What to do with Leo? (Rev)

[Nihilon]

So, I'm on Revelation, and I'm wondering... what should I do with Leo? Sure, his growths are really good on paper, but in practice... he just feels weak. Sure, he has a unique weapon, great bases, and all-around good stats, but in the average case, all of my heavy hitters (Hana, Ryoma, Corrin, Takumi) are far better at taking out priority targets, as Leo's SPD is that tiny little bit too low to double things properly.

His SKL is that tiny bit too low to reliably hit things with any degree of AVO.

His defenses are that tiny bit too low to serve as a tank.

No matter which way I look at it, he's outclassed - by Hana, Ryoma, Xander and Takumi as physical damage dealers, Ophelia, Nyx, Elise and his own son Forrest as magical damage dealers and by Benny, Hinoka and Shiro as a tank. So my question is... is there some way to avoid benching him? Because really, I don't see any use for him at all, and the only thing he seems to have over any other relevant unit is his unique Tome.

[17thSeraph]

Well, you could put him into a sourcerer for a few levels so he can better level his magic or you give him some good skills from his wife's class.

Edited June 14, 2016 by 17thSeraph

[Nihilon]

Well, you could put him into a sourcerer for a few levels so he can better level his magic or you give him some good skills from his wife's class.

I'm planning to get him together with Sakura (mostly so Forrest is actually good) - this'll give him access to Onmyoji, which is the best thing I can think of (Tomefaire). But even despite that... I went through the numbers and even if he gets RNG blessed, it's unlikely that he'll ever have the sheer destructive power Elise and Ophelia have. Sure, his lower offensive power is supposed to be offset by his better survivability, but... by late game, it's just not enough to survive anything significant anymore.

It just feels like he suffers from "master of none" syndrome.

[singularity]

turn him into a Dark Falcon to fix his Spd?

[Nihilon]

turn him into a Dark Falcon to fix his Spd?

That's actually a reasonable idea. If I can manage to figure out a winning strategy for Royal Royale, I'll try that out.

[TheWerdna]

Another way to fix up his speed is to make him a Swordmaster for a couple levels through A+ support with Odin. Lets you pick up vantage too, which is nice.

That's actually a reasonable idea. If I can manage to figure out a winning strategy for Royal Royale, I'll try that out.

Elise is by far the easiest of the Nohr royals to win with. Good mix of magical and physical attackers, a tanky unit, and the freeze staff does work

Edited June 14, 2016 by TheWerdna

[Nanima]

Turn him into a Dark Flier, set him up with nice skills like Astra, Flowing Strike, Bowbreaker, Galeforce and Heartseeker. This will turn him into your personal assassin who can move deep into enemy territory, take out whoever and then quickly fly away. Also he will laugh at archers.

[Hempmeister69]

Leo's prf tome is really good and he starts out with decent stats (lesser chance of being rng screwed as a prepromote). He'll never nuke like Rhajat, Ophelia, Elise, or the Avatar but he can take hits unlike most of them. With Horse Spirit and Nosferatu he can comfortably target res, heal himself, and tank. What he needs to ORKO enemies reliably is either a speed pairup and/or a reclass (Sorcerer or Dark Flier). He makes a really good defensive magical pairup himself for magical spouses too so it's a win-win if you have him with say, Witch Sakura.

Leo's niche isn't that he's the best magical/physical attacker or tank but that he can perform multiple roles reliably at once which is something many units cannot do.

[Sieghart]

You can support A+ with Odin for samurai class ( vantage, line of death and astra) for a offensive set.

Edited June 14, 2016 by Sieghart

[Nihilon]

Another way to fix up his speed is to make him a Swordmaster for a couple levels through A+ support with Odin. Lets you pick up vantage too, which is nice.

Elise is by far the easiest of the Nohr royals to win with. Good mix of magical and physical attackers, a tanky unit, and the freeze staff does work

Good to know, I'll give Elise a try.

Turn him into a Dark Flier, set him up with nice skills like Astra, Flowing Strike, Bowbreaker, Galeforce and Heartseeker. This will turn him into your personal assassin who can move deep into enemy territory, take out whoever and then quickly fly away. Also he will laugh at archers.

Dark Flier Leo does sound like a good idea, but what's "Flowing Strike"? I looked through the skill lists and couldn't find it...

Leo's prf tome is really good and he starts out with decent stats (lesser chance of being rng screwed as a prepromote). He'll never nuke like Rhajat, Ophelia, Elise, or the Avatar but he can take hits unlike most of them. With Horse Spirit and Nosferatu he can comfortably target res, heal himself, and tank. What he needs to ORKO enemies reliably is either a speed pairup and/or a reclass (Sorcerer or Dark Flier). He makes a really good defensive magical pairup himself for magical spouses too so it's a win-win if you have him with say, Witch Sakura.

Leo's niche isn't that he's the best magical/physical attacker or tank but that he can perform multiple roles reliably at once which is something many units cannot do.

Yes, but I feel as if Leo's multirole capacity is his weakness at the same time. He deals okay damage, but not enough to oneshot; He has good SPD but not enough to reliably avoid or double; He has decent defenses, but not enough to tank at a chokepoint, and so on.

In a world of specialists, the jack-of-all-trades is just plain overshadowed at every turn. But as mentioned above, Dark Flier Leo sounds like a good way to cover his weaknesses.

[Shadow Mir]

Dark Flier Leo does sound like a good idea, but what's "Flowing Strike"? I looked through the skill lists and couldn't find it...

Duelist's Blow.

[Nanima]

Sorry, too used to the japanese names. Yes, I meant Duelist's Blow.

[Ownagepuffs]

Hey OP.

Leo can support Onmyoji Sakura in this route.

You should do that.

[Levin's Scarf]

Leo is generally good with dealing with magic units because of his high Res and Brynhildr's effect. So while he isn't as strong as the other royals, he's still useful.

I have to say, though. Dark Flier Leo is a good idea. Haven't thought of that until it was mentioned in this thread.

[UNLEASH IT]

Ah yes, Leo's dilemma. Trust me OP, you're not the first one to have this problem.

[Nihilon]

Hey OP.

Leo can support Onmyoji Sakura in this route.

You should do that.

Already doing so; they're at rank B now. Still conflicted about it, though - in the end, it might leave Elise out of viable marriage partners. (Yes, Elise can't marry Leo, but Leo x Sakura creates a chain reaction where I run out of good husbands for the Nohrian casters.)

Leo is generally good with dealing with magic units because of his high Res and Brynhildr's effect. So while he isn't as strong as the other royals, he's still useful.

I have to say, though. Dark Flier Leo is a good idea. Haven't thought of that until it was mentioned in this thread.

Sad thing is, Hana or Saizo are far better as mage killers than him - as most magic users have high RES and low DEF, physical units are usually better at killing them. I'll give Dark Flier Leo a try, but as things are right now, it doesn't look like he'll have a place on my main team.

[Water Mage]

Hey OP.

Leo can support Onmyoji Sakura in this route.

You should do that.

I second that.

It's an incredibly good pairing, and the pair-up bonus from Sakura and the Onmyoji class compliment Leo quite well.

Already doing so; they're at rank B now. Still conflicted about it, though - in the end, it might leave Elise out of viable marriage partners. (Yes, Elise can't marry Leo, but Leo x Sakura creates a chain reaction where I run out of good husbands for the Nohrian casters.)

To be honest, the only people Elise should marry are Odin, Niles and maybe Jakob. And that's a big maybe.

Any other pairing with her is pretty bad.

And if you want a magic user with good physical defense, try Sakura or Hayato.

[Nihilon]

I second that.

It's an incredibly good pairing, and the pair-up bonus from Sakura and the Onmyoji class compliment Leo quite well.

To be honest, the only people Elise should marry are Odin, Niles and maybe Jakob. And that's a big maybe.

Any other pairing with her is pretty bad.

And if you want a magic user with good physical defense, try Sakura or Hayato.

The problem is, I'm inclined to marry Odin with Orochi, so Ophelia (my favourite caster, next to Elise) can have Tomefaire for extra nuke potential. Of course, I'm worried about her SPD in that case - the other possibilities for Odin are Nyx and Elise, as far as I'm concerned. Nyx is what I did in my Conquest run, but looking at stat spreads and skillsets, Orochi and Elise would both be superior choices. Problem is, Elise is going to hurt Ophelia's SKL, and as Niles is basically the only other option for Elise... I don't know, I just don't think Elise!Nina is particularly good. It feels like a waste of her phenomenal MAG and SPD. But if I go Odin x Elise, Ophelia can't have Tomefaire... I think about the question of Odin x Orochi vs Odin x Elise more than I should.

[Sieghart]

The problem is, I'm inclined to marry Odin with Orochi, so Ophelia (my favourite caster, next to Elise) can have Tomefaire for extra nuke potential. Of course, I'm worried about her SPD in that case - the other possibilities for Odin are Nyx and Elise, as far as I'm concerned. Nyx is what I did in my Conquest run, but looking at stat spreads and skillsets, Orochi and Elise would both be superior choices. Problem is, Elise is going to hurt Ophelia's SKL, and as Niles is basically the only other option for Elise... I don't know, I just don't think Elise!Nina is particularly good. It feels like a waste of her phenomenal MAG and SPD. But if I go Odin x Elise, Ophelia can't have Tomefaire... I think about the question of Odin x Orochi vs Odin x Elise more than I should.

Go fo Elise! Ophelia for a little killer machine, dont worry about the low skill and tomefaire you can buy the skill from another castle and since Ophelia have a impressive PS you will always land critical (if you have death blow) and vantage since her optimal classes have low hp

Edited June 15, 2016 by Sieghart

[Water Mage]

The problem is, I'm inclined to marry Odin with Orochi, so Ophelia (my favourite caster, next to Elise) can have Tomefaire for extra nuke potential. Of course, I'm worried about her SPD in that case - the other possibilities for Odin are Nyx and Elise, as far as I'm concerned. Nyx is what I did in my Conquest run, but looking at stat spreads and skillsets, Orochi and Elise would both be superior choices. Problem is, Elise is going to hurt Ophelia's SKL, and as Niles is basically the only other option for Elise... I don't know, I just don't think Elise!Nina is particularly good. It feels like a waste of her phenomenal MAG and SPD. But if I go Odin x Elise, Ophelia can't have Tomefaire... I think about the question of Odin x Orochi vs Odin x Elise more than I should.

Actually, Ophelia can A+ Rhajat, and thus Ophelia can have Tomefaire without having to be Orochi's daughter.

[Raguna]

Yeah, Water Mage pretty much hit the nail to the head. Just A+ Ophelia with Rhajat to get Tomefaire or just buy it from a my castle battle. Orochi isn't entirely necessary and I'm not sure if you included her but I believe Felicia also counts as a mage mom since that's what she's more geared too so the chain doesn't quite end with just the spellcasters.

I recommend Elise X Odin as well, you'll get a magic version of crit Rinkah or Charlotte. Plus, Elise really doesn't really want anyone else as a husband if we're thinking by optimizations. I've also done the pairing myself and have found no real downgrade to her critting ability.

Edited June 15, 2016 by Raguna

[Nihilon]

Holy Hell, I completely forgot about the A+ supports. Thanks for reminding me of that - I'll just have to wait until I get Rhajat (which will take a while). But yes, in my last playthrough, I had Odin x Nyx and Ophelia was already a murder machine there - as far as I'm aware, Elise's MAG and SPD growths are even higher than Nyx's. Her SKL growth is what worries me, but I guess I can use a Secret Book or two.