Owain Dread Fighter

[intrusion]

UGH NOT ANOTHER ONE OF THESE TOPICS I know I'm sorry...

I'm planning on making Owain a Dread Fighter and I was wondering whether Henry, Ricken or Libra would be better. I've been told that Henry is one of the best fathers for Cynthia(If not THE best, other than Chrom and MU? Correct me if I'm wrong here, thanks haha) so I think he's a little out of the picture (but I'm still open for input on this, if you think he's THAT good for Owain). Libra gives the VVW combo as well as Sorc, more balanced stats and a good Sage build, whereas Ricken gives Luna, better MAG and a godly Sage.. I think these are the assets for either father? (Henry gives everything Libra would but more balanced stats, I think? But Cynthia...)

I'm still a novice at this game, please be patient with me. I'm on my second playthrough on hard mode and I'll be playing on Lunatic mode pretty soon. I really loved playing Dread Fighter Owain on the DLC on my earlier playthrough, and his SWORD HAND should not be restrained to a book IMO...

BTW how is Dread Fighter on Lunatic? Won't be playing on Lunatic+, fawk that hahaha but I do plan on playing some of the harder DLCs (excluding TSON).

So which would be the best father for Dread Fighter Owain? And which would offer more for his alternate classes (like sage) at the same time? And is the VVW combo THAT good? (Not trying to be sarcastic here, it's just that it seems rather risky without Miracle, and even that's a little dicey... unless Vengeance would provide enough power to plow through the enemy via retaliation, then begin your bloodstorm from there? Is that the idea?)

Thanks! Sorry for making this more complicated than it should be. I really love this community btw, I just joined but I've been reading some of the threads beforehand, and it seems more chill than others.

[Klokinator]

Dread Fighter trades the three best weapon types for much lower stat caps in all areas. For me, this makes it less than ideal for L+.

Great Knight is just so much better...

[Czar_Yoshi]

Nobody's recommended Wrath with VV for quite a long time. If you're not grinding, you're not going to get it reasonably, and if you are there are better skills you can run. VV in general though is for Sorcs and units with 100% Dual Strike, not DFs.

With DLC on the table, pretty much anything is good for Lunatic. Using a DF definitely won't give you any problems.

If you want an Owain that's decent with both Str and Mag, try Stahl!Owain.

[intrusion]

Is that so? I guess I've been reading too many old posts, then. That makes sense though, Nos would keep them alive, mitigating/eliminating the risk, right?

I don't think having the same STR as Hero is something to scoff at, personally... but again, I'm a novice, so what do I know haha

I have Stahl for Severa, and Stahl as a father seems similar to Ricken, except he's more STR oriented... so would Ricken be better? I think the only attack-booster for Libra!Owain would be Astra (other than Vengeance) but I really hate that skill (but again, I'm open to input so if you think Astra is a really good skill for Lunatic or harder DLCs then please let me know!!), and Aggressor seems rather unreliable, but I can see it working with Galeforce and Lifetaker as a hit and run tactic?

Maybe my idea of a badass DF Owain isn't as solid as I thought....

Edited November 20, 2014 by intrusion

[Roflolxp54]

http://serenesforest.net/awakening/characters/children/owain/

Have a look here and see what works. Remember that Owain has the myrmidon, barbarian and priest lines by default. As stated by other users, if you're willing to grind via DLC, it's practically up to you in using whatever class you want.

[Czar_Yoshi]

Is that so? I guess I've been reading too many old posts, then. That makes sense though, Nos would keep them alive, mitigating/eliminating the risk, right?

I don't think having the same STR as Hero is something to scoff at, personally... but again, I'm a novice, so what do I know haha

I have Stahl for Severa, and Stahl as a father seems similar to Ricken, except he's more STR oriented... so would Ricken be better? I think the only attack-booster for Libra!Owain would be Astra (other than Vengeance) but I really hate that skill (but again, I'm open to input so if you think Astra is a really good skill for Lunatic or harder DLCs then please let me know!!), and Aggressor seems rather unreliable, but I can see it working with Galeforce and Lifetaker as a hit and run tactic?

Maybe my idea of a badass DF Owain isn't as solid as I thought....

You can stop by The Pairing Thread if you want more advice on gameplay in general.

The metagame for Awakening has changed very rapidly since it came out and is still moving at quite a brisk pace, so in general you shouldn't trust anything that doesn't have someone who can give you a convincing explanation of why it's good on demand. It's part of why there are no (good) FAQs for optimization out there.

Anyway, DFs have a 42/38/40/41 Str/Mag/Skl/Spd spread. Want a physical Sword user? Mag doesn't matter, and Heroes have a 42/46/42 Str/Skl/Spd set. Want a physical Axe user? Mag doesn't matter, and Hero, General and Berserker all have some stat that's at least 6 higher and another that's at least 1 higher than DF's spread. Want Tomes? Str doesn't matter, and Sage will give you 46/43/42 mag/Skl/Spd. Basically, DF is completely outclassed in single weapon type useage, and sticking to one type is pretty common postgame because of Faire skills. DF is only useful if you want to be able to switch weapon types on the fly.

Since you're not doing Apo/TSON (which is what pretty much everyone here refers to when they say postgame), raw attack won't matter as much, so DF becomes a lot more appealing. Specifically, if you're playing main story with limited grinding, DF will be very helpful with its high Res, though I still recommend giving Owain a father who helps his Str if you want to be one. A Ricken!Owain has +5 Mag and -2 Str, while a Stahl!Owain has +2 Mag and +1 Str- one's clearly Mag based, the other is split and in a good position to use both weapon types.

Vengeance is nice because it's very easy to get it to 100% activation. Its general playstyle is to attack something you can double while at full HP and, should you fail to get the KO before it attacks due to failed DSes, misses, or the enemy being strong in general, you'll get hit and get a Vengeance boost to help ensure the KO. If you don't get the KO and can't take an enemy phase, you'll be stuck because you whiffed Galeforce. If you got it, you can run away and are safe. You also may want to combo it with Lifetaker for extra safety, if you're worried about deaths.

Astra itself is good in two cases: during non-Apo postgame, when comboed with Sol you get higher rates of getting an offensive skill to proc than you would if you were using Luna/Sol and have over 50 Skl. Also, when comboed with Luna and at very high Skl levels (80+), it reduces your chances of not proccing an offensive skill to very low levels and boosting your average damage output significantly. The one case where it's very bad is if you're fighting anything with Counter: often it'll look like you're going to get the kill (Counter doesn't activate for killing blows), then Astra will proc and you'll take two hits to kill, get hit by Counter and die.

If you need any of that in layman's terms, ask away.

[Kirie]

For what it's worth, I used a DR Inigo in my last Lunatic playthrough, though he still ended up being more magically-oriented. In hindsight, I would have been better off making him a Sorc or something instead, which would have given him higher caps for Mag, Def, and Res, but it played through just fine, and it was nice to be able to swap to Axes or Sword when useful, too.

[Alastor15243]

Personally I use Henry for dread fighter Owain. And he's generally available for that, as ChromxSumia is Chrom's best pairing by far. Best stats, best extra child, best chance of getting galeforce by the time Lucina shows up. Dread Fighter Henry!Owain has 42 Str and 42 Mag, perfectly even.

Dread Fighter trades the three best weapon types for much lower stat caps in all areas. For me, this makes it less than ideal for L+.

Great Knight is just so much better...

Great knight has horrible skill, mag and res.

Edited November 20, 2014 by Alastor15243

[~Silver]

Ooh!

Ooh!

I wanna throw in my two cents for my favorite character!

I tend to make Owain a bulk, and making him a Dread Fighter will help all the more.

Slap Renewal on him.

Slap +10 Resistance on him.

And if he has access, Pavise/Aegis.

[intrusion]

You can stop by The Pairing Thread if you want more advice on gameplay in general.

The metagame for Awakening has changed very rapidly since it came out and is still moving at quite a brisk pace, so in general you shouldn't trust anything that doesn't have someone who can give you a convincing explanation of why it's good on demand. It's part of why there are no (good) FAQs for optimization out there.

Anyway, DFs have a 42/38/40/41 Str/Mag/Skl/Spd spread. Want a physical Sword user? Mag doesn't matter, and Heroes have a 42/46/42 Str/Skl/Spd set. Want a physical Axe user? Mag doesn't matter, and Hero, General and Berserker all have some stat that's at least 6 higher and another that's at least 1 higher than DF's spread. Want Tomes? Str doesn't matter, and Sage will give you 46/43/42 mag/Skl/Spd. Basically, DF is completely outclassed in single weapon type useage, and sticking to one type is pretty common postgame because of Faire skills. DF is only useful if you want to be able to switch weapon types on the fly.

Since you're not doing Apo/TSON (which is what pretty much everyone here refers to when they say postgame), raw attack won't matter as much, so DF becomes a lot more appealing. Specifically, if you're playing main story with limited grinding, DF will be very helpful with its high Res, though I still recommend giving Owain a father who helps his Str if you want to be one. A Ricken!Owain has +5 Mag and -2 Str, while a Stahl!Owain has +2 Mag and +1 Str- one's clearly Mag based, the other is split and in a good position to use both weapon types.

Vengeance is nice because it's very easy to get it to 100% activation. Its general playstyle is to attack something you can double while at full HP and, should you fail to get the KO before it attacks due to failed DSes, misses, or the enemy being strong in general, you'll get hit and get a Vengeance boost to help ensure the KO. If you don't get the KO and can't take an enemy phase, you'll be stuck because you whiffed Galeforce. If you got it, you can run away and are safe. You also may want to combo it with Lifetaker for extra safety, if you're worried about deaths.

Astra itself is good in two cases: during non-Apo postgame, when comboed with Sol you get higher rates of getting an offensive skill to proc than you would if you were using Luna/Sol and have over 50 Skl. Also, when comboed with Luna and at very high Skl levels (80+), it reduces your chances of not proccing an offensive skill to very low levels and boosting your average damage output significantly. The one case where it's very bad is if you're fighting anything with Counter: often it'll look like you're going to get the kill (Counter doesn't activate for killing blows), then Astra will proc and you'll take two hits to kill, get hit by Counter and die.

If you need any of that in layman's terms, ask away.

uuuUUUGHHHH I guess I overestimated Dread Fighter then. I thought that Grandmaster was a really good class so I thought Dread Fighter would be as well, since they have similar stats... it didn't occur to me that the ones with Grandmaster are the ones with the largest skillpool.

Stahl!Owain Dread Fighter: HP:80 STR:43 MAG: 40 SKL:41 SPD:42 LCK:46 DEF:41 RES:44

Ricken!Owain Dread Fighter: HP:80 STR:40 MAG:43 SKL:40 SPD:42 LCK:49 DEF:38 RES:45

Obviously these numbers are without Limit Breaker (Unless these numbers have been proven to be inaccurate over time). There's not THAT much of a difference... at least, imo. The difference in offensive stats is more or less equal (depending on whether you favor physical or magical) and the 1 point difference in Skill... I don't think it affects anything, does it? Same would go for the 1 point difference in Resistance.

So there's the LCK and DEF 3 point differences. I'm guessing DEF is more important than LCK.

Honestly, Stahl!Owain Dread Fighter DOES seem to be more solid, but the only thing I fear is that I might want to switch him to something more efficient and effective someday like Sage, because who knows, I might want to do Apo. Stahl!Owain wouldn't exactly fit the bill, and I think I'd use MAG slightly more than STR with a Dread Fighter with both tomes and Levin Swords (unless those are crap now too...) Sorry for outright rejecting your offer when you took the time to try and sell it. :/ Another reason is because Stahl is busy with Cordelia, but again, please correct me if Stahl!Severa is no longer considered excellent.

That's kind of why I've limited myself to Libra and Ricken as fathers. (Also, can anyone tell me if Alastor15243's claim that ChromxSumia is better is true? I thought ChromxOlivia was, giving a really good Lucina with a more offensive set of skills and Inigo good stats and RK to make him a great Hero and HenryxSumia would give an excellent Dark Flier Cynthia. But personally, this game DOES seem like a "Defence is the best offence" kind of thing so maybe the RK+Aegis+Pavise combo is better than I thought)

Having said that, I feel like Libra!Owain Dread Fighter would be something like:

Vantage

Vengeance

Galeforce

Lifetaker/Aggressor

Limit Breaker

and Ricken!Owain would be something like:

Galeforce

Luna

Astra

Vantage

Limit Breaker

Would those sets work? Also, the reason that Czar gave out is kind of why I don't like Astra. I got screwed over by Counter on my previous playthrough, and luckily my Avatar made it but it isn't something I want to repeat. BUT is it still a skill that's good enough to be used in higher difficulties? I thought Lunatic and Lunatic+ had Counter everywhere.

Czar's comment about the metagame kind of confirmed my thoughts, this game doesn't feel like some games where you just slap on a couple abilities or weapons and break everything despite being somewhat mediocre (Bravely Default comes to mind). If any of my ideas seem outdated, PLEASE tell me. Like I said, I'm far from being an expert. I'm honestly open to ANY input and criticism.

Thanks.

EDIT: The more I think about it, the more Stahl!Owain seems appealing... He would be good as a DF outside of TSON and Apo, correct? So let's say I want to go this path... who would be Severa's father? Maybe I should shut up and post on that Pairing Thread you mentioned.

Edited November 20, 2014 by intrusion

[Alastor15243]

That's kind of why I've limited myself to Libra and Ricken as fathers. (Also, can anyone tell me if Alastor15243's claim that ChromxSumia is better is true? I thought ChromxOlivia was, giving a really good Lucina with a more offensive set of skills and Inigo good stats and RK to make him a great Hero and HenryxSumia would give an excellent Dark Flier Cynthia. But personally, this game DOES seem like a "Defence is the best offence" kind of thing so maybe the RK+Aegis+Pavise combo is better than I thought)

I know for a fact Czar_Yoshi agrees with me. The thing is that Aether is an obscenely useful skill, and the more units you have with it, the better. Keep in mind that the only reason Olivia makes for the best physical Lucina is because she's the only mother option Lucina has who doesn't have a NEGATIVE strength mod. Lucina sadly isn't really meant to be a physical SPECIALIST, but thanks to aether, she can do physical or magical fine. Besides, Sumia's stats rock, by far the best stats of any of the mothers (Olivia's mod total is 0, and if you consider luck worthless, Maribelle's is -1), and that speed is fantastic.

Edited November 20, 2014 by Alastor15243

[intrusion]

I know for a fact Czar_Yoshi agrees with me. The thing is that Aether is an obscenely useful skill, and the more units you have with it, the better. Keep in mind that the only reason Olivia makes for the best physical Lucina is because she's the only mother option Lucina has who doesn't have a NEGATIVE strength mod. Lucina sadly isn't really meant to be a physical SPECIALIST, but thanks to aether, she can do physical or magical fine. Besides, Sumia's stats rock, by far the best stats of any of the mothers (Olivia's mod total is 0, and if you consider luck worthless, Maribelle's is -1), and that speed is fantastic.

So basically Sumia!Lucina won't be as all-out offensive as Olivia!Lucina, but can cover more ground? (I'm not trying to put words in your mouth) The only set I know is TankLucina, with RK+Pavise+Aegis, which DOES sound very appealing, but it's been bashed in favor of Olivia!Lucina's sets, from what I can tell. Maybe having two shield skills is overkill?

Argh, making children is very complicated. In that case, who would be some great fathers for Inigo? I've got Freddy for Gerome and Gregor for Laurent, but I'm confused about THOSE as well, since the Pairing thread Czar suggested has some people going for Gregor!Brady and Lon'qu!Laurent...

What do your pairings look like? If getting a little off-topic from the thread is alright.

[Alastor15243]

So basically Sumia!Lucina won't be as all-out offensive as Olivia!Lucina, but can cover more ground? (I'm not trying to put words in your mouth) The only set I know is TankLucina, with RK+Pavise+Aegis, which DOES sound very appealing, but it's been bashed in favor of Olivia!Lucina's sets, from what I can tell. Maybe having two shield skills is overkill?

Argh, making children is very complicated. In that case, who would be some great fathers for Inigo? I've got Freddy for Gerome and Gregor for Laurent, but I'm confused about THOSE as well, since the Pairing thread Czar suggested has some people going for Gregor!Brady and Lon'qu!Laurent...

What do your pairings look like? If getting a little off-topic from the thread is alright.

My pairings? My favorite parents for each unit currently (and I have beaten apotheosis with them with ease, without using brave weapons) are:

For morgan: Lon'qu!Yarne if male, Sumia!Lucina if female.

Sumia!Lucina, Chrom!Cynthia.

Frederick!Inigo

Henry!Owain

Vaike!Severa

Ricken!Brady

Libra!Laurent

Gaius!Noire

Donnel!Kjelle

Virion!Nah

Stahl!Gerome

Lon'qu!Yarne if I'm using a female avatar and marrying him, otherwise Stahl or Virion should probably be the father (for hit+20 berserker)

Edited November 21, 2014 by Alastor15243

[Czar_Yoshi]

Alright, so several ground rules about the current metagame that it's good to keep in mind.

1. Pessimism gets nobody anywhere. There's nothing in Awakening, bar some challenge runs, that's prohibitively difficult for anyone without proper guidance. Several things, specifically Apo (which is the same thing as TSON, TSON was the Japanese name before it got localized), get their difficulty blown way out of proportion because the first people to try them had no idea what to expect, tried to use the then-current meta of Sol+AT, and got stomped by all the Luna+.

2. There are no "bad" units or pairings in Awakening. Everyone is capable of getting 40+ caps in all stats with LB (except GKs), everyone is capable of using Pairup and Rally and being Rescued, and overall performance differences between different children can drop under 10% between bets and worst fathers. The meta is strictly a game of good and better, and while you can find people like me coming up with situations in which that extra 1 Skl makes a life-or-death difference in a strategy, there's always a safe (and much more obvious) way out if you don't have it and don't want to check if it makes a difference or not.

3. The main story can be beaten easily in under an hour if you turn off battle animations and skip enemy phases and cutscenes. With DLC and proper strategies, individual units can go from Lv.1 to having all stats capped with LB and a full skillset (including getting any DLC skills they'll be using) in an hour each. Thus, making new files for new teams really isn't a big deal, so don't feel any pressure to have one team that can do everything (if you do want one, that's cool, but don't try to make it your first postgame team).

4. During maingame, combat is largely centered around enemy phase, so survivability is king and being able to KO what comes at you is secondary. This means Def and Spd are the most important stats, followed by Res and Str/Mag. During Apo, combat is largely centered around player phase, where you kill as much as you can each turn and then run away so you don't get mobbed. This means Str/Mag and Mov are the most important stats, followed by Spd and Skl. Most of the DLC maps are EP oriented, but there are a few others where PP is more important.

For a demonstration of how futile Def is in Apo, there is an enemy with 99 Atk and Luna+. With an HP tonic and capped HP, you'll have 85 HP, so you'll only need 30 Def at minimum to take one hit. Even if you lack LB, Rally and a pairup, you'd still need to be in a class with rock-bottom Def and have a negative Def mod to be OHKOed. But, to take two hits, you'd need 114 Def, which isn't attainable by anyone in the game. In short, Def is completely useless.

So, skillsets. I'm still not entirely sure whether you're going for Apo or not, but typical Apo sets are:

Female:

LB

GF/Deliverer

Faire/DSt+

Luna/Ignis/Vengeance

Aether/Astra/All+2

GF, DSt+ and Aether are always used if present. Ignis is preferable to Luna, but both of them are equal to Vengeance. Astra should never be used alongside Vengeance.

Male:

LB

Agg

Faire

GF/All+2

Luna/Vengeance/Str+2/Hit+20

GF should always be used if present. Vengeance is equal to Luna (Ignis is also an option, but usually inferior to Vengeance). Hit+20 is preferable to Str+2, and one of the two should be used if GF isn't present.

For non-Apo postgame, you'll want to typically use:

LB

Sol/Lifetaker/Renewal

GF/Deliverer

Aegis/Pavise/Breaker/Lucky 7

Paragon/AT/Despoil

Skills obviously depend on what you have and are much less rigid than Apo, but my preferred sets usually wind up looking like this. One movement skill, one healing skill depending on what my movement skill is, one defensive skill, and one skill with a non-combat effect (more money, faster training etc). These are usually switched around depending on what you're fighting and not a strict mold at all.

So basically Sumia!Lucina won't be as all-out offensive as Olivia!Lucina, but can cover more ground? (I'm not trying to put words in your mouth) The only set I know is TankLucina, with RK+Pavise+Aegis, which DOES sound very appealing, but it's been bashed in favor of Olivia!Lucina's sets, from what I can tell. Maybe having two shield skills is overkill?

Argh, making children is very complicated. In that case, who would be some great fathers for Inigo? I've got Freddy for Gerome and Gregor for Laurent, but I'm confused about THOSE as well, since the Pairing thread Czar suggested has some people going for Gregor!Brady and Lon'qu!Laurent...

What do your pairings look like? If getting a little off-topic from the thread is alright.

Sumia!Lucina has has more Spd/Skl and the same mag as Olivia!Lucina, so she's better magically in every way that counts (DF@LB/GF/DSt+/Aether/Luna).

Inigo's good fathers are Chrom, Fred, Stahl, Ricken, Libra, and Henry.

Fred!Gerome has no Faires and is thus one of the weakest of all Geromes. I strongly recommend not using him.

The recommendations I make are usually suited to individual people's challenge runs/other preset pairings that I have to work around and rarely universal.

My newest team (still doing calcs, not built yet):

Katarina, Palla, Catria, Est as Rally/Staffbots
Sumia x Chrom
Sumia!Lucina x Libra!Owain
Henry!Inigo x Fred!Noire
Gaius!Kjelle x Vaike!Yarne
Chrom!Cynthia x +Skl/-Def Avatar
Lon'qu!Brady x Stahl!Nah
Virion!Severa x Gregor!Laurent
Morgan x Ricken!Gerome

Edited November 21, 2014 by Czar_Yoshi

[intrusion]

My pairings? My favorite parents for each unit currently (and I have beaten apotheosis with them with ease, without using brave weapons) are:

For morgan: Lon'qu!Yarne if male, Sumia!Lucina if female.

Sumia!Lucina, Chrom!Cynthia.

Frederick!Inigo

Henry!Owain

Vaike!Severa

Ricken!Brady

Libra!Laurent

Gaius!Noire

Donnel!Kjelle

Virion!Nah

Stahl!Gerome

Lon'qu!Yarne if I'm using a female avatar and marrying him, otherwise Stahl or Virion should probably be the father (for hit+20 berserker)

I think I'll just use your list, some of them are the same as what I'm working on and I'm too tired to make a different list (and if they got you through Apo, I think I'll like these pairings haha) and looking through the guide Rofl provided, they all have plenty of room for me to play around with classes and whatnot (I like Henry!Inigo and Ricken!Gerome but I want to have them stay physical for now. Also, just wondering, would Henry!Inigo and Ricken!Gerome work as utility players, being able to switch between offense [both magical and physical] and support whenever I feel like it? That's just the impression I got from the stats. If so, I'll try them out on the next run). You mentioned that Lon'qu should father Yarne if the FeMU is marrying him. Unfortunately, I won't be marrying him so would I switch Lon'qu with Virion then? So Lon'qu!Nah and Virion!Yarne?

Just a couple more questions, if you don't mind:

1. Exactly how good are the Sniper and Bow Knight classes? I've been hearing how Noire can be an amazing Sniper but also how they're awful in general. I haven't had the chance to use it a whole lot except for the beginning of my second run.

2. Would Virion!Severa be a Sniper/Bow Knight? Since she has Bowfaire? Or would she use Lancefaire instead in a class like Wyvern Lord, Dark Flier or Falcon Knight? I guess this is assuming that the Archer classes are good to begin with.

I think that should wrap things up very nicely. Thank you very much. Again, sorry for getting a little off-topic.

Edited November 21, 2014 by intrusion

[Czar_Yoshi]

I don't advise randomly copying pairings unless you know what they're for, and a little more about how they're played (he didn't list classes, skills, or child x child pairings). I can tell you that no holds barred Apo wasn't the only thing his pairings were designed for, and I can also tell you that someone who knows the basics of player-phase offense Apo play will have an easier time clearing it with a team consisting of 1st gen units only with no Avatar or S supports than someone with an excellent team who doesn't know how to use it.

Bows in general are terrible in Normal/Hard/Lunatic maingame, and the best weapon type in the game in Lunatic+ and Apo. Snipers are somewhere around the second best class in the game for Apo due to Longbow access. BKs are very good at what they do (only 8 Mov Bow class in the game) but otherwise have bad stats so stay away from them if you're just going to use them as an all-round unit or not play to their strengths.

Virion!Severa makes an excellent Wyvern Lord with LB/GF/LF/Veng/All+2 and a Berserker pairup. If you don't want to do that, she can be a strong Sniper with an Assassin pairup or Dark Flier with a Sage pairup. She's pretty versatile.

It's your topic, you can take it wherever you want.

Edited November 21, 2014 by Czar_Yoshi

[The Geek]

I still feel like Dread Fighter was created with Owain in mind. This way he can become the hero of legend he always wanted to be.

[Alastor15243]

I don't advise randomly copying pairings unless you know what they're for, and a little more about how they're played (he didn't list classes, skills, or child x child pairings). I can tell you that no holds barred Apo wasn't the only thing his pairings were designed for.

Yeah, just to elaborate on this point, Morgan (and by extension Yarne), Owain, Cynthia and Lucina were meant to initially be used on a no grind run of the game using the Justice Cabal plus Lucina. I had Cynthia as a sniper paired with Morgan as an assassin, and Lucina as a dark flier paired with Owain as a dread fighter.

I then did Paladin Inigo with Hero Severa, Warrior Gerome with Hero Kjelle, Sage Laurent with Dark Flier Noire, Sage brady paired with Bride Nah, and finally Assassin Yarne paired with Sniper Avatar.

Cynthia and Morgan were definitely the MVPs of the apotheosis run I did with this team. Not only did they have a 100% DS rate, Longbows and double bows are friggin' amazing in apotheosis, I recommend at LEAST having two snipers on your team just to take advantage of them, and actually that's part of why Chrom!Cynthia and Sumia!Lucina are so awesome: with an assassin or berserker partner or something in the 8+ speed range, they can hit 75 speed and double absolutely ANY enemy in the entire game with their longbows. Plus Aether, this makes them devastating.

But I'd kinda recommend not making them in galepairs if you have them be snipers. Have them pair up with Gerome and Yarne probably, or maybe Laurent for a sniper-sage combo. From my experience with apotheosis, they make really crummy back units for galeboys, since their raw attack power is pretty lame and their damage is so proc-reliant, especially for Lucina, since she uses DS+ instead of a faire. It nearly got Morgan killed at one point, but thankfully I managed to do damage control.

Edited November 21, 2014 by Alastor15243

[intrusion]

Thanks a bunch, guys!! :D

[Melissa]

Make sure to name his sword "Missletain" so his sword hand may finally be at peace

[Rxmonste]

Heh. Don't worry. Owain can be an awesome Dread Fighter if you give him the right father. Now your 3 best choices in my personal opinion would be Vaike (To negate his Strength flaw.) or Henry (To give him access to Dark Mage which obviously promotes to Sorcerer.) or MU (For balanced all around stats and access to basically everything.) All of these options will end up giving you a really good Dread Fighter. Make sure that he has Aggressor and Galeforce in his skillset at all times. Both of these two skills compliment each other very well. Sadly Astra will be the only offensive skill he has access to if he is fathered by Vaike. Astra is actually a great skill but the fact that it's activation rate is half the activation rate of Luna or Ignis is the only problem I have with it. Henry will give him Vengeance which has an insanely high activation rate but it will work better if you keep him in a more fragile class like Sage. That way, he will support his friends with healing but at the same time if an enemy hurts him, he will hurt them back. Tenfold. Well. Not tenfold but you get the idea. So yeah. Dread Fighter Owain can work and is actually a great option for him. So don't ignore his potential in that class. Final results would be like this:

Class: Dread Fighter

Skillset:

• Galeforce: Must be passed down from Lissa above any priority.
• Aggressor: As I've mentioned. This skill with Galeforce complement each other REALLY well.
• Astra or Ignis or Luna: Choose only Astra if MU is NOT the father because Owain will obviously not have access to Ignis or Luna.
• Vantage: Wouldn't want him to die anytime soon, would you?
• Limit Breaker: If you don't have Limit Breaker or don't want to use it then Sol would be a good alternative. Axebreaker is another potential though not as great as Sol. Counter is also a nice alternative. Maybe even All Stats +2, Why not?

So yeah. That's my suggestion. I hope it helps

[Czar_Yoshi]

First off, Vaike is pretty terrible on Owain- heavy mod clash and only two new promoted classes (Trickster and Hero) so his skill pool is pretty small.

Also, Vantage does nothing for your survivability if you can't KO the opponent before they get a chance to attack, and if you can do that, they're likely not dangerous enough to get you in danger anyway.

[Rxmonste]

I never said Vaike was the best. But he's not that bad either. Vantage + Sol is good. He already has access to Wrath. A mediocre skill at best. But combined wih Vantage means that with luck. He'll attack first. Crit and survive. How about we forget Vaike entirely and add Vengeance instead of Astra? Vantage + Vengeance is pretty swell. Vengeance is an awesome skill in my opinion. It doesn't need to be combined with Wrath but I do it from time to time. Just for comedic effect.

Edited November 30, 2014 by Rxmonste