========================= ========================= FIRE EMBLEM: RADIANT DAWN CHARACTER GUIDE ========================= ========================= This guide is copyrighted by me, Cloud551 (GameFAQs username). Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn is copyrighted by Nintendo and Intelligent Systems. Copyright and usage details can be found in Section 6 of this guide. ================= Table of Contents ================= 1 - Intro...................................................................[1] .1 - How To Use This Guide...............................................[1.1] .2 - Version History.....................................................[1.2] .3 - FAQs................................................................[1.3] .4 - "Secret" Characters.................................................[1.4] 2 - Character Guide by Part.................................................[2] .1 - Part 1..............................................................[2.1] .2 - Part 2..............................................................[2.2] .3 - Part 3..............................................................[2.3] .4 - Part 4..............................................................[2.4] .5 - Preparing For Part 4 Endgame........................................[2.5] 3 - Character Comparisons by Class..........................................[3] .1 - Unique Classes......................................................[3.1] .2 - Myrmidon, Swordmaster, Trueblade....................................[3.2] .3 - Archer, Sniper, Marksman............................................[3.3] .4 - Fighter, Warrior, Reaver............................................[3.4] .5 - Priest, Bishop, Saint...............................................[3.5] .6 - Thief, Rogue, Whisper...............................................[3.6] .7 - Mage, Sage, Archsage................................................[3.7] .8 - Soldier, Halberdier, Sentinel.......................................[3.8] .9 - Armor Knight, General, Marshall.....................................[3.9] .10 - Dracoknight, Dragonmaster, Dragonlord.............................[3.10] .11 - Social Knight, Paladin, Silver/Gold Knight........................[3.11] .12 - Pegasus Knight, Falcon Knight, Seraph Knight......................[3.12] .13 - Wolf, Wolf Queen..................................................[3.13] .14 - Tiger.............................................................[3.14] .15 - Raven, Raven King.................................................[3.15] .16 - Heron.............................................................[3.16] .17 - Cat...............................................................[3.17] .18 - Hawk, Hawk King...................................................[3.18] .19 - Lion, Lion King...................................................[3.19] .20 - Red Dragon, White Dragon, Dragon Prince...........................[3.20] 4 - Innate Skills...........................................................[4] .1 - Other Skills........................................................[4.1] 5 - In-depth Character Analysis.............................................[5] .1 - Micaiah.............................................................[5.1] .2 - Edward..............................................................[5.2] .3 - Leonardo............................................................[5.5] .4 - Nolan...............................................................[5.4] .5 - Laura...............................................................[5.5] 6 - Legal Stuff and Miscellaneous...........................................[6] .1 - Contact Info........................................................[6.1] .2 - Special Thanks......................................................[6.2] .3 - References and Links................................................[6.3] .4 - Copyright Info......................................................[6.4] ========== [1] Intro ========== Most things you need to know about this guide can be found in this section. ----------------------------- [1.1] - How To Use This Guide ----------------------------- First off, don't scroll too far down if you haven't finished the game yet. The further down you go, the greater the potential is for spoilers. You may want to skip past section 1.4 altogether. The easiest way to use any guide is to first take a good look at the table of contents. This guide has a simple way to quickly find what you're looking for. Copy the section ID (the numbers on the far right of the table of contents, both the brackets and the numbers) into the search field (Ctrl+F, or Command+F on Macs), and press enter. This SHOULD bring you directly to whatever you were looking for; if it doesn't, please report any problems to me (see "Contact Info" in section 6.1). You should be able to find the section just fine manually, anyway. The main thing to remember throughout this guide is that character growth is completely random. Just because your character may have turned out differently, don't assume I'm wrong. This is a T-rated game. I may use some mild language that you may see in some T-rated games. Nothing bad, though. Other things will be explained when needed as the guide goes along. ----------------------- [1.2] - Version History ----------------------- Version 1.0 - March 26, 2010 - Whew, finally finished. Characters' growth rates, starting stats and levels, recruitment details, affinity, and projected usefulness done. Going to start with Biorhythm types, recommended buddy supports, and bond supports. Version 1.01 - March 31, 2010 - Added Neoseeker to list of sites allowed to host this FAQ. Version 1.02 - April 1, 2010 - Added SuperCheats to the list of sites allowed to host this FAQ. Version 1.1 - April 6, 2010 - Started adding bond supports and a list of recommended buddy supports, all of the Part 1 characters are done. Brought Bastian up from a 5 to a 6, and Aran from a 6 to a 7. Also fixed some wording in Volke's overall description. I didn't mean to say he wasn't endgame material, I meant to say that you would probably want to use the slot for someone else. Let's face it; Assassins are fun, but not in the enemy-filled levels of the endgame. Added a couple more FAQs, too. Version 1.11 - May 14, 2010 - Too busy to update recently, until now. Anyway, Bond supports and recommended buddy supports are now done through Part 2. Also re-worded and added some things here and there. Also corrected a glaring flaw in the Table of Contents. Also, it seems like there's another guide up on GameFAQs now, so I had to change some wording in the second-to-last answer in the FAQ section. Version 1.2 - May 22, 2010 - By popular demand, I added the rest of the skills. I also added Glare, which I forgot originally. Eh, whatever, it was described with Nailah anyway. I'm sure there's at least one thing wrong with the new skills section, so keep up the e-mails with corrections! I also bumped Gatrie up from an 8 to a 9. Maybe I'm biased against Armored Knights, I don't know. Also touched up many areas throughout the guide, and revised a couple class comparisons. No major changes there, though. Version 1.3 - May 31, 2010 - Anyway, that aside, I added an entirely new section forin-depth explanations of characters. Expect the guide to get a lot bigger and more informative. Right now, though, I only have up to Edward done, but that's better than nothing. Thanks to Sean Mosey for pointing out a lot of typos and other problems with the guide. Those should be fixed now. Version 1.31 - June 14, 2010 - Everyone ready for E3? Anyway, in-depth stuff is done up to Nolan. Also changed him from an 8 to a 9. Version 1.32 - May 7, 2012 - Oh lawd it's been a while. Getting back to the in-depth sections now. Added Laura, Sothe, and Ilyana, and also updated Flourish in the skills section. On a side-note, anyone else excited for Awakening? Looks great. ------------ [1.3] - FAQs ------------ ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q: Are Marth, Roy, Ike, or Lyn in this game? A: This question makes a Fire Emblem fan want to go on a rampage... Ike is in this game, and is one of the two main characters. Marth, Roy, and Lyndis have absolutely nothing to do with this game. If you want to see them, Marth is in Fire Emblem 1 (Ankoku Ryuu to Hikari no Tsurugi, for the NES, in Japan only), 3 (Monshou no Nazo, SNES, Japan only), and 11 (Shadow Dragon, DS). Roy is in Fire Emblem 6 (Fuuin no Tsurugi, GBA, Japan only), and has a brief cameo in Fire Emblem 7 (Rekka no Ken, GBA, also just known as Fire Emblem). Lyndis is in Fire Emblem 7 as well. UPDATE: Marth is also in the new DS remake of Monsho no Nazo, "New Mystery of the Emblem: Heroes of Light and Shadow". UPDATE 2: Ike and Roy appear in some side-stories and DLC of Fire Emblem: Awakening. In addition, the story focuses heavily on a mysterious masked person claiming to be Marth, wielding the Falchion to back up their claims. I know whether it's the real Marth or not, but I won't spoil for you. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q: Where does this game fit in with the others? A: Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn is the tenth release in the series. While there is no specific timeline to the games, this is a direct sequel to the ninth game in the series, Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance. Aside from that, it has absolutely nothing to do with any other games in the series. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q: Is this game any good? A: That's a matter of opinion, but in my opinion, yes, it is very good. Basically, it boils down to two things; whether you like Fire Emblem games or not, and whether you like harder games or easier games. If you like FE games and harder games, you will most likely love this game. Otherwise, you'll probably hate it. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q: What are the differences between this game and Path of Radiance? A: There are a few differences, but most are small. The main two differences are the new transformation system for Laguz, and the new Support system. Laguz now transform differently; each species gains and loses points from their transform gauge at different rates (for example, Cats gain 10 every turn when not transformed, while Hawks gain 8). Their stats, with the exception of Luck and HP, are doubled while transformed. In addition, they can counterattack if they are attacked while transformed, but their hit percentage, strength, etc. are based off of their non-transformed stats, making this useful for self- defense only. The Support system has been redone as well. Characters can Support with any one character at a time. However, this comes at a price. The deep Support conversations we know and love have been taken out, and replaced by simple one-line greetings that follow a specific formula. But it's a small price to pay for being able to support any characters together. That being said, there are also "Bond Supports", which are always present. They give small bonuses to characters that have very close relationships, such as Janaff and Ulki. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q: What do "E" and "P" stand for in the chapter numbers? A: "E" stands for Endgame, and "P" stands for Prologue. The Prologue is the first chapter in each part, and the Endgame is the last chapter in each part. Note that the Part 4 Endgame is split into 5 smaller parts. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q: What are Supports, anyway? What do they do, and how do I use them? A: Supports are relationships formed between two characters. Characters gain and lose "Support Points" (an invisible value that determines which level support they can hold) whenever they interact. There are five ways to gain (and lose) Support Points between characters; healing, shoving, carrying (rescuing), having them stand in adjacent squares, and using them in the same chapter. Depending on the characters' relationship in the storyline, these actions will add Support Points at varying rates. Once you have enough Support Points, you can Support the characters (in the Support menu at the Base screen). Characters with Supports will gain bonuses while in battle if they are within three squares of the Supported character. Bonuses are determined by the character's "Affinity" (fire, heaven, etc.). To determine what they will gain, you add the bonuses for each of their affinities and multiply it depending on the support level (x1 for C Supports, x2 for B Supports, and x3 for A Supports). For example, one of my favorite supports is Ike and Mia. Mia, having the Fire affinity, adds +0.5 Attack and +2.5% Accuracy. But since decimals are rounded up, she gives an extra 1 Attack and an extra 3% Accuracy. Ike has the Earth affinity, which adds a nice +7.5% to their evasion (again, round up, so for now, it's 8%). You add together all these bonuses. If Ike or Mia get into a battle within three spaces of each other, they will deal 1 more damage than normal, have an extra 3% chance of hitting the enemy, and have an extra 8% chance of dodging the enemy's attack. After a while, you can increase the support level from C to B. This doubles the original bonuses that they get, from +0.5 Attack, +2.5% Accuracy, and +7.5% Avoid, to +1 Attack, +5% Accuracy, and +15% Avoid. When the support is upgraded to A, you increase the values again; this time, they come out to +1.5 Attack, +7.5 Accuracy, and +22.5% Avoid (rounded, that's +2 Attack, +8 Accuracy, and +23 Avoid). That extra 2 attack could be the difference between killing an enemy in one attack and having to wait until the next turn, and that extra 23% evasion will make the already hard-to-hit Mia almost impossible to hit. Supports can make or break a game for you. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q: Growth rates are percentages of what? A: They are not percentages of anything. That is the chance, out of 100, that stat has of increasing upon leveling up. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q: How do I beat this chapter? A: This isn't a walkthrough. But if you truly can't find any help anywhere else, send me an e-mail explaining what's going on, and I'll see what I can do. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q: I have two characters of the same class, but I don't have the room to bring them both in! Which one should I train? A: Check Section 3 for comparisons between characters of the same class. However, it is usually a matter of opinion and how well your characters have grown. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q: What is the "RNG", and what does it determine? A: RNG stands for "random number generator", and it determines nearly everything in Fire Emblem. Stat growths, whether or not you hit, whether or not you crit, skill activation, finding items... nearly everything. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q: How come you said (character) is good/bad? They're awful/awesome! A: Results may vary. The RNG is god, and if it doesn't want your character to turn out nicely, it won't allow it. Of course, it works in reverse, too. I've seen "bad" characters turn out great. A character's only true limit is their stat caps. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q: How did you determine a character's overall usefulness? A: Many factors. Mainly, their starting level, starting stats, and growth rates. Some other factors include class, affinity, the situation when they join, whether or not they're mounted, etc. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q: You got something wrong! A: That's not really a question, but send me an e-mail about it (my e-mail address is in the "Contact Info" section). If you're right, I'll fix it up and mention you in the Special Thanks section. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q: You know that some people on GameFAQs don't like your guide, right? A: Yeah. Sucks to be them. There's two other Character Guides on GameFAQs. Even if one of them is incomplete, the other one is very nice and in-depth. Go there if you don't like mine. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Q: What difficulty do you play on? A: Usually Normal, sometimes Hard, rarely Easy. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------------- [1.4] - "Secret" Characters --------------------------- WARNING - SPOILERS Three characters in the game are considered "secret", as they are unobtainable through normal means. They are Stefan, Pelleas, and Lehran. Stefan - Stefan is the only of the three secret characters that can be obtained on your first playthrough. He is obtained by placing Micaiah on a specific square in Chapter 4-3. See this map: http://www.serenesforest.net/fe10/ht/4_3.png He is the * on the map. You can also recruit him with Lethe or Mordecai, if you transferred data from Path of Radiance. Pelleas - Pelleas can only be recruited on your second playthrough or later. Normally, when Pelleas asks Micaiah to kill him, you have to choose between killing him or passing the duty off to Tauroneo. In your second playthrough, you will have the option to "Refuse his request". He will not die, and he will join with Tibarn's party in chapter 4-2, a couple turns in. It is quite important to recruit him, since it takes literally no effort, and he is your only choice for a Dark Mage. The story is also fleshed out a little more if you spare his life. Lehran (Sephiran) - This will take some effort, but he will come in handy, even if only for one battle. First, you must be on your second playthrough or higher. Second, you must bring the Black Knight into Chapter 1-E (Daein, Arise!). He doesn't have to do anything, you just have to have him there. Third, in Chapter 3-7 (Rivals Collide), you must have Ike attack the Black Knight. Both of them MUST survive the battle. After the battle, grab Ike with another unit (preferably a flier like Haar or Janaff) and get the hell out of there. If he attacks you again, you will most likely die. Once these things have been done, you will view a special scene involving Ike and his parents after you kill the Black Knight. At the final battle, Lehran will join you in about two turns. He carries no weapons with him, but he comes with the Ashera Staff, which is the most useful staff in the entire game; it completely heals all allies, gets rid of any status ailments, and brings their Biorhythm to its highest point. ============================= [2] - Character Guide by Part ============================= This section will break down each character in the order you get them in the game. Things listed here are usually just general data such as growth rates. "Overall" summaries are pretty much the general jist of that character, but you can see a more in-depth summary in Section 5. Here's the format for each character, and how to read it: ================================== (Name) ================================== (Starting Level) (Starting Class) (Affinity) (Weapon Level) ---------------------------------- RECRUITMENT ---------------------------------- (Part)-(Chapter), (Requirements) ---------------------------------- STARTING STATS ---------------------------------- HP - # Speed - # Strength - # Luck - # Magic - # Defense - # Skill - # Resistance - # ---------------------------------- GROWTH RATES ---------------------------------- HP - % Speed - % Strength - % Luck - % Magic - % Defense - % Skill - % Resistance - % ---------------------------------- PROMOTIONAL GAINS ---------------------------------- Tier 2 (Tier 3) ---------------------------------- HP - # (#) Speed - # (#) Strength - # (#) Luck - # (#) Magic - # (#) Defense - # (#) Skill - # (#) Resistance - # (#) New Weapons: X (X) ---------------------------------- BOND SUPPORTS ---------------------------------- Characters that have a bond support with this character will be listed here, as well as the percentage it decreases their enemy's crit rate (or "Critical Evade", if you're a long-time FE fan) by. ---------------------------------- RECOMMENDED BUDDY SUPPORT(S) ---------------------------------- My personal recommendations for buddy supports. Depending on your preferences, you may agree or disagree with me. These are just my opinions. ---------------------------------- OVERALL - #/10 ---------------------------------- Here, I'll offer opinions and strategies for this character. So, let's look at an example. Let's use Micaiah, since she's the first character you get: ================================== Micaiah ================================== Level 1 Light Mage Aff: Dark; Light = D ---------------------------------- RECRUITMENT ---------------------------------- 1-P, automatically ---------------------------------- STARTING STATS ---------------------------------- HP - 15 Speed - 7 Strength - 2 Luck - 10 Magic - 7 Defense - 2 Skill - 8 Resistance - 4 ---------------------------------- GROWTH RATES ---------------------------------- HP - 40% Speed - 35% Strength - 15% Luck - 80% Magic - 80% Defense - 20% Skill - 40% Resistance - 90% ---------------------------------- PROMOTIONAL GAINS ---------------------------------- Tier 2 (Tier 3) ---------------------------------- HP - 2 (4) Speed - 1 (2) Strength - 3 (5) Luck - 0 (0) Magic - 1 (2) Defense - 1 (5) Skill - 1 (2) Resistance - 1 (2) New Weapons: Staff - C ---------------------------------- BOND SUPPORT ---------------------------------- Sothe (+10) ---------------------------------- RECOMMENDED BUDDY SUPPORT(S) ---------------------------------- Here, I'd list my recommended supports for her. ---------------------------------- OVERALL - 10/10 ---------------------------------- This is where I'd talk about how good she is, pros, cons, etc. Laguz units and units that are already fully promoted won't have a "Promotional Gains" section, and any units with 0s for their Tier 2 gains are pre-promoted units. Units that come in at max level won't have a "Growth Rates" section either. Now that you know how to read it, let's get started. -------------- [2.1] - Part 1 -------------- Characters in Part 1 focus on the Dawn Brigade and the Daein Liberation army. A few Laguz also join up. ================================== Micaiah ================================== Level 1 Light Mage Aff: Dark; Light = D ---------------------------------- RECRUITMENT ---------------------------------- 1-P, automatically ---------------------------------- STARTING STATS ---------------------------------- HP - 15 Speed - 7 Strength - 2 Luck - 10 Magic - 7 Defense - 2 Skill - 8 Resistance - 4 ---------------------------------- GROWTH RATES ---------------------------------- HP - 40% Speed - 35% Strength - 15% Luck - 80% Magic - 80% Defense - 20% Skill - 40% Resistance - 90% ---------------------------------- PROMOTIONAL GAINS ---------------------------------- Tier 2 (Tier 3) ---------------------------------- HP - 2 (4) Speed - 1 (2) Strength - 3 (5) Luck - 0 (0) Magic - 1 (2) Defense - 1 (5) Skill - 1 (2) Resistance - 1 (2) New Weapons: Staff = C ---------------------------------- BOND SUPPORT ---------------------------------- Sothe (+10) ---------------------------------- RECOMMENDED BUDDY SUPPORT(S) ---------------------------------- Sothe, Nolan, Edward, Ike (maybe) Sothe is the obvious choice for her support, since it starts as an A support and helps her evasion. Nolan will end up giving her great evasion, and Edward will help both her evasion and her Defense (both of which she needs). If you plan on keeping her in the front lines later in the game, starting a support with Ike will make the two of them incredibly powerful. She can use the evasion that he gives, and the extra strength that she gives ensures that no enemy will withstand one battle with Ike. He can also use her small evasion boost. ---------------------------------- OVERALL - 10/10 ---------------------------------- Yikes, just look at those Magic, Luck, and Resistance growths. Micaiah will either be one of your most useful characters, or most useless. It all depends on two things: first, how her Speed develops. If she gets enough Speed to consistently double-attack enemies, she will probably be the most powerful unit you have. If not, her usefulness will be severely limited. Every Speedwings you get should go directly to Micaiah. Second, whether or not you level her up to 20 in each class. Both of her promotions are storyline-induced, meaning you can't choose when to promote her. Her first promotion comes after the Part 1 Endgame, and her second promotion comes just before the Part 4 Endgame. That aside, she needs protecting at first, as a single good hit can take her down. Once promoted, her HP, Defense, and Luck should be high enough to fend for herself. Either way, you're forced to use her nearly all the time, so you should focus on strengthening her first. The best way to ensure that she gets some speed is to wait until her Magic, Luck, and Resistance max out, then pour Bonus EXP down her throat until she's level 20. It should be noted that Micaiah starts with an A Support with Sothe, which gives ideal bonuses for her. ================================== Edward ================================== Level 4 Myrmidon Aff: Light; Sword = D ---------------------------------- RECRUITMENT ---------------------------------- 1-P, automatically ---------------------------------- STARTING STATS ---------------------------------- HP - 19 Speed - 12 Strength - 7 Luck - 8 Magic - 0 Defense - 5 Skill - 11 Resistance - 0 ---------------------------------- GROWTH RATES ---------------------------------- HP - 85% Speed - 60% Strength - 60% Luck - 50% Magic - 5% Defense - 35% Skill - 65% Resistance - 20% ---------------------------------- PROMOTIONAL GAINS ---------------------------------- Tier 2 (Tier 3) ---------------------------------- HP - 2 (4) Speed - 1 (2) Strength - 1 (2) Luck - 0 (0) Magic - 2 (4) Defense - 1 (2) Skill - 1 (2) Resistance - 2 (4) New Weapons: None ---------------------------------- BOND SUPPORT ---------------------------------- None ---------------------------------- RECOMMENDED BUDDY SUPPORT(S) ---------------------------------- Micaiah, Nolan, Leonardo, Zihark, Volug, Ike (if Edward is your main Myrmidon) Supporting with Micaiah will do wonders for her survivability. Leonardo will give you a nice well-rounded bonus with good Attack, Defense, and Avoid, making him a great choice to provide support from behind Edward. Nolan and Zihark will bolster Edward's evasion, as will anyone else with an Earth affinity, but they're better choices for multiple reasons. Volug is also a great choice, as he can use the extra Defense that Edward gives. Supporting him with Ike will work wonders in the Endgame, but you may want to save Ike's support slot if you brought along Mia or another character that can use the Avoid boost (especially another Trueblade). ---------------------------------- OVERALL - 9/10 ---------------------------------- Edward is one of the few powerful units the Dawn Brigade has access to. For a Myrmidon, his Strength is top-notch, as is his Luck. However, his Defense suffers for it, and his Resistance is pretty low. Mia is probably a better choice, but if she didn't come out well or if you want another Myrmidon, Edward is a great choice. ================================== Leonardo ================================== Level 4 Archer Aff: Water; Bow = D ---------------------------------- RECRUITMENT ---------------------------------- 1-P, automatically ---------------------------------- STARTING STATS ---------------------------------- HP - 17 Speed - 10 Strength - 8 Luck - 6 Magic - 0 Defense - 5 Skill - 12 Resistance - 4 ---------------------------------- GROWTH RATES ---------------------------------- HP - 60% Speed - 35% Strength - 40% Luck - 65% Magic - 15% Defense - 35% Skill - 75% Resistance - 55% ---------------------------------- PROMOTIONAL GAINS ---------------------------------- Tier 2 (Tier 3) ---------------------------------- HP - 2 (4) Speed - 1 (2) Strength - 1 (2) Luck - 0 (0) Magic - 2 (4) Defense - 1 (2) Skill - 1 (2) Resistance - 2 (4) New Weapons: None ---------------------------------- BOND SUPPORT ---------------------------------- None ---------------------------------- RECOMMENDED BUDDY SUPPORT(S) ---------------------------------- Edward Really, you shouldn't be using Leonardo past Part 1. Edward's support is easy to level up, and provides nice bonuses for both Edward and Leonardo. ---------------------------------- OVERALL - 6/10 ---------------------------------- He's a decent Archer... but that being said, he's just a mediocre unit. You're way better off training a Silver Knight, or if you want a Marksman, try Rolf or Shinon. His Skill and Luck are great, but his Strength, Speed, and Defense suffer greatly. You should train him moderately in the beginning, because you may need him during certain Dawn Brigade chapters. Lughnasadh helps out with that giving him an extra 5 Speed and generally just being awesome. But after that, just forget about him. ================================== Nolan ================================== Level 9 Fighter Aff: Earth; Axe = C ---------------------------------- RECRUITMENT ---------------------------------- Chapter 1-1, automatically ---------------------------------- STARTING STATS ---------------------------------- HP - 29 Speed - 10 Strength - 12 Luck - 7 Magic - 0 Defense - 9 Skill - 11 Resistance - 3 ---------------------------------- GROWTH RATES ---------------------------------- HP - 60% Speed - 60% Strength - 45% Luck - 60% Magic - 20% Defense - 35% Skill - 70% Resistance - 40% ---------------------------------- PROMOTIONAL GAINS ---------------------------------- Tier 2 (Tier 3) ---------------------------------- HP - 2 (4) Speed - 1 (2) Strength - 1 (2) Luck - 0 (0) Magic - 2 (4) Defense - 1 (2) Skill - 1 (2) Resistance - 2 (4) New Weapons: None ---------------------------------- BOND SUPPORT ---------------------------------- None ---------------------------------- RECOMMENDED BUDDY SUPPORT(S) ---------------------------------- Micaiah, Edward Micaiah can use the evasion boost to stay alive, but Edward can use it to become a dodging machine. If you can't decide, remember that Micaiah also boosts Attack, while Edward boosts Defense. ---------------------------------- OVERALL - 9/10 ---------------------------------- Hm, well, his strength leaves something to be desired for a Fighter, but his Skill, Speed, and Luck are worthy of a Myrmidon. He is the most well-rounded Axe-user, except maybe for Titania. He will land his attacks quite often, which is a great boon for a Fighter, and has great Speed to boot. Train him, and he could be in your top units at the end of the game. ================================== Laura ================================== Level 1 Priest Aff: Wind, Staff = E ---------------------------------- RECRUITMENT ---------------------------------- Chapter 1-2, automatically ---------------------------------- STARTING STATS ---------------------------------- HP - 16 Speed - 5 Strength - 3 Luck - 8 Magic - 8 Defense - 2 Skill - 3 Resistance - 10 ---------------------------------- GROWTH RATES ---------------------------------- HP - 45% Speed - 70% Strength - 20% Luck - 50% Magic - 70% Defense - 20% Skill - 70% Resistance - 35% ---------------------------------- PROMOTIONAL GAINS ---------------------------------- Tier 2 (Tier 3) ---------------------------------- HP - 2 (4) Speed - 1 (2) Strength - 3 (5) Luck - 0 (0) Magic - 1 (2) Defense - 3 (5) Skill - 1 (2) Resistance - 1 (2) New Weapons: Light = E ---------------------------------- BOND SUPPORT ---------------------------------- None ---------------------------------- RECOMMENDED BUDDY SUPPORT(S) ---------------------------------- Aran Her supports really don't matter, 'cause you'll want to keep her more than three spaces away from the action, but Aran gives her some Defense and evasion, which she'll need to survive. They also support quite quickly (again, important because she won't be around much to gain support points from anyone), and he can use the evasion she gives. ---------------------------------- OVERALL - 7/10 ---------------------------------- Her Resistance starts out really high, but you'd expect a better growth after seeing that. Aside from that, everything except her Strength and Defense are somewhat high. However, her lacking Defense and Resistance growths keep her from becoming an effective Light Magic user after her promotion. She is also quite difficult to promote, as she accumulates EXP very slowly. Be prepared to dump some Bonus EXP into her if you want to use her, but don't go too crazy with it, or her high growths will be meaningless. If you get lucky with those Defense and Resistance growths, though, she becomes quite useful. However, Mist, Rhys, and Elincia are already promoted, making them require much less effort for about the same (if not more) payoff. ================================== Sothe ================================== Level 1 Rogue Aff: Wind; Knife = B ---------------------------------- RECRUITMENT ---------------------------------- Chapter 1-2, automatically ---------------------------------- STARTING STATS ---------------------------------- HP - 35 Speed - 20 Strength - 18 Luck - 15 Magic - 4 Defense - 14 Skill - 20 Resistance - 9 ---------------------------------- GROWTH RATES ---------------------------------- HP - 30% Speed - 45% Strength - 60% Luck - 65% Magic - 20% Defense - 20% Skill - 80% Resistance - 30% ---------------------------------- PROMOTIONAL GAINS ---------------------------------- Tier 2 (Tier 3) ---------------------------------- HP - 0 (4) Speed - 0 (2) Strength - 0 (2) Luck - 0 (0) Magic - 0 (4) Defense - 0 (2) Skill - 0 (2) Resistance - 0 (4) New Weapons: None ---------------------------------- BOND SUPPORT ---------------------------------- Micaiah (+10) ---------------------------------- RECOMMENDED BUDDY SUPPORT(S) ---------------------------------- Micaiah, anyone with the Earth affinity He starts out with an A support with Micaiah, and gets good bonuses because of it. But if he's having trouble surviving later in the game, you may want to drop it for an Earth support. ---------------------------------- OVERALL - 7/10 ---------------------------------- Hm... he's not bad... but he's definitely not that good. He's what we call an "Oifey" (and a somewhat bad example of one), which is a pre-promoted character that joins early in the game, stronger than your other characters. However, an Oifey's growths are slightly below the average, so other characters will quickly catch up. Anyway, Sothe is one of your two choices for a Thief, the other being Heather. Sothe is much stronger, with better Strength and Skill. However, his Defense, Resistance, and HP are quite low. Heather is the better Thief, with higher Speed, Luck, Defense, and Resistance, but Sothe is your better choice for an all-purpose fighter. You'll probably be using him for fighting more often than stealing, though, since he's required to be in most of the chapters. You should note that his promotion is storyline-based, occurring at the end of Chapter 4-P. ================================== Ilyana ================================== Level 12 Thunder Mage Aff: Light; Thunder = C ---------------------------------- RECRUITMENT ---------------------------------- Chapter 1-3, automatically ---------------------------------- STARTING STATS ---------------------------------- HP - 22 Speed - 13 Strength - 6 Luck - 6 Magic - 12 Defense - 3 Skill - 12 Resistance - 9 ---------------------------------- GROWTH RATES ---------------------------------- HP - 55% Speed - 30% Strength - 45% Luck - 40% Magic - 50% Defense - 30% Skill - 60% Resistance - 50% ---------------------------------- PROMOTIONAL GAINS ---------------------------------- Tier 2 (Tier 3) ---------------------------------- HP - 2 (4) Speed - 1 (2) Strength - 3 (5) Luck - 0 (0) Magic - 1 (2) Defense - 3 (5) Skill - 1 (2) Resistance - 1 (2) New Weapons: Fire = E, Wind = E (Staff = E) ---------------------------------- BOND SUPPORT ---------------------------------- None ---------------------------------- RECOMMENDED BUDDY SUPPORT(S) ---------------------------------- Anyone with the Wind affinity, Soren Her affinity already gives her some Defense and Accuracy, both of which she may need. A Wind support will further increase her Accuracy, as well as help her avoid some of the stronger hits. If you're using both Ilyana and Soren, you may want to support the two of them, since more often than not, they'll be working close to each other, and he can use the Defense even more than Ilyana. ---------------------------------- OVERALL - 9/10 ---------------------------------- Back in Path of Radiance, Ilyana was considered a close second to Soren as far as Mages go. And That gap just got a little smaller, if not closed. She's more durable than most Mages, with great growths in HP, Strength, and Defense. She has a good Skill growth, and she's gonna need it, since Thunder Magic is pretty weak and inaccurate. She starts at a fairly high level, which is great, since you'll need to promote her quickly if you want to bring out her full potential. Like Micaiah, if you get lucky with her Speed, she'll become extremely useful. Even if you don't get good Speed growths, she still makes a great Mage, or a great backup Mage if you intend to train Soren instead. ================================== Aran ================================== Level 7 Soldier Aff: Thunder; Lance = D ---------------------------------- RECRUITMENT ---------------------------------- Chapter 1-3, talk with Laura ---------------------------------- STARTING STATS ---------------------------------- HP - 24 Speed - 10 Strength - 10 Luck - 6 Magic - 0 Defense - 11 Skill - 12 Resistance - 2 ---------------------------------- GROWTH RATES ---------------------------------- HP - 50% Speed - 35% Strength - 75% Luck - 35% Magic - 10% Defense - 70% Skill - 75% Resistance - 25% ---------------------------------- PROMOTIONAL GAINS ---------------------------------- Tier 2 (Tier 3) ---------------------------------- HP - 2 (4) Speed - 1 (2) Strength - 1 (2) Luck - 0 (0) Magic - 2 (4) Defense - 1 (2) Skill - 1 (2) Resistance - 2 (4) New Weapons: None ---------------------------------- BOND SUPPORT ---------------------------------- None ---------------------------------- RECOMMENDED BUDDY SUPPORT(S) ---------------------------------- Laura, other people with the Thunder affinity His best use is being a physical wall, and his affinity is great for that. Wind and Thunder affinities provide ideal bonuses for him. ---------------------------------- OVERALL - 7/10 ---------------------------------- Aran's stats are more reminiscent of an Armored Knight than a Soldier. His Defense and Strength are good, but his Speed and Luck will strip any chances he has of dodging enemy attacks, and make him likely to be doubled. Combine that with his god-awful resistance, and he's basically fodder for enemy Mages. If you want to raise him, though, he makes an effective wall against physical units, and with his high Strength and Skill, he can dole out more damage than other walls. ================================== Meg ================================== Level 3 Armor Sword Aff: Heaven; Sword = C ---------------------------------- RECRUITMENT ---------------------------------- Chapter 1-4, read her Info conversation ---------------------------------- STARTING STATS ---------------------------------- HP - 21 Speed - 8 Strength - 10 Luck - 8 Magic - 1 Defense - 10 Skill - 7 Resistance - 5 ---------------------------------- GROWTH RATES ---------------------------------- HP - 60% Speed - 65% Strength - 35% Luck - 75% Magic - 15% Defense - 35% Skill - 40% Resistance - 50% ---------------------------------- PROMOTIONAL GAINS ---------------------------------- Tier 2 (Tier 3) ---------------------------------- HP - 2 (4) Speed - 1 (2) Strength - 2 (3) Luck - 0 (0) Magic - 2 (4) Defense - 2 (3) Skill - 1 (2) Resistance - 2 (4) New Weapons: Lance = E (Axe = D) ---------------------------------- BOND SUPPORT ---------------------------------- Brom (+10) ---------------------------------- RECOMMENDED BUDDY SUPPORT(S) ---------------------------------- Um... are you looking below this? But if you want to use her, go with someone with the Dark affinity (slim pickings, though, and you definitely want to save Micaiah for someone else). Even if you don't want to use her, having her around may help someone that needs an Accuracy boost. ---------------------------------- OVERALL - 4/10 ---------------------------------- Ugh, what kind of Armored Knight has those kinds of HP, Strength, and Defense growths? The good side is that her Speed and Resistance are quite high for an Armored Knight, as is her Luck, meaning enemy Mages won't completely destroy her. But these do little to round out her bad combat capabilities. Honestly, you're better off just leaving her out of battles. ================================== Volug ================================== Level 15 Wolf Aff: Earth; Strike = A ---------------------------------- RECRUITMENT ---------------------------------- Chapter 1-5, automatically ---------------------------------- STARTING STATS ---------------------------------- HP - 49 Speed - 13 Strength - 11 Luck - 13 Magic - 2 Defense - 9 Skill - 12 Resistance - 5 ---------------------------------- GROWTH RATES ---------------------------------- HP - 95% Speed - 40% Strength - 25% Luck - 90% Magic - 15% Defense - 15% Skill - 35% Resistance - 10% ---------------------------------- BOND SUPPORT ---------------------------------- None ---------------------------------- RECOMMENDED BUDDY SUPPORT(S) ---------------------------------- Nailah (if you plan to use her), someone with the Thunder affinity Nailah is the obvious choice, since you'll be using them often in the same situations, and they support quickly. Thunder supports will help round out his mediocre Defense, as well as help him dodge even more. ---------------------------------- OVERALL - 9/10 ---------------------------------- As your first Laguz, I feel I should explain how Laguz stats differ from Beorc. At first glance, those growths (and stats) seem pretty bad. However, when Laguz are transformed, their stats (except for HP and Luck) double. Because of this, their growths are commonly worse than Beorc, but their transformation renders these low growths moot. Anyway, Volug's HP, Skill, Speed, and Luck are great, and his Strength is nice, but his other stats fall somewhat short. In addition, he is difficult to train, as he starts with the "Wildheart" skill, which not only cuts the stat boosts he gets while transformed in half, but also the EXP he gains. And you can't take it off until after the first part of the game. Once you get it off, though, if you decide to train him, he will turn out very good. His stats will even rival those of the Wolf Queen, Nailah. ================================== Tauroneo ================================== Level 14 Lance General Aff: Thunder; Lance = S, Axe = A ---------------------------------- RECRUITMENT ---------------------------------- Chapter 1-6, automatically ---------------------------------- STARTING STATS ---------------------------------- HP - 38 Speed - 20 Strength - 24 Luck - 18 Magic - 12 Defense - 21 Skill - 22 Resistance - 15 ---------------------------------- GROWTH RATES ---------------------------------- HP - 55% Speed - 50% Strength - 40% Luck - 20% Magic - 5% Defense - 45% Skill - 65% Resistance - 50% ---------------------------------- PROMOTIONAL GAINS ---------------------------------- Tier 2 (Tier 3) ---------------------------------- HP - 0 (4) Speed - 0 (2) Strength - 0 (2) Luck - 0 (2) Magic - 0 (4) Defense - 0 (2) Skill - 0 (2) Resistance - 0 (4) New Weapons: (Sword = D) ---------------------------------- BOND SUPPORT ---------------------------------- None ---------------------------------- RECOMMENDED BUDDY SUPPORT(S) ---------------------------------- Anything to boost his Defense (Water, Thunder, and Light affinities) Tauroneo is a wall, and you should support him with someone that will help him with that. ---------------------------------- OVERALL - 7/10 ---------------------------------- At first, Tauroneo is a beast. Between his starting level and stats, he will be all but untouchable at first. However, his growths are sub-par, though well- rounded. He will still be able to hold his own later in the game even if you didn't train him earlier, but don't expect anything too good out of him. ================================== Jill ================================== Level 14 Dracoknight Aff: Thunder; Axe = B ---------------------------------- RECRUITMENT ---------------------------------- Chapter 1-6, automatically ---------------------------------- STARTING STATS ---------------------------------- HP - 24 Speed - 15 Strength - 11 Luck - 14 Magic - 1 Defense - 13 Skill - 12 Resistance - 3 ---------------------------------- GROWTH RATES ---------------------------------- HP - 50% Speed - 65% Strength - 45% Luck - 60% Magic - 15% Defense - 35% Skill - 45% Resistance - 45% ---------------------------------- PROMOTIONAL GAINS ---------------------------------- Tier 2 (Tier 3) ---------------------------------- HP - 2 (4) Speed - 1 (2) Strength - 2 (3) Luck - 0 (2) Magic - 2 (4) Defense - 2 (3) Skill - 1 (2) Resistance - 2 (4) New Weapons: Lance = D ---------------------------------- BOND SUPPORT ---------------------------------- Mist (+5, or +10 with PoR A support), Haar (+5, or +10 with PoR A support) ---------------------------------- RECOMMENDED BUDDY SUPPORT(S) ---------------------------------- Haar (if you want to use them both), highly mobile units with Light or Thunder affinities Jill will be moving around a lot, and when you're picking a Support for her, keep that in mind. Haar is a great choice, since they can both use the evasion and accuracy, and it also throws in some Defense, which is great for Jill. To top it all off, they support quickly, and they have a Bond support. ---------------------------------- OVERALL - 9/10 ---------------------------------- Jill starts out somewhat weak for her level, and though none of her growths are particularly stellar, they are very nicely rounded. Her only real shortcoming is her somewhat low Defense, but that will slowly fix itself as she promotes. Her Resistance is also abnormally high for a Dracoknight. In the end, her Speed and Skill will allow her to consistently hit and double enemies, making her a great Axe-wielder, and with her mastery skill, her somewhat sub-par Strength will make little difference. Don't expect her to breeze through everything she sees, but she will prove time and time again that she is incredibly reliable. ================================== Zihark ================================== Level 3 Swordmaster Aff: Earth; Sword = A ---------------------------------- RECRUITMENT ---------------------------------- Chapter 1-6, automatically ---------------------------------- STARTING STATS ---------------------------------- HP - 30 Speed - 23 Strength - 17 Luck - 11 Magic - 6 Defense - 13 Skill - 22 Resistance - 11 ---------------------------------- GROWTH RATES ---------------------------------- HP - 55% Speed - 70% Strength - 35% Luck - 40% Magic - 10% Defense - 25% Skill - 75% Resistance - 35% ---------------------------------- PROMOTIONAL GAINS ---------------------------------- Tier 2 (Tier 3) ---------------------------------- HP - 0 (4) Speed - 0 (2) Strength - 0 (2) Luck - 0 (0) Magic - 0 (4) Defense - 0 (2) Skill - 0 (2) Resistance - 0 (4) New Weapons: None ---------------------------------- BOND SUPPORT ---------------------------------- None ---------------------------------- RECOMMENDED BUDDY SUPPORT(S) ---------------------------------- Anyone you expect to be near him, especaially with Fire and Water affinities, but Edward seems to work nicely as well He really doesn't need much help, and his Earth affinity already gives him a great evasion boost. If you're looking to power him up, support with someone that gives an Attack boost. Zihark's Earth affinity can work great when supporting Edward, who needs the evasion boost more than other Myrmidons. ---------------------------------- OVERALL - 8/10 ---------------------------------- His basic Myrmidon-esque stats of Skill and Speed are better than Edward's, but he loses out in Strength, Defense, and Luck. All in all, he's almost as good as Edward, and useful if Edward hasn't grown much. Still, Mia is the better choice, but Edward and Zihark are still great units. Note that his Earth affinity makes him a dodging machine when supported, especially with someone else with the Earth affinity. The Daunt skill, when combined with an Earth support, will knock 50% off your opponent's hit chance. ================================== Fiona ================================== Level 9 Lance Knight Aff: Earth; Lance = C ---------------------------------- RECRUITMENT ---------------------------------- Chapter 1-7, if she survived 1-6 ---------------------------------- STARTING STATS ---------------------------------- HP - 25 Speed - 10 Strength - 8 Luck - 7 Magic - 6 Defense - 8 Skill - 8 Resistance - 6 ---------------------------------- GROWTH RATES ---------------------------------- HP - 45% Speed - 60% Strength - 40% Luck - 55% Magic - 15% Defense - 55% Skill - 40% Resistance - 50% ---------------------------------- PROMOTIONAL GAINS ---------------------------------- Tier 2 (Tier 3) ---------------------------------- HP - 2 (4) Speed - 1 (2) Strength - 1 (3) Luck - 0 (0) Magic - 2 (4) Defense - 1 (3) Skill - 1 (2) Resistance - 2 (4) New Weapons: (Bow = C) ---------------------------------- BOND SUPPORT ---------------------------------- None ---------------------------------- RECOMMENDED BUDDY SUPPORT(S) ---------------------------------- Anyone with the Thunder affinity Her main strong points are good evasion and Defense, so let's bolster those. She can't really make use of most other supports, anyway. ---------------------------------- OVERALL - 7/10 ---------------------------------- Fiona isn't actually all that bad. Her growths are similar to Jill's, but not quite as good. In addition, she is easily outclassed by most of the other Silver Knights, as well as most Gold Knights. She is limited offensively, but she can dodge quite effectively and won't take all that much damage if trained. ================================== Tormod ================================== Level 5 Fire Sage Aff: Fire; Fire = A, Thunder = B, Wind = C ---------------------------------- RECRUITMENT ---------------------------------- Chapter 1-7, talk with Sothe ---------------------------------- STARTING STATS ---------------------------------- HP - 34 Speed - 20 Strength - 13 Luck - 14 Magic - 17 Defense - 12 Skill - 16 Resistance - 14 ---------------------------------- GROWTH RATES ---------------------------------- HP - 50% Speed - 55% Strength - 55% Luck - 25% Magic - 40% Defense - 35% Skill - 45% Resistance - 45% ---------------------------------- PROMOTIONAL GAINS ---------------------------------- Tier 2 (Tier 3) ---------------------------------- HP - 0 (4) Speed - 0 (2) Strength - 0 (4) Luck - 0 (2) Magic - 0 (2) Defense - 0 (4) Skill - 0 (2) Resistance - 0 (2) New Weapons: (Staff = E) ---------------------------------- BOND SUPPORT ---------------------------------- Muarim (+10) ---------------------------------- RECOMMENDED BUDDY SUPPORT(S) ---------------------------------- Muarim Muarim's Thunder affinity will help Tormod survive later in the game, and their Bond support is great. Plus they support quickly. ---------------------------------- OVERALL - 6/10 ---------------------------------- Not a bad mage, but he suffers from poor availability, meaning you don't have him for very long. You have him for a little bit in part 1, where he is too high a level to benefit from killing any enemies. When you get him back in part 4, he's too weak to take out enemies and gain EXP. Stick to Ilyana and Soren, and if you really want a Fire Mage, try Calill. ================================== Muarim ================================== Level 19 Tiger Aff: Thunder; Strike = A ---------------------------------- RECRUITMENT ---------------------------------- Chapter 1-7, recruit Tormod ---------------------------------- STARTING STATS ---------------------------------- HP - 58 Speed - 11 Strength - 18 Luck - 12 Magic - 3 Defense - 15 Skill - 14 Resistance - 9 ---------------------------------- GROWTH RATES ---------------------------------- HP - 60% Speed - 20% Strength - 55% Luck - 55% Magic - 5% Defense - 35% Skill - 45% Resistance - 30% ---------------------------------- BOND SUPPORT ---------------------------------- Tormod (+10) ---------------------------------- RECOMMENDED BUDDY SUPPORT(S) ---------------------------------- Tormod The boost Muarim gets from Tormod will negate any chance the enemy has of surviving. Muarim's Thunder affinity will also protect Tormod. ---------------------------------- OVERALL - 8/10 ---------------------------------- As a Tiger, Muarim is somewhat slow, but don't expect many enemies to withstand more than one of his attacks. His Strength growth is massive for a Laguz, and his Skill, Defense, and Resistance aren't much to scoff at either. However, he suffers from the same poor availability as Tormod, but unlike Tormod, he is strong enough to take out enemies in part 4. All in all, he's probably your best choice for a Tiger. ================================== Vika ================================== Level 13 Raven Aff: Wind; Strike = A ---------------------------------- RECRUITMENT ---------------------------------- Chapter 1-7, recruit Tormod ---------------------------------- STARTING STATS ---------------------------------- HP - 38 Speed - 15 Strength - 9 Luck - 14 Magic - 5 Defense - 7 Skill - 13 Resistance - 7 ---------------------------------- GROWTH RATES ---------------------------------- HP - 60% Speed - 60% Strength - 25% Luck - 65% Magic - 50% Defense - 15% Skill - 60% Resistance - 65% ---------------------------------- BOND SUPPORT ---------------------------------- None ---------------------------------- RECOMMENDED BUDDY SUPPORT(S) ---------------------------------- Anyone with Dark or Earth affinities, especially Naesala (if you plan to use him) You want something that boosts her evasion, and a Dark support will also help her Attack as well. If you're using both her and Naesala, they'll probably end up near each other quite often, and he gives great stat bonuses to her. ---------------------------------- OVERALL - 10/10 ---------------------------------- Before you get all giddy over that 10/10, let me squash your hopes: if this is your first playthrough, or if you're not that good at this game, don't even try to raise her. Vika's availability is bad, just like Tormod and Muarim. Like Tormod, she can't gain much EXP in part 1, and can't kill anything in part 4. But just look at those growths. Those are Beorc growths for a Laguz, and they make her among the deadliest units in the game. She is easily the strongest non-royal Laguz, and will cap Magic, Skill, Speed, and Resistance very quickly. Her Strength and Defense are likely to max out as well, and her HP and Luck should only be a couple points away from maxing. By giving her Bonus EXP after her Magic, Skill, Speed, and Resistance max out, she can max out all her stats by her mid-30 levels. In the end, her stats will rival those of Naesala, and if you give Vika a Laguz Gem, it's basically like having two Naesalas flying around. Seriously, she's got the highest growths in the game, AND she's a Laguz. That's just a recipe for disaster. Alright, so maybe you want to know how to train her up? Simple: in chapter 1-7, leave her untransformed. When untransformed, she can't kill enemies as easily, giving her more opportunities to gain EXP, and increasing the amount of EXP she gains in each fight. Give her a couple vulneraries and keep her healed, and she'll slowly take out most enemies. Make sure to keep her away from Wind Mages and Archers. Do the same thing for the next chapter, and she can reach levels as high as 25 by the end of part 1. Once you get her back in part 4, she should be strong enough to take out some of the weaker enemies, and she'll gain some more levels pretty quickly. By the end of that chapter, those key stats we talked about earlier should have maxed out, and you can start giving her Bonus EXP to max her other stats quickly. ================================== Nailah ================================== Level 33 Wolf Queen Aff: Wind; Strike = SS ---------------------------------- RECRUITMENT ---------------------------------- Chapter 1-8, automatically ---------------------------------- STARTING STATS ---------------------------------- HP - 66 Speed - 19 Strength - 17 Luck - 35 Magic - 5 Defense - 16 Skill - 23 Resistance - 13 ---------------------------------- GROWTH RATES ---------------------------------- HP - 60% Speed - 20% Strength - 30% Luck - 45% Magic - 15% Defense - 30% Skill - 20% Resistance - 30% ---------------------------------- BOND SUPPORT ---------------------------------- Rafiel (+10) ---------------------------------- RECOMMENDED BUDDY SUPPORT(S) ---------------------------------- Anyone you intend to have near her, especially Volug She doesn't need much help, but if you're using both her and Volug, you may notice that they support very quickly and end up near each other a lot. Volug's evasion boost will compensate for their somewhat lacking Defense. ---------------------------------- OVERALL - 10/10 ---------------------------------- Another 10/10? What's the catch this time? Well, none. Nailah is one of the five Laguz royals. These characters are, simply put, the strongest units in the game. Nailah's growths are decent, but her base stats are so high that she won't need them. To top it all off, the Laguz royals have access to a unique ability called "Formshift". This allows them to be transformed at all times with no consequences. Anyway, as the Wolf royal, Nailah's Skill and Luck are unmatched. She'll always hit, and almost always kill. When you have her in part 1, it's basically impossible for her to die. Anyone she attacks will die as well. When you get her back later, she's still basically invincible and can still kill almost anything in one battle. This deserves mentioning; Nailah has access to a unique skill called Glare. It rarely hits, but when it does, the enemy is petrified, and unable to move for the rest of the chapter. In fact, as far as Rout chapters are concerned, the petrified enemy is considered dead. When petrified, the enemy can't counterattack, can't move, can't do anything. They also take 10 less damage than usual. This makes for great training. Take a somewhat weak unit that can deal about 15-20 or so damage to an enemy healer, and petrify them with Glare. Have the unit repeatedly attack the enemy healer. Their petrified status will prevent them from running and prevent their HP from dropping too quickly. The healers, due to their equipped Staves, will regain HP each turn, allowing you to attack them more and more, and allowing you to quickly raise a unit's level. ================================== Rafiel ================================== Level 12 Heron Aff: Heaven ---------------------------------- RECRUITMENT ---------------------------------- Chapter 1-8, automatically ---------------------------------- STARTING STATS ---------------------------------- HP - 31 Speed - 6 Strength - 1 Luck - 31 Magic - 6 Defense - 3 Skill - 1 Resistance - 13 ---------------------------------- GROWTH RATES ---------------------------------- HP - 60% Speed - 20% Strength - 0% Luck - 60% Magic - 40% Defense - 10% Skill - 10% Resistance - 50% ---------------------------------- BOND SUPPORT ---------------------------------- Tibarn (+10), Nailah (+10) ---------------------------------- RECOMMENDED BUDDY SUPPORT(S) ---------------------------------- None, just keep him away from the battlefield. ---------------------------------- OVERALL - 9/10 ---------------------------------- Rafiel is one of your three Herons. Herons don't fight, but they have access to Galdrar, songs that have various effects when performed. They range from allowing units to move again, to filling a Laguz's transform gauge, to healing allies, and more. They're quite frail physically, however. Their stats and growths don't differ from each other by much, but the main difference is how their Galdr works. Rafiel's Galdr affect units in all four adjacent squares, both when transformed and when not transformed. This makes him the most efficient Galdr user. However, the other two Herons have slightly higher stats and can fly (also allowing them to use up their remaining movement after using their Galdr), making them better suited for being closer to enemies. In addition, Rafiel has the lowest movement of them all, only five spaces when both transformed and not transformed. ================================== Black Knight ================================== Level 20 Black Knight Aff: Dark; Sword = SS, Lance = S ---------------------------------- RECRUITMENT ---------------------------------- Chapter 1-9, automatically ---------------------------------- STARTING STATS ---------------------------------- HP - 70 Speed - 30 Strength - 38 Luck - 20 Magic - 18 Defense - 35 Skill - 40 Resistance - 25 ---------------------------------- BOND SUPPORT ---------------------------------- None ---------------------------------- RECOMMENDED BUDDY SUPPORT(S) ---------------------------------- Don't support him with anyone, even if you have the option. ---------------------------------- OVERALL - 10/10 ---------------------------------- The Black Knight rivals the Laguz royals in stats. In addition, his sword, Alondite, gives him an extra +5 Defense, bringing it to 40. Yikes. His growths are all 0%, but it doesn't matter since his level is already maxed out. Like Nailah, he's pretty much invincible. But you only get to use him for the last two chapters in part 1 (then once more in part 3). Try to keep him from getting any kills, since any kills he gets is just wasted EXP that your allies should have instead. -------------- [2.2] - Part 2 -------------- Part 2 focuses on the Crimean Royal Knights, their Queen Elincia, and her old friends from the Crimean countryside. ================================== Elincia ================================== Level 1 Queen Aff: Heaven; Sword = B, Staff = A ---------------------------------- RECRUITMENT ---------------------------------- Chapter 2-P, automatically ---------------------------------- STARTING STATS ---------------------------------- HP - 36 Speed - 22 Strength - 19 Luck - 29 Magic - 17 Defense - 18 Skill - 21 Resistance - 24 ---------------------------------- GROWTH RATES ---------------------------------- HP - 45% Speed - 70% Strength - 65% Luck - 60% Magic - 40% Defense - 20% Skill - 50% Resistance - 35% ---------------------------------- BOND SUPPORT ---------------------------------- Geoffrey (+10), Lucia (+10), Renning (+10) ---------------------------------- RECOMMENDED BUDDY SUPPORT(S) ---------------------------------- Anyone that will boost her Defense She doesn't need much help, but a little extra defense will be useful. Keep in mind, Elincia will be all over the map, so support her with someone who's very mobile. ---------------------------------- OVERALL - 10/10 ---------------------------------- Elincia is one of two characters that doesn't exclusively use physical or magical weapons, using both Swords and Staves. Being mounted on a pegasus, she has superior movement range and the ability to fly over nearly any obstacle. Couple that with amazing growths and superior base stats, and you have a very good unit. But the coup de grace is her weapon, Amiti. It's got the strength of a Silver Sword, and allows you to attack twice instead of once. With her amazing Speed, she'll attack almost any enemy four times, and can kill most enemies in only one battle. It also gives her +3 Defense and +3 Resistance, helping to even out her only shortcomings. To make things even better, she can perform a Triangle Attack (see Marcia for details) with the three Pegasus Knights. ================================== Marcia ================================== Level 5 Falcon Knight Aff: Fire; Sword = C, Lance = B ---------------------------------- RECRUITMENT ---------------------------------- Chapter 2-P, automatically ---------------------------------- STARTING STATS ---------------------------------- HP - 34 Speed - 20 Strength - 16 Luck - 12 Magic - 6 Defense - 16 Skill - 17 Resistance - 15 ---------------------------------- GROWTH RATES ---------------------------------- HP - 70% Speed - 65% Strength - 30% Luck - 50% Magic - 20% Defense - 35% Skill - 40% Resistance - 35% ---------------------------------- PROMOTIONAL GAINS ---------------------------------- Tier 2 (Tier 3) ---------------------------------- HP - 0 (4) Speed - 0 (2) Strength - 0 (3) Luck - 0 (2) Magic - 0 (4) Defense - 0 (3) Skill - 0 (2) Resistance - 0 (4) New Weapons: None ---------------------------------- BOND SUPPORT ---------------------------------- Makalov (+5) ---------------------------------- RECOMMENDED BUDDY SUPPORT(S) ---------------------------------- Same as Elincia, also anyone that gives evasion She relies on dodging to survive, so you should help her out by giving her a support that boosts her defense and evasion. Again, keep in mind that she'll be flying around everywhere, and will need a mobile partner. ---------------------------------- OVERALL - 8/10 ---------------------------------- As a Falcon Knight, Marcia's greatest assets aren't her stats, though she does have good Speed and Luck, and her Resistance is quite high for a physical unit. Like Elincia, Marcia is mounted on a Pegasus, giving her superior movement. Her somewhat low Defense means you should take extra care around enemy Archers, especially ones armed with Crossbows. Aside from Elincia, she's your best choice for a Pegasus Knight. Her best feature is her ability to perform a "Triangle Attack". Any three pegasus-mounted units (Elincia, Marcia, Tanith, and Sigrun) can perform the Triangle Attack when they are adjacent to an enemy. They will say something, and their hit % and critical % will be 100. Incredibly useful for taking out bosses and strong enemies. ================================== Leanne ================================== Level 5 Heron Aff: Water ---------------------------------- RECRUITMENT ---------------------------------- Chapter 2-P, automatically ---------------------------------- STARTING STATS ---------------------------------- HP - 25 Speed - 6 Strength - 0 Luck - 27 Magic - 3 Defense - 2 Skill - 1 Resistance - 11 ---------------------------------- GROWTH RATES ---------------------------------- HP - 60% Speed - 20% Strength - 0% Luck - 80% Magic - 40% Defense - 10% Skill - 10% Resistance - 40% ---------------------------------- BOND SUPPORT ---------------------------------- Naesala (+10), Tibarn (+5), Nealuchi (+5) ---------------------------------- RECOMMENDED BUDDY SUPPORT(S) ---------------------------------- Healers and other units that stay in the back lines She can't make use of any attack and accuracy boosts, so help her with her defense and evasion. But don't have her tying up a front-line unit. ---------------------------------- OVERALL - 8/10 ---------------------------------- Leanne is arguably the worst of the three Herons, but that doesn't mean she's a bad unit. She can use her Galdr on two units at the same time, transformed or not, making her the "middleground" of the Herons. But here's the problem: she can use her Galdr on either the units to her right and left, or the units to her top and bottom. No other options. She has slightly higher stats than Rafiel, though, and is somewhat more reliable than Reyson. Her movement is still better than Rafiel's (5 when not transformed, 6 when transformed, and flying), but not as good as Reyson's. ================================== Nealuchi ================================== Level 22 Raven Aff: Fire; Strike = A ---------------------------------- RECRUITMENT ---------------------------------- Chapter 2-P, automatically ---------------------------------- STARTING STATS ---------------------------------- HP - 53 Speed - 18 Strength - 10 Luck - 24 Magic - 4 Defense - 10 Skill - 9 Resistance - 10 ---------------------------------- GROWTH RATES ---------------------------------- HP - 55% Speed - 40% Strength - 35% Luck - 80% Magic - 10% Defense - 40% Skill - 40% Resistance - 25% ---------------------------------- BOND SUPPORT ---------------------------------- Leanne (+5), Naesala (+10) ---------------------------------- RECOMMENDED BUDDY SUPPORT(S) ---------------------------------- Mobile units that help with strength. Marcia seems to work well. Another unit that will be flying around everywhere. I said Marcia because she gives him some strength, but you could probably find a better match for her. ---------------------------------- OVERALL - 7/10 ---------------------------------- This old bird has seen better days. His starting stats are slightly higher than Vika's, but his growths are lower, and he can only level up 18 times, as opposed to Vika's 27. He's still a fairly powerful unit when you first get him, but after that, let him slip into your back lines. His Skill and Speed are still somewhat good, and his defense is pretty nice for a Speed-based unit, but he lacks the growths to be a main unit in your team. Definitely not as good as Vika or Naesala. ================================== Haar ================================== Level 11 Dragonmaster Aff: Wind; Lance = A, Axe = A ---------------------------------- RECRUITMENT ---------------------------------- Chapter 2-P, talk with Marcia ---------------------------------- STARTING STATS ---------------------------------- HP - 43 Speed - 20 Strength - 23 Luck - 13 Magic - 2 Defense - 23 Skill - 24 Resistance - 7 ---------------------------------- GROWTH RATES ---------------------------------- HP - 30% Speed - 30% Strength - 70% Luck - 45% Magic - 5% Defense - 65% Skill - 70% Resistance - 20% ---------------------------------- PROMOTIONAL GAINS ---------------------------------- Tier 2 (Tier 3) ---------------------------------- HP - 0 (4) Speed - 0 (2) Strength - 0 (2) Luck - 0 (0) Magic - 0 (4) Defense - 0 (2) Skill - 0 (2) Resistance - 0 (4) New Weapons: None ---------------------------------- BOND SUPPORT ---------------------------------- Jill (+5, or +10 with PoR A Support) ---------------------------------- RECOMMENDED BUDDY SUPPORT(S) ---------------------------------- Jill Again, Jill and Haar get great bonuses, support quickly, have a Bond support, and usually find themselves working in the same area. ---------------------------------- OVERALL - 9/10 ---------------------------------- The second of the two Dracoknights, and he's just as good as Jill. Aside from his low Resistance and Speed, and his startlingly low HP growth, he's quite powerful. His Strength and Skill will allow him to quickly dispatch most enemies, and his good Luck and great Defense will cut down the damage he takes, making that low HP growth meaningless. Like the Pegasus Knights, he has excellent movement. Between Jill and Haar, the choice is a toss-up. Pick whichever one you want to use. Or better yet, pick both. Still, he's not as godly as most people would have you believe. ================================== Brom ================================== Level 2 Axe General Aff: Water; Sword = E, Axe = C ---------------------------------- RECRUITMENT ---------------------------------- Chapter 2-1, automatically ---------------------------------- STARTING STATS ---------------------------------- HP - 36 Speed - 16 Strength - 19 Luck - 13 Magic - 4 Defense - 21 Skill - 17 Resistance - 9 ---------------------------------- GROWTH RATES ---------------------------------- HP - 80% Speed - 30% Strength - 40% Luck - 70% Magic - 5% Defense - 60% Skill - 40% Resistance - 25% ---------------------------------- PROMOTIONAL GAINS ---------------------------------- Tier 2 (Tier 3) ---------------------------------- HP - 0 (4) Speed - 0 (2) Strength - 0 (2) Luck - 0 (0) Magic - 0 (4) Defense - 0 (2) Skill - 0 (2) Resistance - 0 (4) New Weapons: None ---------------------------------- BOND SUPPORT ---------------------------------- Meg (+10) ---------------------------------- RECOMMENDED BUDDY SUPPORT(S) ---------------------------------- Thunder affinities, or anything that'll help with evasion and/or defense. If you're using Brom, you're probably using him as a wall. Let his supports reflect that. Make sure his partner will stay near him. ---------------------------------- OVERALL - 7/10 ---------------------------------- Now that's a good Armored Knight. High Defense, HP, and Luck make him a great wall, and decent Strength makes him able to fight back. Low Speed and Resistance makes him very susceptible to enemy Mages, though. He's great for blocking off areas, especially in the Part 2 Endgame. Once you get Gatrie, though, Brom's usefulness dies down. ================================== Nephenee ================================== Level 1 Halberdier Aff: Wind; Lance = B ---------------------------------- RECRUITMENT ---------------------------------- Chapter 2-1, automatically ---------------------------------- STARTING STATS ---------------------------------- HP - 32 Speed - 20 Strength - 15 Luck - 12 Magic - 6 Defense - 15 Skill - 19 Resistance - 14 ---------------------------------- GROWTH RATES ---------------------------------- HP - 45% Speed - 65% Strength - 35% Luck - 40% Magic - 15% Defense - 35% Skill - 70% Resistance - 45% ---------------------------------- PROMOTIONAL GAINS ---------------------------------- Tier 2 (Tier 3) ---------------------------------- HP - 0 (4) Speed - 0 (2) Strength - 0 (3) Luck - 0 (0) Magic - 0 (4) Defense - 0 (3) Skill - 0 (2) Resistance - 0 (4) New Weapons: None ---------------------------------- BOND SUPPORT ---------------------------------- None ---------------------------------- RECOMMENDED BUDDY SUPPORT(S) ---------------------------------- Thunder affinities The only fear Nephenee should have is high-accuracy, physical-based enemies that pack quite a punch (and trust me, there aren't that many). A Thunder support will even that out nicely. ---------------------------------- OVERALL - 9/10 ---------------------------------- Much more of a Soldier than Aran. Great Skill, Speed, and Resistance, with decent Luck and Defense, make for quite a devastating combo. She'll evade enemy attacks with ease, and double-attack quite easily as well. Her only real drawbacks are her less-than-stellar Strength and Defense, which are offset by her high accuracy, critical rate, and evasion. Her high Skill ensures that she'll even connect when tossing Javelins and Spears. ================================== Heather ================================== Level 7 Rogue Aff: Fire; Knife = C ---------------------------------- RECRUITMENT ---------------------------------- Chapter 2-1, talk with Brom or Nephenee ---------------------------------- STARTING STATS ---------------------------------- HP - 32 Speed - 25 Strength - 15 Luck - 16 Magic - 9 Defense - 10 Skill - 21 Resistance - 14 ---------------------------------- GROWTH RATES ---------------------------------- HP - 40% Speed - 70% Strength - 25% Luck - 75% Magic - 20% Defense - 30% Skill - 50% Resistance - 40% ---------------------------------- PROMOTIONAL GAINS ---------------------------------- Tier 2 (Tier 3) ---------------------------------- HP - 0 (4) Speed - 0 (2) Strength - 0 (3) Luck - 0 (0) Magic - 0 (4) Defense - 0 (3) Skill - 0 (2) Resistance - 0 (4) New Weapons: None ---------------------------------- BOND SUPPORT ---------------------------------- None ---------------------------------- RECOMMENDED BUDDY SUPPORT(S) ---------------------------------- Another person that can do well with a Thunder support. ---------------------------------- OVERALL - 7/10 ---------------------------------- If you want a capable thief, this is the way to go. If you want a combat-ready unit with decent thieving capabilities, go with Sothe. Heather's great Skill, Speed, and Resistance make her great for taking down enemy Mages, and that high Speed allows her to steal from nearly any enemy. Her high Speed and Luck will protect her from most attacks as well. Once again, use her for thieving, and Sothe for fighting. ================================== Lucia ================================== Level 14 Swordmaster Aff: Earth; Sword = A ---------------------------------- RECRUITMENT ---------------------------------- Chapter 2-2, automatically ---------------------------------- STARTING STATS ---------------------------------- HP - 38 Speed - 27 Strength - 18 Luck - 19 Magic - 10 Defense - 14 Skill - 27 Resistance - 15 ---------------------------------- GROWTH RATES ---------------------------------- HP - 50% Speed - 60% Strength - 25% Luck - 30% Magic - 20% Defense - 15% Skill - 70% Resistance - 50% ---------------------------------- PROMOTIONAL GAINS ---------------------------------- Tier 2 (Tier 3) ---------------------------------- HP - 0 (4) Speed - 0 (2) Strength - 0 (3) Luck - 0 (0) Magic - 0 (4) Defense - 0 (3) Skill - 0 (2) Resistance - 0 (4) New Weapons: None ---------------------------------- BOND SUPPORT ---------------------------------- Geoffrey (+5), Elincia (+10) ---------------------------------- RECOMMENDED BUDDY SUPPORT(S) ---------------------------------- Dark or Water affinities You probably don't have any Dark affinities to spare, and you won't want to waste an Earth affinity on her. Water will help her with the two things she needs; hitting power and durability. ---------------------------------- OVERALL - 6/10 ---------------------------------- Well, she's improved since Path of Radiance, but still, she's not very good. Her Skill and Speed are pretty good, and her Resistance is great, but without the Luck to pull off critical hits and the Strength to make them worthwhile, she won't become very good. However, she starts at a high level, which is both good and bad. She's quite strong at first, but can't grow much. ================================== Lethe ================================== Level 21 Cat Aff: Heaven; Strike = A ---------------------------------- RECRUITMENT ---------------------------------- Chapter 2-2, automatically ---------------------------------- STARTING STATS ---------------------------------- HP - 51 Speed - 12 Strength - 9 Luck - 18 Magic - 6 Defense - 9 Skill - 13 Resistance - 10 ---------------------------------- GROWTH RATES ---------------------------------- HP - 85% Speed - 50% Strength - 35% Luck - 45% Magic - 5% Defense - 35% Skill - 30% Resistance - 20% ---------------------------------- BOND SUPPORT ---------------------------------- Mordecai (+5), Lyre (+10) ---------------------------------- RECOMMENDED BUDDY SUPPORT(S) ---------------------------------- Anything except another Heaven If there's one Affinity she shouldn't have been assigned, it's Heaven. She can use anything but that. Don't have her taking up the support slot for your best characters, though. ---------------------------------- OVERALL - 6/10 ---------------------------------- She'll max out her Skill and Speed easily. She'll probably max out her Defense, too, but since its cap is so low, that doesn't really mean much. She can dodge most attacks and double with ease, but her low Strength makes it hard for her to put a dent in most enemies. Her low Defense and Resistance aren't much of a problem due to her high evasion, but if a couple enemy Archers or Mages land some lucky hits, she'll go down quickly. Her main problem is complete lack of durability when not transformed. Ravens and Wolves are generally quick enough to dodge and survive when not transformed, and Tigers, Hawks, and Lions are strong enough to withstand a few hits. Cats, on the other hand, are pretty much dead if they're caught off guard. ================================== Mordecai ================================== Level 16 Tiger Aff: Water; Strike = A ---------------------------------- RECRUITMENT ---------------------------------- Chapter 2-2, automatically ---------------------------------- STARTING STATS ---------------------------------- HP - 57 Speed - 9 Strength - 14 Luck - 15 Magic - 1 Defense - 16 Skill - 9 Resistance - 4 ---------------------------------- GROWTH RATES ---------------------------------- HP - 90% Speed - 15% Strength - 35% Luck - 80% Magic - 10% Defense - 45% Skill - 25% Resistance - 15% ---------------------------------- BOND SUPPORT ---------------------------------- Lethe (+5) ---------------------------------- RECOMMENDED BUDDY SUPPORT(S) ---------------------------------- Fire, Water, anything that will raise his strength Like Lethe, don't have him supporting with your better characters. ---------------------------------- OVERALL - 6/10 ---------------------------------- His growths are marginally worse than Muarim's, and not very befitting of a Tiger. His Defense and Luck are great, but his low Speed and Resistance makes him susceptible to Mages and any quick enemies. For a Tiger, his Strength also leaves something to be desired. If you want a Tiger, try to raise Muarim instead, but if you find that too hard, you may want to wait for Kyza. Mordecai should be your third choice. ================================== Geoffrey ================================== Level 15 Lance Paladin Aff: Fire; Lance = A ---------------------------------- RECRUITMENT ---------------------------------- Chapter 2-3, automatically ---------------------------------- STARTING STATS ---------------------------------- HP - 37 Speed - 20 Strength - 24 Luck - 19 Magic - 8 Defense - 18 Skill - 33 Resistance - 15 ---------------------------------- GROWTH RATES ---------------------------------- HP - 60% Speed - 35% Strength - 50% Luck - 30% Magic - 10% Defense - 30% Skill - 60% Resistance - 55% ---------------------------------- PROMOTIONAL GAINS ---------------------------------- Tier 2 (Tier 3) ---------------------------------- HP - 0 (4) Speed - 0 (2) Strength - 0 (2) Luck - 0 (0) Magic - 0 (4) Defense - 0 (2) Skill - 0 (2) Resistance - 0 (4) New Weapons: (Bow = C) ---------------------------------- BOND SUPPORT ---------------------------------- Lucia (+5), Bastian (+10), Kieran (+5), Elincia (+10) ---------------------------------- RECOMMENDED BUDDY SUPPORT(S) ---------------------------------- Kieran, anything to help with his evasion As the second-best Silver and Gold Knights, Geoffrey and Kieran would be a great choice. They'll usually be near each other, support quickly, and have a Bond support. ---------------------------------- OVERALL - 8/10 ---------------------------------- His growths are decent, but his high starting level and stats will make him a great asset throughout his chapters. His innate skill "Paragon" doubles the EXP he gains, so if you focus on training him up, he'll promote quickly and barrel through any enemy. Before Part 4, though, you should remove Paragon and give it to someone else. Overall, if you're looking for a Silver Knight, Geoffrey comes in second only to Oscar. If you want two, take Geoffrey. ================================== Kieran ================================== Level 11 Axe Paladin Aff: Wind; Axe = A ---------------------------------- RECRUITMENT ---------------------------------- Chapter 2-3, automatically ---------------------------------- STARTING STATS ---------------------------------- HP - 41 Speed - 20 Strength - 21 Luck - 16 Magic - 6 Defense - 18 Skill - 20 Resistance - 11 ---------------------------------- GROWTH RATES ---------------------------------- HP - 75% Speed - 30% Strength - 60% Luck - 30% Magic - 15% Defense - 60% Skill - 40% Resistance - 25% ---------------------------------- PROMOTIONAL GAINS ---------------------------------- Tier 2 (Tier 3) ---------------------------------- HP - 0 (4) Speed - 0 (2) Strength - 0 (2) Luck - 0 (0) Magic - 0 (4) Defense - 0 (2) Skill - 0 (2) Resistance - 0 (4) New Weapons: Sword = C ---------------------------------- BOND SUPPORT ---------------------------------- Geoffrey (+5) ---------------------------------- RECOMMENDED BUDDY SUPPORT(S) ---------------------------------- Geoffrey, anything that helps with his accuracy Ditto to Geoffrey. That Fire support makes Kieran very powerful. ---------------------------------- OVERALL - 9/10 ---------------------------------- Physically, Kieran is a powerhouse. High Strength and decent Skill make him a reliable attacker, and good Defense and HP help him survive. His Speed and Resistance aren't very good, so keep him away from enemy Mages, and he should be just fine. As far as Gold Knights go, he's a close second to Titania, but better than the others. ================================== Astrid ================================== Level 2 Bow Paladin Aff: Wind; Bow = B ---------------------------------- RECRUITMENT ---------------------------------- Chapter 1-3, automatically ---------------------------------- STARTING STATS ---------------------------------- HP - 33 Speed - 15 Strength - 13 Luck - 17 Magic - 8 Defense - 10 Skill - 16 Resistance - 14 ---------------------------------- GROWTH RATES ---------------------------------- HP - 55% Speed - 40% Strength - 40% Luck - 70% Magic - 20% Defense - 30% Skill - 45% Resistance - 50% ---------------------------------- PROMOTIONAL GAINS ---------------------------------- Tier 2 (Tier 3) ---------------------------------- HP - 0 (4) Speed - 0 (2) Strength - 0 (2) Luck - 0 (0) Magic - 0 (4) Defense - 0 (2) Skill - 0 (2) Resistance - 0 (4) New Weapons: Lance = C ---------------------------------- BOND SUPPORT ---------------------------------- None ---------------------------------- RECOMMENDED BUDDY SUPPORT(S) ---------------------------------- Thunder... or anything else to help her survive. Especially Makalov. Makalov works well, since they support quickly. They're the third-best Silver and Gold Knights, and give ideal bonuses, and can get a Bond support from PoR transfer data. ...Pretty much, support them for the same reasons you'd support Geoffrey and Kieran. And though it doesn't effect gameplay, Astrid and Makalov have a special ending if supported. ---------------------------------- OVERALL - 7/10 ---------------------------------- She suffers from a low starting level and low base stats. Like Geoffrey, she starts with the Paragon skill, helping to even out her low level. Her Skill, Luck, Speed, and Resistance make her an effective Mage killer, but since she can't use any direct attacks until promotion, you should keep her out of the fray. Once promoted, she makes a decent Lance-wielder, but watch out for her low Defense. ================================== Makalov ================================== Level 7 Blade Paladin Aff: Thunder; Sword = A ---------------------------------- RECRUITMENT ---------------------------------- Chapter 2-3, automatically ---------------------------------- STARTING STATS ---------------------------------- HP - 37 Speed - 18 Strength - 18 Luck - 20 Magic - 5 Defense - 17 Skill - 17 Resistance - 9 ---------------------------------- GROWTH RATES ---------------------------------- HP - 55% Speed - 75% Strength - 40% Luck - 45% Magic - 15% Defense - 50% Skill - 40% Resistance - 25% ---------------------------------- PROMOTIONAL GAINS ---------------------------------- Tier 2 (Tier 3) ---------------------------------- HP - 0 (4) Speed - 0 (2) Strength - 0 (2) Luck - 0 (0) Magic - 0 (4) Defense - 0 (2) Skill - 0 (2) Resistance - 0 (4) New Weapons: (Axe = C) ---------------------------------- BOND SUPPORT ---------------------------------- Marcia (+5) ---------------------------------- RECOMMENDED BUDDY SUPPORT(S) ---------------------------------- Astrid Ditto to her reasons. ---------------------------------- OVERALL - 7/10 ---------------------------------- Quick and reliable, but Makalov doesn't have the physical prowess to back it up. You're better off giving kills to Geoffrey, Kieran, and even Astrid. He should be your third choice for a Gold Knight. ================================== Danved ================================== Level 9 Halberdier Aff: Fire; Lance = S ---------------------------------- RECRUITMENT ---------------------------------- Chapter 1-3, read his Info conversation ---------------------------------- STARTING STATS ---------------------------------- HP - 39 Speed - 21 Strength - 17 Luck - 18 Magic - 8 Defense - 15 Skill - 23 Resistance - 12 ---------------------------------- GROWTH RATES ---------------------------------- HP - 75% Speed - 45% Strength - 40% Luck - 60% Magic - 20% Defense - 45% Skill - 30% Resistance - 25% ---------------------------------- PROMOTIONAL GAINS ---------------------------------- Tier 2 (Tier 3) ---------------------------------- HP - 0 (4) Speed - 0 (2) Strength - 0 (2) Luck - 0 (0) Magic - 0 (4) Defense - 0 (2) Skill - 0 (2) Resistance - 0 (4) New Weapons: None ---------------------------------- BOND SUPPORT ---------------------------------- None ---------------------------------- RECOMMENDED BUDDY SUPPORT(S) ---------------------------------- Anything to help his accuracy. Especially Fire supports. ---------------------------------- OVERALL - 7/10 ---------------------------------- More of a Solider than Aran, but not as good as Nephenee. His stats are kind of weird, but are split nicely between Strength, Speed, and Defense. You'll probably be relying on him through some of Geoffrey's chapters, so make sure he's up to par, but don't overtrain him. Others can make better use of the EXP. ================================== Calill ================================== Level 6 Fire Sage Aff: Dark; Fire = A, Thunder = B, Wind = B ---------------------------------- RECRUITMENT ---------------------------------- Chapter 2-E, read her Info conversation ---------------------------------- STARTING STATS ---------------------------------- HP - 32 Speed - 18 Strength - 9 Luck - 16 Magic - 19 Defense - 11 Skill - 18 Resistance - 17 ---------------------------------- GROWTH RATES ---------------------------------- HP - 35% Speed - 55% Strength - 25% Luck - 55% Magic - 45% Defense - 15% Skill - 60% Resistance - 50% ---------------------------------- PROMOTIONAL GAINS ---------------------------------- Tier 2 (Tier 3) ---------------------------------- HP - 0 (4) Speed - 0 (2) Strength - 0 (5) Luck - 0 (0) Magic - 0 (2) Defense - 0 (5) Skill - 0 (2) Resistance - 0 (2) New Weapons: (Staff = E) ---------------------------------- BOND SUPPORT ---------------------------------- None ---------------------------------- RECOMMENDED BUDDY SUPPORT(S) ---------------------------------- She's someone else who can use a Thunder support. And she needs it. Badly. ---------------------------------- OVERALL - 8/10 ---------------------------------- If you want a Fire Mage, go with Calill. Her Magic growth is somewhat low, but her high Skill coupled with the power of Fire Magic will even that out. Her other stats are well-rounded, just keep an eye on nearby enemies, as she has low HP and Defense. She's basically what you'd expect from a Mage. You should note that any stat bonuses and Bond supports that Largo would have gotten from PoR transfer data go to Calill instead. This can actually make her quite a force to be reckoned with, but requires a lot of effort. -------------- [2.3] - Part 3 -------------- Here's the part we've been waiting for: enter the Greil Mercenaries. They are, undoubtedly, the strongest group in the game, not counting the Laguz royals. Part 3 also introduces a slew of new Laguz, and the final two Pegasus Knights. ================================== Ike ================================== Level 11 Hero Aff: Earth; Sword = S ---------------------------------- RECRUITMENT ---------------------------------- Chapter 3-P, automatically ---------------------------------- STARTING STATS ---------------------------------- HP - 44 Speed - 23 Strength - 24 Luck - 14 Magic - 2 Defense - 21 Skill - 28 Resistance - 7 ---------------------------------- GROWTH RATES ---------------------------------- HP - 65% Speed - 35% Strength - 55% Luck - 30% Magic - 10% Defense - 40% Skill - 60% Resistance - 15% ---------------------------------- PROMOTIONAL GAINS ---------------------------------- Tier 2 (Tier 3) ---------------------------------- HP - 0 (4) Speed - 0 (2) Strength - 0 (2) Luck - 0 (0) Magic - 0 (4) Defense - 0 (2) Skill - 0 (2) Resistance - 0 (4) New Weapons: (Axe = A) ---------------------------------- OVERALL - 10/10 ---------------------------------- Ike's growths are somewhat average, but his base stats are very high, and his unique weapons are extremely powerful. All in all, he'll come out incredibly strong, with his only real weakness being his horrid Resistance. His best weapon, Ragnell, not only has amazing statistics, but also adds +5 to his Defense, and can attack from a range. His Earth affinity helps by increasing his evasion, which makes him nearly invincible. ================================== Titania ================================== Level 16 Axe Paladin Aff: Light; Axe = S ---------------------------------- RECRUITMENT ---------------------------------- Chapter 3-P, automatically ---------------------------------- STARTING STATS ---------------------------------- HP - 36 Speed - 21 Strength - 25 Luck - 19 Magic - 10 Defense - 20 Skill - 22 Resistance - 14 ---------------------------------- GROWTH RATES ---------------------------------- HP - 60% Speed - 50% Strength - 60% Luck - 40% Magic - 15% Defense - 20% Skill - 55% Resistance - 30% ---------------------------------- PROMOTIONAL GAINS ---------------------------------- Tier 2 (Tier 3) ---------------------------------- HP - 0 (4) Speed - 0 (2) Strength - 0 (3) Luck - 0 (0) Magic - 0 (4) Defense - 0 (3) Skill - 0 (2) Resistance - 0 (4) New Weapons: (Sword = C) ---------------------------------- OVERALL - 10/10 ---------------------------------- High Skill and Strength, with well-rounded growths in other areas make Titania your best choice for an axe-wielder. Her only weakness is her poor Defense, which, when coupled with her average HP, make her very vulnerable in high- volume fights. However, she can dodge most attacks with ease, helping to even that out. Your best choice for a Gold Knight. ================================== Soren ================================== Level 5 Wind Sage Aff: Dark; Wind = A, Thunder = B, Fire = B ---------------------------------- RECRUITMENT ---------------------------------- Chapter 3-P, automatically ---------------------------------- STARTING STATS ---------------------------------- HP - 28 Speed - 18 Strength - 9 Luck - 11 Magic - 23 Defense - 9 Skill - 21 Resistance - 21 ---------------------------------- GROWTH RATES ---------------------------------- HP - 40% Speed - 35% Strength - 25% Luck - 35% Magic - 80% Defense - 25% Skill - 60% Resistance - 70% ---------------------------------- PROMOTIONAL GAINS ---------------------------------- Tier 2 (Tier 3) ---------------------------------- HP - 0 (4) Speed - 0 (2) Strength - 0 (4) Luck - 0 (0) Magic - 0 (2) Defense - 0 (4) Skill - 0 (2) Resistance - 0 (2) New Weapons: (Staff = E) ---------------------------------- OVERALL - 9/10 ---------------------------------- He's not as well-rounded as Ilyana, but Soren's high Magic and Resistance make him a magical powerhouse. He's physically frail, however, with low HP and Defense, and only decent Speed. Choosing between Soren and Ilyana is basically a toss-up. I've always preferred Ilyana's durability, but most people prefer Soren. The only real way to win in this situation is to use both. ================================== Mist ================================== Level 1 Cleric Aff: Water; Sword = C, Staff = B ---------------------------------- RECRUITMENT ---------------------------------- Chapter 3-P, automatically ---------------------------------- STARTING STATS ---------------------------------- HP - 28 Speed - 15 Strength - 8 Luck - 16 Magic - 13 Defense - 7 Skill - 13 Resistance - 16 ---------------------------------- GROWTH RATES ---------------------------------- HP - 40% Speed - 50% Strength - 25% Luck - 70% Magic - 45% Defense - 25% Skill - 55% Resistance - 40% ---------------------------------- PROMOTIONAL GAINS ---------------------------------- Tier 2 (Tier 3) ---------------------------------- HP - 0 (4) Speed - 0 (2) Strength - 0 (5) Luck - 0 (0) Magic - 0 (2) Defense - 0 (5) Skill - 0 (2) Resistance - 0 (2) New Weapons: None ---------------------------------- OVERALL - 9/10 ---------------------------------- The second of the two characters that can use both physical and magical weapons. Like Elincia, Mist can use both Swords and Staves. Her Strength and Magic growths are somewhat low, but those are evened out by her good growths in Skill, Speed, and Luck. Her offensive capabilities are augmented by the massive +5 Strength she gets upon promotion, as well as her unique weapon, Florete. Florete's statistics tower over other swords, and can attack from a distance. When promoted, she is also mounted on a horse, making her an efficient healer, able to heal allies and move safely out of the way in one turn. ================================== Rolf ================================== Level 1 Sniper Aff: Wind; Bow = B ---------------------------------- RECRUITMENT ---------------------------------- Chapter 3-P, automatically ---------------------------------- STARTING STATS ---------------------------------- HP - 32 Speed - 19 Strength - 17 Luck - 13 Magic - 3 Defense - 13 Skill - 20 Resistance - 9 ---------------------------------- GROWTH RATES ---------------------------------- HP - 85% Speed - 45% Strength - 75% Luck - 35% Magic - 10% Defense - 35% Skill - 45% Resistance - 20% ---------------------------------- PROMOTIONAL GAINS ---------------------------------- Tier 2 (Tier 3) ---------------------------------- HP - 0 (4) Speed - 0 (2) Strength - 0 (2) Luck - 0 (0) Magic - 0 (4) Defense - 0 (2) Skill - 0 (2) Resistance - 0 (4) New Weapons: None ---------------------------------- OVERALL - 8/10 ---------------------------------- Rolf will be the best Archer if trained properly. His somewhat low Skill growth is offset by his massive Strength growth, and he should be able to dodge many attacks. He isn't very durable, though, so keep him away from stronger enemies. ================================== Boyd ================================== Level 8 Warrior Aff: Fire; Axe = A ---------------------------------- RECRUITMENT ---------------------------------- Chapter 3-P, automatically ---------------------------------- STARTING STATS ---------------------------------- HP - 45 Speed - 18 Strength - 22 Luck - 13 Magic - 1 Defense - 15 Skill - 20 Resistance - 8 ---------------------------------- GROWTH RATES ---------------------------------- HP - 80% Speed - 45% Strength - 65% Luck - 40% Magic - 5% Defense - 50% Skill - 45% Resistance - 10% ---------------------------------- PROMOTIONAL GAINS ---------------------------------- Tier 2 (Tier 3) ---------------------------------- HP - 0 (4) Speed - 0 (2) Strength - 0 (2) Luck - 0 (0) Magic - 0 (4) Defense - 0 (2) Skill - 0 (2) Resistance - 0 (4) New Weapons: None ---------------------------------- OVERALL - 8/10 ---------------------------------- Boyd is basically the polar opposite of Nolan. His Skill, Speed, and Luck are decent, but his Strength is ridiculous. High HP and good Defense make him well- suited for taking down physical enemies, but keep him away from enemy Mages. He's just as good as Nolan. You should decide between Nolan's skills and Boyd's power. ================================== Oscar ================================== Level 12 Lance Paladin Aff: Earth; Lance = A ---------------------------------- RECRUITMENT ---------------------------------- Chapter 3-P, automatically ---------------------------------- STARTING STATS ---------------------------------- HP - 38 Speed - 21 Strength - 20 Luck - 18 Magic - 7 Defense - 17 Skill - 22 Resistance - 13 ---------------------------------- GROWTH RATES ---------------------------------- HP - 50% Speed - 60% Strength - 35% Luck - 55% Magic - 20% Defense - 30% Skill - 65% Resistance - 20% ---------------------------------- PROMOTIONAL GAINS ---------------------------------- Tier 2 (Tier 3) ---------------------------------- HP - 0 (4) Speed - 0 (2) Strength - 0 (2) Luck - 0 (0) Magic - 0 (4) Defense - 0 (2) Skill - 0 (2) Resistance - 0 (4) New Weapons: (Bow = C) ---------------------------------- OVERALL - 9/10 ---------------------------------- Not very good physically, but high Skill, Speed, and Luck make him a force to be reckoned with. He'll dodge most attacks, especially if you give him a support. He'll also double easily. Your #1 choice for a Silver Knight. ================================== Shinon ================================== Level 13 Sniper Aff: Thunder; Bow = S ---------------------------------- RECRUITMENT ---------------------------------- Chapter 3-P, automatically ---------------------------------- STARTING STATS ---------------------------------- HP - 43 Speed - 24 Strength - 21 Luck - 15 Magic - 7 Defense - 20 Skill - 28 Resistance - 14 ---------------------------------- GROWTH RATES ---------------------------------- HP - 50% Speed - 65% Strength - 40% Luck - 30% Magic - 15% Defense - 45% Skill - 70% Resistance - 20% ---------------------------------- PROMOTIONAL GAINS ---------------------------------- Tier 2 (Tier 3) ---------------------------------- HP - 0 (4) Speed - 0 (2) Strength - 0 (2) Luck - 0 (0) Magic - 0 (4) Defense - 0 (2) Skill - 0 (2) Resistance - 0 (4) New Weapons: None ---------------------------------- OVERALL - 8/10 ---------------------------------- Shinon is more skilled than Rolf, but lacks power. He's also more durable physically. All in all, if you feel that you can't raise Rolf to a high level, Shinon is there for backup. He's just not quite as good. ================================== Gatrie ================================== Level 10 Lance General Aff: Light; Lance = A, Axe = B ---------------------------------- RECRUITMENT ---------------------------------- Chapter 3-P, automatically ---------------------------------- STARTING STATS ---------------------------------- HP - 44 Speed - 20 Strength - 25 Luck - 15 Magic - 5 Defense - 24 Skill - 18 Resistance - 11 ---------------------------------- GROWTH RATES ---------------------------------- HP - 50% Speed - 60% Strength - 60% Luck - 30% Magic - 5% Defense - 60% Skill - 45% Resistance - 35% ---------------------------------- PROMOTIONAL GAINS ---------------------------------- Tier 2 (Tier 3) ---------------------------------- HP - 0 (4) Speed - 0 (2) Strength - 0 (2) Luck - 0 (0) Magic - 0 (4) Defense - 0 (2) Skill - 0 (2) Resistance - 0 (4) New Weapons: (Sword = D) ---------------------------------- OVERALL - 9/10 ---------------------------------- Great Defense, with good HP and Resistance make him an excellent wall, but with his high Speed and Strength, he makes an effective combat unit as well. As long as he doesn't get swamped by enemy Mages, he'll be fine. Basically, think of him as a better Tauroneo, that starts at a lower level. ================================== Rhys ================================== Level 3 Bishop Aff: Fire; Light = C, Staff = A ---------------------------------- RECRUITMENT ---------------------------------- Chapter 3-P, automatically ---------------------------------- STARTING STATS ---------------------------------- HP - 27 Speed - 14 Strength - 8 Luck - 21 Magic - 23 Defense - 7 Skill - 16 Resistance - 24 ---------------------------------- GROWTH RATES ---------------------------------- HP - 40% Speed - 35% Strength - 25% Luck - 60% Magic - 65% Defense - 20% Skill - 35% Resistance - 75% ---------------------------------- PROMOTIONAL GAINS ---------------------------------- Tier 2 (Tier 3) ---------------------------------- HP - 0 (4) Speed - 0 (2) Strength - 0 (4) Luck - 0 (0) Magic - 0 (2) Defense - 0 (4) Skill - 0 (2) Resistance - 0 (2) New Weapons: None ---------------------------------- OVERALL - 8/10 ---------------------------------- Not a very effective magic user due to his low Speed, Skill, and Defense, but high Magic and Resistance make him a great healer, as well as a great magical wall. When it comes to healing, Rhys is more efficient, but less effective, than Mist. Make sure to keep him out of the enemy's range. ================================== Mia ================================== Level 7 Swordmaster Aff: Fire; Sword = S ---------------------------------- RECRUITMENT ---------------------------------- Chapter 3-P, automatically ---------------------------------- STARTING STATS ---------------------------------- HP - 34 Speed - 28 Strength - 17 Luck - 18 Magic - 5 Defense - 13 Skill - 26 Resistance - 8 ---------------------------------- GROWTH RATES ---------------------------------- HP - 70% Speed - 65% Strength - 45% Luck - 35% Magic - 15% Defense - 40% Skill - 60% Resistance - 25% ---------------------------------- PROMOTIONAL GAINS ---------------------------------- Tier 2 (Tier 3) ---------------------------------- HP - 0 (4) Speed - 0 (2) Strength - 0 (3) Luck - 0 (0) Magic - 0 (4) Defense - 0 (3) Skill - 0 (2) Resistance - 0 (4) New Weapons: None ---------------------------------- OVERALL - 10/10 ---------------------------------- Extremely well-rounded, and though her Luck seems a little low, she's extremely good, physically speaking, for a Myrmidon. She is still among the fastest units, and will frequently dodge enemy attacks, almost always double enemies (even on harder difficulties), and will land crits quite often. Support her with a character that has the Earth affinity, and give her the Daunt skill, and it will be next to impossible to hit her. If you want a Myrmidon (and let's be honest, you do), she's the way to go. ================================== Ranulf ================================== Level 26 Cat Aff: Wind; Strike = A ---------------------------------- RECRUITMENT ---------------------------------- Chapter 3-4, automatically ---------------------------------- STARTING STATS ---------------------------------- HP - 55 Speed - 15 Strength - 14 Luck - 23 Magic - 6 Defense - 13 Skill - 16 Resistance - 10 ---------------------------------- GROWTH RATES ---------------------------------- HP - 70% Speed - 35% Strength - 30% Luck - 55% Magic - 15% Defense - 15% Skill - 40% Resistance - 10% ---------------------------------- OVERALL - 8/10 ---------------------------------- The best Cat in the game. Ranulf's growths are fairly good, but his base stats are great. His Strength is amazing, and his Skill and Speed are pretty high as well. His Resistance is somewhat low, though. Not much else to say about him. ================================== Kyza ================================== Level 18 Tiger Aff: Light; Strike = A ---------------------------------- RECRUITMENT ---------------------------------- Chapter 3-4, automatically ---------------------------------- STARTING STATS ---------------------------------- HP - 55 Speed - 11 Strength - 10 Luck - 14 Magic - 3 Defense - 10 Skill - 10 Resistance - 5 ---------------------------------- GROWTH RATES ---------------------------------- HP - 85% Speed - 35% Strength - 40% Luck - 50% Magic - 5% Defense - 40% Skill - 45% Resistance - 15% ---------------------------------- OVERALL - 7/10 ---------------------------------- Kyza has low Strength for a Tiger, but his other stats even it out nicely. He's still not as useful as Muarim, but with better availability, he's easier to train and raise. Fire Mages will kill him quickly, though, so give them a wide berth. ================================== Lyre ================================== Level 17 Cat Aff: Thunder; Strike = A ---------------------------------- RECRUITMENT ---------------------------------- Chapter 3-4, automatically ---------------------------------- STARTING STATS ---------------------------------- HP - 47 Speed - 11 Strength - 7 Luck - 16 Magic - 6 Defense - 7 Skill - 11 Resistance - 8 ---------------------------------- GROWTH RATES ---------------------------------- HP - 50% Speed - 70% Strength - 35% Luck - 50% Magic - 10% Defense - 20% Skill - 65% Resistance - 30% ---------------------------------- OVERALL - 7/10 ---------------------------------- Well, she's better than her sister, but Lyre is a long-term investment. At first, she'll be too weak to take out all but the most frail of enemies. She'll need a lot of training and some late Bonus EXP to become a worthwhile unit, but if you do train her up, she becomes pretty good. Her Skill and Speed are amazing, and she'll max them within a few levels. Put some Bonus EXP into her when those max out. Unfortunately, you can't do the same trick you can do with Vika in order to build Lyre up. ================================== Reyson ================================== Level 15 Heron Aff: Fire ---------------------------------- RECRUITMENT ---------------------------------- Chapter 3-5, automatically ---------------------------------- STARTING STATS ---------------------------------- HP - 40 Speed - 11 Strength - 3 Luck - 31 Magic - 5 Defense - 6 Skill - 5 Resistance - 17 ---------------------------------- GROWTH RATES ---------------------------------- HP - 65% Speed - 20% Strength - 5% Luck - 60% Magic - 30% Defense - 20% Skill - 20% Resistance - 20% ---------------------------------- OVERALL - 9/10 ---------------------------------- The best of the Herons, stat-wise. He can only use his Galdr on one unit when not transformed, but he can use it on all adjacent units when transformed. Couple that with his ability to fly, Canto skill, and the fact that he has the best movement of them all, and you have arguably the best of the Herons. His movement is 6 when not transformed, 8 when transformed. Always flying. ================================== Janaff ================================== Level 29 Hawk Aff: Thunder; Strike = A ---------------------------------- RECRUITMENT ---------------------------------- Chapter 3-7, talk to him or Ulki with Ike or Reyson ---------------------------------- STARTING STATS ---------------------------------- HP - 57 Speed - 17 Strength - 16 Luck - 30 Magic - 2 Defense - 12 Skill - 19 Resistance - 8 ---------------------------------- GROWTH RATES ---------------------------------- HP - 55% Speed - 25% Strength - 40% Luck - 50% Magic - 15% Defense - 35% Skill - 45% Resistance - 10% ---------------------------------- OVERALL - 9/10 ---------------------------------- Up there with Volug as a great Laguz, but not quite as good as Vika. Janaff has great starting stats and decent growths, and since he starts at level 29, he can learn his mastery skill after only one level-up. He's very similar to Ulki, only more durable and stronger. Keep him away from Crossbows and Wind Mages, and he'll do just fine. Note that though Janaff is the more durable one and Ulki is the more accurate one, their skills seem to even them out. ================================== Ulki ================================== Level 28 Hawk Aff: Water; Strike = A ---------------------------------- RECRUITMENT ---------------------------------- Chapter 3-7, talk to him or Janaff with Ike or Reyson ---------------------------------- STARTING STATS ---------------------------------- HP - 59 Speed - 18 Strength - 14 Luck - 25 Magic - 3 Defense - 11 Skill - 17 Resistance - 10 ---------------------------------- GROWTH RATES ---------------------------------- HP - 65% Speed - 40% Strength - 25% Luck - 35% Magic - 30% Defense - 30% Skill - 25% Resistance - 25% ---------------------------------- OVERALL - 9/10 ---------------------------------- Ulki is similar to Janaff, only more accurate, and with higher HP and Resistance. Pick one you like, and go for it. With higher Resistance than Janaff, he is better suited for quickly taking down enemy Mages, but he's more susceptible to Bows and Crossbows. Note that though Janaff is the more durable one and Ulki is the more accurate one, their skills seem to even them out. ================================== Sigrun ================================== Level 19 Falcon Knight Aff: Water; Sword = A, Lance = S ---------------------------------- RECRUITMENT ---------------------------------- Chapter 3-11, automatically ---------------------------------- STARTING STATS ---------------------------------- HP - 34 Speed - 24 Strength - 18 Luck - 28 Magic - 13 Defense - 20 Skill - 22 Resistance - 22 ---------------------------------- GROWTH RATES ---------------------------------- HP - 40% Speed - 25% Strength - 45% Luck - 70% Magic - 10% Defense - 10% Skill - 70% Resistance - 50% ---------------------------------- PROMOTIONAL GAINS ---------------------------------- Tier 2 (Tier 3) ---------------------------------- HP - 0 (4) Speed - 0 (2) Strength - 0 (3) Luck - 0 (0) Magic - 0 (4) Defense - 0 (3) Skill - 0 (2) Resistance - 0 (4) New Weapons: None ---------------------------------- OVERALL - 8/10 ---------------------------------- For a Pegasus Knight, her Speed growth is startlingly low, but her base Speed is surprisingly high. Her Skill, Luck, and Resistance are incredible, and she has decent HP and Strength. Her main problem is awful Defense, and without the Speed to back it up, she'll take some powerful hits. If you promote her early, she'll prove to be an effective unit, but don't expect to bring her into the Part 4 Endgame. Don't forget that she can perform a Triangle Attack with two of the other pegasus-mounted units (Elincia, Marcia, or Tanith). ================================== Tanith ================================== Level 16 Falcon Knight Aff: Earth; Sword = A, Lance = A ---------------------------------- RECRUITMENT ---------------------------------- Chapter 3-11, automatically ---------------------------------- STARTING STATS ---------------------------------- HP - 35 Speed - 23 Strength - 20 Luck - 22 Magic - 10 Defense - 19 Skill - 21 Resistance - 20 ---------------------------------- GROWTH RATES ---------------------------------- HP - 35% Speed - 40% Strength - 55% Luck - 35% Magic - 15% Defense - 40% Skill - 75% Resistance - 30% ---------------------------------- PROMOTIONAL GAINS ---------------------------------- Tier 2 (Tier 3) ---------------------------------- HP - 0 (4) Speed - 0 (2) Strength - 0 (3) Luck - 0 (0) Magic - 0 (4) Defense - 0 (3) Skill - 0 (2) Resistance - 0 (4) New Weapons: None ---------------------------------- OVERALL - 8/10 ---------------------------------- Stronger and more reliable than Sigrun, but Tanith's Luck and Resistance take a serious hit. She is, however, significantly better suited for physical work. Of the three Pegasus Knights, Tanith's about on par with Sigrun, and they're both marginally worse than Marcia. Again, don't underestimate the usefulness of their Triangle Attack. -------------- [2.4] - Part 4 -------------- You won't have much time to train most of the new recruits in Part 4, but most of them don't need training. Dragons, Lions, and some unique classes join up in this part. ================================== Sanaki ================================== Level 1 Empress Aff: Light; Fire = S, Thunder = A, Wind = A, Light = A ---------------------------------- RECRUITMENT ---------------------------------- Chapter 4-P, automatically ---------------------------------- STARTING STATS ---------------------------------- HP - 28 Speed - 23 Strength - 2 Luck - 32 Magic - 33 Defense - 10 Skill - 22 Resistance - 28 ---------------------------------- GROWTH RATES ---------------------------------- HP - 70% Speed - 35% Strength - 40% Luck - 55% Magic - 60% Defense - 30% Skill - 60% Resistance - 50% ---------------------------------- OVERALL - 9/10 ---------------------------------- Very nicely-rounded growths, great base stats (Strength and HP excepted, but those will fix themselves soon), and a starting level that's great for training. She'll suffer from the same drawbacks that Micaiah had at first, needing to be protected early on, and requiring some lucky Speed growths to become a truly powerful unit. She is also the only magic user capable of using both Anima (Fire/Thunder/Wind) and Light Magic. Her exclusive tome, Cymbeline, is incredibly powerful, and makes her even more deadly. Treat her like you treated Micaiah, and you'll find another irreplaceable mage on your team. Like Micaiah, though, unlucky Speed growths can severely limit her usefulness. ================================== Skrimir ================================== Level 25 Lion Aff: Fire; Strike = S ---------------------------------- RECRUITMENT ---------------------------------- Chapter 4-P, automatically ---------------------------------- STARTING STATS ---------------------------------- HP - 66 Speed - 13 Strength - 19 Luck - 24 Magic - 3 Defense - 16 Skill - 14 Resistance - 9 ---------------------------------- GROWTH RATES ---------------------------------- HP - 90% Speed - 25% Strength - 35% Luck - 20% Magic - 5% Defense - 50% Skill - 35% Resistance - 5% ---------------------------------- OVERALL - 8/10 ---------------------------------- Amazing HP, great Defense, great Strength... the only things holding Skrimir back are mediocre Speed and awful Resistance. He's wired to take hits rather than dodge them, and the only real threats to him are stronger Fire Mages. He's strong enough to take down most enemies in one battle, even without doubling, but his somewhat low growths make him less useful later on. ================================== Naesala ================================== Level 27 Raven King Aff: Dark; Strike = S ---------------------------------- RECRUITMENT ---------------------------------- Chapter 4-P, automatically ---------------------------------- STARTING STATS ---------------------------------- HP - 60 Speed - 21 Strength - 17 Luck - 20 Magic - 7 Defense - 13 Skill - 20 Resistance - 14 ---------------------------------- GROWTH RATES ---------------------------------- HP - 40% Speed - 45% Strength - 45% Luck - 55% Magic - 15% Defense - 15% Skill - 30% Resistance - 35% ---------------------------------- OVERALL - 10/10 ---------------------------------- The next of your Laguz royals. As a Raven, Naesala is quick and agile. He'll pretty much never miss and always double-attack. His growths are pretty good for a Laguz royal, and while he may start as the weakest of them, if trained, he will probably become the strongest. Keep him away from Crossbows, and he'll be just fine. His only real problem is that he may not have the Strength to kill stronger enemies in one battle, but his mastery skill will usually cancel that one out. ================================== Tibarn ================================== Level 31 Hawk King Aff: Heaven; Strike = SS ---------------------------------- RECRUITMENT ---------------------------------- Chapter 4-2, automatically ---------------------------------- STARTING STATS ---------------------------------- HP - 68 Speed - 20 Strength - 18 Luck - 29 Magic - 2 Defense - 16 Skill - 24 Resistance - 10 ---------------------------------- GROWTH RATES ---------------------------------- HP - 75% Speed - 20% Strength - 40% Luck - 40% Magic - 5% Defense - 40% Skill - 10% Resistance - 20% ---------------------------------- OVERALL - 10/10 ---------------------------------- Arguably the best of the Laguz royals, along with Nailah. Tibarn has the Strength to kill all but the strongest enemies instantly, and the Speed to double pretty much everything. He also has the highest movement range of all characters; a massive 10. In addition, he's probably the only flying unit that can withstand a Crossbow shot to the face. ================================== Pelleas ================================== Level 12 Dark Sage Aff: Water; Thunder = A, Dark = S ---------------------------------- RECRUITMENT ---------------------------------- Chapter 4-2, see Section 1.4 ---------------------------------- STARTING STATS ---------------------------------- HP - 33 Speed - 21 Strength - 13 Luck - 14 Magic - 24 Defense - 14 Skill - 20 Resistance - 19 ---------------------------------- GROWTH RATES ---------------------------------- HP - 35% Speed - 60% Strength - 25% Luck - 40% Magic - 55% Defense - 30% Skill - 45% Resistance - 45% ---------------------------------- PROMOTIONAL GAINS ---------------------------------- Tier 2 (Tier 3) ---------------------------------- HP - 0 (4) Speed - 0 (2) Strength - 0 (4) Luck - 0 (0) Magic - 0 (2) Defense - 0 (4) Skill - 0 (2) Resistance - 0 (2) New Weapons: (Staff = B) ---------------------------------- OVERALL - 8/10 ---------------------------------- Pelleas is your only choice if you want a Dark Mage. His stats, however, are somewhat low. Compared to other Dark Mages throughout the series, his Magic is quite low and his Skill and Speed are pretty high. His main redeeming feature, though, is the Dark Magic itself. Though inaccurate, Dark Magic packs quite a punch, and can decimate enemies with low Resistance. All in all, Pelleas is a good unit, but unless you're willing to devote lots of effort and EXP to training him, he's too little, too late. ================================== Stefan ================================== Level 8 Trueblade Aff: Heaven; Sword = SS ---------------------------------- RECRUITMENT ---------------------------------- Chapter 4-3, see Section 1.4 ---------------------------------- STARTING STATS ---------------------------------- HP - 53 Speed - 36 Strength - 27 Luck - 20 Magic - 7 Defense - 21 Skill - 37 Resistance - 16 ---------------------------------- GROWTH RATES ---------------------------------- HP - 55% Speed - 60% Strength - 50% Luck - 15% Magic - 20% Defense - 40% Skill - 60% Resistance - 50% ---------------------------------- OVERALL - 8/10 ---------------------------------- Much better than he was in the last game. With great starting stats and nice growth rates, Stefan would be an excellent addition to any team that's lacking a Myrmidon. Though his Luck is awful for a Myrmidon, his Resistance, Strength, and Defense are really good. Just note that Mia and Edward will probably be better if you trained them up. ================================== Oliver ================================== Level 8 Saint Aff: Fire; Light = S, Staff = A ---------------------------------- RECRUITMENT ---------------------------------- Chapter 4-4, talk with Rafiel ---------------------------------- STARTING STATS ---------------------------------- HP - 48 Speed - 20 Strength - 22 Luck - 28 Magic - 31 Defense - 18 Skill - 22 Resistance - 32 ---------------------------------- GROWTH RATES ---------------------------------- HP - 65% Speed - 45% Strength - 55% Luck - 30% Magic - 35% Defense - 30% Skill - 35% Resistance - 20% ---------------------------------- OVERALL - 5/10 ---------------------------------- Oliver is easily the worst of all your healers and Light Magic users. He's only here to help you out if you didn't train Laura, Elincia, Mist, or Rhys... all of whom you should have trained. His Strength is very high, but he can't make much use of it, and aside from that, he's just plain bad. ================================== Bastian ================================== Level 10 Archsage Aff: Wind; Fire = S, Thunder = A, Wind = SS, Staff = B ---------------------------------- RECRUITMENT ---------------------------------- Chapter 4-5, automatically ---------------------------------- STARTING STATS ---------------------------------- HP - 45 Speed - 24 Strength - 21 Luck - 21 Magic - 35 Defense - 20 Skill - 27 Resistance - 32 ---------------------------------- GROWTH RATES ---------------------------------- HP - 25% Speed - 40% Strength - 20% Luck - 40% Magic - 30% Defense - 25% Skill - 70% Resistance - 50% ---------------------------------- OVERALL - 6/10 ---------------------------------- His starting stats are somewhat nice, but otherwise, meh. His only good growth is his Skill, which, as a Wind Mage, he doesn't really need. Like Oliver, he's just a replacement unit for you. Only not quite as good. He does actually have one use, and that's recruiting the next character so that Elincia can go do something else. ================================== Volke ================================== Level 13 Assassin Aff: Wind; Knife = SS ---------------------------------- RECRUITMENT ---------------------------------- Chapter 4-5, talk with Bastian or Elincia, and choose to pay him 3000 gold (note that if you talk to him with Bastian, you won't have a choice. Bastian will hire him instantly). ---------------------------------- STARTING STATS ---------------------------------- HP - 52 Speed - 35 Strength - 30 Luck - 19 Magic - 5 Defense - 26 Skill - 36 Resistance - 22 ---------------------------------- GROWTH RATES ---------------------------------- HP - 50% Speed - 65% Strength - 50% Luck - 20% Magic - 5% Defense - 45% Skill - 60% Resistance - 15% ---------------------------------- OVERALL - 9/10 ---------------------------------- The only Assassin in the game. Volke's best quality isn't his stats (though they are pretty good), but his mastery skill. He can instantly kill just about any enemy. In addition, giving him a weapon with a high crit rate and the Gamble skill can bring his critical chance up to 80%, easily. He's irreplaceable, but you'll probably want to bring someone else into the endgame instead of him. ================================== Kurthnaga ================================== Level 20 Dragon Prince Aff: Water; Strike = A ---------------------------------- RECRUITMENT ---------------------------------- Chapter 4-E, automatically ---------------------------------- STARTING STATS ---------------------------------- HP - 55 Speed - 10 Strength - 15 Luck - 21 Magic - 7 Defense - 15 Skill - 8 Resistance - 15 ---------------------------------- GROWTH RATES ---------------------------------- HP - 95% Speed - 35% Strength - 45% Luck - 60% Magic - 15% Defense - 25% Skill - 20% Resistance - 40% ---------------------------------- OVERALL - 10/10 ---------------------------------- He starts pretty weak, but don't let those stats fool you. Kurth is technically a Laguz Royal, and gains the skill Formshift after part 3 of the Endgame. His low Skill may make him miss a lot in the beginning, but you can completely abuse him in part 3 of the endgame and level up his Strike level, which will boost his power and accuracy. Kurth will take some training to get up to par, but will become one of the best units once he is. To raise him, you can exploit one distinct feature of the third part in the Endgame: none of the enemies will attack Kurth or Ena, no matter what. They won't even counterattack. Use this to your advantage, and have him kill nearly every enemy on the map. You can repeatedly attack the boss to level up your Strike level, and once you start to consistently land attacks, Kurth's level will skyrocket. ================================== Ena ================================== Level 22 Red Dragon Aff: Earth; Strike = A ---------------------------------- RECRUITMENT ---------------------------------- Chapter 4-E, automatically ---------------------------------- STARTING STATS ---------------------------------- HP - 59 Speed - 11 Strength - 10 Luck - 18 Magic - 15 Defense - 13 Skill - 13 Resistance - 17 ---------------------------------- GROWTH RATES ---------------------------------- HP - 50% Speed - 40% Strength - 20% Luck - 35% Magic - 50% Defense - 15% Skill - 40% Resistance - 50% ---------------------------------- OVERALL - 6/10 ---------------------------------- Ena is a big disappointment, because she would've made a great White Dragon. What she needs is Strength, not Magic. Unfortunately, you're forced to bring her into the Endgame. If you manage to build her up, she can actually become useful, but she requires even more effort than characters like Vika, and doesn't turn out as good. All in all, though, she's still a good Mage killer. If you want to train her, exploit the third part in the Endgame just like with Kurth. ================================== Caineghis ================================== Level 36 Lion King Aff: Earth; Strike = SS ---------------------------------- RECRUITMENT ---------------------------------- Chapter 4-E, automatically ---------------------------------- STARTING STATS ---------------------------------- HP - 76 Speed - 17 Strength - 22 Luck - 30 Magic - 4 Defense - 22 Skill - 23 Resistance - 10 ---------------------------------- GROWTH RATES ---------------------------------- HP - 50% Speed - 20% Strength - 40% Luck - 40% Magic - 10% Defense - 30% Skill - 40% Resistance - 10% ---------------------------------- OVERALL - 10/10 ---------------------------------- He's generally people's favorite Laguz royal, but I never really found him to be more useful than the others. His HP, Strength, and Defense make physical battles a cakewalk, even with his sub-par speed. Mages still pose a threat, especially Fire Mages. Take them down first. It may be tough to level up a Support this late in the game, but since his affinity is Earth, he'll get a great bonus to his evasion, making him pretty much invincible. ================================== Giffca ================================== Level 36 Lion Aff: Dark; Strike = SS ---------------------------------- RECRUITMENT ---------------------------------- Chapter 4-E, automatically ---------------------------------- STARTING STATS ---------------------------------- HP - 73 Speed - 18 Strength - 21 Luck - 28 Magic - 4 Defense - 20 Skill - 22 Resistance - 11 ---------------------------------- GROWTH RATES ---------------------------------- HP - 40% Speed - 50% Strength - 35% Luck - 25% Magic - 10% Defense - 30% Skill - 35% Resistance - 15% ---------------------------------- OVERALL - 9.5/10 ---------------------------------- This is the only time I'll use a .5 in the overall rating. Giffca deserves better than a 9, but I'm not gonna put him on the same level as characters like Ike and Vika. He's nearly identical to Caineghis, but with a great Speed growth. He even has the weapon of a Laguz royal. His lack of Formshift, however, makes Caineghis the obvious choice if you want a Lion. However, if you don't want to use any royals, Giffca is here. ================================== Renning ================================== Level 16 Gold Knight Aff: Earth; Sword = SS, Axe = A ---------------------------------- RECRUITMENT ---------------------------------- Chapter 4-E, read his Info conversation ---------------------------------- STARTING STATS ---------------------------------- HP - 56 Speed - 29 Strength - 31 Luck - 24 Magic - 18 Defense - 27 Skill - 32 Resistance - 23 ---------------------------------- GROWTH RATES ---------------------------------- HP - 40% Speed - 40% Strength - 60% Luck - 10% Magic - 10% Defense - 70% Skill - 50% Resistance - 20% ---------------------------------- OVERALL - 7/10 ---------------------------------- Like Oliver and Bastian, Renning is a replacement unit. He's not bad, and his physical stats are pretty good, but you're much better off with any of the other Silver/Gold Knights. Plus, at such a high level, he can't grow much. ================================== Gareth ================================== Level 31 Red Dragon Aff: Thunder; Strike = S ---------------------------------- RECRUITMENT ---------------------------------- Chapter 4-E part 4, if he survived 4-E part 3 ---------------------------------- STARTING STATS ---------------------------------- HP - 82 Speed - 7 Strength - 22 Luck - 20 Magic - 5 Defense - 21 Skill - 10 Resistance - 9 ---------------------------------- GROWTH RATES ---------------------------------- HP - 90% Speed - 10% Strength - 40% Luck - 65% Magic - 5% Defense - 30% Skill - 30% Resistance - 25% ---------------------------------- OVERALL - 5/10 ---------------------------------- Despite his good Strength and incredible HP, Gareth isn't really that good. He lacks the advantages that Ena has, and while he can tack on damage better than she can, he's too slow and clunky to be used seriously. Besides, his Resistance is awful, and at this point in the game, nearly all attacks coming at you are magical. ================================== Nasir ================================== Level 34 White Dragon Aff: Light; Strike = S ---------------------------------- RECRUITMENT ---------------------------------- Chapter 4-E part 4, if he survived 4-E part 3 ---------------------------------- STARTING STATS ---------------------------------- HP - 74 Speed - 8 Strength - 7 Luck - 19 Magic - 24 Defense - 12 Skill - 13 Resistance - 21 ---------------------------------- GROWTH RATES ---------------------------------- HP - 70% Speed - 20% Strength - 15% Luck - 45% Magic - 45% Defense - 15% Skill - 35% Resistance - 40% ---------------------------------- OVERALL - 8/10 ---------------------------------- Now this is more like it. Nasir is somewhat slow, but his high Resistance and Magic will allow him to stand up to the later enemies. Nearly everything about him is better than Ena and Gareth, and he can be quite the useful unit in the end. His unique skill "White Pool" makes Micaiah and Sanaki into possibly the best units in the game, as long as they're adjacent to him. ================================== Lehran ================================== Level 20 Chancellor Aff: Light; Light = SS, Dark = SS, Staff = SS ---------------------------------- RECRUITMENT ---------------------------------- Chapter 4-E part 5, see Section 1.4 ---------------------------------- STARTING STATS ---------------------------------- HP - 50 Speed - 40 Strength - 11 Luck - 40 Magic - 40 Defense - 23 Skill - 40 Resistance - 40 ---------------------------------- OVERALL - 10/10 ---------------------------------- He's the only character you've got that has access to the Mantle skill, which makes him invincible as long as he's on Yune's side. All those high stats are mostly just for show, though, since the only way to have him deal any damage is to give him one of your blessed weapons, leaving one of your other characters defenseless. However, if you brought Pelleas into the Endgame, definitely give whatever tome he's using to Lehran. Lehran's main use, though, is his Ashera Staff. Though it only has three uses (which is all you should need), it completely heals all allies, cures any status ailments, and brings their Biorhythm to its highest point. Using it at the end of each turn will make it quite difficult to be defeated in the last battle. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- That's each character individually. If you'd like to see them in comparison to others in that class, go down to Section 3. ------------------------------------ [2.5] - Preparing For Part 4 Endgame ------------------------------------ Didn't know where to stick this section. This is as good a place as any. First things first, the Part 4 Endgame is split into five parts. Each part is packed with enemies, and has a powerful boss. You can only bring in a small number of units, and they're all you get. 1: The total number of units you can bring is 17. However, 6 are forced, and one must be a Heron, leaving you to choose 10 units. 2: Ike, Micaiah, Sothe, Sanaki, Kurthnaga, and Ena are forced. Hope you trained the first 4. 3: You'll want a balanced team. Generally, you'll want at least one Trueblade, at least two Gold/Silver Knights, at least two Staff users (not counting Micaiah), at least one Laguz royal, one or two Mages (not counting Micaiah or Sanaki), and a couple Laguz, if you trained any. ...Or, do what most people do, just pick your strongest units, and fill the gaps with Laguz royals. But that doesn't work on Hard Mode. 4: After picking your 10 units, you'll have the choice of which Heron to bring. The general consensus is Reyson, unless Rafiel is at a much higher level. Leanne is rarely the choice people make. Now that your units are picked, let's start with items. 1: Aside from personal weapons (Ragnell, Amiti, etc.), strip everyone of all their items. 2: Sell anything that's even partially used (except for the really good stuff like the Vague Katti). You want a clean slate. 3: Bring nothing weaker than Silver weapons. Remember that Steel Blades/Greatlances/Poleaxes are stronger than Silver Swords/Lances/Axes, and their greater weight shouldn't be an issue. Forge weapons if you have to. Killer weapons are good, but use them up first if you bring them. Brave weapons are also highly recommended if you have any. 4: Check to see which SS-rank weapons you have. You should have the Vague Katti (Sword), Urvan (Axe), Baselard (Knife... you may have missed this one), Rexflame (Fire Magic), Rexbolt (Thunder Magic), Rexcalibur (Wind Magic), and Balberith (Dark Magic). Make use of whichever of these you can. Inside the Tower of Guidance, you'll get Alondite (Sword), Wishblade (Lance), Double Bow (Bow), Matrona (Staff), and Rexaura (Light Magic). If you viewed Ike's Memory Scene and are on your second playthrough or higher, you will also get the Ashera Staff (Staff). If possible, have an SS- or Prf-rank weapon for everyone. 5: Strip anyone you're not using of their skills. Strip the characters you are using of any skills that are taking up Skill Capacity. 6: Assign skills. With that huge pile of skills to work with, you should be fine. Bring the Dragonfoe skill with you (either as an item or on someone), as well as all four Nihil skills (make sure one of them is on Ike). 7: Sell all the unused skills. Between this and your used/weak weapons, you should gather more than enough money to prepare for the chapter. 8: Do some last minute promoting. Try to make as many people third-tier as possible, even if you have to promote them before they reach level 20. 9: Any Laguz you bring should have their mastery skill. Bring a Satori Sign for everyone that doesn't, and save one for Kurth. 10: Laguz should also be packed with Laguz Stones and Olivi Grass, or a Laguz Gem. 11: If you're bringing Mist, promote her now. Don't bother with raising her, she's useless in this chapter unless she's a Valkyrie. 12: Make sure your characters can use the weapons you're giving them. If needed, Aimee's shop sells a bunch of Arms Scrolls which will increase a character's Weapon Level. 13: Get lots of healing items. Nothing less than a Concoction, unless your character has really low HP. Give Ike a couple Concoctions and a couple Elixirs. He's gonna need them. 14: While we're at it, give Ike a Hammer if you have one. You never know when you're gonna need it... 15: Ready a weapon. Identify the best weapon each character is holding, and make sure they have it equipped before you start part 3. 16: If your Heron is nearing Level 30, push them to it with Bonus EXP. Your Laguz will thank you later. Ditto to level 40. 17: Prepare yourself mentally. Even on Easy Mode, the endgame can be very mentally taxing, and on Hard Mode, you may go insane. There are lots of enemies and they're incredibly strong. It will take a long time. ==================================== [3] - Character Comparisons by Class ==================================== This is basically a quick comparison between similar characters. Useful if you want a balanced team and don't want to double up on classes. ---------------------- [3.1] - Unique Classes ---------------------- A few characters have classes that are unique to them, but in most cases, they are comparable to other classes. Here's a quick explanation. Note that the White Dragon, Dragon Prince, Wolf Queen, Raven King, Hawk King, and Lion King are also technically unique classes, but since they are nearly identical to other classes sharing their name, I've lumped them in there. Hero/Vanguard (Ike) - This is about as unique as they get. The closest comparison I can make is a Myrmidon, only much slower and less skilled, but much stronger and more durable. Light Mage/Light Sage/Light Priestess (Micaiah) - This class is comparable to Saints, as they also wield Light Magic and Staves. Micaiah is generally better all-around, with the exception of slightly lower Strength. Black Knight (Black Knight) - Based off the Marshall class. You don't really need to know a lot about him, since he's pretty much invincible when you're using him. Just know that when the time comes to fight him, a Hammer will make for an easy battle. Queen (Elincia) - Obviously, similar to Pegasus Knights, only she can wield Staves instead of Lances. Aside from being mounted on a pegasus, her Magic, Skill, Speed, Luck, and Resistance are high, but her other stats suffer, just like Pegasus Knights. Easily superior the Pegasus Knights, though. Cleric/Valkyrie (Mist) - Similar to the Queen class, only mounted on a horse, and not as well-suited for battle. Comparable to other healers, she can't heal as much HP due to lower Magic, but her mount makes her more efficient. She is also better-suited for combat than other healers, except Elincia. Also an excellent Mage-killer. Empress (Sanaki) - Top-grade magic, comparable to Archsages, and to Micaiah as well, but to a lesser extent. The only class that can wield both Anima and Light Magic. She's a wrecking machine if she gets some Speed. Dark Sage/(Dark) Archsage (Pelleas) - He promotes into an Archsage, but he deserves mentioning since he is quite different from the others. His Staff level is much higher upon promotion, and the only Anima Magic he can use is Thunder Magic. If you've played other Fire Emblem games, you could compare him to Shamans/Druids, but not as powerful. His main feature is the Dark Magic itself. Assassin (Volke) - Volke used to be a Thief, so he's quite similar to the other Thieves. However, he's got the durability and strength of Sothe with the Speed and skills of Heather, as well as the best mastery skill in the game. Easily superior to the Thieves. Too bad you can't leave Sothe out of the Endgame. Chancellor (Lehran) - Not much to say about this one either. Massive stats and basically invincible, but his only real use is the Ashera Staff he comes with. Notably, he is the only character besides Pellas that can use Dark Magic, and the only character to wield both Light and Dark Magic. ---------------------------------------- [3.2] - Myrmidon, Swordmaster, Trueblade ---------------------------------------- The general consensus here is that Mia is the best of the Myrmidons. Edward follows closely behind, and though not as good as them, Stefan and Zihark are great as well. Lucia is only useful when you first get her. Overall: Mia > Edward > Zihark = Stefan > Lucia -------------------------------- [3.3] - Archer, Sniper, Marksman -------------------------------- Shinon and Rolf tower above Leonardo. Of the two of them, their growths are so different that it is hard to pick one. It is made even more confusing by the fact that Shinon doesn't need as much raising as Rolf, but Rolf will end slightly superior. Overall: Shinon = Rolf > Leonardo -------------------------------- [3.4] - Fighter, Warrior, Reaver -------------------------------- Only two of these. Nolan and Boyd are both very similar, and also quite different. Boyd is much better physically, while Nolan is more skilled. Pick whichever one you like. Overall: Nolan = Boyd ----------------------------- [3.5] - Priest, Bishop, Saint ----------------------------- The only real competition here is between Laura and Rhys. Laura will come out statistically superior, but she is very hard to train, and using lots of Bonus EXP will render her high growths useless. Both are very similar, so use Laura if you managed to train her nicely, but Rhys is almost as good, and being already promoted, is much easier to train. Oliver shouldn't even be mentioned. Overall: Laura = Rhys > Oliver ----------------------------- [3.6] - Thief, Rogue, Whisper ----------------------------- Not much to say here. For thieving, use Heather. For fighting, use Sothe. Sothe, however, is forced in most chapters, and you have to bring him into the Endgame, so keep him trained. Overall: Sothe = Heather ---------------------------- [3.7] - Mage, Sage, Archsage ---------------------------- Soren and Ilyana are your obvious choices. Keep Calill as backup. Tormod and Bastian are about as useful as each other, but you may find Bastian easier to train. Simply, don't use either unless you want to devote time to Tormod. Pelleas may fit in here somewhere, but he's a unique class, so I left him out. All in all, though, he's somewhere around Calill, maybe a little better. Overall: Ilyana = Soren > Calill > Tormod = Bastian ------------------------------------- [3.8] - Soldier, Halberdier, Sentinel ------------------------------------- Nephenee is easily the best, but don't count out Danved. Aran isn't all that good a Soldier, but he does have his uses. Overall: Nephenee > Aran = Danved --------------------------------------- [3.9] - Armor Knight, General, Marshall --------------------------------------- Best served as walls, Gatrie and Tauroneo work best, Meg isn't very good, and Brom lands somewhere in the middle. Note that Gatrie is insane when trained. Overall: Gatrie > Tauroneo > Brom > Meg ---------------------------------------------- [3.10] - Dracoknight, Dragonmaster, Dragonlord ---------------------------------------------- Toss-up. You want Strength and durability, go with Haar. Jill has the Speed and the skills. Though they're both among the best units in the game. Overall: Jill = Haar --------------------------------------------------- [3.11] - Social Knight, Paladin, Silver/Gold Knight --------------------------------------------------- Let's try to keep the Silver Knights and Gold Knight separate. Oscar is arguably the best Silver Knight, followed closely by Geoffrey. Astrid is a little further down, and Fiona a little further still. Between Oscar and Geoffrey, pick Geoffrey for power, Oscar for skills. Silver Knight Overall: Oscar > Geoffrey > Astrid > Fiona As for the Gold Knights, Titania and Kieran are similar to Oscar and Geoffrey, respectively. Titania for the skills, Kieran for the power. Makalov isn't bad, but can't hold a candle to Titania or Kieran. Renning is at the bottom. Gold Knight Overall: Titania > Kieran > Makalov > Renning ----------------------------------------------------- [3.12] - Pegasus Knight, Falcon Knight, Seraph Knight ----------------------------------------------------- Marcia is the best of the three, and the other two are about the same. Use Tanith for physical work, Sigrun for taking down Mages. Overall: Marcia > Tanith = Sigrun ------------------------- [3.13] - Wolf, Wolf Queen ------------------------- Only two Wolves. In the end, their stats will be nearly identical, and the only difference is Nailah's skills Glare and Formshift. Glare doesn't really matter, and Volug's lack of Formshift can be solved by a Laguz Gem. They're both amazing units, and if you have room in your team for both of them, go for it. Overall: Nailah > or = Volug -------------- [3.14] - Tiger -------------- Mordecai has Strength, Kyza has skills, and Muarim has both. Muarim is pretty hard to train, though. Overall: Muarim > Kyza > or = Mordecai -------------------------- [3.15] - Raven, Raven King -------------------------- This is where I'd say something like, "Well, Vika and Naesala come out similar, but Naesala just takes much less effort." But Vika is just that good. Vika and Naesala are similar to Volug and Nailah, only Vika is closer to Naesala than Volug is to Nailah. Nealuchi is hardly worth mentioning. Overall: Vika = Naesala > Nealuchi -------------- [3.16] - Heron -------------- Here's the big argument; Reyson or Rafiel. Simply put, it's all about personal preference. With transferred data from Path or Radiance, Reyson is the clear winner. No matter what, though, Leanne is considered the worst. Not to say she's bad, though. Overall: Reyson > or = Rafiel > Leanne ------------ [3.17] - Cat ------------ High starting stats and Strength make Ranulf the best choice. Lyre is pretty good if trained properly, but not as good as Ranulf. Lethe isn't very good at all. Overall: Ranulf > Lyre > Lethe ------------------------ [3.18] - Hawk, Hawk King ------------------------ With superior stats and Formshift, Tibarn is the best of them. Unlike the other royals, though, he doesn't have one particular Laguz gunning for his position at the top. Neither Janaff nor Ulki are as good as Tibarn, but they are still great units, especially together. Overall: Tibarn > Janaff = Ulki ------------------------ [3.19] - Lion, Lion King ------------------------ Giffca and Caineghis are nearly the exact same, only one has Formshift. Once again, that's not much of a problem with the use of a Laguz Gem, which Giffca kindly provides you with. Skrimir comes in at a somewhat distant second to them. Overall: Caineghis = Giffca > Skrimir ------------------------------------------------ [3.20] - Red Dragon, White Dragon, Dragon Prince ------------------------------------------------ White and Prince dragons are technically unique classes, but they're so similar to other dragons that I lumped them in here. Kurthnaga, the Dragon Prince, is easily the best of the four. Not to mention that he gets Formshift after part 3 of the Endgame. The White Dragon Nasir comes in second, not quite as useful, but still good. Ena and Gareth, the Red Dragons, are at the bottom, though unlike Gareth, Ena can actually be made worthwhile. But you're probably only using the dragons for their buffing skills. Overall: Kurthnaga > Nasir > Ena > Gareth =================== [4] - Innate Skills =================== Some skills are exclusive to a character or class. Most of these skills cannot be removed, though they often take up Skill Capacity. Unique Skills are only available to one character, while Mastery Skills are granted to units when fully promoted (for Beorc) or with the use of a Satori Sign (for Laguz). They are often exclusive to one class, but can cross over multiple. There are also Class Skills, which are similar to Mastery Skills, but not quite as useful. Activation rates are all in percentage. For example, if a skill's activation rate is "(Skill/2)%", you would take your character's skill and divide it by two. Say you had a character with 36 Skill. Divide it by 2, that's 18. The skill has an 18% chance of activating. They usually activate based on Skill, but some other stats may come into play. They're listed in alphabetical order. ------------------------------ AETHER ------------------------------ Mastery Skill: Vanguard Activation rate: (Skill/2)% ------------------------------ Only usable by Ike. Unlike other Mastery Skills, this doesn't multiply your Strength or the damage you do. Instead, it has a few effects. First, it deals two attacks instead of one. The first attack completely ignores your enemy's Defense, always dealing damage equal to Ike's Strength plus his weapon's Attack (save for other features such as Support bonuses and terrain effects). The second hit heals you for however much damage it hit for. Note that in addition to Aether, Ike will also get the Nihil skill when promoted. ------------------------------ AURORA ------------------------------ Class Skill: Order Incarnate (Aura) Activation rate: Static ------------------------------ Only available to those eight Auras in the final battle. This pesky little skill reflects back half the damage they take to you. Anyone with Nihil can get away scot-free, though, and so can Lehran, since he has Mantle. ------------------------------ ASTRA ------------------------------ Mastery Skill: Trueblades Activation rate: (Skill/2)% ------------------------------ Astra turns one attack into five. Your Trueblade will lash out with five quick strikes, dealing a total of up to five times the normal damage. Each attack can miss, but it's not very likely. Unlike in Path of Radiance, the attacks do normal damage, but cannot crit. ------------------------------ BANE ------------------------------ Mastery Skill: Whispers Activation rate: (Skill/2)% ------------------------------ Bane reduces an enemy's HP to 1. Not very useful, since its activation rate is low (even with Sothe and Heather's great Skill), and most other Mastery Skills would just kill the enemy. Note that it doesn't work on some enemies. ------------------------------ BLESSING ------------------------------ Class Skill: Heron Activation rate: Static ------------------------------ At the beginning of every turn, Blessing restores HP to all adjacent allies. The amount restored is equal to the Heron's Magic stat. Remember, it's doubled while they're transformed. ------------------------------ BLOOD TIDE ------------------------------ Class Skill: Red Dragons Activation rate: Static ------------------------------ This is one of the reasons why it's good to keep Ena around. Blood Tide increases the Skill and Strength of adjacent units by 5, allowing for powerful, accurate attacks. Blood Tide is one of the three buffing skills available to the Dragon Laguz. ------------------------------ BOON ------------------------------ Class Skill: Red Dragons, White Dragon, Dragon Prince Activation rate: Static ------------------------------ Removes any adjacent allies' status conditions at the beginning of each turn. Quite useful when the later enemies start to break out the Elsilence and Elsleep staves. ------------------------------ CANTO ------------------------------ Personal Skill: Mounted units, bird tribe Laguz Activation rate: Static ------------------------------ Also considered the "move again" skill that's been around since earlier Fire Emblem games. Canto allows any mounted unit or bird laguz to use up any remaining movement spaces they have after performing an action. For example, if Tibarn moves five spaces to the south and attacks an enemy, he can then move his remaining five spaces. Great for hit-and-run attacks, since most mounted units and birds have higher movement than others. Elincia and Mist benifit from this the most, as they're the only healers with Canto. Note that in Path of Radiance, Canto was the name of a completely different skill, which allowed Reyson to sing his galdr and refresh an ally. In Path of Radiance, there was also an item called the Knight's Ring, which allowed a non- mounted unit to move again as if they were mounted. ------------------------------ COLOSSUS ------------------------------ Mastery Skill: Reavers Activation rate: (Skill)% ------------------------------ Colossus triples your strength. It doesn't seem good, but when combined with Nolan and Boyd's high Strength and Skill, and its great activation rate, it becomes a great skill. To top it all off, it only takes up 25 Skill Capacity, as opposed to the 30 taken by most other Mastery Skills. ------------------------------ CORONA ------------------------------ Mastery Skill: Saints, Light Priestess, Chancellor Activation rate: (Skill)% ------------------------------ Corona negates the enemy's resistance and halves their Skill for the next turn. This is a problem, since the Light Magic users don't have the Magic to deal proper damage with it. Micaiah can put it to decent use, though, with the best Magic and Skill of them all (except Lehran, who we aren't counting for obvious reasons). ------------------------------ CRITICAL + ------------------------------ Class Skill: Various Activation rate: Static ------------------------------ Gives a boost to your chances of landing a critical. The boost depends on the class. Here's the list. Critical +5 - Myrmidons, Halberdiers, Reavers Critical +10 - Swordmasters, Snipers, Sentinels Critical +15 - Marksmen Critical +20 - Trueblades Critical +25 - Assassin (Volke only) For the most part, all of these classes have great accuracy. And that's why Gamble is such a good skill. ------------------------------ DEADEYE ------------------------------ Mastery Skill: Marksmen Activation rate: (Skill/2)% ------------------------------ Deadeye triples the damage dealt and puts the enemy to sleep. Pretty useful when combined with the Marksmen's high crit ratio and high Skill. And if they don't die from the hit, they can easily be picked apart while asleep. Note that Deadeye only costs 25 Skill Capacity, while most Mastery Skills cost 30. ------------------------------ ECLIPSE ------------------------------ Mastery Skill: Black Knight Activation rate: (Skill)% ------------------------------ Black Knight only. It quintuples his strength and negates your defense. That means he will deal at least 190 damage with this attack (plus whatever his weapon's Attack is), and with his 40 Skill, it'll happen every two or three attacks. Nothing will survive it, ever. And this is why you keep the Nihil skill on Ike for the fight. ------------------------------ FLARE ------------------------------ Mastery Skill: Archsage, Empress, Summoner Activation rate: (Skill)% ------------------------------ Flare negates the enemy's Resistance and heals you for however much damage it dealt. Not as useful as other Mastery Skills, but when coupled with most Archsages' high Skill, it activates quite frequently. Note that the only unit in the game that has the "Summoner" class is the boss of 4-5, and he can't be recruited. ------------------------------ FORMSHIFT ------------------------------ Unique Skill: Laguz Royals Activation rate: Command ------------------------------ Available only to Nailah, Tibarn, Naesala, and Caineghis (and later, Kurthnaga), Formshift allows the Laguz to stay transformed permanently, and without penalties. You can also transform back if needed. Note that Dheginsea has this too. ...Yikes. ------------------------------ GALDRAR ------------------------------ Class Skill: Herons Activation rate: Command ------------------------------ This gives the Herons the ability to use a galdr (for reference, galdr = singular, galdrar = plural) on units. Depending on their level, they will have access to different galdrar. Here's the list, the level you get them at, and their effects. Vigor (Level 1) - Allows allied units that have already moved to move again. The basic galdr, same as Reyson had in Path of Radiance, and what the Dancers and Bards had in previous games. Bliss (Level 15) - Brings allied units' Biorhythm to its highest point. Sorrow (Level 20) - Brings enemy units' Biorhythm to its lowest point. This is very risky, since you have to put your Heron right next to the enemy. It is also quite useless, since this will probably never make a difference in whether or not the enemy is killed this turn (and if the enemy isn't killed immediately, your Heron is in for a world of hurt). Valor (Level 30) - Maxes out allied units' transform gauges. An amazing galdr that will make the effectiveness of Laguz-heavy teams skyrocket, but it'll take some work to bring a Heron to this level. Recovery (Level 40) - Fully heals allies and gets rid of any status conditions. You probably won't get a Heron to level 40 without some serious effort (or grinding), but the reward is easily worth the work. Note that in any chapter with a "Sieze" objective, or one with a "Defeat Boss" objective where the boss doesn't move, you can take as many turns as you like. Use a galdr ten times to level your Heron once, and repeat until they're level 40. Leanne starts at the lowest level, level 5, so that'll take up to 350 turns to max her out. Rafiel will need 280 turns, and Reyson will need 250 turns. ------------------------------ GLARE ------------------------------ Unique Skill: Nailah Activation rate: Command ------------------------------ Glare petrifies (stone) an enemy. When petrified, an enemy can't dodge, can't move, can't do anything. As far as "Rout" chapters are concerned, the enemy is considered dead. Glare has accuracy problems. It's accuracy is based on her Skill (Skl/2), with a little more or less depending on her biorhythm. Usually between 10% and 30%. It should be noted that when petrified, an enemy will receive a +10 boost to their Defense. Which brings me to my next point; Glare abuse. Especially on Hard Mode, you may want to petrify an enemy healer with Glare. The extra 10 Defense will help them survive, and their equipped staves will heal them each turn. This allows you to take a weaker unit you want to train and constantly beat on the petrified enemy, racking up massive amounts of EXP and Weapon Levels. This is great if you want to train Vika, since both of them join with Ike's team in Part 4 anyway. ------------------------------ IMPALE ------------------------------ Mastery Skill: Sentinels Activation rate: (Skill)% ------------------------------ Quite the useful skill, Impale quadruples the normal amount of damage, making it a better crit. Activation rate is nice, since all the Sentinels should max their Skill out at 35. Combine that with their high crit ratio, and possibly a Killer Lance, and they could be consistently dealing triple or quadruple damage. ------------------------------ INSIGHT ------------------------------ Unique Skill: Janaff Activation rate: Static ------------------------------ Adds an extra 20% to Janaff's hit rate, thus helping even out his somewhat lacking Skill. It also adds another 5 spaces of vision in maps with the Fog of War. Useful in a few situations, but Ulki gets the better unique skill. ------------------------------ IRE ------------------------------ Mastery Skill: Red Dragons, White Dragon, Dragon Prince Activation rate: (Skill)% ------------------------------ Ire triples the damage you would have done normally. Yep. Just the same as a critical hit. Its activation rate seems nice, but Ena is the only Dragon with decent Skill, so don't expect to see it much. ------------------------------ LETHALITY ------------------------------ Mastery Skill: Assassin Activation rate: (Skill/2)% ------------------------------ Only for Volke. Among the best skills in the game. Any enemy unlucky enough to get hit by this will die instantly, no questions asked. However, it's activation rate is mediocre, maxing out at a 20% chance. In addition, most important enemies later in the game have the Nihil skill, rendering this useless. Note that it doesn't work on some enemies, whether they have Nihil or not. ------------------------------ LONGSHOT ------------------------------ Class Skill: Marksmen Activation rate: Static ------------------------------ This actually has no name; "Longshot" is just something I thought up. Basically, Marksmen have their attack range increased by one when using Bows, giving them a range of 2-3 spaces. However, if you take advantage of this increased range, your accuracy will be cut significantly. Try to stick to your normal range. Note that this only works with normal Bows. Longbows and Crossbows don't get any extra range. ------------------------------ LUNA ------------------------------ Mastery Skill: Marshalls Activation rate: (Skill)% ------------------------------ Luna triples your strength, and negates your enemy's defense. Great for dealing with armored enemies. Marshalls have a higher Skill than you may think, and you can expect all of them to pull one of these off every three or four attacks. ------------------------------ MANTLE ------------------------------ Personal Skill Activation rate: Static ------------------------------ As far as your team goes, Lehran is the only unit that has this skill, kinda making it a unique skill. Mantle negates all damage dealt by weapons that haven't been blessed by Yune, effectively making Lehran invincible as long as he's on your side. In addition, it restores HP equal to the user's Luck each turn. It also has two hidden features, having both the effects of Nihil and Fortune as well. Quite the pain when the later enemies have it. ------------------------------ MERCY ------------------------------ Unique Skill: Elincia Activation rate: Static ------------------------------ Mercy, simply put, makes it impossible for Elincia to kill an enemy. Any fatal blows will instead leave the enemy with 1 HP. Useless, unless you want to train a weaker unit. After all, she's a killing machine, and she should do just that. She gets it at the start of chapter 4-2, and you should take it off before the battle. It is, however, the only way you'll be able to properly raise Pelleas. But a trained Elincia is better than a trained Pelleas. ------------------------------ NIGHT TIDE ------------------------------ Class Skill: Dragon Prince, Black Dragon Activation rate: Command ------------------------------ Kurthnaga is your only unit that has it, but Dheginsea has it too, so it's not really a unique skill. Anyway, it's one of the three buffing skills that Dragons get. This one increases the Defense and Resistance of adjacent allies by 5. Great for protecting weaker units and keeping healers on the front lines. Combine with the Cover and Wardwood spaces in the endgame to knock off a total of 15 damage every time you get hit. ------------------------------ REND ------------------------------ Mastery Skill: Cats Activation rate: (Speed)% ------------------------------ Rend quintuples your Strength. ...Yikes. The Cats will need that extra boost, but what they don't need are its other features. First, the turn after getting hit by Rend, your enemy can't move. Second, it has a great activation rate, seeing as how quick the Cats are. Each of them should max their Speed at 20, giving them a 40% chance of activation while transformed. ------------------------------ ROAR ------------------------------ Mastery Skill: Lions, Tigers, Lion King Activation rate: (Strength)% ------------------------------ Roar triples your strength and stops the enemy from moving next turn. Basically, it's a worse version of Rend. However, it shines in its activation rate, where each Tiger and Lion (with the exception of Kyza) should have close to a 50% chance of activation while transformed. ------------------------------ SACRIFICE ------------------------------ Unique Skill: Micaiah Activation rate: Command ------------------------------ A very useful skill, but not for the reasons you may think. Sacrifice restores HP to an ally, but at the cost of Micaiah's HP. It also removes any status ailments. Its best uses are removing ailments without the use of a Restore staff, and giving Micaiah some extra EXP. To maximize its potential, use Sacrifice to heal an ally, then heal Micaiah with a Staff, instead of just healing the ally with a Staff. This will give both Micaiah and the healer some EXP. ------------------------------ SAVAGE ------------------------------ Mastery Skill: Wolf, Wolf Queen Activation rate: (Skill)% ------------------------------ Savage triples your Strength for the attack, thus doling out massive damage. It will also cut your enemy's Skill in half until your next turn, making it hard for them to hit you. Kind of a useless second effect, since almost nothing will survive the hit anyway. Wolves have great Skill, so this will pop up often. When trained, both Wolves will get an activation rate of about 40-50% when transformed. ------------------------------ SHOVE ------------------------------ Personal Skill: All foot-units Activation rate: Command ------------------------------ Shove allows your character to push an enemy or ally one space away from them, provided they aren't too heavy, of course. This is great for helping to move a healer towards a hurt unit, or push an ally's attack range towards an enemy. Note that transformed Laguz, even the birds, can use this. ------------------------------ SOL ------------------------------ Mastery Skill: Silver Knights, Gold Knights, Valkyrie Activation rate: (Skill/2)% ------------------------------ Sol triples your strength and heals you for however much damage you dealt. The Silver and Gold Knights have great Skill, but the activation rate leaves something to be desired. Basically useless for Mist, since she won't be attacking that much, and can heal herself simply by equipping a Staff. ------------------------------ STEAL ------------------------------ Class Skill: Thief/Rogue/Whisper Activation rate: Command ------------------------------ Steal allows you to, well, steal an item from an enemy. For the most part, you can take whatever, but there are some limitations. First, you can't take equipped weapons or weapons that have a "lock" symbol next to them. Second, your Speed must be higher than your victim's Speed (really nothing to worry about there). Third, your Strength must be higher than the weight of the item you're trying to steal (again, generally not a problem, as even Heather starts with 15 Strength, enough to steal pretty much anything except the heaviest weapons). ------------------------------ STUN ------------------------------ Mastery Skill: Dragonlords, Seraph Knights, Queen Activation rate: (Skill)% ------------------------------ Stun deals triple damage and prevents your enemy from moving next turn. A pretty decent skill, but when coupled with a good activation rate and the great Skill that Elincia, Haar, Jill, and the Seraph Knights have, expect it to make your life a whole lot easier. Note that it only takes up 25 Skill Capacity, while almost all Mastery Skills take 30. ------------------------------ TEAR ------------------------------ Mastery Skill: Hawks, Ravens, Hawk King, Raven King Activation rate: (Speed)% ------------------------------ Tear triples your Strength and halves the enemy's Speed for the next turn. The activation rate is amazing, since all the Hawks and Ravens have great Speed. Expect it to occur a lot, and don't expect many enemies to survive it. ------------------------------ VIGILANCE ------------------------------ Unique Skill: Ulki Activation rate: Static ------------------------------ Simply reduces the chance an enemy has of hitting Ulki by 20%. Useful, but don't rely on it too much, since his biggest problems are Wind Mages and Archers, which have ridiculously high accuracy as it is. ------------------------------ WHITE POOL ------------------------------ Unique Skill: Nasir Activation rate: Command ------------------------------ Says it's only usable by White Dragons, and since Nasir is the only one we've got, that kind of makes it a unique skill. The third of the Dragons' buffing abilities, White Pool increases the Magic and Speed of adjacent allies by 5. Imagine this kicking in for Micaiah and Sanaki... ------------------ [4.1] - Other Skills ------------------ By popular demand, here's the rest of the skills. These are the ones that can be taught to most any unit via scrolls. Remember, they don't take any skill capacity from the characters that start with them, unless you've removed them. ------------------------------ ADEPT ------------------------------ Capacity taken: 15 Activation rate: (Speed)% Zihark and Soren start with this skill. ------------------------------ Adept allows a second attack after the one you are currently performing. If you are using a Brave weapon (or Amiti), two more attacks will be added. This allows up to eight attacks in one turn, if you're lucky. As far as assigning Adept goes, any unit that needs it to be useful, isn't. Elincia is a nice choice, since as I said, she can get in up to eight swipes with Amiti, and she has great Speed for activating and doubling. Cats, Ravens, and Trueblades can use the extra damage, and again, have great Speed. ------------------------------ BEASTFOE ------------------------------ Capacity taken: 15 Activation rate: Static No units start with this skill. ------------------------------ Beastfoe adds a weapon effect when attacking beast tribe Laguz (Cats, Tigers, and Wolves, and I guess Lions too, but you don't fight any of them). What this means is that when attacking a beast Laguz, you triple your weapon's Attack when calculating damage. This effect DOES NOT stack with weapons that already have an effect aganist beast Laguz, such as Fire Magic and the Beast Killer knife. Keep it off of Mages (especially Tormod, Calill, and Sanaki), because they have a way of dealing with the beasts normally. ------------------------------ BIRDFOE ------------------------------ Capacity taken: 15 Activation rate: Static No units start with this skill. ------------------------------ Same as Beastfoe, only it works on Ravens and Hawks (and I guess Herons, but again, on your side) instead. Again, note that the effect does not stack with Wind Magic and Bows. Keep it off of Mages (especially Soren and Bastian), Archers, and Silver Knights, 'cause they can use Bows and Wind Magic to deal with the birds. ------------------------------ BLOSSOM ------------------------------ Capacity taken: 20 Activation rate: Static No units start with this skill. ------------------------------ Alright, I need to explain some things, since this skill doesn't work the way it did back in Path of Radiance. First off, you need to understand how the RNG (Random Number Generator) works. In any situation where percentage is used (hitting, critting, skill activation, stat growth, etc.), the game will "roll" a random number, anywhere from 0 to 99. If the rolled number is lower than the percentage in question (for example, Micaiah's Magic growth rate is 80%. If the RNG rolls any number from 0 to 79 for her Magic when she levels up, her Magic will increase), that percentage will be a "success" (attacks will hit, crits will occur, skills will activate, stats will grow, etc.). If it's equal to or higher than said percentage (for example, rolling a 60 when a character's hit rate is 60% or less), it will be a "failure". When a character levels up, eight random numbers are rolled; one for HP, one for Strength, one for Magic, one for Skill, one for Speed, one for Luck, one for Defense, and one for Resistance. If the number rolled is lower than the character's growth rate for that stat, the stat will grow. Don't worry about growth rates over 100%; no one in this game has them. What Blossom does is this; if the random number rolled is equal to or higher than a character's stat growth (a "failure"), a SECOND random number will be rolled for that stat, effectively doubling the chance the character's stats have of rising upon level-up. However, Blossom is a double-edged sword. It cuts the Combat EXP that character gains in half. To get around this, push them to 99 EXP before each chapter with Bonus EXP, then have them get into one battle and level up. Characters with already great growth rates can use this to easily max their stats (Micaiah seems to attract a lot of EXP naturally anyway), and if you like a character who has poor growth rates (Leonardo, for example), you can use it to make them usable in the endgame. ------------------------------ CANCEL ------------------------------ Capacity taken: 10 Activation rate: (Speed)% Leonardo and Haar start with this skill. ------------------------------ Cancel simply cancels your opponent's next attack in the battle. If your opponent isn't going to attack you any more anyway, well, tough luck. You may want to give this skill to lower-defense units that have the constant fear of being counterattacked (Cats and Ravens especially, since they have great Speed). ------------------------------ CELERITY ------------------------------ Capacity taken: 15 Activation rate: Static Tormod starts with this skill. ------------------------------ Ah, Celerity. Unlike in Path of Radiance, you can actually take it off of Tormod... oh yeah, do that. Celerity adds another two spaces to your character's movement. Kind of like the skill version of the Boots item from the series, only you can take this one on and off of a character, and give it to others, like... well, like an actual pair of boots. Best to give this one to Mages, Marshalls, Healers, anyone who finds themselves too far away from the action too often. Rafiel is a fan favorite for this skill. ------------------------------ CORROSION ------------------------------ Capacity taken: 15 Activation rate: (Skill/2)% Bastian starts with this skill. This skill is for Beorc only. ------------------------------ Well, it's better than it was in Path of Radiance... but still, it's not that good. Corrosion decreases your enemy's weapon's uses by however much your level is. What really makes it bad is its activation rate. Ironically, it's nearly useless in chapter 4-5, which is probably the only chapter you're gonna use Bastian in. Definitely don't send Bastian towards the boss, because you really, REALLY want the Dark Tome he drops. ------------------------------ COUNTER ------------------------------ Capacity taken: 10 Activation rate: (Skill)% Titania starts with this skill. ------------------------------ Counter can sometimes reflect half the damage you take back to your enemy. Easy. Give it to a unit with a lot of HP and great Skill (also, the lower their Defense/Resistance, the better). ------------------------------ DAUNT ------------------------------ Capacity taken: 10 Activation rate: Static No units start with this skill. ------------------------------ Daunt reduces the hit% and crit% by all enemies within three spaces of you by 5%. It's actually more useful than it sounds. Give it to a frontliner to catch the most enemies in it, or combine it with a Trueblade/Raven and an Earth Support to make a character nigh untouchable. My favorite combo is supporting Ike and Mia, and giving her Daunt, then keeping them in support range. ------------------------------ DISARM ------------------------------ Capacity taken: 10 Activation rate: (Skill/2)% Brom starts with this skill. This skill is for Beorc only. ------------------------------ This is a godsend in Hard Mode. Disarm has a chance of unequipping your enemy's weapon after you hit them, leaving them unable to counterattack, but more importantly, unable to protect their precious weapons from your Thieves. Again, on Hard Mode, you'll want to utilize this a lot, since this is how you'll get most of your weapons and money. Give Disarm to someone with good Skill, but also not strong enough to kill most enemies in one round. ------------------------------ DISCIPLINE ------------------------------ Capacity taken: 10 Activation rate: Static No units start with this skill. This skill can only be used by Beorc. ------------------------------ Discipline doubles the rate at which your Weapon Level increases. Unfortunately, Laguz can't use it, so no leveling up your beaks and claws. Mages work best for this, since they can use the most amount of weapon types. Ilyana especially, since you want to get her out of the Thunder area early on, and back in there later. ------------------------------ DRAGONFOE ------------------------------ Capacity taken: 15 Activation rate: Static No units start with this skill. ------------------------------ See Beastfoe. Only for dragon tribe Laguz, instead of the beasts. Like the others, keep it away from Mages, especially Ilyana. She doesn't need any help taking down Dragons. ------------------------------ FLOURISH ------------------------------ Capacity taken: Activation rate: Command No units start with this skill. ------------------------------ Flourish cuts down the power of your attack. Simple. But really, it's only useful for weakening enemies, thus letting a weaker unit take the EXP. Give it to units that can normally dispatch an enemy with ease, such as Ike or Haar. Damage is calculated in the following way: [(character Str + weapon Mt)/2] - enemy Def = damage Thanks to J. Sena, who contacted me about how the damage is calculated. ------------------------------ FORTUNE ------------------------------ Capacity taken: 20 Activation rate: Static Meg and Caineghis start with this skill. ------------------------------ Simple and good, Fortune prevents your character from taking critical hits. It works, and it works well with everyone. Note that although Ire has the same effect as a critical hit, Fortune will NOT stop it, so... don't expect Fortune to protect you from Dheginsea. ------------------------------ GAMBLE ------------------------------ Capacity taken: 10 Activation rate: Command Kieran starts with this skill. ------------------------------ Make sure you know that Gamble only kicks in when you want it to. It will double your critical chance, but halve your accuracy. Note that you have to hit in the first place if you want the extra critical boost to matter. Obviously, give this to accurate characters with good crit rates. Trueblades and Volke work best, since they have amazing accuracy, and with a good forged weapon, the Vague Katti, Wo Dao, or Baselard, their crit rate can reach 80-90%, easily. ------------------------------ GUARD ------------------------------ Capacity taken: 20 Activation rate: Increases with Support level (e-mail me if you have details!) Sothe and Nailah start with this skill. ------------------------------ Guard allows you to take a hit for your Buddy Support character, as long as they're next to you. Anyone can make use of it, but it's best if you give it to someone with great Defense and Resistance, and support them with a more frail character. Sothe and Micaiah work great, since they start with both the skill and an A support, and Sothe starts with great Defense, while Micaiah is getting owned early on. ------------------------------ HOWL ------------------------------ Capacity taken: 20 Activation rate: (Strength)% Volug starts with this skill. This skill is for beast tribe Laguz only. ------------------------------ When your character is attacked indirectly (from 2+ spaces away), Howl may prevent the enemy from moving next turn. Not entirely useful, since whatever attacked you should be dead next turn anyway. Most beasts can make use of this skill, but keep it away from Lethe and Lyre, and maybe Kyza as well. ------------------------------ IMBUE ------------------------------ Capacity taken: 15 Activation rate: Static Fiona starts with this skill. Magic-based units cannot use this skill, but Nasir, Elincia, and Mist can ------------------------------ One of my favorites, at the beginning of each of your turns, Imbue will restore HP equal to your Magic stat. Unfortunately, it can't be used by any of your magic-users... however, Ena, Nasir, Elincia, and Mist CAN use it, and they're easily your best choice for it. Sick of your physical units toting around an impressive but meaningless 20 in their Magic? Put it to work! Note that the Black Knight has this skill, but if you're playing Easy Mode, he loses it before you fight him. ------------------------------ MAELSTROM ------------------------------ Capacity taken: 20 Activation rate: (Skill)% Naesala starts with this skill. This skill is for bird tribe Laguz only and cannot be used by Herons. ------------------------------ Maelstrom can deal damage equal to your Strength when you get hit indirectly (from 2+ spaces away). Neat, and with a good activation rate to boot. ------------------------------ MIRACLE ------------------------------ Capacity taken: 5 Activation rate: (Luck)% Mist, Pelleas, and Ena start with this skill. ------------------------------ Miracle will take any hit that would kill you and cut the damage in half. ...This doesn't necessarily mean you'll survive it now, but it helps. But really, for 5 skill capacity, you can't really go wrong. Lower-defense units can make good use of this, since they can cut off the most damage. ------------------------------ NIHIL ------------------------------ Capacity taken: 20 Activation rate: Static Nolan, Calill, and Nasir start with this skill. Ike also receives this skill upon promotion. ------------------------------ Take note of who has this skill. You'll always want to know where all four of these are, and you want to keep that one on Ike at all times. Nihil is one of the more useful skills. It cancels any of your enemy's skills that are combat-related. I'm not gonna make a full list of what those are, but suffice to say, if it's gonna make a difference, you don't have to worry about it anymore. Anyone can benefit from this. Just make sure Ike has it, and give the other three to your hardest hitters come endgame. Aurora is a pain in the ass, but with Nihil, you won't have to worry. Also note that the Black Knight has this, but there's nothing you can do with it. This means no Aether for an easy victory. ------------------------------ NULLIFY ------------------------------ Capacity taken: 20 Activation rate: Static Giffca starts with this skill. ------------------------------ Nullify negates any bonus damage you would have taken. You can use this to safely traverse your Laguz through some enemy Mages, or even better protect your armored/horse-mounted units. But it's better for protecting your fliers from Crossbows. Let's face it; if a Crossbow hits a flier that isn't named Tibarn, they're dead. You'll want to give Nullify to a Laguz or a flier. Normal units like Mia can't make any use of it. ------------------------------ PARAGON ------------------------------ Capacity taken: 15 Activation rate: Static Astrid and Geoffrey start with this skill. ------------------------------ Look above. See that? Astrid and Geoffrey. Make sure you know where both of these are at all times. Paragon doubles the Combat EXP your unit gets. Yes, doubles. And with no drawbacks. Pretty nice. Stack it with Blossom, and you get an amazing character with no extra effort. By the way, you can't remove it from Astrid and Geoffrey until later, so have them make as much use of it as possible while they're forced to have it. Give it to any character you want to raise quickly. Too bad Vika can't make use of it until the endgame. ------------------------------ PARITY ------------------------------ Capacity taken: 10 Activation rate: Command Lucia starts with this skill. ------------------------------ Like with Gamble, note that this only kicks in when you want it to. Parity negates any bonuses from terrain, for both you and your enemy. For most of the game, this won't mean much; 10% or one damage here and there, nothing groundbreaking. But when you get into the endgame, some spaces can reduce damage by 10. You may want to have Parity ready for then. Parity also negates Skills and Support Bonuses. Thanks for pointing this out to me. Anyone can make good use of Parity, but later in the game, give it to someone who will need it to deal damage to someone on a Cover or Wardwood space. ------------------------------ PASS ------------------------------ Capacity taken: 15 Activation rate: 10 Heather starts with this skill. ------------------------------ Pass allows your character to walk through enemies. Useful in some situations. Getting healers to characters in need, breaking through a line to get an enemy healer, or best yet, moving your Thief through the throngs and plucking something out of an enemy's pocket. Note that Heather starts with this skill, and you may want to keep it on her so she can easily steal from the Senators in Part 3. ------------------------------ PAVISE ------------------------------ Capacity taken: 20 Activation rate: (Skill)% Tibarn starts with this skill. ------------------------------ A great skill. Pavise can completely negate all the damage you were going to take. It has a great activation rate, too. All units with some Skill can make good use of it, but let's be honest; Tibarn doesn't need it. Take it off of him. ------------------------------ PROVOKE ------------------------------ Capacity taken: 10 Activation rate: Static Shinon and Skrimir start with this skill. ------------------------------ Provoke makes the enemy hate you. They hate you so much that they'll usually ignore all your other units, even your healers, to go after you. Pretty useful, and you can even give it to a front-line unit if you want them to soak up most of the EXP. Otherwise, give it to tough units that can take a beating (i.e., NOT Shinon. But everyone hates Shinon. Even Rolf, Gatrie, and Shinon hate Shinon). ------------------------------ QUICKCLAW ------------------------------ Capacity taken: 20 Activation rate: (Speed)% Kyza starts with this skill. This skill is for beast tribe Laguz only. ------------------------------ Quicklaw will only kick in when you are attacked indirectly. When it does, the enemy that attacked you will take damage equal to your Strength. Wolves are probably the only units that can make good, consistent use of this skill, since they have the Speed to activate it frequently and the Strength to deal damage with it. ------------------------------ RENEWAL ------------------------------ Capacity taken: 15 Activation rate: Static Elincia and Ena start with this skill. ------------------------------ At the beginning of your turn, Renewal will restore 10% of your HP. Not as good as Imbue if you ask me, but it has its uses. Obviously, give it to units with lots of HP to make the most out of it. Keep it off of healers, since they can heal themselves anyway. ------------------------------ RESOLVE ------------------------------ Capacity taken: 15 Activation rate: Static (when HP is under 50%) Skrimir and Tauroneo start with this skill. ------------------------------ When your character's HP dips below half, Resolve will kick in and multiply their Strength and Skill by 1.5. Obviously, beefy, powerful characters like Marshalls, Reavers, and Lions (who probably need the Skill boost as well) can make the most use out of this. It's also easier to maintain than Wrath. ------------------------------ SAVIOR ------------------------------ Capacity taken: 10 Activation rate: Static Fiona and Tibarn start with this skill. ------------------------------ Depending on how you play, this will be either very useful, or very useless. Savior eliminates any penalties to your Skill and Speed when carrying another character. It's a great way to protect healers, too. Best to give it to mounted units, who can carry most people. ------------------------------ SHADE ------------------------------ Capacity taken: 10 Activation rate: Static Ilyana starts with this skill. This skill is for Beorc only. ------------------------------ Simply put, Shade sometimes makes enemies not attack you. Especially if they have another target. Mages are a great candidate for this skill, although ironically, Ilyana has the least need for it. Healers are also great. ------------------------------ SHRIEK ------------------------------ Capacity taken: 20 Activation rate: (Luck)% Vika starts with this skill. This skill is for bird tribe Laguz only, and cannot be used by Herons. ------------------------------ Shriek can reduce an enemy's Luck to 0 when they hit you with an indirect attack. Not that useful, even with the bird tribe's good Luck. The only viable advantage you'll get is a possible miss if your enemy is doubling you, but really, you have a Hawk/Raven that's getting doubled? Ironic that Vika starts with this skill, since it's probably the skill she needs least. ------------------------------ SMITE ------------------------------ Capacity taken: 15 Activation rate: Command Mordecai starts with this skill. ------------------------------ Smite works the same way as Shove, only it moves the target two spaces instead of one. But really, for 15 skill capacity, you're better off with something else. ------------------------------ STILLNESS ------------------------------ Capacity taken: 25 Activation rate: Static Volke starts with this skill. ------------------------------ See Shade, only better. But it costs a LOT of skill capacity. Great for healers and Mages, or anyone else with Defense issues. ------------------------------ VANTAGE ------------------------------ Capacity taken: 10 Activation rate: (Speed)% Mia and Naesala start with this skill. ------------------------------ Can be useful. Vantage allows you to hit first when your enemy initiates combat with you. However, it doesn't activate 100% of the time like it did in Path of Radiance, so its effectiveness is cut significantly. Keep it on quicker characters, preferably ones that have high Strength too. It's of little use if you don't use that initial hit to kill the enemy. Combine it with Adept for a lot of fun. Micaiah can actually survive quite well with Vantage and Adept. ------------------------------ WILDHEART ------------------------------ Capacity taken: 10 Activation rate: Command Volug starts with this skill. This skill is for Laguz only, and cannot be used by Herons. ------------------------------ People seem to hate this one. Wildheart allows you to transform at any time, but your stats will only increase by 1.5x instead of 2x. Somewhat useful, but it also cuts any Combat EXP you gain in half. Ugh. And Volug is stuck with it for all of Part 1. Take it off of him ASAP. At least Blossom has a nice effect. The only way I can see this as being useful is if you give it to a slow- transforming Laguz that's already at their max level (or one like Giffca who doesn't need any more levels), and even then, that's kind of pushing it. ------------------------------ WRATH ------------------------------ Capacity taken: 15 Activation rate: Static (when HP is under 30%) Edward, Nealuchi, and Nephenee start with this skill. ------------------------------ A fan favorite, Wrath tacks on an extra 50% chance of pulling off a critical hit when your HP is under 30%. A great skill for characters that already get good crit rates, such as Trueblades and Sentinels (coincidentally, one of each start with this skill). Characters with great Defense and lots of HP, like Marshalls and Lions, can make great use of this skill as well, if you know how to properly drop their HP past 30% and keep it there. ================================= [5] - In-depth Character Analysis ================================= A little bit of everything here. Stat breakdowns, useful situations, and miscellaneous data. Note that "average stats" shows what the character's stats SHOULD be when trained to level 20 in that class. It also assumes characters were leveled up solely with CEXP, and did not have any stat bonuses from Path of Radiance. When talking about average stats, the stat will be shown as X/Y, where X is the average they get in that stat, and Y is the stat cap. Here's how to read it. ---------------------------- [Section #] - Character Name ---------------------------- -AVERAGE STATS (Level 20)- Tier 1 HP - #1/#2 Spd - #1/#2 Str - #1/#2 Luk - #1/#2 Mag - #1/#2 Def - #1/#2 Skl - #1/#2 Res - #1/#2 Tier 2 HP - #1/#2 Spd - #1/#2 Str - #1/#2 Luk - #1/#2 Mag - #1/#2 Def - #1/#2 Skl - #1/#2 Res - #1/#2 Tier 3 HP - #1/#2 Spd - #1/#2 Str - #1/#2 Luk - #1/#2 Mag - #1/#2 Def - #1/#2 Skl - #1/#2 Res - #1/#2 #1 is the average value they will have in that stat when trained with CEXP to level 20 in that class. #2 is the cap for that stat. Note that most stat caps increase as characters promote. -SKILLS- STARTING Starting skills will be listed here. GAINED Skills that are gained automatically will be listed here, as well as how you gain them. -STAT BREAKDOWN- Evaluation of the character's stats and the usefulness of BEXP. -STRATEGIES- How to best use the character. --------------- [5.1] - Micaiah --------------- -AVERAGE STATS (Level 20)- Light Mage HP - 26/30 Spd - 14/20 Str - 5/10 Luk - 25/40 Mag - 20/20 Def - 6/10 Skl - 16/20 Res - 20/20 Light Sage HP - 32/40 Spd - 21/25 Str - 11/15 Luk - 40/40 Mag - 30/30 Def - 13/15 Skl - 23/23 Res - 30/30 Light Priestess HP - 44/50 Spd - 30/33 Str - 19/22 Luk - 40/40 Mag - 40/40 Def - 21/23 Skl - 33/35 Res - 40/40 -SKILLS- STARTING Sacrifice (locked) Shove (locked) GAINED Corona (mastery) -STAT BREAKDOWN- So as you can see there, Micaiah should cap Magic, Luck, and Resistance (and she'll cap them pretty easily). In fact, she may cap her Luck before her final promotion. Anyway, you may want to lay off of the Bonus EXP while she's a Light Mage, unless you get lucky and quickly cap her Magic and Resistance. As a Light Sage, Bonus EXP should wait until she caps Magic and Resistance, and hopefully she'll cap Skill as well. When she promotes into a Light Priestess, her Magic and Resistance caps grow another 10, so wait for those to cap. By then, her Luck should've capped at 40, so dump Bonus EXP into her. The main thing you want here is for her Speed to cap, though. Speedwings are recommended if you're finding it difficult to cap. All in all, Magic, Luck, and Resistance should cap without BEXP, Skill and Defense should cap with BEXP, and if you're lucky, Strength and Speed may cap as well. With good BEXP management, she can cap everything, except maybe HP. -STRATEGIES- Obviously, Micaiah is among the most frail characters. Especially as a Light Mage, where her Defense caps at 10 (and you're only likely to get it to half of that), and with that, her 30 HP cap doesn't sound too promising. Needless to say, she needs to be protected. Keeping Sothe in an adjacent square works very nicely, since not only does she gain some support bonuses, but with Sothe's good Defense and HP, and the Guard skill he starts with, he'll soak up most of the damage she would have taken. And that's what he's good at in the beginning; taking hits. Like I said earlier, Sacrifice can be really useful if you know how to use it. It can be an infinite replacement for a Restore staff, and will help get some extra EXP for Micaiah. As Micaiah promotes, her survivability will rise, but you should still keep a watchful eye on her. Even as a Light Sage, a single lucky hit can put her on her knees. Her low survival odds are more problematic than most characters, because you REALLY want her to get some early EXP. Training her quickly in each part will help keep her alive better, and you won't have to worry about doing any last-minute micromanaging to get her to level 20 before her promotions. When she promotes into a Light Priestess, things get interesting. By now, she should have great Luck and enough Speed to start dodging frequently. She'll no longer need you to baby her, and with a massive 40 Magic, coupled with most enemies' sub-par Resistance, she can completely obliterate most enemies (especially if she can double them). While on the topic of her Speed, though, her Speed cap is deliberately set at 33 (more knowledgable fans may know that in Radiant Dawn, 34 is the magic number for Speed), hampering her usefulness against later bosses and many Hard Mode enemies. Nasir's White Pool ability can help circumvent this problem, but only for the last two parts of the endgame. When promoted into a Light Priestess, she gains the Corona ability, which negates your enemy's Resistance and halves their accuracy for one turn. Micaiah could've used a better mastery skill, but with her high (and easily reachable) Magic cap, as well as good Skill, she can dole out a good bit of damage with it. Even with a simple Light tome, she'll still deal out 43 damage, plus a few extra if she has some Support bonuses or with the use of White Pool. ------------ 5.2 - Edward ------------ -AVERAGE STATS (Level 20)- Myrmidon HP - 30/30 Spd - 20/20 Str - 17/20 Luk - 16/30 Mag - 1/10 Def - 11/20 Skl - 20/20 Res - 3/10 Swordmaster HP - 40/40 Spd - 30/30 Str - 24/24 Luk - 26/30 Mag - 4/15 Def - 18/23 Skl - 30/30 Res - 9/15 Trueblade HP - 55/55 Spd - 40/40 Str - 32/32 Luk - 30/30 Mag - 9/20 Def - 26/26 Skl - 40/40 Res - 17/24 -SKILLS- STARTING Shove (locked) Wrath GAINED Astra (mastery) -STAT BREAKDOWN- Edward will cap a lot. And I mean A LOT. But that assumes you can get him to those high levels in the first place. I normally don't rip on a character for training difficulty (*cough* Muarim and Vika *cough*), but it's not exactly Edward's fault; it's the Dawn Brigade as a whole that's underleveled. But anyway. If you put the effort into training him, he should easily cap his HP, Strength, Skill, Speed, Luck, and Defense, even without BEXP. If you've been paying attention, that means the only things he hasn't capped are Magic and Resistance. Since he doesn't really need Magic, you can start with the BEXP as soon as his Skill and Speed cap (or his Strength and Luck, when he's a Trueblade) to try and bring his decent Resistance a little higher. ...He's one of the easier characters to cap. -STRATEGIES- Edward will be one of the units that carries the Dawn Brigade, so make sure he's up to par. Basically, have Micaiah take out whoever she can, and have Edward and Nolan (and maybe Sothe) split the rest of the kills. On hard mode, you proably won't have this luxury, but still, try to give most of the kills to Edward and Nolan. With proper management, hopefully you can get them both promoted by the end of Part 1. In Part 3, things get harder. But Pelleas will give a great sword, Caladbolg, to Edward. It's very powerful, and adds an extra +8 to his Luck. This puts him on par with Mia for a good while, until you want to dump it later in favor of a Silver Blade, a high-Mt forged weapon, or an SS-Sword. And that puts him right back underneath Mia. Also, if you want to defeat Ike in that one chapter, Edward's the way to go. As a Trueblade, he should be able to take down Ike with a little effort, but watch out in case the other Greil Mercenaries start bearing down on him. Jill can help, provided she can use some good lances. When promoted into a Trueblade, he gains the Astra ability, which lashes out with five consecutive attacks, effectively quintupling the damage he does. Since he's got the better Strength of the Trueblades, this'll deal a good bit of damage, at the cost of utterly destroying your weapon's uses. Each attack from Astra can miss, but between the accuracy given by Edward's high Skill and the swords themselves, that's not very likely. -------------- 5.3 - Leonardo -------------- -AVERAGE STATS (Level 20)- Archer HP - 26/40 Spd - 16/20 Str - 14/20 Luk - 16/30 Mag - 2/10 Def - 11/20 Skl - 20/20 Res - 10/10 Sniper HP - 40/45 Spd - 23/26 Str - 23/27 Luk - 29/30 Mag - 7/10 Def - 18/24 Skl - 30/30 Res - 16/16 Marksman HP - 55/60 Spd - 32/34 Str - 33/36 Luk - 30/30 Mag - 14/15 Def - 27/32 Skl - 40/40 Res - 25/25 -SKILLS- STARTING Shove (locked) Cancel GAINED Deadeye (mastery) -STAT BREAKDOWN- Don't be fooled by those good stats as a Marksman; Leonardo's only true redeeming qualities are excellent Skill and great Resistance. He'll cap those in each class with ease, and when he does, be prepared to dump some BEXP into him if you want to make him worthwhile. And when I say "some" BEXP, I mean "a lot" of BEXP. Anyway, his main problems are somewhat low Speed and Defense growths. Those are two key stats for an Archer, and since Leonardo hasn't got much of either, don't expect him to survive if a quick enemy like a Myrmidon reaches him. But wait, there's a light at the end of the tunnel! Pelleas will give Leonardo the Lughnasadh bow, which will even out his decent Strength with a massive 16 Mt, and it gives him a +5 boost to his Speed. Yup, suddenly, he just became deadly. It's also got a base Hit of 100, but Leonardo doesn't really need that. Unfortunately, 40 uses is less than it sounds, and once it breaks, you'll regret it if you let him take most of the kills. Really, his usefulness is tied to this weapon, but... that's not a point in his favor. -STRATEGIES- Obviously, you'll want to train him moderately in Part 1 so he can help take down Pegasus Knights in Part 3. Lughnasadh helps. High Skill and Resistance, combined with decent Strength, make him an effective Mage-killer. This is actually quite handy, since the Dawn Brigade doesn't have much in terms of Resistance (Micaiah excepted, also Ilyana, but because she doesn't stick around for long). If you plan on taking him into the endgame, you may want to ditch Lughnasadh for a high-Mt forged Silver Bow. He'll need the extra stopping power. If you level him up to a Marksman, he'll get the Deadeye skill, which triples the damage he deals and puts the enemy to sleep. Even with his great Skill, though, its bad activation rate puts it at a 20% chance of activating at best (not counting Biorhythm effects). ------------ 5.4 - Nolan ------------ -AVERAGE STATS (Level 20)- Fighter HP - 36/45 Spd - 17/20 Str - 17/20 Luk - 14/30 Mag - 2/5 Def - 13/20 Skl - 19/20 Res - 7/10 Warrior HP - 49/53 Spd - 27/27 Str - 27/30 Luk - 25/30 Mag - 5/5 Def - 21/23 Skl - 26/26 Res - 13/13 Reaver HP - 64/68 Spd - 35/35 Str - 37/40 Luk - 30/30 Mag - 10/10 Def - 29/30 Skl - 36/36 Res - 20/20 -SKILLS- STARTING Shove (locked) Nihil GAINED Colossus (mastery) -STAT BREAKDOWN- He's got it all; HP, Strength, Skill, Speed, Luck, Defense, Resistance... the only thing he doesn't have much of is Magic, but he even caps that normally. Nolan, along with Edward (and Jill, if you elect to keep her with the Dawn Brigade), will carry the Dawn Brigade through most of Part 1 and nearly all of Part 3. His only real problem is that he starts slow. He starts at a higher level, sure, but all that really does is prevent him from leveling easy in the beginning. At first, he's nothing special; he'll rarely double, and may miss a lot. Top that with his decent starting strength (and merely decent growth), and he's not very reliable. If you manage to level him up a few times, though, his Skill and Speed will take off, and he'll start doubling in no time. BEXP should be kept off of him until he caps a few things as a Warrior. Mostly, Magic, Skill, and Resistance. Maybe Speed as well. Hopefully you can push his Strength and Defense to their caps by the time he promotes into a Reaver. As a Reaver, a number of his stats will start to cap within a couple levels of each other. Namely, Magic, Skill, Speed, Luck, and Resistance. Dump some BEXP into him when 3+ of those cap, and you should have little trouble maxing out everything he has. But as I said with Edward, this assumes that you managed to raise him to these high levels in the first place. The Dawn Brigade being underpowered, by Part 4, he's usually not good for much except backup, unless you put a lot of effort into him earlier. -STRATEGIES- As he starts at level 9, try not to let him get too many kills early on. Those kills should go to Micaiah and Edward. Enemy Soldiers and Pegasus Knights (pretty much anything with a lance that Thani can't take care of) should be Nolan's target early on; until he grows, keep him away from any sword-wielding enemies. Like Edward and Leonardo before him, Nolan will receive a nice little gift from Pelleas. Namely, the Tarvos axe. It's an incredible weapon; first, it's as poweful as a Silver Poleaxe, making it second only to Urvan in power. It's got a Hit of 100, making it even more accurate than an Iron Sword (yes, SWORD, and again, second only to Urvan), a Weight of 12 (just over that of an Iron Axe), and an extra 5 Crit. Oh, and it also gives Nolan another +4 Defense when he has it equipped. ...Yikes. Nolan will simply barrel through everything with this. And if you were paying attention, you'd notice that Nolan's starting Strength is equal to Tarvos' Weight, making it impossible for him to be weighed down by it. But like Caladbolg and Lughnasadh, try not to wear Tarvos out too quickly. Again, if you're taking Nolan into the Endgame, you probably want to ditch Tarvos for a high-Mt forged weapon, or Urvan (if a better axe-user like Titania or Jill isn't already using it). ----------- 5.5 - Laura ----------- -AVERAGE STATS (Level 20)- Priest HP - 25/30 Spd - 15/15 Str - 7/10 Luk - 18/40 Mag - 20/20 Def - 6/10 Skl - 15/15 Res - 17/20 Bishop HP - 35/40 Spd - 23/23 Str - 14/15 Luk - 27/40 Mag - 25/25 Def - 13/17 Skl - 22/22 Res - 24/32 Saint HP - 45/45 Spd - 31/31 Str - 22/23 Luk - 37/40 Mag - 38/38 Def - 21/21 Skl - 30/30 Res - 33/40 -SKILLS- STARTING Shove (Locked) GAINED Corona (Mastery) -STAT BREAKDOWN- She'll cap many things, but as a Saint, that's not all that impressive. She's perpetually stuck with low Speed, horrific Defense, and (comparatively) low Resistance. Combined with her low EXP growth as a non-promoted healer, fighting with her isn't even an option. On the off-chance that you do want to use her later, she does have a good Magic growth, and with decent caps, but she'll easily be outdamaged by Micaiah, Ilyana, Soren... pretty much any other magic-user. But if you're intent on using her, Bonus EXP is best used as a Bishop, when her caps are low enough for her to reach easily. She should cap Magic, Skill, and Speed fairly quickly. Once she does, dump BEXP into her and try to cap her Defense. You could also use BEXP to bring her up to 99 EXP before each chapter, and let her natural growths take over from there. -STRATEGIES- As I said, keep her away from action and focus on healing. There's little else to say about her. Use someone else for fighting. ----------- 5.6 - Sothe ----------- -AVERAGE STATS (Level 20)- Rogue HP - 40/40 Spd - 29/30 Str - 22/22 Luk - 27/40 Mag - 8/15 Def - 18/20 Skl - 26/26 Res - 15/15 Whisper HP - 50/50 Spd - 39/40 Str - 28/28 Luk - 35/35 Mag - 16/20 Def - 24/26 Skl - 38/38 Res - 23/25 -SKILLS- STARTING Shove (Locked) Steal (Locked) GAINED Bane (Mastery) -STAT BREAKDOWN- Similarly to Laura, Sothe will cap many things (and come very close to capping everything else), but low caps make that less impressive than it sounds. On the subject of caps, note that his Luck cap actually DECREASES from 40 to 35 upon promotion. I am unsure what happens if his Luck is over 35 when he's promoted, but that probably won't happen. He's got high Strength and Skill growths. Coupled with his low Strength cap, Bonus EXP is best used as soon as he caps those two stats. When he promotes into a Whisper, wait for him to cap Luck as well before feeding him any more BEXP. You should also note that Sothe's promotion is storyline-based, happening after Chapter 4-P. He's also forced into the Endgame. -STRATEGIES- Sothe's main use is to take hits in Part 1. He comes pre-promoted with good base stats, but try not to let him see too much action, as the rest of the Dawn Brigade desperately needs that EXP. Let him weaken enemies, leaving them easy prey for your lower-level allies. However, don't hesitate to use him if you must (especially on Hard Mode). His usefulness drops off significantly later on, but he can still steal things, which makes him very valuable (again, especially on Hard Mode). His decent Strength, combined with great Skill, Speed, and Luck, will help him pick off weakened enemies or run circles around less-accurate enemies. Until you get to Part 4, where he'll have trouble surviving. ------------ 5.7 - Ilyana ------------ -AVERAGE STATS (Level 20)- Thunder Mage HP - 26/30 Spd - 15/20 Str - 10/10 Luk - 9/30 Mag - 16/20 Def - 5/10 Skl - 17/20 Res - 13/20 Thunder Sage HP - 39/40 Spd - 22/24 Str - 15/15 Luk - 17/30 Mag - 26/26 Def - 14/15 Skl - 23/23 Res - 24/25 Archsage HP - 45/45 Spd - 30/30 Str - 24/24 Luk - 24/30 Mag - 38/39 Def - 24/24 Skl - 34/34 Res - 35/38 -SKILLS- STARTING Shove (Locked) Shade GAINED Flare (Mastery) -STAT BREAKDOWN- Low base stats and the fact that she can only use Thunder magic at first significantly hamper her early-game usefulness. Try your best to get her some easy EXP and promote her quickly. It's worth it. For the record, Bonus EXP shouldn't even be considered as a Thunder Mage. Once she promotes to a Thunder Sage, her Strength and Skill should cap quickly, and that's when you should start with the BEXP. Her Magic should cap soon after, and with proper BEXP use, she should be able to cap HP, Defense, Resistance, and possibly Speed as well. And now she starts being able to hold her own. As an Archsage, similar rules apply, but you'll want to hold the BEXP until she caps HP and Strength. Proper BEXP management will allow her to fairly easily cap everything except Luck, and with a decent bit of... well, luck, you may be able to cap that too. -STRATEGIES- She starts with the Shade skill, which is good for her early on since she's incredibly squishy. Low Speed, Luck, and Defense will make it hard for her to survive pretty much anything. As I said, get her some easy EXP and try to promote her quickly (before the end of Part 1, if possible). I mentioned in section 4.1 that Discipline is a very good skill for her. This is because Thunder magic is too unreliable to be useful at first with her low base stats. When she promotes, she can start with Fire and Wind magic, and you'll definitely want to work with one of those. However, keep Discipline on her, since later on in the game, her Magic and Skill should be high enough for Thunder magic to once again be useful, even moreso than Fire and Wind. She's a strong candidate for an Endgame magic-user, especially with the Rexbolt tome (which you get simply by viewing a base conversation in chapter 4-P). ------------------------ THE REST ARE COMING SOON ------------------------ =================================== [6] - Legal Stuff and Miscellaneous =================================== Other stuff, legal jargon, etc. -------------------- [6.1] - Contact Info -------------------- If you need to reach me, send me an e-mail at GreeceLightning5193@gmail.com. Please type "Radiant Dawn", "FAQ", "Fire Emblem", or something similar as the subject. Please, no more e-mails about the score I gave Vika. I'm open to suggestions, but that's one score I'm not changing. Anyone who has actually raised her will agree with me. I'm giving this out so people can contact me with problems or suggestions for this guide, not so they can spam me. Any spam e-mails, e-mails that obviously aren't serious, and flaming e-mails (things like "You suck and your guide sucks", etc.) will be dealt with appropriately... I have ways of dealing with these things. You can also e-mail me if you just want to talk, or something. I don't bite. ---------------------- [6.2] - Special Thanks ---------------------- danielns13, for pointing out that Bastian and Aran may not be as bad as I thought, and that Tormod isn't as good as I thought. EarthAffinity, for correcting me about Marksmen and Longbows. Also for convincing me to put the rest of the skills up. Sean Mosey, for a lot of things. Many mistakes and typos pointed out. Ben Richey (lobos312), for helping me find out the Skill Capacity for each character. Not as complicated as I thought. J. Sena, for insight about the Flourish skill. Nintendo, for continuing to be awesome for over 20 years now (or 220 years, if you're counting their entire history outside of gaming). Intelligent Systems, for developing the most awesome game series known to man. Whoever runs serenesforest.net. Seriously, good job. You, for actually reading this far down. ---------------------------- [6.3] - References and Links ---------------------------- GameFAQs.com - The first site I hosted this guide on, and a great site for FAQs, guides, etc. The community, however... not so great. NoobFeed.com - A small but awesome gaming-based forum/community. serenesforest.net - The ultimate Fire Emblem resource. If I needed to know something, or double-check something, this site had me covered. fireemblem.wikia.com - If serenesforest.net didn't have it, this site did. It was also a great place to gather opinions on characters, rather than just cold data. I know, Wikia is the devil, but the NIWA Fire Emblem Wiki isn't well- developed at the moment. Halolz.com - Your premier source for humorous video game captions. Too bad we don't have any Fire Emblem submissions that aren't based in Smash Bros. ---------------------- [6.4] - Copyright Info ---------------------- This guide is copyrighted by me, Cloud551 (GameFAQs username). The only sites currently allowed to host this guide are GameFAQs.com (and, by that respect, Gamespot.com), Neoseeker.com, and SuperCheats.com. If you see any other sites hosting this FAQ without my permission, please inform me (see 6.1, Contact Info). You'll have my thanks, and your own spot in my Special Thanks section. Fire Emblem is copyrighted by Nintendo and Intelligent Systems. I did not make any money from writing this guide. If you want to host this guide on your site, send me an e-mail asking before you do. THANKS FOR READING!!!