Why do Certain Classes generally Appear at Certain Times in most FE Games

[quasimopho13]

For example,

You rarely seen to get a Wyvern Rider in early game unlike a Pegasus Knight. Wyvern Riders tend to come mid to late game.

Is it likely a balance issue?

I feel like having a flying bulky unit in early game would make things a little easy. Though the difficulty could always be balanced accordingly.

Edited September 23, 2016 by quasimopho13

[MCProductions]

Well I mean, Conquest gives you fucking Camilla early game, yet she isn't game breaking. The real reason tho is following FE1's formula.

[Marz]

But if it was to balance the game they wouldn't give you a Jagen,Wyverns generally do tend to come late game to mid game but it never really bothered me.

[Shinehollow]

It's probably just tradition or something like that. Most games kinda do that.

Like ever since Resident Evil 3 there's almost always been a Nemesis-like stalker who is also a boss.

[sirmola]

I suspect it has something to do with the fact that a really tanky unit that can fly has the posibility to trivialize many early game objectives. Often, developers intetionaly limit your avalible options so that they can present you with interesting scenarios that you would otherwise be able to trivialize. Different unit types "play well" with different scenarios, so wyvren riders tend to be late game, because they tend to "play" better with late game situations.

Edited September 23, 2016 by sirmola

[Jotari]

But if it was to balance the game they wouldn't give you a Jagen,Wyverns generally do tend to come late game to mid game but it never really bothered me.

Class changed Arran to Wyvern Knight in FE12 and that worked out pretty well for me.

I think the main reason is to make certain units feel more impressive. Like a freaking dragon has more presence than a winged pony.

Edited September 23, 2016 by Jotari

[Rezzy]

Wyvern Knights also tend to be soldiers of the enemy empire, so it makes sense not to have access to them right away from a story perspective.

[Julius Nepos]

I think part of the reason is balancing and part of the reason is tradition.

Fire Emblem loves its archetypes.

Wyvern Knights also tend to be soldiers of the enemy empire, so it makes sense not to have access to them right away from a story perspective.

You could have a traitor, deserter, retired soldier etc. That could actually make for an interesting character from a story perspective too.

[VincentASM]

But if it was to balance the game they wouldn't give you a Jagen,Wyverns generally do tend to come late game to mid game but it never really bothered me.

Jagens are part of the game balance though. They're generally experience sponges that reduce the growth of your other units if you rely on them too much. They're meant to be sparingly used to support your team early on. Depending on the type of Jagen, you're eventually meant to drop them later on (in the case of the original Jagen and Marcus etc.) or finally use them proper (Titania etc.).

If Jagens weren't there at the beginning, there would be nothing to fall back on during early-game emergencies.

Wyvern Riders are a different matter since they're usually growth units with high mobility and defence. So introducing them early on will make the game too easy since they gain exp at the normal rate and their already high stats increase very quickly.

Edited September 23, 2016 by VincentASM

[Jotari]

I think part of the reason is balancing and part of the reason is tradition.

Fire Emblem loves its archetypes.

You could have a traitor, deserter, retired soldier etc. That could actually make for an interesting character from a story perspective too.

That's been done several times. Minervera, Miledy, Altena, Jill, hell it's practically an archtype unto itself.

[MisterIceTeaPeach]

I guess because they're too op in earlygame.

They work like "Jagens" as wall, only with the difference that they would get serious experience.

In very most FE games you don't fight mages early on (which is actually quite a similar thing to this topic), so dracos would make earlygame too easy.

[ping]

That's been done several times. Minervera, Miledy, Altena, Jill, hell it's practically an archtype unto itself.

They even did it at the very start of FE6, just not with a wyvern rider but with a cleric instead.

In terms of story, Milady joining Team Roy right then wouldn't be much of a strech either, if she had just found Guinivere traveling with Roy. But I think your build-up theory isn't too far of, so we have to make do with a winged pony instead. ;)

[Topaz Light]

Pretty sure it's a pacing thing, both to manipulate the impact certain classes have, and because there are some classes that are a little bit more complex than others.

Take Mercenaries, for example. One of the simplest, most straightforward classes in the series. There's not a whole lot to them; they have balanced stats, no mounts, and they wield Swords. There aren't really any special properties to memorize with Mercenaries.

On the other hand, Wyvern Riders wield either Lances or Axes depending on the game—but either way, a tougher weapon type to use effectively in Early-Game Axeland, a trend which itself ties into this topic, come to think of it—they're airborne, which means both that normal terrain rules don't apply to them (to a point) and that they're weak to Bows and Wind magic; they're also Dragon units, which means they've got another set of stuff they're weak to, and they have very low Resistance which makes them even more vulnerable to Magic-based attacks than usual. Compared to the much-simpler Mercenary, that's a lot for a starting player to take in when they're probably still in the process of getting the hang of the basic game mechanics.

Remember, it may be hard to see it this way as series veterans, but each Fire Emblem game also has to be designed with accommodation for the fact that it could very possibly be somebody's first Fire Emblem. That's probably the biggest reason why certain classes take a while to start coming into your party. Also, getting your first Wyvern Rider or Shaman feels cooler if it comes later in the game; kinda like a sort of milestone, as opposed to getting another Cavalier around that same time (compare getting Canas to getting Noah and Treck). Although, I guess you could just as easily flip that along with the class distribution.

Y'know, I kinda wonder what a Fire Emblem game with vastly-different class distribution would look like... For example, Cavaliers are often considered a really good class, so by that logic, it would make sense to be very stingy in giving them to the player, but they're one of the most common classes in the series. What would it be like for them, for example, to be a rare, mid-game class, I wonder?

[Rezzy]

Pretty sure it's a pacing thing, both to manipulate the impact certain classes have, and because there are some classes that are a little bit more complex than others.

Take Mercenaries, for example. One of the simplest, most straightforward classes in the series. There's not a whole lot to them; they have balanced stats, no mounts, and they wield Swords. There aren't really any special properties to memorize with Mercenaries.

On the other hand, Wyvern Riders wield either Lances or Axes depending on the game—but either way, a tougher weapon type to use effectively in Early-Game Axeland, a trend which itself ties into this topic, come to think of it—they're airborne, which means both that normal terrain rules don't apply to them (to a point) and that they're weak to Bows and Wind magic; they're also Dragon units, which means they've got another set of stuff they're weak to, and they have very low Resistance which makes them even more vulnerable to Magic-based attacks than usual. Compared to the much-simpler Mercenary, that's a lot for a starting player to take in when they're probably still in the process of getting the hang of the basic game mechanics.

Remember, it may be hard to see it this way as series veterans, but each Fire Emblem game also has to be designed with accommodation for the fact that it could very possibly be somebody's first Fire Emblem. That's probably the biggest reason why certain classes take a while to start coming into your party. Also, getting your first Wyvern Rider or Shaman feels cooler if it comes later in the game; kinda like a sort of milestone, as opposed to getting another Cavalier around that same time (compare getting Canas to getting Noah and Treck). Although, I guess you could just as easily flip that along with the class distribution.

Y'know, I kinda wonder what a Fire Emblem game with vastly-different class distribution would look like... For example, Cavaliers are often considered a really good class, so by that logic, it would make sense to be very stingy in giving them to the player, but they're one of the most common classes in the series. What would it be like for them, for example, to be a rare, mid-game class, I wonder?

Fates kinda went against the typical unit disbursement. If you consider the game to start at chapter 7. You get Beruka and Camilla pretty darn early in Conquest and not that much later in Revelations. Cavaliers are also a bit rarer, particularly in Birthright and in Rev, you don't get one until you get Silas.

Radiant Dawn also gives you Jill pretty early, and Haar has decent availability as well.

Edited September 24, 2016 by Rezzy