#I spelled ‘excelled’ like ‘accelled’

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HELP I thought I wouldn’t have much to change about my OCs’ reference sheets besides aging them up a year bc they’re kinda set in real time and I only wrote/drew them a year ago, BUT WHY DID I WRITE THIS LIKE A TEENAGER-

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My Three Houses Tier List!

Keep in mind, I’m a newbie who’s only played Awakening, Fates (all three), Shadow Dragon, and Echoes.

I also haven’t used all the characters because *cough* I get attached to certain faves then forget the rest of them. For that, please take this with a grain of salt. I’m not even a gamer.

Here are some other useful resources:

Growth Rates by Character

Growth Rates by Class

Crests

Now to get to the reasoning!

Honestly, the tier characters aren’t in order. My computer lagged too much for me to rearrange these.

S+

Byleth: Sword of Creator is an amazing weapon. As much as it wears out really easily, it is still really good. While Byleth favours certain classes due to aptitude in swords, brawling, authority, and a hidden talent in faith, you can access practically any classes that aren’t gender-exclusive. The “Enlightened One” class is okay because it plays into Byleth’s talents, but I found that it looked ugly and wasn’t as good as the house leaders’ final classes. 

Claude: He’s the best archer in the game, and his Barbarossa class is overpowered. His special classes are the best. He can travel large distances and snipe them, and even before that, the sniper class lends him a combat art called “Hunter’s Volley” (accessible by all snipers) which allows him to double-attack. Unfortunately, his flying class can lead him to be a little susceptible (especially in maddening mode), but if it adds any comfort, he has a crest that can occasionally recover up to 30% of his HP while using combat arts.

Edelgard: I’m not sure what her hidden talent in reason is for, but it’s there! She’s a powerful armoured unit, and while she lacks that mobility when she goes into armoured classes, she really still hits hard, especially with that crest (which raises damage while using combat arts). She has her own unique class, but they aren’t anything compared to Claude’s “Barbarossa” class. I don’t want to expand too far on her crest because it’s a pretty heavy spoiler.

Lysithea: She has access to amazing spells. She has two crests, and she can use warp (which is useful considering the maps and objectives) and dark spikes (for that pesky death knight) early on. While she is very flimsy, her magic, dex, and spd growth rates really make up for that. Her crests even boost these magic attacks, and her minor crest can also boost combat arts. She can access new magic pretty quickly thanks to her experience ability as well.

S

Catherine: Unfortunately, you don’t have access to her when you first enter the Black Eagle house. If you side with Edelgard, you won’t get to use her. She’s the best swordmaster (better than Felix I’m pretty sure). Her strength, dex, and spd growth rates are awesome, her crest boosts damage with combat arts, and she can be accessible pretty early on (with her advanced class already set). Not to mention, Thunderbrand (although a bit hard to fix like other relics) is amazing. It can strike four times, and with Catherine’s spd, that’s really not a problem. Her ability can only be effective if they aren’t with a battalion, but I assume you can just use up her battalion and that will be that. Once that happens, she gets reduced damage.

Dimitri: Honestly, I have a bit of bias. He’s my least favourite house leader. He spends his whole edgy phase, and he’s pretty alright. He excels with his strength, dex, and spd, but he’s also pretty sturdy with his defence. He has the least luck out of the three which can play into some situations. His special classes are okay. Just like Edelgard, he just doesn’t stack up to Claude. His crest is pretty good as it occasionally doubles his attack and weapon uses for combat arts.

Hilda: She carried my Golden Deer when Claude couldn’t be in more than one place at once. She rides her Wyvern and just destroys. I found that in maddening especially, she couldn’t always land her hits and didn’t out-speed a lot of the enemy sword users. However, her crest can even that out sometimes as it nullifies counterattacks. Her ability helps support male allies around her too.

Petra: Allow me to have my bias. Petra is pretty awesome. She is the fastest out of all the Black Eagles with a speed growth rate of 60%. While everything else is a bit mediocre, her speed allows her to land more hits anyway, and with her being the only one for that in her house, I found her to be really useful. Her ability makes her able to land more critical hits under certain circumstances. She can also ride a Wyvern if you feel that mobility is an issue, but her assassin class is also a very valid option. She doesn’t need a crest to be my fav.

A

Mercedes: Not a car, but her hair is so cute! She cuts it post-time skip, but that’s probably to avoid an “anime mom” kind of death so all is forgiven. Okay, besides that, unlike Linhardt, she has access to the gremory class which has so many magic uses. Fortify is an awesome skill to have as well (even if the affected distance is very underwhelming). Her “Live to Serve” and crest skill also helps her as a healer as she’s able to heal herself and preserve some of the recovery magic she uses.

Ingrid: She’s a perfect cut-out for a falcon knight, and she’s great at it. Her crest can increase damage while using combat arts, her ability raises her strength by 3 and her hit rate by 5 when using gambits, and while she sometimes lacks that pure strength that Hilda has, she has far more speed and is still a solid unit and gains access to her pegasus knight class pretty early on. I strongly considered putting her in the S class. 

Hubert: He has access to some unique spells like Lysithea, but I didn’t find him as useful. He wasn’t even useable for some of the chapters in the Black Eagles. He’s a useful dark knight and can also use dark spikes for that death knight. He just has nothing in Lysithea who can be recruited in any route. He has a talent for bows which didn’t have any use while I was playing, he has a hidden talent with lances which helps for his dark knight route, and he excels at authority which complements his ability which raises the strength of gambits. 

Felix: While some would argue he makes a good mortal savant, I found him to be more useful as a swordmaster or assassin. He already excels at the use of bows and brawling, so focusing on that str stat is really vital. He has a great amount of speed and a decent amount of dex as well. His strength can also be increased if you don’t assign him a battalion or if you use it up right away, and his crest also increases strength. Personally, I didn’t find him as useful as Catherine, but that doesn’t mean you can’t use both!

Leonie: All because she is obsessed with Jeralt and doesn’t have a crest doesn’t mean you shouldn’t like her! She can be awesome as a bow knight, and she’s more sturdy than Bernadetta. Her dex and spd are her assets. She already excels at the skills required for her bow knight position. Her paralogue also gives her a weapon that stacks up to those relics anyway so her crest problem isn’t that big (especially if you have New Game +). The bow knight class is pretty awesome, but the growth rates aren’t that good. Putting her next to a male ally can increase her strength and defence too.

Linhardt: Due to me choosing Black Eagles first over the Blue Lions, I have a bit of a bias. His “Catnap” ability allows him to recover a little bit (not much) if you don’t make him move, and I find it far less useful than Mercedes’ “Live to Serve”, but he has warp, and that’s pretty useful. Unfortunately, he doesn’t have access to the gremory class. I still like him and found that he restored a lot more HP as a bishop anyway. His crest helps increase the strength of his recovery magic too. Overall, he’s a very good healer who has access to some great spells including “Excalibur” which messes with those pesky falcon knights.

B

Seteth: Unfortunately, I never really used him outside of his paralogue (which has great rewards by the way). His crest is similar to Hilda’s but only works with combat arts. His ability helps female allies with their damage output, and as a Wyvern, he has great mobility. He sometimes isn’t accessible or joins too late so by the time he comes, his position is already taken. Legend has it that he’s still stuck in McDonald’s Playplace with Flayn.

Shamir: She might not have a crest, but she’s easy to recruit pretty early on in-game, and she has a unique ability. When she initiates combat and defeats an ally, she gets +4 strength, +4 magic, +4 dexterity, and +4 speed for one turn. She has great dex growth rates, and she excels at the use of lances and bows which helps her become a bow knight.

Sylvain: If you play as f!Byleth, you can just recruit him. You don’t have any requirements. His crest boosts the damage of combat arts, his ability boosts offence and defence if he has a female ally as an adjacent, and he has a hidden talent in reason which allows him to accel as a dark knight, but you can put him into other classes as well since he excels at axe skills too. His growths are pretty well-rounded but are a little underwhelming, but he’s still a solid unit that can hold his own.

Bernadetta: She’s a little flimsy, and I wouldn’t suggest her JP voice, but I relate to her on a spiritual level. She doesn’t hit that hard as her stats aren’t as great as Leonie, but her crest allows her to occasionally attacked twice. Her ability boosts her damage if she isn’t at full health, but I found it a little testy since she’s so flimsy. With her hidden ability in riding and her talents in lance and bow usage, she’s pretty cut out as a bow knight, but keeping her as a sniper is okay too.

Dorothea: I was considering putting her in the B tier, but her potential for being the best dancer of the game is still up there so she just slipped into this tier. Plus, she has access to some pretty good magic including meteor. Her growth rates are not very good, but her ability helps support those around her. You can also find her hidden talent in faith skills which allows her to support even better.

C

Lorenz: Recruit him for his paralogue then profit. Trust me, it’s worth it. Give that magic staff to Lysithea. Profit. I didn’t really use him, but I found his available magic a little lacklustre. His talents make him a perfect cut for a dark knight. His growth rates are okay. Even his crest is overshadowed by Lysithea. Seriously, everything is overshadowed by Lysithea. His purpose in this game is to make Lysithea look good.

Annette: She’s one of the few mages in the Blue Lion house which makes her useful. Her axe talent doesn’t really become useful, and she also doesn’t stack up compared to Lysithea (who can be recruited). She can become a gremory or a dark knight, but she only has talents in reason, authority, and axe. Her strength growth rate is also pretty lacklustre so I’d recommend gremory. Her growth rates herself aren’t that great. Her crest allows her to conserve magic, but it doesn’t really help her in combat.

Caspar: His talents are in the right place. He has his axe and his brawling skills which make him a great war master, but he doesn’t have talents anywhere else. His ability helps him hit, but he doesn’t have a crest, his mobility doesn’t let him get away fast from mages, and his defences are both lacking.

Marianne: I love her character and design, but compared to Linhardt and Mercedes, she just doesn’t stack up. Even though her talents allow her to become a holy knight, her strength growth rate doesn’t help that (which in turn doesn’t really complement her crest I find). Her spells aren’t as accurate as the other two either, but they are unique! She has blizzard and silence unlike the other two, and she’s a valid candidate for the dancer class too. Her ability allows her to heal if she’s close to a riding ally. I just found her a bit overshadowed.

Ignatz: When you have Claude already, it’s tough to make it as an archer. He’s alright in terms of growths, but he doesn’t have a crest. His ability helps him hit his marks. His talents let him become an assassin easily, but when there’s Claude already, it can be a bit hard to find a place for cabbage boy. 

Raphael: He is so slow. Don’t expect him to out-speed anything or anyone. Along with his speed, his poor resistance also catches up to him. If a mage breathes on him, he will die (unless his high HP happens to save him). He has a lot of strength, but he doesn’t always hit either. His HP is a huge asset and his ability complements that. Nothing beside his strength and HP are really supporting him.

Ashe: He’s worse than Bernadetta, he’s far worse than Leonie, but he’s the archer of the Blue Lions! His talents make him excel in axe and bow skills which just don’t fit. He has a hidden talent in lance skills, but you would need to invest in that and his non-existent riding skill in order to make him a bow knight. He has a good luck stat, but his ability doesn’t help him in combat. He doesn’t have a crest either. He disappointed me a little.

Ferdinand: I AM FERDINAND VON AEGIR. I just wanted to say it. He is perfectly cut out to be a great knight in terms of his talents, but his growth rates wouldn’t suggest it (his speed is 50). Great knights in this game aren’t amazing, and it definitely shows on him. His crest helps him prevent counterattacks when using a combat art, and his ability only works when he’s at full HP. I could never find a place for him.

Dedue: I found that he was like Raphael. He has the same strengths and shortcomings, but due to in-game issues, I didn’t find a use for him, especially post-time skip. Just like Raph, he’s a good defence tank (which is complemented by his ability), but if a mage comes near him, he will die and he can’t even run away.

Cyril: He’s not accessible until later on if at all when you choose the Black Eagles, and he requires a lot of work. His ability aptitude can make him worth the investment, but I didn’t find him good enough to be worth the investment. Not everyone with aptitude can be a Donnel. But if you’re desperate for a Wyvern, he fills that role well.

F

Flayn: Rescue has never been useful for me, and quite frankly, for the short period I used her, she was useless. Absolutely useless. She rivals Aqua from Konosuba. I’m not a fan of her or her hair that reminds me of dessert cornets. I spent way too long on her fishing quest. She can become a dancer, but it isn’t worth it. She doesn’t benefit from her ability, she’s flimsy with her low HP, she doesn’t have great dark magic spells, and she doesn’t even have access to physic! 

I didn’t use the rest of them and can’t give a proper opinion on them.

That concludes my tier list! Hours later, it’s done!