Red Fox of Fire (Natasha) vs. Masu (Lute)

[Florete]

I hope you know the rules. Remember, no tower.

Well now, Lute joins just one chapter before Natasha, but doesn't have much of that map to fight in as a result of being recruited from a village in the south where there aren't many enemies. If she's lucky, she'll gain a level by the end, no more. Natasha comes in the next chapter, available from the start, forced even. For a map, Natasha must be in play. But, who cares? Well, anyone wanting to recruit Joshua does. Natasha recruits Joshua, a pretty good character. Lute's not doing anything of the sort except being overconfident in her abilities.

Natasha only has 2 Magic while Lute has 6 to start. Thing is, Natasha heals instead of fighting. In that way, this can actually be a blessing; Natasha only heals 12 with a Heal staff, so she may easily be able to get another off character who take more damage for extra experience. Lute is gaining about the same amount of experience as she goes, so the experience gain is pretty similar.

How about avoid? While Natasha shouldn't be needing it now, I'll calculate it anyway.

(Attack Speed x 2) + Luck + Support bonus + Terrain bonus

Lute: 12 + 8 + 0 + 0 = 20 (Note that Lute loses 1 AS from Fire with her abysmal 3 con)

Natasha: 16 + 6 + 0 + 0 = 24

Yes, I am assuming neither currently have any supports. This is because Natasha definitely has none, and Lute isn't likely to have one yet. And look, Natasha wins, even though she doesn't need it. But it is possible that Lute has C with Artur, so where does that put her? At 25. Wow. She beats Natasha, someone who shouldn't even need it, by a whole 1%. I'll be nice and consider Lute may have gotten a level where she gained speed and luck. She's now at 28 avoid. 4% above someone who doesn't even need it as much, and only if she's been lucky/favored. Basically, Natasha wins.

Considering where they will get now.... Lute has a 45 speed growth in comparison to Natasha's 40. BUT, Natasha has 60 luck growth in comparison to Lute's 45. They have the same defense at 15, and Natasha wins HP (18 to 17 base, 50% to 45% growth) and Resistance (6 to 5 base, 55% to 40% growth). Lute does have a higher defense base by a whopping 1 (Lute's 3 to Natasha's 2). This shows that Natasha will generally have better durability as well, even though she still doesn't need it yet. Let's throw in supports now.

Natasha has pretty decent support partners in Joshua, Seth, and Franz, or Cormag if you want to wait. Unfortunately, her support with Josh sucks, so he's out. Her support with Seth is easily the best, giving her: +3 defense, +1 attack, +7 accuracy, +15 avoid, +15 crit avoid. Throw in a B with Franz or Cormag for defense or avoid and Natasha has a pretty great durability lead that I'll once again mention she doesn't need until promotion. So, how about I skip to promotion? I'll assume they promote at the same time, Natasha a Bishop and Lute a Sage:

Natasha leads in HP, Speed, Luck and Resistance. Lute has a win in Power, Skill, and Defense. But you can't forget that a lot of enemies are monsters, and what does Natasha do? SLAY THEM! When Natasha isn't slaying monsters, she's still a pretty great staff user, able to use any staff except Latona, where Lute can only use a Heal. As for Skill, Light magic is fairly accurate, so neither have a problem hitting anyway. Natasha has better avoid due to Speed, Luck, and supports, so the (very minor) defense boost is almost meaningless. But wait, isn't Natasha getting +5 defense from her supports anyway? With or without supports, Natasha still leads in durability. Slightly less defense (possibly), but winning everywhere else. Offensively, she's much better for monsters, the majority of late game enemies. But when she isn't fighting, she's still an awesome staff user. Go figure!

I wish you luck.

Edited November 11, 2008 by Red Fox of Fire