Beginner strategy issues

[Avioncore]

Hey guys, I'm trying to get into Fire Emblem and tactics games in general but I'm having a weird problem-when I first start playing I feel overwhelmed and stressed trying to make my first move since there are so many things it seems like I'm supposed to keep track of/options I have. How do you confidently make your formation and start moving (and pairing up) units without being worried that you're not playing optimally? I can't shake this OCD "I gotta play perfect" mentality.

I have never really played any kind of strategy games before btw.

*Note: I posted basically the same topic in the general FE board as well, I hope that's okay.

[Dollysama]

Which route and difficulty/mode are you on? (birthright/conquest/revelations, normal/hard/lunatic, phoenix/casual/classic)

I usually put my unit with the highest def/res in the enemies range with the rest of my units surrounding it and let the enemies come to me.

[eclipse]

I'll close the topic in General, since this seems to be a Fates-related thing.

Anyway, can you answer the following:

- Everything in the post above me

- What chapter you're on now

- The five strongest units in your army (in terms of "who goes for the kill")

[Avioncore]

I'll close the topic in General, since this seems to be a Fates-related thing.

Anyway, can you answer the following:

- Everything in the post above me

- What chapter you're on now

- The five strongest units in your army (in terms of "who goes for the kill")

Sorry about the double topics. :x

I'm on Birthright/Hard/Classic (I wanted to challenge myself for fun), just beat Chapter 8. My five best guys are probably my avatar, Rinkah, Hana, Kaze, and probably Silas or Orochi in the last chapter.

[arkel]

Sorry about the double topics. :x

I'm on Birthright/Hard/Classic (I wanted to challenge myself for fun), just beat Chapter 8. My five best guys are probably my avatar, Rinkah, Hana, Kaze, and probably Silas or Orochi in the last chapter.

Fire Emblem is pretty challenging when compared to most tactics games - you might want to consider bumping yourself down to Normal since this is your first run-through (you can still keep it on Classic for the challenge). Rinkah is a pretty terrible unit on her own so I would avoid giving her kills if you can (however, she gives great Pair Up bonuses). This is my personal opinion, but here are the Birthright units I think are worth using:

Your avatar

Your first servant (Felicia or Jakob)

Ryoma

Saizo

Takumi

Azura

Hana

Azama

Oboro

Kaden

Sakura

Silas

Hinoka

Kaze

Then, usually all of the kids are pretty good as long as you give them good mothers.

[joshcja]

I've you're getting overwhelmed by choices/options on ch8 BR I hate to say it but....

Stop thinking so much, just use the units you like and just throw shit at the wall till it works. You literally cannot fuck up your teambuild as long as a certain lobster exists.

Edited April 5, 2016 by joshcja

[Shadow Mir]

Fire Emblem is pretty challenging when compared to most tactics games - you might want to consider bumping yourself down to Normal since this is your first run-through (you can still keep it on Classic for the challenge). Rinkah is a pretty terrible unit on her own so I would avoid giving her kills if you can (however, she gives great Pair Up bonuses). This is my personal opinion, but here are the Birthright units I think are worth using:

Your avatar

Your first servant (Felicia or Jakob)

Ryoma

Saizo

Takumi

Azura

Hana

Azama

Oboro

Kaden

Sakura

Silas

Hinoka

Kaze

Then, usually all of the kids are pretty good as long as you give them good mothers.

I would also point out that regarding the children, it would be a TERRIBLE idea to wait too long before recruiting them (specifically, after chapter 18). There's also the part where Kaze needs an A support with the avatar before chapter 15.

Edited April 5, 2016 by Levant Mir Celestia

[SageOfAnys]

As someone who is a relatively recent fan of the series, I have this to say: don't think to hard, just go. Experiment. Make mistakes. That's the best way to learn and develop your playstyle. You might make a lot of errors at first and reset a lot, but that's okay, as when you make them, you should be learning what to avoid and what to look for.

Yeah this sounds pretty stereotypical, but it works. Really, just play more and get used to how YOU want to play it (and not the optimal way), as there's plenty of time to worry about optimization down the line when you're more comfortable with the game.

Also to echo what someone earlier said, you'll probably not find yourself screwing up your team with Sir Lobster Lord around.

[Lanko]

You don't need to play perfectly, nobody does. There's a degree of luck involved (both for you and the enemy) and shit (and miracles) will happen now and then.

Tips I was giving to my brother playing Fates:

1) Check the attack range of enemies. Either press A on them or press Y to see every enemy attack range.

2) Also check their weapons (if they have ranged weapons or weapons that deals bonus damage, like against mounted units, etc)

3) Calculate damage done and received. If using a melee weapon ATK - Enemy Def (and sometimes some skills). If using magic, ATK - Enemy RES. The same for you own troops. If someone's Speed is 5 or higher than the enemy, they will attack twice.

4) Retreat or make a chokepoint/wall with your tough units or retreat to the limit of the range of the enemy if you need. It's not worth sending a squishy unit to get a kill and then get them killed by two enemies on the enemy turn.

5) Bait the enemies instead of rushing. Check the enemy range. You can place someone tough on the edge of the red square and pass the turn. Most enemies will come and attack and you will deal with one group of enemies instead of two or three at the same time.

6) Some enemies are better if you attack from range and finish them off with a melee, but don't forget to leave kills for the mages/archers/etc. Don't allow some units to fall too far behind others.

Edited April 5, 2016 by Lanko

[Butterfly Pink]

http://serenesforest.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=62402&hl=guide

Though I didn't need any help (beat Conquest on Hard), I did recently watch these. They're pretty good, for what they are, and I will say this: he plays very differently than I do.

There are several people on here who have mentioned that finding your style is important, and I'm just going to echo that sentiment. I play a lot slower, and far less loose, than this guy does. He's very good. I actually learned some things from watching him, despite being confident I could take the game on in Lunatic difficulty. However, I have a very slow playstyle, favor defense to offense as I hate resets, and am more than willing to spend an egregious amount of turns for the sake of XP.

For example, I farmed Mozu to a level 13 archer on her recruit chapter with a lucky Cupid's Bow I'd acquired in My Castle just prior in my Conquest run. I farmed Azura until she was getting x<10 XP per dance on her recruit chapter. I tend to focus on a much smaller force, beating most of the latter half of Conquest with just Xander and Corrin (not married), as Xander just bends Conquest over his knee, even on Hard. To me, I don't find the extra units you have to baby sit and keep alive worth the hassle most of the time.

However, pre-planning is everything for someone like me. I had a much better idea of what I wanted in my Revelations run, and am now tearing it apart with impunity. I have no idea how to go about a lowest turn count (LTC) run, and am going to spend a lot of time planning before I attempt my ironman runs.

However, that's my style. Lots of enemy phase (EP), emphasis on survivability, tanking, and making the positioning of a single unit, or small group of units, make up for all its drawbacks. Just do what seems fun to you, watch people play to get ideas of how to play if you must, and you'll be fine.

[Sire]

If you are playing Fire Emblem or just tactics games for the first time, I would recommend playing on Normal. There's no shame playing Normal, and if you plan on sticking to Classic, don't worry about if some of your units die (this way you know you can funnel EXP to the characters that do survive). You can always try for no death runs later (or just play on Casual to rid of characters dying). Of course, you can still stick to Hard difficulty, but if it gets too difficult, you always have the option to drop down to Normal.

As for Birthright, take your time. If you start finding the main story battles too difficult, you can always do the challenge maps or My Castle battles to level up your units. For the most part, just don't worry about making the optimal plays and just have fun, if you beat the chapter, then you have done something right.

The biggest advice I would give is to focus on a small group of units, the "core team". However, be aware to spread the kills around to your team and not have one unit hog up all the kills as EXP gain diminishes the larger the level gap between your unit and the enemy. So, if your guy is like 3-5 levels higher, I would suggest giving the kill to a unit closer or lower level on your core team to maximize EXP.

[eclipse]

Bump Birthright down to Normal. There's a lot to take in, so get accustomed to things like weapon ranges, the threshold for doubling, and how attack/guard stance works. On future playthroughs, you can play at a higher difficulty.