Worst personal skill?

[Shadow Mir]

Arthur's personal skill, 95% of the time, has only been useful to me. It helps thwart classes with natural dodge, and users of high-level forged bronze weapons (who can't crit you anyway) and beaststones. It's fun having someone who consistently has a 90%+ crit rate when he goes on the offensive. Arthur himself doesn't have much dodge to be subtracted from anyway, and even so, having Percy around nulls the negative side effects. I've never had a problem working around Misfortune. Besides, it's only a 5% detriment at most.

I never make use of Niles's, Orochi's, or Dwyer's. Don't care to do castle battles or use the prison. I don't like using units who can't support. However, I wouldn't say they're the "worst" as they aren't detrimental and can be quite helpful when you need them. I'd say the most useless ones are probably:

Selena's (highly situational, I've never seen it happen, if the first unit crits then the enemy is likely dead anyway)

Mitama's (generally has to be intentionally set up, as it's rare for your units to fall into such a formation when you're dealing with the enemy, and at that point, may as well just have Amaterasu)

Azama's (because why wouldn't you have a weapon equipped after being promoted)

Hayato's (how often are you lower-leveled than the enemy, especially lategame?)

Scarlet's (you probably don't want a unit with under 25% HP in combat, but I could see it coming in handy in a really tight spot)

Kana's (useless with EVERY CLASS except one)

Selkie's (if a typically physically frail unit is starting her turn next to a bunch of enemies, you are probably one lucky bastard)

Keaton's (neat early on, but by the time you have a respectable luck stat on Keaton, you probably don't care about resources much)

The issue I have with Arthur's PS is that it forces one of the worst disadvantages a Fire Emblem unit can have - vulnerability to critical hits - on him (this is exacerbated by the fact that crits are generally more useful for the enemy than for the player - as stated earlier, a single enemy crit can easily fuck up a plan, or worse, mean having to reset. Hell, I'd go so far as to say being vulnerable to critical hits in FE is even more crippling a disadvantage than being weak to Stealth Rock!). And while it can be worked around, the positive effect is barely tangible, except against very specific enemies (and then there's the part where Misfortunate also chews into the crit evade boosts from stuff like pair up, which, since this IS Arthur we're talking about, he WILL need). . .

Anyways, I kinda disagree with you on Hayato's personal, since he does start underleveled, at least in Birthright.

Edited April 12, 2016 by Levant Mir Celestia

[shadowofchaos]

I kinda feel like reclassing and skill craze is what the personal skills are being judged by.

"Useless except for this class".

Considering how FE used to be and no branching promotions, I think that's their uses are primarily configured for. Like Kanna, especially.

I stick completely to the original class tree, or reclass back to it, and I feel like those personal skills that are very specific fit best in those roles.

[Nym]

I'm surprised that nobody said anything about Setsuna's skill.

Sure, it is useful but, on an archer? Unless you reclass her in something with a lot of hp, it's not that useful.

Edited April 12, 2016 by Nym

[Roflolxp54]

I kinda feel like reclassing and skill craze is what the personal skills are being judged by.

"Useless except for this class".

Considering how FE used to be and no branching promotions, I think that's their uses are primarily configured for. Like Kanna, especially.

I stick completely to the original class tree, or reclass back to it, and I feel like those personal skills that are very specific fit best in those roles.

There's also that the personal skill often fits the character, especially since in the very old games, there's very little characterization of most units that aren't the lord.

I'm surprised that nobody said anything about Setsuna's skill.

Sure, it is useful but on an archer? Unless you reclass her in something with a lot of hp, it's not that useful.

It isn't the worst one out there. As an archer, she's likely going to take damage for being open to 1-range combat unless you're doing an excellent job of keeping her away from such situations (and even then, tome users have WTA over her). Plus, it can help save staff uses for a unit that needs it more.

[Delfino]

The issue I have with Arthur's PS is that it forces one of the worst disadvantages a Fire Emblem unit can have - vulnerability to critical hits - on him (this is exacerbated by the fact that crits are generally more useful for the enemy than for the player - as stated earlier, a single enemy crit can easily fuck up a plan, or worse, mean having to reset. Hell, I'd go so far as to say being vulnerable to critical hits in FE is even more crippling a disadvantage than being weak to Stealth Rock!). And while it can be worked around, the positive effect is barely tangible, except against very specific enemies (and then there's the part where Misfortunate also chews into the crit evade boosts from stuff like pair up, which, since this IS Arthur we're talking about, he WILL need). . .

Anyways, I kinda disagree with you on Hayato's personal, since he does start underleveled, at least in Birthright.

I suppose it's all in how you use your Arthur. I think I've only had him take a crit that resulted in a reset once, and it's not like that hasn't happened to my other characters. Otherwise, I just positioned him pretty well so he could benefit other characters (he's a great attack stance partner) and he destroyed everything he attacked before they could hit him. If he gets put in situations where he's going to take as many hits as he's dishing out, then of course he's likely to end up being a liability. I had no trouble with him personally, and he ended up being an MVP. To each their own, though, we all play differently.

Hayato's personal skill definitely helps him catch up in Birthright, but I feel like it just kind of became obsolete really fast in Revelations...

[joshcja]

I suppose it's all in how you use your Arthur. I think I've only had him take a crit that resulted in a reset once, and it's not like that hasn't happened to my other characters. Otherwise, I just positioned him pretty well so he could benefit other characters (he's a great attack stance partner) and he destroyed everything he attacked before they could hit him. If he gets put in situations where he's going to take as many hits as he's dishing out, then of course he's likely to end up being a liability. I had no trouble with him personally, and he ended up being an MVP. To each their own, though, we all play differently.

Hayato's personal skill definitely helps him catch up in Birthright, but I feel like it just kind of became obsolete really fast in Revelations...

Sol lets me play Arthur/Zerks in general suuuper recklessly since they can just ohko everything mid-lategame and have the second best bulk in the game.

My most amusing rng string today on conquest!lunatic involved an unpaired Arthur getting low% critted 4 times in one round out of 10 enemy's and ending the EP with 10 dead enemies and Arthur at full hp lol.

So @DarkHoly... yeah he's kinda an unstoppable deathtank mid-lategame (at 1-1 range). It comes with the territory. Whoever thought sol+zerk on the same base class tree was a good idea needs to rethink their life choices.

Edited April 12, 2016 by joshcja

[Shadow Mir]

I suppose it's all in how you use your Arthur. I think I've only had him take a crit that resulted in a reset once, and it's not like that hasn't happened to my other characters. Otherwise, I just positioned him pretty well so he could benefit other characters (he's a great attack stance partner) and he destroyed everything he attacked before they could hit him. If he gets put in situations where he's going to take as many hits as he's dishing out, then of course he's likely to end up being a liability. I had no trouble with him personally, and he ended up being an MVP. To each their own, though, we all play differently.

As I see it, a Fighter should be able to use their HP reserves to hold the frontline (which I can't expect Arthur to do thanks to you-know-what).. Anyways, Arthur's low luck also hurts his accuracy - another reason why I don't trust him to do anything other than drag the team down. And while Percy might be one of the better Nohrian child units, knowing that doesn't mean anything if I find the burden Arthur winds up being to the team to be more than it's worth.

Edited April 12, 2016 by Levant Mir Celestia

[cgRIPPER]

The absolute last thing I'll say about Arthur is that, as a 20/20 Berserker, he has an average Luck of... drumroll please... 4. Not 14, just 4. That means that he only has 2 Dodge anyway. Even in the example given earlier where enemies only have 5 Dodge themselves, you have a ratio of 5x:2 where x=the number of enemies within 2 spaces. I'm not saying Misfortunate is good, I just feel like it's balanced enough that it shouldn't be being considered the worst PS in the entire game. I get the impression people are directing their anger at Misfortunate like some kind of mild temper tantrum. Anyway, I won't say any more on the subject.

I'm surprised you didn't mention Hinata's Triple Threat, which requires him to be missing at least half his HP, and even then only works against swords, lances and axes. That sounds rather hard to set up without him just dying instead. Or Scarlet's, which requires you to be way too close to dying.

Except that you don't need to be missing 50% hp before you get hit for Hinata's Triple Threat to activate. This means anytime someone uses a sword, lance, or axe to bring you below half health you get a free counter. In no way is that bad.

Also, I'm curious. Does anyone know whether Saizo's Pyrotechnics activates even if you kill the only enemy within range? Because that would be absolutely abysmal if it did and would make it dethrone Peacebringer imo.

[JSND Alter Dragon Boner]

I mean if that bothers you so much the game gives you no less than 3 Icon at the first half of the game

[Shadow Mir]

I mean if that bothers you so much the game gives you no less than 3 Icon at the first half of the game

Which I'd rather save for anyone whose Luck starts to lag and that I know I'm going to be using full time

Edited April 12, 2016 by Levant Mir Celestia

[A creative name]

I find that Mitama's personal skill is a little too situational. Ryoma's is pretty meh to me, too.

Then there's some of the Bond Unit personals which are for the most part pretty good or just a different character's Personal, but then you can wind up with personals that offer little to no combat value such as Nobility or Elbow Room.

[Jakkun]

Which I'd rather save for anyone whose Luck starts to lag and that I know I'm going to be using full time

grab Veteran's Intuition, literally anyone can learn it with 0 effort.

Ryoma's is pretty meh to me, too.

pair him with a slave unit and just have Ryouma do all the work, free +10% crit all the time + good pair up bonuses.

Edited April 13, 2016 by Jakkun

[Xenomata]

Honestly, I'm a person whose playstyle is "clump everyone into one group and move as a single unit", so Mitama's personal would be easy for someone like me to force into happening. Just make sure she is in the middle of the mega unit.

It just... doesn't feel like it does much.

[Djing]

Takumi's personal skill irritates me since he usually ends up overleveled for me.

[JSND Alter Dragon Boner]

grab Veteran's Intuition, literally anyone can learn it with 0 effort.

pair him with a slave unit and just have Ryouma do all the work, free +10% crit all the time + good pair up bonuses.

Seriously if theres any "best personal skill" poll or something Ryoma is definitely my pick for the absolute best personal in the game

[Shadow Mir]

The absolute last thing I'll say about Arthur is that, as a 20/20 Berserker, he has an average Luck of... drumroll please... 4. Not 14, just 4. That means that he only has 2 Dodge anyway. Even in the example given earlier where enemies only have 5 Dodge themselves, you have a ratio of 5x:2 where x=the number of enemies within 2 spaces. I'm not saying Misfortunate is good, I just feel like it's balanced enough that it shouldn't be being considered the worst PS in the entire game. I get the impression people are directing their anger at Misfortunate like some kind of mild temper tantrum. Anyway, I won't say any more on the subject.

Except that you don't need to be missing 50% hp before you get hit for Hinata's Triple Threat to activate. This means anytime someone uses a sword, lance, or axe to bring you below half health you get a free counter. In no way is that bad.

Also, I'm curious. Does anyone know whether Saizo's Pyrotechnics activates even if you kill the only enemy within range? Because that would be absolutely abysmal if it did and would make it dethrone Peacebringer imo.

It just hits all the wrong notes for me (AKA, the unholy trinity: being nearly worthless, being too situational, and actively being a detriment to the user).

Well, that's true, but for all that, only bouncing back half the damage Hinata took is underwhelming.

Good question. I doubt it, though.

[joshcja]

Seriously if theres any "best personal skill" poll or something Ryoma is definitely my pick for the absolute best personal in the game

Yeah there's really no better target for icon's imo.

My Arthurs have a tenancy to wind up capping hp/str/skill/speed/def naturally at 20/20 because he's a fucking ultramunchkin, with near capped/capped luck from icon spam just for lol's. I just need to figure out a way to get him to cap res too because that solo not green stat pisses me off.

Edit: Man I dunno, the flowers are so much better than lobstershido IMO.

Edited April 13, 2016 by joshcja

[kallie]

I love Mitama and Azama, but their skills are pretty useless. It's rare I'll ever put all my units all together for Mitama's. Azama has a really high STR growth I think? So I think it's weird his skill relies on him solely being a healing bot. Although it's a pain in Conquest...

I find Oboro's kinda useless in Revelations, but it's good for Birthright. Asugi's is just meh, and I feel like it should be a small percentage instead of just like 5 hp. Kiragi's skill is better than Hisame's imo, and I feel like all the Hoshidan kids have too many skills that are dependent on waiting.

[Shadow Mir]

I find Oboro's kinda useless in Revelations, but it's good for Birthright.

Speaking of which, does it work on Nohrian classes, or only on Nohrian army units? Because something tells me it's the former.

[Roflolxp54]

I find Oboro's kinda useless in Revelations, but it's good for Birthright. Asugi's is just meh, and I feel like it should be a small percentage instead of just like 5 hp. Kiragi's skill is better than Hisame's imo, and I feel like all the Hoshidan kids have too many skills that are dependent on waiting.

Speaking of which, does it work on Nohrian classes, or only on Nohrian army units? Because something tells me it's the former.

It works on Nohrian story characters (including Jakob and Felicia) regardless of class (affects Swordmaster Xander for example) and on any generic unit in a Nohrian class (ie. Paladin, Hero, etc.).

Edited April 13, 2016 by Roflolxp54

[Shadow Mir]

It works on Nohrian story characters (including Jakob and Felicia) regardless of class (affects Swordmaster Xander for example) and on any generic unit in a Nohrian class (ie. Paladin, Hero, etc.).

That's what I thought. I knew something was up when she was able to damage one of the Heroes on Jank Tower when calcs showed she shouldn't have (before Defence Seal, at least)...

Edited April 13, 2016 by Levant Mir Celestia

[Ryas]

Icy Blood (Flora) - A maid getting hit after they're already missing health is not the kind of simple trigger I want to see. That's hard to set up without the maid just dying. And then all it does is deal some damage? You're better off using a character that can actually deal damage rather than trying to make this pile trigger.

HP tonics exist and it can kill Stonebornes at max range in ch 26. Nowhere near the worst skill.

[Jakkun]

It works on Nohrian story characters (including Jakob and Felicia) regardless of class (affects Swordmaster Xander for example) and on any generic unit in a Nohrian class (ie. Paladin, Hero, etc.).

so it works on something like, say, a Vallite Zerker?

[Dark Holy Elf]

So @DarkHoly... yeah he's kinda an unstoppable deathtank mid-lategame (at 1-1 range). It comes with the territory. Whoever thought sol+zerk on the same base class tree was a good idea needs to rethink their life choices.

Arthur's defence isn't particularly notable. Just taking Conquest PCs he has clearly less physical durability than Xander, Silas, Camilla, Beruka, Effie, Benny, and Keaton, and that's before any consideration for their superior dodge (and in many cases, res). Most of these characters either have natural or a fast A+ access to Sol too, not that I think Sol is worth a reclass to get myself (I think you and I obviously value reliability by verrrrry different amounts, and Sol is unreliable). If you're fighting enemies who make Berserker Arthur look like a tank then actually high-def characters must be completely unkillable.

As a quick example since I have the numbers handy, using Hard Mode here, the heroes in chapter 26 with silver have 42-44 attack, and 20/15 Arthur as a Zerker has 23 def and 54 HP, so he needs a def boost just to avoid a OHKO from a single crit. Even if you raise his defence (and obviously you can and should), one crit is going to cause major problems... even at +10 def from Rally Def, decent pairup, and tonic it will take over half his HP.

To be clear I don't think Arthur is a bad unit. He has monstrous power and his other stats are generally adequate to do his job. With his power, you can get him to one-round many things by boosting his speed. Unfortunately his PS means you also need to spend effort salvaging his dodge (at least playing on Classic); it takes his respectable durability and makes it subpar in practice. Yeah, it would be problematic even without Misfortunate because of that luck stat, but it makes the situation worse, and I don't think the benefit is anywhere near worth it, because of, again, how much more valuable crit is to enemies than it is to you.

[Roflolxp54]

so it works on something like, say, a Vallite Zerker?

Generic? Check. Nohrian class? Check. Should be able to work. Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong though.