Wall of text incoming:
Alrighty, I don't think i'm going to be able to complete my first Conquest run due to several problems including spreading experience too thin, Niles dieing early, only using one flier, using the boot on Benny, not using the who is probably the best unit on the path etc. I don't have enough damage to 1 round Takumi with Corrin without 2 Dragon Fang activations and don't have enough damage to beat Garon reliably (without 2 40-50% crits while avoiding 4 likely crits from him) (I only have one more Rescue use which is needed to the endgame so attacking for Draconic Hex and rescueing out isn't an option either). I want to do many other things with the path anyways now that I have actually done some research (I played the Nohr path mostly blind up until Ch.24 as I had issues KOing things fast enough and refused to turtle). The only kids I got were Felicia!Kana and Effie!Percy (who is my only useable flier at the moment). I didn't end up buying Tonics which i hear make runs of this path in particular far more manageable. I'm just gonna give some thoughts on the endgame crew that failed to break the endgame I guess.
Corrin (M) Nohr Noble lvl 19 +Spe -Lck Ninja Trait
I didn't know whether or not there would be a usable ninja or not on any path, so in order to have a guaranteed way of exploring the class set I gave Corrin the trait. I had a ton of success with +Spe Robin in Awakening so I figured why not.
This guy did a ton of carrying and also caused some resets. The Speed is now overkill its at a whopping 37 with Shadow Yato not included. He got crit by several people while attempting to hold 2 wide areas w/ Dragon Stone and Benny. He was still the best unit in my personal run which doesn't surprise me and a well timed Dragon Fang saved several chapters from being reset. Draconic Hex was really good LOL. I had to make sure I read what it did right and then test it almost immediately because this skill is really strong especially because of the way he dodged many attacks. I used him as a ninja softener many times so others could nab experience. This guy was a monster even if he can't 1 round Takumi with only one Dragon Fang activation. I probably put too much of his time in MN which is why his Str is kinda lacking atm.
Arthur Hero lvl 11
Relying on this man to hit anything was probably the biggest issue I had before he promoted to Hero. I made the mistake of giving him forged iron weapons instead of giving him the Odin treatment and forging him crit weapons. He and his +2 Iron Axe did alright for themselves though. He is one of my favorites character-wise and was available early so i figured he couldn't be that bad and he really wasn't. He dished out far more crits than I care to count in the lategame which was cool. I really wish I would forged this guy a Killing Edge and gave him a couple Arms Scrolls though; He would have been much less of a gamble with that and the Arms Scrolls I did use didn't end up being all that great anyways.
Effie Great Knight lvl 11
41 Str after meal and Arthur pair up O_O. Yeah, that Strength is pretty overkill even if she can't double faster units. The other side of the coin is that she has the lowest HP of my front liners and her Defense is below average (even with Def +2). She is a fantastic bruiser, but will realistically only take 1-2 hits from units with higher Str/weapon Mt and units with tome/scrolls +any kind of a magic stat. I probably should have partner sealed her into a Hero or Berserker to help her Speed / Skill out a bit since from what I recently read the growth is actually pretty good. A high Mov class would have made her pretty awesome, but she was decent even without that. In most cases, you could chip anything with Kaze and Effie would just be able to murder them afterwards with ease.
Benny General lvl 12
Wary Fighter came at the same time as the big damage / Speed spike the game has as you get closer to the final chapters. If there is a choke, this guy and any one of my back-liners behind him could hold it. Fierce Mien was perfect for Arthur and Odin to just run in and actually kill things reliably once they attacked Benny. Benny killed many other things on his ownso he is certainly no helpless victim in the Str department; especially with a Steel Lance since his Spd is awful anyways. He "up there" in terms of character to me as he seems to be fairly smart and would probably make good company at a bar somewhere. Benny was just solid; through and through.
Odin Dark Knight lvl 17
This guy took off in the late game when you could forge him a Mjölnir that activates Aching Blood. He had 45-70%ish crits on everyone with that thing which got me several good kills when I needed them. He actually does a large amount of reliable damage with a +2 Bronze Sword which makes for great ways of finishing units that survive Mjölnir. He basically killed all of the Oni Chieftains in the last few chapters without remorse. He took awhile to get here but he was pretty brutal late game.
Shura Bow Knight lvl 15
I saved him because I thought he would be a decent Niles replacement. Idk how Niles turns out, but this guy actually did ok for being a late pre-promote. His staff rank was nice and he definitely put the Killer Bow to good use. His Str fell off pretty hard though which you can expect from a pre-promote like him I suppose. He is the reason I have a shot at beating the endgame, so no complaints.
Xander Paladin lvl 16
I thought I would be getting something mediocre here due to pre-promote + high bases + high mt 1-2 range weapon usually meaning no growths in the long run. I was very wrong about him (and Camilla too apparently) when I made my initial judgments because Xander is a monster. I felt like I needed to use him because Silas fell off and Perri just didn't work and boy was it the right decision. Xander took Effie and Arthur's spot next to Benny in chokes and also had the utility of high Mov and Shelter + Defender. He got owned by Oni Chieftain crits 1 or two times though which wasn't fun. I was very happy with him overall.
Elise Strategist lvl 12
The first mounted staff unit I actually like / used in a FE game. Rally Res was pretty big in the later parts of the game as Niles was dead and Shura could only take on one mage at a time it felt (Kaze could walk into them and leave nothing left though which was fun) and she barely missed out on A rank staves which would have been nice for Fortify. The high Mov really helps get her out of trouble the the pair boosts she gave to Xander were very helpful when facing enemy varieties. Her auras probably helped out more than give her credit for and her combat ability with the fire tome alone was pretty amazing.
Kaze Master Ninja lvl 15
You can walk this guy into a flock of mages and next turn you will find a hardly scratched Kaze and a flock of dead mages. His Speed felt extremely ovekill (he capped at level 13 which is lol) and his low mt weapons didn't feel like they were meant for killing with below average Str, but the debuffs he provides were pretty invaluable since he us the only dagger user that can actually take one strong hit if he doesn't dodge it. That res and speed made him the personifaction of Tomebreaker though, even though he doesn't have the skill himself.
Mozu Sniper lvl 11
My first attempt to replace Niles that became a different monster altogether. Mozu with a +2 Iron Bow is merciless enough as is. I didn't bother to do this but Mozu with Shura's killer bow may have even better. She could have made better use of a +1-2 Steel Bow with the speed she now has but eh, i was't sure how that would turn out and I figured the risk wasn't worth taking. If you needed something generic dead, Mozu could usually kill it. She was a solid unit despite the bad start.
Leo Dark Knight lvl 17
Leo, unlike most other units, is consistant. Not the strongest damage ever but consistant. He doesn't have the best bulk but he still has bulk and on both ends of the spectrum too. He was just average and Camilla > him would have probably been better if I didn't judge her wrong and bench her as a result.It did feel like he added to the team, but I also feel like someone else would have been better here.
Keaton Wolfssegner lvl 7
I kinda just slapped him on when the unit cap went up; not thinking about pair up bonuses from the weaker units. Keoton still did ok though. He kills or gets killed due to his offenses being great despite his lower level and his bulk reflecting his lower level. I was thinking Wolfskin would be like the Taguel where they cap at level 30 instead of promoting, so I figured his bases were already as good as they were going to get. The minute I saw he maxed at level 20 I just figured I should keep him considering the time put into him. He would have been way better if I didn't spread experience as thinly as I did in the earlier chapters he was available.
Felicia Maid lvl 35
Very good staff and weakening unit early on. Her auras provided much more than I probably give her credit for. She started doing very consistent damage with the Flame Shuriken and usually doubled anything that wasn't fastest of the the fast. Tomebreaker made her like Kaze only she wouldn't kill a lot of the higher res mages naturally. Solid unit imo; wasn't the best Kana mom though.
Kana Nohr Noble lvl 12
Kana wasn't great outside of being a Draconic Hex unit. With the stone equipped she still didn't take hits very well (thanks to Felicia being mom probably) and she can't use her stupid high speed because of the stone. She is probably different with a better mom, I didn't know what Corrin's kid would be like though, so eh.
Percy Wyvern Lord lvl 10
Monster flier even with his low level. He just has trouble hitting things is all. I didn't get to use him all that much but when he needed to do something, he did it well. High str, def; good spd and flier mov made a wonderful combo.
It was a fun run and it is a shame i'm not going to complete it, but I think I made it much harder on myself than I needed to. My next will be more informed and I already have ideas on how to make it more interesting and better for myself.
