro!Matoi

Kaze x ????

Silas x ????

Saizou x ???

​Of course, another relevant concern is that not everyone might actually get paired up in a no-grind run, even among this group, depending on how support building goes and stuff like the need to sing, heal, etc.

​Of the characters I listed or you suggested, the kids would be

Kanna

Matoi

Shinonome

Kisaragi

Midoriko

Sophie

Gurei

Given my restrictions, I'm definitely bringing Matoi onto the team? Which other kids do you think I should incorporate onto the team? Anyone whom I should use to unlock a kid and then replace with their kid (or another kid)?

I presume that since I'm trying to A-rank Kaze for reasons that the Mysterious Appeal of the Avatar and his class pair-up could partly or fully replace Rinkah's pair-up function early in the game, after the Birthright split….

​Anyways, thanks for the commentary so far.

[Shephen]

I would probably just go for:

Silas x Hinoka(if Oboro!Matoi) or Felicia(if Hinoka!Matoi)

Ryoma x Oboro(if Hinoka!Matoi)

Takumi or Saizou x Azura or Felicia. About covers it.

[astrophys]

Felicia as the alternative for Silas if not going with Hinoka?

Is that because of the speed bonuses that she has [class+personal}? I suppose that she could also pass down a high level skill to Sophie thanks to her promoted class and skill gaining while gaining EXP like a regular unit status.

Whom would you give Ryouma if I did Oboro!Matoi [you indicate for if Hinoka!Matoi, but not for the reverse]. Would he be unpaired then?

[Shephen]

Felicia mostly works since she gives speed in pair up and can pass down a high level promoted skill really early on.

Probably something like Falco!Sakura or GKW!Takumi even though they can't S support. Ryoma's offense is already basically unrivaled. Only way you can better him is by helping his bulk or movement.

[GrayClouds23]

No grind? pfft

[Tooru]

You can give Ryoma whoever isn't useful in current chapter/turn as pair-up fodder.

Edited January 6, 2016 by Tooru

[avengerfive]

Man I really want to give Shura Rinka to Ryoma but those 6 levels seem like they would be a pain.

Actually, Savage Rinka is probably good enough. You only get +1 str and +1 spd boosts if she's promoted. Maybe she can get the levels through dual guarding? Lol probably not.

Oh yea about your MU, I wouldn't go Nohr Prince --> White Blood --> Dark Knight. I'd reclass as soon as you're a level 10 Prince and have access to a spell (Rat God i think?). You want to work on Kamui's weapon ranks near the start rather than the end. White Blood's skills are meh anyways.

Sakura can be dropped pretty easy if you dont want to use her. But I think she could make a great flying healer/rally speed bot.

Edited January 6, 2016 by R O Y B O Y S

[Duke of Dozel]

Sakura isn't tremendously useful in a no grind run. With Felicia being your healer and potential tome user, there really isnt much of a reason to. But she's insanely balanced, and has as much STR as Subaki, which can kelp her as a flier. She has E rank staffs though, which kinda kills the point.

[astrophys]

Well, yeah, I suppose Sakura might be a weak link then…. it was more of a thematic consideration [the Hoshidan family]