FIRE EMBLEM: GENEALOGY OF THE HOLY WAR FAQ/Walkthrough and Character Guide (Double feature!) by: Binta email address: nekketsu_vince@yahoo.com ================================================================================ What is this about? This contains a "Q&A" form of a walkthrough. While it does contain a few hints and strategies, it focuses more on the less obvious things that a preoccupied player might not notice. It does contain some spoilers, but it does not provide a full plot analysis, nor is it an instruction manual. This FAQ also contains a brief character guide for both generations, as well as a basic pairing guide. ================================================================================ Copyright I, Binta, have made this FAQ. You can print it, use it freely, or post it. Do NOT, however, plagiarize my stuff, sell it, or ruin it in some way. In short: don't steal or defame my work in any way. ================================================================================ Thanks to: -GameFAQs, for accepting this FAQ -www.serenesforest.net/fe4, for providing me useful information on this game -Myself, for my hard work -Nintendo, for great games like this ================================================================================ Version History 1.0 - (December 25, 2011) Initial release. Includes a basic FAQ/Walkthrough, a brief character guide, and the basics of the game's Pairing System. The character guide only covers playable characters, not other ones who are significant to the story. 1.1 - (March 21, 2012) Corrected some spelling and gramatical errors. Added more details to a few pairings, and comments for Ethlin. Also included Charisma in the skills section. 1.2 - (August 22, 2014) Revised a few things to minimize spoilers. ================================================================================ TABLE OF CONTENTS: Of course, if you want to find things quickly, the first third of this FAQ is the FAQ/Walkthrough portion, second third is the character guide, and the last third is the pairing guide. 1. Using this guide 2. FAQ/Walkthrough -- Prologue -- Chapter 1 -- Chapter 2 -- Chapter 3 -- Chapter 4 -- Chapter 5 -- Chapter 6 -- Chapter 7 -- Chapter 8 -- Chapter 9 -- Chapter 10 -- Epilogue 3. Character Guide (First Generation) -- Sigurd -- Noish -- Alec -- Ardan -- Lex -- Azel -- Cuan -- Ethlin -- Fin -- Midir -- Aideen -- Dew -- Aira -- Jamka -- Deirdre -- Holyn -- Lachesis -- Levin -- Sylvia -- Beowulf -- Fury -- Claude -- Tiltyu -- Brigid 4. Character Guide (Second Generation, static characters) note: * = Substitutes -- Celice -- Radnay * -- Rodolban * -- Mana * -- Oifaye -- Dimna * -- Tristan * -- Julia -- Femina * -- Amid * -- Johan -- Johalva -- Leaf -- Fin -- Janne * -- Shanan -- Daisy * -- Aless -- Laylea * -- Linda * -- Asaello * -- Sharlow * -- Hannibal -- Altenna 5. Pairing Guide (Mechanics) -- Building Relationship Points -- General Information -- Inventory and Equipment -- The Fathers -- Skills 6. Pairing Guide (Pairings) -- Aideen (Lester/Lana) -- Aira (Lakche/Skasaha) -- Lachesis (Delmud/Nanna) -- Sylvia (Leen/Corple) -- Fury (Fee/Sety) -- Tiltyu (Arthur/Tinny) -- Brigid (Faval/Patty) ================================================================================ 1. USING THIS GUIDE The FAQ/Walkthrough section is not a full-detail walkthrough, but a list of common topics in each chapter, in Q&A form. This way, you can get basic tips and pointers without getting too much help, or if you just need a quick reference. There are a few things that a clueless person might not understand. You might see two names with no spaces and an exclamation mark in between. The first is who the father is, the second is the character. For example, if you see Fin!Tinny, that means Tinny with Fin as her father. Stats are abbreviated as follows: HMP (Max HP) - How much damage a character can take before dying STR (Strength) - How hard you can hit with physical attacks MGC (Magic) - How hard you can hit with magical attacks and how much you can heal with healing magic. Also determines success with status-ailments SKI (Skill) - Determines accuracy, and success with Critical and sword skills SPD (Speed) - Determines evasion, and success with Pursuit, Continue, and Charge LUC (Luck) - Improves accuracy and evasion DEF (Defense) - Reduces damage taken from physical attacks RES (Resistance) - Reduces damage taken from magical attacks. If your RES is higher than the MGC of someone casting a status-ailment spell, the spell will not afflict you. Some people also refer to this as MDF (Magic Defense) Skills as passed down by potential parents. Sigurd, Deidre, Cuan, and Ethlin are not mentioned in this section because they always have the same pairing. Pursuit (Alec, Azel, Midir, Fin, Beowulf, Fury): If your attack speed is higher than the enemy's, you will attack a second time. Continue (Jamka, Levin, Sylvia): There's a chance a given attack's number of hits multiplies by 2, same effect as a "Hero" weapon. Does not complement "Hero" weapons. Nihil (Alec, Aira): Prevents Critical, Wrath, Moonlight, Meteor, and Solar. Critical (Noish, Levin): Doubles attack power (not to be mistaken with double overall damage). Charge (Noish, Midir, Jamka, Beowulf): Small chance of dragging on a battle for another round. A double-edged sword. Ambush (Ardan, Lex): Attack first when below 50% HP. Elite (Lex): Doubles EXP gained. Not just for fighting, but magic, thief giving gold, and dancing. Meteor (Aira): Multiplies any given attack's number of hits by 5! With Continue or a Hero Sword, you could conceivably attack up to 20 times in one fight! Prayer (Fin, Sylvia): Improves dodging when HP is 10 or below. Bargain (Dew): Halves cost of purchasing or repairing items. Solar (Dew): Leeches HP. Sword skill, so it's exclusive to non-mounted sword users. Charisma (Lachesis): Allies within 3 spaces range of a unit with Charisma gets an additional 10% for their evade and accuracy. Moonlight (Holyn): Nullifies defense. Sword skill, exclusive to non-mounted sword users. Wrath (Tiltyu): Instant critical when below 50% HP. Steal (class): Take all of victim's gold. Natural skill of Thieves only. Dance (class): Give adjacent units an extra turn. Dancer only. ================================================================================ 2. FAQ/WALKTHROUGH ................................FIRST GENERATION....,........................... Before you even begin, there are some general strategies that should help you throughout the game. [Weapons Triangle] It's like rock paper scissors. Sword beats axe, axe beats lance, lance beats sword. If you select the right weapon, you'll have an evade and accuracy advantage. Magic works similarly. Fire beats wind, wind beats thunder, thunder beats fire. Light and dark magic have an advantage over all other spells. Bows don't suffer from any superiority or inferiority, but they can't be used as a melee weapon. [Save often!] Unlike most war/strategy games where you have to play start to finish (having interuption saves at best), you can save at the start of ANY turn if you haven't moved any units at the start. Keep this in mind, because the chapters are large and you probably will spend a few hours on each one. You might consider having a backup file, in case you get in a jam where one or more of your characters are doomed and need to go back to an earlier time. [Manipulating the arena] Unlike most FE games, the RNG [random number generator] for battle outcomes and levelups are static until you make an action (cast a spell, win or lose an arena fight, attack an enemy,). With a little trial and error, you can maximize your stat gains on levelups and/or win fights you most likely wouldn't win. You can even switch weapons in the middle of an arena fight, and that can sometimes make the difference between winning and losing an arena fight. [Boss AI] When bosses run very low on health and/or you defeat all but 1 or 2 of their soldiers, they will often try to retreat back to their home garrison to pick up recruits. Retreating bosses won't attack even if you're blocking their escape. Sometimes you can intentionally let bosses get reinforcements to help build levels. [Counter to a counter] This trick only works with an emulator, not the actual cartridge. Even if you reset, the game keeps track of the number of times you die, but you can counter this by having a backup of your save file, and copying/pasting it to replace. ................................................................................ ...................................PROLOGUE..................................... Q: Is it possible for Midir to hold out long enough for me to help him? A: No, but don't worry because he recovers when you recruit him. Q: Who would you recommend save the village far south to get the Speed Ring? A: Fin. Sigurd and Alec are usually fast enough, Azel's movement doesn't let him see a lot of fighting anyway, and the others probably won't need it. It also helps Fin's evade since the majority of the early-game enemies are axe-users, which puts lances at a disadvantage. ................................................................................ ...................................CHAPTER 1.................................... Q: How do I get the Return Staff? A: Have Aideen talk to Ethlin. Q: Does it make a difference if Azel or Midir talks to Aideen? A: Depends who you want more to pair up with her, as whoever of the two will build their relationship points with Aideen. Q: How do I get the Warp Staff? A: After taking Genoa Castle, have Dew talk to Aideen. Q: Crap!! Elliot and his men are advancing to my castle and I can't get there in time. Should I have kept someone at the home garrison? A: Don't sweat it. Eltshan and his men will appear and trash Elliot's crew. I've never seen them reach Evans Castle, and I've never seen Eltshan's Cross Knights fail. At worst I've only seen one die. Q: How do I recruit Aira? A: You'll probably need to distract her while Sigurd sneaks his way in to rescue Shanan in Genoa. Aira might suicide onto Cuan or Sigurd if she attacks them, so you'll want Alec to come into play. He has Nihil, so at full health you don't have to worry about her Meteor Slash. If worst comes to worst and she pursues Aideen/Dew, have Dew get in the way. He'll still have to worry about Meteor Slash, but his high SPD means he won't have to worry about Pursuit, and his dodging rate is a bit better than most. Q: How do I recruit Jamka? A: Have Aideen talk to him. He won't attack her, but his troops might so you'll have to be careful. Make certain Jamka doesn't attack anyone, because he can easily kill even Cuan or Sigurd, so make sure to stay out of his range. Q: Where is the Hero Axe? A: You see that peninsula that extends to the center of the map? Carrying an Iron Axe, send Lex to the tip of that peninsula. Q: Sandima's magic is too strong. How do I handle him? A: Use Deirdre's Silence Staff, then attack as you normally would. ................................................................................ ...................................CHAPTER 2.................................... Q: Who should I use to defeat Holyn in the Arena? A: Holyn is much easier to defeat than Keimos is, so you might want to manipulate the arena so one of your weaker characters can fight him. Q: How do I get the Light Sword? A: Have Deirdre talk to Ethlin. Q: How do I get the Thief Sword? A: After helping Lachesis, have Dew talk to her. Q: How do I get the Knight Bracelet? A: Complete the chapter without any of the three Nodion Paladins dying. This isn't too hard if you keep Lachesis and her knights out of range, although you might not get to use her to her fullest. Q: How do I get the Bargain Ring? A: In order to have enough time to free the village that has the Bargain Ring, you'll need to conquer Heirhein Castle within 10 turns. Tricky. Your best bet is to reach Nodion and have your more basic units like Lex, Fin, or Midir clear the soldiers. There might be one guy in front of Elliot who you might need Cuan to kill with a Javelin. Have Sigurd attack Elliot and he should lose enough health where he retreats. Keep moving forward; don't have Sigurd fall back and talk to Lachesis even if he's in range. Q: How do I get the Pursuit Ring? A: If Ardan doesn't have a lover, send him to the peninsula on the western half of the map. Q: How do I get the Hero Lance? A: After taking Heirhein, have Cuan talk to Fin. Q: Anyone can pay Beowulf 10000 gold to recruit him. Who do you recommend? A: Anyone with a surplus of gold or someone who won't be spending much. Most likely, that will be Cuan or Fin. Not only do they usually have a surplus of money, but they are less likely to get killed if any enemies remain. ................................................................................ ...................................CHAPTER 3.................................... Q: How do I get the Hero Sword? A: This only works if Aira doesn't have a lover. If Lex and/or Holyn aren't paired up with anyone, have one of them talk to her. It IS possible to get the Hero Sword without pairing Aira with Lex or Holyn, and it's also possible to pair Lex or Holyn with some other woman. Q: Is it possible to prevent Deirdre from leaving the castle? A: Unfortunately, you can't. A running gag among players is to station a bunch of troops just before she leaves, and they all just sit there, doing nothing to prevent her from getting abducted. Q: How do I get past the awesome power of Eltshan and his Mistoltin? A: The pen is mightier than the sword here. While keeping out of Eltshan's range, slowly take out his Cross Knights as Lachesis works her way to talk to him. This can be difficult, as the remaining Cross Knights might kill one of your weaker units in the process, so keep trying until you get it right. Q: I'm feeling daring. What if I wanted to fight Eltshan instead? A: A lot of luck goes along the way. Eltshan's Mistoltin gives him the ability to critical. Most characters aren't strong enough to survive a regular hit from Eltshan, so needless to say, if he lands a critical hit you WILL die. Your only (already slim) chance of survival is to have Sigurd or Cuan with Ethlin's support hurt him a bit, and pray Eltshan doesn't critical. If Aira has enough HP and DEF, she might be able to take Eltshan because she has Nihil (she won't be in danger of criticals) and hope Meteor Slash works. Q: How do I get the Wind Sword? A: Send Dew to the Blaggi Tower. Q: Cuan, Ethlin, and Fin leave when you complete the chapter. What items should they have? A: Sell everything Ethlin has except her Light Sword. Sell everything Cuan has, but you might consider keeping a Return Bracelet on him. As for Fin, if he's paired just sell everything he has. If he's not paired, keep a Javelin and a Silver Lance for sure, and maybe even a Slim Lance. ................................................................................ ...................................CHAPTER 4.................................... Q: How do I get the Hero Bow? A: If Aideen was paired with Midir or Jamka by chapter 3, have her talk to whoever she was paired with. Q: How do I get the Rescue Staff? A: See above, but replace "Midir or Jamka" with "Azel". Q: What's with Sylvia and Fury's argument when I place them near each other? A: This only happens if BOTH of them and Levin are not paired up with anyone. It increases Sylvia's relationship points with Levin by 100, and Fury's with Levin by 50. Q: How do I get the Defense Sword? A: Have Sylvia liberate the second-to-last village. Q: They raised the drawbridge! Now what? A: Dew can open it up again by standing where it used to be. It's easy to distinguish, since the path leads up to it. Q: Is it possible to help Mahnya or prevent Silesia from being overrun? A: No, but you need Silesia to get overrun in order for those yellow/neutral units to get out of the way. Q: Who do you prefer to use to save the Civilians? A: Tiltyu, because she comes in late and at a low level. If I plan on pairing Azel with anyone, I make sure to save a few for him as well. Q: How do I get Holsety? A: After reclaiming Silesia Castle, have Levin enter. ................................................................................ ...................................CHAPTER 5.................................... Q: How do I get the Rescue Staff? A: If Aideen and Claude are lovers, Claude can give Aideen a Rescue Staff. Q: I want to use the Tyrfing but the repair cost is outrageous! A: Ignore the arena for Sigurd at the moment. Buy the Knight Bracelet, Leg Ring, and Elite Bracelet if Sigurd doesn't already have those. If he has any other items, keep them in storage until you get the Tyrfing. Sell the smaller items you won't be needing until you have about 10000-15000 gold. You can partially repair the Tyrfing so it has 10-15 uses, which SHOULD be enough for the rest of the chapter. Make sure it remains unbroken by the end of the chapter! Q: How do I get that +5 SKI boost for Ardan? A: He has to be paired up. You see that cliff with one lone village? Send him to the end there, and he'll find a book. Q: How do I keep Cuan and Ethlin alive? A: Unfortunately, you can't. But if you powered them up before they left, Cuan and Ethlin should be able to make your job a little easier when the Thracian Dragon Knights come after you. Q: What items should I keep on Sigurd for Celice to use? A: Knight Bracelet, Elite Ring, and Leg Ring. Make sure Celice has a good weapon, be it Hero Sword, Silver Sword, or Silver Blade. Once you've got that covered, buy any stat-boosting rings as you please. Q: The Battle of Barhara... B -> A if the father passes down corresponding crusader blood. Holyn increases Sword ranking Azel increases Fire Magic ranking Lex increases Axe ranking (redundant, none of the Children are axe users) Levin increases Wind Magic (star level for Arthur, Sety, and Corple) Claude increases Staffs (star level for Sety and Corple) ................................................................................ ...................................THE FATHERS.................................. Let's take a look at what each father has to offer. You might notice I didn't list the weapons for some fathers, like Lex's axes or Noish's spears. This is because none of their sons can start out with those weapon types, and you can pass down weapons you acquire as long as the child can use it. Key for reading stats: --- = Poor - = Inferior blank = Typical + = Improved +++ = Premium *-FATHER-*--MHP--STR--MGC--SKI--SPD--LUC--DEF--MDF--*---------Skillset---------* |Noish | + + - - + |Critical, Charge | |Alec | + |Pursuit, Nihil | |Ardan | +++ +++ - --- - --- +++ |Ambush | |Azel | --- +++ - +++ - - + |Pursuit | |Lex | +++ + - - - +++ |Ambush, Elite | |Fin | + +++ |Pursuit, Prayer | |Midir | - - + - |Prayer, Charge | |Dew | - + + + + + + + |Bargain, Solar | |Jamka | +++ +++ --- + |Continue, Charge | |Holyn | +++ +++ - |Moonlight | |Levin | +++ --- +++ +++ - - + |Continue, Critical | |Beowulf | + + - + - |Pursuit, Charge | |Claude | --- +++ - + +++ - +++ | | *--------*------------------------------------------*--------------------------* Basic comments about each father: [Noish] Noish goes great with anyone who gets Pursuit or at least a Pursuit Ring. Critical, Charge, and his stats go great with multi-hitting. Without Pursuit or the Pursuit Ring, he's a little more questionable. [Alec] Alec can safely be paired with anyone, since he offers Pursuit and reasonable growths. While he's typically not optimal for pairing, his kids are definitely useable because they don't get screwed up (other than Arthur). Nihil is purely situational. [Ardan] Most people shy away from Ardan pairings, mostly because he's ugly, and especially because of Lex being all like "anything you can do I can do better". In some cases he isn't bad if you want something new or uncommon. [Azel] Azel's advantages and disadvantages pretty much equal out. He does pass down Pursuit and his SPD lets you double reliably, but the weak spots can really show with some characters. [Lex] Elite and the stats are the main selling points. The only real flaws, if any, are Lex's lack of Pursuit and he has trouble passing down weapons. Great for anyone who needs to build levels fast or wants to be a tank. [Fin] Fin can be paired with anyone because he offers good growths and Pursuit. Just be warned it's difficult to pair Fin since he leaves early, and pairing him leaves him with an Iron Lance in chapter 7. Regardless, if he is the father of Lana, Lakche, or Nanna, they'll gain a +5 stat bonus in one category from him in chapter 7 (MGC for Lana, SKI for Lakche, and SPD for Nanna). [Midir] Not the best stats, but the skillsets can create offensive powerhouses. [Dew] Dew offers great growths, but a poor skillset. Pair him the same way you would Holyn. [Jamka] See comments for Noish. Continue and Charge, if added with Pursuit, usually results in some good damage! But since he doesn't pass down Pursuit naturally and focuses on physical stats, some of his children can be a little lopsided. He ruins mages, so watch out for mage children. [Holyn] Holyn pairings are very specific. There are only a few children who benefit from him being their father, and boy do they turn out great. Unfortunately he really messes everyone else up, so be careful. [Levin] If it wasn't for the low STR and DEF I'd say he could actually be good for physical fighters because of good stats otherwise and his skillset. Still, they can't use Holsety, so he's best off with someone who can. Note that Fee, Leen, and Tinny can gain +5 in one stat in Chapter 9 (STR for Fee, DEF for Leen, and MGC for Tinny). [Beowulf] Similar to Midir, but passes down swords instead of bows, and give or take a little in each stat. I'd say Beowulf is better overall. He goes good with just about any physical fighter, but beware of mages as mage children get screwed up by him. [Claude] Be careful when pairing Claude. He absolutely ruins physical fighters and mages are a little iffy. His stats might go great for mages, but no skills is a bad thing. Only major advantage is high RES. ................................................................................ .....................................SKILLS..................................... Skills as passed down by potential parents; not a complete list as some skills can never be acquired by the children characters. Sigurd, Deidre, Cuan, and Ethlin are not mentioned in this section because they always have the same pairing, while the others can be customized. Pursuit (Alec, Azel, Midir, Fin, Beowulf, Fury): If your attack speed is higher than the enemy's, you will attack a second time. Continue (Jamka, Levin, Sylvia): There's a chance a given attack's number of hits multiplies by 2, same effect as a "Hero" weapon. Does not complement "Hero" weapons. Nihil (Alec, Aira): Prevents Critical, Wrath, Moonlight, Meteor, and Solar. Critical (Noish, Levin): Doubles attack power (not to be mistaken with double overall damage). Charge (Noish, Midir, Jamka, Beowulf): Small chance of dragging on a battle for another round. A double-edged sword with weaker units like Patty, but it seems to work best with ranged attacks. Ambush (Ardan, Lex): Attack first when below 50% HP. Elite (Lex): Doubles EXP gained. Not just for fighting, but magic, thief giving gold, and dancing. Meteor (Aira): Multiplies any given attack's number of hits by 5! With Continue or a Hero Sword, you could conceivably attack up to 20 times in one fight! Prayer (Fin, Sylvia): Improves dodging when HP is 10 or below. Bargain (Dew): Halves cost of purchasing or repairing items. Solar (Dew): Leeches HP. Sword skill, so it's exclusive to non-mounted sword users. Moonlight (Holyn): Nullifies defense. Sword skill, exclusive to non-mounted sword users. Charisma (Lachesis): Allies within 3 spaces range of a unit with Charisma gets an additional 10% for their evade and accuracy. Wrath (Tiltyu): Instant critical when below 50% HP. Steal (class): Take all of victim's gold. Natural skill of Thieves only. Dance (class): Give adjacent units an extra turn. Dancer only. It should be noted that some skills say "soldier" and others say "civilian". "Soldier" skills mean the character's class has it naturally, so they cannot be passed down to children. Dew has Steal because he's a thief. Sylvia has Dance because she's a dancer. Jamka and Holyn have Pursuit because of their class. Lachesis and Dew gain Pursuit on promotion. Aira, Tiltyu, and Fury gain Continue on promotion. Because these skills don't get passed down to children, that's why I didn't include those characters in with the above lists. ................................................................................ ================================================================================ 6. PAIRING GUIDE (PAIRINGS) This is where the game gets fun, and why it has infinite replay value. These are just comments and recommendations on pairings, but that's probably why you came here. To date, I have tried all but the following pairs. The untested ones I think I have a pretty good idea about, but they need to be checked for accuracy. Aideen with: Dew, Claude, Holyn Aira with: Azel Lachesis with: Jamka, Holyn Sylvia with: Fin, Jamka Fury with: Fin, Midir, Beowulf Tiltyu with: Noish, Dew, Jamka, Holyn Brigid with: (none, I tried them all out!) .....................................Aideen..................................... Depending who you pair Aideen up with, Lester either becomes extremely helpful or completely worthless. You can't exactly screw up Lana, since she's a healer and stats and skills usually aren't necessary for her. Because of this, Lester takes priority in Aideen pairings. Ideally, you should look for someone who gives Lester good Strength and Pursuit as a skill. All the better if he can use bows. [Midir] If you're new to this game or want Lester to be useful without much of a hassle, go with this one. This is one of the two pairings that allow Lester to inherit the Hero's Bow, which is the selling point. Balanced growths and Pursuit are wonderful, and Charge is most beneficial with ranged attacks. [Jamka] People debate whether Midir or Jamka produces the best Lester. Jamka gives Lester better stats and makes him stronger, but Midir has Pursuit whereas Jamka has Continue. If you can't think of anyone else who will benefit from the Pursuit Ring, you might want to go with this pairing. Jamka!Lester also makes better use of the Killer Bow than Midir!Lester, so if you prefer the Killer Bow over the Hero Bow for any reason, this is worth considering. [Beowulf] This one is pretty good actually. Lester will have to make due early on without the Hero Bow, but once he gets it in chapter 9 he'll start to dominate as he would with Midir or Jamka as his father. [Ardan] Good, but only if you promote Ardan. You could conceivably pass down a Killer Bow and maybe even a Steel Bow for Lester. With the Pursuit Ring Lester becomes pretty powerful as he can hit quite hard, and both kids will have great survivability. Another minor advantage, with Ardan you can just keep the Pursuit Ring on him; you don't have to worry about raising the funds to re-purchase it. [Fin] Also a good pairing. Lester won't be a powerhouse, but he gets Pursuit and good STR, both which are critical for him. Lana also benefits from this pairing since she can gain +5 MGC by talking to Fin in chapter 7. Prayer is only mildly helpful for archers and healers, if helpful at all. Still, a decent enough pairing because both children benefit. [Noish] Not as bad as it sounds. Lester needs the Pursuit Ring to truly be useful, but Charge and Critical work together quite nicely. Lester develops some pretty strong stats, and Charge works great with bow-users. [Alec] Average. Stats will never be spectacular, but they are reasonable. Lester does get Pursuit and decent STR, both which are critical for him. Nihil is purely situational, so it probably won't come into use often, if at all. Nihil can help Lana contribute a bit in the final confrontation with Julius, since she won't have to worry about Wrath. [Unpaired] You get Dimna and Mana instead of Lester and Lana. Mana is a healer and can always help out, though clearly inferior to Lana. Dimna gets Pursuit and reasonable growths. If he enters Isaac Castle, he gets +5 STR so he's off at a good start. They're pretty decent, especially by substitute standards. [Levin] A bad pairing for Lester, but EXCELLENT for Lana. Lana's MGC, SKI, and SPD should max out with no problem, and her HP will be great as well. She can also use Elwind on promotion, thanks to Minor Holsety. Unfortunately, Lester gets screwed over, as he'll be pretty weak and lacking Pursuit. Hero Bow cancels out Continue and Killer Bow cancels out Critical, so while the skillsets are good at first, late-game Lester's use is quite limited. Quite possibly Lana's best father, but definitely one of Lester's worst. And since you'll lose Holsety, you should look for something else... [Azel] Lester may get Pursuit, but his stats are pretty bad and an Iron Bow with this won't be getting him anywhere. Azel results in a wonderful Lana, as her stats at level 10 rival that of a promoted Lana with Midir as her father, and she can now use Elfire. [Lex] This one's a little iffy. You do get a strong Lester and Elite greatly benefits Lana (if you spam staffs, you could get her promoted by chapter 8) but since Aideen's kids often keep out of range, the added durability isn't really needed. On top of this, Lester's offense isn't enhanced by anything, so he won't be very good at all. [Dew] The kids do get pretty good stats and Bargain would help Lana quite a bit, but if you have Aideen pick up the Bargain Bracelet in chapter 2 you should have no need for this. No combat skills or inheritance hurts Lester quite a bit, so he suffers the same problem as Lex!Lester. [Claude] If you make this pairing, Lester is hopeless. He's very weak physically and NO skills renders him almost unusable. The only consolation prize is you can sell Claude's Reserve Staff and have Aideen buy it so she can pass it down to Lana, but the problem is Rescue and Reserve aren't really necessary for the early bits of the second generation, and Lana uses class-A staffs when she promotes so it isn't going to make a difference. [Holyn] No. Don't even try this one out of curiousity, it's that bad. NO skills again, and Holyn doesn't even offer anything that would improve Lana. Lester does get better stats than he would with Claude, but he's useless this way. ................................................................................ ......................................Aira...................................... Pairing Aira is a must! Her kids end up some of the best characters in most incarnates, and they still manage to be good with Aira's worst pairings. [Noish] Some may agree or disagree with me, but this is one of my favorite pairings in the game. The kids, while not tanks, are still strong enough and Critical added to the insane multi-hitting just wrecks havoc. [Lex] The kids become TANKS! Add that to Aira's already insane abilities and they're powerful both offensively and defensively. Elite just makes them skyrocket to being some of the best characters in the game! [Holyn] One of the most popular pairings, and for a good reason. This is the only pairing where both kids can use Holyn's Moonlight Slash. The stats also go wonderfully and Skasaha has no problem inheriting his father's equipment. Even though two sword skills cannot activate at the same time, you get two chances, so if Starlight fails to activate, you have a second chance in which the other skill activates. Highly recommended if you can easily accumulate 50-kill weapons for Lakche and Skasaha! [Levin] Holy cow, this pairing is incredible. The STR/DEF isn't low enough where it shows, and the skillsets is one of the best I can imagine. With Continue you don't need the Hero Sword, and the kids score critical hits like crazy! If you don't mind not being able to use Holsety, I strongly suggest giving this one a try!! [Jamka] This one is underrated. Not that Aira has low STR, but the kids will benefit from Jamka's insane STR. The kids won't need a Hero Sword, since Continue should activate enough. This lets you free the Hero Sword for someone who needs it. [Dew] Another pairing a lot of people like. Like anyone inheriting Dew's growths, the kids will have great stats. Both kids can also make use of Solar Slash, enabling them to hold out the front lines for a long time. [Ardan] Pretty similar to Lex, with slightly lower stats overall and minus the Elite skill. It's still a good pairing because Ardan's DEF covers where Aira may be lacking. High STR also helps. [Beowulf] Charge goes great with the multi-hitting and the stats are very good. Noish and Jamka offer that and much more. Now I'm not saying it's a bad pairing (no such thing as Aira's kids sucking!), just saying it's nothing compared to the above. [Fin] Prayer, when combined with Aira's SPD and the relatively light weight of most swords, enables the kids to dodge most attacks. Lakche also gains +5 SKI from Fin in chapter 7, but chances are her SKI is almost maxed out, so it isn't going to help much, if at all. [Midir] Same as Beowulf, give or take a few points in each stat. Since he can't pass down swords and his stats seem worse overall, this one isn't all too worthwhile. [Claude] Claude, along with Azel and Alec, offer no new skills for Aira. Alec may have more balanced stats, but Claude's MDF can help out enough. If you really want, you can pair Skasaha with Julia, as he can safely give Julia the Lover's Support when fighting Julius, thanks to Aira's Nihil and Claude's RES. She can usually take out Julius on her own, and you won't be getting any critical hits, but if you just want to speed up the fight with added hit/evade... [Alec] No new skills, and no standout stats. Better than nothing, but not recommended either. [Azel] Aira's "worst" suitor, for the lack of a better word. Similar to Claude, with a marginally higher SPD and significantly lower MDF. [Unpaired] Radnay and Rodolban appear if Lakche/Skasaha don't. They can hold their own sufficiently enough with their decent stats and satisfactory skills, but they can never compete with Lakche/Skasaha. ................................................................................ .....................................Lachesis................................... This is another critical pairing. Like Lester, Delmud is one of the kids you can screw up the worst. Nanna is consistently useful because she's a mounted healer. As long as they get Pursuit they should be fine. If not, make sure Delmud gets the Pursuit Ring. [Fin] This one makes Nanna her best as a fighter, and Delmud's at his second- best. Prayer helps keep the two a bit safer, and she gets that +5 SPD from Fin in chapter 7, which is very nice. Arguably the best overall Lachesis pairing. [Beowulf] Beowulf, Fin, and Azel all tie for the best Lachesis pairing, each in their own ways. Beowulf results in the best Beowulf and Nanna is a pretty good fighter, though I prefer Fin for Nanna. [Azel] The superior MGC makes Nanna her best as a healer. Both kids can fight reasonably well, due to their Minor Hezul blood and Pursuit as a skill. DEF leaves a little to be desired, but it's at least enough. [Lex] A great pairing if you can't think of anybody else who needs the Pursuit Ring. The kids become TANKS, letting them stay on the front line not only to inflict some damage, but keep up with Charisma. Delmud will need a Pursuit Ring, but when you do give it to him he'll be pretty powerful. Nanna will mostly be sticking to healing and staffs. The only problem is that it will be a pain to get swords for Delmud, since Lex uses axes and will be at a disadvantage against Shagaal. If you don't want to bother with that, have Lex pick up the Armor Cutter in chapter 2 and keep it. [Alec] Good, but not great. Pursuit is the main point here, and Nihil enables Nanna to help out in the final battle not only to heal, but for Charisma as well. [Midir] Like Beowulf, but stats aren't as great and lesser inheritance. At least the skillsets kick ass, to make up for that. A decent enough pairing. [Noish] Delmud gets some pretty good stats and a great skillset. A great pairing for Delmud if you give him the Pursuit Ring. Nanna is kind of lame, so you'll probably resign her to healing and Charisma. [Dew] Great stats for both kids, but that's mostly it. Bargain might help Nanna with the Earth Sword or staff repairs, but Bargain doesn't really help Delmud, who won't be able to fight well without the Pursuit Ring. At least you get a hilarious conversation in chapter 5 if you pair Dew with Lachesis. Not a very good pairing, but it isn't TOO bad either. [Levin] A little lopsided. The kids will be missing Pursuit and Holsety goes to waste. Nanna has her moments in the Arena and Delmud needs the Pursuit Ring. Good for Nanna, but not good enough to make up for the loss of Holsety. [Jamka] Jamka's Strength doesn't help much since it's already high enough with Minor Hezul. Continue and Charge can come in handy, but Delmud learns Continue on promotion, and he'll need the Pursuit Ring. [Ardan] Pretty dull, and the only major advantages for Delmud is great HP and possibible inheritance. Nanna will be pretty bad, and she'll have difficulty building levels. [Claude] Delmud is doomed. Since Claude comes after you kill Shagaal, Delmud will be stuck with a crappy Iron Sword. Nanna gets to use class B staffs. Not worth it, since most of the class B staffs are better in other characters' hands, and Nanna will be a terrible fighter. Delmud won't be that strong and lacks any good skills, so your only hope of making him useful is to give him a 50-kill Hero Sword if you can. [Holyn] The kids will have incredible HP and SKI, but nothing worth noting is offered. No skills mean they're pretty much limited ot just Charisma, and they'll be of little help in combat. Minor Odo's +1 Sword Mastery does nothing when Lachesis's Minor Hezul does the same. About the only good thing is Delmud has no trouble inheriting weapons. [Unpaired] Tristan and Janne replace Delmud and Nanna respectively. Tristan is pathetic until he promotes, and then he becomes above-average. You'll be hard-pressed to get him there, as he only has Critical and average stats (save high HP). Better give him the Hero Sword, or he'll be worthless. You might want him to liberate the village in chapter 6 so the Skill Ring gives him more of a chance to critical. But the point of a character being good is that you're making as few corrections as possible. He looks kick-ass, however. Janne's only saving grace is that she's a mounted healer. ................................................................................ ......................................Sylvia.................................... Sylvia's kids are pretty irrelevant. Neither healers or dancers are used for combat, so skills and stats don't matter much. Do whatever you like, just don't waste a guy you'd rather pair with someone else. There's very little you can do to help Sylvia's kids, and when you do, the benefit is only marginal at most. [Lex] Both kids really like that Elite skill, since they often have trouble building EXP. The extra HP and DEF also makes Leen quite survivable, even though she typically stays out of range anyways. [Dew] Bargain helps both kids greatly, since they usually have a harder time making money. Corple gets surprisingly good stats. Theoretically, Solar can mess up Leen's Prayer, but realistically that's not going to happen when it doesn't activate very often, and when it does it restores miniscule amounts of HP. [Levin] This one is not so recommended. Corple does get Holsety, but he can't use it until he's promoted. In all likelihood, you'll be so close to finishing the game by the time Corple's ready you'll have missed out on most of the moments Holsety would've come in handy. [Alec] Not many people recommend this one, but it's actually pretty good. Pursuit helps Leen's arena, and with Nihil you might be able to take a chance and have her Dance during the final confrontation against Julius. [Claude] One of the only two pairings where Claude's son can use the Valkyrie Staff. Also since netiher are fighters, you might want to go with this one on your first playthrough in case you need to revive somebody. [Noish] Critical is actually more helpful than you might imagine. Although it will not activate as often as you might like, it certainly helps reduce Leen's repair costs, since she completely breaks her weapons in the Arena. [Unpaired] Some people argue the replacement characters Laylea and Sharlow are actually better than Leen and Corple. Indeed, Layela does get Charisma and the exclusive Barrier Sword, and Sharlow gets Elite and a Berserk Staff. Sharlow's stats seem more relevant than most Corples, so here are two substitute characters who have a good chance of being better than the real characters! Problem is Laylea won't be doing anything in the Arena. [Holyn] This allows Leen to use class B swords... but since you can't just trade items and have to sell/buy to do that, she probably won't be using the Hero Sword as much as you might like. Still, it's at least worth noting. [Midir] Pursuit can help Leen in the Arena, and so can the decent SPD. Charge doesn't make an impact in the Arena and you'll want to keep her out of combat anyways. [Beowulf] Literally the same as Midir, since the stat differences will be so miniscule. [Azel] I thought at first Leen would be good with a magic sword, but those swords become physical weapons in the Arena so the extra MGC won't help. Pursuit does, though. Good stats for Corple though. [Ardan] Nothing worth mentioning, but the same could be said of most Sylvia pairings. [Jamka] Continue is wasted and Charge isn't helping Leen in any way. Stats mean nothing so this is one of Sylvia's worst pairings. [Fin] More trouble than it's worth. Fin's Prayer is wasted and there are other guys who pass down Pursuit and more. Since this one is damn near impossible to make happen and it leaves Fin with just an Iron Lance, ignore this one. ................................................................................ .......................................Fury..................................... Fury gives birth to Pegasus Knight Fee and Sage Sety. They get most of what they need from their mother (Pursuit for both, flight for Fee) and Sety always starts out good. You can influence their overall quality quite a bit, but they're always useful. [Levin] The ultimate pairing. Sety becomes so overpowered it's almost sickening. Levin's stats, skills, and Holsety were just made for Sety. Fee gets good stats (other than a marginally lower STR/DEF) and both kids make excellent use of Levin's skillsets. [Lex] Arguably one of the best incarnates of Fee, because she gets some of her best stats and Lex's skills. Sety will do pretty good considering the skillset. His MGC won't rise much, but it's at least enough. He becomes more of a "tanky" mage rather than a powerful one. [Noish] A great pairing for Fee. Unlike Levin's Continue which is nullified when using Hero weapons, Noish's Charge can still activate. They both offer Critical, and Noish's stats will put fee off at a better start. Sety will do fine, if only because of the skills and not the stats. [Claude] Another great pairing for Sety. His stats will be great and this is one of the only two pairings that can give the Valkyrie Wand. Fee can also use class B staffs upon promotion. The only problem is Fee will have a fairly average STR. Since it's easy to accumulate 50 kills with the Hero Lance, the lack of Levin's skills is nullified. With an impressive RES, Fee becomes invaluable for scouting ahead in the epilogue to eliminate those 5 Sleep Staff guys up on the hill. [Holyn] Fee can use rank-A swords now, but since she typically sticks to the Hero Spear, it probably isn't going to help at all. Only time it would is if you want Fin to use the Hero Spear. The stats are pretty good though, to make up for the lack of new skills. Fee gets more criticals with a 50-kill Hero Spear, and Sety gets great base stats since Holyn is easy to build. [Dew] This gives some of the best stats for Fee, and Sety should be good as well. Skillset isn't overly helpful, as Sety and especially Fee have an easy enough time making money in the arena (and Fee being able to fly to villages quickly), so they're probably the ones who benefit from Bargain the least. [Alec] Nihil does prevent critical hits from Arrows that hit Fee. It's alright, but the benefit is only marginal at best, and there are better pairings. Nihil comes in most handy for Fee at the start and end of chapter 8. More for novelty than anything. [Fin] Prayer can come in handy, since Fee and Sety are pretty fast. They'll be pretty good at dodging, but nothing new is offered offensively. At least they get balanced stats. Still, considering how difficult it is to get this pairing and how there's better ones, it isn't worth leaving Fin with an Iron Lance by pairing him with Fury. [Azel] A bad pairing for Fee, but pretty good for Sety. While Fee is always useful since she flies and gets Pursuit from her mother, her stats become lackluster and no new skills are added for her. Sety gets great stats and can use Volcannon, but considering the weight and availability, you'll probably stick to his original Lightning Tome. [Jamka] A pairing that favors Fee. She gets very good growths, but Continue is most likely useless because Fee typically uses the Hero Lance, and she gets Continue on promotion anyways. Unfortunately, this is one of the worst incarnates of Sety. Jamka's STR is useless for mages, and his weaknesses really show with Sety. Since Sety's class gives him Continue naturally, Jamka's Continue is wasted. [Beowulf] Good stats for Fee, but bad for Sety. Charge isn't enough to make up for it. [Midir] See above, but Fee is a little worse and Sety is a little better. [Ardan] Doesn't do much for Fee. She'll be strong, but not noticably so. Sety gets such horrible growths, he's more or less another Oifaye. One of Fury's least impressive pairings. [Unpaired] Femina is Fee's replacement, and Hawk is Sety's replacement. Femina's stats aren't too bad, but she's missing Pursuit so she's off at a bad start. Hawk is great, comparable to Azel!Sety. ................................................................................ .....................................Tiltyu..................................... Tiltyu has the mages Arthur and Tinny. The top pairings are all radically different from each other, so it's pretty difficult to provide general guidelines here. Arthur and (to a lesser extent) Tinny can either do really good if you make a good pairing, or end up sucking completely if you make a bad pairing. [Levin] Early game Holsety for Arthur? Makes the game a breeze. Sety may be more powerful, but Arthur becomes mounted when he promotes. He's powerful enough with just Holsety, but you might want to give him the Pursuit Ring to maximize his firepower. Tinny might be at a bit of a loss, but she's sufficient and it's worth it when Arthur becomes so versatile. [Lex] Love it or hate it, I thought the kids were fantastic, especially after Tinny promoted. Wrath and Ambush always activate together and result in a deadly combo. It's just the lowish MGC and lack of Pursuit that turn some people off. I wouldn't recommend this one to beginners, but definitely give it a try when you've beaten the game at least once! [Fin] I liked this one. People thought I was in for a disappointment because of the MGC, but I thought the overall results were decent enough. Even though Wrath activates with 1-50% HP and Prayer 1-10 POINTS HP, most hits send Arthur/Tinny into Prayer's range so they can blast their enemies more safely. MGC may be a little more problematic, but since it's so easy to clear the arena with Pursuit+Wrath+Prayer, you can alleviate this with RNG abuse. [Unpaired] If Tiltyu doesn't have children, you'll get Amid and Linda instead of Arthur and Tinny. Amid gets some pretty impressive stats, and Continue is great with light-weight Wind Magics. He's much better than crappy Arthurs, I can tell you that. Linda has very good stats where it matters and she gets Wrath and Elite for her skills. She also starts as a Thunder Mage, so unlike Tinny she can use Tron at first opportunity. Linda is one of the better substitute characters, and arguably better than most versions of Tinny. [Midir] Decent. No stat is going to dazzle you and there aren't any skills that complement Wrath's range, but Pursuit and Charge can result in some multi-hitting. So you get Pursuit/Charge at high health, Pursuit/Wrath at low health. Not bad. [Azel] I don't know... most people consider this the optimal "tried and true" pairing. I did it on my first playthrough and wasn't pleased. I thought this was due to my inexperience so I tried it on a later playthrough and still wasn't pleased. Try it if you like, not sure what to say though. [Claude] Not such a bad pairing but not a very good one either. Solid stats, but only Wrath gets inherited. Tinny can use rank-A staffs on promotion. Because she has slightly better movement than Corple or Lana and can clear the arena easily, she just might be the best candidate for the Reserve Staff. Arthur will NEED the Pursuit Ring or he won't be all too great. [Ardan] Definitely a step down from Tiltyu+Lex. The one stat Ardan does better (STR) is moot since Tiltyu's kids are mages and don't need it. And they'll never get Elite. Tinny's decent enough and becomes fairly good after promotion. Arthur, on the other hand, is just hopeless. [Beowulf] A step down from Midir. Tinny's not too bad and she gets a good skillset, but Arthur's stats are pathetic. Don't expect him to be overly helpful. [Alec] Arthur sucks the same way Azel!Lester does. Even with Wrath and Pursuit, he isn't getting anywhere. Tinny doesn't get it so bad, since she has more of her mother's stats instead. [Dew] This one is not recommended at all. Tinny doesn't acquire Dew's Solar even when she's promoted, and the MGC is just slightly better than most, but it just isn't enough with nothing else added to their offensive capabilities. [Noish] Pretty much pointless. Why Critical when you have Wrath? The stats don't go good with Mages either, and the kids will be lacking any true forms of multi-hitting. [Jamka] Continue, but that's it. At least Amid has solid stats to back it up, but Arthur will be pathetic. Tinny will be poor too. [Holyn] Tinny doesn't inherit sword skills when promoted, so the kids only have Tiltyu's Wrath skill. Holyn's stats aren't such a good match for mages, either. When promoted, Arthur can use class A swords and Tinny can use class B swords, but this is so not worth it. ................................................................................ .....................................Brigid..................................... Brigid yields the bow fighter Faval and thief Patty. Faval inherits the Ichival and his class always gives him Pursuit, so he gets most of what he needs from his mother. He'll range from average to awesome. Patty doesn't get what she needs from her mother, so try to alleviate this the best you can. [Lex] I think Lex is the best suitor for Brigid. Since they often start at a somewhat low level, Patty and Faval will make best use of Lex's Elite skill (Faval is locked to bows, every little bit helps Patty). The added durability certainly helps Patty. Faval also becomes quite strong. Ambush helps Patty maximize her Sleep Sword in the arena. [Beowulf] A very good pairing. Faval should become quite strong with his stats and Charge added to his skillset. Patty also benefits from Pursuit, the stats are better than you might think, and she can inherit swords. [Fin] You might consider this one if you're focusing on alleviating Patty's weakness. Pursuit helps her offense enough, and she's generally frail enough where one hit will send her into Prayer's range. Faval doesn't really get much other than decent stats; Pursuit is wasted and Prayer doesn't really help ranged fighters. [Jamka] An excellent pairing for Faval, but kind of bad for Patty. If you thought Jamka kicked ass in the first generation, he's back, his name is Faval, and now he can use the Ichival! Probably Faval's best father. [Levin] A very good pairing because it considers both kids rather than favoring one or the other. DEF isn't neccessary and if you're concerned about Faval's STR, that's what he has the Ichival for. Levin's skillsets are excellent with Faval's class. And you'd be surprised at what Patty can do with a Skill Ring! I still say Jamka produces the best Faval and Fin or Lex produce the best Patty, but like I said, this pairing doesn't favor one or the other. Still... are you willing to give up Holsety? It's viable. [Dew] Dew is a good choice here. Patty can use Dew's Solar Slash, but that's not what makes this one of the most effective Brigid pairings. The stats all rise nicely for both kids and both kids really appreciate that Bargain skill. Faval can repair the Ichival cheaply and rely on it entirely. Patty can minimize costs and allow her to give more gold. [Holyn] This one is quite popular among people. Holyn does allow Patty to use Moonlight and rank-B swords, enabling her to use the Hero Sword and almost be combat-viable. Faval doesn't get any new skills and has to rely on his class's Pursuit Skill, but he should be fine with his stats. [Alec] Good, but not great. Patty gets Pursuit and can inherit the Wind Sword. Because Faval and his Ichival are strong enough and he has Nihil, he ..can.. fight Julius, but he'll still have to worry about Julius' Charge skill, where he'd be in danger of getting hit more than once, and he likely won't survive that. Still, a safe enough pairing worth trying even if you don't send Faval to fight Julius. [Midir] Charge for Faval, but other than that nothing too worthwhile for him. At least Patty's SPD can help and she gets Pursuit. Not great, not crap. [Noish] Not as potent as I predicted. I thought at first Ichival+Critical would be devastating, but sadly it doesn't activate often in Faval's case (must have been my bad luck). At least Charge helps him become somewhat of a multi-hitter and he's fairly strong. Nothing too worthwhile for Patty, but other than being able to inherit the Wind Sword. [Ardan] This one isn't bad. Faval should be quite strong this way and Patty can inherit the Wind Sword, so she's off at a better start. Not the best pairing, but it's at least safe. Ambush helps Patty use her Sleep Sword to its most. [Azel] No skills for Faval and his stats aren't so good either. Patty gets Pursuit, but that's about it. I wouldn't recommend this one. [Claude] No skills, stats don't go well in either kid's case, and Valkyrie is wasted. While Faval doesn't "suck", he's definitely lackluster compared to all his other incarnates. [Unpaired] Asaello and Daisy replace Faval and Patty respectively. Asaello sucks. Not because he'll never get the Ichival, but his growths just aren't enough to keep up with the standards against your enemies. Daisy might have Prayer, but unlike Fin!Patty she's strictly limited to stealing money from enemies with 1 HP left or those who can't fight back. ................................................................................ ================================================================================ BOTTOM LINE It isn't worth pairing Fin with Aira, Sylvia, or Fury. HOWEVER Lachesis, Tiltyu, Aideen, and Brigid are more viable. If you don't want to think too hard about what pairings to make, here are some optimal combinations. "Common" Optimal - If you ask most FE4 veterans, they'll suggest these: [Aideen + Midir] [Aira + Lex] [Lachesis + Beowulf] [Sylvia + Claude] [Fury + Levin] [Tiltyu + Azel] [Brigid + Holyn] "My" Optimal - These seem more effective if you're already familiar: [Aideen + Midir] [Aira + Noish]* [Lachesis + Fin] [Sylvia + Dew] [Fury + Claude] [Tiltyu + Levin] [Brigid + Lex] *If you accumulate and keep 50-kill weapons on Lakche/Skasaha, you can substitute Noish with Holyn. Fin is not easy to pair, but well worth the effort with Lachesis. Claude gives a strong Sety and Fee has high RES, and frees Levin for Tiltyu. Levin is better than most potential suitors for Tiltyu. Patty and Faval make best use of Elite, while Leen and Corple make best use of Bargain. I can universally agree with Aideen+Midir.