Inference

I'm beginning to express withdrawal symptoms as a consequence of not having played Conquest in months (gave my 3DS away to my Fire Emblem-loving cousin). Conquest is freaking unforgettable.

I really didn't think Arthur was worth it until Chapter 10, where he becomes a pretty obvious 10/10 unit for bulling through 1-2 hell in a way that provokes manly tears. The rest of the game, I never feel he is quite as compulsory or gamebreaking, due to the fact that he's a fucking 5-move footie for probably two chapters minimum. No, he does not contribute in either of those chapters. 8/10

Source required. Had massive problems recently with the Draco squad of Ch. 5 ignoring a perfectly positioned Lewyn, forcing a reset due to how long it took to actually kill them. I highly doubt your endgame scenario is the reason people are giving him high scores. People are still just looking at his stats and tome and thinking 'broken'. Given that's the case, you'd need a new moniker for Seliph and a host of units which are better off.

Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeah, Forseti doesn't exactly work in this game the way you want it to. For one, the enemy doesn't actually attack if they have no chance to hit. Parking Ced on evasive terrain with Forseti gives you nigh-guaranteed survival, but you don't kill any enemies in the enemy phase, which is where the bulk of your combat would usually come from in FE. On the flipside, if you are facing ~20% chances to be hit instead of zero, on top of not being a very bulky unit to begin with, you always risk a potential reset. Ced as a unit can never be as good in practice as he is in theory; the maps in this game are too damn big, and he is surrounded by units that can fight as well as he does with better availability, better movement, and guaranteed survival in dense combat areas. But there is one thing Ced is capable of that not all units can do: use high-ranking staves. Atop the ability to clear arenas with ease to repair his own equipment, Ced is actually a rather good utility unit that can fight extremely well, Forseti or otherwise, in the very few practical applications a non-mounted unit's combat has. Using Fortify, Physic, Silence, and Sleep every now and then does affect battle to a non-negligible degree. Claude-dad also opens up Valkyrie, but if anyone can think of a practical use for that thing, let me know! 6/10 for the potential to be useful as a staffbot, but falling short in almost every other area. Claude!Fee is goddess. In addition to the numerous blatantly Fee-only areas in the game that house very useful items, or at least ones she can sell for easy cash, having staff utility on promotion gives her an almost unrivaled level of versatility. Unfortunately, a good Magic stat is far from guaranteed, since her base is so low, but a simple Magic ring should allow you full use of her repertoire. I recommend the Shield and Renewal rings specifically for her, since the main frontline combatants are never really wanting for defense, and you really want Fee flying off to do Fee things from Turn 1 without ever having to worry about doubling back for healing. 9/10. This unit can do almost anything with the right resources, and much of what she does is irreplaceable.

No time for a wall of text reply, but you are vastly overstating the difficulty of this game, even on Lunatic mode. Raw stats aren't the reasoning Awakening is so easy to cheese; it's the vast application of Rescue and Galeforce into the boss that trivializes the latter half of the game, and I don't see how you are doing that without preparing early and tunneling your offense into your few good units over the non-Veteran flunkies that will inevitably be left behind. Early WTD against some enemies is not a serious disincentive for a unit with a 10+ level advantage who flies and gets their tomes right back upon promotion. Even when sandbagging, almost nothing in the early game really challenges Robin once she has momentum, and the same goes for both Lucina and Morgan just about right after Morgan's paralogue. For frame of reference, Severa's paralogue on Lunatic is perfectly beatable when followed up from Morgan's. What does this even mean? Morgan and Lucina support each other just fine. Have you ever even played a full Galeforce run?

No time for a wall of text reply, but you are vastly overstating the difficulty of this game, even on Lunatic mode. Raw stats aren't the reasoning Awakening is so easy to cheese; it's the vast application of Rescue and Galeforce into the boss that trivializes the latter half of the game, and I don't see how you are doing that without preparing early and tunneling your offense into your few good units over the non-Veteran flunkies that will inevitably be left behind. Early WTD against some enemies is not a serious disincentive for a unit with a 10+ level advantage who flies and gets their tomes right back upon promotion. Even when sandbagging, almost nothing in the early game really challenges Robin once she has momentum, and the same goes for both Lucina and Morgan just about right after Morgan's paralogue. For frame of reference, Severa's paralogue on Lunatic is perfectly beatable when followed up from Morgan's.

Yeah, I'd rather be 'working on my Lance rank' than having two of the best units in the game with Galeforce from Chapter 13.

Your formula does not respect actual gameplay scenarios. Lucina is recruited just before Morgan, so his debut chapter is part of her levelup regime. That chapter is swarming with enemies that Lucina can easily kill (Dracos), and she can start Galeforce chaining with Morgan immediately, resulting in more levelups for the both of them. At this point, the game basically ends, as there really isn't any obstacle in the game that surmounts triple Veteran + Galeforce spam, even on Lunatic mode. On the other hand, your scenario would result in Lucina and Morgan having E-Lances, less bulk, and bow weakness for a significant period of time just to get their own Galeforce. You shouldn't have to go through all of that mid-late game when Robin can do it herself early and pass it down to two of the best units in the game.

Nah, get out of here with all that crap. Robin is the most powerful unit in the entire series and has a skill that multiplies her experience by a considerable amount in a game that hands it out generously. It isn't rocket science to figure out what you need to do to give her kids Galeforce.

Bit late to the party, but I routinely pass Galeforce down to Lucina and Morgan consecutively by allowing Avatar to steal most of the kills in the first half of the game. The rest of the units don't actually need them because they're either not as good or are on other sides of the map putting in work of their own (like Draco Panne). Sending Lucina down Peg and Dark Flier takes way longer than it would just having the Avatar pass down Galeforce, then reclassing Lucina to Tactician immediately, where she would get Veteran right away, on top of having Galeforce to train with, rather than reach. This leads to three units with Galeforce by midgame, all with no DLC. Now you see why people call Awakening one of the easiest games in the series.

what is he doing with fee's shield ring your opinion is invalid

I'm going to assume the most advantageous pairing(s) to the unit from here on out, since it wouldn't make any sense to assume a pairing that would render them instantly useless/benched. I don't have a solid score in my mind for Lana or her substitute, so I'll abstain. Despite her movement, her staff utility isn't by any means negligible, and she's a big help in allowing Seliph to keep momentum during their debut chapter. The same argument could be made for Ced once he's on the table. Lester, however, is an easy 7/10 from me. Midir dad gives him Brave Bow, which wraps up just about every problem he'd have on player phase. Not even Armor Knights can survive him if the Strength levels are steady. I will abstain on his substitute, having never even seen him before, let alone used him.

No, actually, I make sure they both die/stay alone forever to get the items and characters I want. Good catch, though.

Character-wise, Ethlyn sort of wins by default because she actually has a non-negligible amount of story dialogue to her name and she's fiercely devoted to her family in a non-exaggerated way. No, this doesn't mean I condone taking her baby to the desert, but she is rather quick to take up arms when Sigurd or Quan are in trouble and doesn't make a big deal of it. Her ability to show concern is written better than any other female's personality trait in this game. Design-wise, fuck everyone who isn't Daisy. She is the cutest female character in the game by a considerable amount, and I always take great care in preventing Sylvia from being paired just to get her. I normally pair her with Shanan, but I recently discovered this awesome glitch where Seliph pairs with her instantly in her debut chapter, and I self-inserted the fuck out of that. Overall: 1) Ethlyn 2) Daisy 3) Raquesis 4) lol.

I don't really understand why people bother arguing that Seliph and Leif are just like other footies at this point, using meaningless semantics that mostly ignore the payoff that warrants their investment. No amount of training will allow other units to match their capabilities, which are class-locked, circumstantial, and inalienable. Sorry, friend. As mediocre as Dermott tends to be in combat, 8-move Canto from recruitment is a ridiculously large advantage to undersell.