___ _ __ _ _ / __(_)_ __ ___ /__\ __ ___ | |__ | | ___ _ __ ___ / _\ | | '__/ _ \ /_\| '_ ` _ \| '_ \| |/ _ \ '_ ` _ \ / / | | | | __/ //__| | | | | | |_) | | __/ | | | | | \/ |_|_| \___| \__/|_| |_| |_|_.__/|_|\___|_| |_| |_| Shadow Dragon _ _ _ _ _____ _ | | | |_|___| __|_| | | | | |___| __| | |_____|_| |__| |_| _ _ _ _ _ / \ / \ / \ / \ / \ ( G | u | i | d | e ) \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ \_/ ACSII Text Cortesy of http://www.network-science.de/ascii/ ============================= Table of Contents ============================= 1. Introduction 2. Version History 3. The Basics 3a. Cards 3b. Maps 3c. Reclassing 4. Class Analysis 5. Common Strategies 6. Team Building 6a. Support Teams 6b. Specialized Teams 6c. Stat Boosters 7. RNG/Arena Abuse 7a. Magic Numbers 8. Credit and Legal Mumbo Jumbo ============================= 1. Introduction ============================= Hey there! Welcome to the wonderful world that is Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon Online play. I'm going to give you fair warning. Developing a competitive- level Fire Emblem team requires hours of commitment. If you're simply looking for a game that you can play competitively in a few minutes, go play a different game. That being said, I'm Upside. I play many different games competitively, ranging from Pok�mon, to Guild Wars, to Fire Emblem. While this isn't the easiest game to learn, it definitely isn't the hardest, so as long as you keep an open mind you'll be playing with the pros in no time (figuratively speaking of course). Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon is a remake of the original Fire Emblem game originally released in Japan. When the game was re-released, it came with a few new functions, including the reclass system and forging. Both of these updates play key roles in competitive Fire Emblem. I don't have an email I check regularly, so if you find a mistake in this guide...just email [email protected]. Maybe I'll get around to it. If you have any questions, I'm sure the people on the Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon board would be happy to help.Also, www.serenesforest.net is a great resource. I think that covers everything. On to the guide! ============================= 2. Version History ============================= -0.96: Guide is finished and printed out, ready to be read over for errors -0.97: Formatted the guide wrong. Went through to entire thing hitting Enter + Backspace -0.98 Check through for hanging space etc. -0.99: Updated errors found in proof-read. Guide is sucessfully uploaded. ============================= 3. The Basics ============================= Ah, your first introduction to WiFi. I feel honored to be teaching you. Let's get started. I am going to assume that you have played a Fire Emblem, or at least another SRPG, before. As you know, a lot of this game is about weighing the price and the payoff of certain actions and deciding what to do. There's much more to it than that, but that's SRPGs in a nutshell; however, on WiFi, you�re playing against a human opponent. They have just as much of a mind as you, so you can't play them like you would a computer. Remember that your opponent is an unpredictable human, not a computer. That's your first lesson. The second lesson will be an explanation of how things work. In a WiFi battle against anyone, one of the six maps will be randomly selected to play on. Fog of War will be turned on, and the blue player will go first. After that, what happens is all up to you. You move your units and the opponent moves theirs, and you battle it out until all of someone's units are destroyed. At least, that's how it usually works. Sometimes, a battle will go on for 10 turns. This doesn't happen very often, but if it does, it's crucially that you have control of the castle at the end of turn 10. The castle is a large castle-looking thing, usually in the middle of the map. There's one tile on the castle know as the "Throne." If you end your turn on the throne, the castle's flags will turn your teams color, and you'll have control of the castle. At the end of turn 10, whoever has control of the castle is victorious. This concludes our second lesson. Your third, and final, lesson will be equipment. Equipment in this game is obtained from two sources, in-game and the online shop. The online shop is shop that updates every day through WiFi. It only sells certain things on certain days, and most of the most powerful equipment is only available through the online shop. The strongest weapons in the game, know as Brave Weapons, are only available in the online shop each weekend. After obtaining the items you wish to use, you can further increase their power by forging them. You may only forge once per chapter. You forge during the preparation screen before the chapter. Forging allows you to increase your weapons stats, for a price. Usually, that price is pretty high, so you must abuse the arena for money (See section 7). You may increase a weapon�s stats up to +10 Mt, +50 Hit, and +30 Crit. Max Mt is a must, and I'd strongly recommend forging for at least +30 Hit. Crit is ignorable, especially if you'll be using the Dazzle card. Certain weapons are powerful enough, or have enough utility to be used without forging them, as that cannot legally be forged. The lance Gradivus and the tome Swarm are the best examples. Gradivus is a lance that cannot be forged; however, because it has amazing natural base Mt and can be used at 1-2 range it's viable to replace a forged Javelin. The Gradivus is not used for any of these reasons though. The main reason it is used is because of its ability to replenish all of the holder's Hp. By selecting the Gradivus and choosing the option "Use", you will restore all of your Hp in one turn, an ability which proves useful on the field of battle. Swarm cannot be legally forged either, but because it extends your Sages range from 2 to 10, it's a great tome to have. Two more pieces of equipment are common on almost every team. They are Door Keys and Pure Waters. Door Keys are valuable because on one of the maps, you begin in a locked chamber. Pure Waters are useful because they raise your Res for no extra cost. Try to avoid ever using the "Wait" command on WiFi. Instead, end your turn with a use of a Pure Water. This concludes the most important lesson. ==================== 3a. Cards ==================== Cards are an important part of your WiFi team. Each team can have one card. Cards can do anything from boosting certain unit's hit rates, to negating the effect of Criticals, to doing damage to your opponent at the beginning of the match. You win cards by winning matches online. A certain card called "Generosity" allows you to win 2 cards for every match you win instead of one. Here's a list of all the cards. Strength: All allies receive +1 Strength.* Skill: All allies receive +1 Skill.* Haste: All allies receive +1 Speed.* Magic: All allies receive +1 Magic.* Adamant: All allies receive +1 Defence.* Guardian: All allies receive +1 Resistance.* Fleet Feet: +1 Movement to all armored units. Judgment: Reduces HP of all enemy units by 20% during the first Turn. Dazzle: Negates critical attacks for both allies and enemies. Maelstrom: -1 Movement to all enemy flying units. Whetstone: All allied sword units receive +10% Accuracy (in battle). Spearhead: All allied lance units receive +10% Accuracy (in battle). Battleaxe: All allied axe units receive +10% Accuracy (in battle). Fletcher: All allied archer units receive +10% Accuracy (in battle). Sorcerer: All allied magic units receive +10% Accuracy (in battle). Apotrope: Negates effective bonus towards allies and enemies.** Recovery: All allies recover 2 HP each Turn. Gravity: Increases terrain movement costs for all units by 1. Umbra: All units' sight in Fog of War is reduced to 1. Generosity: If victorious, user wins 2 Cards at the end of battle. *: These cards cannot increase stats past the maximum for that stat. **: This definition is confusing at first, but it simply mean that weapons such as an Armorslayer,Wrymslayer, etc. won't do extra damage to Generals, Manakete, etc. ==================== 3b. Maps ==================== Coming soon. Too lazy to write a good map section. ==================== 3c. Reclassing ==================== Reclassing plays a big role in this game. It has its own section under the preparation menu, which can be reached before every chapter after Chapter 3. Reclassing changes a few things. First, it changes the characters stats. Different classes have different base stats, and when you change class, the difference is added or subtract from your character's stats. For example, if you were changing someone from Archer to Cavalier, their Hp would go up 2, their Skl would go down 1, their Spd would go up 2, and their Def would go up 1, because those are the differences in their bases. Second, it effects their growths. Different classes have different growth rates. To find a character's growth rates, you add their base growths with their class growth. This can be used in many ways, such as getting people stat they would normally have a hard time with. A table of class growths can be found here: www.serenesforest.net/fe11/class_growth.html. Lastly, reclassing effect weapon levels. As you reclass, you'll find that certain classes have certain base weapon levels. Anyone who's reclassed to a Sniper will have a "C" in bows, because that's the base weapon level for Snipers. Reclassing is an amazing tool to use, but there are limits. There are three "sets" of classes, and characters can only reclass to other classes in their set. The sets are as follows: Male Light Set: Swordmaster, Paladin, Dracoknight, Sniper, Sage, and Bishop Male Heavy Set: Hero, Warrior, Berserker, Sorcerer, General, and Horseman Female All Set: Falcon Knight/Dracoknight, Swordmaster, Sniper, Paladin, Sage, and Bishop There is also one more limitation. The amount of a class that you can have can only be the amount of people you have who were naturally that class +1. For example, if you were playing a new game and wanted to reclass both Gordin and Shiida into Cavaliers, you'd have to reclass either Cain or Able to something else before both of them could change. ============================= 4. Class Analysis ============================= Ah, the longest, most time consuming part of the guide, the class analysis. In this section of the guide, I will list the details of each class, including their purpose and if they are actually usable. Most units will be compared to Swordmasters, as they are the most common unit type found on wifi. The format used will be... Class Name Maximum stat table Rating: 1-10/10* Characters Usable as this class.** Comments: Insert Comments here. Lord (Marth) 60 Hp 25 Spd 25 Str 30 Lck 25 Mag 25 Def 25 Skl 25 Res Rating: 2/10 Characters: Marth-The only option for this character Comments: In almost all ways, useless. Extra point is there for his supports with everyone. Don't use him. Falcon Knight 60 Hp 25 Spd 24 Str 30 Lck 20 Mag 25 Def 25 Skl 26 Res Rating: 4/10 Characters: Est and Catrina-Both great options for this class, but then again, what class don't they do well? Cadea is also usable; however, her Str suffers quite a bit. Palla is ok, just watch out for her Spd. Comments: Ok as a scout. Most people really don't like them, but I think they're ok. Enough Spd to prevent a double by Berserkers; however, they don't have quite enough Def to survive an encounter with a Swordmaster or Sniper. Ok class to use if you need a terrain-ignoring scout. They have a slight advantage over Paladins, as they aren't hit for extra damage by Pole Axes and Ridersbanes. All in all, they're inferior to Paladins but have a useful advantages. Dracoknight 60 Hp 23 Spd 26 Str 30 Lck 20 Mag 30 Def 26 Skl 21 Res Rating: 4/10 Characters: Catrina and Palla probably have the best bet of pulling this off. Est is also usable, but suffers from low Def growth. Cain, Able, and Frey are all great candidates as well, but also suffer from low Def growth. Any one of these six is easily usable. Comments: While the extra Def gives them an edge over Swordmasters and Snipers that Falcon Knights don't have, they get doubled by Berserkers, which is never a good thing. Besides that obvious flaw, a Dracoknight with a Gradivus can be a pain to take down. Not a terrible class. Paladin 60 Hp 25 Spd 25 Str 25 Lck 21 Mag 30 Def 28 Skl 25 Res Rating: 6/10 Characters: Frey, Able, and Cain are all good. They come early and have great growths. Palla, Catrina, and Est can pull this role off fine, but they have quite a limited amount of chapters to RNG for Def. Comments: Ah, the Paladin. While they can't ignore the effects of terrain like the flyers, they still make great scouts, as well as being a nice check for Swordmasters. Again, if possible, do your best to get Def to 28, as it will allow them to survive being attacked by a Swordmaster and a hit from any anti- horseback weapon. Watch out for Berserkers after taking a little bit of damage though. They will destroy you. General 60 Hp 21 Spd 27 Str 30 Lck 20 Mag 30 Def 25 Skl 20 Res Rating: 1/10 Characters: Wolf and Sedgar make the easiest General if you're willing to give them a few stat-up items. Ogma and Barst can also be decent at pulling it off. Comments: Basically a worse version of a Paladin. Lower Spd, lower Move, slightly higher Str, but that really doesn't matter. Don't use Generals. Sniper 60 Hp 29 Spd 24 Str 30 Lck 20 Mag 23 DEf 30 Skl 20 Res Rating: 5/10 Characters: Catrina, Palla, and Est are the obvious best options. I suppose that Cain, Able, and Frey could do it well too. Radd makes a decent option if none of the others are available. Comments: Definitely a fun class to use. Longbows can be used to snipe people while staying out of sight. Brave Bows can assault people without 1-2 range weapons equipped and either kill them, or set them up for an easy kill by someone else. Enough Spd to double all the 25 Spd classes and Str equal to that a Swordmaster. All these great benefits are overlooked by the fact that Snipers can't counter attack, making them easy kills. I personally like the class a lot. Bows have great utility in the fact that they can weaken people without allowing a counter attack, but I have to give them an average rating due to their flaws. Hero 60 Hp 26 Spd 25 Str 30 Lck 20 Mag 25 Def 30 Skl 22 Res Rating: 2/10 Characters: Again, Wolf and Sedgar make the easiest candidates if you are willing to use a few stat boosters, otherwise, I'd take Ogma or Barst. If none of these are an option, Caesar is usable. Comments: Not too great. Other classes are better. Combine this with the fact that Swordmasters will be doubling any Hero, and Heroes don't have the ability to reach 27 Def, you will get a dead Hero every time you go up against a Swordmaster. If you're a big fan of the class, I guess you could use one, but I wouldn't. Swordmaster 60 Hp 30 Spd 24 Str 30 Lck 20 Mag 22 Def 29 Skl 23 Res Rating: 8/10 Characters: Frey is your best bet tp use. Other good Swordmasters include Catrina, Radd, Cain, Est, Able, Nabral, and Palla. That list is in order from best to worst. Comments: Ah, the Swordmaster, the universal WiFi unit. They're the hot-shots of online play. Enough Spd to double many threats, enough Str to put pretty big dents in things, and enough Def to not be one-shotted by anything. In all honesty, they aren't the best WiFi unit, but they're close, and they have much more universality. Swordmasters can safely hit just about anything, except Paladins. Warrior 60 Hp 24 Spd 30 Str 30 Lck 20 Mag 28 Def 26 Skl 20 Res Rating: 4/10 Characters: Normally Ogma and Barst are the best options for people in the heavy male classes, but in this case, it's Sedgar and Wolf. While they'll need some stat boosters, due to the fact that they only get 19 levels, their high Def growth easily makes it worth it. Comments: If you're going to use a Warrior, make sure to max Spd and Def. The 28 Def let's you survive a Swordmaster. Str should be maxed too, for obvious reasons. Try to not to get caught on your bow. It lets the enemy get free attacks. Horseman 60 Hp 30 Spd 24 Str 30 Lck 20 Mag 23 Def 28 Skl 23 Res Rating: 7/10 Characters: Ogma and Barst are your best bets. Cord and Bord can be used too, but it'll take a lot of RNG abuse. Comments: Wow. Look at these caps. It's basically a Swordmaster on a horse with bows. While you may be wondering why anyone even uses Swordmasters over these, it's pretty simple. First, horses get extra penalties when crossing forests/mountains etc. The killing blow for Horsemen is that they cannot achive enough Def to ever not be OHKOed by Berserkers with Pole Axes. Some people really like Horsemen. I'm not one of those people. Berserker 60 Hp 28 Spd 30 Str 22 Lck 20 Mag 24 Def 24 Skl 20 Res Rating: 8/10 Characters: Barst is the best option. With a little RNG abuse, he can easily max all stats except Mag and Res. Sedgarand Wolf follow him closely, but will need stat boosters. Comments: The power houses of WiFi. At first glance, they seem to outclass Swordmasters by a long shot. Amazing Str, enough Spd to double lots of things, and the ability to walk on water, but beneath that all, there's one thing they lack, the ability to double all Heroes, Paladins, Falcon Knights, Bishops, Sorcerers, and Sages. The last two are the most important, as almost every team will have at least one. Out of all those 6 classes that Berserkers can't kill in one round, Swordmasters easily beat, except Paladins. At least one Berserker is on almost every WiFi team, as you need them the to beat Paladins. Sorcerer/Sage 60 Hp 25 Spd 20 Str 30 Lck 30 Mag 20 Def 28 Skl 25 Res Rating: 8/10 Characters: Merric is easily the best. Gordin makes a solid Sage. Linde is decent if you're not worrying about Def. If you're desperate, Wolf and Sedgar can make decent Sorcerers, just be ready to give them stat-boosters. Comments: If you're making a WiFi team, you basically need one of these. Fortitude staff allows you to heal off the damage done by the Judgment card, Warp allows easier movement, Swarm allows a long-range hit to bring someone into the kill zone, and Forged Thoron destroys anything in it's way; however, due to low Spd and Def, they are easily one rounded by Swordmasters. Bishop 60 Hp 25 Spd 20 Str 30 Lck 25 Mag 22 Def 26 Skl 30 Res Rating: 1/10 Characters: Anyone who can be a Sage can be a Bishop. Merric and Gordin both do it well. Comments: Completely inferior to a Sage. I see no reason to ever use a Bishop ...ever. Don't do it! Thief 60 Hp 30 Spd 20 Str 30 Lck 20 Mag 25 Def 25 Skl 20 Res Rating: 2/10 Characters: Julian is the best choice. There's no point in using 2 thieves. Comments: Thieves? Seriously? They get one point for having great Spd and Def at the same time. If you really want to use a thief, my best advice would be to give them all your Spirit Dusts and a forged Levin Sword and hope that they can get a kill by abusing the low Res in this game. Honestly, don't use them. Manakete 60 Hp 24 Spd 30 Str 20 Lck 20 Mag 30 Def 27 Skl 30 Res Rating: 3/10 Characters: Tiki is the only useful Manakete. The maximum stats are hers, as it changes depending on the which Manakete you're using. Also, the stats are when you're changed into a Divine Dragon. Outside of that, her stats caps are all 20. Changing into a Divine Dragon adds those extra points. Comments: By looking just at the stats, it seems that Tiki would be a great candidate for online; however, you get her at chapter 19 and there's simply not enough time to RNG abuse her to reach those caps. I guess if you get lucky enough, or simply have your team done by the time you get her, you can try to abuse her for decent stats, but even with all those stats, her Spd is still mediocre, leaving her vulnerable to Berserkers. Also, some teams carry a forged Wyrmslayer on one of their characters. Ballistician 60 Hp 20 Spd 25 Str 30 Lck 20 Mag 25 Def 20 Skl 20 Res Rating: 3/10 Characters: Only two Ballisticians are available, Jake and Beck. Of the two, Beck is generally the better choice. Comments: Because Ballisticians usually fight from afar, Str, Skl, and Lck are the only stat caps that really matter; however, they are outclassed by Sages and Sorcerers, who can fight at the same long-distance range and hit the weaker Res stat, as well as being able to do other things. I suppose the one advantage Ballisticians have over Sages is that they can forge their weapons for hit, but that really doesn't make too much of a difference. Xane 60 Hp 25 Spd 20 Str 30 Lck 20 Mag 20 Def 25 Skl 20 Res Rating: 4/10 Characters: Xane is the one and only Xane. Comments: A strange class to say the least. Hp, Def, and Res are the only caps that matter. He has his ups and down. He makes your stat-boosters go farther by cloning stats off of someone, and he gives your other characters more time to RNG abuse; however, Xane is a large tactical disadvantage. If his transformation runs out at the wrong time, he could give your opponent an effortless kill. I'd recommend keeping him when making most teams, as he's a good back-up to use if one of your people ends up failing. *: My rating scale may seems strict, but this is how it works. 2/10 means that the unit is useable if you really want to. 4/10 means that the unit will be found on some WiFi teams, and go ahead and use it if you want to. Anything higher than 7/10 means that the unit is great, and most WiFi teams will have one. I give no 10/10s, because in my book, that means that the unit can do anything better than every unit in the game. That never happens. **: Due to class swap, almost anyone can be any class. I only list the best ones for the class in question. Also, many people would disagree with the characters I listed or didn't list. It's a debatable topic, and I listed my views on it. If someone else disagrees, they are free to use whoever they want. ============================= 5. Common Strategies ============================= Scouting: When a unit moves, the fog of war on the tiles it moved through is all revealed. You can use this game mechanic to your advantage by moving characters in a curved path to scout out where the opponent may be without actually ending your turn in their range. Dracoknights and Falcon Knight are the best options for this, as they have high movement and ignore terrain effects, but Paladins an do it well and have better stats. Example: [ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][X][X][ ] [O][-][-][-][-][-][X][X] [ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][-][X][X] [ ][M][-][-][-][-][X][X] [ ][ ][ ][ ][ ][X][X][ ] "-" is the spaces you're moving through "O" is your original location "M" is the location you moved to "X" is the tiles you've scouted Warping: The best tactic to use to mess with your opponents head. A nice trick is that if you warp someone onto the Castle, it won't turn your color, allowing you to surprise them. Warping allows you to instantly transport anyone to any visible tile on the map. Weapon Trading: A useful tactic to be able to use limited items multiple times. Let's say you need 3 people to be healed up by the Gradivus. You can have someone use the Gradivus, then move another unit next to him and trade for the Gradivus. That unit will then be able to use it again. This can also be useful to cast Swarm multiple times, despite the fact that you can only get one copy of the tome. This may seem like a basic tactic, but it's a useful ability to have. ============================= 6. Team Building ============================= This is where everything you've learn begins to form into a team. Team building is more than picking 5 classes to use. It's examining the supports and function of each class and formulating a strategy. Most people begin their first team with characters with good growths, as they don't want to be bothered with to much RNG abusing; however, these are not the most powerful kinds of teams. They still function well and are easier to make, but they aren't the best. To create a particularly strong team, you must either build supports into the team, or have a specific strategy; however, most teams have one thing in common. A Sage/Sorcerer with a Fortitude Staff, a Warp Staff, Swarm, and a Forge Thoron: This is needed for a variety of reasons. Fortitude allows you to heal off the damage caused by Judgment. Warp allows you to easily move across the map, and Swarm is good for picking people off. That's really the only universal thing that every team needs. ==================== 6a. Support Teams ==================== Support teams focus on using the support function of FE:SD to raise their accuracy and avoidability. First, let me explain how supports work. Unlike other Fire Emblems, supports in this game don't come in the form of conversations. Instead, units simply get extra stats when within 3 tiles of each other. Supports are gained by having people participate in the same chapter with each other. Read more about it at www.serenesforest.net/fe11/support.html. Some of the more common support teams are... -Ogma and Crew- Ogma: No supports Barst: +30 Hit, +30 Avoid, +15 Crit, and +15 Crit Evade Bord: +30 Hit, +30 Avoid, +15 Crit, and +15 Crit Evade Cord: +30 Hit, +30 Avoid, +15 Crit, and +15 Crit Evade Merric/Some other Sage: No supports A solid team. Not too hard to RNG abuse. Usually has 2 Berserkers and 2 Horsemen. -Boah and Buddies- Midia: +40 Hit, +30 Avoid, +20 Crit, and +20 Crit Evade Dolph: +40 Hit, +30 Avoid, +20 Crit, and +20 Crit Evade Macellan: +40 Hit, +30 Avoid, +20 Crit, and +20 Crit Evade Tomas: +40 Hit, +30 Avoid, +20 Crit, and +20 Crit Evade Boah: +10 Hit, +10 Avoid, +5 Crit, and +5 Crit Evade The best team in supports; however, they come late and are ridiculously hard to RNG abuse. This is only here to point out their supports. I don't think anyone has ever used them.....ever. The argument for this team is that as the metagame advances, maxed stats will become less necessary, and this team will begin to excel. In my opinion, having maxed stats is more important than a little avoid and hit. -The Knights and the Whitewings- Able: +20 Hit, +20 Avoid, +10 Crit, and +10 Crit Evade Cain: +30 Hit, +30 Avoid, +15 Crit, and +15 Crit Evade Catrina: +10 Hit, +10 Avoid, +5 Crit, and +5 Crit Evade Est: +20 Hit, +20 Avoid, +10 Crit, and +10 Crit Evade Merric/Some other Sage: No supports The weakest team in terms of support; however, all those units are commonly used on WiFi for their good growths. Easiest team to RNG abuse. ===================== 6b. Specialized Teams ===================== Certain teams have a special strategy they use to win. Some teams use all fliers and fly out over the water, wait for turn 8-10, and then try to capture the castle instead of actually fighting. Some teams focus on assaulting the enemy from long-range, and some use a different strategy. This section is to inform you that developing a specific strategy can be a powerful tool. I won't post very many here, because some people don't want their ideas floating around too much. ===================== 6c. Stat Boosters ===================== The final step to creating a team. After getting everything ready, you're finally ready to use your stat boosters. Stat boosters are items obtain throughout the game and can be used to increase your units stats. In chapters 21 and 24, there are two secret shops and between the two, they sell you 3 of every stat booster. Leaving you with this many stat boosters at the end of the game. 5 Seraph Robes (Hp +7) 5 Energy Drops (Str +2) 5 Spirit Dusts (Mag +2) 4 Secret Books (Skl +2) 6 Speed Wings (Spd +2) 4 Goddess Icons (Lck +2) 5 Draco Shields (Def +2) 5 Talismans (Res +2) How you distribute these is up to you. Just know that these are there to fill in any stats you missed. ============================= 7. RNG/Arena Abuse ============================= This is probably the most important part of building a team, and the most time consuming and complicated. Thus, it deserves its own section. You've probably heard these terms before and wondered what they mean. Well, I'm about to tell you. RNG Abuse: This is the most time consuming part of making a team. While most classes have certain maximum stats that we judge them by, most characters won't naturally reach those stats on their own. That's where RNG abuse comes in. It involves saving right before one or two, or sometimes even three, of your units are about to level up. You then soft reset (Hold L+R+Start+Select) until your characters level up and gains the stats they need. Let's say that you're training a Merric. You'll need him to max Mag, Hp, Def, and Spd to be at his fullest potential, so you might RNG abuse him to gain two of those stats per level. You would have him fight until he'll level up in one more kill. After that, you have someone run to a save tile and save the game. You then continue to reset Merric's level up until he gains the stats he needs to. The amount of time this take differs depending on the character, and how good you want their stats to be. Some people reset for hours and end up with a character with almost perfect stats, while others are fine settling for the bare minimum, or under the minimum. It's really up to you and your preferences. Some people view this as cheating (And it's not. Trust me) and won't play anyone who does this. If you aren't going to RNg Abuse, disregard everything I've said in my guide, as it all depends on the fact that you're going to be RNG abusing. Arena Abuse: For most WiFi teams, you'll need more Exp and Gold then are normally available in the game. This is where the arena comes in. The arena pits you against limitless enemies, and you win a small amount of gold for each one you beat. It allows you to obtain as much Exp and Gold as you need to complete your team. It's really simple. ===================== 7a. Magic Numbers ===================== In this part of the guide, I'm going to list numbers you should try to shoot for when RNG abusing. These stat numbers allow you to survive certain attacks or not be doubled by certain things. Hp and Def ---------- * Hp+(Defx2)>98 allows you to survive one round of anything. This is the number most characters shoot for. It is most easily obtained by 59Hp and 20 Def, or something around there. * Hp+(Defx4)>168 allows you to survive two rounds of a Swordmaster while wielding an Axe. Subtract 4 from 168 for if you want to live while wielding a Sword, and subtract 8 if you want to live while wielding a lance. * Hp+(Defx3)>140 allows you to survive a Longbow shot and anything physical following it. * Hp+(Defx3)>124 allows you to survive a Longbow shot and a Swordmaster attack following it. * Hp+Def>87 allows your mounted units to survive one round of a Berserker Pole Axe * Hp:Def>81 allows your mounted units to survive the most powerful Ridersbane attack (That is, one coming from a General, the lance-wielding unit with the highest Str cap). Spd --- * Spd, being the most important stat, should always be maxed. If you can't max it for some reason, here are the numbers. * 27Spd allows you to not be doubled by Swordmasters. * 26 Spd allows you to not be doubled by Snipers. * 25 Spd allows you to not be doubled by Berserkers. ============================= 8. Credits and Legal Mumbo Jumbo ============================= Me, Upside, for writing this guide www.serenesforest.com for tons of info and some of my lists CJayC for making GameFAQs The GameFAQs FE:SD board users for helping me learn how to play Nintendo and IS for making this game Copyright 2009 Upside I don't care if you host this guide at your site, as long as proper credit is given