Rate the Unit, Day 92: Brave Ephraim & Brave Veronica

[Silverly]

After abstaining from voting on the healers, I’ll resume with two characters I’m very familiar with.

Tiki: Unlike her older specialized counterpart, this Tiki is more generalized. She’s weaker but faster and more defensively balanced. As a dragon she can certainly hold her own, as she won’t be it too hard by most attacks barring Falchions. Her offense is a little disappointing, though if you upgrade a breath it makes it much easier to deal with ranged units, and drop a steady or warding breath up to speed up the cooldown of specials which will definitely leave a mark. Overall, while a bit difficult to build, she’s nonetheless a great option for a team. 8.5/10

Lilina: Hector’s little daughter is quite versatile. She can primarily run either a bladetome or her signature tome Forblaze. The former works great and is capable of doing great damage, though she relies heavily on buffs. Meanwhile, Forblaze gives a chill res effect, which is sometimes unhelpful when there’s an outlier in the resistance department, but can seal the deal should everyone have poor magical bulk. The refine works wonders to increase Lilina’s attack to ludicrous numbers, especially if stacked with another death blow. She’s not without her drawbacks. While Lilina hits like a freight train and boasts good res, her base speed is appalling at 25, meaning she’ll double next to no one. She could run Desperation with a brash assault seal but that requires a bit of set up which makes its reliability shaky. Her squishy defense can also get her trouble should she fail to one round a unit with DC. Lilina still makes for a great mage should you need one, and she’s one of the better red mages overall. 8/10

[Shiki]

Tiki: 8.25
Lilina: 8.0

 

Florina, Lovely Flier

Spoiler

Max. Stats:
39/42/45
25/29/32
24/27/31
22/25/29
31/34/37

Base Skills:

Heavy Spear+
Ardent Sacrifice
( - )

Darting Blow
( - )
Breath of Life

Robin, High Deliverer

Spoiler

Max. Stats:
36/40/43
25/29/32
25/29/32
25/29/32
19/22/25

Base Skills:

Blárraven+
( - )
Bonfire

Defiant Spd
( - )
Spur Def

 

Edited May 18, 2018 by The Priest

[Zapp Branniglenn]

9 minutes ago, The Priest said:

Sully, Crimson Knight

  Reveal hidden contents

Max. Stats:
39/42/45
23/26/30
31/34/37
21/24/27
24/28/31

Base Skills:

Sapphire Lance+
Draw Back
( - )

Swordbreaker
Spur Def

 

Shouldn't Robin be next?

[Shiki]

2 minutes ago, Glennstavos said:

Shouldn't Robin be next?

You have seen nothing.

[Silverly]

Oh boy, this should be fun.

Florina: Man is she god awful. Quite an embarrassment to her FE7 incarnation where most consider her to be one of the most useful characters in the game. Hell, even her art isn't very good, though that's more subjection. All of her base stats are under 30 except resistance and for some reason HP. He can rarely double, let alone hit hard, while any physical hit will send her into the wild blue yonder. At least she can use ploys?? Too bad she hardly makes use out of them. She's pretty much the Jagen of fliers, and I'd argue even Jagen surpasses her since at least he has easier access to hones and more importantly useful 3 tile movement. I doubt even a personal weapon can salvage this lovely flier. She's just that bad. 1.5/10

Robin: Robin's stats are pretty meh, with an emphasis on the defensive side. Raven tomes are pretty much what sets him apart and he can have a niche as a bowkiller. This isn't always reliable as some archers use Firesweep alongside CA, though it isn't always a guarantee. As blue mages are abundant and competitive for a slot, Robin is at the lower end of the spectrum. His niche is handy but not always reliable. All in all, he's aggressively mediocre, but not unusable.  5/10

[Zapp Branniglenn]

I notice we've been on a streak of good units and bad units on alternating days. Tomorrow is Hector and Raven, after that is Gaius and Virion. I dunno yet if those two fall under average for me, but the trend will at least continue for tomorrow.

Florina - Possessing Jagen's stat spread with a flier's BST. I suppose that awards at least a half point. 1.5 out of 10. Florina is the slowest of blue fliers by a whole three points. You can take a superboon in speed, but it doesn't help her. And her attack stat only beats Subaki and Clair. Florina is pretty definitively the worst pegasus knight in the game. She has the highest magic bulk of the blue fliers but you can get so much more out of this slot.

M!Robin - There are considerably more blue tomes than other colors in the game, and Robin only beats out Odin. And for this rating system of assuming max merge levels I guess he beats Oliver and Ursula as well. Nice work, kid. Robin's speed is only higher than that of Reinhardt and Micaiah. His attack only higher than Odin and Olwen. And all of his banes are superbanes except for Res which is quite annoying. The TA Raven build is really his best bet. He would have been debatably the best Blarowl user until LA!Lyn showed up. A superbane in speed for this role is acceptable. 3.5 out of 10. Not unviable, but definitely struggling to compete among so many other great blue mages.

Past ratings

Spoiler

1. Aflonse - 3
2. Marth - 7
3. Sharena - 3
4. Jagen - 1
5. Anna - 4.5
6. Barst - 3
7. Cain - 4
8. Draug - 7.5
9. Gordin - 5
10. Jeorge - 5.5
11. Abel - 5.5
12. Linde - 9
13. Minerva - Abstain
14. Merric - 3.5
15. Maria - 6
16. Wrys - 3.5
17. Ceada - Abstain
18. Ogma - 4
19. Catria - 4
20. Est - 6
21. Sheena - 6.5
22. Cecilia - 4
23. Clarine - 6.5
24. Matthew - 4
25. Palla - 2.5
26. Roy -7
27. Gwendolyn - 7.5
28. Shanna - 4.5
29. Bartre - 7
30. Fae - 7.5
31. Serra - 4
32. Lissa - 2
33. Tiki - 8
34. Lilina - 7
35. Florina - 1.5
36. M!Robin - 3.5

Ratings I would change in retrospect: Gordin would drop by at least two points. Don't know what I was thinking with him.

 

Edited May 18, 2018 by Glennstavos

[Alexmender]

Florina, oh poor Florina. In FE7 she was a speedster with awful con but excellent Spd/Res and if RNGesus allowed it good Atk, her Spd was so good that it diminished the Con penalties she always had. How did this translate in FEH? A weak and slow unit with a ton of Hp and Res. I'll keep it short, Florina is terrible and the only reason you would use her is if she's your waifu or something. She has the Res to Ploy people but Est does this while also having an actual Atk stat. She's outclassed by every blue flier and while she can do some shenanigans with Berkut's Lance she loses to even red swords. 

Rating: 2.5/10 (At least she has more BST than Jagen). 

M!Robin. He who used to be one of the better mages in the game is now in the bottom row of the pack. Robin's stat spread is mediocre with the exception of his Def that is above average for a blue mage. He made good use of his native Raven tome and Bowbreaker to fight Brave Bow archers but with the advent of Firesweep Bow+CA/PS his niche has become significantly less useful, it doesn't help that Reinhardt has better defenses to perform Robin's role. He is outclassed everywhere else so there's not a lot going for him these days.

Rating: 3/10

[XRay]

Here is how my criteria are rated:

Spoiler

Mobility:
Armor units are 0/10. Infantry units are 5/10. Cavalry units are 8/10. Flying units are 9/10. Units with unique mobility skills will bump up their score.
Range:
Melee units are 0/10. Distant Counter Weapon melee units are 5/10. Ranged units are 10/10.
Player Phase Raw Performance:
This is based on the W:L:I ratio. Enemies will have a set up of +5, +Spd, Moonbow, and Fury. The unit will be +0, may not use Breakers, and will not have Chills or Ploys activate. Units may have access to buffs (usually, +4 to any two stats for infantry and armors, and 6/6/0/0 or 0/0/6/6 for cavalry and fliers). I would also list the build used to achieve that ratio. I think the following formula is pretty reasonable:
(W%) - (L%*0.25) = Raw Performance
Player Phase Weighted Performance:
Since most units can get a raw performance score of at least 5, setting 5 as 0 for the weighted performance makes more sense in judging how good a unit is.
(Raw Performance - 5) * 2 = Weighted Performance
Player Phase Independence:
This just means how reliant the unit is on buffs. If I take off the buffs and the unit still performs pretty well, they will get a good score. The formula is that same as the raw performance:
(W%) - (L%*0.25) = Independence
Enemy Phase Raw Performance:
See Above.
Enemy Phase Weighted Performance:
See Above.
Enemy Phase Independence:
See Above.
Ease of Use:
This is an average of the mobility and range scores.
Performance:
This consolidates the weighted performance and independence scores into one score, and uses the higher of Player Phase or Enemy Phase. This also means that the build used in weighted performance may not necessarily be their best build, since there may be an alternative build with a slightly worse performance but have much higher independence.
(Weighted Performance * 0.8) + (Independence * 0.2) = Performance
Support:
Most units by default will be 0/10. Units with 30+ Res start from 1/10. Dagger units start from 1/10. Healers start from 2/10. Buffers start from 3/10. Fliers start from 4/10. Dancers/Singers start from 5/10. Other unique support skills may further boost their score.
Other:
If the unit has some unique application or fun build, it will be noted here. For example, since Raven mages have a performance penalty, they will get some extra points here for being relevant and viable in certain team compositions.

Familiarity/Experience:
This just means how familiar I am with this particular unit or type of unit in Arena. If it is a low number, that means you should take the following rating number with a grain of salt since I do not have much experience with this particular unit and/or type of unit.
Rating:
The rating is how good I think a unit is. Here is how I weigh each criterion:
Ease of Use 4/10
Performance: 5/10
Support: 1/10
Other: If the unit got some unique application or fun build, they will get a boost to their rating.

Notes:
1. A unit's build in raw performance will not take into account a unit's support build, Raven build, or any other builds. Likewise, a unit's ease of use, support, and other criteria will not take into account the unit's raw performance build.
2. Since healers' Firesweep build [+Atk, Pain [Dazzling Staff], Attack +3, Wrathful Staff, Attack +3] requires the user to do two rounds of combat to measure how good it is, that overwhelmingly skews the combat results for healers, so I decided to tone down their performance by using Brazen Atk/Spd-Desperation and taking away 10 HP or 25% of max HP, which ever is greater.
3. The build used in raw/weighted performance may not be the best build. If there is an alternative build with a slightly less performance but much higher independence, that build will be used instead.
4. Axe and dagger versions of Wo Dao are not available in the regular summoning pool yet, but I think they will be added in the future, so I am using Giant Spoon and Lethal Carrot.

Disclosures:
I have a strong bias for non-armor Player Phase ranged units. My experience with melee and armor units in Arena is pretty minimal, so my rating for them is mostly based on theory. My Arena core consists of BH!Lyn, Reinhardt, and Olivia. I am usually in Tier 20, but I may drop to Tier 19 if I do not fish for points.

Other:

Spoiler

Template

— — — — — — — ◆Red◆ — — — — — — —
— — — — — — — ◾Blue◾ — — — — — — —
— — — — — — — ⬟Green⬟ — — — — — — —
— — — — — — — ●Colorless● — — — — — — —

Mobility: /10
Range: /10
Player Phase Performance: /10 — #:#:#
Player Phase Weighted Performance: /10
Player Phase Independence: /10 — #:#:#
[+Boon, -Bane, Weapon, Special, A, B, Sacred Seal, #/#/#/#]
Enemy Phase Performance: /10 — #:#:#
Enemy Phase Weighted Performance: /10
Enemy Phase Independence: /10 — #:#:#
[+Boon, -Bane, Weapon, Special, A, B, Sacred Seal, #/#/#/#]

Ease of Use: /10
Performance: /10
Support: /10
Other: /10

Familiarity/Experience: /10
Rating: /10

Summary:

_______ got bad/okay/good/stellar combat performance.

She/He can run Ploys to support the team.

She/He can support their team with daggers/Light Breath and Dark Breath

She/He is a great mobility support unit as a flier.

She/He can also run Firesweep-Hit and Run as a flier unit.

She/He can run a Firesweep-Poison Strike-Poison Strike.

She/He can run Wrathful Staff-Dazzling Staff to emulate Firesweep archers.

She/He can run a Raven set pretty well.

 

— — — — — — — ◾Florina◾ — — — — — — —

Mobility: 9/10
Range: 0/10
Player Phase Performance: 6.77/10 — 181:50:18
Player Phase Weighted Performance: 3.53/10
Player Phase Independence: 4.73/10 — 134:65:50
[+Atk, -Spd, Brave Lance, Moonbow, Death Blow, Guard, Quickened Pulse, 6/6/0/0]
Enemy Phase Performance: 5.23/10 — 149:75:25
Enemy Phase Weighted Performance: 0.46/10
Enemy Phase Independence: 4.22/10 — 126:84:39
[+Def, -Spd, Harmonic Lance [Def], Moonbow, Distant Counter, Quick Riposte, Iote's Shield, 4/0/0/4]

Ease of Use: 4.5/10
Performance: 3.77/10
Support: 5/10
Other: 10/10

Familiarity/Experience: 0/10
Rating: 5/10

Summary:

Florina got okay combat performance. She is a great mobility support unit as a flier and can also support her team by debuffing enemies with Ploys. She can also run Firesweep-Hit and Run very well as a flier.

— — — — — — — ◾M!Robin◾ — — — — — — —

Mobility: 5/10
Range: 5/10
Player Phase Performance: 4.12/10 — 108:22:119
Player Phase Weighted Performance: 0/10
Player Phase Independence: 0/10 — 22:32:195
[+Spd, -Def, Blárblade, Moonbow, Life and Death, Desperation, Speed +3, 4/4/0/0]
Enemy Phase Performance: 5.43/10 — 142:27:80
Enemy Phase Weighted Performance: 0.86/10
Enemy Phase Independence: 2.78/10 — 88:75:86
[+Spd, -Res, Blárowl [Spd][1 Ally], Moonbow, Close Counter, Quick Riposte, Speed +3, 4/4/0/0]

Ease of Use: 5/10
Performance: 1.93/10
Support: 0/10
Other: 5/10

Familiarity/Experience: 3/10
Rating: 3.5/10

Summary:

M!Robin got bad combat performance. He can run a Raven set pretty well though.

Edited May 19, 2018 by XRay

[LordFrigid]

Florina

• Magically bulky stat line with high Res and HP (for her class), and low Atk, Spd, and Def.
  • Poor offense matchups due to her low Atk and Spd.
  • Strong defensive matchups against mages and dragons with Berkut’s Lance+ (Res)+Quick Riposte when Fortify Fliers is active, though she is dependent on getting doubled for an Iceberg activation. She has trouble with physical enemies, however.
• As a flier, she can run a flier field or combat buff in her C passive slot. She also has the Res stat to capably run ploys.

Overall, I give her 6 for combat (decent matchups on defense, specializing against mages and dragons), and 1.5 for support (flier field/combat buffs, ploys), for a total rating of 6/10.

Robin

• Balanced, mediocre stat line with decent Def and HP (for a mage), ok Res, and low Atk and Spd.
  • Poor offense matchups due to his low Atk and Spd. He can run a buff-dependent Blárblade+ set to land OHKOs on reds, but that's about it.
  • Capable of running a Blárowl+/Close Counter/Guard/QR (seal) set on defense for solid red matchups and decent blue matchups on the enemy phase, 
• Cannot provide much support beyond the standard C passive field or combat buff.

Overall, I give him a 7 for combat (good red, decent blue matchups on defense), and .5 for support (basic field/combat buff), for a total rating of 6.5/10.

~

Scoring method:

Spoiler

Units are evaluated based on both their combat performance and their team support capabilities (i.e. their whole contribution to a team).

• Combat performance is judged by matchups, especially against enemies that are at triangle disadvantage or neutral to the unit. Performance against more relevant meta threats is more valuable than performance against units that are rarely seen. Scale of 0 to 10.
  • Sustainability and filling a useful niche are given small bonuses, when applicable.
  • I will look at least one PP-focused and one EP-focused skill set for each unit, but only evaluate based on performance for whichever phase I deem the unit to be stronger on.
• Support capabilities are decided by how much support a unit can provide (without horribly compromising their combat capabilities), and how valuable I feel that support is. Scale of 0 to 3.
• At the end, the combat and support scores will be weighted (with a heavy focus on combat performance), combined, and rounded to the nearest .5 to obtain the total rating. Dancers and Singers will get +1 point to their total rating (not to exceed 10), because I value Dance/Sing utility highly.

This method of evaluation essentially compares each unit to a hypothetical "god unit" who is stellar at everything, instead of each unit to each other.

All my ratings.

[Troykv]

I'm wondering which kind of abilities in a special weapon would make Florina actually decent.

[Korath88]

Spoiler

10: Extremely strong, shapes the meta around themselves. Requires using niche units to counter. Very few units will fall into this tier.

9: Not quite meta defining but still very strong units with great combat performance against common arena threats and no glaring flaws.

8: Solid units that provide good coverage against their own colour and the one they are strong against, but can be countered by some units of the colour they are weak against.

7: Units that provide a unique form of utility be it buffs, debuffs or being anti meta while also being a decent combatant that can hold their own in a fight.

6: Units that provide similar utility as a tier 7, but are outclassed in combat and will require support or heavy investment to contribute outside of their niche role.

5: Middling units that are outclassed but can still perform decently with investment. Not excellent but not horrible either. Can sometimes serve a niche role.

4: Borderline units that serve as a poor man's version of another unit (basically completely outclassed). Can achieve similar performance as a tier 5 but requires significantly more investment.

3: Units that have poor performance against their own colour and are countered by pretty much anyone with triangle advantage. Can only really achieve anything against units they have an advantage over.

2: Units who often fail to kill even enemies they have triangle advantage over even with investment. Generally not worth using.

1: Bottom of the barrel units that not only perform poorly but are a handicap to the player's team. No amount of investment can save them.

Well, these units definitely won't be scoring as well as the last 2.

Florina

Honestly, her stats just make me question what IS was thinking. Not only is it inaccurate to her original incarnation but it's just outright bad. Both Atk and Spd are below 30, and her only good stats are Res and HP(lol). She can tank mages but that's about it, and honestly there are way better candidates for DC and Berkut's lance, to which I would honestly consider such high investment for mediocre performance to be a complete waste of resources. By far the worst lance flier and probably one of the worst units in the game. She deserved better tbh. 2/10

Robin (M)

He was pretty popular back when archers were meta, but that was probably because he was cheap to build. 29 Atk and Spd is pathetic when compared to other blue mages, putting offensive builds out of the question and his physical bulk isn't quite high enough for close counter builds, which LA!Lyn runs better due to ward stacking. And he has 4 superbanes to top it off, making Res his only non crippling bane. And now that archers have mostly gone out of fashion, his original niche is not as relevant anymore, leaving him as nothing more than a mediocre blue mage. 4/10 (at least, unlike Florina, his fans can still have his much stronger alts to use)

Edited May 19, 2018 by Korath88

[Dark Holy Elf]

Oh, neat idea. I might play catchup on this if I have more time.

Also I have to give a shoutout that I love what @XRay is doing here.

Anyway,

Florina: 3/10. She flies and that's good, but I have almost nothing else good to say about her. Res is a shoddy stat on a melee character unless you give them Distant Counter, HP's a weakish stat point-for-point as well, and guess what Florina invests in? As others have said, insulting to her FE7 form, etc. There's only so low I can rate a flier since their mobility/utility is really cool but I'm pretty sure Florina is at that point.

Robin-M: 4/10. Best thing I can say about him is that he comes with a great tome. Otherwise, like Florina, he invests stat points in the least useful stat for his class... in his case, Def. (Don't give me the line about Def helping raven builds. TA Raven barely takes damage from archers/daggers whatever your Def, Atk is far more important.) His other stats aren't so wretched you can't get milage out of him if you really like him, but he's not great.

[Fire Emblem Fan]

Florina: Florina is very disappointing. After being one of the best units in FE7, I was hoping that'd carry over to Heroes. It did not. She has good HP and resistance, but her attack and speed are pitiful! If there's ever a character that desperately needs a refinement, it's her. 4/10

Robin (M): Like Florina, he's just not great. Aside from bulky defense and a good tome that others make better use of, he has nothing going for him. 4/10

[Troykv]

56 minutes ago, Fire Emblem Fan said:

Florina: Florina is very disappointing. After being one of the best units in FE7, I was hoping that'd carry over to Heroes. It did not. She has good HP and resistance, but her attack and speed are pitiful! If there's ever a character that desperately needs a refinement, it's her. 4/10

Robin (M): Like Florina, he's just not great. Aside from bulky defense and a good tome that others make better use of, he has nothing going for him. 4/10

What kind of stuff would save Florina?

[LordFrigid]

Florina: 3.19, Robin: 4.19

Day 19

Hector (General of Ostia)

Spoiler

Max. Stats:
49/52/55
33/36/39
21/24/28
34/37/40
16/19/22

Base Skills:
Armads
( - )
Pavise

Distant Counter
( - )
Goad Armor

Raven (Peerless Fighter)

Spoiler

Max. Stats:
37/41/44
31/34/37
32/35/38
22/25/29
19/22/25

Base Skills:
Basilikos
( - )
Sol

Defiant Spd 3
( - )
Threaten Def 3

~

Guess I'll just edit mine into here.

Hector

• Physically powerful and bulky stat line featuring high HP, Atk, and Def, with poor Spd and Res.
  • Access to Armads allows him to run an omni-breaker set with Wary Fighter and 2x Quick Riposte. It also enables him to run a mixed phase set using Bold Fighter without consuming his seal slot.
  • Access to Berserk Armads grants him access to an incredibly powerful Bonfire/Wrath OHKO set, with Bonfire auto-charging at the beginning of each turn and dealing an additional +20 damage on activation (+38-40 damage with neutral Def and no buffs, depending on merge level).
  • Once set up, Berserk Armads+Wrath-boosted Bonfire OHKOs have overwhelmingly strong coverage over blue and green foes, even covering a good chunk of heavily Def-stacked enemies and some prominent Reds (ex. Ayra). Unaffected by Guard. Sustainable by virtue of the fact that Bonfire auto-charges at the start of every turn and matchups are dependent on OHKOing.
  • Strong blue, and decent green matchups with an Armads-based pure enemy phase set (Vengeful Fighter or Wary Fighter/2x QR), or mixed phase set (Bold Fighter).
• As an armored unit, he can provide an armor field or combat buff in his C passive slot.

Overall, I give him 10 for combat (overwhelmingly strong OHKO coverage over blue and green foes on offense; small sustainability bonus), and 1 for support (armor field/combat buffs), for a total rating of 9.5/10.

Raven

• Offense-focused stat line with good Atk and Spd, and low Def and Res.
  • Basilikos (accelerates special trigger), with the effect refinement (built-in Life and Death) is a very powerful offensive tool, allowing him to reach monstrous Atk and Spd levels once his A Passive is factored in.
  • He has great blue and good green matchups on offense with a Life and Death-stacking set with Desperation. He has trouble with enemy greens that have high physical bulk, and those that stack enough Spd (or carry a follow-up inhibiting effect like Great Flame) to avoid getting doubled. Sustainability through Desperation.
  • Capable of running a DC enemy phase set, but is hindered by his low defenses.
• Cannot provide much support beyond the standard C passive field or combat buff.

Overall, I give him 8.5 for combat (very strong blue, good green matchups on offense, small sustainability bonus), and .5 for support (standard field/combat buff), for a total rating of 8/10.

~

Scoring method:

Spoiler

Units are evaluated based on both their combat performance and their team support capabilities (i.e. their whole contribution to a team).

• Combat performance is judged by matchups, especially against enemies that are at triangle disadvantage or neutral to the unit. Performance against more relevant meta threats is more valuable than performance against units that are rarely seen. Scale of 0 to 10.
  • Sustainability and filling a useful niche are given small bonuses, when applicable.
  • I will look at least one PP-focused and one EP-focused skill set for each unit, but only evaluate based on performance for whichever phase I deem the unit to be stronger on.
• Support capabilities are decided by how much support a unit can provide (without horribly compromising their combat capabilities), and how valuable I feel that support is. Scale of 0 to 3.
• At the end, the combat and support scores will be weighted (with a heavy focus on combat performance), combined, and rounded to the nearest .5 to obtain the total rating. Dancers and Singers will get +1 point to their total rating (not to exceed 10), because I value Dance/Sing utility highly.

This method of evaluation essentially compares each unit to a hypothetical "god unit" who is stellar at everything, instead of each unit to each other.

All my ratings.

Edited May 19, 2018 by LordFrigid

[Fire Emblem Fan]

3 hours ago, Troykv said:

What kind of stuff would save Florina?

A better weapon with high might that also boosts her attack and/or speed.

I'll have to abstain from Hector, to my great shame I have yet to summon him. 

Raven: He's one of the best axe infantry characters, hands down! Honestly I think Dorcas is one of the only ones above him. Raven has great attack and speed and can run several builds very well. Any blue unit and many greens need to beware of Raven! 8.5/10

[Zapp Branniglenn]

Hector - the Omnibreaker set is all Hector has over Better!Hector who has the superior stats in every meaningful regard, but it's a pretty cool niche that I'm sure Better!Hector wishes he could play with. Hector is also packing the least magical bulk of axe armors. Amelia has about the same, but her 34 speed is high enough that she'll avoid doubles from at least the manaketes and some mages. It's tough being one of just two units in your class that don't have an inflated BST. Hector gets an 8 out of 10 from me, which is about an "average" rating for any mergeable armor unit.

Raven - Being able to combine Life and Death and Fury is pretty incredible. Raven is unchallenged in offensive potential by the other axe users, infantry or otherwise. Get him hurt and he'll sweep with desperation. He can't one round everything in the game, particularly the bulkier, redder armor units, but he's among the top tier divine dew considerations in my book. 8.5 out of 10. He'll get his revenge on Ostia one of these days.

Past Ratings

Spoiler

1. Aflonse - 3
2. Marth - 7
3. Sharena - 3
4. Jagen - 1
5. Anna - 4.5
6. Barst - 3
7. Cain - 4
8. Draug - 7.5
9. Gordin - 5
10. Jeorge - 5.5
11. Abel - 5.5
12. Linde - 9
13. Minerva - Abstain
14. Merric - 3.5
15. Maria - 6
16. Wrys - 3.5
17. Ceada - Abstain
18. Ogma - 4
19. Catria - 4
20. Est - 6
21. Sheena - 6.5
22. Cecilia - 4
23. Clarine - 6.5
24. Matthew - 4
25. Palla - 2.5
26. Roy -7
27. Gwendolyn - 7.5
28. Shanna - 4.5
29. Bartre - 7
30. Fae - 7.5
31. Serra - 4
32. Lissa - 2
33. Tiki - 8
34. Lilina - 7
35. Florina - 1.5
36. M!Robin - 3.5

Ratings I would change in retrospect: Gordin would drop by at least two points. Don't know what I was thinking with him. I also feel I overrated Linde.

 

Edited May 19, 2018 by Glennstavos

[Silverly]

Hector: One of the premier units to still remain relevant since the start of the game, and for good reason. His bulk and attack are fantastic, with his speed and resistance being low to no one's surprise. His versatility is amazing, as he can opt for his standard Armads and equip Vantage, Wary Fighter (with QR3), even Bold Fighter, or he can upgrade to the more offensive Berserk Armads which allows him to run a variety specials with Bold Fighter. Yes, he sucks against mages and he's slow, plus the gap has been narrowed for the axe armor position with Amelia, Lissa, Chrom, and even himself in a pair of poofy pants. He's still damn good though, and he remains a relevant user today. 9/10

Raven: Last year, Raven was good, if not especially unique. He's one one of the few axe units to have solid attack and speed, with his physical bulk being so so and his magical side being poor. This lead to some of his earlier builds being either using a Brave Axe (his initial signature weapon) or a Slaying Edge. Down the line he eventually got his hands on a personal weapon being Basilikos. Despite the slight randomness of the selection, it did a multitude of favors for him. Not only does the weapon grant him a reduced special cooldown, but with a refine he can have Life and Death built into his weapon which makes him a deadly glass cannon. He'll hit hard and be a nightmare for most units to deal with, and even with his defenses being espeically low, he can likely survive at least one hit due to his speed being so high. That being said, he can't take much punishment defensively, as his once passable physical side will be mediocre, and don't even think about putting him near a mage. Raven is a great unit nonetheless, and one I suggest people should use if they are in search for a offensive axe user. 8.5/10

[Dark Holy Elf]

Hector: 7/10. I think armour knights are extremely overrated in general; choosing your matchups via range is king in this game. That soid, Hector is one of the better ones for sure. I'm inclined to give him some credit for coming with Distant Counter, and innate Quick Riposte is great too.

Raven: 7/10. Infantry with a decent stat-line. I don't have much to say about him. He's above average, probably, but it's tough for infantry melee to stand out unless they have a strong niche. I have a 5* one with a neutral affinity and I can't even remember the last time I used him.

Edited May 20, 2018 by Dark Holy Elf

[Alexmender]

Hector. The one unit from release that has been able to withstand all the might new units bring. While slightly worse than his LA variant, OG!Hector can hold his own and be an absurd unit if used right. He has a lot of flexibility in his builds, he can use the Omnibreaker set, Bold Fighter, Vengeful Fighter, Berserk Armads, etc, etc, and he will have no problems causing a havoc with all those builds. His main problem is his low Res that doesn't let him fight that well against dragons although thanks to his high Hp and oddly passable Spd he's able to survive one round against them. All in all Hector is still one of the best units in the game and despite his age he's still able to parry with the new hotshots.

Rating: 9/10

Raven. He holds the title of strongest Player Phase infantry axe in the game. Before he was relatively mediocre because his stat line begged for a Firesweep Axe, but the weapon refinery allowed him to embrace his glass cannon nature and bring it up to 11. Basilikos gives him -1 CD which lets him use powerful specials like Luna and Draconic Aura without too much trouble and the LnD refinement bolsters Raven Atk and Spd to monstrous levels. His main downsides is that he is extremely squishy so trying to tank more than 1 hit (even from blue units) is not possible. Still, thanks to his new weapon and his min-maxed spread Raven is able to bring tons of destruction if used correctly.

Rating: 8.5/10

[Nicolu-Chan]

Hector: He is one of the little units to keep being a force to be reckoned since launch. He has strong Defense, HP and Strength and low Speed, with a salvageable Resistance. He have a variety of extremely strong builds, with Wary Fighter and Quick Riposte he avoids doubles whilst making them himself. With Vantage in the B slot and Atk. +3 or DD 3 in the S slot he can oneshot a lot of units whilst keeping himself alive. With the Berserk Armads he becomes a very reliable unit with Aether and Wrath. Or he can use the same but with Bold Fighter, or making himself relevant in enemy phase with Vengeful Fighter and Sol. His weaknesses, while having little, really impact on him on a negative way. With such a low speed he needs Wary Fighter for keeping safe from doubles, and the combination of low resistance and movement makes him an easy prey for mages, and even some Archers with Firesweep or Brave Bow.

9/10

Raven: Probably the strongest Axe unit in the game, and one of the best Galeforce users. Having an excellent combination of Attack and Speed allows him to destroy anything without excellent Defense or that isn't Red. Before his Prf. weapon came out he was considered a decent Brave Axe user and a good user of a Slaying Axe, but that changed when the Basilikos came in. The Basilikos is a Slaying Axe with 2+ of Might, but it real strength comes from its refinement, L&D 3 makes him the perfect glass cannon, but that's not all, he can combine that with Desperation and the Heavy Blade seal for reliable Galeforce's procs. His election for the A slot is flexible, with Fury being the premium option, closely followed by L&D. With the first you give him a bonus to his offenses while partially fixing his defenses (And with the recoil helping Desperation to activate), and L&D making him a real glass cannon. However, he has paper-thin defenses, with his good HP helping him to not to get an OHKO.

8.5/10

Edited May 19, 2018 by Nicolu-Chan

[eclipse]

Hector - He has options.  Oh BOY does he have options!  Innate Distant Counter means he can safely bait most physical ranged units, and some magic ones to boot.  Innate QR on his default weapon means that he doubles.  And thank GOODNESS Wings of Mercy was changed to Goad Armors, because that would've made him even more of a nightmare.  If he's -Spd, he can run his Valentine's incarnation of Berserk Armads and Wary Fighter.  But he does really well regardless, and this is from someone whose only Hector is +Spd/-Atk.  His only downsides, if you will, is that he's pretty easy to kite around, and that his A slot is mostly non-negotiable (as opposed to someone who's weapon has DC).  9.5/10

Raven - He can either attempt to smack things with a Brave Axe, or become the biggest glass cannon with Basilikos.  +10 to offensive stats is great, and he can run Desperation to safely double just about everything, or a -breaker to get around things with Wary Fighter.  He's in danger of dying to a stiff breeze, though.  8.5/10

[Korath88]

Oh hey, more units I use quite often.

Hector

One of the few launch units that still remains a force to be reckoned with, despite multiple axe armors introduced afterwards. QR on his weapon allows for an omnibreaker build that is unique to him, and berserk armads allows him to act as a slightly worse version of his LA incarnation, who is the best axe armor in the game. Armor march solves the movement problem while bold fighter lets him become a monster on player phase as well, which is especially deadly with berserk armads. His statline is optimised for his role with high physical bulk and Atk with low Spd, and while not as min maxed as more recent armors, his unique weapon puts him above them in combat performance. 9/10

Raven

The definition of a glass cannon with L&D built into his new weapon, on top of a killer effect. While frail on enemy phase, Fury+Desperation allows him to one round most of the cast on player phase, and his high speed will guarantee doubles on pretty much anyone not running axebreaker or wary fighter. While rather one-note, his combat performance far outstrips that of the other infantry axes, and gives him a solid role in arena matches, just keep him out of reach on enemy phase, otherwise he will be killed. 8/10

Edited May 20, 2018 by Korath88

[kirauza343]

Hector: like others have said, he was a threat in the beginning and he's still one now.  If anything he's gotten more versatile with the introduction of Berserk Armads, allowing him to run multiple sets and he's still the only unit capable of running a universal breaker. Even without bst creep his stats are fantastic (his resistance is a little low but hey, you can't be perfect), and innate distant counter and quick riposte means he's very cheap to build if you can pull him. LA!Hector might have slightly better stats but Vanilla!Hector is still a fantastic unit and is frankly more versatile since he's capable of an omnibreaker build. Rating: 9/10

[Dark Holy Elf]

Bumped my score for Raven up to 7 after reading some comments and thinking it over. I don't really think that super-offensive melee infantry deserves incredibly high scores but he is really good at that role.