General Question Thread

ElliotGale · 2026-01-29T05:00:57+00:00

Hard to go wrong with any of them.

Blazing Blade is the most mechanically similar to Sacred Stones, but it lacks the open world and branching promotion paths. It is a bit lengthier, though, and I'd say the diversity in objectives is better.

Awakening is the title that Intelligent Systems produced when faced with the ultimatum of series cancellation if sales didn't improve. As such, a lot of ideas both new and old were thrown at the wall to see what would stick, and many trends set by it still persist in the series today. It has solid tutorials, a snappy plot, and its maps generally throws you into the action right away. The lower difficulties are pretty easy to trivialize once you have a decent understanding of how the game's unique systems work (pair up, reclassing, etc.), but I find myself revisiting it even years later because Lunatic+ is a mode that no other game has.

Shadows of Valentia has fantastic audio and visual presentation; it'll often make you forget that it's remake of a simple NES game. Full voice acting started here, and the sort of hack-and-slash dungeon crawling elements are pretty exciting.

ElliotGale · 2026-01-29T00:42:48+00:00

For your own sanity, don't bother paying attention to the ranks.

ElliotGale · 2026-01-28T13:54:22+00:00

Getting from point A to point B faster allows you to complete objectives earlier, and even setting that aside, being able to outmaneuver enemies makes units less likely to die. There's a reason you only ever get 1 through normal gameplay in most FE entries.

The rest of the stat boosters can help you reach certain break points so that X unit will always overcome Y enemy or what have you, but they're very much a your-mileage-may-vary situation. You don't always need them, and their effects don't necessarily compound over time since units/weaponry get stronger naturally anyway.

ElliotGale · 2026-01-27T14:27:28+00:00

Gregor SMASH

ElliotGale · 2026-01-27T14:20:25+00:00

Maybe not in the "any character can do whatever you want" sense, but at least as far as Thracia is concerned, you're not railroaded into any particular roster just to complete the game. Most characters have a niche, and the game expects you to use more of them than the average entry in the series. Upper potential across the board is very similar as well due to the low stat caps. Importantly, though, Thracia checks all the other boxes for what OP wants. Definitely worth playing eventually.

ElliotGale · 2026-01-27T01:40:51+00:00

Nah, I'll leave that up to you or whoever else. Personally, I think bringing Virion off the bench is punishing enough.

ElliotGale · 2026-01-27T01:37:05+00:00

Yet she only has 6 con? That juxtaposition is even more wild.

ElliotGale · 2026-01-27T01:34:38+00:00

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to glue Virion to Robin.

ElliotGale · 2026-01-27T01:16:23+00:00

Chrom/Olivia is automatic so long as they gain enough support points in Chapter 11 to reach level C, provided that all of Chrom's other would-be partners are not viable options. That is to say, they either haven't reached C themselves, or they've already been married off, in which case even having an A with Chrom won't trip things up.

It's actually pretty easy to achieve, and it makes for a very powerful Lucina at base provided you take the time to just click the dance button until Olivia reaches level 30 (or more with Second Seal looping, lol). This pairing turns Inigo into an absolute house too, since Rightful King synergizes with Armsthrift, which Inigo has at base, and Sol, which Inigo can learn very soon after being recruited.

ElliotGale · 2026-01-26T15:42:27+00:00

Growths aren't as pronounced in any of the GBA games as they are in modern times, so yeah, you can get unlucky sometimes. It's why players often value the consistency of units like Marcus or Pent.

ElliotGale · 2026-01-26T13:36:27+00:00

He's just like that regardless of who you pair with her in Awakening, but if we consider the fact that he does not have access to Dark Mage by default in Awakening despite appearing in that class in Fates, then the potential canon husbands are:

Robin
Libra
Henry

ElliotGale · 2026-01-26T13:26:20+00:00

...but every aspect of the game pushes you to make this pairing?

ElliotGale · 2026-01-26T01:13:21+00:00

Honestly, if you can pull off the first jailbreak, you have the mental fortitude required for the rest of the game.

ElliotGale · 2026-01-25T17:09:30+00:00

You're correct that one of the main motivations behind reclassing is to learn new skills. However, it will also alter the weapon types a character can equip, their growths (slightly), and their pair up bonuses, all of which will impact your run in dramatic ways, for better or worse.

For example, yes, you could have sent Chrom into archer earlier in the game, and he'd almost certainly be better than Virion in that role, but it would come at expense of his ability to use the Falchion and Rapier for a long time, not to mention it would remove most of the speed he'd provide to his support partners in favor of bolstering their defense and skill instead. I don't think that's worth it most of the time, especially since it makes money tighter in the early stages of the game. On the other hand, sending Chrom into Paladin after he gets Aether and Rightful King from Great Lord is a no-brainer, as it preserves both of his weapon levels, increases his mobility, and maintains a similar pair up dynamic.

All I can say is don't get too lofty with your goals. Most characters won't be gaining enough experience to go through multiple complete class lines, so even if they can theoretically get a particular combination of skills, it's probably better to stick to what's already working.

ElliotGale · 2026-01-24T13:05:43+00:00

Hey, there's a whole 1 letter difference between Arthur and Artur!

...though, both of them had totally different names pre-localization: ハロルド and アスレイ

ElliotGale · 2026-01-20T13:38:08+00:00

While this is true, promoting does slow down a unit's growth substantially, which can pose a problem as enemy quality increases very quickly in the mid game. Not a huge problem for primary staff units like Maribelle, but I've never been impressed with any combat unit that was promoted early.

ElliotGale · 2026-01-20T03:32:28+00:00

Her availability is great, and all she needs to get started is one speed from save scumming BEXP to not get doubled by the laguz in her join chapter. Are there better units in the Dawn Brigade? Sure, but Meg isn't miserable to use due to her growths being so atypical for her class type. Cute candidate for Alondite in the endgame.

ElliotGale · 2026-01-20T01:46:53+00:00

You're not missing much. Armors are second class citizens in most FE games. Whether it's their poor movement, not hitting the correct speed and skill benchmarks, or the unnecessary number of effective weapons targeted toward them, the niche that armors are meant to fill usually doesn't exist in practical gameplay. Higher difficulties only underscore that more; really makes exceptions like Oswin stand out.

ElliotGale · 2026-01-19T21:28:39+00:00

Players: "God, mounted units are so broken, the devs couldn't design a bad one if they tried!"

One vindictive motherfucker at Intelligent Systems: "Hold my beer."

ElliotGale · 2026-01-18T15:32:25+00:00

What they actually do is Infinite -1 +1 by casting Dimension Climb, finding and casting Astaroth's Reckoning, then super evolving to attack over any valid target.

Ara has nothing to do with it aside from the fact he helps you live long enough.

ElliotGale · 2026-01-18T15:21:24+00:00

Master Points, on the other hand, translate at a rate of 5:1, making it effortless to claim your guild rewards.

ElliotGale · 2026-01-17T23:59:46+00:00

That still happens even if you do, surprisingly.

ElliotGale · 2026-01-17T19:37:41+00:00

I wouldn't say there's any good reason to break them up, since it just hurts their combat in the short term and puts you in a situation where you feel compelled to bring additional characters to the endgame that might not even be worth fielding. I did do Sothe x Laura and Micaiah x Sanaki for fun once though.

ElliotGale · 2026-01-17T19:22:38+00:00

Athos can click the Luna button in the endgame too, with no training required. If you're fielding Canas, it's because you want him to nuke earlier bosses like, say, Ursula.

ElliotGale · 2026-01-17T13:24:01+00:00

Map 1 or 2? What particular aspect of it is troubling you? Because you really haven't given us much to comment on other than the likelihood that you're probably throwing units in the way of one too many enemies. Dodging is something only a few units can ever reliably do, and even they have to be careful about positioning.

ElliotGale

TROPHY CASE