Do you have a hard time differentiating between what is a good or bad unit, and blatant favoritism?

[DarkDestr0yer61]

i'm not sure how i feel about people using not-ltc as a way of determining who is and isn't a good unit

fair enough.

Rolf is probably the worst unit in FE9

I don't think he is great, but I think that is a bit of a stretch Edited August 9, 2016 by DarkDestr0yer61

[Magical Glace]

Honestly it's hard to consider Rolf the worst when the really late foot soldiers like Bastian and Lucia exist.

Former doesn't get staff utility, latter lacks 2 range without the Sonic Sword.

Edited August 9, 2016 by Glaceon Mage

[DarkDestr0yer61]

Honestly it's hard to consider Rolf the worst when the really late foot soldiers like Bastian and Lucia exist.Former doesn't get staff utility, latter lacks 2 range without the Sonic Sword.

Yeah, that's what I was thinking too. Also, Bastion is slow and won't be getting much speed

[Shadow Mir]

I can actually see that being a common thing if you don't like using Prepromotes like I do, and Beruka actually has some pretty damn good growths besides speed and strength. Hell, Beruka becomes a badass Berserker and out classes Arthur(she's just as tanky and doesn't have terrible luck) and Charlotte(she can take more hits and get more crits due to her high skill) on my playthrough.

Peri would be a good example of a unit that can be good when favoritism that I admit will always try to level up. That Personal Skill and her high Strength and Speed is just too tempting. I even got her a level up on chapter 17 in Revelations. I also like Peri, so there's that.

Erm, given that Berserkers in Fates have an innate crit evade penalty, calling one "tanky" is an oxymoron, if you ask me.

Honestly it's hard to consider Rolf the worst when the really late foot soldiers like Bastian and Lucia exist.

Former doesn't get staff utility, latter lacks 2 range without the Sonic Sword.

The issue with Rolf, as I see it is that he barely tickles most enemies to start, and thus requires really going out of my way to make battlefield worthy. And while he may have a "shining moment" on the boat chapter, I'm not convinced he'd put that unit slot to good enough use there to justify being unable to field a superior unit instead who can actually do stuff on Enemy Phase. And even with all the investment needed to make him useful, he only winds up mediocre at best for all the trouble. On top of all that, Path of Radiance is not a very good game to be bow-locked in.

Edited August 9, 2016 by Levant Mir Celestia

[HF Makalov Fanboy Kai]

i guess Kaze could also use those goddess icons too.

but i really love Arthur.

but Conquest is pretty nice about stat boosters, everyone has one certain stat booster they like more then others.

[Thinks Their Own Way]

I think Hinata is a better unit than people give him credit for (make him a Master of Arms). Although he's one of my favourites in Fates, he sucks as a Swordmaster.

[Drarky]

I am more than aware when my bias reachs, since I tend to analyze my options very deeply.

However, that doesn't stop me from using Wolt, since I'm not looking for the most optimal strategy. I'd rather go with what I like, but being aware that it the game gets difficult, it's my own fault.

[joshcja]

Erm, given that Berserkers in Fates have an innate crit evade penalty, calling one "tanky" is an oxymoron, if you ask me.

Yeah it's terrible, Lances crit for like 6 damage at sub 40 disp hit, swords and axes have like, 10-15 damage, 20% disp crit, 0-10%% hit because loldoublebreakers.

And you only have 70-75 hp to eat those hits with! That means if 3 things crit you you die!!!! Unless sol activates... then it's like 5 things.

Zerker damage is awful too, especially arthur who only hits ch28 takumi for 17-28x4 @ 100% disp hit 20-25% crit and a 40% luna procrate. Hell takumi lives like 20% of the time and can venge crit for 60 damage!

Worst class in fates.

Edited August 10, 2016 by joshcja

[saisymbolic]

I used Rolf excessively during PoR and RD, too. I used Mist, as well. That said, they are forever trapped within the shadows of Shinon and Rhys respectively. Jill, in PoR, took a bit to get going. Marcia, as well but they were always on my final team. Makalov is subpar when recruited but I used the hell out of him. Kyza is absolutely horrid in RD but I continued to use him over all the non-royal laguz. Ena is terrible in RD, too, because she is a Red Dragon with White Dragon growths. I used her, though. Arthur gets crit'd every other turn but I still use him like no one's business. Hinata is a terrible Swordsmaster but I continue to use him in that class.

Overall, I can tell when a unit is good and I can tell when my own bias is clouding my opinion of them.

[Ownagepuffs]

I can distinguish it, but the line is blurred because some units are considered good due to massive assumed favoritism in the first place. There's a difference between inherently overpowered like LaS Palla and units we make overpowered like PoR Marcia.

[secondworld]

I can tell pretty easily, the weird thing is how there isn't much consistency between which mediocre or bad characters I give favoritism to or not. For example, Lucia, Bastion, and Rinkah are characters I like, I never use Lucia and Bastion in PoR but I use Rinkah every Birthright playthrough; and honestly I couldn't tell you why these examples are different.

[DragonFlames]

I know some of the units I enjoy using/like are flat-out terrible or there are better alternatives, so my choice is completely personal bias, since I play the game mostly for fun. And I do have fun when using my favourites over those that can be considered 'better' or if the favourites are considered 'bad'. Neither of these things matter to me and I am aware of that fact, but I don't really intend to change it.

Maybe that's why I can't beat Conquest on Hard...

Some examples, if you want any:

Overall: Cavaliers rarely make it onto my team. Either because they don't fit my playstyle very well or because I don't enjoy their characters very much.

Fe7: I always use both Rebecca and Wil and bench Louise, not because I don't like Louise, but because I like Wil and Rebecca more (and equally), hence why I always make room on my team for them. I also try to level up Nino if I can and I usually end up benching Erk and Pent because of that fact.

Fe8: I tend to use Marisa over Joshua and Tana over the other Pegasus Knights, because I like these two more than the others. Myrrh is also always a staple on my teams.

Fe9: Mia is always my go-to Swordmaster, even though I am aware that Stefan might be the best Swordmaster in the game (join time, level, weapon and Astra skill are nothing to sneeze at). Zihark always gets the short straw, sadly. Soren too, since I like Ilyana more. I also tend to ignore any Cavalier, not because I don't like them character-wise, but because I prioritise using other units instead.

Fe10: I never use Edward or Leonardo and instead Mia and Rolf or Shinon (depending on my mood). I also tend to bench any mounted unit not named Haar early (yes, even Elincia), since I am not that much of a fan of mounted units in Fe10 to begin with (again, with the exception of Haar).

I also tend to train Volug, even though I know that that's unnessecary, since you get Nailah later on. Then there's my stubborn insistence on using Sanaki over any other mage in this game (even though Soren and Ilyana somehow end up on my teams anyways) and that she is always one of my maxed out units by the time I reach the finale.

Fe13: I almost never take any Cavalier-related unit into my main squad. I also like using Sumia more than Cordelia and Miriel and Ricken usually get ignored altogether. Henry and Tharja are better magic users in my opinion.

Fe14: Here come the big ones:

Birthright: I use Hana over Ryoma. Always. I never once regretted it. I also always bench Takumi and use Setsuna and/or Mozu instead. Sky Knights are too weak, so Hinoka also rarely makes it onto my final lineup.

Conquest: I bench Camilla, Leo and Xander in favour of Beruka, Odin/Nyx and Peri. Then there's the fact that i prefer Selena over Laslow, Nyx over Odin, Peri over Silas, Azura almost never sees use on CQ due to my more defensive approach to stuff and then there's Flora, whom I have never used once.

Revelation: Neither of the Royals see any use here, aside from Sakura and Elise. Azura will also get shafted after I get more units.

[Omegaprism]

My bias is so ingrained into my character choices that I'll unconsciously justify them as I progress through the game. I've always had a hard time understanding the, "This unit is the best in the game if you show them massive favoritism, but not any of those other characters over there," stance that some people take. If you have a will to use a unit, and a bunch of stat-boosters and some easy kills lined up, anybody can become a killing machine (almost). Frequent objects of my favoritism are Hana, Zihark, Lon'Qu, FE13!Tiki, Dart, Ilyana, Priscilla, L'arachel, Erk, Nephenee, Heath, Ewan (he makes a great Druid), and Kurthnaga. Most of these guys and gals start out with at least one prominent weakness, but turn out great after some good old favoritism (well, Kurthnaga is kinda 50/50).

[Loki Laufeyson]

Considering i use Fiona in FE10, nah i dont have trouble differentiating my sweet baboo units and the legitimately amazing roflstompers. A huge portion of my faves are not amazing. In FE7, i spoil Bartre rotten and give him kills and speedwings. In FE8, i use Amelia. In FE9 i use Makalov and Tormod. These two arent the worst or anything, but they arent great cuz of the kind of attention they need. FE10 sees me feeding Fiona so much love...and you should see what i do with Soren omg. FE13 sees me getting Maribelle to a combat unit, and Virion to roflstomp Dread Fighter. FE14 sees me favoriting Odin and Peri so much, its kinda ridiculous.

I love me some bad to mediocre guys.

But i know guys like Seth, Camilla, Titania, etc are just too awesome. And i often find myself using them along with my faves. Duessel, Seth, Amelia trifecta of horse-stomp!

[Topaz Light]

I can tell pretty easily, the weird thing is how there isn't much consistency between which mediocre or bad characters I give favoritism to or not. For example, Lucia, Bastion, and Rinkah are characters I like, I never use Lucia and Bastion in PoR but I use Rinkah every Birthright playthrough; and honestly I couldn't tell you why these examples are different.

Maybe I'm wrong but it sounds like the most likely reason in this specific instance is because you get Rinkah very early in the game before you really have a well-established "main party" so she's really easy to work into your team, whereas Lucia and Bastian are each the last member of their respective class lines you get, with three other Myrmidon-line characters becoming available well before Lucia and four other Mage-line characters preceding Bastian.

Of course, that may not actually be the reason; it's just what sticks out to me as a reason I've ended up not using late-game characters I like in the past, so I was thinking it might apply here, too.

I'd rather go with what I like, but being aware that it the game gets difficult, it's my own fault.

This, more or less. Generally-speaking, I tend to use the characters I like over the characters that are good, where the two diverge. It always just feels somehow "cool" to me to have a normally-weak character in my team who has been trained up to be strong, despite the unusual amount of effort required to achieve it. There are also certain characters, like Jagens, who I fully acknowledge are good units, but who I generally don't use much, anyway, just because it's more fun for me and feels like a truer victory to complete the earlier chapters without resorting to bringing in the "panic button" unit. Overall, I guess it's just more fun for me to use units I subjectively like over ones that are technically the best in terms of effort/payout ratio.

[Luchi]

I'm well aware of drawing the line between blatant favouritism and what makes a good unit. Lucia is my favourite character in the entire series ( she's one of the better written characters in Tellius ) and I always use her and tend to save at least 1 seraph robe and an energy drop for her when I use her in FE9 ( I once used it on Zihark and regretted it, since he ended up with 55 HP -_- ). Although I love Bastian's personality ( he's my favourite Sage again ), I never end up using him since I'm pretty meh towards mages in general. Given that Lucia's FE9 growths are ridiculous, I try to cap her STR/SKL/SPD for a data transfer for RD, so she doesn't suffer from Str issues. >< It's a little too much fun to solo the trial maps with her and Elincia.

I tend to avoid using lolMounts in FE9 because PoR is basically Pony Emblem: 2, making an already mediocre game even easier to break.

Same goes for FE10. I've tried using Meg and Fiona, but even with BEXP they were still mediocre.

Edited August 17, 2016 by ssl