Halberdier recommendations for Maddening run

[Barren]

I’m still on Hard mode for engage and I’m trying out Halberdier on Lapis at the moment. Eventually I’ll try out Maddening.

 

I guess my question is who would benefit from the halberdier class? From what I understand, it’s a solid class on paper which pincer attack can combine with stuff like swordmaster’s run through or hero’s brave assist and warrior long bow after breaking an enemy.

 

Growths wise who in your opinion would be best suited for it? Any tips would be nice. I’m open to options.

[samthedigital]

I'm not a huge fan of the run through to pincer attack combo because it relies on taking two units to kill an enemy. That can happen on maddening sometimes, but you still prefer to take enemies out in one round when possible. If you really want to take advantage of the skill then you'll want to combine it with a unit that has naturally high strength that might not easily be able to double; Panette might work out for example.

[Barren]

I didn’t think about Panette being a Halberdier so it’s something to think about. I was thinking more along on the lines killing bosses with revival stones but I see what you’re saying. One rounding enemies on their own is best preferred.

[Myssdii]

I made Alfred a Halberdier in my 2nd maddening run (with partial DLC, I ban wearing Tiki and Edelgard, as well as their exp/growth boosting skills, to not break the game too much). With a forged Ridersbane and Fensalir, he's still relevant with no stat boost at all, and I'm at chapter 18 (currently finishing paralogues before moving on). I was dead set on making him usable, since he's considered to be bad (and I trashed him in my first hard run), and so far the class suits him well.

A +5 Ridersbane is just super good, as there are a LOT of cavalry in this game. While it will still have trouble going through Great Knights in the end game because of their absurd defense, it will deal with wolves, nomads, paladins, royal knights and mage knights with no issue, which is pretty great.

[DaveCozy]

15 hours ago, Barren said:

I guess my question is who would benefit from the halberdier class? From what I understand, it’s a solid class on paper which pincer attack can combine with stuff like swordmaster’s run through or hero’s brave assist and warrior long bow after breaking an enemy.

Growths wise who in your opinion would be best suited for it? Any tips would be nice. I’m open to options.

Halberdier as a class has very middling stats and is locked to lances, which are decent but not great weapons in Engage. It's not a class you go to if you want general combat utility, as Hero and Warrior just do chain attacking better while being stronger stats wise. Nor is it really a great class for enemy phasing either as its defensive stats (while not awful) aren't up to par with tankier and more well rounded classes like Great Knight.

The claim to fame that Halberdier really has is Pincer Attack as its class skill, which lets you double any enemy regardless of speed. This is most useful for the endgame, particularly on Maddening, where some bosses can reach Speed values in the 30s and even 40 for the ch24 boss - that boss is nigh impossible to double otherwise, without having some very specific Speed+ and Build+ stat boost combo, or Speedtaker setup beforehand.

You don't even need Run Through from Swordmaster, you just need a unit that has Canter (or Sigurd) and position them opposite to the enemy after their action is done. Considering that Canter is a pretty valuable skill in general, it's not a difficult demand to meet.

If you really want Pincer Attack to shine, I really, really recommend you give them a Brave Lance and engage your Halberdier with the Eirika emblem. When engaged, you will benefit from Eclipse Brace (x0.2/0.3 of enemy defense added as damage per hit, depending on bond level) and Blue Skies (+3/+5 damage added per hit, for a total of +6/+10 if doubling, or +12/+20 if quadding). If you want a (spoiler) e.g. to see how well this works; Halberdier Vander quadding and ORKOing the final boss in Maddening (not my playthrough, borrowing from another user who shared it):

Spoiler

As for units that do Halberdier well, I'd say pretty much anyone can be a good one. But ideally, units that just struggle to double. Since the class pairs so well with the Eirika emblem, I personally wouldn't recommend running more than 1 Halberdier per team either. Without Eirika it might still be okay in Hard, but feels very mediocre in Maddening.

Vander aside, I second the recommendation for Alfred, assuming you are using him until endgame, he'd be a pretty solid candidate to put in the class. Someone like Louis does very well too, since his speed is very low and his tankiness doesn't hold forever - enemies tend to really dent him near endgame even in Hard - so he can safely transition to a more specialized boss-killing role using Halberdier.

Edited February 23, 2023 by DaveCozy
fixed spelling and grammar mistakes

[Barren]

Thanks for the lengthy yet informative response. This is something I’ll have to consider. Alfred does benefit from the Halberdier class to some extent like you and some others said.

I just find it interesting that his Avenir class is meant to be a defensive bruiser since he gets a 65% defense growth after applying the class growth on top of his personal growth. That said, I have been noticing how good Warrior and Hero can be for piling on damage. I haven’t fully experimented with Brave Assist but something I do want to try out.

As far as not needing Run Through, Canter exists like you point out as well. I just thought it could be cool to keep them in position as back up attackers along with a Hero or something. But yea, that’s still good to know.

[Fabulously Olivier]

The ideal Halberdier is someone of high damage and low to middling speed. Someone like Alfred, Louis, Jade, Panette, Amber, Etie, or Saphir.

 

Also, I wouldn't call Eirika the only Halberdier Emblem. Hector notably also has heavy synergy with the class.

[DaveCozy]

20 hours ago, Fabulously Olivier said:

Also, I wouldn't call Eirika the only Halberdier Emblem. Hector notably also has heavy synergy with the class.

Oh yeah, I should mention, I don't have DLC so I excluded it. Good call, I can see him working well too just off reading his emblem skills.

In theory I guess the Roy emblem would work too if you'd rather rely on his big strength bonus and Rise Above for damage. Although you probably won't be able to 1-round high defense enemies with him though... I'd say other classes like Warrior, Paladin, Griffin or Wyvern would just benefit more from him.

Edited February 25, 2023 by DaveCozy

[67chrome]

On 2/22/2023 at 5:36 PM, Barren said:

I’m still on Hard mode for engage and I’m trying out Halberdier on Lapis at the moment. Eventually I’ll try out Maddening.

 

Lapis is a bit of an awkward pick. 

Main perk of Halberdier is being able to double things regardless of a Spd stat, and Lapis...

She's a Swordmaster through and through with her bases and growths. Spd is the 1 stat she's not having trouble with.

.............

 

Which I guess is a good segue into the core issue of Halberdiers:

 

The Pincer Attack functionality is only as valuable as it's user's Spd is bad.

On someone like Jade, Louis, Bunet, or Vander were they're ~15+ points off from doubling foes: the Pincer Attack is worth a pretty consistent ~15 Spd (at least for the purposes of offense).

If it's used by someone like Lapis that's already running into 0x2 problems and only going to miss Spd thresholds to double ~maybe ~15% of the enemies in Maddening, she's not going to get much value from the feature.

Or ~any, given us players usually has enough control over the combat situation to target Armors with Mages or Fliers with Archers.

Obviously in Maddening there's going to be a crunch with positioning/ORKO potential fairly often were easy-buttons are challenged, but for the most part I'd want to maximize Str/Def for a Halberdier.

.............

 

Halberdier's base stats are also pretty middling.

 

It's Str and Def are ok, but overall it maps pretty closely to the Paladin but slightly slower, and Paladins in most FE games are just the definition of average everywhere at everything, so that isn't a great start for an infantry unit.

 

Going back to Spd value: Ideally someone that's a Halberdier want's to min-max their Str/Def vs. their Spd, as offensively Spd is largely wasted on them.

Defensively it can be nice to only loose the Spd check by 4 points vs. stuff like Wyverns that still hit fairly hard.

 

But Halberdier's stats aren't helping any here, so it's placing a ton of stress on who goes into Halberider.

And what Emblem they're using.

Ike, Roy, Leif, and Sigurd all offer some respectable defensive properties, so those are worth considering for general use in 6 of the 7 key turns in a map over just going Eirika go brrr.

 

On 2/22/2023 at 5:36 PM, Barren said:

I guess my question is who would benefit from the halberdier class? From what I understand, it’s a solid class on paper which pincer attack can combine with stuff like swordmaster’s run through or hero’s brave assist and warrior long bow after breaking an enemy.

 

Similar to all the auto follow-up stuff in FEH; the best users are ones with massive Str and Def pools and non-existent Spd.

Louise, Jade, Bunet, Panette, Goldmary, Diamant, Amber, Alfred, Saphir, this is probably the crowd I'd look to for the best general results.

 

Swordmaster's Run-Through can be a fun way to set it up, but there are several other ways to achieve the auto follow-up condition.

Pivot or Rewarp also work if you don't want to eat a counter-attack, as do Pass, Flight, Cavalry Mobility, and especially Canter.

 

On 2/22/2023 at 5:36 PM, Barren said:

Growths wise who in your opinion would be best suited for it? Any tips would be nice. I’m open to options.

 

Growths?

Louis.

Dude is 40% Str, 50% Def, and those are the 2 stats that really matter for cheating the Spd war.

5/4 base Str/Def also isn't bad given his joining time, and even with Maddening XP restrictions; he probably should surpass just about everyone else in solid tanky derp stats by the time they join.

 

Probably worth keeping him in Armor for the first ~1/3rd to ~1/4 of the game for a bit of key stats Halberdier really wants, as being stuck in the same half-paladin, half great-knight spot Alfred's at were it's mostly the worst of both worlds is going to be a bit of a concern. Though TBF here, if Alf could consistently double a lot of his problems would go away.

[Barren]

@67chromeThat is something I’ll have to keep in mind when considering an eventual maddening team.

I was honestly experimenting around on hard mode and see what I like or don’t like try out for a second play through. Halberdier definitely seems to be carried by the pincer attack like you said as you’re right, its stats are overall pretty average. 
 

Louis/Amber/Goldmary is certainly someone I’m considering for sure since you mentioned them. Though I did see Iced Coffee Gaming’s video on his Goldmary General build and her defense growth is really high to begin with. 

Thanks for the tip! I’ll be sure to make good use of your input.

[DaveCozy]

6 hours ago, 67chrome said:

Ike, Roy, Leif, and Sigurd all offer some respectable defensive properties, so those are worth considering for general use in 6 of the 7 key turns in a map over just going Eirika go brrr.

Defensive emblems could work but I think you're better off going another class at that point. Great Knights and Generals make better use of Ike, Leif and Sigurd in my experience, as their defense and HP values are relatively higher and can tank much better than Halberdiers can.

If you are using a Halberdier, I think the best way to do so is to capitalize on Pincer Attack. As that's the most unique thing they offer over every other class. You could try and make them a mixed offensive and defensive unit, but in my experience, they just become mediocre more than useful.

I can agree with Roy though. I'm coming around the idea of him being a solid emblem for a Halberdier, but it's also because he boosts strength by quite a high amount; +6 at bond level 19, and more with Rise Above. He can work both defensively and offensively due to his toolkit, and that's something that certainly benefits Halberdier as it still capitalizes on doing the most damage with a double or quad.

Eirika also only requires being engaged to really maximize damage output of Halberdier. That's 4 turns that you can use to your advantage at bond level 11 or higher. As long as you stack enough true damage, you can one-round any enemy with a Brave Lance quad, or a Silver Lance / Brionac double for enemies with lower defense.

True damage sources include: Eirika engaged skills (Eclipse Brace and Blue Skies), Poison stacks, personal skills (Alear for e.g.). If you're relying on Str and weapon might with Roy instead, then stacking debuffs like Poison and Draconic Hex helps a lot too.

Edited February 28, 2023 by DaveCozy

[samthedigital]

32 minutes ago, DaveCozy said:

Defensive emblems could work but I think you're better off going another class at that point. Great Knights and Generals make better use of Ike, Leif and Sigurd in my experience, as their defense and HP values are relatively higher and can tank much better than Halberdiers can.

Panette can reach 80% crit with a +5 Brionac before factoring in skill (Yunaka works but is far more situational), so there's some potential for a 1-2 range enemy phase nuke. It's probably not all that feasible without hoarding resources, and bumping up the crit a bit more to make it consistent might also be difficult, but there is something there.

Otherwise yeah, Ike is probably not the best fit since units who are using Ike shouldn't have issues one rounding enemies without Pincer attack.

[Speedy]

I would certainly not recommend putting Halberdier on Lapis, cause her biggest plus is her high speed. So she doesnt really need the pincer skill. But I would be willing to try Louis as Halberdier, since his speed is really bad.

[Barren]

1 hour ago, Speedy said:

I would certainly not recommend putting Halberdier on Lapis, cause her biggest plus is her high speed. So she doesnt really need the pincer skill. But I would be willing to try Louis as Halberdier, since his speed is really bad.

Certainly makes sense why Louis is a better fit. In truth, I went into this mostly blind because I didn’t look at the growth rates of the characters and wanted to experiment around on hard mode.

[Speedy]

12 minutes ago, Barren said:

Certainly makes sense why Louis is a better fit. In truth, I went into this mostly blind because I didn’t look at the growth rates of the characters and wanted to experiment around on hard mode.

Totaly understandable, I'm right now playing on maddening, so I am trying to pay attention to growth rates, so my Lapis ended up being wyvern knight and if I'm not gonna bench Louis I might make him Halberdier, but I'm afraid I will stop using him soon.

Edited February 28, 2023 by Speedy

[Barren]

10 minutes ago, Speedy said:

Totaly understandable, I'm right now playing on maddening, so I am trying to pay attention to growth rates, so my Lapis ended up being wyvern knight and if I'm not gonna bench Louis I might make him Halberdier, but I'm afraid I will stop using him soon.

I hear you on that one. Louis for me has been great on hard mode. I’m sure maddening mode made it more difficult for him to keep up with power creep.

[Ether]

Lapis as a halberdier isn't optimal but it's fine. It has more str/def than swordmaster or hero allowing her a slight edge in those stats while remaining a backup, and pincer attack let's her abuse heavy weapons without compromising her doubling. Warrior should be better but it's warrior, of course it's better. The real reason to make Lapis a halberdier is, of course, the drip, and as long as she still functions fine in the class, that really is the most important reason of all.

[DaveCozy]

20 hours ago, Speedy said:

Totaly understandable, I'm right now playing on maddening, so I am trying to pay attention to growth rates, so my Lapis ended up being wyvern knight and if I'm not gonna bench Louis I might make him Halberdier, but I'm afraid I will stop using him soon.

Personally, with regular use and occasional Arena training, I found the point Great Knight Louis starts to fall off in Maddening is ch13. That's where promoted enemies start really chunking him.

I made him a Halberdier after ch15 and Ike's paralogue were done (a wall is actually pretty useful to chokepoint for the latter map). That is conveniently when both Eirika and Goldmary are about to join too, the latter who can take over the tanking role instead.

My preferred Halberdier path with Louis on Maddening is Lance Knight -> Great Knight (Lance/Axe) -> Halberdier. Lance Power 1->2 and Canter as skills. He had Sigurd -> Ike -> Eirika when Pincer Attack was learned.

Edited March 1, 2023 by DaveCozy

[CompteSecours]

I'm on Maddening C.11 and I'm using GK Louis.

I was thinking of reclassing him into Halleberdier because ennemies on Maddening hit too hard to have a proper tank anyway. I will try it !