Fire Emblem: Genealogy of the Holy War 2017 Tier List - Day 39: The support kids (Corple, Lene, Sharlow and Laylea)

[MisterIceTeaPeach]

Not only the best non mounted physical unit of Gen. 1, but also even better than each mounted unit aside of Sigurd for me.

Can do 5x damage with astra, has nihil, and has good stats otherwise.

Her children will be blessed unless their dad is a magic user.

My personal #3 of Gen. 1 behind Sigurd and Lewyn.

9 / 10

[Darrman]

Aira is your first myrmidon, and is pretty good. She's really annoying to recruit, but she's worth it wah no horse 1/10 because hero sword That's not fair, let's do this properly. She's annoying to recruit, because she'll chase you and then kill you if Astra goes off. Better get Alec around and hope he makes it to 11AS to avoid the double. Once you recruit her, she makes short work of the bandits and gives her a bit of experience. She'll need it; she is very squishy and dies quickly. Plus it's Ch2 and lanceland and horses and canto and getting left in the dust. Not having a horse still hurts even if you're not go go must get under 200 turns. However she picks up when she gets the Brave Sword in Chapter 3, so she can kill things easier and then promote and go nuts. or sell it to Sigurd and bench her again She's great when she promotes, but it can take a bit of effort to get there. She has the all important Pursuit and can Astra things in the name of overkill, and Nihil is there I guess.

Honestly, she's not that bad. Still squishy, though. 6.5 -0.5 bias since she's a pain to get for 6/10.

[The Draco Knight]

She is fun to use, but honestly, as a unit, she is nothing special: yeah, she has Astra and her skill and speed are high, but her movements won't let her to keep up with her mounted companions, so when she arrives into the battlefield, Sigurd and his mounted comrades will already have destroyed everything.

Plus, she has terrible defense and HP, which is a problem especially in Chapter 2, where the game throws at you a good quantity of Lance cavaliers.

4.5/10 + 0.5 because the arena exists and I admit I had fun using her - 5/10

[Shin]

Whilst her combat parameters are pretty swanky, she has the fatal weakness of not riding a horse. There's a few places in chapter 2, 3 and 5 that she can meaningfully contribute, but there's a lot of the time where her and all your foot units are playing catch up. She'll have no trouble with the arena, and she's pretty content with any of the blades that other people can't use.

4.5/10 - She'd probably double her score if she were a PONY, with pursuit of course.

[Peppy]

Ayra is essentially walking death thanks to her combat skills. It's a shame that she can't walk far enough to catch up with the mounted, who deal with the primary action of each map.

4/10

[General Horace]

Honestly, she's not that great. Before promotion she struggles to kill stuff without Astra and her avoid isn't great thanks to her awful luck stat and most of gen 1 enemies having lances. Post promotion her offence is very good, but it's still footlocked and 1 range locked. 2.5/10.

[ZemZem]

Ayra has amazing combat, but she can't get to anything due to her movement. She's hot, though.

3/10

[Yojinbo]

3/10

Fairly useless unit overall. Getting her to where the action is happening is a drag that's usually not worth it because your mounted units can easily take care of stuff by themselves. She also doesn't have the utility of a unit like Sylvia, Dew or a staff user so it's very hard to actively make use of her. On top of that her combat outside of the arena is actually fairly unimpressive before she promotes. And by that point you'll likely have most of your other mounted units promoted, which rends her still quite pointless.

Edit: Also, shouldn't Aideen and Dew be discussed before Aira? They join the party before she does.

Edited December 15, 2016 by Yojinbo

[qwernst]

Ayra is a agile glass cannon that has a womb that Odin would envy. 9/10.

[Excellen Browning]

3/10. Astra gives her good offence when it procs. Offense will be significantly better by the time promotion comes around. Doesn't dodge reliably enough to make up for the rather poor defensive stats. Obviously can't keep up with your mounted, so the opportunities to do some fighting outside of the arena are very limited. Necessary for the gen 1 brave sword, which is extremely useful in someone else's hand.

[Excellen Browning]

Stupid shitty browser

Edited December 15, 2016 by Excellen Browning

[Rinehart]

Ayra: 6/10

She's fairly weak and can't take a lot of damage, and being a foot unit is a drawback as well. However, her offense is competent enough to deal with most grunts, and she is a sword-class (by far the best melee class in FE4). Also, she passes on great skills to her children.

[eclipse]

Ayra is a force to be reckoned with, if she can get to things before your mounted units make mincemeat out of them. She's great for clearing the arena and convincing Holyn to join up, though it really sucks when she gets hit. Her recruitment is lame. As long as it isn't something like strict LTC, she'll have some use.

6/10

[OliKad]

And 18 votes later, Ayra recieved a surprisingly low rating - at least, from what I expected - of 5.81/10, making her fall just behind Alec. In short, she is just as polarizing as Azel, but still more appreciated than him. :P

So, according to one of the regular posters here, it seems we'll go back a bit in Chapter 1 and talk about our first and only theif in the 1st generation, Mountain Dew!

Class: Thief (Level 1)
Holy Blood: None
Personal Skills: Sol, Bargain

Class Skills: Steal, Pursuit (After promotion)
Stats:
28 HP (50%)
3 Strength (40%)
0 Magic (10%)
6 Skill (40%)
15 Speed (40%)
7 Defense (40%)
0 Resistance (10%)
12 Luck (40%)

My thoughts: A part of me just doesn't know how to rate this guy. On one side, he has pretty solid availability, but on the other, his starting stats (excluding Speed and Luck) are pretty damn abysmal. On one side, his growth rates are fantastic (for Gen 1 standards), but he has no holy blood to support them. On one side, he's the first bearer of a badass skill (Sol), but initially can't do much with it because of his lousy strength. One one side, he has a pretty bad base class that is unmounted, but it can give gold and has very good promotion gains - and Pursuit - to compensate. On one side, he can stay in the village and attack the brigands for some EXP, but it's still possible that the Commander will one-shot him instead. See the pattern?

You guessed it. For each thing that Dew has going for him, he also has one that kills said positive. He starts off pathetically weak, but does get better later. But, does he become good enough to be worth the pain to train him? For me, the answer is no, because I honestly still find him not that good because of his crappy base stats. Hell, I think that Nino from FE7 is a less-horrible example of this situation, because she can become an amazing glass cannon at the end.
Sorry to say, but I'll give Dew a 4.5/10, because he's ultimately unmounted, and that is what makes him definitively bad in my book.

Edited January 3, 2017 by OliKad

[Yojinbo]

8.5/10

Incredibly useful utility unit. Need resources to promote Lachesis asap? Dew's your man. Need resources to finance Aideen's expensive staff antics? Dew's your man. Wanna get that Knight / Leg Ring on Sylvia as soon as possible? Dew's your man. Wanna shuffle expensive items around? Dew's your man. Need a specific unit to have capped money to pass down to a child? Dew's your man. Whatever the deal is with gen 1 resource management, there's no way around Dew. Nobody can do what he does, and what he does he's doing incredibly well. Steal + Give + Bargain Skill = all you'll ever need.

[Punished Dayni]

Well, we get a thief. Shame he has a horrendous start.

Dew really suffers from a terrible start. He's got some shoddy bases (3 strength is a nightmare), he has to guide Aideen away from a wild group of bandits (who can oneshot them) and just can't take any lances to the face. Guess what show up from Chapter 2? Lots of lances! So he can't get much exp without some serious diversion of resources. And he's locked to C swords till promotion. So what has he got going for him? Well, he can steal money off of enemies, he's able to buy things cheaply (Bargain's good for him, but great for some of the kids) he's able to dodge axes like nobody's business and of course he can heal on enemy phase. Then there's what he can get. First off, he gives Warp to Aideen and the Thief Sword to Lachesis, as well as finding the Wind Sword for himself. Obviously Warp is very useful, the Thief sword allows Lachesis to make money for herself and the Wind Sword allows him to penetrate defence. He's necessary to lower a bridge in Chapter 4 (the alternative is an awful mountain slog) and when he promotes he gets Pursuit. Unfortunately, he'll have to get good first. And with that start, he might not be able to at all. Even with the Pirates in Chapter 3, he'll likely not promote till Chapter 5. And that's just too late. Plus no horse. Which is no good for efficiency, and for getting him to the fight (though he has 7 move when promoted). Even with being able to give money to anyone, it's not like he'll have a massive stockpile if he can't keep up and can't take the damage.

As the first unit we get with a skill like Sol, it's kind of a pain in the ass that only sword wielding foot units can use any of them (So Sol, Astra and Luna are affected). And it's a shame that's the case, as it could be argued that if this was resolved that he'd be an even better dad for any pairing. After all, being able to heal while fighting is well worth it. That and his start is probably the least appropriate for using Sol (3 strength... Iron Sword...)

However, he does have something for everyone as a dad. Even if it's just bargain. And that's pretty much all he provides for Aideen, Fury, Tiltyu and Lachesis (who he also gives a thief sword). While his growths are great for a physical unit, it's not enough to recommend for the mages, and the pairs themselves don't get much else (At least Delmud can inherit something). For Sylvia, he really benefits Leen, while not giving Corple as much. See, Leen gets Sol as well, and while Corple will still be an alright staffbot (Baragin ftw), Leen can heal herself if she does get attacked. Which can heavily backfire on her if Prayer was what you were depending on (which is likely). Brigged and Ayra on the other hand are amazing pairings, I'd argue the best dad in both cases. For Brigged, he gives swords, Sol and Bargain to Patty (and he doesn't need to promote to give all she can get), and this likely makes her the best at thieving she can without getting a ton of magic (so that the magic sword is more effective) or skill. Shame she's below 100 HP growth. Faval just gets half his growths and Bargain. And that's good enough because repairing a holy weapon for half price is ludicrous, even if it's Ichival. Ayra, on the other hand, creates two units who are able to heal themselves, repair stuff like the Brave sword and thus use it more often and grow well across the board, all without ring investment (plus full inheritance if he promoted). Really, it's a shame their HP will be 95 as well, or else this would be by far her best pairing imo.

I'm going to rate him a 6/10. While I think he's a great dad, and his utility is useful, he just has a big ass hurdle to overcome to get good. That can be too much to deal with.

[MisterIceTeaPeach]

He's good in the chapter when he joins and in the final part of part 3 against the bandits to steal money... and to get the wind sword.

Combatwise the third worst unit in FE4 (if I even may call the dancers combat unit) and one of the worst in the entire series. But combat battles aren't really his job.

His job is only to get money... what he can't do all that much I have to say.

Seriously using Ayra or Holyn with the thief sword (I mention these two because they have the best hitrate due to their high skill) is way more useful than to send this squishy boy to steal the money and make sure that no one can attack him.

He's a good potential father though... mainly for Ayra because of Sol or for Bridget because Bargain can fix the Ichival much cheaper.

All in all he's not really necessary (except for giving money) since the thief sword can replace him. However I give him credits as a dad.

4,5 / 10

Edited December 16, 2016 by Eleanor Hume

[CappnRob]

mfw all these people talking shit about my waifu Ayra

i don't even recognize this fandom anymore i swear

jokes aside though, Ayra is fuckin' amazing imo. She has fantastic bases and solid growths all around, and has some of the most obscene skill combos G1 has to offer: pursuit of course is essential class skill or no, continue on promotion racks up the hits, nihil means she's great at nullifying OTHER people's skills, and meteor sword while not totally reliable allows her to fucking devastate basically anything she runs into. She's one of the best arena running characters so she rarely has trouble keeping up in levels imo, and while she does fall behind the cavalry which IS a pain in Ch2's first half, she more than easily carries her weight for the rest of G1 imo. She can travel through forests easily which makes her essential in recruiting Jamuka in the later part of Ch1, as well (double so due to her Nihil skill). Infantry DOES have its place in FE4, typically on defensive roles, and despite the games reputation for huge maps unless you are speed bombing the game it is NOT the All Cavalry All the Time Show. Plus, she has 6 move instead of just 5, so she is a little more mobile than freakin' Arden is.

And for kids? A quote from the legendary Superbus of FESS fame sums Ayra up quite nicely:

Ayra could fuck a broomstick and still spit out two fantastic kids

That really says all that needs saying. But seriously, Ayra almost doesn't HAVE any bad pairs. She falls for Arden? No biggie, Ulster's a big boy anyhow. Azel decides he likes intimidating warrior princesses instead of waifish clerics or childhood thunder mage friends? Just dump your magic swords on 'em. To say nothing of her actually good pairs: Dew and Finn make both kids hilariously well rounded. Holyn lets you exploit the Balmung to be used on Larcei or Ulster. Lex makes them into fast leveling foottanks and is the hottest pair. Noish lets them crit all he time with dat Odo blood. Jamuka gives them both continue out the gate so 1: Larcei doesn't need to promote to get it and 2: Ulster doesn't trail behind because of it. Its crazy. Ayra best mom of all moms.

Also, she nets you the brave sword. Yes, her promoting makes it redundant, but you still HAVE IT. Slap it on someone who needs it more once she hits swordmaster, its still an important and valuable weapon to have! 10/10 for me, with bias because I want to fuck her.

AS FOR MISTER DEW.

I made an argument for Azel that he's really good and just has a hard time reaching his potential. Dew is a character that I would feel similar about if he could somehow naturally reach that potential. Dew has AMAZING growths, well balanced in all fields. Dew has an AMAZING promotion, getting obscene +5s in almost everything when he hits Thief Fighter, plus an A rank in swords (from a C!), and much needed pursuit. If you can get Dew to promote, he is easily an important and irreplaceable, valuable asset to your team.

The problem is I can never get this knucklehead to promote without boss mashing on Gondolf for 100 turns! Dew starts out WEAKER than weak, a level 1 thief with ONE defense and THREE strength. Sure he's fast and lucky, but early on his dodging isn't THAT good and most enemies he'll face he will do 1 damage to. Azel might need to be spoonfed kills to hold up, but at least Azel is shooting atomic fireballs that do 40+ raw damage over two turns with pursuit so all he needs is to be set up for the kill. Dew needs literal baby sitting or boss abuse to be truly great. He's infantry, so he falls behind - and yes I said infantry has its place, which they do, but Ayra unlike dew does NOT need to be babysat to survive. Dew needs a wall around him at all times so he doesn't get picked off and feeding him the kills is extra tedious to boot. Stealing gold is useful, but only if the guy stealing it can survive the round of combat needed to make off with the cash. If thieves had more overall utilitarian design in FE4, ie unlocking doors and chests and stealing was a command that didn't involve direct combat, maybe his use would go up. As it is, Dew is a character that needs promotions to shine, and getting him there in any timely enough manner to take advantage of it is generally unfeasible.

Oh, and I guess he can fix the bridge in Chapter 4. Eh. He's also a great dad, which is a point in his favor: Ayra and Briggid being his top potential wives, but like Noish and Alec he's more of an asset husband than a great one. Gives good balanced growths and solar sword to any infantry sword wielding kids (which is really niche honestly) and Bargain is great for holy weapon maintainence as well as being your pawn shop launderer for easy trading... but they're ultimately not too essential.

3/10 for me. Starts awful, can be amazing, has no practical means of achieving it, but what little use he has can't be totally denied. I always boss mash him on Gondolf to 20 for fast promotion so he can hold his own for the rest of G1. Makes great kids with a few right pairs too.

[Valkama]

Dew is one of the best units in the game and it's not for anything related to his combat. Gen 1 units need money and he provides. His thief abilities plus his bargain skill make him the backbone of any good team as it allows him to manage how much money he gives to people and hold a lot more than he normally should. Gen 1 would be a much different game without him. 8.5/10

[BrightBow]

Dew's bases are utterly abysmal and he can't even deal damage to the enemies in his starting chapter. His growths aren't nearly high enough to make up for that pathetic 3 base strength. He essentially needs a magic sword in order to damage anything. Also his HP growth is actually rather low, so he and his kids will always be on the frail side. And even if he makes it to level 20, Thief Fighter is not a good class. It's caps are about the same as those of an unpromoted Myrmidon. So even if he could reach it, he would turn into a worse Holyn at best.

Fortunately his ability to switch money around comes in handy when you want to trade around expensive stuff. Staff users also appreciate him since they usually don't exactly swim in money.

2.5/10

Edited December 16, 2016 by BrightBow

[Jedi]

While Dew can handle Cross Knights if given the experience to grow into it (As proven in several drafts on this very forum), he's mostly around for utility, getting gold, opening the bridge in chapter 4 etc.

And if you want to grind him up in a more casual run just have him deal with ch 1's axe fighters who have barely any hit on him on a forest tile.

5/10

Edited December 16, 2016 by Jedi

[Flee Fleet!]

Dew is unique. Cuz he's a thief. 8.5/10, with positive bias of course.

Since there are no chests and doors in the FE4 world, Dew is unable to do the usual thief stuff, like unlocking everything. Fortunately, FE4 makes up for this, by having Dew steal money from enemies whenever he enters combat (except in the arena, duh). Furthermore he can give money to anyone (unfortunate that he gives ALL of it away, and can't get it back either), and this is particularly helpful to characters such as Aideen and Lachesis, who you won't expect to go into battle at all (Aideen because she's a healer, and Lachesis is weak unpromoted). He also gives the Thief Sword to Lachesis, a sword that allows a unit to steal money like a thief. Unfortunately it's not that great combat wise. Dew also has the Bargain skill, which is a personal skill btw. It reduces the price of everything- from buying to repairing- by half, and can be passed down to children. It's really useful in the case of Faval (if Briggid is paired with Dew, that is), as he'll need that money to fix the Ichival. He also gets the handy dandy Wind Sword, which is awesome. Dew also has Sol, which can make him gain HP by attacking enemies.

He can also pull that bridge back up in Ch4, which is, uh, cool I guess.

Now, Dew, despite being useful in many cases, is also very weak in many cases. His attack is HORRID. He can barely do 1 damage to even axe users. He also doesn't have Pursuit, which at least would've made it a teeny weensy bit easier for him to steal kills. His poor attack also reduces the usefulness of Sol, since Sol depends on how much damage is done to an enemy, which would then be the same amount Dew would gain as HP. However Dew has the amazing 'dodge every time' syndrome, and he's very likely to dodge a hit from almost every enemy, although there are exceptions who try to prove his syndrome wrong, like sword fighters and occasionally cavaliers. But still, he doesn't need to worry much about getting hit. But if he does get hit...well.. he has enough HP so it's not like he would instantly die.

Dew starts to shine after Promotion, after which he gains Pursuit as a class skill. He also actually becomes an awesome fighter that can easily start ORKOing enemies, which is obviously welcome. Although the only fast way to get him promoted is through boss abuse, as stealing kills is already hard enough for the guy.

[qwernst]

Dew's ability to steal gold and give it away is very helpful. He himself is not fit for combat until you get the Wind Sword from Blagi Tower, and promote him, thus giving him the Pursuit skill. He is best as a father than front line or support, like Noish and Midayle. 6.5/10

[ZemZem]

Great growths by Gen I standards and is one of the best fathers in the game, but aside from that, he's nothing special aside from lowering the bridge in Chapter 4, tanking the bandits in Chapter 1, and passing money around the army when he's able to. Fun to train up in casual runs, but really falls behind when you do things such as drafts and LTC. Still, Dew's a fine lad.

5/10, +.5 bias for being neat. 5.5/10

[Shin]

His contributions early on aren't much, he really needs his funds to help with self-improvement. He's a fantastic candidate for the Elite Ring in chapter 3 and can be promoted for 4. The extra point of move is pretty swanky, it means he can keep up with horses better and a good Dew makes chapter 4 less tedious. His combat's pretty OK and the combination of Sol and his speed/luck means he's pretty hard to kill.

6/10

He doesn't really exist for chapter 2, and he needs to claim a lot of resources to get up to speed.