List units that can get RNG screwed

[Harvey]

This thread is to list out units that have the chance of getting RNG screwed so careful training is required for such units.

I'll start with Eliwood and Raven in FE7.

 

[Magical Glace]

Anyone who starts unpromoted, some who start promoted (most prepromotes rely on their bases so they aren't as vulnerable).  

It's RNG, so it's kinda expected.  I once had a FE9 Ike get so royally Def screwed that he couldn't beat the Black Knight no matter what he did, for instance.

Edited April 29, 2017 by Glaceon Mage

[Interdimensional Observer]

Technically everyone can be unless your Athos/Galzus/Yodel.

Out there, somewhere, is an Afa's Dropped Nino who nonetheless got 2 pointer levelups 90% of the time.

Canas has been called the Eliwood of mages (though Erk can also be irksome), and yeah the last time I used him, he was pretty crappy. Though with Canas at least I could bench him no problem, unlike my Lunatic Rev. Xander who is like level 15 and only got one Defense proc.

RNG screwage can be annoying, though it does keep each playthrough varied. I kinda liked the fixed RNG of Fates Lunatic, and PoR Fixed Growths mode too. Also, Berwick's bracketing system looks fairly pleasing as well- restricting blessings/curses to like +/-3 at most per stat per unit. Please give us options IS.

[Thinks Their Own Way]

I think anybody can get RNG screwed, I've had a Sumia at level 20 unprompted have the same strength as an untrained Kellem. Playing through FE7 the first time and Eliwood has been pretty decently balanced or defense blessed.

[De Geso]

The characters I've had get RNG screwed the most for me are Hector, Arthur, Ross, and Seth (of course, it didn't matter much for the king of FE8 as he was still a great unit). 

I feel like trainee and Est type units have the worst case scenario - some units can still pull weight if RNG screwed but units with garbage bases have a hard time holding their own if they get it bad. 

[ping]

If you want to get technical, the more balanced the growths are and the more levels a character will get, the more likely it is for them to be RNG blessed or cursed. If, for the sake of simplicity, only two growth rates existed, a unit with one 100% growth rate and one 0% will always turn out the same, while a unit with tho 50% rates has a 25% chance each for an empty or perfect level-up.

So I'd probably nominate the FE8 trainees, thanks to the 9 additional level-ups compared to normal level 1 characters and because their growths are pretty average in most stats.

[Michelaar]

Anyone can get RNG screwed or blessed. My Makua in fe5 got amazingly blessed and became one of my best units, topping Shiva and Mareeta. Othin however got almost no defense, making him die to everything.

[Tryhard]

it would be shorter to say who couldn't get rng screwed (or more accurately, they can obviously, but this wouldn't be a problem for them), i.e people who you rely on just their bases even ala FE12 Palla or prepromotes

Edited April 29, 2017 by Tryhard

[ruruo]

I find units with desirable growths (such as Spd or Str/Mag) around the 45% to 55% growth mark are more likely to be hit or miss. 

[Dr. Tarrasque]

All units that still have levels to grow.

/thread

[André The kid]

Rebecca - 40% Str Growth, can get str screwed, happened to me a few times.

Clarine - 30% Mag Growth , Will most likely get mag screwed. Happens all the time. 

Sain - 35% Skill Growth, Will make him miss everything, 40% Spd. Not as likely to get screwed, but it happened in the past. 

Kain (Thracia 776) - 35% spd Growth, and with a base of 7, can get screwed.

Lute - 30% Skill.

Joshua - 35% str growth. (Though he does have a cap of 20, so it's not common, but can happen)

Cain (Fe1) - 30% Str Growth

- Basically everyone in Gaiden

Kent - 25% Def.  - I've Had playthroughs were he ended up a tank however. His 40% Str growth is also inconsistent.

Gilliam - 35% Skill. Usually not a problem, but can happen.

Bartre - 35% Skill

Gonzales - 15% Skill and 25% Defense.

Mostly units from the Gba games, due to the fact that Gba growths are usually centered on the character's class' capabilities, unlike Fe9/fe10 Where Marshalls could have over 30 Spd. 

 

 

 

[Refa]

6 minutes ago, André The kid said:

Kain (Thracia 776) - 35% spd Growth, and with a base of 7, can get screwed.

By the time you get him, you could feasibly add 45% to his Spd growth through the use of scrolls.  An 80%Spd growth with 7 base means he'd cap at 10/6.

Edited April 29, 2017 by Refa

[André The kid]

1 minute ago, Refa said:

By the time you get him, you could feasibly add 45% to his Spd growth through the use of scrolls.  An 80%Spd growth with 7 base means he'd cap at 10/6.

True. Just wanted to point it out.

[Zapp Branniglenn]

4 hours ago, Harvey said:

This thread is to list out units that have the chance of getting RNG screwed so careful training is required for such units.

I'll start with Eliwood and Raven in FE7.

 

Raven? His bases are too high for him to come up short, hell he joins at the same level and at higher stats than Ephraim. And Eliwood's problem is moreso just low bases and just 19 level ups for all but the last four chapters. His growths are the best in the game otherwise.

FE7 definitely comes to mind for RNG screwage though. Lyn ends up with ~10 strength so often that I always play through her story so I can get her that energy ring. Seraph robe too. Dorcas's base six speed looks good but the 20% growth ruins him, a beginner's trap. Florina and Matthew can't level strength or defense, but that's also kind of the point in balancing them to never be great fighters.

[Slumber]

Erk is the king of RNG screwage.

I've never had a good Erk, despite him having decent growths.

[Nobody]

Raven is one of the least likely units to be RNG screwed in FE7. His HHM bases are insane (they plus promotion gains can carry him for most of the game), and his growths are good enough. He'll almost surely cap speed.

Edited April 30, 2017 by Nobody

[Rezzy]

5 hours ago, Harvey said:

This thread is to list out units that have the chance of getting RNG screwed so careful training is required for such units.

I'll start with Eliwood and Raven in FE7.

 

Were you the one who started all those Raven is susceptible to being RNG screwed on GameFAQs like a dozen years ago?

[Dark Holy Elf]

Yeah all unpromoted units are vulnerable to being RNG screwed (except ones whose performances don't require stats, like staff users and dancers), but within that category Raven is one of the most RNG-resistant because his speed (the most important stat) is close to RNG-proof and his HP/str bases are pretty solid too, especially on HHM.

[Vaximillian]

On 30.04.2017 at 7:34 AM, Slumber said:

Erk is the king of RNG screwage.

I've never had a good Erk, despite him having decent growths.

RIP hopes and dreams :(

[ping]

That Erk is only one Energy Ring away from being pretty good, though. 3 Speed above average and slightly above average in most other stats really isn't bad.

[Tolvir]

On ‎4‎/‎29‎/‎2017 at 3:27 PM, Glaceon Mage said:

Anyone who starts unpromoted, some who start promoted (most prepromotes rely on their bases so they aren't as vulnerable).  

It's RNG, so it's kinda expected.  I once had a FE9 Ike get so royally Def screwed that he couldn't beat the Black Knight no matter what he did, for instance.

Ouch, cant imagine how the final chapter went if his defense was that bad. I was lucky enough to never have much of an issue with Ike in any of my playthroughs.

I would say Micaiah. Not just does she have the problem of a low amount of time to actually get levels, having a forced promotion that doesn't allow her to progress to her tier 2 class earlier, and generally being quite underpowered when you get to the final parts of the game along with the rest of the Dawn Brigade, but if she started getting RNG screwed it becomes even worst. And the fact that you are forced to bring her along makes it even harder. If she gets RNG screwed you are pretty much dragging around dead weight.

 

[Magical Glace]

Just now, Tolvir said:

Ouch, cant imagine how the final chapter went if his defense was that bad. I was lucky enough to never have much of an issue with Ike in any of my playthroughs.

I would say Micaiah. Not just does she have the problem of a low amount of time to actually get levels, having a forced promotion that doesn't allow her to progress to her tier 2 class earlier, and generally being quite underpowered when you get to the final parts of the game along with the rest of the Dawn Brigade, but if she started getting RNG screwed it becomes even worst. And the fact that you are forced to bring her along makes it even harder. If she gets RNG screwed you are pretty much dragging around dead weight.

I mostly relied on Ena, and Tibarn when he showed up.

[L9999]

Gaiden is the king of getting RNG screwed, both in combat and in growths. Sometimes you might as well play it 0% growths since you units barely improve. The Jugdral games are also guilty of empty levelups. I think getting RNG screwed pre-Awakening isn't too bad since the enemies suck ass and they give you good prepromotes.

Edited May 4, 2017 by L9999

[henrymidfields]

No-one to be honest. I haven't really had much in the way of RNG-screwing, especially in Awakening and Fates. I'm kind of surprised that growths are still considered to be somewhat of player's hang-ups, to be honest. Shadow Dragon, however, did have quite a number of empty levels.

[Dunal]

On 04/05/2017 at 4:58 PM, Tolvir said:

I would say Micaiah.

TBH Micaiah is one of the worst examples because her growths are lopsided to the point where her variance isn't very high at all and at the very least, extremely likely to cap ram certain stats to BEXP others. She's the type of non-prepromote who's genuinely one of the least likely to be 'screwed' by definition. Her speed base/growth is bad enough to the point where you cannot reasonably expect her to double. So if it ends up lower than average it won't really effect much anyway. And that's pretty much her only stat with any important variance.

Units most susceptible to being screwed tend to have important stats that start average and have middling growths. Any growth above 50% is very likely to grow reliably enough (generally), while growths below 35% are low enough where you can't really have too much expectation to grow to begin with -- so if the stat ends up bad or not that different from base, then they aren't really screwed because it wasn't meant to grow that much to begin with. There's low expectation there.

Growths in the range of 40-45% tend to have the most variance especially on a base stat that's middling and on a low level unit. It isn't high enough to be reliable nor bad enough to meet a lower expectation. That said, if a unit's base stat is so poor to the point where the variance of a 45% growth won't really result in different levels of performance (think of say, an armor with 2 base SPD and a middling growth), it technically isn't that susceptible to being screwed (think Valbar from Echoes -- his SPD growth isn't exactly terrible, but any variance he has won't make a difference). So even growth % isn't everything. Reverse is true as well. Someone like Nyx has a 60% growth in SPD, but since her base isn't stellar and expectation of growth is Fates is notably high, the variance here is pretty important in terms of how fast she reaches a threshold to double, or maintaining it.

Gonzales' 15% skill growth doesn't lend itself to be screwed because on average, you're only expecting him to gain 3 skill every 20 levels. At worst, a 20/5 Gonzales is missing out on 6% HIT by having the worst possible outcome (and the chance of not gaining SKL once is so abysmal that at worst you can usually only expect 2 SKL below par). Variance is very small here.

 

A great example is Eliwood. I don't think Raven is as nearly a good example though since his base stats are good enough that the impact of not gaining expected stats is a lot less problematic. No matter the variance of his SPD he's still doubling a lot of foes regardless, even with a handaxe, I believe.  

  

Edited May 9, 2017 by DLuna