Fire Emblem Three Houses: Reach for my hand, I'll soar away.

[Rising Phoenix]

It comes either at A rank or from activating a Budding Talent for lance.

It's not everyone's A rank talent either. Some get a different one.

It's damn hard on your weapon durability if you're relying on it for damage (I am with Marianne, who is my mage hunter)

Forge a steel weapon. That should give you heaps of durability and decent power to spam your skills. E.g. my Sniper Ashe thrives of this for hunters volley. Speaking of Archers, snipers are better than bow knights. You really don't need the extra movement when you you can strike from six spaces away.

@Zevox: Make her a sniper, Hunters volley is one of the best skills in the game.

[GloatingSwine]

Bad with names, got mine as a hidden talent from the blue-haired shy girl in Deer that starts out with a faith focus. It's not so bad money-wise as long as you just use basic steel. It makes her the best offensive member of her class I've run across in the series without using selective breeding to crit-cheese.

edit - and let's face it, it's still not as expensive of an alpha-strike as tempest-lance users and the crop of lance users seems too slow to rely on double-hits anyway.

Leonie has good speed and is a natural with a lance, she'd not be as easy to make into a flier as Marianne, but if I want something stabbed in the face with a lance, Leonie is going to be better at it. She's easily getting double attacks at my current levels.

Marianne is about my worst offensive character, and she's in danger of getting benched. Her saving grace is high Resistance which is why she's on mage detail.

[MCerberus]

Leonie has good speed and is a natural with a lance, she'd not be as easy to make into a flier as Marianne, but if I want something stabbed in the face with a lance, Leonie is going to be better at it. She's easily getting double attacks at my current levels.

Marianne is about my worst offensive character, and she's in danger of getting benched. Her saving grace is high Resistance which is why she's on mage detail.

I put Leonie on a pony. Marianne still has a really good punch with frozen lance and is seemingly tailor-made for what in previous games was the magic-using pegasus advanced class. Cheese now, reap investment rewards later.

[Zevox]

Forge a steel weapon. That should give you heaps of durability and decent power to spam your skills. E.g. my Sniper Ashe thrives of this for hunters volley. Speaking of Archers, snipers are better than bow knights. You really don't need the extra movement when you you can strike from six spaces away.

@Zevox: Make her a sniper, Hunters volley is one of the best skills in the game.

I've got Shamir for that though. Hell, she has a huge head start on learning it, since she started as a Sniper despite being level 11 when I recruited her (Shamir is a bit OP, honestly).

Bernie just seems to have become outclassed. Might just end up using her as an adjutant all the time. (BTW, does anyone know what that mechanic exactly does? It's not entirely clear from what little I've seen of it.)

[Rising Phoenix]

I've got Shamir for that though. Hell, she has a huge head start on learning it, since she started as a Sniper despite being level 11 when I recruited her (Shamir is a bit OP, honestly).

Bernie just seems to have become outclassed. Might just end up using her as an adjutant all the time. (BTW, does anyone know what that mechanic exactly does? It's not entirely clear from what little I've seen of it.)

I see. Bad rng is bad rng. I am not using any of the teaching staff coz I prefer my students.

I already have sniper!Ashe, but I'd love a second sniper. They're that versatile.

[MCerberus]

In general, is everyone finding that experience is the least-limiting resource towards promotion after skill levels and hitting class mastery? I've got pretty much everyone at level 20 and no desire to use advanced seals.

[Rising Phoenix]

In general, is everyone finding that experience is the least-limiting resource towards promotion after skill levels and hitting class mastery? I've got pretty much everyone at level 20 and no desire to use advanced seals.

Master classes are optional they generally don't increase growth rates etc. Now there are few that are strict upgrades- Falcon Knight, draco master, weapon master, gremory (sp?)). But some like bow knight are inferior to sniper as an example.

Edit: Nm misread what you were asking. Not really, if you manage your teaching well they should have no troubles meeting the targets.

[tonberrian]

Alright, I've done this enough to establish a pattern. To recruit most* students, you need to a.) have a D rank in the skill they want, b.) have a B rank support, c.) have the appropriate stat at 8+? I have never had the stat be the limiting factor for a character. That's the easiest combination. You might be able to get by with a higher stat/skill with a c rank support or no support, but I haven't tested that. You can (and should) spam them with gifts - I've found that this guide is fairly accurate, with one addition: Lorenz loves roses. You'll know that you've got the skill prerequisite once the student says they want to be a part of your house, then it's just a matter of gifting them. You can get both support conversations in one exploration, with enough gifts. You have one chance to recruit a character per exploration, click it early and you can't recruit them until the next time you go to explore.

* - The one exception I've found is Sylvain, who jumped at the chance to come aboard the Black Eagles when given the chance. I'm pretty sure this is because I have a female Byleth, and he's simply hot for teacher. Can anyone confirm this going Golden Deers with Female Byleth?

[Rising Phoenix]

- The one exception I've found is Sylvain, who jumped at the chance to come aboard the Black Eagles when given the chance. I'm pretty sure this is because I have a female Byleth, and he's simply hot for teacher. Can anyone confirm this going Golden Deers with Female Byleth?

Not golden deer or black eagles. But I've read multiple accounts of this happening. Given his personality. That may very well be the case... (Though why he doesn't follow Manuela around is a very good question. On that note their supports are hilarious. Poor Manuela.)

[Razade]

So, having dug a little into the game I'm enjoying it so far. I picked the Golden Deer because the idea of a plucky group of mostly Commoners in anotherwise snooty Royal's college appealed to me. I also like how they're from a country distinct from the other two. I picture a Renaissance era Italian Peninsula from them and that's not one you see in a lot of Medieval Fantasy. I'm probably messing up on a ton of fronts, so hopefully by the next go around I've learned my lessons.

I've got my Byleth as a Myrmidon. Most everyone else are just now ranking up. I'm on Chapter...three? Maybe four? I don't feel like I'm really even out of the "This is all just the beginner's area" area. I've got a few Supports to C. Claude, the white haired girl and the big brutish guy. Been having the Faith Mage and Claude learning flying in their classes. I feel like I've got a good rhythm going now of clearing the quests in my first Free Time, punching in some dining room stuff and personal rank ups and hunting items down and finishing the month clearing the optional battles. Dunno if that's the best way to go about things, but I'm having fun doing it. I don't much see a reason for the Rest option, I suppose it raises Motivation? I've been balancing that just by talking to everyone and doing the Monastery quests so far.

[LaZodiac]

A question, which I think was brought up before but I want to bring up again.

I've got say, Edelgard at level 10, and she can classchange into her next form. Should I wait until class mastery of her current class? She's out of Noble/Commoner so it should be a good idea? I just want to make sure, since Fire Emblem tends to have delayed gratification built into how it does level up efficiency.

[Zevox]

I see. Bad rng is bad rng.

Indeed, that might be the case. Looking at Bernie's growth rates in Serenes Forest though, she's always going to have strength issues (base growth 35%, lowest in the house besides the mages). Her speed really should be higher though, as she has a better growth rate there than many other house members who have better speed than her, so I guess that's where I'm getting RNG screwed with her.

In general, is everyone finding that experience is the least-limiting resource towards promotion after skill levels and hitting class mastery? I've got pretty much everyone at level 20 and no desire to use advanced seals.

Sounds about right. Getting into intermediate classes at 10 was generally no problem (aside from Byleth because I'd split her attention between swords and spears, and she doesn't get all the free weapon experience the students do), it was a question of whether I wanted to or wanted to master the basic classes first. I'm just now hitting level 20 with my first characters, and finding that while a few already qualify for their advanced classes, it's only the ones going for classes that want multi-skill qualifications - e.g. Ferdinand has no trouble meeting the B in lances and riding that Paladin wants, nor does Edelgard meeting the B each in axes and heavy armor for Fortress Knight, but everyone aiming for a class like Swordmaster, Warlock, Bishop, or Grappler, which just want one skill at A rank, only has it at B or B+. And it's a more real question whether to stick with the intermediate classes until mastery, since I'm closer to done with them than I was with the basic classes, and they give more enticing rewards.

I don't much see a reason for the Rest option, I suppose it raises Motivation? I've been balancing that just by talking to everyone and doing the Monastery quests so far.

Raising motivation for everyone if your whole house is low (though later on you can easily do that through a few meals and gift-giving), and something special pertaining to an item you get in I believe chapter 5. I'll post it in a spoiler block just to be safe.

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When you get your legendary weapon, resting becomes how you restore durability to it - each rest is +5 durability. Not sure if its durability can be restored by the blacksmith like all other weapons, I haven't used it enough to need to worry about that yet, but I won't be surprised if resting is the only way.

A question, which I think was brought up before but I want to bring up again.

I've got say, Edelgard at level 10, and she can classchange into her next form. Should I wait until class mastery of her current class? She's out of Noble/Commoner so it should be a good idea? I just want to make sure, since Fire Emblem tends to have delayed gratification built into how it does level up efficiency.

For the basic classes at that point in the game, I'm inclined to say no. None of their mastery benefits look all that good to me, and you'll probably not be too close to getting them after just five levels being in those classes, plus the intermediate classes give better stat growth boosts than the basics.

[tonberrian]

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When you get your legendary weapon, resting becomes how you restore durability to it - each rest is +5 durability. Not sure if its durability can be restored by the blacksmith like all other weapons, I haven't used it enough to need to worry about that yet, but I won't be surprised if resting is the only way.

Spoiler: Relics

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I think, having not tried the others, all relics including the Sword of the Creator require Umbral Steel to repair. Which is really rare. Though it seems that if you break all the barriers on a monster, they'll drop some.

[MCerberus]

A question, which I think was brought up before but I want to bring up again.

I've got say, Edelgard at level 10, and she can classchange into her next form. Should I wait until class mastery of her current class? She's out of Noble/Commoner so it should be a good idea? I just want to make sure, since Fire Emblem tends to have delayed gratification built into how it does level up efficiency.

The +5 hp you get for class mastery of common/noble is good early on, but in the long run you'll probably swap it out. Looking back I probably should have just promoted everyone ASAP out of commoner/noble. Just be careful because Monk is the only class that lets you use magic

Basic class mastery is a bit more rewarding, as you get +2 to (Stat)

I also found out that there's a statue restoration project that nets you double class experience for about an 800 renown investment, so keep your eye out for that.

[tonberrian]

One thing I noticed: there's no Red and Green this game. Odd tradition to break. No Jeigan either.

[Rodin]

Just be careful because Monk is the only class that lets you use magic

One thing to note here is that swapping a starting Magic user over to a non-Magic class and leveling them up as a melee character isn't the worst idea, though I think it would still depend on the character. I took my Lorenz and made him a Cavalier at level 10, and he then didn't touch magic for the next 20 levels. His Magic stat still kept up with his Strength for that whole time, and when I eventually reclassed to Dark Knight he turned out to be the best all-rounder I've got. He's strong enough to insert his lance into mages with no problem, his magic is powerful enough to knock out Fortress Knights, and his Speed/Defense/Resistance are all respectable without being remarkable. He's not the guy I send out to tank the world (that would be Hilda), and he's not the guy I send to obliterate a Magic Beast with one shot (that would be Lysithea with her 200+ damage crits on certain enemies...from range 4), but he's incredibly versatile so I can throw him in wherever things are getting hot.

On class mastery, my plan is to get everybody to Master rank in their chosen class first, and then go back and fill in the class masteries where I can. Since all it takes is participating in combat, equipping a high level character with a broken weapon and telling them to go stand near an enemy that can't really hurt them seems like the way to go. Not sure how viable that strategy will be on Hard though - on Normal it's pretty trivial on any of the Auxiliary missions. There's a lot of the strategy that I'm ignoring because I forgot how stupid easy Normal difficulty can get in Fire Emblem games. Then again, my last paralogue battle was actually difficult enough that I was running around with multiple people in single-digit health by the end.

[Rising Phoenix]

One thing to note here is that swapping a starting Magic user over to a non-Magic class and leveling them up as a melee character isn't the worst idea, though I think it would still depend on the character. I took my Lorenz and made him a Cavalier at level 10, and he then didn't touch magic for the next 20 levels. His Magic stat still kept up with his Strength for that whole time, and when I eventually reclassed to Dark Knight he turned out to be the best all-rounder I've got. He's strong enough to insert his lance into mages with no problem, his magic is powerful enough to knock out Fortress Knights, and his Speed/Defense/Resistance are all respectable without being remarkable. He's not the guy I send out to tank the world (that would be Hilda), and he's not the guy I send to obliterate a Magic Beast with one shot (that would be Lysithea with her 200+ damage crits on certain enemies...from range 4), but he's incredibly versatile so I can throw him in wherever things are getting hot.

On class mastery, my plan is to get everybody to Master rank in their chosen class first, and then go back and fill in the class masteries where I can. Since all it takes is participating in combat, equipping a high level character with a broken weapon and telling them to go stand near an enemy that can't really hurt them seems like the way to go. Not sure how viable that strategy will be on Hard though - on Normal it's pretty trivial on any of the Auxiliary missions. There's a lot of the strategy that I'm ignoring because I forgot how stupid easy Normal difficulty can get in Fire Emblem games. Then again, my last paralogue battle was actually difficult enough that I was running around with multiple people in single-digit health by the end.

Hard mode essentially boils down to the above:

Snipe the mages with snipers/pegassi/heck even a a good pallie the later two can run out of range. Than bait the remainder with a wall.

[Maryring]

So, finally starting a run of the game in the Black Eagles and I just have to say... man, I really don't like the three lord characters at all. Seriously

Spoiler: Prologue

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I wish you could tell all three of them to futz off when they ask you who you want to serve. I don't wanna serve any of you guys. Talk about making a terrible first impression.

[Rising Phoenix]

So, finally starting a run of the game in the Black Eagles and I just have to say... man, I really don't like the three lord characters at all. Seriously

Spoiler: Prologue

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I wish you could tell all three of them to futz off when they ask you who you want to serve. I don't wanna serve any of you guys. Talk about making a terrible first impression.

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well they are snooty nobles...what did you expect? They see a capable individual and they need it in their house

So I am about...2/3+ of the way through my Blue Lions play through. if anyone is at a similar spot I'd appreciate some input. Chapter 17.

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I am at the reunion battle...The game seems to imply that if you focus down the black eagles first you can team up with Golden Deer, but then it appears that the Golden Deer swarms you for the lols (well tactical advantage...but still I expect Claude to be smarter than that)


If I were to defeat Eldergard first is it possible to team up with Golden Deer or are the messages false advertising?

Also regarding your students post time skip.

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I was expecting more conversations when you face them in battle...But they just appear to be generic one liners... Which is disappointing

Do you get more, say if you were to pitch Dorothea, which I've recruited, against her former class members?

[Zevox]

@ Rising Phoenix - Kind of hard to guess how far in is 2/3 of the way through the game, might want to be a bit more descriptive, if you can be without spoilers.

And a question for anyone, for chapter 9 (Ethereal Moon):

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So, what does it take to win the dance competition? I mean, I can probably just enter Dorothea and win it, I'm guessing, but I don't want to move her off her spellcaster class path. Meanwhile, I just so happen to have a certain student who has been proving to be not so useful on her own, who could perhaps have one final chance at usability by picking up a special class like this, but I'm really not sure if she can win.

Yeah, if you don't remember from several of my past posts, I mean Bernadetta.

[Rising Phoenix]

@ Rising Phoenix - Kind of hard to guess how far in is 2/3 of the way through the game, might want to be a bit more descriptive, if you can be without spoilers.

And a question for anyone, for chapter 9 (Ethereal Moon):

Spoiler

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So, what does it take to win the dance competition? I mean, I can probably just enter Dorothea and win it, I'm guessing, but I don't want to move her off her spellcaster class path. Meanwhile, I just so happen to have a certain student who has been proving to be not so useful on her own, who could perhaps have one final chance at usability by picking up a special class like this, but I'm really not sure if she can win.

Yeah, if you don't remember from several of my past posts, I mean Bernadetta.

It's regarding chapter 17 and I am specifically asking for people who have done a Blue Lions playthrough.

regarding your question

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I don't wish to spoil it for you so I'll point you to Manuela. Chat with her and she will give you some tips.

Edit: actually that may be soft spoilers what I had here.

[Zevox]

It's regarding chapter 17 and I am specifically asking for people who have done a Blue Lions playthrough.

regarding your question

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I don't wish to spoil it for you so I'll point you to Manuela. Chat with her and she will give you some tips.

Edit: actually that may be soft spoilers what I had here.

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I am specifically asking for spoilers of a sort, although specifically mechanical. Is it tied to stats, like charm or dexterity, and if so how high do they need to be? Or is it based on the person, and it's just that some characters can succeed and others can't? I understand if this isn't fully known yet, just hoping it might be and someone can let me know.

Also, speaking to Manuela didn't get me anything. She just says I need to pick someone because it'd be a shame if the competition went on without my house.

Edit: Nevermind, a google search turned up the info I needed. Looks like I should be able to make Bernie win. That'll be nice, I might just salvage her after all!

[Rising Phoenix]

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I am specifically asking for spoilers of a sort, although specifically mechanical. Is it tied to stats, like charm or dexterity, and if so how high do they need to be? Or is it based on the person, and it's just that some characters can succeed and others can't? I understand if this isn't fully known yet, just hoping it might be and someone can let me know.

Also, speaking to Manuela didn't get me anything. She just says I need to pick someone because it'd be a shame if the competition went on without my house.

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It's tied to charm. 14+ charm specifically. So Dorothea would easily meet the criteria assuming she's not rng screwed. Manuela will tell you this once you've selected someone. I am also going to say that any sword user with high Charm will benefit massively from the skill that dancer provides. It's not a bad option for a lord character either.

[tonberrian]

Spoiler: Dance Competition

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You also get a chance to dance with your choice and give them +5 charm.

[Rising Phoenix]

Spoiler: Dance Competition

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You also get a chance to dance with your choice and give them +5 charm.

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I chose Dimitri. His reactions were hilarious

[Zevox]

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It's tied to charm. 14+ charm specifically. So Dorothea would easily meet the criteria assuming she's not rng screwed. Manuela will tell you this once you've selected someone. I am also going to say that any sword user with high Charm will benefit massively from the skill that dancer provides. It's not a bad option for a lord character either.

Spoiler: Dance talk.

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That may be, but there's a big difference between giving some good bonuses to a good character and salvaging the usefulness of a character that is otherwise becoming just bad, and I'd rather do the latter.
(Also, the number I was given was 13+ charm. Guess it varies a bit.)

Spoiler: Dance Competition

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You also get a chance to dance with your choice and give them +5 charm.

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Yep, that was kind of huge. Honestly, because of that almost anyone in my house could have hit that 13+ charm number to win, and many were well above it already. Guess it's not really supposed to be hard to do.

[tonberrian]

Ugh, FINALLY. After running all over the monastery giving gifts for months, I've finally got all* the students outside of my class up to a B support. It is technically possible to be finished recruiting before winter sets in (i forget the month, the one where you go to Remire).

*I say all, but Leonie's B support is time locked... probably until

Spoiler

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Jeralt's death.

Similarly, both Ferdinand's and Linhardt's B supports are time locked as well, so you can't recruit everyone until certain story events happen.

[Zevox]

Yeah, I'm not trying to recruit everyone - I basically stopped going after characters from other houses after getting Leonie and Ingrid - but I've run into a lot of time-locked supports with Byleth. Mostly B rank, though also Dorothea's A rank, and a couple of A ranks between the students. Seems to just be a normal part of Three Houses.

[tonberrian]

Yeah, I'm not trying to recruit everyone - I basically stopped going after characters from other houses after getting Leonie and Ingrid - but I've run into a lot of time-locked supports with Byleth. Mostly B rank, though also Dorothea's A rank, and a couple of A ranks between the students. Seems to just be a normal part of Three Houses.

I was willing to bet that all A rank supports were time locked to after the timeskip. You mean to say some are not?

[Rodin]

I was willing to bet that all A rank supports were time locked to after the timeskip. You mean to say some are not?

I'm pretty sure you can get Byleth some same-sex A supports prior to the timeskip. I don't think A ranks between students are locked at all.

I have found it kind of irritating that the C-supports don't seem to update after the timeskip. I've seen a couple conversations that are clearly pre-timeskip because they don't make a ton of sense otherwise. For example, Leonie and Seteth's C-support is a student vs headmaster scenario even though Leonie is now a grown woman who Seteth no longer has any authority over.

One more question on A-supports - anyone know how support endings work? I know how Byleth works, but by the time I finish the game my entire class is going to be A-ranked with each other. Is it based on who hit A-rank with each other first? Or is there some hidden value that goes up after they hit A rank? I just don't know.