Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones (equal-ish XP)

[SnowFire]

It's here!  Again!  Twin siblings discover the shocking bloodline revelation that each of their family heirloom bracelets secretly contains a horse.

Earlier topics for reference:
OK/Elf's 20/15 topic (w/ bosses): http://www.rpgdl.com/forums/index.php?topic=610.0
Pyro's 20/12 topic: http://www.rpgdl.com/forums/index.php?topic=1626.0
Dhyer's equal-XP, scaled against enemy AS topic: http://www.rpgdl.com/forums/index.php?topic=5595.0

So…  why a 4th stat topic? 

It isn't really needed, for sure.  You can use Pyro's 20/12 stat topic and the results will usually be the same.  Most of the cast would even prefer that one!  Still, FE stat topics are unusually easy to crank out due to very well-defined mechanics, so here we go again.  Consider this like Elf's Awakening topic: Awakening has grinding and thus an expectation of equaller levels, but it's still fair to reflect things like Panne/Avatar's better XP gain rate, Basilio's underleveledness, or Tiki's both.  Replace those with Assassins (good XP!), Trainees (stupidly underlevel!), and L'Arachel (both!), and there you go.

What's different in this topic:

* Baseline level assumed is 20/10.  Per Dhyer, if you charge through the game with little grinding, you'd expect something in this range for the start of the final chapter, and the NM endgame isn't hard enough to credit too much grinding IMHO.
* Certain classes get level boosts due to the XP algorithm favoring them on kills.  Characters who can promote into these classes do so in this topic, and they're the ones who improve in this topic.  (Everyone else is relatively worse.)
* Similar to Dhyer, I've slightly juiced enemy stats compared to the older topics; call it taking bosses more into account, ignoring some of the scrubbier NM enemies as irrelevant, or alternatively hard mode enemies.  I've used 14 Def, 12 Res, 8 Luck, 25 Avoid (STILL AWFUL), 125 Hit.  (Pyro used 10 Def, 8 Res, 5 Luck, 15 Avoid, & 125 Hit.)
* I used the Serenes Forest average stat charts.  (Pyro used a different source with subtly different values.)
* (Minor) Integer values for stats.  Like in-game.  Sorry, you can't actually be 20.3 Strength.  RNG gonna RNG.

Levels

FE8 has grinding available via skirmishes & running the Tower of Valni / Lagdou Ruins, and most early level differences get ironed out by the XP from promoted units late and FE8's algorithm being reasonably generous to catch-up.  Additionally, Last Hope & Darkling Woods have very high deploy counts (17 & 18) so how much you "spread" XP to get useful deploys there matters.  Basically what I'm saying is that take this all with a grain of salt, it varies by playstyle.

• The trainees really want you to boss grind 'em some and are behind if you don't.  Amelia is penalized -1 level (9) and Ewan -2 levels (8).
• Seth & Duessel join crazy overleveled (Duessel joins at 20/8 or 20/10!!1!).  Seth is at +2 levels, Duessel is at +4 levels.

Bishops, Valkyries, Rogues, and Assassins get a special +20 XP bonus when last-hitting an enemy. How big a relative bonus this is depends on how you play (it's bigger if you clear 4 maps one round killing everything, smaller if you clear 3 maps with lots of chipping), but it should be around +4 levels (i.e. a 20/1 Assassin & a 20/1 Swordmaster will be 20/14 & 20/10 respectively after a roughly comparable amount of actions).  Assassins get a boost on top of this for kills in which they activate Silencer, which is not totally uncommon if you give 'em a Killing Edge.

Thieves & Manaketes also get an XP boost (and Manaketes get a functionally gigantic XP boost as they're treated as unpromoted but will probably slay lots of promoted units), one that triggers for both normal attacks and kills.

This means:

• Assassins & Rogues (Joshua, Marisa, & Rennac) are taken at +4 levels.  Colm (w/ a Thief start) is taken at +5 levels.
• Bishops & Valkyries are taken at +3 levels (Moulder, Artur, Natasha).  Staff XP is a thing, they'll likely promote late and still spend some turns on heals rather than kills post-promotion.  (Arguably Artur should be +4 levels a la Rennac, no staff woes pre-promotion despite no Silencer, but eh.).
• L'Arachel, while not joining as far behind as Ewan, doesn't catch up as fast thanks to staff XP plot.  This delays her from her XP boost power-spike by quite a bit (she was L18 unpromoted going into Last Hope on my recent no-grind game...  that's with some stalling & dancing aimed at her, too).  I've assumed she early-promotes at L18 and that she ends up functionally equivalent to the 20/10s (L18/12, lost 2 pre-promote levels but got them back thanks to the XP boost).
• Myrrh is OMGWTFBBQ.  Unless my calculations are badly wrong, even just the amount of XP to take a promoted unit from 20/1 to 20/10 is enough to take Myrrh from 1->20, with plenty of room to spare.  (And she'll absolutely hit 20 with enough XP to go from 20/1->20/12, no way it's 12.)  Nevertheless, Myrrh has a crippling disadvantage in-game that isn't really reflected in the DL, so I've made the call to exclude her from the averages.  If you disagree, the cast gets a tiny bit faster but less durable.

Stats and formulas

Physical damage = Strength + Weapon might - Def (assumed enemy Def = 14)
Magical Damage = Magic + Weapon might - Res (assumed enemy Res = 12)
Attack speed: If Weapon Weight <= Con: Speed (no change)
If Weapon Weight > Con: Speed - (Weapon Weight - Con) (weighed down by the difference)
Hit = Skill*2 + Luck/2 + Weapon Hit + (5 if S-rank)
Avoid = Attack Speed*2 + Luck
Crit = Skill/2 + Weapon Crit + (5 is S-rank) + (15 if class is Swordmaster/Berserker)
Critical Evade = Luck
Magical Status Hit =  30 + [(Magic - Resistance) x 5] + Skill - (Distance x 2).  (No legal PC status attacks, but Resistance matters for status defense.)
If Attack Speed >= Attack Speed + 4, the faster character double attacks.
If a critical triggers, the attack does triple damage.

The weapon & magic triangle are the same as FE7 - Sword > Axe > Lance > Sword, Light > Dark > Arcane > Light.  Good Weapon triangle is +15 Hit & +1 damage; bad weapon triangle is -15 Hit & -1 damage.

Avoid is referred to as "RawAvoid" below so as to avoid confusion with evasion %.

Derived stats:
PCHP: The character's HP divided by the HP average.
DefMult, ResMult: Multipliers for changing subtractive defense into multiplicative defense, for those who do that.  Lower is better (e.g. 0.5 = takes half damage, 2.0 = takes double damage)  Assumes an attack of 32 raw power for both physical & magic damage.
PDur, MDur: The character's PCHP divided by their DefMult & ResMult.
Accuracy %: How often the PC's weapon actually hits a 25 RawAvoid enemy.  Uses the average of two random numbers.
Evasion %: How often a character actually dodges vs. a 125 Hit enemy.  Uses the average of two random numbers.

Weapons

Ruthlessly stolen from the other topics.

Swords
Great Lord (Female), Hero, Warrior, General, Paladin, Great Knight, Falcoknight, Wyvern Lord, Assassin, Rogue, Ranger, Swordmaster
Zanbato - 6 Mt, 85 Hit, Wt 11, Range 1; 18 uses; x3 Mt vs. Cavalry
Armourslayer - 8 Mt, 80 Hit, Wt 11, Range 1; 18 uses; x3 Mt vs. Armor
Killing Edge - 9 Mt, 75 Hit, 30 Crit, Wt 7, Range 1; 20 uses
Silver Sword - 13 Mt, 80 Hit, Wt 8, Range 1; 20 uses
Rapier - 7 Mt, 95 Hit, 10 Crit, Wt 5, Range 1; 40 uses; x3 Mt against Armor and Cavalry  (Eirika)
Sieglinde - 16 Mt, 90 Hit, Wt 9, Range 1; 30 uses; +5 STR, x2 Mt against Monsters (Eirika)
Shamshir - 8 Mt, 75 Hit, 35 Crit, Wt 5, Range 1; 20 uses (Marisa)
Audhulma - 18 Mt, 85 Hit, Wt 9, Range 1; 30 uses; +5 RES, x2 Mt against Monsters (Joshua?)

Spears
Great Lord (Male), General, Great Knight, Paladin, Falcoknight, Wyvern Knight, Dragon Master
Javelin - 6 Mt, 65 Hit, Wt 11, Range 1-2; 20 uses
Horseslayer - 7 Mt, 70 Hit, Wt 13, Range 1; 16 uses; x3 Mt vs. Cavalry
Heavy Spear - 9 Mt, 70 Hit, Wt 14, Range 1; 16 uses; x3 Mt vs. Armor
Killer Lance - 10 Mt, 70 Hit, 30 Crit, Wt 9, Range 1; 30 uses
Silver Lance - 14 Mt, 75 Hit, Wt 10, Range 1; 20 uses
Vidofnir - 15 Mt, 80 Hit, Wt 11, Range 1; 30 uses; +5 DEF, x2 Mt against Monsters (Tana?)
Reginleif - 10 Mt, 80 Hit, 10 Crit, Wt 8, Range 1; 45 uses; x3 Mt against Armor and Cavalry (Ephraim)
Siegmund - 17 Mt, 80 Hit, Wt 11, Range 1; 30 uses; +5 STR, x2 Mt against Monsters (Ephraim)

Axes
Warrior, Berserker, Hero, General, Great Knight
Hand Axe - 7 Mt, 60 Hit, Wt 12, Range 1-2; 20 uses
Halberd - 10 Mt, 60 Hit, Wt 15, Range 1; 18 uses; x3 Mt vs. Cavalry
Hammer - 10 Mt, 55 Hit, Wt 15, Range 1; 20 uses; x3 Mt vs. Armor
Killer Axe - 11 Mt, 65 Hit, 30 Crit, Wt 11, Range 1; 20 uses
Silver Axe - 15 Mt, 70 Hit, Wt 12, Range 1; 20 uses

Bows
Warrior, Sniper, Ranger
Killer Bow - 9 Mt, 75 Hit, 30 Crit, Wt 7, Range 2; 20 uses
Silver Bow - 13 Mt, 75 Hit, Wt 6, Range 2; 20 uses
Nidhogg - 18 Mt, 80 Hit, Wt 7, Range 2; 30 uses; +5 LUK, x2 Mt against Monsters (Innes?)

Anima
Sage, Mage Knight, Druid
Fire - 5 Mt, 90 Hit, Wt 4, Range 1-2; 40 uses
Thunder - 8 Mt, 80 Hit, 5 Crit, Wt 6, Range 1-2; 35 uses
Elfire - 10 Mt, 85 Hit, Wt 10, Range 1-2; 30 uses

Light
Sage, Bishop, Valkyrie
Lightning - 4 Mt, 95 Hit, 5 Crit, Wt 6, Range 1-2; 35 uses
Shine - 6 Mt, 90 Hit, 8% Crit, Wt 8, Range 1-2; 30 uses
Divine - 8 Mt, 85 Hit, 10 Crit, Wt 12, Range 1-2; 25 uses
Ivaldi - 17 Mt, 90 Hit, 5 Crit, Wt 10, Range 1-2; 30 uses; +5 DEF, x2 Mt against Monsters ( L'Arachel?)

Dark
Druid, Summoner
Flux - 7 Mt, 80 Hit, Wt 8, Range 1-2; 45 uses
Luna - 0 Mt, 50 Hit, 20 Crit, Wt 12, Range 1-2; 30 uses; Ignores RES
Nosferatu - 10 Mt, 70 Hit, Wt 14, Range 1-2; 20 uses; Damage done heals user
Gleipnir - 23 Mt, 80 Hit, Wt 20, Range 2; 30 uses; +5 SKL (Knoll?)

Staves
Sage, Bishop, Valkyrie, Druid, Mage Knight, Summoner
None DL-relevant.

Dragon
Manakete
Dragonstone - 16 Mt, 100 Hit, 0 Wt, 15 Crt, 1 Rng; 50 uses; +12 STR, +12 SKL, +15 DEF, +20 RES, x2 Mt against Monsters.  Can't be repaired, can't get a new one.


Weapon ranks

Characters get an S in a weapon type their pre-promo class starts with of their choice and an A in everything else due to grindanz.  (This means that Moulder / Natasha / L'Arachel do not have S-rank Light.)  This A isn't always hugely realistic for the lower levels used here, but eh, reduces interp split, and it usually doesn't matter much.  (Neimi will not complain too much if she's forced into a Killing Edge rather than a Silver Sword, for example, if you only give her a C or B.)

Silvers & Killers

In FE6, the gap was pretty big between "has a ~28-32 crit, probably not gonna crit in 3 attacks, therefore shouldn't show up in the damage average" and "has 50+ crit, should really show up."  Thanks to meh enemy Luck and S-rank crit bonuses, that doesn't really fly in FE8.  There's a whole bunch of the cast at ~35-40 crit.  I've provided both an "include all the crtiz" average as well as a 34-crit cutoff average (would be 35, but felt arbitrary to leave poor Duessel out), which includes all Killer crits and basically only leaves out the mages (e.g. leaves out Moulder's 12% crit chance as not showing up in 3 attacks).  You figure it out from there, alas.

Averages

HP:  42.3
Skill: 19.5
Speed (raw): 20.9
Luck: 16.2
Defense: 13.5
Resistance: 13.5
Constitution: 9.7
Move: 6.6

Atk. Speed, silvers: 20.5
Atk. Speed, killers: 20.7
RawAvoid, silvers: 57.3
RawAvoid, killers: 57.7
Evasion, silvers: 23.5%
Evasion, killers: 24.3%
Hit, silvers: 105.2
Hit, killers: 101.7
Accuracy, silvers: 99.4%
Accuracy, killers: 98.8%

Damage, silvers: 19.2 (2.5x killpoint: 48.0)
Damage, w/ accuracy, silvers: 19.0 (2.5x killpoint: 47.6)
Damage, w/ accuracy & criticals above 34 crit threshold, Killers: 24.4 (2.5x killpoint: 61.0)
Damage, w/ accuracy & all criticals, Killers: 25.1 (2.5x killpoint: 62.8)

[SnowFire]

Eirika, Lvl 10 Great Lord
40 HP, 17 (22) Str, 27 Skl, 26 (24) Spd, 14 Def, 14 Res, 22 Luck, 7 Con, 7 Mov   
0.95 PCHP, 0.97 DefMult, 0.97 ResMult, 0.98 PDurability, 0.98 MDurability, 70 Raw Avoid, 40% Evasion

Sieglinde: 24 damage (10% Critical), 135 Hit, 100% Accuracy, 24 AS (40 damage vs. Monsters)
Killing Edge: 12 damage (40% Critical), 120 Hit, 100% Accuracy, 26 AS
Rapier: 10 damage (20% Critical), 140 Hit, 100% Accuracy, 26 AS (20 damage vs. Armor & Cavalry)


Ephraim, Lvl 10 Great Lord   
47 HP, 24 (29) Str, 26 Skl, 24 Spd, 18 Def, 13 Res, 21 Luck, 10 Con, 7 Mov   
1.11 PCHP, 0.76 DefMult, 1.03 ResMult, 1.46 PDurability, 1.08 MDurability, 69 Raw Avoid, 38.3% Evasion

Killer Lance: 20 damage (40% Critical), 112 Hit, 100% Accuracy, 24 AS
Siegmund: 32 damage (10% Critical), 122 Hit, 100% Accuracy, 23 AS (49 damage vs. Monsters)
Reginleif: 20 damage (20% Critical), 122 Hit, 100% Accuracy, 24 AS (40 damage vs. Armor & Cavalry)
Javelin: 16 damage (10% Critical), 107 Hit, 100% Accuracy, 23 AS


Seth, Lvl 12 Paladin   
40 HP, 20 Str, 18 Skl, 17 Spd, 15 Def, 11 Res, 16 Luck, 11 Con, 8 Mov   
0.95 PCHP, 0.92 DefMult, 1.14 ResMult, 1.03 PDurability, 0.83 MDurability, 50 Raw Avoid, 12.2% Evasion

Killer Lance: 16 damage (36% Critical), 94 Hit, 99.3% Accuracy
Silver Lance: 20 damage (6% Critical), 99 Hit, 100% Accuracy


Franz, Lvl 10 Paladin   
44 HP, 19 Str, 17 Skl, 22 Spd, 15 Def, 8 Res, 13 Luck, 11 Con, 8 Mov   
1.04 PCHP, 0.92 DefMult, 1.30 ResMult, 1.13 PDurability, 0.80 MDurability, 57 Raw Avoid, 20.2% Evasion

Killer Lance: 15 damage (35% Critical), 90 Hit, 98.1% Accuracy
Silver Lance: 19 damage (5% Critical), 95 Hit, 99.6% Accuracy

Gilliam, Lvl 10 General   
52 HP, 22 Str, 17 Skl, 14 Spd, 25 Def, 11 Res, 11 Luck, 16 Con, 5 Mov   
1.23 PCHP, 0.38 DefMult, 1.14 ResMult, 3.24 PDurability, 1.08 MDurability, 39 Raw Avoid, 3.8% Evasion
Great Shield: 10% chance of nulling all damage

Killer Lance: 18 damage (35% Critical), 89 Hit, 97.7% Accuracy
Silver Lance: 22 damage (5% Critical), 94 Hit, 99.3% Accuracy

Vanessa, Lvl 10 Wyvern Knight   
34 HP, 17 Str, 23 Skl, 27 Spd, 13 Def, 14 Res, 18 Luck, 9 Con, 8 Mov   
0.80 PCHP, 1.03 DefMult, 0.97 ResMult, 0.78 PDurability, 0.82 MDurability, 72 Raw Avoid, 43.7% Evasion
Pierce: 10% chance of ignoring target's defense (+14 damage)

Killer Lance: 13 damage (38% Critical), 105 Hit, 100% Accuracy, 27 AS
Silver Lance: 17 damage (8% Critical), 110 Hit, 100% Accuracy, 26 AS

Moulder, Lvl 13 Bishop   
43 HP, 18 Mag, 22 Skl, 21 (20) Spd, 12 Def, 14 Res, 7 Luck, 11 Con, 6 Mov   
1.02 PCHP, 1.08 DefMult, 0.97 ResMult, 0.94 PDurability, 1.05 MDurability, 47 Raw Avoid, 9.5% Evasion
Slayer: 3x Wpn Mgt vs. Monsters

Divine: 14 damage (13% Critical), 107 Hit, 100% Accuracy, 20 AS
Shine: 12 damage (11% Critical), 112 Hit, 100% Accuracy, 21 AS

Ross, Lvl 10 Berserker   
47 HP, 26 Str, 16 Skl, 16 Spd, 15 Def, 9 Res, 23 Luck, 13 Con, 6 Mov   
1.11 PCHP, 0.92 DefMult, 1.24 ResMult, 1.21 PDurability, 0.90 MDurability, 55 Raw Avoid, 17.7% Evasion

Killer Axe: 23 damage (50% Critical), 88 Hit, 97.2% Accuracy
Silver Axe: 27 damage (20% Critical), 93 Hit, 99.1% Accuracy
Hand Axe: 19 damage (20% Critical), 83 Hit, 94.4% Accuracy


Garcia, Lvl 10 Hero   
52 HP, 25 Str, 19 Skl, 14 Spd, 13 Def, 7 Res, 13 Luck, 14 Con, 6 Mov   
1.23 PCHP, 1.03 DefMult, 1.35 ResMult, 1.19 PDurability, 0.91 MDurability, 41 Raw Avoid, 5% Evasion

Killer Axe: 22 damage (36% Critical), 89 Hit, 97.7% Accuracy
Silver Axe: 26 damage (6% Critical), 94 Hit, 99.3% Accuracy
Hand Axe: 18 damage (6% Critical), 84 Hit, 95% Accuracy


Neimi, Lvl 10 Ranger   
34 HP, 19 Str, 21 Skl, 24 Spd, 10 Def, 15 Res, 18 Luck, 8 Con, 7 Mov   
0.80 PCHP, 1.19 DefMult, 0.92 ResMult, 0.67 PDurability, 0.87 MDurability, 66 Raw Avoid, 33.2% Evasion

Killer Bow: 14 damage (37% Critical), 106 Hit, 100% Accuracy
Silver Bow: 18 damage (7% Critical), 106 Hit, 100% Accuracy
Silver Sword: 18 damage (2% Critical), 106 Hit, 100% Accuracy
Killing Edge: 14 damage (32% Critical), 101 Hit, 100% Accuracy


Colm, Lvl 15 Assassin   
45 HP, 18 Str, 17 Skl, 29 Spd, 13 Def, 9 Res, 22 Luck, 8 Con, 6 Mov   
1.06 PCHP, 1.03 DefMult, 1.24 ResMult, 1.03 PDurability, 0.85 MDurability, 80 Raw Avoid, 59% Evasion
Silencer: 50% chance on a critical hit of instantly killing enemy

Killing Edge: 13 damage (35% Critical), 100 Hit, 100% Accuracy
Silver Sword: 17 damage (5% Critical), 105 Hit, 100% Accuracy


Artur, Lvl 13 Bishop   
39 HP, 23 Mag, 22 Skl, 20 (19) Spd, 10 Def, 25 Res, 10 Luck, 7 Con, 6 Mov   
0.92 PCHP, 1.19 DefMult, 0.38 ResMult, 0.77 PDurability, 2.42 MDurability, 48 Raw Avoid, 10.3% Evasion
Slayer: 3x Wpn Mgt vs. Monsters

Shine: 17 damage (16% Critical), 119 Hit, 100% Accuracy, 19 AS
Lightning: 15 damage (13% Critical), 124 Hit, 100% Accuracy, 20 AS
Divine: 19 damage (18% Critical), 114 Hit, 100% Accuracy, 15 AS


Lute, Lvl 10 Sage   
33 HP, 25 Mag, 15 Skl, 20 Spd, 10 Def, 19 Res, 21 Luck, 4 Con, 6 Mov   
0.78 PCHP, 1.19 DefMult, 0.70 ResMult, 0.66 PDurability, 1.11 MDurability, 61 Raw Avoid, 25.6% Evasion

Fire: 18 damage (4% Critical), 110 Hit, 100% Accuracy, 20 AS
Thunder: 21 damage (9% Critical), 100 Hit, 100% Accuracy, 18 AS
Elfire: 23 damage (4% Critical), 105 Hit, 100% Accuracy, 14 AS

Natasha, Lvl 13 Valkyrie   
37 HP, 23 Mag, 13 Skl, 20 Spd, 9 Def, 26 Res, 25 Luck, 6 Con, 7 Mov   
0.87 PCHP, 1.24 DefMult, 0.32 ResMult, 0.70 PDurability, 2.72 MDurability, 65 Raw Avoid, 31.6% Evasion

Lightning: 15 damage (3% Critical), 108 Hit, 100% Accuracy, 20 AS
Shine: 17 damage (6% Critical), 103 Hit, 100% Accuracy, 18 AS


Joshua, Lvl 14 Assassin   
49 HP, 19 Str, 27 Skl, 27 Spd, 13 Def, 10 Res, 15 Luck, 8 Con, 6 Mov   
1.16 PCHP, 1.03 DefMult, 1.19 ResMult, 1.13 PDurability, 0.97 MDurability, 69 Raw Avoid, 38.3% Evasion
Silencer: 50% chance on a critical hit of instantly killing enemy

Killing Edge: 14 damage (40% Critical), 116 Hit, 100% Accuracy
Silver Sword: 18 damage (10% Critical), 121 Hit, 100% Accuracy
Audhulma: 23 damage (10% Critical), 126 Hit, 100% Accuracy, 26 AS, 41 damage vs. monsters.  +5 Resistance; MDur goes to 1.26 with this.  Plot claim.


Forde, Lvl 10 Paladin   
46 HP, 17 Str, 21 Skl, 19 Spd, 15 Def, 9 Res, 15 Luck, 11 Con, 8 Mov   
1.09 PCHP, 0.92 DefMult, 1.24 ResMult, 1.18 PDurability, 0.88 MDurability, 53 Raw Avoid, 15.4% Evasion

Killer Lance: 13 damage (37% Critical), 99 Hit, 100% Accuracy
Silver Lance: 17 damage (7% Critical), 104 Hit, 100% Accuracy

Kyle, Lvl 10 Paladin   
49 HP, 22 Str, 17 Skl, 18 Spd, 17 Def, 7 Res, 11 Luck, 12 Con, 8 Mov   
1.16 PCHP, 0.81 DefMult, 1.35 ResMult, 1.43 PDurability, 0.86 MDurability, 47 Raw Avoid, 9.5% Evasion

Killer Lance: 18 damage (35% Critical), 89 Hit, 97.7% Accuracy
Silver Lance: 22 damage (5% Critical), 94 Hit, 99.3% Accuracy


Tana, Lvl 10 Wyvern Knight   
39 HP, 20 Str, 20 Skl, 28 Spd, 12 Def, 14 Res, 23 Luck, 9 Con, 8 Mov   
0.92 PCHP, 1.08 DefMult, 0.97 ResMult, 0.85 PDurability, 0.95 MDurability, 79 Raw Avoid, 57.2% Evasion
Pierce: 10% chance of ignoring enemy's defense (+14 damage)

Killer Lance: 16 damage (37% Critical), 101 Hit, 100% Accuracy, 28 AS
Silver Lance: 20 damage (7% Critical), 106 Hit, 100% Accuracy, 27 AS
Vidofnir: 21 damage (7% Critical), 116 Hit, 100% Accuracy, 26 AS, 36 damage vs. monsters.  Defense +5, PDur is 1.12 with it.  Plot claim.

Amelia, Lvl 9 General   
43 HP, 20 Str, 21 Skl, 21 Spd, 18 Def, 11 Res, 24 Luck, 11 Con, 5 Mov   
1.02 PCHP, 0.76 DefMult, 1.14 ResMult, 1.34 PDurability, 0.89 MDurability, 66 Raw Avoid, 33.2% Evasion
Great Shield: 9% chance of nulling all damage

Killer Lance: 16 damage (37% Critical), 104 Hit, 100% Accuracy
Silver Lance: 20 damage (7% Critical), 109 Hit, 100% Accuracy


Gerik, Lvl 10 Hero   
53 HP, 24 Str, 23 Skl, 21 Spd, 19 Def, 11 Res, 14 Luck, 15 Con, 6 Mov   
1.25 PCHP, 0.70 DefMult, 1.14 ResMult, 1.79 PDurability, 1.10 MDurability, 56 Raw Avoid, 18.9% Evasion

Killing Edge: 19 damage (38% Critical), 108 Hit, 100% Accuracy
Silver Sword: 23 damage (8% Critical), 113 Hit, 100% Accuracy
Silver Axe: 25 damage (3% Critical), 98 Hit, 99.9% Accuracy


Marisa, Lvl 14 Assassin   
46 HP, 16 Str, 28 Skl, 29 Spd, 10 Def, 11 Res, 23 Luck, 6 Con, 6 Mov   
1.09 PCHP, 1.19 DefMult, 1.14 ResMult, 0.92 PDurability, 0.96 MDurability, 81 Raw Avoid, 60.8% Evasion
Silencer: 50% chance on a critical hit of instantly killing enemy

Shamshir: 10 damage (46% Critical), 122 Hit, 100% Accuracy, 29 AS
Silver Sword: 15 damage (11% Critical), 127 Hit, 100% Accuracy, 27 AS


L’Arachel, Lvl 18/12 Valkyrie   
33 HP, 21 Mag, 19 Skl, 22 Spd, 11 Def, 24 Res, 29 Luck, 6 Con, 7 Mov   
0.78 PCHP, 1.14 DefMult, 0.43 ResMult, 0.68 PDurability, 1.81 MDurability, 73 Raw Avoid, 45.6% Evasion

Lightning: 13 damage (11% Critical), 122 Hit, 100% Accuracy, 22 AS
Shine: 15 damage (9% Critical), 117 Hit, 100% Accuracy, 20 AS
Divine: 17 damage (11% Critical), 112 Hit, 100% Accuracy, 16 AS
Ivaldi: 26 damage (11% Critical), 122 Hit, 100% Accuracy, 18 AS, 43 damage vs. Monsters.  (Plot claim... but requires S-rank Light.  +5 Def, L'Arachel's PDur goes to 0.90 with it.)

Dozla, Lvl 10 Berserker   
51 HP, 21 Str, 14 Skl, 13 Spd, 14 Def, 8 Res, 7 Luck, 16 Con, 6 Mov   
1.21 PCHP, 0.97 DefMult, 1.30 ResMult, 1.25 PDurability, 0.93 MDurability, 33 Raw Avoid, 1.2% Evasion

Killer Axe: 18 damage (49% Critical), 76 Hit, 88.7% Accuracy
Silver Axe: 22 damage (19% Critical), 81 Hit, 93% Accuracy

Ewan, Lvl 8 Druid   
38 HP, 21 Mag, 16 Skl, 21 Spd, 8 Def, 21 Res, 23 Luck, 8 Con, 6 Mov   
0.90 PCHP, 1.30 DefMult, 0.59 ResMult, 0.69 PDurability, 1.53 MDurability, 65 Raw Avoid, 31.6% Evasion

Thunder: 17 damage (10% Critical), 98 Hit, 99.9% Accuracy, 21 AS
Luna: 21 damage (15% Critical), 73 Hit, 85.7% Accuracy, 17 AS
Nosferatu: 19 damage (5% Critical), 93 Hit, 99.1% Accuracy, 15 AS


Cormag, Lvl 10 Wyvern Knight   
50 HP, 25 Str, 19 Skl, 22 Spd, 17 Def, 6 Res, 11 Luck, 11 Con, 8 Mov   
1.18 PCHP, 0.81 DefMult, 1.41 ResMult, 1.46 PDurability, 0.84 MDurability, 55 Raw Avoid, 17.7% Evasion
Pierce: 10% chance of ignoing enemy Defense (+14 dmg)

Killer Lance: 21 damage (36% Critical), 93 Hit, 99.1% Accuracy
Silver Lance: 25 damage (6% Critical), 98 Hit, 99.9% Accuracy


Rennac, Lvl 14 Rogue   
36 HP, 13 Str, 22 Skl, 25 Spd, 12 Def, 15 Res, 8 Luck, 7 Con, 6 Mov   
0.85 PCHP, 1.08 DefMult, 0.92 ResMult, 0.79 PDurability, 0.92 MDurability, 58 Raw Avoid, 21.4% Evasion

Killing Edge: 8 damage (38% Critical), 103 Hit, 100% Accuracy, 25 AS
Silver Sword: 12 damage (8% Critical), 108 Hit, 100% Accuracy, 24 AS


Innes, Lvl 10 Sniper   
38 HP, 18 Str, 17 Skl, 19 Spd, 12 Def, 11 Res, 18 Luck, 9 Con, 6 Mov   
0.90 PCHP, 1.08 DefMult, 1.14 ResMult, 0.83 PDurability, 0.79 MDurability, 56 Raw Avoid, 18.9% Evasion
Sure Shot: 10% chance of auto-hitting.

Killer Bow: 13 damage (35% Critical), 98 Hit, 99.9% Accuracy
Silver Bow: 17 damage (5% Critical), 98 Hit, 99.9% Accuracy
Nidhogg: 22 damage (8% Critical), 103 Hit, 100% Accuracy, 40 damage vs. Monsters, +5 Luck (plot claim)


Saleh, Lvl 10 Sage   
35 HP, 19 Mag, 20 Skl, 18 Spd, 11 Def, 16 Res, 15 Luck, 8 Con, 6 Mov   
0.83 PCHP, 1.14 DefMult, 0.86 ResMult, 0.73 PDurability, 0.97 MDurability, 51 Raw Avoid, 13.3% Evasion

Thunder: 15 damage (12% Critical), 107 Hit, 100% Accuracy, 18 AS
Elfire: 17 damage (7% Critical), 112 Hit, 100% Accuracy, 16 AS


Duessel, Lvl 14 Great Knight   
46 HP, 20 Str, 14 Skl, 14 Spd, 20 Def, 11 Res, 9 Luck, 15 Con, 6 Mov   
1.09 PCHP, 0.65 DefMult, 1.14 ResMult, 1.68 PDurability, 0.96 MDurability, 37 Raw Avoid, 2.8% Evasion

Killer Axe: 17 damage (34% Critical), 77 Hit, 89.7% Accuracy
Silver Axe: 21 damage (4% Critical), 82 Hit, 93.7% Accuracy
Garm: 26 damage (4% Critical), 87 Hit, 96.8% Accuracy, 19 AS, 46 damage vs. monsters.  +5 Speed. (very shaky plot claim)

Knoll, Lvl 10 Druid   
39 HP, 22 Mag, 17 Skl, 18 Spd, 6 Def, 21 Res, 4 Luck, 8 Con, 6 Mov   
0.92 PCHP, 1.41 DefMult, 0.59 ResMult, 0.65 PDurability, 1.56 MDurability, 40 Raw Avoid, 4.3% Evasion

Flux: 17 damage (5% Critical), 96 Hit, 99.7% Accuracy, AS 18
Luna: 22 damage (15% Critical), 66 Hit, 77.2% Accuracy, AS 14 (ignores Resistance)
Nosferatu: 20 damage (5% Critical), 86 Hit, 96.2% Accuracy, AS 12 (drains HP)
Gleipnir: 33 damage (5% Critical), 106 Hit, 100% Accuracy, AS 6 (very shaky plot claim)

Syrene, Lvl 10 Falcon Knight   
33 HP, 16 Str, 18 Skl, 20 (18) Spd, 12 Def, 17 Res, 15 Luck, 7 Con, 8 Mov   
0.78 PCHP, 1.08 DefMult, 0.81 ResMult, 0.72 PDurability, 0.96 MDurability, 51 Raw Avoid, 13.3% Evasion

Killer Lance: 12 damage (36% Critical), 93 Hit, 99.1% Accuracy, AS 18
Silver Lance: 16 damage (6% Critical), 98 Hit, 99.9% Accuracy, AS 17
Killing Edge: 11 damage (31% Critical), 93 Hit, 99.1% Accuracy, AS 20

Myrrh, Lvl 20 Manakete   (not in averages)
40 HP, 32 Str, 29 Skl, 17 Spd, 35 Def, 33 Res, 9 Luck, 5 Con, 6 Mov   
0.95 PCHP, 0.06 DefMult, 0.09 ResMult, 15.83 PDurability, 10.56 MDurability, 43 Raw Avoid, 6.3% Evasion

Dragonstone: 34 damage (26% Critical), 142 Hit, 100% Accuracy.  66 damage vs. Monsters.  10-25 charges remain, depending on how well you killfeed Myrrh.

Damage averages w/ Myrrh:
Silvers: 19.7, killpoint 49.3, AS 20.4
Killers: 24.7, killpoint  61.8, AS 20.6
Myrrh's PDur & MDur already include her in the average.

Tethys, Lvl 20 Dancer   (not in averages)
34 HP, 2 Mag, 4 Skl, 25 Spd, 11 Def, 18 Res, 25 Luck, ? Con, 5 Mov   
0.80 PCHP, 1.14 DefMult, 0.76 ResMult, 0.70 PDurability, 1.05 MDurability, 75 Raw Avoid, 49.5% Evasion

Dance: Allow a unit that has already acted to get a 2nd action.

[SnowFire]

Damage chart, Silvers version (no crits):

-- 34.0 Myrrh: Dragonstone, 34 damage (26% Critical), 100% Accuracy, 17 AS
1) 32.0 Ephraim: Siegmund, 32 damage (10% Critical), 100% Accuracy, 23 AS
2) 26.8 Ross: Silver Axe, 27 damage (20% Critical), 99.1% Accuracy, 16 AS
3) 25.8 Garcia: Silver Axe, 26 damage (6% Critical), 99.3% Accuracy, 14 AS
4) 25.0 Cormag: Silver Lance, 25 damage (6% Critical), 99.9% Accuracy, 22 AS
5) 24.0 Eirika: Sieglinde, 24 damage (10% Critical), 100% Accuracy, 24 AS
6) 23.0 Gerik: Silver Sword, 23 damage (8% Critical), 100% Accuracy, 21 AS
7) 21.8 Gilliam: Silver Lance, 22 damage (5% Critical), 99.3% Accuracy, 14 AS
8) 21.8 Kyle: Silver Lance, 22 damage (5% Critical), 99.3% Accuracy, 18 AS
9) 20.5 Dozla: Silver Axe, 22 damage (19% Critical), 93% Accuracy, 13 AS
10) 20.0 Seth: Silver Lance, 20 damage (6% Critical), 100% Accuracy, 17 AS
11) 20.0 Tana: Silver Lance, 20 damage (7% Critical), 100% Accuracy, 27 AS
12) 20.0 Amelia: Silver Lance, 20 damage (7% Critical), 100% Accuracy, 21 AS
13) 19.7 Duessel: Silver Axe, 21 damage (4% Critical), 93.7% Accuracy, 14 AS
--Silvers damage average: 19.0, AS 20.5
14) 18.9 Franz: Silver Lance, 19 damage (5% Critical), 99.6% Accuracy, 22 AS
15) 18.0 Neimi: Silver Bow, 18 damage (7% Critical), 100% Accuracy, 24 AS
16) 18.0 Joshua: Silver Sword, 18 damage (10% Critical), 100% Accuracy, 27 AS
17) 18.0 Lute: Fire, 18 damage (4% Critical), 100% Accuracy, 20 AS
18) 17.0 Vanessa: Silver Lance, 17 damage (8% Critical), 100% Accuracy, 26 AS
19) 17.0 Colm: Silver Sword, 17 damage (5% Critical), 100% Accuracy, 29 AS
20) 17.0 Forde: Silver Lance, 17 damage (7% Critical), 100% Accuracy, 19 AS
21) 17.0 Innes: Silver Bow, 17 damage (5% Critical), 99.9% Accuracy, 19 AS
22) 17.0 Ewan: Thunder, 17 damage (5% Critical), 99.9% Accuracy, 21 AS
23) 17.0 Knoll: Flux, 17 damage (5% Critical), 99.7% Accuracy, 18 AS
24) 17.0 Artur: Shine, 17 damage (16% Critical), 100% Accuracy, 19 AS
25) 16.0 Syrene: Silver Lance, 16 damage (6% Critical), 99.9% Accuracy, 17 AS
26) 15.0 Marisa: Silver Sword, 15 damage (11% Critical), 100% Accuracy, 27 AS
27) 15.0 Saleh: Thunder, 15 damage (12% Critical), 100% Accuracy, 18 AS
28) 15.0 Natasha: Lightning, 15 damage (3% Critical), 100% Accuracy, 20 AS
29) 14.0 Moulder: Divine, 14 damage (13% Critical), 100% Accuracy, 20 AS
30) 13.0 L’Arachel: Lightning, 13 damage (6% Critical), 100% Accuracy, 22 AS
31) 12.0 Rennac: Silver Sword, 12 damage (8% Critical), 100% Accuracy, 24 AS


Damage chart, killers version (crits included if rate > 34%):

1) 44.8 Ross: Killer Axe, 23 damage (50% Critical), 97.2% Accuracy, 16 AS
2) 37.0 Garcia: Killer Axe, 22 damage (36% Critical), 97.7% Accuracy, 14 AS
3) 36.0 Ephraim: Killer Lance, 20 damage (40% Critical), 100% Accuracy, 24 AS
4) 35.8 Cormag: Killer Lance, 21 damage (36% Critical), 99.1% Accuracy, 22 AS
-- 34.0 Myrrh: Dragonstone, 34 damage (26% Critical), 100% Accuracy, 17 AS
5) 33.4 Gerik: Killing Edge, 19 damage (38% Critical), 100% Accuracy, 21 AS
6) 31.7 Dozla: Killer Axe, 18 damage (49% Critical), 88.7% Accuracy, 13 AS
7) 29.9 Gilliam: Killer Lance, 18 damage (35% Critical), 97.7% Accuracy, 14 AS
8) 29.9 Kyle: Killer Lance, 18 damage (35% Critical), 97.7% Accuracy, 18 AS
9) 27.8 Tana: Killer Lance, 16 damage (37% Critical), 100% Accuracy, 28 AS
10) 27.8 Amelia: Killer Lance, 16 damage (37% Critical), 100% Accuracy, 21 AS
11) 27.3 Seth: Killer Lance, 16 damage (36% Critical), 99.3% Accuracy, 17 AS
12) 25.5 Duessel: Killer Axe, 17 damage (34% Critical), 89.7% Accuracy, 14 AS
13) 25.2 Joshua: Killing Edge, 14 damage (40% Critical), 100% Accuracy, 27 AS
14) 25.0 Franz: Killer Lance, 15 damage (35% Critical), 98.1% Accuracy, 22 AS
15) 24.4 Neimi: Killer Bow, 14 damage (37% Critical), 100% Accuracy, 24 AS
--Killers damage average: 24.4, AS 20.7
16) 24.0 Eirika: Sieglinde, 24 damage (10% Critical), 100% Accuracy, 24 AS
17) 22.9 Vanessa: Killer Lance, 13 damage (38% Critical), 100% Accuracy, 27 AS
18) 22.6 Forde: Killer Lance, 13 damage (37% Critical), 100% Accuracy, 19 AS
19) 22.1 Colm: Killing Edge, 13 damage (35% Critical), 100% Accuracy, 29 AS
20) 22.1 Innes: Killer Bow, 13 damage (35% Critical), 99.9% Accuracy, 19 AS
21) 20.5 Syrene: Killer Lance, 12 damage (36% Critical), 99.1% Accuracy, 18 AS
22) 19.2 Marisa: Shamshir, 10 damage (46% Critical), 100% Accuracy, 29 AS
23) 18.0 Lute: Fire, 18 damage (4% Critical), 100% Accuracy, 20 AS
24) 17.0 Artur: Shine, 17 damage (16% Critical), 100% Accuracy, 19 AS
25) 17.0 Ewan: Thunder, 17 damage (5% Critical), 99.9% Accuracy, 21 AS
26) 16.9 Knoll: Flux, 17 damage (5% Critical), 99.7% Accuracy, 18 AS
27) 15.0 Natasha: Lightning, 15 damage (3% Critical), 100% Accuracy, 20 AS
28) 15.0 Saleh: Thunder, 15 damage (12% Critical), 100% Accuracy, 18 AS
29) 14.1 Rennac: Killing Edge, 8 damage (38% Critical), 100% Accuracy, 25 AS
30) 14.0 Moulder: Divine, 14 damage (13% Critical), 100% Accuracy, 20 AS
31) 13.0 L’Arachel: Lightning, 13 damage (6% Critical), 100% Accuracy, 22 AS


Atk. Speed, silvers: 20.5
Atk. Speed, killers: 20.7

Damage, silvers: 19.2 (2.5x killpoint: 48.0)
Damage, w/ accuracy, silvers: 19.0 (2.5x killpoint: 47.6)
Damage, w/ accuracy & criticals above 34 crit threshold, Killers: 24.4 (2.5x killpoint: 61.0)
Damage, w/ accuracy & all criticals, Killers: 25.1 (2.5x killpoint: 62.8)

[SnowFire]

Appendix o' random comments.

On Killers

So, as has been noted elsewhere, Killer damage was a bit overrated vs. FE8 normal mode lategame enemies: how hard you overkill a low-defense enemy isn't usually super-relevant.  What enemy tanks that do exist are durable not because they have high HP, but because they have high Defense, and Defense makes killer damage relatively worse.  (Which is not to say they're *bad* vs. high defense tanks, just overrated.  Unless you mean Lyon, in which case they actively are bad vs. his 26 Defense, aw yeah crit for 0.)  This is why this topic uses an amped up Defense & Luck to reflect more of the enemies you'd really want huge damage against (human bosses, mostly, and 14 Defense is still worse than Riev / Lyon).  This helps keeps Killers in check a bit; unfortunately, there's still a pretty notable split in damage averages.   I guess I personally will probably stick to "use a Silver weapon, get the Silver averages, use a Killer or otherwise go for crits and get the Killers average," despite this being kind of arbitrary.

Promotion options / oddities

* In this topic, Lowen, Forde, & Kyle promote to Paladin, not Great Knight.  The difference is generally tiny, but IMHO, +2 Mov & no armor-weakness is better than +1 Def & axes.  The +1 to defense is very subtle, and while Move is a hugely gimped stat in the DL compared to in-game, it's still not worthless - it brings the Cavs from "below average move" to "solidly above average move", which can mean going first vs. the many average speed enemies in the DL.  This seems likely to tip more matches than the rare cases where they barely get 2HKOed when they'd be 3HKO'd with GK defense, and further need that to win.  (Especially true if you're skeptical about letting 'em get to A in Axes anyway.)
** Amelia could hypothetically make this trade as well, but loses more stats & a useful skill in Great Shield, so nah.

* You can make an argument that despite the XP boost, Valkyrie / Bishop still aren't worth it and Moulder / L'Arachel / Artur should go for Sage / Mage Knight anyway because Arcane Magic >>> Light Magic.  (Thunder and Lightning both have Weight 6, except Thunder has +4 damage.  Ow.)  This trades speed & durability for damage.  This is fair enough, but just use the 20/12 topic for those characters then, we already have those stats if they decide to forgo the XP for the Arcane build.    (For a lower level equal XP topic, though, I'd personally be inclined to dock 'em at least a level if they promote to an Arcane class though...  staff XP is bad, they really want the bonus to catch up if they aren't given a bit of extra grind time.)

* Garcia promotes to Hero in this topic; he promoted to Warrior in the earlier topics.  Grinding up Bows to A is the least defensible of the "just assume promo weapon ranks hit A somehow" due to the way they work, and he really would like that +2 Speed anyway he gets from Hero.  Swords as an option don't hurt either.  Losing the ability to nuke fliers is too bad, but oh well.

Weapon stuff

* There are 2 Body Rings in the game (although both are slightly annoying to get).  A large amount of the cast gets all their key options without Con worries already and thus don't really need them.  I'm not sure how much hype I'd give this, but call it an X-factor tiebreak in situations where a character is on the razor's edge of doubling / being doubled but has Con issues.

* Duessel starts with an A in all of Swords/Axes/Lances and comes equipped with both an Axe & a Lance.  I went with Axes due to cruddy enemy avoid, but if you see enemy evade as higher, then he can S-rank Lances instead.

* It has been claimed that FE8 fliers aren't weak to wind.  I personally find this a tad questionable.  Excalibur, the only PC-attainable wind magic (there's an Aircalibur that DOES hit weakness but you can't get it without hax), doesn't hit weakness, but it DOES hit weakness on Monsters, aka maybe IntSys didn't want to have a 2x weakness and a 3x weakness on the same weapon due to confusion / coding woes.  Additionally the "Wind Sword" allegedly does hit weakness on flyers (it's what Carlyle, the boss of Eirika C14, has...  for all that he's splitpath and a single enemy).  I think I'm willing to chalk this up to an oddity of FE8 Excalibur rather than say the flyers are safe.  YMMV.

* Reavers are storebought in FE8.  They reverse the weapon triangle and double the bonus, which perversely makes the likes of Colm *better* against lances than axes thanks to Lancereaver being -30 Hit nope.  Nobody seems to consider 'em legal though.

* Already mentioned in other topics, but the plot tie (but no gameplay tie) weapons: Joshua of Jehenna gets Audhulma (handed directly to him on Eirika's route); Tana & Innes of Frelia get Nidhogg & Vidofnir (Eirika directly says to Innes something along the lines of  "but these are for the rulers of Frelia" before he gives them to her); L'Arachel of Rausten gets Ivaldi & Latona.  Unfortunately for L'Arachel, Latona is useless and Ivaldi requires S-rank, so it's not super helpful for her.  If you squint you could hand out Grado's weapons (Garm & Gleipnir) to the Grado party members who can use 'em, but that's a bit of a stretch.  Nobody from Jehenna can use Arcane magic (except possibly Ewan?!?) so Excalibur chills out on the sidelines.

Winners & losers

Most of the cast doesn't like this topic.  Their raw stats are a bit worse but enemy stats are the same or improved vs. the old topic, so their evade is a bit weaker and so on.  Additionally several characters with high speed growth getting even more levels is hate.  Note that the Attack Speed average in the 20/10 baseline topic is actually *higher* than the 20/12 topic thanks to this (20.5 vs. 20.4).

Ephraim & Eirika are ambivalent.  Like the rest of the cast, they hate the higher speed average & worse evasion, but lower levels + higher defense makes the +5 Strength on the Sacred Twins relatively more potent, so their damage is better.  While Eirika only barely doubles average on a knife's edge with Sieglinde in this topic, if she does manage the double, her opponent tends to get splattered all over the wall as she ORKOs average now.

The Assassins mostly benefit, but they're on the flip side: they now have super speed & evasion, but with crappy damage (as would be even more true if you threw an Assassin with a Killing Edge against Lyon & his 26 Defense).  This makes 'em more dependent on Silencer in the DL to take down tough targets, but backed by that evasion & crit rate, this is a real threat.

The Bishops & Valkyries are in a bit of a push: their durability, accuracy, & evasion is better thanks to more levels, but the loss of Arcane makes their damage slightly worse.  Changed, but not overall too different in power level.

[Dark Holy Elf]

Yay new stat topic.

* It has been claimed that FE8 fliers aren't weak to wind.  I personally find this a tad questionable.  Excalibur, the only PC-attainable wind magic (there's an Aircalibur that DOES hit weakness but you can't get it without hax), doesn't hit weakness, but it DOES hit weakness on Monsters, aka maybe IntSys didn't want to have a 2x weakness and a 3x weakness on the same weapon due to confusion / coding woes.  Additionally the "Wind Sword" allegedly does hit weakness on flyers (it's what Carlyle, the boss of Eirika C14, has...  for all that he's splitpath and a single enemy).  I think I'm willing to chalk this up to an oddity of FE8 Excalibur rather than say the flyers are safe.  YMMV.

I think giving flyers a wind weakness is silly when they literally only face a "wind weakness" once in the entire game, or not at all depending on your choice of route. I'd much rather view that as a special property of the Wind Sword (which, mechanically, it is). The arguments you give about Excalibur not hitting weakness don't hold water; Nidhogg, after all, works exactly the same in the way it hits weakness on monsters and DOES hit weakness on flyers, so if they'd wanted Excalibur to hit weakness on flyers they could easily have done so (and both C15 and C17 feature plenty of flyers for them to hit weakness on, so the fact that it doesn't is not an oversight).

Additionally, Excalibur exists in FE7 and didn't hit flyer weakness there either. Finally, and this isn't worth much, but do note that Fire Emblem historically treats ice and wind as one element (and in FE8 with animations off, they use the same colour effect for their damage, much like Elfire/Fire share one and Bolting/Thunder share another), and Fimbulvetr (the ice spell) does not hit weakness on flyers either.*

But yeah mostly the first point is what matters; wind weakness isn't a problem flyers face in-game so giving them one feels artificial, especially with how weak the argument is. Only in FE6 among the GBA games does this argument have much credibility, because there the only wind-animation spell is Aircalibur.


*An addendum to this point: yes, Blizzard hits weakness on flyers (minus FE10 wyverns) in the Tellius games, which could be used to argue they have an ice weakness in addition to their wind weakness. I'm not sure how I feel about them vs. ice damage in the DL.

[Dhyerwolf]

While they don't have to worry about Wind in game, they really have to worry about bows (which are highly, highly non present in the DL in comparison to the way they are in FE games), so that feels like a better balancing of how dangerous that weakness can actually be.

[Pyro]

I always figured the under-representation of bows was made up for by the fact that fliers don't get credit for having awesome move and going anywhere the bloody please.

Though flying does have the disadvantage of not getting terrain bonuses...

[Dark Holy Elf]

See Pyro, but more importantly I don't think the concentration of bows/guns (assuming you see those working as well; I do) in the DL is significantly lower than bows are in FE8 anyway. In fact it might not be lower at all? Bows aren't as common as other physical weapons on FE8 enemies; the underrepresented FE weapon in the DL is surely axes. EDIT: Hell, probably even lances as well, Final Fantasy is about the only DL series besides Fire Emblem itself in which spears are more common than bows/guns. (Contrast: Valkyrie Profile, Suikoden, Saga Frontier)

Not that I think much of giving a compensatory weakness anyway. Water's a super-annoying thing to be weak to in Pokemon but a rare element in the DL, as far as I'm concerned the response to that is just "so it goes".

RE-EDIT: Counted up the FE8 enemies because hey it's something to do while watching tennis. 82 out of 893 enemies in FE8 use bows, or 9% (this includes some enemies who use bows and another weapon, for the record, though those are rare). I don't have an exact read on the number of DLers who use bows or guns, but I do know that 12% of Heavy uses piercing as their primary form of damage, and I imagine a majority of that (~8% total?) use bows or guns. So yeah, very similar.

[SnowFire]

Normally I wouldn't post about extremely subtle adjustments, but Fire Emblem is such that crazy minor blips in the speed average can swing things, so.  For what it's worth, for a Silvers-with-more-Sacred-Twins average where Vidofnir/Nidhogg/Audhulma are seen as legal, the damage average goes to 19.6 (killpoint 49) BUT the average attack speed falls to 20.4.  (Not relevant for the Killer averages I imagine.)  While I'd think that allowing the cast to pick between these two as they desire is kinda sketchy, call it an X-factor in favor of the cast for close speed tiebreaks and against the cast in the case of close damage tiebreaks if you use the vanilla Silvers average.  Also it's arguably a good average to use for Eirika / Ephraim / (Tana, Innes, Joshua if allowed), as they surely face competition from other Sacred Twins in-game (they'll be equipped on SOMEONE) so raising the damage average a tad might be fair.

(Mentioning this since Neimi vs. Alys is apparently quite the close speed tiebreak.)