=========================================================================== FIRE EMBLEM: SOUEN NO KISEKI =========================================================================== Character/Unit Guide FAQ October 28th 2005 Version 0.5 For the Nintendo Gamecube (JPN) Created by Shadowgar (c) 2005 (aussenseitertrombe@yahoo.co.uk ) Any of the work displayed in this document should not be used anywhere else except Gamefaqs without my consent, all information here is my own unless stated otherwise. If there is anything you wish to contact me about, if I made some mistakes or if you've seen this FAQ somewhere else you can contact me with e-mail at. aussenseitertrombe@yahoo.co.uk =========================================================================== -:Table of Contents:- =========================================================================== I) VERSION HISTORY II) INTRODUCTION III) BASIC INFORMATION 1. Skill System 2. Battle Formula's 3. Recruitments IV) CHARACTERS 1. Lord [Lrd] 2. Paladin [Pln] 3. Warrior [Wrr] 4. Bishop [Bsp] 5. Sniper [Snr] 6. General [Gnl] 7. Sage [Sge] 8. Valkyrie [Vke] 9. Crimean Princess/Falcon Knight [Fkt] 10. Fanged Beasts (Cats/Tigers/Lions) [FgB] 11. Winged Beasts (Herons/Crows/Hawks) [WgB] 12. Halberdier [Hbr] 13. Dragonmaster [Dmr] 14. Thief/Assassin [TfA] 15. Scaly Dragons [SDr] 16. Bezerker [Bzr] 17. Swordmaster [Smr] V) FAQ VI) CREDITS AND THANKS =========================================================================== I) VERSION HISTORY =========================================================================== VERSION 0.5 (October 28th, 2005) - Making some more ammendments to names, (spellchecking sucks -_-;) - Went through and finally added all updated names - Added English names for skills - Fixed Marcia's recruitment requirement - Fixed a mistake with 'Steal' skill requirements - Fixed Nasir's recruitment requirement - Added stat averages for everyone Size : 103 KB VERSION 0.4 (October 19th, 2005) - Added a quick reference list of recruitments - Added the new NOA translated names for characters - Fixed a wrong battle formula - Fixed a recruitment screwup on Zihawk Size : 94.1 KB VERSION 0.3 (October 7th, 2005) - Added activation rates for skills - Changed some ratings and comments - Also changed some formatting - Added some battle formula's - Added a FAQ section Size : 91.2 KB VERSION 0.2 (August 15th, 2005) - Corrections to skill section - Minor changes to some comments. Size : 88 KB VERSION 0.1 (August 8th, 2005) - First FAQ version released Size : 88 KB =========================================================================== II) INTRODUCTION =========================================================================== Fire Emblem: Souen no Kiseki is the 9th in a series of S-RPG games created by Nintendo Intelligent Systems and released for the 15th anniversary of Fire Emblem series. FE9 as it is sometimes called has been released in US and is still to be in European states under the name of 'Path of Radiance.' I've now recently added the new names to the right of the original names as I really can't be bothered going through and changing everything. I've now added as well a quick reference list so you can find people easier. The FAQ is intended as a in depth guide towards units within the game and written comments are generally my opinions and experiences of playing this game. Its not meant to be a full FAQ/Walkthrough as I'm amazed I could even be bothered making this. I'm pretty sure its clear enough written and formatted, (or I could simply be hoping that) and I hope there aren't any problems navigating. To make the navigation of the character section easier you can simply use Crtl + F on your keyboard and insert the quick links to hop to the sections. ============================================================================== III) BASIC INFORMATION ============================================================================== #####1. Skill System##### FE9 sees the return of the Skill system from Seisen no Keifu (FE4) and Thracia 776 (FE5). It allows you to equip characters with personal skills helping them with various things in the game. Some skills come with characters, while others may have to be taught through scrolls which can be used from within the intermission menu's that appears after Chapter 8 in between each chapter. There is a limit though as skills use capacity, foot units have 25 capacity, mounted units have 20 capacity. Some skills are exclusive to classes only or enemies. After promotion it is possible to learn a skill unique to that class by using a Mastery scroll found throughout the game. Also its possible to promote by raising a character to level 21, promotion items are only needed if you wish to promote them early. This is a list of the available skills within the game, English names to right and original japanese translated names on left:- ______________________________________________________________________________ ****AWARENESS/NIHIL**** Capacity:- 15 Who has it:- Calill, Nasir Effect:- Negates enemy Battle Skills Activation:- Always Active ______________________________________________________________________________ ****AMBUSH/VANTAGE**** Capacity:- 10 Who has it:- Mia Effect:- Always attack first on counter attacks Activation:- Always Active ______________________________________________________________________________ ****CONTINUE/ADEPT**** Capacity:- 10 Who has it:- Soren, Zihawk Effect:- Occasionally activates a consecutive attack Activation:- Skill = Activation % ______________________________________________________________________________ ****WRATH/WRATH**** Capacity:- 10 Who has it:- Nephenee Effect:- When HP is below half, the user receives a considerable critical boost Activation:- Always Active, Activates at Half HP ______________________________________________________________________________ ****PRAYER/MIRACLE**** Capacity:- 5 Who has it:- Mist, Ena Effect:- Activates when HP is under half, when a fatal attack is inflicted there is a chance you'll survive with half your remaining HP. If you have only 1 HP left and it activates you'll receive 0 damage. Activation:- Activates at Half HP, Luck = Activation % ______________________________________________________________________________ ****HEROIC LEADER/RESOLVE**** Capacity:- 10 Who has it:- Tauroneo Effect:- When HP is below half, strength, skill and speed is boosted by 1.5x Activation:- Always Active, Activates at Half HP ______________________________________________________________________________ ****COUNTER/COUNTER**** Capacity:- 10 Who has it:- Titania Effect:- When hit you may occasionally return half the damage you received as damage to your enemy. Activation:- When you are hit, Skill/2 = Activation % ______________________________________________________________________________ ****CANCEL/GUARD**** Capacity:- 10 Who has it:- Haar Effect:- Occasionally activates and leaves enemy unable to counterattack Activation:- Skill = Activation % ______________________________________________________________________________ ****WEAPON BREAK/CORROSION**** Capacity:- 10 Who has it:- Bastian Effect:- Reduces enemy weapon usuage by 5 when enemy is hit Activation:- Skill = Activation % ______________________________________________________________________________ ****ABILITY MATCH**** Capacity:- 5 Who has it:- Lucia Effect:- Negates enemy support and terrain bonuses Activation:- Always Active ______________________________________________________________________________ ****ONE SHOT GAMBLE/GAMBLE**** Capacity:- 10 Who has it:- Kieran Effect:- When you attack you can sacrifice half your accuracy for double critical rate Activation:- Manual ______________________________________________________________________________ ****HARD STRIKE/SHOVE**** Capacity:- 10 Who has it:- Mordecai Effect:- Increases the effect of the 'push' command to 2 spaces, only works when build is greater or equal to the targets build. Activation:- Manual ______________________________________________________________________________ ****TALENTED PERSON/CELERITY**** Capacity:- 15 Who has it:- Tormod Effect:- Movement +2 Activation:- Always Active _____________________________________________________________________________ ****MOODY PERSON/TEMPEST**** Capacity:- 5 Who has it:- Bole, Makalov Effect:- Doubles the effect of Biorhythmn Activation:- Always Active ______________________________________________________________________________ ****EQUILIBRIUM/SERENITY**** Capacity:- 5 Who has it:- Rhys Effect:- Halves the effect of Biorhythmn Activation:- Always Active ______________________________________________________________________________ ****PROVOKE/PROVOKE**** Capacity:- 5 Who has it:- Shinon Effect:- Increases the chance of being attacked, has more effect if injured Activation:- Always Active ______________________________________________________________________________ ****SHADOW/SHADOW**** Capacity:- 5 Who has it:- Ilyana, Volke Effect:- Reduces the chance of being attacked, has less effect if injured. Activation:- Always Active ______________________________________________________________________________ ****LIFE/RENEWAL**** Capacity:- 15 Who has it:- Elincia, Ena Effect:- Recover a set ammount of HP at the start of each turn Activation:- Beginning of every turn, Always Active ______________________________________________________________________________ ****PROTECTING HAND/SAVIOUR**** Capacity:- 10 Who has it:- Tibarn Effect:- When carrying someone, your skill and speed stats aren't reduced Activation:- Always Active ______________________________________________________________________________ ****ELITE/PARAGON**** Capacity:- 15 Who has it:- Geoffrey, Astrid Effect:- Unit gains 2x experience Activation:- Always Active ______________________________________________________________________________ ****REINFORCEMENT/REINFORCE**** Capacity:- 15 Who has it:- Tanith Effect:- Can summon 3 NPC units to help, can only be used twice per battle. Activation:- Manual ______________________________________________________________________________ ****SLOW GROWER/BLOSSOM**** Capacity:- 15 Who has it:- Sothe Effect:- Growth rates are boosted by 10% at the cost of reduced experience Activation:- Always Active ______________________________________________________________________________ ****MOVE AGAIN/MOVE AGAIN**** Capacity:- 20 Who has it:- Reyson Effect:- Allows adjacent friendly units to regain their movement Activation:- Manual ______________________________________________________________________________ ****LONG DISTANCE VISION/INSIGHT**** Capacity:- 0 Who has it:- Janaff Effect:- Accuracy is increased Activation:- Always Active ______________________________________________________________________________ ****HEARING WITH THE WIND/VIGILANCE**** Capacity:- 0 Who has it:- Ulki Effect:- Evade is increased Activation:- Always Active ______________________________________________________________________________ ****HORRIFY/DAUNT**** Capacity:- 10 Who has it:- Enemy only Effect:- Reduces the accuracy and critical of enemy units within a 3 square radius Activation:- Always Active ______________________________________________________________________________ ****GODDESS PROTECTION/GODDESS PROTECTION**** Capacity:- ? Who has it:- None Effect:- User receives reduced damage from enemy attacks Activation:- Always Active ______________________________________________________________________________ ****GOING EASY/DISCIPLINE**** Capacity:- 10 Who has it:- Grail, Bole Effect:- Does reduced damage during training Activation:- Always Active ______________________________________________________________________________ ****LIGHT MAGIC EQUIP/LUMINA**** Capacity:- 0 Who has it:- Bishop Effect:- User can equip Light magic Activation:- Always Active ______________________________________________________________________________ ****LIGHT TOOL EQUIP/KNIFE**** Capacity:- 0 Who has it:- Calill, Bastian, Sothe, Volke, Theif, Sage Effect:- User can equip light tools and knives Activation:- Always Active ______________________________________________________________________________ ****STEAL/STEAL**** Capacity:- 0 Who has it:- Volke, Sothe, Theif class Effect:- User can steal items and staves from enemy units if their strength is higher than the item and speed is higher than the victim. Activation:- Manual ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ####MASTERY SKILLS#### These skills are only learnable through Mastery scrolls after promotion. ______________________________________________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________ ****HEAVENS/AETHER**** Capacity:- 20 Who has it:- Lord, Hero Effect:- Sun + Moonlight + Continue, 2 hit strike with a Moonlight hit following a sun hit. Activation:- Skill = Activation % ______________________________________________________________________________ ****IMPACT/STUN**** Capacity:- 20 Who has it:- Dragonmaster, Falcon Knight Effect:- Occasionally leaves enemy units without movement for one turn when hit Activation:- Skill/2 = Activation % ______________________________________________________________________________ ****SUNLIGHT/SOL**** Capacity:- 20 Who has it:- Bishop, Sage Effect:- Occasionally halves enemy magic defense Activation:- Skill = Activation % ______________________________________________________________________________ ****SUN/FLARE**** Capacity:- 20 Who has it:- Paladin, Valkyrie Effect:- When it activates, user recovers ammount of HP equal to the damage dealt out Activation:- Skill = Activation % ______________________________________________________________________________ ****RYUSEIKEN/ASTRA**** Capacity:- 20 Who has it:- Swordmaster, Stefan Effect:- Initiates a 5 hit attack where each hit does half damage Activation:- Skill/2 = Activation % ______________________________________________________________________________ ****MOONLIGHT/LUNA**** Capacity:- 20 Who has it:- Halberdier, General Effect:- Occasionally halves enemies defense Activation:- Skill = Activation % ______________________________________________________________________________ ****RUMBLE/COLOSSUS**** Capacity:- 20 Who has it:- Warrior, Bezerker Effect:- If users build is greater than enemy, extra damage may be dealt to the enemy Activation:- Skill = Activation % ______________________________________________________________________________ ****SNIPE/DEADEYE**** Capacity:- 20 Who has it:- Sniper Effect:- Accuracy is boosted added with a chance of sending the target to sleep Activation:- Skill = Activation %, Sleep effect activation % = Skill/2 ______________________________________________________________________________ ****ASSASSINATE/LETHALITY (wtf?)**** Capacity:- 20 Who has it:- Assassin Effect:- Occasionally activates a OHKO, may be ineffective against some enemies Activation:- Skill = Activation % ______________________________________________________________________________ ****ROAR/ROAR**** Capacity:- 20 Who has it:- Fanged Beast Effect:- Leaves enemy units without movement for one turn when used Activation:- Manual ______________________________________________________________________________ ****WINGED PROTECTION/CANCEL**** Capacity:- 20 Who has it:- Hawk, Tibarn Effect:- Occasionally negates hits against you Activation:- Skill = Activation % ______________________________________________________________________________ ****GALE KNIFE/VORTEX**** Capacity:- 20 Who has it:- Crow, Naesala Effect:- Allows the user to perform a Elwind attack from one space away Activation:- Manual ______________________________________________________________________________ ****BLESSING OF THE SKY/BLESSING**** Capacity:- 20 Who has it:- Heron, Reyson Effect:- Units adjacent to the user restore HP at the beginning of each turn Activation:- Always Active, Beginning of each turn ______________________________________________________________________________ ****BLESSING OF THE EARTH/BOON (...wtf? no.2)**** Capacity:- 20 Who has it:- Scaly Dragon, Ena Effect:- Units adjacent to the user have their status restored at the beginning of each turn Activation:- Always Active, Beginning of each turn ============================================================================== #####2. Battle Formula's##### Pretty self explanatory......for your reference. ===Attack Speed=== If Weapon weight is greater than your strength. Attack Speed = Strength - Weapon Weight + Speed If Weapon weight is less than your strength. Attack Speed = Speed If attack speed is 4 points greater than your enemy than you'll be able to perform a second attack. If 4 points less you'll be double attacked. ===Damage=== Physical Damage = Strength + Weapon Might - Enemy Defense Magical Damage = Magic + Weapon Might - Enemy Resistance Critical hit damage = 3*(Damage done to enemy) Weapon Effectiveness = 2*(Weapon Might) + Strength or Magic - Enemy Defense or Res ===Evasion=== Evasion % = 2*(Speed) + Luck - Enemy's Accuracy ===Accuracy=== Accuracy % = 2*(Skill) + Weapon Accuracy - Enemy's Evade ===Steal=== To steal, weapon being stolen must have a weight less than your theives strength and your theif must have a greater speed than the victim. #####3. Recruitments##### Prologue - Ike Chapter 1- Oscar, Boyd, Titania Chapter 2- Rhys Chapter 3- Shinon, Gatrie Chapter 4- Soren Chapter 7- Mia Chapter 8- Ilyana Chapter 9- Mist, Rolf, Marcia Chapter 10- Lethe, Mordecai, Volke, Nephenee, Brom, Kieran Chapter 11- Zihark Chapter 12- Sothe, Jill Chapter 13- Astrid, Gatrie Chapter 14- Makalov Chapter 15- Stefan, Muarim, Tormod Chapter 16- Devdan Chapter 18- Reyson, Janaff, Ulki, Tanith, Shinon Chapter 20- Calill Chapter 21- Tauroneo Chapter 23- Ranulf, Haar Chapter 24- Lucia, Bastian, Geoffrey Chapter 25- Largo Chapter 26- Elincia Chapter 28- Ena/Nasir Chapter 29- Tibarn/Naesala/Giffca CRTL+ F and than put in the name of the character you want. ============================================================================== IV) CHARACTERS ============================================================================== I have split each character into their respected promotion/class lines, they will be rated on both 'usefulness' and 'power'. I will also give skill suggestions that tend to work well with the character. These ratings are done on the assumption you are playing within the 'Maniac' difficulty of FE9. Power ratings are done on the basis of all-round stats and also skills in consideration. Usefulness is done on the ease of use of the character, whether they're helpful for certain parts of the game. In order to promote you'll need to raise a character to level 21 or use a promotion item which can be found throughout the game. To search for a class press crtl+F and type in the appropiate link for the class and you'll jump to the section. ============================================================================== #####Ranger => Lord [Lrd]##### Usuable Weapons:- Swords Gained after promotion:- None Mastery Skill:- Heavens Class Skill:- Capture Throne Promotion Bonuses- HP: +4 Spd: +2 Str: +3 Lck: +0 Mgc: +2 Def: +3 Skl: +2 Res: +2 Stat Caps- HP: 60 Spd: 28 Str: 26 Lck: 40 Mgc: 20 Def: 24 Skl: 27 Res: 22 ======Ike/Ike (Ranger)====== Recruitment: Chapter 1 automatic Promotion: Automatic event after Chapter 17 Area 4 Base Stats (Lvl-1) HP: 19 Spd: 7 Str: 5 Lck: 6 Mgc: 1 Def: 5 Skl: 6 Res: 0 Bld: 9 Rescue: 9 Stat Growth HP: 75% Spd: 55% Str: 50% Lck: 35% Mgc: 20% Def: 40% Skl: 50% Res: 40% Weapons Sword Expected 20/20 Average Stats HP: 52/60 Spd: 28/28 Str: 25/26 Lck: 19/40 Mgc: 11/20 Def: 22/24 Skl: 26/26 Res: 17/22 Basic Skills None Suggested Skills Aether Resolve and Wrath Comments:- Well being the Lord you're more or less forced to use him, luckily Ike also happens to be one of the strongest Lords ever in a FE game since Sigurd. He tends to start off well as one of your strongest units and packing a unusually high defense and res for a main character means he makes a rather good wall. High speed and skill helps too. Although his strength tends to be quite weak even with that growth till promotion, high HP makes Ike a rather good defensive unit. Like Leaf from FE5 he gets a early promotion after Ch-17 which means you only have to bare with him slightly weak for only 4 or 5 chapters. He'll also be your no.1 candidate for a mastery book getting the overpowered Aether skill and even more insane Ragnell sword with infinite uses. I'd give him a 9 for usefulness but hes not always needed to capture the throne in some chapters, but is definitely frontline material. Resolve is only suggested if you want a easier time with the final boss but its not the best skill for Ike necessarily. Now if only he'd stop screaming "OYAJI!" and say something else useful. Usefulness- 8/10 Power Rating- 9/10 ============================================================================== #####Sword/Axe/Bow/Lance Knight => Paladin [Pln]##### Usuable Weapons:- Sword, Bow, Axe or Lance Gained after promotion:- Can select Sword, Bow, Axe or Lance Mastery Skill:- Flare Class Skill:- None Promotion Bonuses (M)- HP: +3 Spd: +2 Str: +2 Lck: +0 Mgc: +2 Def: +2 Skl: +2 Res: +3 Stat Caps (M)- HP: 60 Spd: 27 Str: 26 Lck: 40 Mgc: 20 Def: 27 Skl: 26 Res: 25 Promotion Bonuses (F)- HP: +5 Spd: +1 Str: +2 Lck: +0 Mgc: +2 Def: +3 Skl: +2 Res: +2 Stat Caps (F)- HP: 60 Spd: 27 Str: 25 Lck: 40 Mgc: 20 Def: 27 Skl: 26 Res: 26 ======Oscar/Oscar (Lance Knight)====== Recruitment: Chapter 1 automatic Base Stats (Lvl-3) HP: 19 Spd: 7 Str: 5 Lck: 6 Mgc: 1 Def: 5 Skl: 6 Res: 0 Bld: 10 Rescue: 33 Stat Growth HP: 55% Spd: 50% Str: 45% Lck: 45% Mgc: 20% Def: 35% Skl: 50% Res: 30% Weapons Lance Expected 20/20 Average Stats HP: 49/60 Spd: 25/27 Str: 24/26 Lck: 16/40 Mgc: 10/20 Def: 23/27 Skl: 25/26 Res: 14/25 Basic Skills None Suggested Skills Flare Adept and Saviour Comments:- The social knight duo is back minus one, Oscar is our green social knight of this game. I don't know why but this guy reminds me of that eternally smiling freak Wendolo from the SRW series, but I'm willing to bet he has a eye condition like Ishtorre of FE4.... Funny thing is you'd think with such good bases, mounted, coming in first chapter and using lances he'd be rather 'omg pwnage'. Unfortunately he gets rather easily knocked around early on with all the axe users. He only tends to start showing his worth around mid game once around level 13 or so. After promotion is where he begins to shine with good bonuses and he tends to work well with a bow or sword. Sword is better if you want a more well rounded Oscar but you'll need a bow if you wish to use his triangle attack with Bole and Rolf. Having no skills hurts him abit though, you can give him a Sun Hit but there are better candidates for a Mastery book. Adept + Saviour I find can work quite well since mounted units are now back with FE4 after turn movement. A nice well rounded unit who can be good or bad, but will more likely turn out mediocre. Although he can prove helpful with his movement in early chapters and if your sadistic like me, having him smile eternally while killing is quite satisfying. Usefulness- 8/10 Power- 8/10 ======Tiamat/Titania (Paladin)====== Recruitment: Chapter 1 automatic Base Stats (Lvl-1) HP: 33 Spd: 14 Str: 12 Lck: 11 Mgc: 4 Def: 11 Skl: 13 Res: 7 Bld: 8 Rescue: 33 Stat Growth HP: 80% Spd: 50% Str: 45% Lck: 45% Mgc: 25% Def: 40% Skl: 60% Res: 45% Weapons Axe, Lance Expected 20/20 Average Stats HP: 48/60 Spd: 24/27 Str: 21/25 Lck: 20/40 Mgc: 9/20 Def: 19/27 Skl: 24/26 Res: 16/26 Basic Skills Counter Suggested Skills Counter and Adept Saviour and Adept Comments:- If Oifaye was reincarnated as a woman and without a moustache, she'd be called Tiamat. Tiamat continues the recent trend of destructive Jeigan characters. Her stats look quite paltry but she grows better than most of the units in your game and will end up with extremely high res for a physical unit. Early on she will be literally life saving in early chapters and with the ammount of enemies and bonus exp feature in FE9, exp leeching is quite little concern. It is virtually impossible to beat early chapters without her. Overall statwise she will be a nice rounded unit but will likely be passed up due to her rather weak starting stats. As for skills, counter...is rather worthless, but if you insist on using her, saviour can be helpful for rescuing or adept if you want her to be more battle orientated. But don't feel guilty about using her or letting her kill as exp is plentiful in this game. Once most units promote around Chapter 17 she'll probably dissappear from your lineup, but if growing well she can very well make the final lineup. If you want to use her, than let her sit back abit for the middle chapters so she doesn't take up too much experience. Usefulness- 9.9/10 Power- 6.5/10 ======Kevin/Kieran (Axe Knight)====== Recruitment: Talk with Oscar in Chapter 10 and help him escape, joins in Chapter 11. Base Stats (Lvl-12) HP: 30 Spd: 12 Str: 11 Lck: 8 Mgc: 1 Def: 10 Skl: 10 Res: 1 Bld: 10 Rescue: 33 Stat Growth HP: 60% Spd: 40% Str: 50% Lck: 25% Mgc: 15% Def: 40% Skl: 50% Res: 30% Weapons Axe Expected 20/20 Average Stats HP: 49/60 Spd: 24/27 Str: 25/26 Lck: 15/40 Mgc: 7/20 Def: 23/27 Skl: 25/26 Res: 12/25 Basic Skills Gamble Suggested Skills Flare Gamble and Resolve Comments:- And here he is, the other half of the Social Knight duo 10 chapters late, Kieran comes with rather all-round stats and fantastic growths. However by the time he joins Oscar will have surpassed him and Kieran will be being double attacked occasionally. His skill....doesn't have too much use unfortunately, his critical doesn't tend to get too high and halved accuracy for a axe user is next to suicide. He can be quite a pain to train but will probably end up statistically as the second best Paladin in the game. He does benefit from axe being the cheapest weapons in the game though, plus not being weighed by Iron Axes at all. Overall his high stats are abit overshadowed by the point of the game he comes, along with how you can get through the game rather easily without him. Only should be used if your a big fan of mounted or axe units but I would just stick with Oscar. However if you do choose to train him, expect something close to a monster after promotion. I highly suggest giving him swords so he can actually make some use of Gamble. But it may be worth just giving him Flare. Usefulness- 6.5/10 Power- 8.5/10 ======Stellar/Astrid (Bow Knight)====== Recruitment: Talk with Ike in Chapter 13 Base Stats (Lvl-1) HP: 20 Spd: 7 Str: 6 Lck: 3 Mgc: 2 Def: 5 Skl: 6 Res: 4 Bld: 7 Rescue: 29 Stat Growth HP: 45% Spd: 50% Str: 40% Lck: 40% Mgc: 20% Def: 30% Skl: 55% Res: 25% Weapons Bow Expected 20/20 Average Stats HP: 42/60 Spd: 26/27 Str: 23/25 Lck: 18/40 Mgc: 12/20 Def: 19/27 Skl: 26/26 Res: 15/25 Basic Skills Paragon Suggested Skills Paragon and Shadow Flare Comments:- Stellar is one cute bow knight, (I refuse to call her Astrid damnit!) too bad she starts off rather weak. Though she does benefit from some decent growths but what makes her a spetacular unit is the fact she has Paragon. Stellar will grow like lightning, a pure powerleveling growth stock. What makes it easier to use her, as weak as she is, she's a ranged fighter which means she won't have to get in close to kill. After promotion you can give her axes to take care of her strength and use her skill. In the long term she will probably be a all-round unit but not really excelling in anything particular, but her promotion bonuses give her a good boost. Although not really helping majorly in anything, being an easy to raise unit gives her alot of credit, but she loses marks as her class won't let her use the Balfleche. Usefulness- 8/10 Power- 7.5/10 ======Makalov/Makalov (Sword Knight)====== Recruitment: Talk with Marcia in Chapter 14 Base Stats (Lvl-10) HP: 30 Spd: 10 Str: 9 Lck: 8 Mgc: 2 Def: 10 Skl: 7 Res: 2 Bld: 10 Rescue: 33 Stat Growth HP: 60% Spd: 50% Str: 55% Lck: 25% Mgc: 5% Def: 45% Skl: 45% Res: 20% Weapons Sword Expected 20/20 Average Stats HP: 50/60 Spd: 25/27 Str: 25/26 Lck: 20/40 Mgc: 5/20 Def: 25/27 Skl: 22/26 Res: 16/25 Basic Skills Tempest Suggested Skills Tempest and Nihil Comments:- URGHHH!!!! URGH! They must have been smoking something strong when they drew this guy. This guys face and hair would make grown men cry. It doesn't help either that he turns out rather worthless. Comes late, weak weapon, bad res and luck in general. His skill is rather low compared to the other knights, only real noteworthy good point is that his HP is rather high. If you wish to use him I'd suggest throwing on Nihil to take advantage of his good defense and rather high HP. In short he's best described as like Lowen from FE7. Although you should probably be using Kieran if you have the time for this guy. And a certain other Paladin makes Makalov's strong points rather neglectable. Usefulness- 4/10 Power- 7/10 ======Geoffrey/Geoffrey (Paladin)====== Recruitment: Must survive Ch-24 and will join Ch-25 Base Stats (Lvl-11) HP: 43 Spd: 19 Str: 18 Lck: 12 Mgc: 9 Def: 21 Skl: 17 Res: 9 Bld: 11 Rescue: 35 Stat Growth HP: 65% Spd: 55% Str: 50% Lck: 20% Mgc: 25% Def: 45% Skl: 55% Res: 45% Weapons Lance, Bow Expected 20/20 Average Stats HP: 50/60 Spd: 24/27 Str: 23/26 Lck: 14/40 Mgc: 11/20 Def: 25/27 Skl: 22/26 Res: 13/25 Basic Skills Paragon Suggested Skills Paragon and Provoke Nihil and Provoke Adept and Guard Comments:- Theres only one thing to describe Geoffrey, God.... This guy is more or less the reincarnation of FE6's HM Percival with a vengeance. If it ain't enough that he already begins with great stats and especially that defense! Added with all-round growths and actually good growth in res, only stat that will seem low is luck, but generally all FE9 units suffer from that. He may have only 9 levels left but with those growths and the fact he comes with Paragon makes him grow like a unpromoted unit, expect an easy time using him. But the beauty is with Paragon you can simply force feed him bonus exp in the intermission menu and control his all-round growths. The only downside probably is that its a rather massive pain keeping him alive within Maniac mode when trying to recruit him. As for skills he only has room for a weak skill, so maybe a Provoke to turn him into a mounted wall for baiting. However its very easy to get through the game without ever touching him, but it sure helps if you do use him. Usefulness- 8/10 Power- 8.5/10 ============================================================================== #####Axe Fighter => Warrior [Wrr]##### Usuable Weapons:- Axe Gained after promotion:- Bow Mastery Skill:- Colossus Class Skill:- None Promotion Bonuses- HP: +6 Spd: +1 Str: +2 Lck: +0 Mgc: +1 Def: +2 Skl: +2 Res: +2 Stat Caps- HP: 60 Spd: 27 Str: 30 Lck: 40 Mgc: 20 Def: 25 Skl: 28 Res: 20 ======Bole/Boyd (Axe Fighter)====== Recruitment: Chapter 1 automatic Base Stats (Lvl-2) HP: 30 Spd: 6 Str: 7 Lck: 4 Mgc: 0 Def: 5 Skl: 4 Res: 0 Bld: 10 Rescue: 10 Stat Growth HP: 75% Spd: 45% Str: 60% Lck: 35% Mgc: 20% Def: 25% Skl: 50% Res: 25% Weapons Axe Expected 20/20 Average Stats HP: 59/60 Spd: 23/27 Str: 29/30 Lck: 17/40 Mgc: 3/20 Def: 16/25 Skl: 24/28 Res: 11/20 Basic Skills Tempest Suggested Skills Tempest and Colossus Comments:- Your first and only Warrior of the game, unfortunately he's rather mediocre at best. All he tends to gain is strength and HP, skill and speed starts off abit too low and even with his good skill growth is abit low. However he does tend to get decent luck which is abit rare within FE9. Rather weak promo bonuses don't help him since his HP already grows fine and starts with half the max anyway. What really hurts him is the bad skill, coupled with axes bad accuracy. Due to the new formula when using an iron axe he has essentially only 3 speed. Basically anyone who hated FE6's Sophia should stay away from him. He's a similar case of a potentially awesome unit who will be a pain to raise. If you get lucky with growths, due to the Warrior's fantastic caps he can be a great unit. This requires abit more explanation, but basically although his skill and speed aren't bad and strength grows brilliantly. Axes are extremely heavy and most enemies have alot of HP and defense. Sticking with low level axes will waste his strength and most lance and sword users can do more damage. Going with higher level axes will take Bole into minus speed for a long time till he promotes or late levels before promotion. You are forced to use him early on and with the lack of numbers he does help alot in terms of man power and simply a spare hand. But keep close watch on his stats as theres a good chance he will begin to fall behind. He is also able to do a Triangle attack after promotion. Usefulness- 6/10 Power Rating- 7.5/10 ============================================================================== #####Priest => Bishop [Bsp]##### Usuable Weapons:- Staff Gained after promotion:- Light Magic Mastery Skill:- Sunlight Class Skill:- Light Magic Equip Promotion Bonuses- HP: +3 Spd: +2 Str: +1 Lck: +0 Mgc: +3 Def: +2 Skl: +2 Res: +3 Stat Caps- HP: 60 Spd: 25 Str: 15 Lck: 40 Mgc: 29 Def: 20 Skl: 22 Res: 30 ======Kilroy/Rhys (Priest)====== Recruitment: Chapter 2 automatic Base Stats (Lvl-4) HP: 20 Spd: 4 Str: 0 Lck: 6 Mgc: 8 Def: 0 Skl: 7 Res: 12 Bld: 8 Rescue: 8 Stat Growth HP: 40% Spd: 40% Str: 5% Lck: 50% Mgc: 60% Def: 25% Skl: 50% Res: 55% Expected 20/20 Average Stats HP: 37/60 Spd: 20/25 Str: 3/15 Lck: 24/40 Mgc: 29/29 Def: 11/20 Skl: 22/22 Res: 30/30 Weapons Staff Basic Skills Serenity Suggested Skills Counter and Guard, Provoke or Corrosion Comments:- Your first healer and the only Light magic user in the game, I'm not sure what to say about him except that he's bad. He will be double attacked nearly always, low HP, and overkilled res and magic which maxes way too early with virtually nothing in the other areas and overkilled skill. Unfortunately since healers are so awful in this game, Rhys is actually one of the better ones. Having high magic does mean he can do good damage with his spells and also heal fully using only heal staves. Another word of note is Light Magic maxes weapon level insanely quick compared to other weapon user levels who grow at a snails pace. Mainly because Light Magic level is equal to your stave level. Serenity is a awful skill which does more damage than it helps. Counter is an awful skill but with the ammount of damage he takes he can return heavy damage since hes almost guaranteed to be hit most of the time and being double attacked, when couple with Guard, you can usually return high chip damage and avoid being 2x attacked. This can actually be an advantage though as long range magic users will do 0 damage to him for 2x wasting their long range spells and Provoke can make him a lightning rod for staves and magic, or Corrosion to speed up things, if you have a Purge spell. He will also probably be the subject of most of your bonus exp you get and chances are he'll need an early promotion with the items instead of waiting for level 21. On a sidenote though Rhys is the second highest grower for luck which is his only real big selling point. His only use will be using the high level staves since most Sages can do a better job of frontline healing. Overall he can do heavy chip damage when guarded and gives great support but keep him off frontlines at all costs. Usefulness- 9/10 Power Rating- 6/10 ============================================================================== #####Archer => Sniper [Snr]##### Usuable Weapons:- Bows, Ballistae, Stone Throwers Gained after promotion:- None Mastery Skill:- Snipe Class Skill:- 15% crit boost (English version only) Promotion Bonuses- HP: +3 Spd: +2 Str: +3 Lck: +0 Mgc: +2 Def: +2 Skl: +2 Res: +2 Stat Caps- HP: 60 Spd: 28 Str: 25 Lck: 40 Mgc: 20 Def: 25 Skl: 30 Res: 23 ======Rolf/Rolf (Archer)====== Recruitment: Chapter 9 automatic Base Stats (Lvl-1) HP: 18 Spd: 6 Str: 5 Lck: 4 Mgc: 0 Def: 6 Skl: 8 Res: 2 Bld: 4 Rescue: 4 Stat Growth HP: 60% Spd: 50% Str: 40% Lck: 40% Mgc: 20% Def: 30% Skl: 45% Res: 25% Weapons Bow Expected 20/20 Average Stats HP: 44/60 Spd: 26/28 Str: 23/25 Lck: 19/40 Mgc: 10/20 Def: 19/25 Skl: 27/30 Res: 14/23 Basic Skills None Suggested Skills Deadeye Gamble Comments:- What do I say about Rolf? Well for starters he the cutest little kid ever, looks like 8 years old and makes you want to pinch his cheeks and go AWWW! Growth wise hes okayish, of notice though is high rather good defense base and defense growth with good HP growth, he also gets his own personal bow and comes early which helps. He can be a pain to level up but is probably the best bow user in the game. The Snipers mastery skill is a must for him as accuracy boost with a chance of sleep is too good to pass up along with high skill. Not to mention snipers now get a 15% crit boost unlike the japanese version which can add to the activation of Deadeye. Although to use him in Maniac mode you need to be making sure that his strength grows for his first few level ups. He will also be a good dodger with good luck and speed and most noteworthy can take a beating. Although what makes him worth using is hes the prime candidate for the Balfleche bow along with a excellent starting bow and good speed and luck. Not a vital unit but if you do train him abit he can prove very useful especially with his big pool of inbuilt support bonuses. He also has a triangle attack with Oscar and Bole. Gamble is also suggested for players of the English version for a 30% crit chance. Usefulness- 8/10 Power Rating- 8.5/10 ======Shinon/Shinon (Sniper)====== Recruitment: Chapter-3 automatic Chapter-19, talk with Rolf in Ch-18 than kill with Ike in the same chapter Base Stats (Lvl-1) HP: 32 Spd: 13 Str: 9 Lck: 9 Mgc: 6 Def: 9 Skl: 15 Res: 6 Bld: 9 Rescue: 10 Stat Growth HP: 75% Spd: 65% Str: 65% Lck: 35% Mgc: 20% Def: 50% Skl: 70% Res: 40% Weapons Bow Expected 20/20 Average Stats HP: 46/60 Spd: 25/28 Str: 22/25 Lck: 16/40 Mgc: 10/20 Def: 19/25 Skl: 28/30 Res: 14/23 Basic Skills Provoke Suggested Skills Provoke and Paragon Deadeye Gamble Comments:- Shinon....has monstrous growths, he may be promoted and have relatively low stats. But he gets better defense than most units in the game along with growths that put him on par with most of the Laguz. However he would be the best bow user in the game if he didn't dissappear for half the game and when he returns is outclassed by everyone. By the time you get him back Rolf will probably be promoted and have far surpassed him. Although having an A in bows is noteworthy as weapon skills grow slow in this game. His usefulness is also detracted by the fact Gatrie almost always appears along with him so his worth in early chapters isn't as vital. If you do choose to use him expect him to easily come close or max everything minus magic and luck. When Shinon does grow he will be the strongest Sniper in the game period. If you want ease of use, go Rolf, or if you have time Shinon for raw power. Gamble is also suggested for players of the English version for a 30% crit chance. Usefulness- 6.5/10 Power Rating- 9.5/10 ============================================================================== #####Armour Knight => General [Gnl]##### Usuable Weapons:- Lance Gained after promotion:- Sword Mastery Skill:- Moonlight Class Skill:- None Promotion Bonuses- HP: +3 Spd: +2 Str: +3 Lck: +0 Mgc: +2 Def: +1 Skl: +2 Res: +3 Stat Caps- HP: 60 Spd: 24 Str: 29 Lck: 40 Mgc: 20 Def: 30 Skl: 27 Res: 25 ======Gatrie (Armour Knight)====== Recruitment: Chapter- 3 automatic Chapter- 13, talk with Astrid Base Stats (Lvl-9) HP: 31 Spd: 5 Str: 12 Lck: 5 Mgc: 0 Def: 14 Skl: 6 Res: 0 Bld: 12 Rescue: 16 Stat Growth HP: 80% Spd: 25% Str: 55% Lck: 25% Mgc: 5% Def: 60% Skl: 55% Res: 30% Weapons Lance Expected 20/20 Average Stats HP: 57/60 Spd: 15/24 Str: 29/29 Lck: 12/40 Mgc: 4/20 Def: 30/30 Skl: 24/27 Res: 13/25 Basic Skills None Suggested Skills Resolve and Shove Adept and Shove Comments:- Gatrie is quite frankly one of the powerhouses of the game, early on hes also the most useful unit after Titaniat and it can be near impossible to do early chapters without him. In the long term Gatrie does begin to suffer from rather bad speed, luck and meh Res and having no skills. Although if you slap a Resolve on him it can fix alot of his stat problems but theres probably better options for it. Shove comes useful with his higher than normal build allowing him to push alot of units in the game. Or even Adept so he can 2x attack since his skill is rather good. But he does max his best stats well and can become a pure physical wall and more than likely will not be weighed down due to high strength and lances. However due to a certain other unit by the name of Tauroneo, Gatrie's long term usuage seems doubtful. Although he can always go back to wasting Shinon's money... Usefulness- 9/10 Power Rating- 7.5/10 ======Chap/Brom (Armour Knight)====== Recruitment: Talk with Ike in Chapter 10 and help him escape, joins in Chapter 11. Base Stats (Lvl-8) HP: 28 Spd: 7 Str: 10 Lck: 4 Mgc: 1 Def: 13 Skl: 9 Res: 2 Bld: 13 Rescue: 17 Stat Growth HP: 75% Spd: 25% Str: 45% Lck: 20% Mgc: 10% Def: 55% Skl: 50% Res: 25% Weapons Lance Expected 20/20 Average Stats HP: 54/60 Spd: 17/24 Str: 27/29 Lck: 10/40 Mgc: 6/20 Def: 29/30 Skl: 26/27 Res: 13/25 Basic Skills None Suggested Skills Heroic Leader and Hard Strike Continue and Hard Strike Comments:- The guy looks like a farmer, a fat farmer, they should call him FATCHAP just because......um well they should! According to some, they've found FatChap rather decent due to higher speed, although I don't think its really worth that much. He more or less ends up inferior to Gatrie in almost every way and even with some res base will get just as easily tossed about as Gatrie by magic users. He seems more like a optional character if you want an extra armour otherwise there are better options out there. More or less the same skill set as Gatrie works but with Gatrie around and Brom's ugliness and only 1 set of the skills. Chances are Brom won't see the light of day, leave him in his prison. P.S. CURSE YOU NOA! NOW FATCHAP DOESN'T WORK ANYMORE! Now he's a Brommy! Farmer Rating- 10/10 (I had to get it out of my system) Usefulness- 6/10 Power Rating- 6/10 ======Tauroneo/Tauroneo (General)====== Recruitment: Talk with Ike, Soren, Mist, Sothe or Tormod in Chapter 21 Base Stats (Lvl-14) HP: 48 Spd: 13 Str: 22 Lck: 14 Mgc: 5 Def: 22 Skl: 18 Res: 14 Bld: 10 Rescue: 15 Stat Growth HP: 60% Spd: 30% Str: 55% Lck: 60% Mgc: 5% Def: 40% Skl: 50% Res: 15% Weapons Lance, Sword Expected 20/20 Average Stats HP: 51/60 Spd: 15/24 Str: 25/29 Lck: 15/40 Mgc: 11/20 Def: 26/30 Skl: 21/27 Res: 17/25 Basic Skills Resolve Suggested Skills Resolve and Paragon Comments:- This guy is a powerhouse, for starters he is the only General in the game who will not be tossed around by magic. Unfortunately he can't max defense or strength naturally due to his high level but with those growths and also as slow as he is, he'll still end up fastest General probably with good luck. What makes this guy edge out in power over Gatrie is that he comes with a natural Heroic Leader. That skill will turn Tauraneo into a monster at half health. Paragon may help your leveling woes if you can spare it. Overall hes not vital but will be a help and his skill alone will make him outclass the other Generals if they don't have it. But if you want a General whos not afraid of being hit by magic, Tauroneo is your man. Or if Gatrie's res managed to grow I'd stick with Gatrie then. Do keep in mind though he does have bad speed obviously. Usefulness- 7/10 Power Rating- 7.8/10 ============================================================================== #####Mage => Sage [Sge]##### Usuable Weapons:- Wind, Thunder and Fire magic Gained after promotion:- Can select from Knives or Staves Mastery Skill:- Sol Class Skill:- Knife Promotion Bonuses- HP: +4 Spd: +2 Str: +2 Lck: +0 Mgc: +1 Def: +2 Skl: +2 Res: +2 Stat Caps- HP: 60 Spd: 28 Str: 15 Lck: 40 Mgc: 30 Def: 20 Skl: 28 Res: 28 ======Senerio/Soren (Mage)====== Recruitment: Chapter 4 automatic Base Stats (Lvl-1) HP: 18 Spd: 8 Str: 0 Lck: 5 Mgc: 6 Def: 2 Skl: 8 Res: 7 Bld: 6 Rescue: 6 Stat Growth HP: 45% Spd: 40% Str: 5% Lck: 30% Mgc: 60% Def: 15% Skl: 55% Res: 55% Weapons Wind, Thunder and Fire magic Expected 20/20 Average Stats HP: 39/60 Spd: 25/28 Str: 4/15 Lck: 16/40 Mgc: 29/30 Def: 10/20 Skl: 28/28 Res: 28/28 Basic Skills Adept Suggested Skills Adept and Renewal or Vantage Comments:- Senerio, a halfling born of both Beok and Laguz blood, quite basically his very living is considered heresy and is shunned by everyone, until Ike was the first one who showed friendship to him. Possibly Ike is now his best friend, he also does the after mission status report for you. He has great character development but how does he stand as a unit? Well he will probably be the most valuable unit you have in your army being able to use all 3 magics giving him bonus vs fliers, dragons and Laguz. He will be a awful pain to train early on though due to his low magic base and having only the weak Wind magic early on. However his magic grows at a frightening pace along with res and good speed due to his high base. Although he lacks defense and HP, decent luck will let him dodge abit. But his low strength may mean he will be weighed down quite easily by his books, meaning he can't use much besides wind magic. But the lack of early magic units and ammount of low res enemies make Senerio absolutely vital. I highly suggest training him in Thunder and Wind Magic so he can get a high Wind level with at least a C in Thunder so he can use the Thunderstorm spell. Continue has received a massive upgrade from the other games, now activating frequently and will give Senerio a whole slew of one round knockouts at high levels. After promotion he can also make one of the best frontline healers with his high magic. Adept with Vantage works well for some quick counter attack kills or Renewal so he can concentrate on healing and support without worrying about damage. (Yes I know he Soren now but I prefer Senerio >_>) Usefulness- 9/10 Power Rating- 8.5/10 ======Elaice/Ilyana (Mage)====== Recruitment: Talk with Ike in Chapter 8 Base Stats (Lvl-6) HP: 20 Spd: 9 Str: 1 Lck: 6 Mgc: 8 Def: 3 Skl: 10 Res: 10 Bld: 5 Rescue: 5 Stat Growth HP: 45% Spd: 30% Str: 25% Lck: 45% Mgc: 50% Def: 15% Skl: 45% Res: 50% Weapons Wind, Thunder and Fire magic Expected 20/20 Average Stats HP: 40/60 Spd: 21/28 Str: 11/15 Lck: 21/40 Mgc: 25/30 Def: 10/20 Skl: 26/28 Res: 27/28 Basic Skills Shadow Suggested Skills Shadow and Adept Shadow and Sol Shadow and Corrosion Sol Comments:- *Steps on something*......"Please give me something to eat..." o_O That about sums her up character wise I think, talk about intense metabolism. Anyway Ilyana would probably be more useful if Soren didn't pass her up so easily because of her level. She really doesn't excel in anything particularly but does pack good luck and slightly more defense and HP and strength. But she is pretty next to useless as the point she comes she won't be able to double attack much added with low speed growth. Shadow doesn't tend to be much good of a skill as it means she can't be used for baiting magic users, but she will probably stay out of trouble. If you really want to use her as magic bait it may be worth deleting Shadow after promotion. Adept can sort out her speed problem, but honestly I would stick with Soren and some of the later magic users can be better, plus you don't need that many fragile units around as you'll probably have Rhys who's enough of a pain as it is to keep alive. Though one thing to note is Ilyana has less chance of being weighed down since shes slightly stronger than Senerio. Although if you do use her shes still good for dealing heavy damage with her ElThunder spell due to the ammount of low res enemies. If you add Corrosion she could even serve as a stave/long range spell breaker. If she does grow though she could be quicker than Senerio since shes less likely to suffer speed penalties. Usefulness- 6/10 Power Rating- 8/10 ======Topack/Tormod (Mage)====== Recruitment: Clear Chapter 15 Base Stats (Lvl-7) HP: 20 Spd: 9 Str: 2 Lck: 8 Mgc: 10 Def: 4 Skl: 9 Res: 9 Bld: 9 Rescue: 9 Stat Growth HP: 50% Spd: 45% Str: 20% Lck: 35% Mgc: 45% Def: 25% Skl: 40% Res: 45% Weapons Wind, Thunder and Fire magic Expected 20/20 Average Stats HP: 40/60 Spd: 25/28 Str: 10/15 Lck: 19/40 Mgc: 25/30 Def: 14/20 Skl: 23/28 Res: 25/28 Basic Skills Talented Person Suggested Skills Talented Person and Continue Comments:- Of immediate note is the this guy gets a unique skill being Celerity which lets him move like a mounted unit. This is incredibly helpful in certain situations. Unfortunately he suffers from even lower stats and growths than Ilyana and having pretty average growths. Although he does tend to end up with abit more defense and does have proficiency in fire magic. Although in some aspects I find him better than Ilyana once raised abit due to the all-round stats, some HP and also his unique trait. But Ilyana will be weighed down less than him. Just don't expect him to excel in anything, if he must be compared than think Hugh from FE6 after paying him half price, with high movement. He will be a pain to raise though. Usefulness- 5.5/10 Power Rating- 7/10 ======Calill/Calill (Sage)====== Recruitment: Go to 'Mysterious Girl' report in intermission before chapter 20 Base Stats (Lvl-6) HP: 32 Spd: 18 Str: 8 Lck: 16 Mgc: 19 Def: 8 Skl: 18 Res: 17 Bld: 7 Rescue: 7 Stat Growth HP: 50% Spd: 45% Str: 25% Lck: 30% Mgc: 45% Def: 40% Skl: 45% Res: 35% Weapons Knives, Wind, Thunder and Fire magic Expected 20/20 Average Stats HP: 39/60 Spd: 24/28 Str: 11/15 Lck: 20/40 Mgc: 25/30 Def: 14/20 Skl: 24/28 Res: 22/28 Basic Skills Nihil, Knife Suggested Skills Nihil, Knife and Shadow Comments:- This girl is scary, too much makeup damnit. AND THE NEON PINK DRESS! Anyway she unfortunately is probably the second best magic user you get in the game. Although she can't use staves, she can use knives not that its anything special given the max attack a Sage can have is 15. What is of note is she gets high all-round stats with some of the highest defense growth for a magic user. Also she has a B in all magics, that alone warrants using her as she can use all 3 element long range magics and also easily reach a A/S rank for anyone one of them. Best of all is she packs Nihil which negates any enemy battle skills and with her good HP can become useful. A very good addition for magic support since she is also very rarely weighed down by magic thanks to good strength. Most notable is she has some of the best supports in the game, Geoffrey, Nephenee and Tormod, all decent to excellent units. Although her average growths can hurt her abit, so you might want to levelup during intermission. Usefulness- 8/10 Power Rating- 8/10 ======Ulysses/Bastian (Sage)====== Recruitment: Chapter 24 automatic Base Stats (Lvl-13) HP: 35 Spd: 16 Str: 12 Lck: 15 Mgc: 19 Def: 12 Skl: 21 Res: 20 Bld: 10 Rescue: 10 Stat Growth HP: 50% Spd: 65% Str: 40% Lck: 30% Mgc: 65% Def: 35% Skl: 65% Res: 50% Weapons Knives, Wind, Thunder and Fire magic Expected 20/20 Average Stats HP: 38/60 Spd: 20/28 Str: 14/15 Lck: 17/40 Mgc: 24/30 Def: 14/20 Skl: 25/28 Res: 24/28 Basic Skills Corrosion Suggested Skills Corrosion and Guard Comments:- "He looks like Merlinus's long lost brother and therefore that makes him awesome!" In the words of a certain someone. I will start by saying that he is pretty useless despite his great starting stats and high growth. Why? Look at his level, he has virtually no room to grow unlike Calill and will be regularly double attacked with his late joining. Great strength and knives! Why? He only has 15 strength tops and again will be double attacked. Although thankfully he won't be weighed down. Having a pretty awful skill that requires him to attack isn't much help either, although he does make a good magic wall. Despite his great growths he has a bad skill and high level making him not really worth using. Unless you somehow killed off Soren, Ilyana and Calill I wouldn't suggest using him. I really want to make a unnecessary, immature jab at his new name >_> Usefulness- 5/10 Power Rating- 6.5/10 ============================================================================== #####Cleric => Valkyrie [Vke]##### Usuable Weapons:- Staff Gained after promotion:- Sword Mastery Skill:- Flare Class Skill:- None Promotion Bonuses- HP: +3 Spd: +3 Str: +2 Lck: +0 Mgc: +4 Def: +3 Skl: +1 Res: +2 Stat Caps- HP: 60 Spd: 26 Str: 20 Lck: 40 Mgc: 26 Def: 20 Skl: 24 Res: 29 ======Mist/Mist (Cleric)====== Recruitment: Chapter 9 automatic Base Stats (Lvl-1) HP: 16 Spd: 7 Str: 1 Lck: 6 Mgc: 4 Def: 2 Skl: 4 Res: 7 Bld: 5 Rescue: 5 Stat Growth HP: 50% Spd: 40% Str: 35% Lck: 60% Mgc: 50% Def: 15% Skl: 25% Res: 40% Weapons Staff Expected 20/20 Average Stats HP: 38/60 Spd: 24/26 Str: 15/20 Lck: 29/40 Mgc: 25/26 Def: 10/20 Skl: 14/24 Res: 24/29 Basic Skills Prayer Suggested Skills Prayer, Shadow and Cancel Comments:- 'Hello I'm Mist and I'm one of the most worthless piece of rubbish in this entire game!' Is what she should say because Mist is really an absolute waste of your time. Okay so she gains the highest luck in the game but her speed is pretty average. Her class itself has hideously low caps with only average growths and low bases. She so pathetic in everything she does, as a healer she can barely heal for 14 HP while Rhys will be doing full heals with only heal staves. Her awful HP makes it so even Prayer is worthless as she needs to be on low HP, but she virtually dies in one hit. Shes a physical weapon using class with a strength base of 1! Even Cass of FE6 in normal mode would be laughing at her right now. Even if her strength by some miracle grows shes stopped by a strength cap of 20. She starts with higher defense than Rhys, but that means little with her bad HP and defense growth. In all honesty the only people who should be using Mist are people who by some miracle forgot you can buy vulneries from the shop, that there are other healers or Mist fanboys/girls. Some say shes necessary to help beat Dark Knight, but honestly Elixirs do the same thing and all you need her to do is heal Ike anyway. She fails at healing, fails at pushing, fails at fighting and generally fails at life. Once promoted all she can do is dodge and heal which alot of units can by then without crumbling horribly in one hit. Usefulness- 3/10 Power Rating- 2/10 ============================================================================== #####PegasusKnight => Falcon Knight/Crimean Princess [Fkt]##### (Falcon Knight) Usuable Weapons:- Lance Gained after promotion:- Sword, Lance Mastery Skill:- Stun Class Skill:- None Promotion Bonuses (Falcon Knight)- HP: +3 Spd: +3 Str: +2 Lck: +0 Mgc: +4 Def: +3 Skl: +1 Res: +2 Stat Caps (Falcon Knight)- HP: 60 Spd: 28 Str: 23 Lck: 40 Mgc: 20 Def: 24 Skl: 26 Res: 27 (Crimean Princess) Usuable Weapons:- Sword Gained after promotion:- Sword, Staff Mastery Skill:- Stun Class Skill:- None Stat Caps (Crimean Princess)- HP: 60 Spd: 28 Str: 20 Lck: 40 Mgc: 25 Def: 24 Skl: 26 Res: 27 ======Erincia/Elincia (Crimean Princess)====== Recruitment: Chapter 26 automatic Base Stats (Lvl-1) HP: 27 Spd: 18 Str: 9 Lck: 15 Mgc: 12 Def: 11 Skl: 16 Res: 15 Bld: 6 Rescue: 23 Stat Growth HP: 60% Spd: 40% Str: 30% Lck: 60% Mgc: 80% Def: 25% Skl: 45% Res: 35% Weapons Staff, Sword Expected 20/20 Average Stats HP: 38/60 Spd: 26/28 Str: 15/20 Lck: 26/40 Mgc: 25/25 Def: 16/24 Skl: 24/26 Res: 22/27 Basic Skills Renewal Suggested Skills Renewal and Shadow Comments:- Considering shes more or less a sword/staff using Falcon Knight she kind of belonged here. You'd think after ripping apart Mist earlier I'd do the same to Erincia. Unfortunately for the Mist lovers, Erincia despite the late joining is in a completely different league. Her caps aren't too special really along with horrible strength. However she gets overkilled magic growth that is reminiscent of FE4's Diadre. What makes her really stand out is she is basically a flying healer, which means she can heal and fly off some unreachable safe place like the stave using FE4 Falcon Knights. She also gets her own personal weapon the Amity with infinite uses and +3 to both Res and Def making her alot more durable. Don't expect her to become an unstoppable warrior princess. But if you need a durable and easy to take care of healer she comes in handy, her good luck and speed helps. But being able to fly keeps her out of trouble alot. Usefulness- 7/10 Power Rating- 5.5/10 ======Marcia/Marcia (Pegasus Knight)====== Recruitment: Talk with Ike in Chapter 3, than she'll appear as NPC in Chapter 9 and talk to Ike. Base Stats (Lvl-5) HP: 20 Spd: 11 Str: 8 Lck: 4 Mgc: 0 Def: 8 Skl: 7 Res: 6 Bld: 6 Rescue: 22 Stat Growth HP: 55% Spd: 55% Str: 40% Lck: 40% Mgc: 20% Def: 25% Skl: 50% Res: 30% Weapons Lance Expected 20/20 Average Stats HP: 43/60 Spd: 28/28 Str: 22/23 Lck: 18/40 Mgc: 29/20 Def: 19/24 Skl: 25/26 Res: 19/27 Basic Skills None Suggested Skills Stun Comments:- Why couldn't she join back in chapter 3? She'd probably be easier to use if she did. Anyway she is abit average and not really special, she is your first flier but unless she grows shes going to fall behind very easily. Don't expect her to be doing masses of damage either, unfortunately there are much better choices than Marcia and not enough early bad terrain missions to take advanatage of her flying ability till Jill joins. Although if you like Falcon Knights then she isn't a bad one but till promotion she will need looking after. Usefulness- 6/10 Power Rating- 6/10 ======Tanis/Tanith (Falcon Knight)====== Recruitment: Chapter 18 automatic Base Stats (Lvl-10) HP: 32 Spd: 24 Str: 16 Lck: 18 Mgc: 10 Def: 15 Skl: 18 Res: 13 Bld: 8 Rescue: 25 Stat Growth HP: 60% Spd: 40% Str: 40% Lck: 30% Mgc: 35% Def: 25% Skl: 70% Res: 30% Weapons Lance, Sword Expected 20/20 Average Stats HP: 38/60 Spd: 27/28 Str: 20/23 Lck: 21/40 Mgc: 14/20 Def: 18/24 Skl: 25/26 Res: 16/27 Basic Skills Reinforce Suggested Skills Reinforce and Miracle Comments:- Oh my...Tanith is a wonderful unit, she comes with high magic and a magic sword and well rounded stats and mid game. What makes her a fantastic unit is her skill exclusive to her and possibly the most useful skill in the game. Being able to summon 2 rounds of 2 Pegasus and 1 Falcon Knight with near max stats as NPC reinforcements is amazing. Those NPC's can even take down Dragonmasters in Hard mode with relative ease and dodge like crazy. Tanith herself is quite capable of getting very well rounded stats in all areas, although I still suggest keeping her out of the main action still. On some chapters having her do reinforcements and getting Ike to command them to rush the enemy or distract them can speed up the chapters by 2 or more turns netting you more bonus exp. Usefulness- 9.8/10 Power Rating- 7.5/10 ============================================================================== #####Fanged Beasts (Cats/Tigers/Lions) [FgB]##### Usuable Weapons:- None Gained after promotion:- None Mastery Skill:- Roar Class Skill:- Transform Promotion Bonuses- None Stat Caps (Cat M)- HP: 70 Spd: 35/38 Str: 29/35 Lck: 40 Mgc: 20 Def: 30/35 Skl: 34/38 Res: 24/27 Stat Caps (Cat F)- HP: 70 Spd: 35/39 Str: 26/32 Lck: 40 Mgc: 20 Def: 27/32 Skl: 34/38 Res: 27/30 Stat Caps (Tiger)- HP: 75 Spd: 34/37 Str: 30/37 Lck: 40 Mgc: 20 Def: 30/35 Skl: 33/37 Res: 24/27 Stat Caps (Lion)- HP: 80 Spd: 33/36 Str: 32/40 Lck: 40 Mgc: 20 Def: 35/40 Skl: 35/39 Res: 27/30 ======Rethe/Lethe (Cat F)====== Recruitment: Will join in Chapter 10 if she survives Chapter 9 Base Stats (Lvl-3) HP: 34 Spd: 12 Str: 12 Lck: 15 Mgc: 4 Def: 9 Skl: 10 Res: 7 Bld: 6 Rescue: 21 Stat Growth HP: 130% Spd: 70% Str: 50% Lck: 50% Mgc: 5% Def: 40% Skl: 65% Res: 25% Weapons None Expected 20/20 Average Stats HP: 56/70 Spd: 24/36 Str: 21/26 Lck: 24/40 Mgc: 5/20 Def: 16/27 Skl: 21/34 Res: 11/27 Basic Skills None Suggested Skills Roar Comments:- Despite her lack of weapons, the Laguz are their own weapons, they simply attack like wild beasts after transformation gaining massive stat boosts as well, hence the 2 sets of stat caps. Lethe is a pretty good unit and comes handy but unfortunately suffers from the fact Laguz get reduced experience. Despite having massive caps and growths nearly all the Laguz suffer from this and you end up constantly using temporarily and then dumping them. They're mainly more skill stock as they have 25 points to use for skills but theres not really enough skills to go around. Lethe though being an early transformer, she starts chapters transformed and can be good for early chapter rushes. Not much else can be said. Obviously all Laguz will probably score high in power but low in usefulness, of note is that they are treated as mounted units stat wise, but do keep them away from fire mages. Usefulness- 7/10 Power Rating- 8/10 ======Mordy/Mordecai (Tiger)====== Recruitment: Will join in Chapter 10 if he survives Chapter 9 Base Stats (Lvl-2) HP: 42 Spd: 8 Str: 15 Lck: 10 Mgc: 2 Def: 13 Skl: 8 Res: 4 Bld: 14 Rescue: 25 Stat Growth HP: 150% Spd: 50% Str: 65% Lck: 40% Mgc: 0% Def: 40% Skl: 55% Res: 20% Weapons None Expected 20/20 Average Stats HP: 70/75 Spd: 17/28 Str: 27/30 Lck: 17/40 Mgc: 2/20 Def: 20/30 Skl: 18/33 Res: 8/24 Basic Skills Shove Suggested Skills Shove Roar Comments:- Lethe's father I believe, Mordy. Mordy is a late transformer and this actually somewhat hurts him badly. Added with getting double attacked alot later on, he'll be handy for massive damage dealing and tanking around Chapter 10-12 or so but he just can't keep up with that speed and again the exp problem for Laguz, since your bonus exp is better reserved for others. Although Hard Strike can be useful for those situations where somebody is just barely out of range from being pushed or attacking and speeding up turns. He does also tend to turn out to be one of the best Laguz if you do train him but honestly he will fall behind due to the speed he grows at. Usefulness- 5.5/10 Power Rating- 8/10 ======Muarim/Muarim (Tiger)====== Recruitment: Clear Chapter 15 Base Stats (Lvl-9) HP: 45 Spd: 15 Str: 16 Lck: 11 Mgc: 4 Def: 12 Skl: 13 Res: 5 Bld: 5 Rescue: 5 Stat Growth HP: 150% Spd: 50% Str: 65% Lck: 40% Mgc: 0% Def: 40% Skl: 55% Res: 20% Weapons None Expected 20/20 Average Stats HP: 61/75 Spd: 21/28 Str: 23/30 Lck: 15/40 Mgc: 5/20 Def: 19/30 Skl: 21/33 Res: 10/24 Basic Skills Shove Suggested Skills Shove Comments:- A mid transformer, I generally find Muarim much more practical despite his noticeably lower stats than Mordy although he obviously won't be anywhere near as good as Mordecai in the long term. Although if you didn't train either Rethe or Mordy, Mwarim is a good substitute. Now if only he'd join quietly instead of you having to kick his ass and haul him into your army. Take his semi-transform ring and run I say, because he will be dumped soon enough, hes only good for a spare unit in the Ch-17 gauntlet. Usefulness- 5/10 Power Rating- 6.5/10 ======Lay/Ranulf (Cat M)====== Recruitment: Chapter 23 automatic Base Stats (Lvl-9) HP: 46 Spd: 17 Str: 19 Lck: 13 Mgc: 4 Def: 17 Skl: 17 Res: 6 Bld: 9 Rescue: 24 Stat Growth HP: 130% Spd: 55% Str: 50% Lck: 35% Mgc: 0% Def: 35% Skl: 55% Res: 20% Weapons None Expected 20/20 Average Stats HP: 60/70 Spd: 23/35 Str: 25/29 Lck: 17/40 Mgc: 4/20 Def: 21/30 Skl: 23/34 Res: 8/24 Basic Skills None Suggested Skills Roar Comments:- And Lay is back after his humiliating ass kicking at the hands of generic random NPC villager #1979730! Seriously though that was the single most amusing scene ever seeing those villagers going all Rasengan and Kamehameha on him. Aaaaanyway.....Lay is more or less a mid transformer and quite frankly I find he is one of the best Laguz out there although that still doesn't give any real reason to use him...hes still just a leveled up version of the others. But luckily by now all enemies are high leveled promoted units, so Ranulf doesn't tend to leech experience as much and with his higher stats he won't get thrown around.....except maybe by some NPC villagers >_> Usefulness- 6.5/10 Power Rating- 8/10 ======Giffca/Giffca (Lion)====== Recruitment: Choose him during the beginning of the Final Chapter or halfway through in Normal. Base Stats (Lvl-20) HP: 68 Spd: 25 Str: 32 Lck: 22 Mgc: 10 Def: 25 Skl: 28 Res: 16 Bld: 7 Rescue: 37 Stat Growth HP: 160% Spd: 60% Str: 75% Lck: 40% Mgc: 5% Def: 50% Skl: 70% Res: 30% Weapons None Basic Skills None Suggested Skills None Comments:- The General of Caineghis the Beast King's army I believe and one of what most call the 'Big 3.' This is more or less the ONLY Laguz you'll be using in your final lineup.....probably because he joins in the final chapter duh. He is a monster...and luckily those playing Maniac will get to use him more! Yay! He's also one of the only characters who can hurt the final boss. Usefulness- 9.5/10 Power Rating- 9.5/10 ============================================================================== #####Winged Beasts (Herons/Crows/Hawks) [WgB]##### (Heron) Usuable Weapons:- None Gained after promotion:- None Mastery Skill:- Blessing Class Skill:- Transform Promotion Bonuses- None Stat Caps (Heron)- HP: 60 Spd: 26/30 Str: 10 Lck: 40 Mgc: 20/25 Def: 15/16 Skl: 17/20 Res: 35/40 (Hawk) Usuable Weapons:- None Gained after promotion:- None Mastery Skill:- Cancel Class Skill:- Transform, Sing Promotion Bonuses- None Stat Caps (Hawk)- HP: 65 Spd: 36/39 Str: 26/32 Lck: 40 Mgc: 20 Def: 26/30 Skl: 35/40 Res: 26/30 Stat Caps (Tibarn)- HP: 75 Spd: 36/39 Str: 33/40 Lck: 40 Mgc: 20 Def: 32/35 Skl: 35/40 Res: 29/30 (Crow) Usuable Weapons:- None Gained after promotion:- None Mastery Skill:- Vortex Class Skill:- Transform Promotion Bonuses- None Stat Caps (Crow)- HP: 65 Spd: 34/38 Str: 25/30 Lck: 40 Mgc: 21 Def: 25/28 Skl: 31/35 Res: 31/35 Stat Caps (Naesala)- HP: 70 Spd: 37/40 Str: 29/35 Lck: 40 Mgc:24/25 Def: 27/30 Skl: 34/38 Res: 32/35 ======Rieusion/Reyson (Heron)====== Recruitment: Go to the First Report, complete Chapter 17, than accept his help in Chapter 18 Base Stats (Lvl-3) HP: 22 Spd: 14 Str: 1 Lck: 15 Mgc: 10 Def: 2 Skl: 11 Res: 20 Bld: 8 Rescue: 5 Stat Growth HP: 65% Spd: 50% Str: 5% Lck: 60% Mgc: 40% Def: 15% Skl: 50% Res: 50% Weapons None Expected 20/20 Average Stats HP: 33/60 Spd: 23/26 Str: 2/10 Lck: 25/40 Mgc: 17/20 Def: 5/15 Skl: 17/17 Res: 29/35 Basic Skills Blessing, Move Again Suggested Skills Blessing, Move Again Comments:- Possibly one of the most useful support units in the entire game, he's more or less the 'dancer' unit for this game a pure pretty boy too. What makes him possibly awesome is he has the FE4 dancer effect, when transformed he can give all units surrounding him an extra turn! Added with that he makes a great semi-healer, as his class skill allows him to heal all units around him for a significant ammount of HP at the beginning of a turn, more when hes transformed. Oh yeah and did I mention he can fly and gains extra movement while transformed? Also he can make a pretty damn good magic bait as well thanks to his fantastic resistance, an absolute must use unit, just keep him out of trouble. He's also useful for getting the legendary S rank stave. Usefulness- 9.8/10 Power Rating- 6/10 ======Janaff/Janaff (Hawk)====== Recruitment: Chapter 18 automatic Base Stats (Lvl-8) HP: 39 Spd: 17 Str: 13 Lck: 16 Mgc: 5 Def: 11 Skl: 15 Res: 10 Bld: 6 Rescue: 6 Stat Growth HP: 130% Spd: 65% Str: 55% Lck: 40% Mgc: 10% Def: 30% Skl: 70% Res: 25% Weapons None Expected 20/20 Average Stats HP: 55/65 Spd: 25/36 Str: 20/26 Lck: 17/40 Mgc: 6/20 Def: 15/26 Skl: 23/35 Res: 13/26 Basic Skills Insight Suggested Skills Gamble and Insight Cancel and Insight Comments:- Sad thing is most of the birds make the Beasts next to worthless for using, way stronger and better movement and actually come with skills. Janaff is more an offensive unit and a early transformer. He packs a decent but not great skill that can be of use with One Shot Gamble although given the fact he won't get that high a crit unless maybe leveled up, you should probably stick with Cancel. Usefulness- 6/10 Power Rating- 8/10 ======Vulci/Ulki (Hawk)====== Recruitment: Chapter 18 automatic Base Stats (Lvl-7) HP: 41 Spd: 12 Str: 15 Lck: 10 Mgc: 4 Def: 14 Skl: 14 Res: 9 Bld: 10 Rescue: 10 Stat Growth HP: 130% Spd: 60% Str: 60% Lck: 35% Mgc: 15% Def: 35% Skl: 65% Res: 25% Weapons None Expected 20/20 Average Stats HP: 59/65 Spd: 20/36 Str: 23/26 Lck: 14/40 Mgc: 5/20 Def: 19/26 Skl: 22/35 Res: 12/26 Basic Skills Vigilance Suggested Skills Vigilance, Cancel Comments:- Vulci is probably the better of the 2 hawks unfortunately his late transformation does make his use abit limited. He does have the skill which gives him unparalleled dodge but...well no good if he can't use it. Usefulness- 6/10 Power Rating- 8/10 ======Naesala/Naesala (Crow)====== Recruitment: Choose him during the beginning of the Final Chapter or halfway through in Normal. Base Stats (Lvl-17) HP: 57 Spd: 31 Str: 25 Lck: 19 Mgc: 15 Def: 21 Skl: 26 Res: 16 Bld: 11 Rescue: 10 Stat Growth HP: 130% Spd: 75% Str: 60% Lck: 55% Mgc: 40% Def: 35% Skl: 70% Res: 20% Weapons None Expected 20/20 Average Stats HP: 61/70 Spd: 33/37 Str: 27/29 Lck: 20/40 Mgc: 16/24 Def: 23/27 Skl: 28/34 Res: 17/32 Basic Skills Vortex Suggested Skills Vortex Comments:- The second of the 'Big 3' and only Laguz in the game with a ranged attack. Generally he tends to be the weakest of the 3 but nevertheless is still far stronger than anyone in your army. At least hes not stealing from you anymore. He is one of the only people who can hurt the final boss. Usefulness- 9.5/10 Power Rating- 9.3/10 ======Tibarn (Hawk)====== Recruitment: Choose him during the beginning of the Final Chapter or halfway through in Normal. Base Stats (Lvl-18) HP: 63 Spd: 24 Str: 30 Lck: 24 Mgc: 11 Def: 26 Skl: 31 Res: 19 Bld: 11 Rescue: 10 Stat Growth HP: 130% Spd: 75% Str: 60% Lck: 55% Mgc: 40% Def: 35% Skl: 70% Res: 20% Weapons None Expected 20/20 Average Stats HP: 66/75 Spd: 25/36 Str: 31/33 Lck: 25/40 Mgc: 11/20 Def: 27/32 Skl: 32/35 Res: 20/29 Basic Skills Cancel Suggested Skills Cancel Comments:- The third of the 'Big 3', its Tibarn! He's back after helping you back in Chapter 17 Area 4 against Oliver's army. Generally he is the best of the 3 available units. Use him, you have no excuses. Also one of the only people who can hurt the final boss. Usefulness- 9.8/10 Power Rating- 9.8/10 ============================================================================== #####Soldier => Halberdier [Hbr]##### Usuable Weapons:- Lance Gained after promotion:- None Mastery Skill:- Moonlight Class Skill:- None Promotion Bonuses- HP: +4 Spd: +2 Str: +2 Lck: +0 Mgc: +1 Def: +2 Skl: +2 Res: +2 Stat Caps- HP: 60 Spd: 26 Str: 25 Lck: 40 Mgc: 20 Def: 28 Skl: 28 Res: 25 ======Nephenee/Nephenee (Soldier)====== Recruitment: Talk with Ike in Chapter 10 and help her escape, joins in Chapter 11. Base Stats (Lvl-7) HP: 22 Spd: 11 Str: 8 Lck: 6 Mgc: 2 Def: 9 Skl: 10 Res: 3 Bld: 8 Rescue: 10 Stat Growth HP: 55% Spd: 55% Str: 40% Lck: 25% Mgc: 20% Def: 35% Skl: 55% Res: 25% Weapons Lance Expected 20/20 Average Stats HP: 61/60 Spd: 26/26 Str: 23/25 Lck: 20/40 Mgc: 9/20 Def: 22/28 Skl: 28/28 Res: 13/25 Basic Skills Wrath Suggested Skills Vantage and Wrath Resolve and Wrath Comments:- Okay I'll start off by saying Nephenee is cute......okay maybe I might need to say more. Using soldiers again whoo fun! And they finally get a promotion yay, well although she starts off quite weak Nephenee becomes an extremely well rounded unit. She tends to get good defense too, strong weapon plus can equip Knight protection item which turns her into a multi-purpose unit. One thing to note is Nephenee is extremely fast, this is hindered abit by her rather low cap but with her promotion, you get a very good strong all-round unit who can take hits and dish out hits 2x almost always. What makes her an absolute exceptional unit is Wrath....throw on Vantage which does come early and you have what can only be described as mayhem. I once saw her decimate nearly 20 enemies in a row in 1 turn with that skill combo taking no hits simply because she was always attacking first and criticaling on it. Resolve and Wrath could even turn her into a one woman army at half health. A speedy armour knight with no weaknesses, all-round stats and killer skill. You are missing out on alot if you dont' use her, she made my Maniac run through extremely easy once promoted. Usefulness- 8.5/10 Power Rating- 8.5/10 ======Dalahowe/Devdon (Halberdier)====== Recruitment: Talk with Soren in Chapter 16 Base Stats (Lvl-4) HP: 36 Spd: 13 Str: 14 Lck: 16 Mgc: 7 Def: 11 Skl: 15 Res: 10 Bld: 12 Rescue: 16 Stat Growth HP: 75% Spd: 35% Str: 60% Lck: 40% Mgc: 30% Def: 45% Skl: 40% Res: 25% Weapons Lance Expected 20/20 Average Stats HP: 48/60 Spd: 19/26 Str: 23/25 Lck: 22/40 Mgc: 12/20 Def: 18/28 Skl: 21/28 Res: 14/25 Basic Skills Serenity Suggested Skills Luna Shove and Resolve Comments:- Hey and here we have the first african style black guy in a FE game. Too bad hes not particularly useful, he starts promoted with low stats he does though get massive HP and good luck, but his speed is pitiful as his defense. Despite good defense growth Nephenee will already pass him up simply by promoting which is sad. He does however have high strength but this is overlooked by the fact his classes strength cap sucks and his high level and for some odd reason has overkilled magic growth. o_O Shove and Resolve is kinda a waste on him but its that or Luna, heck any skill on him is a waste. Usefulness- 5/10 Power Rating- 6/10 ============================================================================== #####Dragon Knight => Dragonmaster [Dmr]##### Usuable Weapons:- Lance Gained after promotion:- Axe Mastery Skill:- Stun Class Skill:- None Promotion Bonuses- HP: +5 Spd: +2 Str: +2 Lck: +0 Mgc: +1 Def: +2 Skl: +2 Res: +1 Stat Caps (F)- HP: 60 Spd: 27 Str: 27 Lck: 40 Mgc: 20 Def: 27 Skl: 26 Res: 25 Stat Caps (M)- HP: 60 Spd: 26 Str: 29 Lck: 40 Mgc: 20 Def: 29 Skl: 28 Res: 22 ======Jill/Jill (Dragon Knight)====== Recruitment: Let her talk to Ike as a NPC in Chapter 12 Base Stats (Lvl-8) HP: 24 Spd: 9 Str: 11 Lck: 6 Mgc: 0 Def: 11 Skl: 10 Res: 2 Bld: 7 Rescue: 35 Stat Growth HP: 60% Spd: 45% Str: 40% Lck: 25% Mgc: 30% Def: 35% Skl: 45% Res: 30% Weapons Lance Expected 20/20 Average Stats HP: 48/60 Spd: 25/26 Str: 25/27 Lck: 14/40 Mgc: 10/20 Def: 24/27 Skl: 25/26 Res: 12/25 Basic Skills None Suggested Skills Nihil Guard and Vantage Stun Comments:- What did they do to my poor Dragonmasters?! They NERFED THEM! HOW DARE THEY! *cough* Anyway Jill...isn't a spetacular sight, in fact shes rather poor compared to Dragonmasters of the past, why the hell has she got magic growth anyway? Unfortunately she also happens to be one of the most useful units early on coming with a Beok Guard and also if you equip her with a Full Guard from Ch-16 her defense still grows high enough to make her a good physical wall with high movement and also a good wall for arrows. She also happens to be a excellent Laguz killer as well especially if you throw on a Laguz Lance as well. But still even if she does have Res, keep her away from magic even with the Full Guard equipped. Unfortunately she is the most 'decent' flier you get for most of the game. On another note in Chapter 20 don't allow her to have any contact with her father at all otherwise she will be recruited back onto the enemy side and leave you. Although I'm told that if she has A support with anyone she can be persuaded back on your side. Usefulness- 8.5/10 Power Rating- 7/10 ======Haar/Haar (Dragonmaster)====== Recruitment: Talk with Jill in Chapter 23 Base Stats (Lvl-11) HP: 47 Spd: 17 Str: 21 Lck: 12 Mgc: 8 Def: 20 Skl: 19 Res: 10 Bld: 13 Rescue: 42 Stat Growth HP: 65% Spd: 35% Str: 60% Lck: 15% Mgc: 5% Def: 45% Skl: 60% Res: 20% Weapons Lance, Axe Expected 20/20 Average Stats HP: 53/60 Spd: 20/26 Str: 27/29 Lck: 13/40 Mgc: 9/20 Def: 25/29 Skl: 25/28 Res: 12/22 Basic Skills Guard Suggested Skills Guard and Saviour or Vantage Stun Nihil Comments:- Haar is awesome, not only does he look like a Pirate ("Yaaarrghh!") he also has the highest rescue in the entire game meaning he can rescue anyone, plus being a flying unit. Statwise, he is much better than Jill, a powerful skill Guard, great stats and HP with growths in the right areas. He will be very weak and slow when he first joins but a level or two and he'll already be on or above Jill. Give him a Angel Robe and Holy water and he could be tanking quite easily. Oh and did I mention he comes with an Hero Axe? Saviour is great for him since he can rescue anyone in the game and fly off with them. A great unit who should be used, if you feel you can give him the Full Guard instead. If his speed actually grows it may be worth replacing his Guard skill since it has little use without Vantage then. Great unit overall though one must guess though what is he smiling at? But knowing Haar he'll probably just want to go to sleep. Usefulness- 9/10 Power Rating- 8/10 ============================================================================== #####Thief =>Thief/Assassin [TfA]##### Usuable Weapons:- Knives Gained after promotion:- None Mastery Skill:- Lethality (Volke only) Class Skill:- Steal, Knife Promotion Bonuses- HP: +2 Spd: +2 Str: +2 Lck: +0 Mgc: +1 Def: +2 Skl: +3 Res: +2 Stat Caps (Assassin)- HP: 60 Spd: 30 Str: 23 Lck: 40 Mgc: 20 Def: 22 Skl: 30 Res: 20 Stat Caps (Thief)- HP: 60 Spd: 20 Str: 20 Lck: 40 Mgc: 15 Def: 20 Skl: 20 Res: 20 ======Sothe/Sothe (Theif)====== Recruitment: Go to 'Mysterious Youth' report in intermission before Chapter 12 Base Stats (Lvl-1) HP: 20 Spd: 11 Str: 5 Lck: 5 Mgc: 1 Def: 4 Skl: 7 Res: 0 Bld: 6 Rescue: 6 Stat Growth HP: 60% Spd: 65% Str: 55% Lck: 55% Mgc: 10% Def: 35% Skl: 70% Res: 30% Weapons Knives Expected 20/20 Average Stats HP: 31/60 Spd: 20/20 Str: 15/20 Lck: 15/40 Mgc: 9/15 Def: 11/20 Skl: 19/20 Res: 6/20 Basic Skills Blossom Suggested Skills Blossom and Paragon Shadow Comments:- Sothe when I saw his art originally looked badass, he has a potentially awesome skill which is 100% false advertisement. Lets begin with his stats, they're rather decent? No? No indeed, at the point he joins Laguz are running completely rampant which will quite frankly kill any chance of him fighting. He has an average damage of 0-1 on Mages which his horribly sad, his use only exists for 2 chapters which aren't even major. Chapter 15 to find items quicker or Chapter 16 to open those doors faster but they're not something nobody else can do in both cases. However he has to be commended on brilliant false advertising, Blossom boosts those already fantastic growths at the cost of less exp. Sounds awesome, but he gains less experience than Titania from hitting an enemy, gets pratically OHKOed by even the weakest enemies. What should be an almost automatic level up becomes no more than 30 EXP, Paragon scroll comes so late, he'd be dead by then. (Not that hes worth anything else) Even if you somehow by a damn miracle make him grow its utterly fruitless as he CANNNOT promote. Only decent way to use him is to delete Slow Grower which also defeats the point of using him. Let him rot along with Mist in the deepest part of your roster, he should never see the light of day again. Definitely stick with Volke unless you somehow managed to pull off something close to impossible and not hire him. Usefulness- 4/10 Power Rating- 2/10 ======Volke/Volke (Theif)====== Recruitment: Chapter 10, hire from the Start Promotion: Automatic event after Chapter 19 Base Stats (Lvl-10) HP: 25 Spd: 13 Str: 12 Lck: 7 Mgc: 0 Def: 7 Skl: 13 Res: 3 Bld: 11 Rescue: 11 Stat Growth HP: 65% Spd: 65% Str: 50% Lck: 35% Mgc: 5% Def: 20% Skl: 55% Res: 10% Weapons Knives Expected 20/20 Average Stats HP: 46/60 Spd: 30/30 Str: 23/23 Lck: 17/40 Mgc: 2/20 Def: 15/22 Skl: 30/30 Res: 8/20 Basic Skills Shadow Suggested Skills Shadow and Lethality Resolve and Adept Comments:- Volke himself is quite the shady character suddenly appearing to help Ike, later on he reveals himself as a former employee of Grail and the only surviving person who witnessed the true story behind Ike's mothers death. Volke is the only theif who can promote during a special event after Chapter 19 into Assassin and also get the Assassinate Mastery skill. Statwise, he has overkilled strength which is brilliant due to the weak weapons of the theif class, once he gets a knife Volke will level much easier. Also being able to steal staves is highly helpful, Steal now allows you to steal staves as well as items. Once he promotes though, Volke will become a brilliant frontline fighter, Shadow makes it so most enemies tend to ignore him which is good since as strong he is hes still no engine of destruction. Although if you feel like making him good for even final chapter you can give him Resolve for some hillarity. I find its best to combine him with Reyson's move again so he can steal, unlock doors and chests quicker. Lethality is a wonderful skill, with the ammount of tank like enemies in Maniac, add this skill with his high skill and a Stilletto and watch the OHKO's fly. Oh and did I mention he has something close to frickin awesome for his Assassinate animation? An absolute must use unit. Extra rant: 'LETHALITY!' Somehow doesn't have the same effect as Assassinate or 'FATALITY!', its like some bad translation from a pirated Mortal Kombat game -_-; Usefulness- 9.8/10 Power Rating- 8.5/10 ============================================================================== #####Scaly Dragons [SDr]##### Usuable Weapons:- None Gained after promotion:- None Mastery Skill:- Boon (What the...royal ****?) Class Skill:- Transform Promotion Bonuses- None Stat Caps (Red Dragon)- HP: 75 Spd: 31 Str: 35 Lck: 40 Mgc: 20 Def: 36 Skl: 31 Res: 30 Stat Caps (White Dragon)- HP: 80 Spd: 32 Str: 30 Lck: 40 Mgc: 25 Def: 35 Skl: 30 Res: 35 ======Ena/Ena (Red Dragon)====== Recruitment: Automatically joins in Chapter 28 if Dark Knight was not defeated in Chapter 27 Base Stats (Lvl-10) HP: 52 Spd: 15 Str: 20 Lck: 14 Mgc: 9 Def: 23 Skl: 17 Res: 21 Bld: 6 Rescue: 11 Stat Growth HP: 145% Spd: 60% Str: 35% Lck: 40% Mgc: 10% Def: 40% Skl: 50% Res: 30% Weapons None Expected 20/20 Average Stats HP: 67/75 Spd: 21/31 Str: 24/35 Lck: 18/40 Mgc: 10/20 Def: 27/36 Skl: 22/31 Res: 24/30 Basic Skills Boon, Miracle and Renewal Suggested Skills Boon, Miracle and Renewal Comments:- So if you don't beat Dark Knight he runs off and kills Nasir, joy.... Funny thing is even if you do beat him he apparentally escapes regardless, which leaves a major loose end hopefully a FE9 sequel can tie up. Anyway as for Ena, shes more or less a old skool Mamkute, after running off when you threw her about in Chapter-21 she now joins you. Ena is quite the handy unit unfortunately she won't be doing much damage wise with rather low speed even when transformed and mostly is just a fast tank. She can levelup alot but her growths aren't fantastic like the Laguz and as I mentioned receives reduced exp but at this point in the game thats less of an issue. What is an issue is even if she does level her strength won't grow much. On the other hand Blessing of the Earth is a fantastic skill for mass status healing and Prayer seems to activate alot with her, Renewal also helps. Not really a frontline unit but very helpful cleric of sorts that also makes a good wall. Extra Rant: Boon?! BOON?! Sure definition wise it works...but WHO THE HELL WOULD USE 'BOON?!' Anyone who likes it automatically fails...-_-; Usefulness- 8/10 Power Rating- 9/10 ======Nasir/Nasir (White Dragon)====== Recruitment: Automatically joins in Chapter 28 if Dark Knight was defeated in Chapter 27 Base Stats (Lvl-18) HP: 56 Spd: 22 Str: 20 Lck: 17 Mgc: 9 Def: 24 Skl: 23 Res: 27 Bld: 12 Rescue: 17 Stat Growth HP: 145% Spd: 45% Str: 50% Lck: 35% Mgc: 10% Def: 60% Skl: 55% Res: 25% Weapons None Expected 20/20 Average Stats HP: 59/80 Spd: 23/32 Str: 21/30 Lck: 17/40 Mgc: 11/25 Def: 25/35 Skl: 24/30 Res: 28/35 Basic Skills Nihil Suggested Skills Nihil, Boon Comments:- And if you do beat the Dark Knight, Nasir lives and finally joins after freeloading in your army for much of the game. Anyway Nasir I find is a much better unit despite his higher level, hes generally near maxed in most areas and has the brilliant Awareness skill which negates other battle skills used against him. Have a problem with Wrath? Throw him in. A Blessing of the Earth can also be highly helpful as it saves on your healers running around healing and also removing status. Ena will easily pass him up but really both are good units either way. Usefulness- 9/10 Power Rating- 8/10 ============================================================================== #####Bezerker [Bzr]##### Usuable Weapons:- Axe Gained after promotion:- None Mastery Skill:- Colossus Class Skill:- 15% crit bonus (English version only) Promotion Bonuses- None Stat Caps- HP: 60 Spd: 28 Str: 30 Lck: 40 Mgc: 20 Def: 26 Skl: 24 Res: 20 ======Largo/Largo (Bezerker)====== Recruitment: Go to 'Mysterious Man' report in intermission before Chapter 25 Base Stats (Lvl-7) HP: 52 Spd: 20 Str: 21 Lck: 12 Mgc: 4 Def: 10 Skl: 21 Res: 3 Bld: 15 Rescue: 17 Stat Growth HP: 80% Spd: 45% Str: 70% Lck: 30% Mgc: 5% Def: 25% Skl: 45% Res: 20% Weapons Axe Expected 20/20 Average Stats HP: 60/60 Spd: 26/28 Str: 29/30 Lck: 16/40 Mgc: 5/20 Def: 12/26 Skl: 24/24 Res: 6/20 Basic Skills None Suggested Skills Wrath and Vantage Colossus Gamble (Eng version only) Comments:- Bezerkers return in FE6 style with the short end of the stick this time round. Largo is the only Bezerker you get and has completely overkilled strength, skill and speed. Good thing? Yes and no, for starters when I said they returned in FE6 style that also meant they came back with the hideous 24 skill cap. Largo being the only Bezerker you get isn't entirely a good thing, despite that excellent HP he is fragile as hell. In all honesty I think most mages could end up with more defense than him. His Res is virtually non-existant much like Geese of FE6. However with that speed and strength he has several good skill options. If you want overkill theres Wrath and Ambush, in fact Ambush alone would fix his problem with being a crappy frontline fighter due to his defenses. Or Rumble for extra damage is always nice. Overall Largo is complete offense, but he will be fish food once people start hitting him., especially in Maniac where everyone hits hard and Bole would last longer than him. Extra: English version Largo is receives a higher rating simply because of his crit bonus. Gamble can be added too for a big bonus, but isn't suggested due to his skill plus Axes. Usefulness- 6/10 Power Rating- 8/10 JPN version- Usefulness- 5.5/10 Power Rating- 7/10 ============================================================================== #####Swordfighter => Swordmaster [Smr]##### Usuable Weapons:- Sword Gained after promotion:- None Mastery Skill:- Ryuseiken/Astra (Ryusseiken is more badass >_>) Class Skill:- 15% crit bonus (English version only) Promotion Bonuses- HP: +4 Spd: +2 Str: +1 Lck: +0 Mgc: +2 Def: +2 Skl: +2 Res: +2 Stat Caps (F)- HP: 60 Spd: 30 Str: 22 Lck: 40 Mgc: 20 Def: 22 Skl: 29 Res: 25 Stat Caps (M)- HP: 60 Spd: 30 Str: 24 Lck: 40 Mgc: 20 Def: 24 Skl: 29 Res: 22 ======Mia/Mia (Swordfighter)====== Recruitment: Talk with Ike in Chapter 7 Base Stats (Lvl-6) HP: 21 Spd: 13 Str: 7 Lck: 6 Mgc: 0 Def: 7 Skl: 10 Res: 2 Bld: 6 Rescue: 6 Stat Growth HP: 50% Spd: 60% Str: 40% Lck: 45% Mgc: 5% Def: 20% Skl: 45% Res: 25% Weapons Sword Expected 20/20 Average Stats HP: 42/60 Spd: 30/30 Str: 20/22 Lck: 21/40 Mgc: 12/20 Def: 16/22 Skl: 27/29 Res: 12/25 Basic Skills Vantage Suggested Skills Vantage, Miracle and Wrath Comments:- Swordmasters just continue to be weakened game after game and it pains me being a fan of Swordmasters. Anyway of immediate notice is she starts with rather nice high defense base but a low growth but does get a nice promotion bonus. Her HP is near abysmal.....however I personally find if you give her the recomended skill set she can become one of the strongest fighters on your team. She has good speed and luck, Miracle will almost always activate as will Wrath and you have quite an awesome unit here. Her strength will be rather paltry but with 2x attack she still ends up doing more than most other units early on. Giving her a custom sword might be ideal to help train her. Although if you don't plan on giving her that exact skill set I wouldn't bother with her, but seriously her use is high as shes one of the only units who can double attack early on with good dodge. Long term I find her use is actually more than Zihawk with his better stats as Mia does have the tendency to dodge much better. Extra: Vantage + Wrath is highly suggested now Swordmasters got their crit bonus in english version. Usefulness- 8/10 Power Rating- 8/10 ======Zihawk/Zihark (Swordfighter)====== Recruitment: Talk with Rethe or Mordy in Chapter 11 Base Stats (Lvl-10) HP: 25 Spd: 13 Str: 10 Lck: 6 Mgc: 0 Def: 7 Skl: 10 Res: 2 Bld: 9 Rescue: 10 Stat Growth HP: 55% Spd: 60% Str: 45% Lck: 40% Mgc: 5% Def: 30% Skl: 50% Res: 20% Weapons Sword Expected 20/20 Average Stats HP: 47/60 Spd: 30/30 Str: 23/24 Lck: 17/40 Mgc: 7/20 Def: 18/24 Skl: 28/29 Res: 8/22 Basic Skills Adept Suggested Skills Adept and Gamble Resolve and Adept Comments:- Zihawk is more or less the Navarre of FE9, he's actually pretty pitiful with bad HP and even worse res. He grows much better than Mia at least but does start 4 levels higher with more or less the same stats. Does eventually manage to end up with much higher strength, defense and skill. I find he tends to do really well with his high skill, kill sword and if you throw in Gamble it can work rather well with the good accuracy of swords. Zihawk is really only worth using if you love swordmasters like me, your Mia is pretty bad or she somehow got killed. Extra: Gamble is now highly suggested on him with the return of the crit bonus Usefulness- 7.5/10 Power Rating- 8.5/10 JPN Version- Usefulness- 6/10 Power Rating- 7/10 ======Soanevalcke/Stefan (Swordmaster)====== Recruitment: Move Lethe or Mordecai onto the Varg Katti space in Chapter 15 (Located in top right corner of the map in a small alcove, see FAQ section below for extra detail) Base Stats (Lvl-8) HP: 38 Spd: 25 Str: 19 Lck: 5 Mgc: 8 Def: 12 Skl: 27 Res: 9 Bld: 13 Rescue: 13 Stat Growth HP: 70% Spd: 55% Str: 50% Lck: 25% Mgc: 20% Def: 35% Skl: 40% Res: 30% Weapons Sword Expected 20/20 Average Stats HP: 47/60 Spd: 30/30 Str: 24/24 Lck: 8/40 Mgc: 10/20 Def: 17/24 Skl: 29/29 Res: 13/22 Basic Skills Ryuseiken Suggested Skills Ryuseiken Adept and Resolve Gamble and Resolve Comments:- Oh my.....oh my indeed....I think this is the best thing I've ever laid eyes upon. If you do not use Soanevalcke I will hunt you down, or your regret for not using him will. Soanevalcke comes with next to maxed stats with amazing growths, a legendary S rank sword with massive critical and +3 defense, high HP, mastery skill and he has awesome hair too! The english version 'Stefan' now even has a 15% crit boost. Seriously if you ever wondered what FE6 Karel would turn out like if he came early mid-game, with levels to grow here he is, although Karel would still be king in defenses as well. Soan's luck will be horrendous but luckily has a great support in the form of Soren which boosts his evade, skill and attack. This guy will max strength, skill and speed in only 5 levels and will also probably end up with decent defense, res and high HP. He is a secret character of sorts as his recruitment is not obvious at all. My only major complaint is despite coming with his mastery skill they NERFED it!!! Ryuseiken used to be 5 hits in a row. Its still the same but only does half damage per hit, that adds up as 0.5x less damage than a critical which he tends to do alot on counter attacks. (I have no idea why, but who cares?) If you want utter overkill, Soan is also the only character in the game who can One round kill the final boss more or less. Thanks to the overkilled skill and speed of Swordmasters and his Soren support and if you replace Ryuuseiken for Resolve. With Resolve you could have a Swordmaster with 36 strength, 43 skill and 45 speed at half HP with 35 base critical. He can easily 2x attack with high chance of criticaling thanks to the overkilled skill and if you have Continue a high chance of murder... Badass Rating- 9/10 (He lost points with his new name :_:) Usefulness- 9.9/10 Power Rating- 9.8/10 JPN version- Badass Rating- 11/10 Usefulness- 9.8/10 Power Rating- 9.6/10 ======Luchino/Lucia (Swordmaster)====== Recruitment: Chapter 24 automatic Base Stats (Lvl-12) HP: 36 Spd: 23 Str: 15 Lck: 16 Mgc: 12 Def: 10 Skl: 21 Res: 8 Bld: 8 Rescue: 8 Stat Growth HP: 70% Spd: 65% Str: 50% Lck: 50% Mgc: 30% Def: 40% Skl: 70% Res: 40% Weapons Sword Expected 20/20 Average Stats HP: 42/60 Spd: 28/30 Str: 19/22 Lck: 20/40 Mgc: 14/20 Def: 13/22 Skl: 27/29 Res: 11/25 Basic Skills Ability Match Suggested Skills Ability Match and Ryuuseiken Ability Match, Vantage and Guard Gamble and Ability Match Comments:- *cries* I hate being brought back to earth and we're back in the realms of sanity. Lucia comes late, weak and with a high level.... On the other hand she has some of the most amazing growths and does end up with some of the best evade in the game. Unfortunately you need 8 perfect levelups to max skill, 7 levelups to max strength and speed but she is highly capable of it. What does hurt her is starting with only 15 strength this late in the game, theres little reason to use her with Soanevalcke around. However she will still end up better than Zihawk in evade but be unable to take any hits. Her only real purpose is if Mia or Zihawk died and you need a good evading sword user since she does have some of the highest evade in the entire game. Usefulness- 6/10 Power Rating- 8/10 JPN version- Usefulness- 5.5/10 Power Rating- 7/10 ============================================================================== V) FAQ ============================================================================== Q) What kind of game is this? A) It is a Turn based Strategy RPG game or Simulation RPG if you want to go by the Japanese genre's. Q) What console is it for? A) I'm surprised you haven't been run over by a train yet if you're reading this. Q) What is Maniac Mode? A) It is a final mode where all the enemy units stats take on the appearance of what can only be described godly and you'll almost always be outnumbered 50 to 1. However rumour has it that the US release of FE9 has completely removed Maniac mode and replaced it with a Easy mode...much to my dismay. Q) So doesn't that make your ratings worthless? A) Well take them with a pinch of salt...if you want them to apply to Hard mode I guess you could add a point to everyone's ratings...but my ratings were based on the ultimate difficulty. Q) Will this game have connectivity to any GBA fire emblems? A) Yes I believe it can connect upto Sacred Stones and Fire Emblem for some extra unlockable art and maps in FE9. However I imagine they'll be removing the connectivity to Sword of Seals. Q) Is there any Dark Magic? A) Unfortunately no, he's been removed for this game, the current weapon triangle is Wind > Thunder > Fire > Wind and Light is neutral to everything. Q) Why can't I hurt DarkKnight? A) He has god powers......no honestly, I'm serious, he has the Goddess Protection skill on his sword Etnard which can only be negated by Ike with Ragnell. Q) Does this have any connection storywise to previous FE's? A) Not at all, this has absolutely no connection to any current Fire Emblem's. It is a brand new unrelated story. Q) Whats this I hear about a Triangle attack and how do I do it? A) Bole, Oscar and Rolf can perform a Bow Triangle attack after you watch a certain scene involving the 3. It allows you to do 3x damage on a first strike. To perform it you must surround the enemy with all 3 units from 1 space away and all 3 must be able to use a bow. Q) Jill left my team! Help! A) During a certain chapter its possible for her father to recruit Jill back onto the enemy side. In order to prevent it, either keep Jill far away from him or get her to have a A level support with any of your other units and they will be able to re-recruit her. Q) What does Biorhythm do? A) When its high it adds 5% to evade and hit and when low, you lose 5% to evade and hit. Its completely random to when its in effect. Q) Why has everyone got wierd names? A) At the moment this game is available only in Japanese, I might change the names at a later date but for now till the game is released, deal with it. Q) How do I recruit Stefan/Soanevalcke? Also where are all the items in Chapter 15? A) I've gotten alot of question regarding the specifics of this. Please refer to this map, the Varg Katti space is the top area with the 2x2 box with 1 more box. Also you can find all the hidden items in the desert with this map, you'll need a theif for a 100% chance at grabbing them. http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v405/Mjeh/FE9Desertmap.jpg Q) OMG THE NEW NAMES SUCK!! A) As much I don't like them too...go away you and complain it to NOA or whine about it on the Message Board's. Q) How the hell do I damage the final boss?! A) Unfortunately he has a special ability which makes him immune to anything except S rank weapons, the 'Big 3' and Ike's Ragnell. He is actually easier in the English version as they removed his final form from the game. Q) I heard about secret unlockable characters after you beat the game? A) Once you beat the game or you can unlock several trial maps much like FE6 and depending on your number of playthroughs can unlock many normally unplayable characters like Greil, Oliver and Ashnard for use in them. Q) Where can I find more information about this game or other Fire Emblem's? A) I suggest you give this forum a visit http://s7.invisionfree.com/FESS/index.php? There is a large source of information there about the entire series, I'am also known as Seti over there. ============================================================================== VI) CREDITS AND THANKS ============================================================================== -Thanks to www.PegasusKnight.com for most of the data and info that I was not able to gather myself. -Intelligent Systems for making this great game -Myself for writing it -Phlogistic for his generally evil acts of criticism -Anyone else who isn't mentioned here who helped look over it -Gamefaqs for hosting this