Furetchen's Highly Opinionated and Probably Inaccurate Ratings

[Parrhesia]

Sounds reasonable.

SYRENE

Syrene makes for great filler. She has (I believe) A in both swords and lances, has mediocre but not awful stats per se (EDIT: Yeaahh, awful stats per se), and can fly. Flying will bite her in the arse in Chapter 19, which is...lessee, a quarter of her availability, but still. She's...usable.

Of course, you also have Cormag and Vanessa, who beat her in everything. Even Tana is easier to bring up to speed. The Triangle Attack...well, Tana ain't that great, and it's totally unneccessary. But still, if it's your kinda thing...

Sorry, I'm just having a hard time describing Syrene. She has four chapters of availability after being a pain in the arse to train. Still, both Last Hope (admittedly, if she's deployed here sans Fili Shield she WILL die) and Darkling Wood have ludicrous unit slots, so you'll prob'ly end up throwing her into the mix in those chapters. And she'll do arright. But overall, Syrene is no great unit. She'd be pretty mediocre (EDIT: Shite) even without her awful availability. She may be attractive, yes, but she's only getting a

3/10.

Edited April 14, 2010 by Furetchen

[Rewjeo]

Err, Syrene joins w/ 27 HP/10 DEF. It takes 24 ATK to 2HKO her. W/ a Silver Lance, she has 26 MT, 15 AS, 106 HIT. In chapter 19, 2RKOs Mercs @85 HIT, Knights in 4 (doubles), 2 for myrms @75, 2 @ 80 for archers(doubles), barely 2HKOs fighters @ 70 (doubles), 2HKOs THIEVES, 2HKOs Druids and doubles (and loses 3/4 of her HP), 6HKOs generals (doubles), 2 for SMs @~70, 7 for GKs (doubles) @ 60 HIT (rofl), 4HKOs Heroes, 3-4HKOs Warriors @ ~55 HIT (may or may not double), etc. She's OHKOd by Silver Axes, ORKOd by the Brave Lance General, OHKOd by Silver Lances, she's even borderline OHKOd by SMs. Yeah, she has bad combat against unpromoted enemies, and her combat against promoted enemies is utter crap. Even Triangle attacking can get her killed.

Now admittedly 18 can improve this somewhat, but still, a 4?

[Parrhesia]

That...

...is true.

Slamming her down to a three, although she can use a sword to mitigate some of that. But, your points are legit. She only has four chapters, is really only gonna be deployed in two at best, and isn't even good there.

[Anouleth]

Err, Syrene joins w/ 27 HP/10 DEF. It takes 24 ATK to 2HKO her. W/ a Silver Lance, she has 26 MT, 15 AS, 106 HIT. In chapter 19, 2RKOs Mercs @85 HIT, Knights in 4 (doubles), 2 for myrms @75, 2 @ 80 for archers(doubles), barely 2HKOs fighters @ 70 (doubles), 2HKOs THIEVES, 2HKOs Druids and doubles (and loses 3/4 of her HP), 6HKOs generals (doubles), 2 for SMs @~70, 7 for GKs (doubles) @ 60 HIT (rofl), 4HKOs Heroes, 3-4HKOs Warriors @ ~55 HIT (may or may not double), etc. She's OHKOd by Silver Axes, ORKOd by the Brave Lance General, OHKOd by Silver Lances, she's even borderline OHKOd by SMs. Yeah, she has bad combat against unpromoted enemies, and her combat against promoted enemies is utter crap. Even Triangle attacking can get her killed.

Now admittedly 18 can improve this somewhat, but still, a 4?

Why is Syrene still at base level in Chapter 19? And why is she fighting the tough promoted enemies that everyone struggles with? I mean, a 20/05 Vanessa has only three more strength than Syrene, ~6 more HP and 2-3 more defence, so she's likely getting 2HKOed just as often and not killing any promoted enemies either aside from the Swordmasters. Oh, and also, she needs the Fili Shield just to survive, since there's a Sniper/Ranger spawning on both entrances every turn. Good luck wresting it away from Cormag.

I mean, some of your points in your comparison are just plain dumb. Why is Syrene fighting axe users with a Silver Lance when she can switch to a Killing Edge for +36AVO and +30HIT? Why is she even using a Silver Lance for anything when they're not even buyable yet?

Also, I don't know what stats you have on your enemies, but I don't remember any 37 attack enemies in this chapter.

Edited April 14, 2010 by Anouleth

[Scarlet]

Just want to correct something:

She has (I believe) A in both swords and lances

Syrene starts with C swords. That's right, unless you have her spam killing edges, you will not want her to use swords much.

About enemies with 37 Atk, I indeed don't recall to have seen any of those in chapter 19 (though SilverAxe!Heroes and SilverAnything!GreatKnights come close). On the other hand, both chapter 18 and the Endgame have gorgons, which like to come with capped magic, resulting in bullshit like 40 Atk hitting on Res, or even 42 with Shadowshot. Only 39 magical Atk is necessary to OHKO Syrene.

Yeah, she really sucks.

Edited April 14, 2010 by Raymond

[Mekkah]

Why is Syrene still at base level in Chapter 19? And why is she fighting the tough promoted enemies that everyone struggles with? I mean, a 20/05 Vanessa has only three more strength than Syrene, ~6 more HP and 2-3 more defence, so she's likely getting 2HKOed just as often and not killing any promoted enemies either aside from the Swordmasters. Oh, and also, she needs the Fili Shield just to survive, since there's a Sniper/Ranger spawning on both entrances every turn. Good luck wresting it away from Cormag.

Besides the fact that that level for Vanessa seems just plain wrong (hi Gorgon Eggs), you forget to take into account that a 20/5 Vanessa also has ~65 avo before supports whereas a --/5 Syrene has ~48 and can't really support anything. She dies to bow enemies as well, but Vanessa having that problem doesn't make it any less bad than Syrene having it.

I mean, some of your points in your comparison are just plain dumb. Why is Syrene fighting axe users with a Silver Lance when she can switch to a Killing Edge for +36AVO and +30HIT?

She can't switch to a KE on enemy phase, and this just makes her worse against all the Silver Lance enemies. That doesn't mean being able to use KE on Warriors isn't an advantage, just that you can't assume she's using the right (or the wrong) weapon all the time.

[Parrhesia]

Just want to correct something:

Syrene starts with C swords. That's right, unless you have her spam killing edges, you will not want her to use swords much.

Thanks, man...god, she's bad. At least it's another unit slot filler, like Myrrh, but unlike Myrrh she can't fight much better than the armour knights ineptly running around the place.

Speaking of Myrrh, taking her to 6 and leaving her there. Fin.

Who to review next?

[Jaybee]

Amelia.

[Anouleth]

Just want to correct something:

Syrene starts with C swords. That's right, unless you have her spam killing edges, you will not want her to use swords much.

Is using Killing Edges a problem? They're buyable, she takes no AS penalty, if she crits her crappy strength isn't an issue and she'll crit half the time. It's a shame she doesn't have A Swords/A Lances like Seth, because Silvers would be cool on her and so would be Audhulma, but c'est la vie.

About enemies with 37 Atk, I indeed don't recall to have seen any of those in chapter 19 (though SilverAxe!Heroes and SilverAnything!GreatKnights come close). On the other hand, both chapter 18 and the Endgame have gorgons, which like to come with capped magic, resulting in bullshit like 40 Atk hitting on Res, or even 42 with Shadowshot. Only 39 magical Atk is necessary to OHKO Syrene.

Yeah, she really sucks.

I have no idea what you're talking about. Silver Axe Heroes have 30atk and GKs can go up to 34atk. But 40atk Gorgons are possible.

39 magical attack if she gained absolutely no levels over 4 chapters, and if Syrene isn't using Pure Water for whatever reason (everyone should be using Pure Water/Barrier in Endgame, because the magic users are everywhere and have ridiculous attack). She's more likely 2HKOed, but since everyone except a handful of freaks like Audhulma!Seth gets 2HKOed, it's not a negative. And she has positives - Syrene doesn't need to be Warped past the Dracozombies, for a start, so she's better than someone like Dozla, who will need Moulder/Natasha's attention.

Besides the fact that that level for Vanessa seems just plain wrong (hi Gorgon Eggs), you forget to take into account that a 20/5 Vanessa also has ~65 avo before supports whereas a --/5 Syrene has ~48 and can't really support anything. She dies to bow enemies as well, but Vanessa having that problem doesn't make it any less bad than Syrene having it.

I assumed a low level for Vanessa because Syrene was assumed to be at base level. If anything, it disadvantages Syrene more than Vanessa since her growths are better than Vanessa's and she needs more AS to double with heavier weapons. Besides, Vanessa is obviously better than Syrene in lategame, but if Vanessa's lategame is so good people can forget about her meh earlygame and try and get her into high/top tier, then why is the somewhat worse Syrene considered to be worse than failures like Knoll or Dozla?

Since Syrene can equip a Lancereaver because such a large proportion of monsters will be carrying Lances, so Syrene will actually beat Vanessa in avoid against Lance users. As for supports, they don't exist. If you beat the game efficiently, Vanessa will maaaaaybe get a C Moulder and maaaaaaaybe get a C Lute and never be in range of either of them, so it doesn't matter. C Moulder is 33 turns, C Lute is 35 turns. I beat the game in 205 turns and could easily get that under 200. Why is Vanessa spending almost a fifth of the game sitting next to slow, vulnerable casters? Why are they near her in lategame? Moulder is sitting on your starting platform Warping people, casting Barrier, casting Physic. Lute is maybe nearby, this is one of the few chapters where they can actually sit together. So I guess she can enjoy her C Lute, if it even exists. I guess if Vanessa gets Vidofnir, she can win durability by a landslide, but when Seth/Franz/Cormag/Forde/Kyle are all good and want it as well, I doubt whether she can get it.

Where are we now then? Wow, Vanessa beats Syrene by maybe one or two points of defense, 4 or 5 points of HP and probably doesn't win resistance, with an additional avoid lead against non-lance users, which is maybe half of C20 and Endgame. I guess we can consider giving Vanessa that Chapter 5 Dracoshield, but there's a Chapter 17 Dracoshield that Syrene can easily snag in return, and it's less valuable as well. So if you're rating Syrene low on the basis of poor durability, then Vanessa should also be rated low, since her durability is barely any better.

She can't switch to a KE on enemy phase, and this just makes her worse against all the Silver Lance enemies. That doesn't mean being able to use KE on Warriors isn't an advantage, just that you can't assume she's using the right (or the wrong) weapon all the time.

Well, Syrene shouldn't be on the frontlines in any case in C19. There's simply no point, she deals awful damage, and has bad durability.

She's better off fluttering to the right to kill the Fighters/Druid, then open the Chests, which isn't great but better than anything Dozla is contributing. Dozla can't even step onto the frontlines since so many enemies double him or can crit him. What can he do, maybe try and crit something with a Killer Axe, except that some targets he can barely hit (Heroes, Rangers, Swordmasters) and some targets can hit him back hard (GKs, Warriors, Mage Knights). I guess he could kill a Paladin 60% of the time. Amazing stuff there from Dozla. And sending him right like I suggested is pretty thankless, since both he and Syrene need Pure Waters to avoid the 2HKO from the Druid, except that Syrene doesn't need to be 20/11 just to double the Fighters. I guess he can Killer the Druid for a 60% chance to kill without a counter, but he's not really reliably with his accuracy, especially if the Druid sits on a Pillar. He doesn't even win against Generals, since both he and Syrene 2HKO with Heavy Spear/Hammer, but Syrene can double them at a lower level. Oh, and he has worse movement, so he may not even reach the chests before Riev dies.

So yeah, Syrene should be above Dozla.

[Rewjeo]

Vanessa has supports. Yeah, I know I think people overrate them, but by chapter 19? B/B doesn't seem unlikely. Suddenly, she's taking 5-6 less damage per hit and needs to take more to be killed. She's also doing more damage and doubling more. And she was around for, what, 15.5 more chapters than Syrene? And she only gets 3.5 more points than her?

@Dozla point: Dozla doesn't join in chapter 17, though. He joins in chapter ELEVEN. I don't care if he's worse than Syrene now, because we probably aren't using him now. What I care about is his ~12-~15.

Edited April 15, 2010 by Slize

[Scarlet]

Is using Killing Edges a problem? They're buyable, she takes no AS penalty, if she crits her crappy strength isn't an issue and she'll crit half the time. It's a shame she doesn't have A Swords/A Lances like Seth, because Silvers would be cool on her and so would be Audhulma, but c'est la vie.

I never said it was a problem. If you want her to spam killing edges, that's fine.

I have no idea what you're talking about. Silver Axe Heroes have 30atk and GKs can go up to 34atk. But 40atk Gorgons are possible.

Huh. I could've sworn those heroes had more than just 15 Str. But eh, I guess I must've mixed that up somehow.

39 magical attack if she gained absolutely no levels over 4 chapters, and if Syrene isn't using Pure Water for whatever reason (everyone should be using Pure Water/Barrier in Endgame, because the magic users are everywhere and have ridiculous attack). She's more likely 2HKOed, but since everyone except a handful of freaks like Audhulma!Seth gets 2HKOed, it's not a negative. And she has positives - Syrene doesn't need to be Warped past the Dracozombies, for a start, so she's better than someone like Dozla, who will need Moulder/Natasha's attention.

I forgot that pure water even exists.

I say that "everyone gets 2HKO'd" is exaggerated though. Magic users don't have a whole lot of HP, but they have something called resistance, and I think they'll have enough of it to not get 2HKO'd by 40 magical Atk when using pure water.

And is warping seriously considered the optimal strategy to bypass the Dracozombies? I thought the standard strategy was to murder them like any other enemy. Dudes like SilverBow!Innes (not at base level though, of course) are perfectly capable of that, after all.

[stuff about Dozla]

Dozla exists 6 chapters earlier than Syrene though, at a point in the game where his base stats actually still are somewhat decent. He has no flying utility, but if used seriously, his combat is pretty acceptable, and he can act as a tank.

Also, Dozla may have crappy LUK - but something called the hoplon guard exists to prevent crits. I say that him getting it when he's in play doesn't even have much of an opportunity cost - who else would seriously want it anyway? Moulder can simply support people for additional CEv and usually doesn't take counters anyway, and in the rare event that Knoll is in play, he most likely is just standing in some corner spamming phantoms anyway.

[Anouleth]

Vanessa has supports. Yeah, I know I think people overrate them, but by chapter 19? B/B doesn't seem unlikely. Suddenly, she's taking 5-6 less damage per hit and needs to take more to be killed. She's also doing more damage and doubling more. And she was around for, what, 15.5 more chapters than Syrene? And she only gets 3.5 more points than her?

'Doesn't seem unlikely'? Don't tell me it doesn't seem unlikely, show me when when it happens. B with Moulder and B with Lute are 73 and 75 turns respectively, and I don't care, if those supports even exist you are taking too long. Like I said, 200 turns is a reasonable expectation for an efficient run. Vanessa is spending two-fifths of the game following around a 5 move mage and a 5 move priest, so she is spending almost half her availability as a 5-move unit. And if she's spending almost half the game as a 5 move unit, then she is probably being a negative in her 15.5 chapters before Syrene appears, since her combat is still awful, so Vanessa's availability lead isn't worth much. If Vanessa wants to be useful and efficient and fly off, then she'll have to wave goodbye to her supporters anyway, so unless you also play inefficiently in lategame, she won't be in range of her supporters.

It does not take half of C17 to recruit Syrene. Again, you are playing too slowly. She can be recruited on Turn 1 if Tethys has the Boots and Vanessa is being used. By the sounds of this discussion, Vanessa is assumed to be used, and you have no reason not to go for Lyon in C17 as quickly as possible, unless you're hellbent on stealing the Dracoshield.

Also, Vanessa only doubles promoted humans that Syrene fails against. Syrene's 17AS at 20/4 doubles almost everything in C20/Endgame, and against the majority of enemies she can even cut her AS and use Silver Lances or Killer Lances for comparable offense to Vanessa. The only things that Vanessa will double that Syrene doesn't are Gwyllgis, but there are only two in Endgame and the C20 ones will likely be skipped. Oh, and the C19 enemies. Pfft, like Vanessa can survive a Silver Bow Ranger anyway. She needs to be 20/10 just to get 2HKOed by the things. So she's not going to be on the frontlines either. She can take the Fili Shield, but Cormag wants it as well. Cormag gets 3HKOed by Elfire MKs and Silver Axe Great Knights, so either of those will put him in range to be killed by a Silver Bow Ranger.

@Dozla point: Dozla doesn't join in chapter 17, though. He joins in chapter ELEVEN. I don't care if he's worse than Syrene now, because we probably aren't using him now. What I care about is his ~12-~15.

And he still sucks there. What does he double in Chapter 12? Maybe the Shamans, maybe the monsters that weigh themselves down. Maybe he can OHKO the Mages. Faces crit from many things due to shitty luck. He will probably be outperformed by most of your regular units, let alone your other prepromotes. Who is competing with Syrene for flyer utility? 1-3 units, and even with 3 other fliers she's still useful. Eirika isn't killing Morva on her own. I can see myself ferrying my strongest fighter (Garm!Ross or Audhulma!Joshua, most likely), Eirika/Ephraim, and a healer in C20. What's Dozla doing? Performing below-average in midgame, then you start fighting more prepromotes and he's awful. Whereas Syrene is optimal deployment for maybe three chapters and forced in another.

I forgot that pure water even exists.

I say that "everyone gets 2HKO'd" is exaggerated though. Magic users don't have a whole lot of HP, but they have something called resistance, and I think they'll have enough of it to not get 2HKO'd by 40 magical Atk when using pure water.

And is warping seriously considered the optimal strategy to bypass the Dracozombies? I thought the standard strategy was to murder them like any other enemy. Dudes like SilverBow!Innes (not at base level though, of course) are perfectly capable of that, after all.

You shouldn't forget about Pure Water. Magic users are the no. 1 threat in lategame in FE8, due to long-range magic and obscene amounts of attack. But even Magic users aren't invincible. Mage Knight Lute needs to be about 20/10 to avoid a 2HKO from 40 atk because she faces WTD, for example. She needs a Pure Water, since they have non-negligible accuracy. Saleh is at risk without Pure Water almost forever, even Arch Mogalls almost 2HKO him.

And warping probably is the best strategy. I can beat Endgame in 4 or 5 turns, and it takes maybe three or four turns just to go left, lure the Draco, kill it, then go back towards the center. It's a pain warping people next to Lyon, though, since Warp range sucks and the reinforcements like to all show up on turn 3 and 4. 36atk Arch Mogalls hurt, especially in swarms of 6.

Dunno about SilverBow!Innes. Can he even scratch them? Shouldn't he be using Nidhogg instead, or do Bows get an effective advantage?

Dozla exists 6 chapters earlier than Syrene though, at a point in the game where his base stats actually still are somewhat decent. He has no flying utility, but if used seriously, his combat is pretty acceptable, and he can act as a tank.

Also, Dozla may have crappy LUK - but something called the hoplon guard exists to prevent crits. I say that him getting it when he's in play doesn't even have much of an opportunity cost - who else would seriously want it anyway? Moulder can simply support people for additional CEv and usually doesn't take counters anyway, and in the rare event that Knoll is in play, he most likely is just standing in some corner spamming phantoms anyway.

I'd rather give the Hoplon Guard to Moulder or Gilliam. I usually can't get any of Moulder's supports going because they're all so slow. And the Hoplon Guard shows up in C15, which is towards the end of Dozla's usable lifespan.

And Dozla is barely performing better than your unpromoted units, let alone your Jeigans (Seth/Duessel/Saleh). In addition, midgame chapters like Fluorspar's Oath and Hamill Canyon are probably among the easiest in the game, since your units are promoted/almost promoted and the enemies aren't.

Edited April 15, 2010 by Anouleth

[Parrhesia]

I just lost half a post on Amelia by hitting Alt-Left or something. Ffffff---

Okay, again...

AMELIA

Amelia's pretty bad. Okay, I'll amend that- rubbish.

So she comes at level -10 at chapter 9 (well, I think if you screw up it's level 13 or so on Eir route but if so, give up) and is immediately deplorable. Something like 3s in everything, so most things are doubling her especially if she has the audacity to wield something like an Iron Lance. Or a Javelin. That's right, she doesn't get a goddamn...Pilum, or some kind of Hatchet Lance she could level with easily...no, your gonna just chip the odd Merc before everyone rushes and blocks all routes to precious Amelia. Oh, and she's 4-move.

Fortunately, she gains XP at a really goddamn fast pace. So she should be level 1 at around Chapter 12-16 depending on how much you gimped your turncount (here's a hint...she will die in Eph route 10 (pesky fleets) and 11 (pesky flying enemies) SO DON'T FIELD HER THERE).

Here's a silver lining. She may be level 1, but she's got really good bases for her level by that point. She's still badly behind, but she can still attack people without fear of KoS. And for chrissakes MAKE HER A CAVALIER. Or you will have wasted heartache on a unit that is still, ultimately, 4-move.

But she still has to catch up further. And really, the end result is only a slightly better unit than your other powerhouses. So really...not worth the effort. Amelia gets from me a

0.5/10

Edited April 30, 2010 by Trompe le Monde

[Scarlet]

You shouldn't forget about Pure Water. Magic users are the no. 1 threat in lategame in FE8, due to long-range magic and obscene amounts of attack. But even Magic users aren't invincible. Mage Knight Lute needs to be about 20/10 to avoid a 2HKO from 40 atk because she faces WTD, for example. She needs a Pure Water, since they have non-negligible accuracy. Saleh is at risk without Pure Water almost forever, even Arch Mogalls almost 2HKO him.

Okay then, I'll try to remember that for next time.

And warping probably is the best strategy. I can beat Endgame in 4 or 5 turns, and it takes maybe three or four turns just to go left, lure the Draco, kill it, then go back towards the center. It's a pain warping people next to Lyon, though, since Warp range sucks and the reinforcements like to all show up on turn 3 and 4. 36atk Arch Mogalls hurt, especially in swarms of 6.

I see... Looks like I ought to play FE8 efficiently for once. ^^'

Dunno about SilverBow!Innes. Can he even scratch them? Shouldn't he be using Nidhogg instead, or do Bows get an effective advantage?

Yes, bows get the usual x3 effective bonus against them (and dracozombies can also move over the void for some reason, so I guess they're classified as fliers), so a silver bow has a nice 39 Mt against them (IIRC, the holy weapons in this game only do x2 effective damage, so Nidhogg would only have 36 Mt against them).

I'd rather give the Hoplon Guard to Moulder or Gilliam. I usually can't get any of Moulder's supports going because they're all so slow. And the Hoplon Guard shows up in C15, which is towards the end of Dozla's usable lifespan.

I don't know about Gilliam. I guess he might want it for Thunder!Mages, but other than that, what is there that can really hurt Gilliam even with a crit? Physicial weapons don't do much damage to him.

But anyway, if you say Dozla won't be used past chapter 15, then let's leave the hoplon guard aside. But if we limit Dozla's play time to that span, I think you overrate his issues with crits from enemies. Enemy SKL really sucks in this game, so most enemies don't even surpass 4 Crt during that time, so even with just 4 luck, Dozla rarely ever faces actual crit chances from his enemies. Myrmidons, Mercs, Mauthe Doogs and Thunder!Mages have displayed crit against him, I guess, but the former three usually do crap for damage anyway (remember that Dozla has 11 base Def), and Thunder!Mages are a bit more annoying, I suppose, but he can survive a crit even from those (21 magical Atk is needed to OHKO base!Dozla with a crit).

And Dozla is barely performing better than your unpromoted units, let alone your Jeigans (Seth/Duessel/Saleh). In addition, midgame chapters like Fluorspar's Oath and Hamill Canyon are probably among the easiest in the game, since your units are promoted/almost promoted and the enemies aren't.

Of course, Dozla isn't that much better than our unpromoted units, and he certainly doesn't reach up to dudes like Duessel or Saleh, let alone Seth. That's why he's so low on the tier list. But he most certainly is usable in that time span. Monsters that are not Mauthe Doogs or Gargoyles have complete crap for AS and get doubled even by Dozla's 9 AS, and there's killer axes for at least okay-ish offense against everything else. His hit rate isn't perfect, but it's not like he'd miss every third attack either. However, with 43 HP and 11 Def at base level, Dozla makes for a rather nice tank, if that's worth anything.

[Parrhesia]

The most fun thing I ever did in FE8 was throw Brave Lance 10/1 General Gilliam and --/7ish Brave Axe Dozla straight into the front lines of Chpt 19. They both ate it, but...hilarious.

Anyway. Moving on. Who next?

[Anouleth]

Of course, Dozla isn't that much better than our unpromoted units, and he certainly doesn't reach up to dudes like Duessel or Saleh, let alone Seth. That's why he's so low on the tier list. But he most certainly is usable in that time span. Monsters that are not Mauthe Doogs or Gargoyles have complete crap for AS and get doubled even by Dozla's 9 AS, and there's killer axes for at least okay-ish offense against everything else. His hit rate isn't perfect, but it's not like he'd miss every third attack either. However, with 43 HP and 11 Def at base level, Dozla makes for a rather nice tank, if that's worth anything.

Well, maybe I have strange priorities, but I think Syrene being optimum in 3 chapters outweighs Dozla being average filler for 4 chapters, especially when I find midgame so easy. I mean, I have more average combatants than I know what to do with, but only 2/3 fliers. Dozla is also an awful Jeigan, since it's hard to predict when he'll crit, so he takes kills that I want to give to cooler dudes.

I suppose Dozla vs Syrene can go either way, though, depending on your priorities.

Still not sure why Amelia got a 2. Shouldn't it be 0, since she's Wendy with less defense initially and ends up turning into Isadora?

Edited April 15, 2010 by Anouleth

[Parrhesia]

She has good stats. Eventually. It was originally 1.5 Eph route (due to 10 fleets and 11 gargoyles) and 2.5 Eir route, but I didn't know for sure if there were any corresponding threats on Eir route. So I averaged it to a two.

Besides, even if she just catches an arrow in the face for someone more useful, she's doing a job.

Ross will probably get a 3, due to Hatchet and availability. Ewan a 1 or 2.

[A Whaler on the Moon]

What the hell is Moulder doing so low? IMO, at least an 8.5

Moulder has incredible early game utility and is a hell of a lot more durable than Natasha, your other earlygame healer (IIRC). His supports are great, and he is a competent fighter later on in the game, when he isnt healing people.

Lute and Saleh both gain staves/join rather late-ish in the game, when everyone is starting to rape the enemies, and Lute will definately be killing, not healing (especially as a mage knight). Lute also only gets an E staves on promotion (IIRC as well, I havn't played FE8 in a while), which means she has to run around instead of sitting at the back using physic, like Moulder can.

Saleh on the other hand is generally outclassed by most of the people you've been training and will probably be killing more than healing. He's the only real competition, but he should really be killing on the frontlines more often than healing.

And theres no real incentive to use Artur over Lute unless you want a bishop (which Moulder can pull over prefectly anyway). All of this is not even really showing earlygame utility, in which your units (except Seth) aren't really raping as hard as they are when Saleh joins/Lute or Artur promote.

[Junkhead]

Natasha comes soon after, but at level 2 with a dismal deuce in the magic department, so Moulder is probably your prime healer.

She has x1.5 Moulder's Mag growth, that totally makes up for her base, besides, it's not like her healing's bad when she comes equipped with a Mend staff, her decent Mag makes her exellent against monters, this is assuming Slayer of course.

EDIT: You have two healers, that's pretty awesome, it's also not like she's joining many chapters ahead of Moulder, totally unlike L'Arachel.

Even Ewan might get staves and tomes before him, assuming the average GameFAQ writer is playing.

That's assuming slowplay, like Dondon said, he requires at least 19 level-ups to promote, and even then, he won't be that good, he's not worth promoting until lvl 15-20. The average player doesn't go for babying.

Edited April 16, 2010 by Soul

[Parrhesia]

First bit: I'll review Natasha later, still have no idea what mark to give her.

Second bit: I know, which is why I added the other half of the sentence ;)

Anyone wanna throw a name forward?

[Junkhead]

Do Rennac.

[Parrhesia]

RENNAC

...is a wannabe Legault with a couple more levels and far less talent. [/post]

Okay, it's not that simple, but Rennac is rubbish. For one, you got Colm. Colm is awesome. Also, his name is Irish. Rennac's name, as Integrity pointed out, looks incomplete.

Aesthetics aside (his mug is ugly) Rennac is not worth the cost of either a lot of schmuckers or the arguably greater cost of actually fielding L'Arachel. For one, Colm should be a rogue, or promoting to rogue. If not, he should have enough goddamn lockpicks to fend for himself. And for chrissakes don't you have enough Chest Keys? If not, you don't deserve the treasures in 19.

His fighting is negligible. Locked to swords and starting with 28 HP, 10 Str and 9 Def. Heh. And yes, his growths are utter shite.

His description reads an exceptional fighter. He ain't. He's also dead, unneccessary weight. However, he can at least block weapons with his face and if you didn't train Colm, or Colm bit it, AND if you are out of Chest Keys you may find him useful. But still far from necessary. And so I give him

3/10

Edited April 16, 2010 by Furetchen

[Junkhead]

...is a wannabe Legault with a couple more levels and far less LUCK. [/post]

Fixed a bit.

If not, he should have enough goddamn lockpicks to fend for himself. And for chrissakes don't you have enough Chest Keys? If not, you don't deserve the treasures in 19.

Colm can steal lockpicks at his starting chapter or at Ch 8 IIRC. =0

His fighting is negligible. Locked to swords and starting with 28 HP, 10 Str and 9 Def. Heh. And yes, his growths are utter shite.

No, no! He has SKILL AND RES. How could you ignore that!?!?!?

His description reads an exceptional fighter. He ain't. He's also dead, unneccessary weight. However, he can at least block weapons with his face and if you didn't train Colm.

His Avo is actually pretty reliable against axe users, it's his base weapon that take him down to 31 Avo.

[Anouleth]

What the hell is Moulder doing so low? IMO, at least an 8.5

Moulder has incredible early game utility and is a hell of a lot more durable than Natasha, your other earlygame healer (IIRC). His supports are great, and he is a competent fighter later on in the game, when he isnt healing people.

Lute and Saleh both gain staves/join rather late-ish in the game, when everyone is starting to rape the enemies, and Lute will definately be killing, not healing (especially as a mage knight). Lute also only gets an E staves on promotion (IIRC as well, I havn't played FE8 in a while), which means she has to run around instead of sitting at the back using physic, like Moulder can.

Saleh on the other hand is generally outclassed by most of the people you've been training and will probably be killing more than healing. He's the only real competition, but he should really be killing on the frontlines more often than healing.

And theres no real incentive to use Artur over Lute unless you want a bishop (which Moulder can pull over prefectly anyway). All of this is not even really showing earlygame utility, in which your units (except Seth) aren't really raping as hard as they are when Saleh joins/Lute or Artur promote.

Lute had D Staves, Artur gets C Staves from Bishop. It's why I consider Artur > Lute.

Moulder's combat post-promotion sucks. If he goes Sage, he fails against monsters, if he goes Bishop, he fails against humans. Why bother when he has A Rank Staves for Warp? Shitty range, though, I rarely see him get past 7 range on the thing.

Why do I need to have only one Bishop? More are always better. Why do I only need to use one of Artur/Lute? Who else is going to be able to support Lute? Maybe Ross, he certainly has a better shot than Vanessa. I may not even use Ross, though, even though his lategame is h4x.

[Parrhesia]

I got my Moulder to 10 at chapter 19 and promoted him to Sage. It was epic as he double-killed EVERYTHING by like one or no HP.

Then a Sniper critted him with a Silver Bow. Bastard.

Next character.

Edited April 16, 2010 by Furetchen