Dark Sage

Forge a Rapier on Celica's side to send to Alm so his merc can butcher the knights/cavs on his side. I also like to trade around the Mage Ring back and forth between Celica and Alm and give the sidequest items they need for each other (Gossamer Hair to Celica, Rion Shield to Alm after awhile).

Alm is pretty meh. I do think he's favored by the plot a bit too much and they do kind of make him husbando bait the same way Chrom is. On the other hand, I do like how some characters like Tobin, Celica, and Clive are all willing to question him without being treated as bad people. Furthermore, I find it funny how despite being a secret prince, he comes across as a more convincing commoner than Ike, since he actually talks about things that commoners would, like farming, and has some idea on what's going on in the world. Celica rocks and people like @Thane are the epitome of how fans just say they want flawed characters but when they actually get them, they bitch and moan incessantly. Her 'stupidity' is greatly exaggerated and a demonstration of people's poor reading comprehension, since she never actually trusts Jedah but only goes along with it at the last minute because she legit feels she has no choice (and for good reasons honestly).

I like most of the characters, but standouts are: Saber: He's an interesting take on the typical advisor/Jeigan figure that most FEs have. Clair: Funny, comes across well as a flawed but good person at heart. Palla: Like pretty much everything. Most people who know me shouldn't be surprised Clive: He's one of the most human characters in the game and one of the more human characters in the series, honestly. Mathilda: Strong and does the whole tomboyish knight thing infinitely better than Cecile or Sully. Celica: Actually has flaws that mean something and a thought process that makes sense and can be funny without being either generically endearingly dorky (like Chrom and Alm) or sounding like a Joss Whedon character (like most 3DS FE characters). Frankly, a lot of the critique I see about her being dumb in Act IV is often blown out of proportion or blatantly false and demonstrates the lack of reading comprehension people have. Gray and Tobin: The best bros. I guess my least favorites are Rudolf, Alm, and Faye, but I'm mostly neutral on Faye because she keeps her mouth shut and she actually has the balls to confess her feelings, which is frankly refreshing.

The classism theme and Alm's status as secret royalty makes much more sense when you consider it from the lens of noblesse oblige. I think this is part of the reason why Fernand and Berkut were added and why Slayde became much more prominent. The idea behind noblesse oblige is that the nobility have social responsiblities that they must fulfill for the commonfolk in exchange for their wealth and status. Clive, Fernand, Berkut, and Slayde all represent different aspects of the nobility when viewed from this lens. Clive is a positive example of the nobility and strongly believes in noblesse oblige; he believes that a class system is necessary, but he still treats the commonfolk as actual people and is willing to acknowledge their abilities. Even when he suggests not saving Delthea, it's because he sees it as a regrettable sacrifice to save everyone else, instead of thinking she simply doesn't matter at all due to her blood. Fernand serves as a foil to Clive in that he's somebody that lost faith in those ideals, as from his perspective, they led to the death of his family. Berkut believes in a somewhat corrupted, Darwinist form of Clive's philosophy; his motivation is to prove he's worthy of his position, which suggests this is something he expects from all nobles, and his low opinion of commoners is based on the belief that they are inherently not strong enough to ever earn such positions. And Slayde represents the worst examples of the aristocracy, particularly the extreme sense of entitlement and the callousness towards everyone else; he doesn't even think about whether he's worthy of his position like Berkut does, and just takes his status for granted. In regards to how Alm, his status as secret royalty doesn't undermine the main point regarding class that the game was taking, because it was never that one's social status doesn't matter. Rather, it's the idea that one's social status doesn't necessarily relate to their quality of character or their ability, and that people with high status are only worthy of it if they accept their responsibilities towards the happiness and safety of their subjects. Furthermore, Alm spent his life living like a commoner, among commoners. The scene in Act V where he talks about showing Clive how to use a plow is meant to highlight that even after the truth of his birth is revealed, he still has the same moral compass and the same empathy for people he previously had. Also, Forsyth's, Gray's, Tobin's, and Jesse's endings are all examples of peasants rising to the nobility, Jesse even founding his own nation, all entirely due to their merits. In regards to Ceclia's alleged idiocy, I found this was actually handled surprisingly well for the most part. Contrary to popular belief, Celica DOESN'T immediately buy Jedah's claims, and in fact questions what makes her so special that she could help with Duma's madness. The reason she ultimately caves has to do with her own lack of faith in mankind's ability to fend for themselves, the same reason she set out on her journey in the first place. It's also pretty obvious that Celica doesn't want to do it either but from her perspective, there are two options: 1. Duma degenerates, Mila doesn't come back, and the world is fucked, or 2. Sacrifice her soul on the chance that it might help Duma not go crazy, which would ultimately have a higher net worth. Celica not telling the others about it is very in-character too, she doesn't even Mae much about Alm, and both Kliff and Mae remark how she tends to keep things to herself and not burden other people. The main reason why it comes off so much worse is because Jedah's character design is way too...extreme to put it lightly. Even keeping the blue tinge is fine, since that seems to be a thing among the Duma Faithful, but looking normal would go a long way to make Act IV easier to swallow. (I also find it ironic that there are a couple of people who hate Alm but then praise Robin in the same breath. The cognitive dissonance is amazing).

Saizo and Beruka are definitely the best ones in Fates. I like how they're both too good for the game and clearly know it. Hinata's a pretty cool dude, he's energetic and a bit dim without being annoying and he has some good supports. I kind of like Kagero too for reasons I can't explain. And Selena is more like Shinon in this game than in Awakening, so that's a plus. Fuck Odin though, he's about as funny as Dane Cook and Carlos Mencia. Disappointed that the best Fire Emblem retainer isn't on this poll though (hint, it's Palla).

Cavalier Robin doubles like everything in Part 1 and isn't much worse than Cleive in stats. He's fine. Definitely better than a shitter like Cliff.

Promote Grey to Merc, he's ridiculous, especially with the Bolt Sword.

No dude, don't do it. joshcja is absolutely wrong on like every count. Wyvern Elise is terrible until promotion and Odin is like mediocre at best. You're really not missing anything. Like if you want a mage, just give Camilla all the dusts and she'll be absurd.

Hans would've been an entertaining villain at least if he acted like Captain Rhodes from Day of the Dead.

See this is funny because Tsubaki and Hinata get so much worse when you reclass them out of their base classes.

Leo is kind of dull though. I wish Saizo or Shura got a manga instead.

What exactly is Effie OHKOing with a Javelin early on? The only thing I can think of are like C8 Dark Mages, but Silas can also one shot them with an Arthur pair up + tonic + a strength proc. Silas can also ORKO all the fighters with a speed proc + tonic too and ORKO Flora if he gets two speed procs (not likely but possible). There's also the dubiousness of Effie doing anything in C8 other than visit a village in the first place. Odin should just get out of bottom tier. He's bad, but he has early chip to his name, he can do ok as an early promo Dark Knight for awhile or can be a decent longterm unit with investment (1-2 range and a horse is good), or just be a pair up bot for Camilla. It's a lot better than Benny basically doing nothing and Mozu simply sucking and dying. I also think Odin > Laslow because Laslow really is useless, but I know that's a lot less popular an opinion so :/

See this is funny because Jakob destroys Felicia in virtually all these categories and because of how poorly magic scales with healing, her healing advantage over him is miniscule. Jakob can go Paladin and turn the entire early game into a joke and still continue to dominate all the way into lategame. Felicia's combat sucks massive dick unless she goes Dark Knight or Malig Knight and before then is nothing more than a pair up bot for Corrin (seriously, her combat is so bad early on).