Fire Emblem Catch All

My recollection is you get more benefits to pairing versus being near each other. The UI is a little cluttered to make this clear, though, to be honest.

When you pair up a character with less movement or movement restrictions can carry the other one. That’s a benefit. It strengthens their bond. That’s another.

I'm trying to remember how pairing worked in Fates.

Whichever character initiates the pair is the passive partner, if I remember right, so they assist with attacking and defending but aren't the main attacker. Whichever character's icon is on top on the battlefield is the active one.

But frankly, in Fates there wasn't much benefit to pairing people versus just making sure they were always next to each other on the map. Pairing was introduced in the prior game, Awakening, and was incredibly powerful. They kept the system in Fates but nerfed it significantly, then they mostly removed it from the next two games.

Probably the thing it's best for is attaching weak characters to stronger ones so that you don't have to deal with them getting killed constantly.

DSGamer wrote:

My recollection is you get more benefits to pairing versus being near each other.

This was definitely true in Awakening, but when I played Fates I felt like that was no longer the case. But I will totally yield to you on this one. You played many more hours of Fates than I did. (I'm sorry.)

It's been a while since I fully played Awakening or Fates so forgive me for not having a clear memory of how either worked. I only just started a replay of Awakening and haven't done much with pairing. That said, I believe that the character you are currently controlling becomes the support position when paired. I have a memory of finding the pairing itself a tad unintuitive and having to spend the next turn moving and then swapping who is and isn't support.

As for what it does, it's largely for defensive purposes. The support character can block an incoming attack from the enemy. So what you want to do is have characters that have a high support with one another paired up, so one character can block damage when being attacked or when doing the attacking. For example, if you pair a heavy-armored unit with a flying unit, then the flying unit can move that heavy unit further than they'd normally go, then swap out at their destination so the heavy unit is on the offensive. The flyer will block some damage for a unit that already takes very little, and thus become a more mobile and sturdy recon unit of sorts.

If you're on chapter 10 and struggling with the concept then you may end up having a hard time later on, as I found pairing units to be a necessity, especially on Conquest. Enemies get tough and hit hard, so the ability for the support unit to prevent damage becomes a necessity.

Note that I may be forgetting other elements. I feel like when paired up your support character never attacks, but I could be wrong.

ClockworkHouse wrote:
DSGamer wrote:

My recollection is you get more benefits to pairing versus being near each other.

This was definitely true in Awakening, but when I played Fates I felt like that was no longer the case. But I will totally yield to you on this one. You played many more hours of Fates than I did. (I'm sorry.)

You shouldn’t defer to me in this case. I found Fates terribly confusing to get they kind of information.

Probably the thing it's best for is attaching weak characters to stronger ones so that you don't have to deal with them getting killed constantly.

This is really good advice. I did this a lot. I would frequently use the stronger character in a pair to weaken an enemy and then give the other member of the pair the killing blow since it’s generally worth more XP. This is a good strategy for building up weaker characters.

ccesarano wrote:

For example, if you pair a heavy-armored unit with a flying unit, then the flying unit can move that heavy unit further than they'd normally go, then swap out at their destination so the heavy unit is on the offensive.

I didn't think you could swap positions after movement in Fates. You could move or swap but not both.

ClockworkHouse wrote:

I didn't think you could swap positions after movement in Fates. You could move or swap but not both.

Maybe? Again, my brain is jumbled from a brief return to playing Awakening and barely using it there. As much as I was liking Awakening it kind of makes me want to just replay Three Houses instead, oddly enough.

Thanks for the wondeful advice.. let me go and try it now how... i am my own boss so i can play here and there while i work.. lol one sec guys

Darkhaund wrote:

Thanks for the wondeful advice.. let me go and try it now how... i am my own boss so i can play here and there while i work.. lol one sec guys

Pressing F5 repeatedly. Please hurry.

sorry... i had some unwanted / unexpected clients arrive

Darkhaund wrote:

sorry... i had some unwanted / unexpected clients arrive

I was joking. It is fun, though, to see someone play through other games in the series and to be able to help a little.

ok so far.... here is how it works

Moving and paring with a character FINISHES that units turn
Once you pair... you can SWITCH... to see who is upfront

Once you switch it determines who is obviously upfront and hence the distance the paired unit can walk.
Switching characters that are paired also ends the turn.

Prederick wrote:

Alright, me and Fyleth are chumming it up with Edelgard and friends. Will report further after I put in a couple serious hours tonight.

HORNY FOR CATHERINE

I see you are a man of good taste.

But Shamir...

You're all wrong...

IMAGE(https://fireemblemwiki.org/w/images/thumb/6/63/Portrait_annette_02_fe16.png/200px-Portrait_annette_02_fe16.png)

Can you guys suggest which might be the best House for a newbie to the Series?

I picked Normal/Casual at the start.

I really like the look of Black Eagles but I read it was harder than the other two?

Help...I have decision paralysis!!!

ZenRhino wrote:

Can you guys suggest which might be the best House for a newbie to the Series?

I picked Normal/Casual at the start.

I really like the look of Black Eagles but I read it was harder than the other two?

Help...I have decision paralysis!!!

They're not too different mechanically, so as Clocky said upthread, I'd strongly recommending going with the house which has the most cuties you want your Byleth to smooch

A stranger on the train noticed me playing and we struck up a conversation. I mentioned it was my first FE game ever. He said that I should play Blue Lions if I want “the classic Fire Emblem experience.”

When I told him I went with Black Eagles, he asked where I was (Red Wolf moon, still in first half but deep into it.) He then got REAL WEIRD, like he pitied me but also wanted to laugh.

ZenRhino wrote:

Can you guys suggest which might be the best House for a newbie to the Series?

I picked Normal/Casual at the start.

I really like the look of Black Eagles but I read it was harder than the other two?

Help...I have decision paralysis!!!

Can't think of BE being notably harder than other routes. Each gets difficult in the middle and then at the end, but the rest ramps up fairly well.

Each route reveals different parts of the story or the world. I played BE then GD, and was very happy with how the reveals played out that way. If I had played GD first, some of the things that happened in BE might not have been as impactful since I knew they were coming.

Or just do what everyone else is saying.

If you are going to play the game multiple times, start with Blue Lions.

If you are dead set on playing the game one and only once, Golden Deer.

If you want the best deep story that will make you want to explore wtf else is going on... Black Eagles.

TheHarpoMarxist wrote:

He said that I should play Blue Lions if I want “the classic Fire Emblem experience.”

I'm sorry, but the classic Fire Emblem experience is to have a boring dark-haired guy in charge. Dimitri is blond.

Stealthpizza wrote:

But Shamir...

Is also wonderful.

In this game of houses, there's no such thing as just one waifu or husbando.

UpToIsomorphism wrote:

You're all wrong...

IMAGE(https://fireemblemwiki.org/w/images/thumb/6/63/Portrait_annette_02_fe16.png/200px-Portrait_annette_02_fe16.png)

Annette, however, is my beautiful and brilliant daughter and I swear that she and Ashe shall make perfectly adorable kissie faces with one another one of these playthroughs.

Nah. Annette's OTP is Edelgard.

IMAGE(https://partycity6.scene7.com/is/image/PartyCity/_pdp_sq_?$_1000x1000_$&$product=PartyCity/879595)

Blue Lions is the more traditional FE setup. Your strong lord and tanky classes, some ranged and magic mix. Black Eagles leans a little more magic heavy and Golden Deer is more ranged. But again you can recruit and pick up a few extra without much effort.

The warning against playing BE first is probably to make sure you go the Edelgard route, which could require a minor spoiler. If you miss one specific conversation you're screwed. The non-Edelgard BE route takes away 2 of your strongest characters. So doing that as your very first play through would not be recommended.

Thanks everyone for the advice.

I went with Golden Deer for a first run

Finally Beat that Chapter 10 in Conquest... good game so far.

ccesarano wrote:
Stealthpizza wrote:

But Shamir...

Is also wonderful.

In this game of houses, there's no such thing as just one waifu or husbando.

UpToIsomorphism wrote:

You're all wrong...

IMAGE(https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn%3AANd9GcSPlC0PQWCNykHnagkohtqOEpoPuFZ5si47TMAT6Cwf8bOvRMba)

Annette, however, is my beautiful and brilliant daughter and I swear that she and Ashe shall make perfectly adorable kissie faces with one another one of these playthroughs.

I will agree that there are so many choices that there is no one true answer. So far there are only a few characters I don't care about.

Spoiler:

I am a monster

Wow... the systems in this game are overwhelming for a newbie!

Kind of late on this, but if I remember correctly, the way support works in conquest is this: units standing next to each other will perform a "follow up" attack. If units are paired, the secondary unit will prevent these "follow up" attacks from hitting. This system is a far cry from how it worked in awakening, which at least to me made the system completely pointless and I never paired units except to move/ fly slower units. Generally getting the follow up attack and removing enemies is stronger than leaving them alive to try and weather the storm.

I also just recently started my ng+ playthrough of three houses and chose golden dear. Hopefully this one will not take another 100 hours. Also need to look up how to get the end pairings I want...