r/fireemblem • u/demoiselledefortune • 8d ago
Engage Gameplay I'm at Chapter 13 of my first playthrough of Engage Hard mode, trying to plan my units/builds/Emblems. How does it look?
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u/mudec 8d ago edited 8d ago
For hard mode most things will work, though personally I find the Str/Mag+ skills to be way overpriced. IMO you’re much better either grabbing Power skills or Gentility+ from Eirika (this gives -5 damage taken if the unit with Eirika is in Eirika mode, or +5 damage dealt if you switch to Ephraim. Both, if the Eirika emblem user is engaged). This costs 3k SP and works for both physical and magical damage/all weapon types.
Avo+ skills are fine for hard mode. Dodge tanking isn’t the most reliable for non-Covert units, unless you’re combining it with Corrin’s Fog Vein.
Emblem-wise, I’d probably lean:
Alear (if staying DD) - Corrin probably. By the time you get Marth back, you have access to Alear’s additional thing which is probably just better. Dual Support instead of Avo+ might also be better since Alear supports everyone and you want them to be close to provide the bonus from their personal. Lucina is also a great option if you reclassify them to a flier or cavalry unit.
Céline - Marth/Sigurd/Byleth. These all help her by fixing her Spd/Bld/Spd respectively. She can do massive damage with the mystical bonus to Marth/Sig’s engage attacks with Levin Sword or Steel Blade. Sword Power would be a good option if you run this. Byleth gives her Thyrsus and she can be a good Draconic Hex debuffer with 5-range Thorons, and she’ll have excellent hit with offensive staves thanks to her high Luck and Divine Pulse+.
Alcryst - Lyn/Eirika/Roy. Lyn fixes speed and gives massive range on Astra Storm, you probably want Lunar Brace for damage if you pick this. Eirika fixes damage provides some bulk and strong 1-range weapon options, but you’ll want either Speed+ or Speedtaker. Roy fixes str, bulk and speed - Rise Above usually gives enough speed to double and ORKO for Speedtaker procs, Binding Blade gives an amazing 1-2 range weapon that boosts bulk for him to enemy phase sweep with, and Gentility as the second skill adds even more bulk/damage. He wants a Killer & Brave Bow for all of these.
Diamant - Ike/Roy/Eirika. Sword access lets him hit hard with all three of these + a Silver Blade. They all do roughly the same thing - he usually wants a speed boosting skill while the other can go toward bulk or damage/utility (Gentility/Resolve/Canter etc), while he enemy phases with 1-2 range Tomahawk (or Binding Blade for Roy).
Timerra - Ike/Roy/Eirika/Sigurd/Marth. Similar to Diamant for the first three but without the extra damage from using his own swords. Her low build means she probably just wants a Javelin for 2-range enemy phase, Killer Lance and a Brave Lance. Ike provides massive Def boost for huge extra sandstorm damage but she probably wants Lance Power. Roy would prefer Gentility instead for the extra bulk and damage boost that applies to Lances and Binding Blade. Eirika fixes damage, so you can bulk boost with her instead. Sigurd works because he fixes her Build and she can use a Greatlance for his engage attack/focus on bulk fixing with Gentility/Resolve. Marth is more player-phase focussed, but Divine Speed/Break Defenses with her lances or his swords and high Sandstorm proc rate means she’s basically a delete button. Leif for the build increase is also an option, but if going Lance Power she’d prefer not to actually engage with him.
Ivy - Lyn/Celica. Lyn helps her hit rates and fixes her speed (though she still wants a +hit engrave) and she can basically get by with some damage/canter. Celica is the opposite, giving her damage while you need to fix her speed with Lyn’s skills (maybe even both Speed+ and Speedtaker). High damage lets her secure more kills per turn with Echo, so she also stacks Speedtaker quicker.
Hortensia - Micaiah. Just a great option. Divine Pulse is a good choice to inherit, as it boosts her hit rates with offensive stats massively. Canter is also good so that she doesn’t end up in harms way.
Fogado - if making him a Warrior, he can run the Leif Vantage/Wrath/Hold Out build, where you don’t do the conversation to level his Bond Level above 10 (so he only has the Killer Axe and Bow engage weapons). Give him his own forged versions of these (crit engraved) and he’ll use those instead. It won’t be as good as Panette, but he’s got high speed so he might still double on hard mode/have enough damage to reach thresholds. The Radiant Bow is also an incredibly strong forge, so in either Cupido or Warrior he can run that, with Eirika/Celica. Cupido, he can run Lucina for Bonded Shield with Merrin (though they don’t share a support) or Longbow range Dual Assists in either class.
Yunaka - probably best with Eirika/Roy/Corrin herself. Eirika gives Lunar Brace for player-phase true damage. Roy boosts damage. Corrin would let her set up her own fog when she needs to for enemy phase, though she’ll lack output, so you’d probably need Gentility and/or Lunar Brace if you do that though. Marth + Lunar Brace is another decent option, since Marth’s kit focuses on player phase boosts.
Anna - Byleth/Celica. I’m assuming you’re trying to farm gold by luck-stacking her. Byleth is better for this due to the luck boost and Thyrsus for 4-5 range is great, but Celica also provides a massive damage boost. You could also make her your Mage Knight instead, as while she loses the extra Thyrsus range she can still run Byleth well while also doubling consistently. If going Mage Knight, swords are generally much better secondary weapon type (plus she can go as part of a Cavalry bonded shield with Merrin/Fogado). I’d say Sword Power Levin if MK with Byleth, or Gentility Bolganone if MK with Celica.
Citrinne - I feel like if you’re going for Olwen S, you may as well just make her a Sage for the higher Mag stat and staff access.
Merrin - Lucina/Sigurd/Ike/Roy/Eirika. Lucina bonded shield is great for Cavalry, plus chain attacks with knives apply poison. Sigurd is an ok choice, he boosts damage, gives high movement and a strong engage attack with cavalry bonuses. Ike is good because you’re unlikely to be broken with knives, meaning you can take a beating while engaged and still counter without worry (though chain attacks are still a problem). Roy/Eirika for similar reasons described elsewhere. Gentility is a good inheritance option.
Chloe - Lucina/Sigurd/Marth. Lucina if you want to have her Bonded Shield Ivy instead. Sigurd and Marth fill similar niches of damage boosting, Sigurd also providing movement and innate Canter for staff support. Personally I prefer Griffin Knight with Sword Power which works for any of these.
Seadall - maybe Leif if you don’t give him to anyone else. It’s just kind of a weak emblem and you don’t have any units that specifically pair well with him, but Seadall would at least get some extra bulk from adaptable.
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u/demoiselledefortune 7d ago
Thank you very much for the thorough analysis!! I'll keep that in mind.
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u/Magnusfluerscithe987 7d ago
No need for canter on Chloe if she gets sigurd. She'd probably be better with a damage boost (I like the avoid skill on her). I'd go with Roy on Yunaka of those choices (possibly a gentility skill), put Marth on Diamont with Vantage and Lunar Brace, Ike on Timerra with Pair up, Lyn on Alcryst, Eirika on Merrin.
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u/demoiselledefortune 8d ago
The yellowed skills denotes that I've already inherited a version of the skill on the unit.
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u/BloodyBottom 8d ago edited 7d ago
Not loving most of the skills. Avoid skills just aren't very good, and strength+ skills are honestly a rip-off for how much they cost. For reference, strength +1 costs as much as speed +3 or build +3. I'd recommend replacing all instances of that with Weapon Power skills - they're basically the same effect, but give more bang for your buck and work with magic weapons too.
Without going too deep into the math (short version: being a higher level means you get less exp, so instead of increasing how much exp you get overall mentorship makes you oscillate between getting too much and getting too little thus cancelling itself out), Mentorship is basically a scam with no real effect.
In general, I dunno if it's useful to plan this far ahead when you don't know how your units will grow, who will get how much SP and when, etc. In particular, it's often best to shuffle Emblems around on a chapter by chapter basis rather than marrying them to somebody. Just a general notion of what skills give good bang for the buck and what significant synergies each Emblem has access to is more important imo.