Intermission: So, about that unit recap...
Now that we have everyone and we're getting close to promotion time, let's take a look at how everyone's doing and what their options are! Also you can see all the dumb names that I give to forged weapons.
Athena - Lv. 18 Great Lord
Athena is one of our stronger units at the moment, as befitting a Lord character. She has the highest Str out of our whole group and is well-rounded in all other stats as well, except Mag. I'm training her up on Naginata for weapon triangle control, easier 1-2 access, and because Naginatas default to giving +1Def/Res, which can be handy in some situations (especially since Katana give -1 to those stats instead). "Reginleif" is a +1 Iron Naginata. (Iron forges are some of the best weapons in the game, honestly).
Since Great Lord is a DLC class, she will not need to promote at Lv. 20 and can instead stay in this class and continue gaining its skills (next at 25, then 35), and she can wield the Yato in this class, so it works out just fine for her. Once she hits 20, we'll have Heart Seal access to Hoshidan Noble if we want (trading Naginata access for Dragonstones and Rods of all things), as well as Adventurer (Yumi and Rods) and Bow Knight (Yumi and Katana). With out crappy Mag and E lock for Bows, the only one of those that's really appealing would be Bow Knight, but we're early enough that we could make anything work still if necessary.
Skyleaf - Lv. 18 Shrine Maiden
Skyleaf is one of our two healers at the moment. Compared to Robin, her Mag is much better which makes her a more effective healer, but she's much less durable, with very poor Def and HP. Since she's still staff-locked for the moment, her primary functions are 1) healing every single point of HP that she can to boost her exp as much as possible, B) pairing up to TGK to build their support (they actually unlocked B support last chapter; I'll be writing it up with the next full chapter), and 3) hanging out as close to the action as possible without being in danger to make good use of her Personal skill.
Her two direct promotions are Priestess (gains Yumi) and Onmyoji (gains Scrolls). Onmyoji makes better use of her high Mag stat, but she won't be able to rise above a B rank in Rods, so she won't have access to the A Rank Great Festal, the Fates version of Fortify that heals HP to all units in a 1~10 range. Priestess keep the same mag and does give her some much-needed Str and a bit more bulk, though she won't be very effective as an offensive unit being stuck on E lock with a 2 range only weapon. At best, she'll plink some flyers. Once promoted, she can also Heart seal into Falcon Knight (Rods and Naginata) or Kinshi Knight (Yumi and Naginata). Kinshi is her worst option by far since it's only offensive. Falcon Knight would let her keep her Rod use and be more mobile as well, but like Onmyoji Rods are capped at B rank.
PMJ - Lv. 20 Songstress
PMJ is a primarily a supportive unit, so her stats don't really matter all too much. That said, when she does fight, she's a class cannon. She's got surprisingly high Str and Spd, but her durability is very poor, having less or the same Def/Res/HP than/as Sakura, and that's including Naginata bonus and an Angelic Robe. 7 mov ensures that she can be as useful as possible, singing when necessary to give someone another attack or move (or just to gain some exp). "Shitty Pointy" is a +1 Bronze Naginata, so named because Bronze weapons are pretty poor, but she's still stuck on E rank so I can't give her anything better.
Her Songstress class is a 40 level non-promoting class. She'll gain another skill at 25 and again at 35 if we keep her where she is. Once she hits Lv. 21, she'll have the ability to Heart Seal into a Falcon Knight (Naginata and Rods) or a Kinshi Knight (Naginata and Yumi). Both would keep her current weapon rank (meager as it is) and give her a boost to her defensive stats (and her movement), but they come with the major downside of removing her most useful trait: the ability to sing and refresh units.
Vom - Lv. 18 Ninja
Vom is one of two ninja and thee Shuriken wielders that we're currently fielding. Of the three, he's the most consistent, with his high Skl and decent other stats. He has the lowest Spd of all 3, but the +2 Spd bonus from Shuriken helps him out with that, and he still doubles fairly often. He's also got good Def and bulk. Funnily enough, he's had a lot of +Mag level ups, which makes him a prime user of the Flame Shuriken. In fact, "Magic Tossy" ia a +1 forged Flame Shuriken, since the other two have such low Mag there's no point in giving anything to one of them. "Aegislash" is a +1 Iron Shuriken.
His two immediate promotion options are Master Ninja (Shuriken and Katana) and Mechanist (Shuriken and Yumi). Master Ninja would give him a nice Spd boost and well as the ability to S Rank Shuriken for the delicious Chakram (one of the few not-crappy S rank weapons in Fates). Mechanist magnifies his strengths (Str and Def) and gives an extra point of move, but it also magnifies his weaknesses (he would actually LOSE a point of Spd upon promotion). It also would give him access to one of the best skills in the game, Replicate. Either way, he wouldn't really be using the other weapon option at all. He could also Heart Seal into both Samurai promotions: Swordmaster (Katana) and Master of Arms (Katana, Clubs, and Naginata), though both would be definite downgrades to him since he would no longer have Shuriken access at all.
Aura - Lv. 18 Dread Fighter
Aura is one of our three Shuriken wielder. As a Dread Fighter, she also has access to Clubs and Katana, though since those weapons are inferior for most of her purposes, she primarily focuses on using Shuriken (as you can see by looking at her ranks, lulz). She's got very high Spd and Res, and her 1-2 range weapons make her perfect as a mage killer. She's a bit squisher against melee fighters, which isn't optimal for EP, but she still does fairly well for herself. "Jirachi" is a +1 forged Iron Shuriken. She'll get her Raider Sword back once I forge an Iron Katana for Celever.
As a DLC class, she has no promotion options at 20, and can instead stay in this class up to level 40, gaining new skills again at 25 and 35. Once she hits 21, she'll have a few different reclass options. From her original Villager class, she gains access to Merchant (Yumi and Naginata) and Master of Arms (Katana, Naginata, and Clubs); the Merchant class is more defensive and the Master of Arms is more speedy. From her Archer line, she gains Kinshi Knight (Yumi and Naginata) and Sniper (Yumi). Kinshi would let her keep her high Res whereas the Sniper stats are more well-rounded. She gains lots of weapon access in these classes, but none of them use the Shurikens she's been focusing on, so she'd have to pick a new specialty.
Robin - Lv. 17 Monk
Of our two healers, Robin is definitely less effective with his Rods, but he makes up for it with his bulk. His higher non-magic and defensive stats may seem incongruous, but they'll be very useful upon promotion when Robin learns his true path of violence. However, being staff locked, he has the same focus as Skyleaf more or less, just trying to get as much exp as possible for promotion, and also working on building up his support with Aura.
His two promotion options are Onmyoji (Scrolls and Rods) and Great Master (Rods and Naginata). Onmyoji is a poor choice given his lower Mag, but it would enable him to be a more defensive magic-user, similar to TCG. Great Master on the other hand gives a huge boost to his combat-oriented stats and can turn him into a great offensive unit that still keeps a nice staff rank for healing purposes. Once promoted, he can also Heart Seal into either Mechanist (Shuriken and Yumi) or Merchant (Naginata and Yumi), though either option would take away his Rod access (which would be a loss despite his low Mag; having multiple staffers is useful!) and slow him down a bit. The bright side is that because he has no ranks in anything aside from Rods, he's starting from E rank no matter which weapon he ends up with, to training will be more or less the same in that respect.
TGK - Lv. 18 Grandmaster
Grandmaster TGK is a pretty great defensive magic user. In this sense, his stat page doesn't really tell the whole story because I almost always have him equipped with his "Sparkle Pony" (a +1 forged Horse Spirit), as it gives him +3 Skl/Spd/Def/Res and helps contribute to his powerhouse status, as does Magictaker. His biggest downside is his lack of Spd, which is why Sparkle Pony and the Raider Katana are important, though with Magictaker he can sometimes even OHKO foes and not even need to worry about doubling. His other two forges are "Magestic Moo" (+1 Ox Spirit) and "Reverse Magic" (+1 Calamity Gate).
Once again, as a DLC class, he has no promotion but can instead stay in this class up to lv. 40, gaining new skills again at 25 and 35. Once he hits 21, he'll have a wide variety of reclassing options, however. From Diviner, he gains access to Onmyoji (Scrolls and Rods) and Basara (Scrolls and Naginata). Onmyoji is the more traditional glass cannon mage class, and would give him access to Rods, whereas Basara would keep him more defensively oriented. From his Oni Savage line, he would also gain access to Blacksmith (Clubs and Katana) and Oni Chieftain (Scrolls and Clubs). Oni Chieftain is more similar to Basara and GM, just with Clubs instead, where Blacksmith would be a purely melee class and not a particularly great option. If people would like to have mroe details about the differences between GM, Basara, and Oni Chieftain stat-wise, poke me again when he actually gets to 21 so it's easier for me to compare without lots of restarting.
Palutena - Lv. 18 Spear Fighter
Palutena is a very nice enemy phase unit for us. She's very defensive (especially if she equips her "Guard Pointy", which is a +1 Guard Naginata) so she can soak up a lot of hits. Her Str and Spd aren't the best, so she might not ORKO, but Seal Defense means it's very easy to sweep up any enemies she leaves behind. Her Vom pair-up also gives her a nice Spd and Mov boost which she makes great use of. Her other forged weapon, "Flowing Pointy", is a +1 Iron Naginata.
Her two immediate promotion options are Spear Fighter (Naginata) and Basara (Naginata and Scrolls). Both classes give her some great skills: Seal Speed and Lancefaire for the former and Rend Heaven for the latter. Basara dilutes her stats a bit since it would make her a bit more magically oriented, but that would help her make better use of a Bolt Naginata. Spear Master would focus her more on Str and Def and would also give her access to the S rank Naginata Waterwheel. She could also Heart Seal into Merchant (Naginata and Yumi) and Mechanist (Yumi and Shuriken), though neither give her very much compared to her standard promotions. Mechanist is nice for its skills and move boost, but she'd be stuck in E ranks.
Xerneas - Lv. 18 Archer
Xerneas is the Archest of Archers. In fact, he's so great, he doesn't even need an Iron Yumi forge. :U Though that's mostly because his prf Fujin Yumi is one of the best bows in the game. From a stat perspective, his greatest strength is his Skl, but he's pretty well-rounded overall. Mostly he spends his time paired up with Athena and the two takes turns based on whether enemy phase is more important (Athena in front) or player phase (Xerneas in front). I do try and keep Athena higher leveled to make the best use of his personal skill, though.
His two base promotion options are Sniper (Yumi) and Kinshi Knight (Yumi and Naginata), which enable him to keep his Fujin Yumi close at hand. Kinshi Knight is a better support class and would give him a boosts to his Spd/Res, whereas Sniper gives more well-rounded stat gains as well as the option to wield the S rank Yumi Pursuer, one of the very few weapons that's stronger than his Fujin Yumi (though it comes with some severe drawbacks). Once promoted, he could also heart Seal into Basara (Naginata and Scrolls) or Spear master (Naginata), though both options rob him of his prf weapon use, so they're not particularly great at all. More interesting promotion options will be available to him once he and Athena S rank.
Jesi - Lv. 18 Ninja
Jesi is our second Ninja and final Shuriken wielder. She's already maxed out her Str and has good Spd, though her Skl is kind of low and her defensive stats aren't the best, turning her into something of a Ninja glass cannon. The massive Spd boosts she gets from her Jabber pair-up ensure that she doubles everything in sight and she's also great at dodging, though when she does get hit, it's pretty bad. Her personal means that she's most effective against other Ninja, though 1-2 range means she's useful in almost all situations anyway. "Lovely Kitty" is a +1 Iron Shuriken forge.
Like Vom, her two immediate promotion options are Master Ninja (Shuriken and Katana) and Mechanist (Shuriken and Yumi), so prepare yourself some some edited copy/pasting. Master Ninja would give her a nice Skl boost and well as the ability to S Rank Shuriken for the delicious Chakram (one of the few not-crappy S rank weapons in Fates). Mechanist would bulk her up a lot and give her an extra point of move, and the Spd loss wouldn't affect her as badly, either. It also would give her access to one of the best skills in the game, Replicate. Either way, she wouldn't really be using the other weapon option at all. She can also Heart Seal into either Onmyoji (Scrolls and Rods) or Basara (Scrolls and Naginata), but neither are a smart option for her based on her 0 Mag and focus on Shuriken.
Celever - Lv. 18 Lodestar
Celever is a Lodestar, which is kind of interesting for me as it's a class I've never used before. The Lodestar "Dancing Blade" skill give him +3 Spd and -1 Def, making him the faster character we have, which is kind of interesting considering that we have 2 Ninja and Jabber as well and he beats them all. :U Sadly, his defenses aren't the best, so he's got to be careful; at least his HP is bulky. He hasn't been around all too much yet, but he's proved himself to be decent good so long as he doesn't get overwhelmed with enemies. Since PMJ is more important as a Dancer, he hasn't been pairing up with her, instead pairing up with leftover characters or sticking solo. Now that he's hit D rank, I'll be giving him a +1 Iron Katana forge before the next chapter; you can suggest a name for it if you'd like.
Like the other DLC class characters, he has no promotion but can instead stay in this class up to lv. 40, gaining new skills again at 25 and 35. Once he hits 21, we can Heart Seal him into the promoted Kitsune class Nine-Tails, or we can swap him over into Onmyoji (Scrolls and Rods) or Basara (Scrolls and Naginata). Honestly, neither of his base class options are particularly great; he doesn't have the Mag to be an effective magic user, and Kitsune/Nine-Tails are one-range locked and with few weapon options. I guess that's part of why I was so eager to give him access to something different.
Jabber - Lv. 4 Swordmaster
Last but not least, we have our man Jabber, one of the most useful and OP units in the game, mostly thanks to Raijinto, a 1-2 range high might sword with no drawbacks that also gives him an extra +4 Str just by having it in his inventory even if he's not equipping it. His low defensive stats don't matter since he'll almost never get hit and he has a high HP pool when he does. I'm mostly keep him him paired up to Jesi because it's too easy to just steamroll the game with him, even on "hard" mode. He's a cool dude, though.
As a prepremote, he doesn't have any promotion options, but he does have access to a few reclasses. Master of Arms (Katana, Clubs, and Naginata) would give him access to more weapon types, though all he needs is Raijinto. Falcon Knight (Naginata and Staves) and Kinshi Knight (Naginata and Yumi) rob him of his Prf weapon, but man does he look silly on a flying mount. He'll get access to Ninja promos when he and Jesi get married, too. Reclassing him into anything would gimp him (except maybe a DLC class with sword access), but that's not necessarily a bad thing, I suppose?
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Pretty low update schedule this week; my apologizes! I have a lot of stuff going on on a few different fronts at the moment, so I haven't been able to devote as much time to this. I should be able to post up a new chapter update on Monday, however, so I hope you will look forward to it.