Rate the Unit, Day 92: Brave Ephraim & Brave Veronica

[Zapp Branniglenn]

Clarine - The cav healer with the least Attack at 25 base. Clarine is the best one at avoiding doubles, however. Mine is +Spd/-Atk, but you can drop any of her defensive stats for little consequence. Being a cavalry unit at all implies Clarine will always be on a team packing cavalry buffs or Tactic skills, but if you want high attack without compromising speed, then you're looking for Elise. Clarine's low attack favors the savage blow stacking Dazzling Pain set, with Recover+ or Rehabilitate+ to pick up the slack in healing. Most people seem to believe cav healers are outright better than infantry, and I'm inclined to agree. When it comes to procing tactic skills, why waste an infantry slot on a healer? 6.5 out of 10. Clarine certainly isn't outclassed by the other troubadours, and she's top of the class for speed. 

Matthew - As another member of the Matthew fan club, this is hard. Mine is +Atk/-HP to tamper with his bulk the least, but it basically makes his stat spread mirror Saizo's. Plus Saizo's Smoke Dagger is quite similar to the Rogue Dagger in function (Smoke is harsher Debuffing while Rogue is a mix of debuffing and buffing your allies). The favorite between the two comes down to preference and team synergy options. For instance, You won't need Rogue Dagger if your team runs Def and Res tactic skills. Matthew and Saizo are meant to behave like honest dagger wielders, and have the bulk and speed to survive the distant counter melee attackers at least once provided they don't run QR. I think they can be good in serious play, but they'll be shut down hard whenever you encounter a team composed of QR dragons, QR Distant Counter, and competent mages. If everything kills them on counterattack, then they can't do anything to support their allies besides finish off weakened targets. Not reliable enough for Arena Offense, so I have to give Matthew a 4 out of 10. He and Saizo are the second best in their role of support dagger, but it's just not a good role. The number one best is PA!Olivia. Though she is frail, can still dance if the enemy team shuts her down. And she matches the excellent 34 speed stat.

[Fire Emblem Fan]

I'll have to abstain from Clarine and Matthew. I've summoned them both but never really used them. I do wanna build a good Matthew at some point, though, just because I like his character. 

[Shiki]

Clarine: 5.17
Matthew: 4.17

Clarine managed to score lower than Maria. That seems wrong.

@XRay Just saying but if you don't edit your posts in time I can't include them in the tally.

We're finally leaving Archanea (for now) and head to Elibe.

Palla, Eldest Whitewing

Spoiler

Max. Stats:
39/42/45
28/31/34
27/31/34
24/28/31
23/26/30

Base Skills:

Ruby Sword+
( - )
Moonbow

( - )
Wings of Mercy
Goad Fliers

Roy, Young Lion

Spoiler

Max. Stats:
41/44/47
26/30/33
27/31/34
22/25/29
25/28/31

Base Skills:

Binding Blade (If foe initiates combat, grants Def/Res+2 during combat.)
Shove
( - )

Triangle Adept
Seal Def
( - )

 

Edited May 16, 2018 by The Priest

[XRay]

Just now, The Priest said:

Just saying but if you don't edit your posts in time I can't include them in the tally.

That is fine.

[Zapp Branniglenn]

Palla - There aren't a lot of sword fliers, but Palla could at least say she was better than the other one at launch. At least until a few months ago when Ceada got her wing sword. Palla is also boasting a finely average stat spread in all regards which does her no favors. I kept her on the Ruby Sword to take advantage of the mixed bulk but she will master no unique niche when equipped with other stuff. Of the whitewings, Palla is the only one at the bottom of her class, and being a sword user brings you a lot of considerable competition from other classes as well. Palla is not unsalvageable, but definitely outclassed and with no niche to show for it with regard to Arena Offense and Defense. 2.5 out of 10.

Roy - I don't have a refined Binding Blade, but it looks quite good. Roy is packing an even worse offensive spread than Marth, but the bracing stance and guaranteed follow up at low health make him a potent dragon counter. I've also got to admire the kid's mixed bulk when concerning the role of dragon killing. Roy's got very poor neutral matchups against other swordies and even axe wielders could chunk his health. Mages are also a threat if you don't go out of your way to improve his speed. I rate him a 7 out of 10 for being meta relevant despite the mediocre stat spread. I wish I had as much relevant experience with him as I do with Marth, but I feel confident he could pull his weight if the rest of his team has a handle on his many checks.

Past ratings

Spoiler

1. Aflonse - 3
2. Marth - 7
3. Sharena - 3
4. Jagen - 1
5. Anna - 4.5
6. Barst - 3
7. Cain - 4
8. Draug - 7.5
9. Gordin - 5
10. Jeorge - 5.5
11. Abel - 5.5
12. Linde - 9
13. Minerva - Abstain
14. Merric - 3.5
15. Maria - 6
16. Wrys - 3.5
17. Ceada - Abstain
18. Ogma - 4
19. Catria - 4
20. Est - 6
21. Sheena - 6.5
22. Cecilia - 4
23. Clarine - 6.5
24. Matthew - 4
25. Palla - 2.5
26. Roy -7

Ratings I would change in retrospect: I'd definitely drop Gordin at least a full point. 

Edited May 13, 2018 by Glennstavos

[LordFrigid]

R.I.P. Tiki (Dragon Scion)

Palla

• Balanced but mediocre stat line with middling everything.
  • Solid green and decent red matchups on offense with a Wo Dao+/Moonbow set and Hone Fliers active.
  • Good green and ok red matchups on defense with a Wo Dao+/DC set and Hone Fliers active, but struggles against fast, strong threats like Ayra and cannot deal with bows without Iote’s Shield.
• As a flier, she can run a flier field or combat buff in her C Passive slot.

Overall, I give her 7 for combat (flier team assumed; solid green, decent red matchups on offense), and 1 for support (flier field/combat buff), for a total rating of 6.5/10.

Roy

• Balanced but mediocre stat line with low-middling everything.
  • Binding Blade's effect refinement (dragon effectiveness, built-in Def/Res+4 when attacked, built-in Quick Riposte 5) is a powerful defensive tool that also gives him a dragon-checking combat niche.
  • Mediocre offense matchups due to low-ish Atk and Spd.
  • Good green and alright red matchups on the enemy phase. He takes an unfortunate amount of damage due to his lower Spd and Def stats, and can have trouble netting KOs with his lower Atk, but deals with dragons pretty well. Having Quick Riposte built into his weapon frees up his B Passive for a host of other options (-breakers, Dull Ranged, Wrath, Renewal, Chills, to name some notable ones).
• He can potentially run a Chill for Debuff support, but otherwise cannot provide much outside the standard C passive field or combat buff.

Overall, I give him 7 for combat (good green, alright red matchups on defense, small bonus for having a useful combat niche), and 1 for support (standard field/combat buff, chill potential), for a total rating of 6.5/10.

~

Scoring method:

Spoiler

Units are evaluated based on both their combat performance and their team support capabilities (i.e. their whole contribution to a team).

• Combat performance is judged by matchups, especially against enemies that are at triangle disadvantage or neutral to the unit. Performance against more relevant meta threats is more valuable than performance against units that are rarely seen. Scale of 0 to 10.
  • Sustainability and filling a useful niche are given small bonuses, when applicable.
  • I will look at least one PP-focused and one EP-focused skill set for each unit, but only evaluate based on performance for whichever phase I deem the unit to be stronger on.
• Support capabilities are decided by how much support a unit can provide (without horribly compromising their combat capabilities), and how valuable I feel that support is. Scale of 0 to 3.
• At the end, the combat and support scores will be weighted (with a heavy focus on combat performance), combined, and rounded to the nearest .5 to obtain the total rating. Dancers and Singers will get +1 point to their total rating (not to exceed 10), because I value Dance/Sing utility highly.

This method of evaluation essentially compares each unit to a hypothetical "god unit" who is stellar at everything, instead of each unit to each other.

All my ratings.

Edited May 13, 2018 by LordFrigid

[Silverly]

Palla: Once upon a time, Palla was once deemed as the best sword flier (I thought otherwise in favor of Caeda but that’s beside the point). These days she’s unanimously agreed to be the worst. With Elincia and her Amiti, Caeda’s Wing Sword, and New Years Camilla’s impressive offensive tankiness, Palla fails to stand out in terms of weapons or stats. Her spread is so damn average. You could plop her on a flier team to boost her stats sure, but why do that when you could use Caeda or, if you’re fortunate enough to have obtained her, the quad queen Elincia? At least her fodder is decent. 4/10

Roy: Roy is an intriguing unit. Out the box he’s pretty lousy with an unimpressive weapon and stats balanced to a fault. Give him a refine though, and he’ll start to shine as a defensive dragon slayer. The refine helps him double in the enemy phase as well appropriately placed defensive buffs. With the Binding Blade being effective against dragons, he can easily bait the likes of Kana, Fae, and even Grima and beat them silly. He’s still not without his flaws, as Roy’s stats still hold him back. He can falter against other reds unless he has Swordbreaker, and with his mehtastic speed his player phase is quite weak. Still, he’s worth a look thanks to the upgrade and has created a relevant niche for himself. 7/10

[Alexmender]

Palla. She was the best red flier for a long time (mostly because there was only 2 and Caeda was a joke unit at the time). She sports balanced stats and with her Ruby Sword she can tank and deal significant damage to green units. The problem here is that basically every red unit sans wet noodles like Caeda can do the same, Flier buffs can make her more powerful but her balanced spread puts her at infantry levels at best, not to mention that with the release of Elincia and NY!Camilla she doesn't really have a role to play. Want a sweeper? Go with Elincia, want a tank? Go with NY!Camilla, want to destroy horses/green armors? Use Caeda. 

Rating: 2/10

Roy's our Boy! Since release, Roy has been a mediocre unit due to his extremely balanced stat spread which prevented him from carving a unique niche and due to his Prf weapon, the Binding Blade, having a meh effect. Thankfully the weapon refinery was kind enough to grant him a new leash on life instead of being TA fodder. The refined Binding Blade grants him +4 def/res during Enemy Phase, effectiveness against dragons and Quick Riposte 5. Those boosts alone cement Roy as an anti-dragon unit. Dragons tend to be EP units with a terribad PP so Roy working in their weaker phase makes him a great dragon slayer. While his extremely balanced stats still make him quite iffy he now has a niche for himself so things look better for our boy now. 

Rating: 6.5/10

[Fire Emblem Fan]

Palla: Palla is the worst of the Whitewing sisters and the worst red flyer, which is disappointing because she's great in actual mainline FE games! Her native weapon is really nothing special compared to Elincia's and Caeda's (Caeda's Wing Sword, that is), but at least Palla has some decent balanced stats. Personally I don't mind balanced stats, but I seem to be the only one. 5/10

Roy: Like Caeda, Roy has improved considerably since his refinement! Before he was disappointing and unimpressive, but now he works very well as a dragon slayer and can function much better. I also find him to be slightly bulkier than some of the other sword infantry units, but not by much and overall he's still balanced. 7/10

[XRay]

I decided to change the independence formula to be the same as the raw performance formula. I just noticed Matthew's weaker build got a slightly higher score than a stronger build, most likely due to the independence formula prioritizing consistency between the buffed and unbuffed build, instead of how good the unbuffed build is by itself. So if a weaker buffed build is crap but its unbuffed version scores relatively close, it could potentially score higher than a stronger buffed build even if the stronger unbuffed version scores better, due to the larger gap in performance between the stronger buffed build and the stronger unbuffed build. I hope that made sense.

Since the independence criterion has a much larger range of possible scores, I decide that it is unnecessary to weight it, unlike the raw performance criterion.

Armor units, self-buffing units, and very fast/highly offensive units would be the least affected by this change, while most other units will see a larger dip in their scores.

Here is how my criteria are rated:

Spoiler

Mobility:
Armor units are 0/10. Infantry units are 5/10. Cavalry units are 8/10. Flying units are 9/10. Units with unique mobility skills will bump up their score.
Range:
Melee units are 0/10. Distant Counter Weapon melee units are 5/10. Ranged units are 10/10.
Player Phase Raw Performance:
This is based on the W:L:I ratio. Enemies will have a set up of +5, +Spd, Moonbow, and Fury. The unit will be +0, may not use Breakers, and will not have Chills or Ploys activate. Units may have access to buffs (usually, +4 to any two stats for infantry and armors, and 6/6/0/0 or 0/0/6/6 for cavalry and fliers). I would also list the build used to achieve that ratio. I think the following formula is pretty reasonable:
(W%) - (L%*0.25) = Raw Performance
Player Phase Weighted Performance:
Since most units can get a raw performance score of at least 5, setting 5 as 0 for the weighted performance makes more sense in judging how good a unit is.
(Raw Performance - 5) * 2 = Weighted Performance
Player Phase Independence:
This just means how reliant the unit is on buffs. If I take off the buffs and the unit still performs pretty well, they will get a good score. The formula is that same as the raw performance:
(W%) - (L%*0.25) = Independence
Enemy Phase Raw Performance:
See Above.
Enemy Phase Weighted Performance:
See Above.
Enemy Phase Independence:
See Above.
Ease of Use:
This is an average of the mobility and range scores.
Performance:
This consolidates the weighted performance and independence scores into one score, and uses the higher of Player Phase or Enemy Phase. This also means that the build used in weighted performance may not necessarily be their best build, since there may be an alternative build with a slightly worse performance but have much higher independence.
(Weighted Performance * 0.8) + (Independence * 0.2) = Performance
Support:
Most units by default will be 0/10. Units with 30+ Res start from 1/10. Dagger units start from 1/10. Healers start from 2/10. Buffers start from 3/10. Fliers start from 4/10. Dancers/Singers start from 5/10. Other unique support skills may further boost their score.
Other:
If the unit has some unique application or fun build, it will be noted here. For example, since Raven mages have a performance penalty, they will get some extra points here for being relevant and viable in certain team compositions.

Familiarity/Experience:
This just means how familiar I am with this particular unit or type of unit in Arena. If it is a low number, that means you should take the following rating number with a grain of salt since I do not have much experience with this particular unit and/or type of unit.
Rating:
The rating is how good I think a unit is. Here is how I weigh each criterion:
Ease of Use 4/10
Performance: 5/10
Support: 1/10
Other: If the unit got some unique application or fun build, they will get a boost to their rating.

Notes:
1. A unit's build in raw performance will not take into account a unit's support build, Raven build, or any other builds. Likewise, a unit's ease of use, support, and other criteria will not take into account the unit's raw performance build.
2. Since healers' Firesweep build [+Atk, Pain [Dazzling Staff], Attack +3, Wrathful Staff, Attack +3] requires the user to do two rounds of combat to measure how good it is, that overwhelmingly skews the combat results for healers, so I decided to tone down their performance by using Brazen Atk/Spd-Desperation and taking away 10 HP or 25% of max HP, which ever is greater.
3. The build used in raw/weighted performance may not be the best build. If there is an alternative build with a slightly less performance but much higher independence, that build will be used instead.
4. Axe and dagger versions of Wo Dao are not available in the regular summoning pool yet, but I think they will be added in the future, so I am using Giant Spoon and Lethal Carrot.

Disclosures:
I have a strong bias for non-armor Player Phase ranged units. My experience with melee and armor units in Arena is pretty minimal, so my rating for them is mostly based on theory. My Arena core consists of BH!Lyn, Reinhardt, and Olivia. I am usually in Tier 20, but I may drop to Tier 19 if I do not fish for points.

Other:

Spoiler

Template

— — — — — — — ◆Red◆ — — — — — — —
— — — — — — — ◾Blue◾ — — — — — — —
— — — — — — — ⬟Green⬟ — — — — — — —
— — — — — — — ●Colorless● — — — — — — —

Mobility: /10
Range: /10
Player Phase Performance: /10 — #:#:#
Player Phase Weighted Performance: /10
Player Phase Independence: /10 — #:#:#
[+Boon, -Bane, Weapon, Special, A, B, Sacred Seal, #/#/#/#]
Enemy Phase Performance: /10 — #:#:#
Enemy Phase Weighted Performance: /10
Enemy Phase Independence: /10 — #:#:#
[+Boon, -Bane, Weapon, Special, A, B, Sacred Seal, #/#/#/#]

Ease of Use: /10
Performance: /10
Support: /10
Other: /10

Familiarity/Experience: /10
Rating: /10

Summary:

 

— — — — — — — ◆Palla◆ — — — — — — —

Mobility: 9/10
Range: 0/10
Player Phase Performance: 7.56/10 — 191:11:47
Player Phase Weighted Performance: 5.12/10
Player Phase Independence: 2.65/10 — 68:8:173
[+Spd, -Res, Wo Dao [Spd], Moonbow, Life and Death, Desperation, Speed +3, 6/6/0/0]
Enemy Phase Performance: 7.38/10 — 187:13:49
Enemy Phase Weighted Performance: 4.76/10
Enemy Phase Independence: 3.37/10 — 101:68:80
[+Spd, -Res, Wo Dao [Spd], Moonbow, Distant Counter, Quick Riposte, Speed +3, 6/6/0/0]

Ease of Use: 4.5/10
Performance: 4.62/10
Support: 4/10
Other: 10/10

Familiarity/Experience: 0/10
Rating: 5.5/10

Summary:

Palla got very good combat performance, although she is quite dependent on buffs since she is not particularly fast.

Like any flier, she got great mobility support potential, as they are the best Repositioners and got access to Guidance.

As a flier, Palla can also run a Firesweep-Hit and Run set which is quite potent.

— — — — — — — ◆Roy◆ — — — — — — —

Mobility: 5/10
Range: 0/10
Player Phase Performance: 6.4/10 — 162:11:76
Player Phase Weighted Performance: 2.79/10
Player Phase Independence: 2.78/10 — 72:11:166
[+Spd, -Res, Wo Dao [Spd], Moonbow, Life and Death, Desperation, Speed +3, 4/4/0/0]
Enemy Phase Performance: 6.88/10 — 177:23:49
Enemy Phase Weighted Performance: 3.76/10
Enemy Phase Independence: 3.53/10 — 107:76:66
[+Atk, -Res, Wo Dao [Spd], Moonbow, Distant Counter, Quick Riposte, Speed +3, 4/4/0/0]

Ease of Use: 2.5/10
Performance: 3.71/10
Support: 0/10
Other: 5/10

Familiarity/Experience: 0/10
Rating: 3.5/10

Summary:

Roy got good Enemy Phase combat performance and can counter dragons. He does not have much else though.

 

 

[Korath88]

I suppose I may as well join in, though I won't be rating units I have little to no experience with.

Rating criteria:

Spoiler

10: Extremely strong, shapes the meta around themselves. Requires using niche units to counter. Very few units will fall into this tier.

9: Not quite meta defining but still very strong units with great combat performance against common arena threats and no glaring flaws.

8: Solid units that provide good coverage against their own colour and the one they are strong against, but can be countered by some units of the colour they are weak against.

7: Units that provide a unique form of utility be it buffs, debuffs or being anti meta while also being a decent combatant that can hold their own in a fight.

6: Units that provide similar utility as a tier 7, but are outclassed in combat and will require support or heavy investment to contribute outside of their niche role.

5: Middling units that are outclassed but can still perform decently with investment. Not excellent but not horrible either. Can sometimes serve a niche role.

4: Borderline units that serve as a poor man's version of another unit (basically completely outclassed). Can achieve similar performance as a tier 5 but requires significantly more investment.

3: Units that have poor performance against their own colour and are countered by pretty much anyone with triangle advantage. Can only really achieve anything against units they have an advantage over.

2: Units who often fail to kill even enemies they have triangle advantage over even with investment. Generally not worth using.

1: Bottom of the barrel units that not only perform poorly but are a handicap to the player's team. No amount of investment can save them.

Modifiers: 

Dancer bonus: dancers will be rated 2 tiers above their combat tier. Mostly because none of the dancers would be above tier 7 otherwise.

Other notes: builds using seasonal exclusive weapons or skills will not be considered, except on the source unit. I'm looking at you, bulky Candelabra+ infantry mages. 

Roy:

A red unit with a fairly mediocre statline. Far too balanced and doesn't stand out in any way. However he recently received a refinement that gives him QR up to 50% hp as well as effectiveness against dragons on top of 4 def/res when attacked. This combined with his fairly high res for a sword unit allows him to tank and kill dragons rather well, especially since most dragons are built for enemy phase and are quite vulnerable when baited, with a few exceptions. He still faces a tough matchup against TA swordbreaker Nowi for one.

However, besides dragons, he can also perform well against melee units with his steady breath build or mages with his DC build, though not as well as other more specialised sword units.

The thing that pulls his ranking down most is the extremely stiff competition amongst red swords, especially when so many of them have increasingly min maxed stats, making his statline, which was mediocre even at launch, even less appealing. 

Final rating: 6

TLDR: He kills dragons well, but is outclassed in any other role by the more recent sword units. His refinement, good as it is, doesn't change the fact that his stats are still mediocre.

Edited May 14, 2018 by Korath88

[XRay]

1 hour ago, Korath88 said:

Investment penalty: If the unit requires premium skills such as those only on seasonals to perform, they will be dropped a tier.

It is implied that investment cost generally is not a factor to consider. Units are judged at their maximum potential.

I also do not recall any skills limited to Special Heroes that dramatically improve a unit's performance, except maybe Chill Res and Brazen Atk/Spd. The main beneficiary of Chill Res is mostly just Reinhardt, and Brazen Atk/Spd fucks up a unit's first round performance badly enough that Swift Sparrow is preferable for most players.

1 hour ago, Korath88 said:

TT/GHB penalty: Lack of access to IVs means that they will be ranked 1 tier below their combat ranking

You do not have worry about those either as they are going to be rated separately. It is stated in the original post.

 

[Korath88]

20 minutes ago, XRay said:

It is implied that investment cost generally is not a factor to consider. Units are judged at their maximum potential.

I also do not recall any skills limited to Special Heroes that dramatically improve a unit's performance, except maybe Chill Res and Brazen Atk/Spd. The main beneficiary of Chill Res is mostly just Reinhardt, and Brazen Atk/Spd fucks up a unit's first round performance badly enough that Swift Sparrow is preferable for most players.

You do not have worry about those either as they are going to be rated separately. It is stated in the original post.

 

Edit: nvm, regarding the first point, I'll just change it to "builds using seasonal exclusive weapons or skills will not be considered, except on the source unit"

Also, thanks for reminding me about the TT/GHB part. Didn't see that at first.

Edited May 14, 2018 by Korath88

[Frosty]

Palla

She was a decent flier before because Elincia and NY!Camilla weren't around and Caeda hits like a wet noodle. However, ever since the former two appeared and Caeda gets a Wing Sword, Palla has been outclassed. On the other hand, balanced statline which means she'll not die easily to things not named blues or archers and Goad Fliers is easy to obtain. To bring out the best in her, she'll need to be backed up by Flier buddies which I also run, so I'll rate her...

6.5

Roy

Roy also has a balanced statline for a unit and may not have anything interesting to offer until one can take a look at his Binding Blade which can be refined to have Quick Riposte 4. Combine that with Dragonslaying attribute. Roy can facetank most Dragons; being the only threat to him is Swordbreaker Nowi. His RES is also decent for a melee unit so if you would slap on Distant Counter on him; he can tackle Mages and with an okay DEF stat; he can handle enemy melee attackers. However, again he has a balanced statline which means he'll not perform as well as the more min-maxed units, I'll rate him with...

6.5

Edited May 14, 2018 by Frosty

[Shiki]

Just letting you guys know that we will probably move the start of the RTU to 8 p.m. CET (vote tallying 15 min before that).

[MisterIceTeaPeach]

ignore

Edited May 14, 2018 by Hecatia Lapislazuli

[Silverly]

14 minutes ago, Hecatia Lapislazuli said:

Palla 5.5
Probably the worst Pegasus Knight in combat but she has hone fliers, the best skill for fliers. Seriously one of my favorite fodder units. Her stats are worse than Caeda's, but hone fliers is better than fortify fliers imo.

Roy 4
I think he needs too much investment to become great. Without Durandal he's really bleh. Mainly make use of his TA.

Ummmmmmm, huh?

First off, any ratings for anything not related to Roy and Palla won’t count because the score is calculated afterwards and we move on. Second, Palla doesn’t have Hone Fliers, Hinoka does. Palla has Goad Fliers. Third, Roy doesn’t use Durandal lol. Unless you’re referring to Brave Roy?? We’re not even talking about Brave Roy.

The quality of the writing overall is pretty damn shoddy but I’ll let the OP be the judge of that. I’m already stepping out of line by correcting you.  

[Shiki]

@LordFrigid You surely mean Naga's Voice, no? I knew I forgot someone. Well, better note that the next red round is Tiki and Lilina.

@Hecatia Lapislazuli I would appreciate it that you only do the votes for the current round, not retroactively throw everything in a single round.
While I don't mind short votes (1-2 sentences can describe a character good enough) it kinda shows you didn't really read the rules. *pulls out a Black Key*

Palla: 4.57
Roy: 6.25

Gwendolyn, Adorable Knight

Spoiler

Max. Stats:
46/49/52
26/30/33
21/24/28
35/38/41
24/28/31

Base Skills:

Killer Lance+
( - )
Escutcheon

( - )
Drag Back
Hone Armor

Shanna, Sprightly Flier

Spoiler

Max. Stats:
35/39/42
26/30/33
32/35/38
22/25/29
25/29/32

Base Skills:

Killer Lance+
( - )
Iceberg

( - )
Desperation
Threated Spd

 

[Zapp Branniglenn]

Gwendolyn - "This armor adds a tremendous amount of bulk. Really, you wouldn't believe it!". Gwendolyn packs the highest physical bulk among the six blue armor choices and she's not far behind in magical bulk . She is packing the lowest attack stat at 30 and the second lowest speed at 24, so she'll rely on special procs and Vengeful Fighter for meaningful damage. You can lean in to her mixed tank potential with Berkut's lance, but her native Slaying Lance option is also optimal. Her greatest competition is with Hardin. Gradivus limits his bulk in favor of not having to choose between Breath and DC as his A skill. He can have both, and that's huge. It also helps that Hardin has a better offensive spread too. Gwendolyn can't match up to his versatilty, but she still gets very good with optimized skills and I'm personally more impressed by her than I am by Effie. 7.5 out of 10.

Shanna - basically the same stats as Catria with swapped Def and Res and one point of Attack traded for a point in speed. I would rate her a bit higher than Catria with a 4.5 out of 10. She wants a firesweep lance, but she could run with a slaying or wo dao lance and rely on procs instead. Other units such as Tana and Shigure straight up outclass her offense while the Res is not quite high enough to reliably ploy, though I suppose that's an option. The half point she gets over catria is chalked up to the extra point in speed and the ploy versatility. But she's still outclassed by faster pegs and some packing higher res such as Est, Clair, and even Florina. Probably the closest to "average" lance flier in the game.

Past ratings 

Spoiler

1. Aflonse - 3
2. Marth - 7
3. Sharena - 3
4. Jagen - 1
5. Anna - 4.5
6. Barst - 3
7. Cain - 4
8. Draug - 7.5
9. Gordin - 5
10. Jeorge - 5.5
11. Abel - 5.5
12. Linde - 9
13. Minerva - Abstain
14. Merric - 3.5
15. Maria - 6
16. Wrys - 3.5
17. Ceada - Abstain
18. Ogma - 4
19. Catria - 4
20. Est - 6
21. Sheena - 6.5
22. Cecilia - 4
23. Clarine - 6.5
24. Matthew - 4
25. Palla - 2.5
26. Roy -7
27. Gwendolyn - 7.5
28. Shanna - 4.5

 

[Alexmender]

Gwendolyn, formely known as Wendy the most useless character in FE6. She sports the highest Def for a blue armor and a passable Res stat. Sadly that's all she has going for her and considering that the blue armor slot is the most competitive one she really pales. That doesn't mean she's bad though, having access to BF/VF already puts her on the upper ladder of all units in the game and due to her being blue she has access to Berkut's Lance which lets her be a mixed wall. That being said, she'll always be second place to Effie in terms of performance and equal in terms of availability so there's that. If you want to use her she won't let you down but when compared to the other blue armors she doesn't really have a lot to offer other than her huge Def. 

Rating: 7.5/10

Shanna the multiplier queen. She sports a relatively balanced spread which puts her in a tough spot compared to the other blue fliers. Her Res is good enough to use Ploys if she wields a Res refined lance and her good Spd lets her run a Firesweep build effectively. Sadly her low Atk puts her below the likes of Est as a Ploy user and below Cordelia/Tana in terms of using a Firesweep build. She'll work fine with proper investment but she's not going to outperform the top fliers anytime soon.

Rating: 3/10

[Silverly]

Gwendolyn: I’m pleased to say that Wendy isn’t completely useless like her original Binding Blade incarnation. Her physical defense is stupid good and she laughs at anyone wielding a sword. Her resistance is respectable too, though unlike fellow knight Sheena it’s not reliable enough for continuous tanking. However, like Sheena, her attack is a low point being a so-so 30, and speed wise she’s no great shakes either. Her main damage will be her specials, and that Bonfire and especially that Ignis will hit like a freight train. If you give Gwendolyn the handy tools of either Bold or Vengeful Fighter, she’ll do fairly well, and she’ll tank like tomorrow defensively. If you prefer a more aggressive offensive lance knight though, Effie might be more suitable. 7/10

Shanna: The best short-haired lady has some things going for her. First off, her base kit is pretty good, at least for a launch unit. Concerning stats, she’s got great speed at 35, and resistance is solid enough to use plots unlike Cordelia. Her attack is just okay, though still useable. Basically she’s geared towards something offensive with a Firesweep or Skaying Lance while debuffing the enemy with ploys. In the saturated pool of lance fliers, she’s inferior to Cordelia, Tana, Shigure, Est, and now Clair. However, given that her ploys can potentially turn the tables against the enemy, she’s a step up from Catria, Florina, and Subaki. Basically she’s serviceable. 6/10

[LordFrigid]

Gwendolyn

• Physically bulky stat line with high Def and HP, decent Res, low Atk, and poor Spd.
  • She can run the cookie-cutter Atk-stacking Slaying Lance/Bonfire/Bold Fighter set for dominant red and blue matchups on offense. Has trouble with Guard.
  • She is also capable of running an EP or mixed phase set with Distant Counter and Vengeful Fighter+Distant/Close Def or Bold Fighter/QR for strong red and blue matchups.
• As an armor, she can run an armor field or combat buff in her C slot.

Overall, I give her 8.5 for combat (very strong red and blue matchups, takes physical hits well, and doesn’t take crippling damage from dragons), and 1 for support (armor field/combat buffs), for a total rating of 8/10.

Shanna

• Fast, somewhat magically bulky stat line with good Spd, decent Res, and low Atk and Def.
  • Capable of running Slaying, Harmonic, or Firesweep for good red matchups and decent blue matchups on the player phase. Has an ok Brave Lance performance, which is her most reliable method of ORKOing fast, low-medium Def reds (ex. Ayra, Mia).
  • Passable red and blue matchups on defense with a Slaying Lance+/Iceberg/DC set, but low Def gives her issues.
• As a flier, she can run a flier field or combat buff in her C passive slot. She also has the Res stat to run ploys.

Overall, I give her a 7 for combat (good red matchups, decent blue matchups on offense), and a 1.5 for support (flier field/combat buffs, ploys), for a total rating of 7/10.

~

Scoring method:

Spoiler

Units are evaluated based on both their combat performance and their team support capabilities (i.e. their whole contribution to a team).

• Combat performance is judged by matchups, especially against enemies that are at triangle disadvantage or neutral to the unit. Performance against more relevant meta threats is more valuable than performance against units that are rarely seen. Scale of 0 to 10.
  • Sustainability and filling a useful niche are given small bonuses, when applicable.
  • I will look at least one PP-focused and one EP-focused skill set for each unit, but only evaluate based on performance for whichever phase I deem the unit to be stronger on.
• Support capabilities are decided by how much support a unit can provide (without horribly compromising their combat capabilities), and how valuable I feel that support is. Scale of 0 to 3.
• At the end, the combat and support scores will be weighted (with a heavy focus on combat performance), combined, and rounded to the nearest .5 to obtain the total rating. Dancers and Singers will get +1 point to their total rating (not to exceed 10), because I value Dance/Sing utility highly.

This method of evaluation essentially compares each unit to a hypothetical "god unit" who is stellar at everything, instead of each unit to each other.

All my ratings.

[Korath88]

Rating criteria

Spoiler

10: Extremely strong, shapes the meta around themselves. Requires using niche units to counter. Very few units will fall into this tier.

9: Not quite meta defining but still very strong units with great combat performance against common arena threats and no glaring flaws.

8: Solid units that provide good coverage against their own colour and the one they are strong against, but can be countered by some units of the colour they are weak against.

7: Units that provide a unique form of utility be it buffs, debuffs or being anti meta while also being a decent combatant that can hold their own in a fight.

6: Units that provide similar utility as a tier 7, but are outclassed in combat and will require support or heavy investment to contribute outside of their niche role.

5: Middling units that are outclassed but can still perform decently with investment. Not excellent but not horrible either. Can sometimes serve a niche role.

4: Borderline units that serve as a poor man's version of another unit (basically completely outclassed). Can achieve similar performance as a tier 5 but requires significantly more investment.

3: Units that have poor performance against their own colour and are countered by pretty much anyone with triangle advantage. Can only really achieve anything against units they have an advantage over.

2: Units who often fail to kill even enemies they have triangle advantage over even with investment. Generally not worth using.

1: Bottom of the barrel units that not only perform poorly but are a handicap to the player's team. No amount of investment can save them.

 

Gwendolyn 

Honestly, Lance armours aren't that different at max potential. She commonly runs Berkut's lance or slaying lance with DC to take advantage of her relatively higher Res compared to Effie. However she doesn't run brave lance bold fighter nearly as well due to poor Atk, making her extremely reliant on specials to do damage with that set.

Being an armor pretty much guarantees a decent score (fighter skills are broken), but she does seem to be the weakest of the summonable lance armors. Especially due to her 30 Atk, which is the lowest of the bunch. And now that Effie is 3-4*, she doesn't even have mergeability as a plus point.

Rating: 8/10

When the worst blue armor is an 8, it really says something about how badly armors are balanced.

Shanna

30/35 Atk/Spd, no unique weapon and being a lance flier is not exactly a good start for Shanna.

Her offensive stats are completely eclipsed by Cordelia, Tana and Shigure, and her Res isn't even quite enough to ploy things like Est. Unlike Hinoka and Clair, she doesn't even get a prf to give her a niche or bump up her viability. 

Rating: 4/10 

Mediocre, maybe slightly below average but at least she isn't Florina.

Edited May 15, 2018 by Korath88

[Fire Emblem Fan]

I'll have to abstain from Gwendolyn, I haven't really used her very much.

Shanna: Shanna is one of my favorite fliers to use, honestly. She comes with a good kit so she can be relatively useful right when you get her, and then even better when you have her inherit other skills and weapons! You can upgrade her Killer Lance+ into a Slaying Lance, and her starting skills of Desperation and Threaten Speed have good synergy with other skills you might wanna give her. She has similar skills to Catria, but Shanna has slightly better speed and I personally think it suits her well, especially with her good resistance. The only downfall she has is her lower attack, but it's not terrible by any means and still works enough, especially with optimal IVs and skills. She may not quite be at the level of Tana or Cordelia, but I really like Shanna. 8.5/10

Edited May 15, 2018 by Fire Emblem Fan

[Frosty]

Gwendolyn

Best described as "Blue Sheena" because she has mixed bulk. Pair that with Berkut's Lance+ and DC; she can be hard to KO even with mages and even be a threat to said mages. Also, Hone Armors is nice if you're running someone like LA!Lyn or Halloween Henry running a Bladetome set. She's the worst among the armors but she's still solid.

7.5

Shanna

My favorite Pegasus Knight!... and she's more than just Desperation fodder.

To be quite honest, I had the most fun raising Shanna because she's useful right out of the bat. Desperation, Killer Weapon which can be upgraded to a Slaying Lance+, Iceberg and Threaten SPD is a decent starting kit for her. This means that you'll only need to give her an A-slot; preferably Fury (which goes well with Desperation) with and an assist skill such as Reposition or Draw Back. If one wants to change her C-slot; she can run a Flier buff. Mine is using Goad Fliers... or since she has a good RES stat; especially with Fury, she can run ploys, preferably a combo of SPD Ploy and DEF Ploy seal.

Other good option for her is the Firesweep Lance+ set; although I'm already happy with her default Killer weapon since this means I can even utilize Glacies which runs off from her good RES stat.

Her only downfall is that her ATK stat is lower compared to Shigure, Est, Tana and Cordelia and her RES is lower than that of Est for Ploy shenanigans; but still she's usable. By the way if you manage to get an +ATK boon Shanna; you're all set to turn her into a flying terror if you wish to use her.

I'll give her a...

8.5

Edited May 15, 2018 by Frosty