What are the best/ worst classes (and class types) in general?

[DefyingFates]

I know I asked about specific classes for individuals a few days ago, but I've been reading through more Engage discourse and noticed Warrior came up a few times as a good class for characters to class into, which made me curious if there were already classes that those more stat-savvy than I thought were better or worse than others. Ditto for the class types since I admittedly wound up not using many more than the classic FE classes (i.e. some Backups and Mysticals but mostly mounted units) and I want to know how much I messed up missed! I also hope posts like this can be good resources for others looking for similar advice, now and in the future.

Thank you for your time, everyone!

Edited January 31, 2023 by DefyingFates

[Hiroki]

I might not be the right one to talk about this, because I tend to never use mounted units (be it Cavalry or Flying). I just don't like them in general, since the first FE I played (Blazing Sword), if I remember. Anyways, in term of mounted, I think Wyvern Knight is kind of really powerful. Big strength, big defense growth, nice skill to have.

Well, my preference go to Backup units, especially one for each primary weapon. Mystical are nice, especially for the fact they can negate avoid of tiles. Very useful against covert units. Covert units are nice also, for the avoid bonus on tile (except when they face mystical). So...

-Warrior: I think that's the big one. I always liked warriors, but here, they seem to be too powerful. Nice stats in general (My three warrior have good ones), enough build to wield strong weapons, access to axe to do a lot of damages, and bow to range everyone (and do damages if you have powerful bows). They will assist in a lot of fight if you give them a longbow. Their skill is nice too if you manage to set it up a bit (+ 50% damages against broken foes). That could really go crazy.

-Hero: I always liked Hero the most (but in this game their outfit is lame). They're generally good fighters, with nice strength, def, decent speed and dex. They can wield sword and axe/lance. I tend to prefer lance, for their lighter weight compared to axes. But that's just my taste, you can go traditional with axes. The skill here is pretty powerful if you keep your hero full life most of the time (every chain attacks from them will be doubled). To inflict 20 % of the max HP with only one hero is pretty strong, especially against strong enemies. Give your hero a javelot, and place it on center of many enemy and profit.

-Hallebardier: I'm a bit weak here, because I always liked (I say that a lot, ahah) lance users (from Ephraim to Oboro, passing by Nephenie, etc.), so I like this class. They've got pretty decent stat I should say (I test this with Jade in my playthrough). Backup units, so they can chain attack with everyone at range. Their skill is strong too, especially if your hallebardier is kind of slow (if you attack an enemy surrounded by an ally and the hallebardier, then it does two attacks).

 

That's the strong classes for me (since I don't use mounted ones)

[Armchair General]

When it comes to the class types, most of them are fairly good for the roles that they have; except for cavalry because the extra movement isn't all that great when there's an hoard of enemies in front of you.

When it comes to the actual classes, I won't be sure until an week or two. With only the advanced ones learning an skill or two, most of them kind of feel like the stuff that we've already seen.

[Scaramuccia]

Mid game on hard/classic (ch16) so a bit too early to talk about it but some ideas:

Knives are really strong - they require refinement, but fully refined they are the same level as fully refined swords, just lighter, with poison and 1-2 range. As a result thieves and wolves are good classes. Dodging bonus for thieves make them broken tier on hard, but with smarter AI on maddening should be just a good class.

I haven't used arts a lot, but was surprised recently with Framme performance as a martial master. Will need to investigate more, but could be a "sleeper class".

Magic was very good in the beginning and still good in mid, but there is no "the mage" class - you want to choose classes based on user as there are two main options - thunder when you don't care about speed and fire when you do. Mage Knight for example have much better speed than alternatives, but you need a fast character to begin with - speed/build progression is limited in magic classes.

I am not fielding enough cav/generic class fliers to discuss them, but fliers seems OK and cav not so - Great Knight is probably the best, but I want to try royal knights one day.

General is surprisingly good. The funny thing about it - it isn't that slow even with 0 speed growth - as many weapons are heavy 10 bld is an OK replacement for 10 spd. I see Louis doubling a lot on hard which feels really odd.

Warrior dominates backup classes. Maybe hero is good(don't run them right now) but long bow +chain attack is very strong. And fielding multiples just makes them stronger as you have more chain attacks. Hallebardier looks nice on paper will try it one day.

Swordmaster is just OK, Berseker has amazing growths(30 str and 20 combined spd+bld) so could be better than first impression. 

Overall I think that I am not at the point to figure out which one are the strongest - probably maddening will change it, but right now too many things work for me one way or another.

 

[BloodRonin]

Hallebardier imo is the worst. Why use this when you can go Spear hero and get a much better passive skill. 

[Armchair General]

17 minutes ago, BloodRonin said:

Hallebardier imo is the worst. Why use this when you can go Spear hero and get a much better passive skill. 

I thought Pincer Attack was worth getting?

[Hiroki]

5 hours ago, Armchair General said:

I thought Pincer Attack was worth getting?

Depends on your playstyle I would say. Imo, I prefer a double attack over just 10% more by chain attack (and I love chain attacks, don't get me wrong). On one side you can chip 5 more PV from tougher enemy. On the other side, if you plan your position, you can kill a boss in one turn. My hallebardier did some 40-50 damages lately to some bosses or tough units. 

And, if your hallebardier is enough, you can give him S rank lances, like Venomous. That thing is crazy! Powerful and poisoning, strong on the enemy phase!

Edited January 31, 2023 by Hiroki

[BloodRonin]

It is very situational. You would more overall damage and use from the hero skill to get the double chain attack (though that also requires full hp). Hero also gives you 2 weapon types without the use of an emblem.  If you like them, they are for sure useable, but getting the guaranteed follow up is situational at best imo.

Edited January 31, 2023 by BloodRonin
adding more

[BloodRonin]

Just now, Hiroki said:

Depends on your playstyle I would say. Imo, I prefer a double attack over just 10% more by chain attack (and I love chain attacks, don't get me wrong). On one side you can chip 5 more PV from tougher enemy. On the other side, if you plan your position, you can kill a boss in one turn. My hallebardier did some 40-50 damages lately to some bosses or tough units. 

I agree. I suppose it isn't my playstyle. I prefer ranged classes, or hit and run strats.

[DefyingFates]

7 hours ago, Hiroki said:

I think Wyvern Knight is kind of really powerful.

I've heard good things about them on Reddit too, what's the consensus on these guys? Also, how do they compare to Hero as a potential promotion for Sword/ Lance wielders (I assume anyone who can use axes would go straight for Warrior).

7 hours ago, Scaramuccia said:

General is surprisingly good. The funny thing about it - it isn't that slow even with 0 speed growth - as many weapons are heavy 10 bld is an OK replacement for 10 spd. I see Louis doubling a lot on hard which feels really odd.

So General and Great Knight have equal value, and Great Knight doesn't outclass them as the go-to "Armored" Class as in past titles?

7 hours ago, Scaramuccia said:

Mage Knight for example have much better speed than alternatives, but you need a fast character to begin with - speed/build progression is limited in magic classes.

Unfortunately they don't have the Mystical bonus of ignoring enemy Terrain. That comes up very quickly in the Lv 50 Tempest Trials, for instance (or at least the version I got) so there's value in Sages too, right?

[Scaramuccia]

49 minutes ago, DefyingFates said:

So General and Great Knight have equal value, and Great Knight doesn't outclass them as the go-to "Armored" Class as in past titles?

I think Great Knight should still be better on average, but it isn't as simple as before. General has a bit more str and a bit more def and it matter. Also "unbreakable" is nice in many scenarios. On top of that some characters could get an S weapon on a general I am pretty sure Louis with S lances would be amazing in endgame.

55 minutes ago, DefyingFates said:

so there's value in Sages too, right?

Yes mystics bonus is situational but good. The way classes work it is very hard to claim that a similar class from a different class type is strictly better. Especially when Cav is the weakest class type.

[ciphertul]

8 hours ago, Scaramuccia said:

Berseker has amazing growths(30 str and 20 combined spd+bld) so could be better than first impression. 

Gonna have to disagree here Berserker is probably the worst advanced backup class and most disappointing class in Engage. The class got shafted hard. 

[Shadow Mir]

1 hour ago, ciphertul said:

Gonna have to disagree here Berserker is probably the worst advanced backup class and most disappointing class in Engage. The class got shafted hard. 

How so? Because I'm curious as to whether they shafted it on a level that rivals Fates.

[ciphertul]

5 minutes ago, Shadow Mir said:

How so? Because I'm curious as to whether they shafted it on a level that rivals Fates.

So If you reclass from Berserker to Warrior you stats change by: -2hp,-1 Str, +1 Mag/Dex/Spd/Res and -1 Build. Berserker has smash+ which really isn’t that good a skill where Warrior gets Merciless which is great. Berserker gets S rank Axes while Warriors get A Axe and C Bows. Lastly at the very limit Warrior only has -2 Hp, -3 Str and -4 build at cap but has +3 Mag, +4 Spd and +7 Dex/Def/Lck. Oh and berserkers don’t get the crit boost like old ones.

[Blakejp]

Delete

 

Edited January 31, 2023 by Blakejp
Wrong thread

[DaveCozy]

Halberdier's Pincer Attack seems like the only salvageable thing it has going for itself. Otherwise it's extremely meh in terms of stats and modifiers.

Paladin is also pretty bad in this game from what I've noticed, very similar to Halberdier in stats, which is to say pretty bad. To prove this is quite easy; give a second seal to Vander in ch9, turn him into a Great Knight. And watch his 10 defense suddenly skyrocket to 17 defense, letting him stay viable long term if you really want to use him beyond Brodia.

The only thing salvageable about Paladin that I can maybe see is being a decent class with the Byleth ring; mobile Goddess Dance and Dex+10 buffs to other units help accuracy and crit rate. So that could have some use at least as a pure utility unit, just don't expect much combat out of them in Engage.

--

As for good classes; both of the advanced flying ones, Griffins and Wyverns, seem to be really good in this game. Griffins seem to be preferred so far due to their staff and Clear the Way utility, but I think Wyverns have a solid argument too considering they can use two WT choices. Air Raid is a situational but really powerful offensive boost too.

I would say Wolf Knight is the best Cavalry type class; knives are really good in this game, poison is fairly useful effect that can make taking down bosses, and refined knives scale really well in damage. Highly mobile, very reliable stats as well being fairly fast and accurate.

Other notable Cavalry imo would be Great Knight and Mage Knight. The former for tanking, latter for offensive magic (well, aside the unique ones).

Out of all the Backup types, Warrior and Hero seem to be preferred as well. Access to Long Bow chain attacks for the former with a very good Str mod is pretty awesome. The latter gets x2 chain attacks with Brave Assist, which may not seem like much but it really adds up over time with hand axes or javelins equipped; the weapon doesn't matter honestly, it's 10% of enemy's HP in damage iirc.

As far as unique classes go: my favorite ones are Alear, Ivy, and Hortensia's. For Alear, the dragon bonuses with emblems are actually really solid and makes it a pretty viable option even longterm; about time the MC had a good class if you ask me 😛 The latter two, flight with tome offense and staff utility is too good and unique to pass up.

--

Swordmasters, I'm still not sure about. On the one hand, setting up chain attacks with them isn't super flexible due to sword-lock. But on the other hand, they can cover a decent amount of distance with Run Through. Inheriting Advance from Roy is pretty good for them too, as it gives them flexible positioning options with Run Through (though you can only use one or the other, not both at the same time unfortunately). All in all I'm on the fence whether they're worth it over Hero and Warrior; they seem to be the most mobile of the grounded infantry move units, so they have that going for them, but sword-lock with mostly 1-range weapons isn't very hot either.

Edited January 31, 2023 by DaveCozy

[Armchair General]

3 hours ago, ciphertul said:

Oh and berserkers don’t get the crit boost like old ones.

Then what's the point in using them? Outside of wielding an S-ranked axe?

Edited January 31, 2023 by Armchair General

[ciphertul]

10 minutes ago, Armchair General said:

Then what's the point in using them? Outside of wielding an S-ranked axe?

If you rig up smash+ to break things?

[DaveCozy]

Yeah... I'm not seeing much use for Smash+ yet. But who knows; being able to push an enemy 2 spaces away might be useful for some strats involving terrain or long range breaks like said above. If any exist though, we're not seeing them yet.

There's another Strategy game I play called Into the Breach where almost every weapon has some kind of displacement utility on enemies. Pushing enemies in that game is really good, but in that game you can also damage enemies by pushing them into each other or in terrain. If you ask me, Smashing would've been better in Engage if they would also deal additional damage by bumping enemies into obstacles like that.

Edited January 31, 2023 by DaveCozy

[ciphertul]

1 minute ago, DaveCozy said:

Yeah... I'm not seeing much use for Smash+ yet. But who knows; being able to push an enemy 2 spaces away might be useful for some strats involving terrain or long range breaks like said above. If any exist though, we're not seeing them yet.

Maybe you can chain break? Like does break recover before smash takes effect?

[Fabulously Olivier]

3 minutes ago, DaveCozy said:

Yeah... I'm not seeing much use for Smash+ yet. But who knows; being able to push an enemy 2 spaces away might be useful for some strats involving terrain or long range breaks like said above. If any exist though, we're not seeing them yet.

There's another Strategy game I play called Into the Breach where almost every weapon has some kind of displacement utility on enemies. Pushing enemies in that game is really good, but in that game you can also damage enemies by pushing them into each other or in terrain. If you ask me, Smashing would've been better in Engage if they would also deal additional damage by bumping enemies into obstacles like that.

It really does feel like a missed opportunity. Triangle Strategy also includes collision damage.

Edited January 31, 2023 by Fabulously Olivier

[Armchair General]

56 minutes ago, ciphertul said:

If you rig up smash+ to break things?

I kind of see this working if I was using cavalry, afterwards. Or I'm going after an boss. But  it's kind of difficult to actually chase someone with 5 movement without preemptively setting things up

[ciphertul]

So this is purely theorycrafting based off of stats, but Mage Knight has the lowest total stat caps. Which is pretty funny due to it being one of the more useful classes in game.

[Armchair General]

3 hours ago, ciphertul said:

So this is purely theorycrafting based off of stats, but Mage Knight has the lowest total stat caps. Which is pretty funny due to it being one of the more useful classes in game.

Well, it's 2 points less than maxing out an Sage, although the Sage has an notable lead in magic 

[DefyingFates]

6 hours ago, DaveCozy said:

As for good classes; both of the advanced flying ones, Griffins and Wyverns, seem to be really good in this game. Griffins seem to be preferred so far due to their staff and Clear the Way utility, but I think Wyverns have a solid argument too considering they can use two WT choices. Air Raid is a situational but really powerful offensive boost too.

I would say Wolf Knight is the best Cavalry type class; knives are really good in this game, poison is fairly useful effect that can make taking down bosses, and refined knives scale really well in damage. Highly mobile, very reliable stats as well being fairly fast and accurate.

Other notable Cavalry imo would be Great Knight and Mage Knight. The former for tanking, latter for offensive magic (well, aside the unique ones).

Out of all the Backup types, Warrior and Hero seem to be preferred as well. Access to Long Bow chain attacks for the former with a very good Str mod is pretty awesome. The latter gets x2 chain attacks with Brave Assist, which may not seem like much but it really adds up over time with hand axes or javelins equipped; the weapon doesn't matter honestly, it's 10% of enemy's HP in damage iirc.

As far as unique classes go: my favorite ones are Alear, Ivy, and Hortensia's. For Alear, the dragon bonuses with emblems are actually really solid and makes it a pretty viable option even longterm; about time the MC had a good class if you ask me 😛 The latter two, flight with tome offense and staff utility is too good and unique to pass up.

A good write-up, thank you very much! Do you guys get much use out of Armored or Qi Adept units? I keep forgetting that High Priests are Mystical, so even the units who started as Qi Adepts for me are now Mystical types instead. Other than Seadall, of course.

6 hours ago, DaveCozy said:

As far as unique classes go: my favorite ones are Alear, Ivy, and Hortensia's. For Alear, the dragon bonuses with emblems are actually really solid and makes it a pretty viable option even longterm; about time the MC had a good class if you ask me 😛 The latter two, flight with tome offense and staff utility is too good and unique to pass up.

And this raises a good point, what of the unique classes? I know someone earlier said that Alfred's one wasn't the best for him, but what of the others? I think the Dragon-typing alone makes Divine Dragon an incredible utility Class for Alear despite being sword-locked (arts don't do much for them).

 

Edited January 31, 2023 by DefyingFates