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I'll be honest here. I never used Marcus beyond the beginning chapters.

But I don't think I'd be able to get through those first few chapters without him. He's there to save units if they get in a pinch (those bandits at the beginning can be tough, even in normal mode!), and he's able to make a rush in those first few chapters without taking too much damage. I wouldn't trust anyone else to make that rush to Priscilla's village when the time comes to recruit her.

A little around Raven's recruitment though, I want to focus on the others. Relying too much on one Paladin will hurt in the end (as I learned painfully in my first playthrough where I made many foolish decisions). I wish his growths were a little better so he could handle the later chapters with other promoted enemies (like Cog of Destiny, the exp gold mine).

Really, the only utility he had for me was at the starting chapters as a back-up in case Oswin, Hector, Lowen and Eliwood got overwhelmed.

It's a shame too. I like his supports, especially the one with Lowen. It's cool to see superior/subordinate respect. c:

As a character, he shines more in Eliwood mode (as one would imagine).

I think he's okay, and probably could be used more than just in the beginning, I just don't have that kind of play style. :3

Marcus, Marcus, Marcus.

Call it elitism, but one manner in which I measure a player’s skill at Fire Emblem is through their opinion of FE7’s Marcus as a unit. Beginners overuse him. Players more familiar with the series give him credit for meat-shield utility in the early game at best, but never seriously use him after a certain point. Then there are the technically advanced (tier list junkies) and veteran players who cite him as one of the greatest units the game (tier list junkies do) and recognize that although his overall growths don’t match those of the other cavaliers in the game, they’re comparable to the stats of other cavaliers, and that they’re far more than sufficient for utilization throughout the entirety of the game.

He obviously starts as the strongest member of your party and keeps that position for a substantial period of time.

And since it seems to be so common for people to bemoan him being mediocre in terms of stats and overall potential, why don’t we just cut to the chase and post every Paladin’s 20/20 averages for a raw comparison of final stats (which don’t apply for the entire game, if of course must be noted):

Marcus:
HP: 43:35, Str: 20.7, Skl: 24.5, Spd: 15.75, Luck: 13.7, Def: 12.85, Res: 14.65
Lowen:
HP: 58.3, Str: 19.1, Skl: 17.1, Spd: 17.1, Luck: 21.5, Def: 23.8, Res: 12.1
Kent:
HP: 54.3, Str: 22.2, Skl: 26, Spd: 24, Luck: 9.6, Def: 16.5, Res: 11.5
Sain:
HP: 51.4, Str: 25, Skl: 18.3, Spd: 22.2, Luck: 17.2, Def: 15.6, Res: 8.6
Isadora:
HP: 42.25, Str: 18.7, Skl: 18.65, Spd: 25, Luck: 18.55, Def: 11.8, Res: 10.75

Incidentally, the only stat in which Marcus finishes last is Speed. He does finish first in Resistance to make up for it, though, I suppose. But if Marcus is able to double the enemy, the fact that he’s the slowest Paladin becomes entirely irrelevant because that means all the Paladin’s are fast ENOUGH (excess is nice, but eventually it becomes incidental rather than of actual value). For the majority of the game, and the majority of enemies in the majority of the modes available in FE7, Marcus is fast ENOUGH to not have any problems with doubling (as as for evasion, his affinity and supports more than make up for that, but we’ll get to that in due time). He’s also the best candidate of all the potential Paladins in the game for fighting magic users (and since this isn’t Tellius, there’s actually a fair amount of them around). And if Lowen is killing the enemy, Marcus is too. I never hear people complaining about Lowen’s offenses… ergo, Marcus is perfectly competent as an offensive unit. There are plenty of units who surpass him in terms of combat later on in the game, but it cannot be disputed that Marcus happens to have to be your best combat unit for a substantial part of the game. This can only be a good thing for him – you can’t hold it against him that he’s the best fighter you have for a good deal of time, thanks to his bases and prepromoted status – something people tend to forget unless they’re playing the harder modes of the game (in which case Marcus is automatically recognized as one of the best and most important to use characters in the game). He won’t be your strongest unit by any means by the time the late game comes around, but last I checked, neither would Oifaye, but Oifaye still gets by and so does Marcus (which is to say: he isn’t at all a Jeigan by any means).

But this is assuming Paladins actually reach 20/20, which is certainly possible, but of all Paladins you can raise, Marcus is basically the only one for which you can confidently say he WILL get to level 20 as he requires the least amount of experience to reach it (Isadora technically requires the same amount, but Marcus has much more time and opportunities to accrue it). So in reality, Marcus requires the least amount of investment to utilize. Using Marcus means you have a greater opportunity to provide the rest of your party with MORE experience since he’ll require less of it in the long run. So arguments that claim Marcus is an exp hog couldn’t be further from the truth. Requiring the smallest experience makes him the opposite of an exp hog, even if it seems that because he’s getting less of it than others early on this doesn’t seem to be the case.

And on the topic of Marcus allegedly being an ‘exp hog’ – I’d like to point out why this is completely false for another reason and how, more than likely, they’re making their other characters inefficient with exp in the early game where strategic use of Marcus actually prevents anyone from being so inefficient, allowing for a larger acquisition of experience overall (I wouldn’t normally post this in a character analysis since it doesn’t apply to just one character, but it’s relevant in this case due to the general misperception many people have of Marcus):

Essentially, it has to do with the experience bonus a unit is granted for killing a boss and the formula for experience. Because the maximum amount of experience a unit can receive for any kill is capped at 100, if someone would be gaining more than 100 experience for a kill if that cap didn’t exist, they’re wasting experience. THAT is being an exp hog. Killing a unit and not getting as much exp as someone else would is not. It also just so happens to be the case that for the majority of the early and even mid-game, most of the bosses you encounter are at high enough levels that the majority (if not everyone with the exception of Marcus) of your party members will wind up wasting potential experience if they get these kills. Marcus, however, will NOT waste experience for doing so, and giving him these early boss kills provides him with enough experience that he’ll actually get levels without inhibiting the growth of your other units in the early game thanks to the 40 experience bonus bosses grant that ignores level. So by feeding Marcus the early boss kills and actually incorporating him into your party, you actually maximize the experience your party will be able to gain overall and provide Marcus with a healthy and reliable source of experience that will allow him to level at a respectable pace (much faster than he would from killing as generic enemies alone) until your other units catch up to him in level to such a point that they aren’t wasting experience when killing bosses either. It’s a total win-win for all units involved and grants EVERYONE you use more experience in the long haul, making Marcus one of the most efficient units you can possible use when it comes to resource distribution.

In terms of other resources, the fact that Marcus doesn’t require a promotion item is also a bonus, allowing you to promote another unit or for you to save a good deal of gold for ranked runs.

But even if we ignored all of these boons Marcus offers, there still remains the fact that he provides you with mounted utility for the entirety of the game since he has essentially perfect availability. You can choose no never let Marcus fight a single enemy, but you’d still be able to capitalize on fielding him in various chapters where he can transport units with lower mobility quickly which allows for lower potential turn counts to help the Tactics rank (transporting your main lord to seize, for example), rush to villages before they get pillaged (13x) or just to allow your other units to focus on things other than reaching such villages (potentially 14). He could be the worst combat unit in the game and Marcus would STILL offer you quite a bit thanks to his mounted utility.

He’s also a great support unit, and quite frankly, next to Hector, Eliwood’s best option for support units in terms of being objective and efficient with your supports. He’s also outright Lowen’s best support option if you’re using him (and fastest). Him and Eliwood both have completely defensive affinities, so they’re very effective together, and ALL of his support options grant full evasion as does he. Consequently, despite not having the highest luck or speed, his evasion has virtually no problems. Fill him up with any five supports and he’ll be able to reach an additional 25% evasion.

I think that’s about all I have to say about the value of Marcus as a unit. Except for the fact that if ever you’re doing a ranked run, you absolutely should use him. All of his strengths make him one of the most valuable units in the game for such runs. And I didn’t really mention the fact that he comes with complete weapon triangle control from the get-go, which is a huge boon. In addition to very good weapon ranks. Two As and a B give him access to almost every melee weapon and allows him to S Rank whatever weapon you want him to. Even if he isn’t the ‘strongest’ or fastest Paladin, he still benefits from all of the qualities of his class like the aforementioned mobility utility and full weapon triangle control.

In terms of his downsides, I guess we can admit he isn’t the strongest unit you’ll ever have by endgame (he IS the strongest unit for the longest amount of time though – and in harder modes, the early game is technically harder than the late game because you have such strong characters later on to deal with those chapters). It really isn’t an issue though, if you’re seriously using him. People find him difficult to use because they think he’s an exp hog, but he really isn’t.

As a character, I don’t really care. He’s rather generic as a loyal vassal to Pherae. It’s not bad, it’s just uninteresting.

If you haven’t used Marcus seriously before, I’d really encourage you to do so. He's, frankly, better than Oifaye is in FE4.

(Drawn by Leo. ILU FD get your sweet honey-dip a** in the blast more often... also if your boyfriend sees this tell him I say hi)

Hm, Lowen.

He's a guy I end up using almost 9 FE 7 playthroughs out of 10, but I have to say that where he lacks is strength. His defenses are pretty cool and he's a nice tag-team with either Hector or Oswin during Cog of Destiny (You know what chapter I'm talking about? The one with the other Reed brother you didn't defeat in Four Fanged Offense, with all those dang reinforcements.)

The solid defenses make him a great 2nd person to hold that middle bridge and bring down some Generals with the Paladin's axe utility. That brings me to another point.

Like other FE 7 Paladins, he's got weapon triangle control upon promotion. Any weapon, he can have an advantage against (except for bows, but who needs that when snipers usually don't have good def in the first place?)

Lowen has fantastic availability too (comes the first chapter in Eliwood mode, the second chapter in Hector Mode), so there's plenty of time to raise him. He's especially valuable in the chapter False Friends, where you're up against all those dang cavaliers and you need an extra lance or two to keep them at bay.

I don't remember him having very good resistance though (maybe it's just my RNG's), so I'd keep him far and away from magic users like Ursula and Sonia who have the siege magic and could cut through his HP rather quickly.

As for supports, I love his fire affinity. His own affinity gives him the offensive boosts he needs to make up for his often terrible strength, and if he supports with Rebecca (one of my favorite supports in the game), he gets fire/fire, which is awesome for offense.

Overall, I would say Lowen is a decent unit. More often than not, I end up with him on my roster, just like Oswin, because I love my high def tank units.

Lowen's a pretty cool guy, and I think that he's got a permanent spot on any FE 7 team I make unless I'm doing a challenge where I'm not allowed to use him.

...I hardly think chapter 11, which is chapter 1 for Eliwood's mode, or chapter 12, which is chapter 2 for Hector's mode can hardly be considered late by any means. He should be right around Kent and Sain's levels by the time you get them back, if you actually use him well. Plus you have, you know, the entire rest of the game to easily raise him if you want to use him...

..That's the same thing. If you can't seem to actively use a character that you get in chapter 1 or 2 of a story, then that's really sad. There's nothing wrong with wanting to use Kent or Sain above Lowen, but your reasoning for it doesn't make sense.

Okay, sorry I totally slipped up on maintaining this guys. But I’m back and more ready then ever to keep it up to date. I’ll close up Lowen and then we can move onto a new unit. Thanks again for everyone posting their thoughts about Lowen.



As is generally known, Lowen is considered the “third” cavalier of FE7 since he doesn’t have red or green plastered all over him. And while the Red/Green Cavalier dichotomy is a mainstay and certainly good stuff usually, plenty of other Cavs and Paladins outside those duos are great (Aless, Camus, and Franz, for example), and one shouldn’t discount him simply for not being Sain or Kent. Still, he does tend to get shafted in the view of many because Kent and Sain are so well liked and have Lyn mode to make them endearing. But with virtually perfect availability, a great class with lots of value, third highest Defense growth in the game, and an awesome support affinity, he certainly has a good deal of things going for him.

As far as units go, even outside of combat, much like Marcus, Lowen has a lot of utility value simply for being on a horse and being around for so long. Perfect availability in Eliwood Mode and almost perfect availability in Hector Mode means you can’t blame his joining time for not using him, certainly. Also, having Lances and Swords give him more control over the weapon triangle than any other first-tier class, not to mention that perfect triangle control after promotion. The fact of the matter is that Lowen is in a class that has a lot going for it.

Looking at his performance as a unit, Lowen’s tanky reputation is well earned; Lowen has the highest HP growth in the game, sharing that title with Oswin and Hector at a very sturdy 90% (both also known for their tankiness) and the third highest Defense growth at 40% (only behind Hector and Oswin, which essentially makes them the trifecta of physical tanks in the game). 30% Resistance growth is also quite impressive for a physically inclined unit as well. To put that into a broader perspective, that 40% Defense growth is higher than that of any other Cavalier from any of the GBA games (and the only Paladin who rises to match it is Seth). He definitely can be one of your tankiest units if you raise him. And combining those sorts of defensive parameters alongside his mobility and weapon diversity makes for a combination no one else in the game has. Send him headfirst into the enemy and he’s more likely to stick it out than any other mounted unit once at a sufficient level (obviously Marcus starts with the defensive advantage for some time). If you favor defensive units, Lowen is definitely for you, not only providing the bulk of a tank, but the mobility and utility very few tanks have.

Looking at Lowen’s other stats is a less happy prospect, however. 50% Luck growth is definitely nice, but other than that and his aforementioned Defensive stats, he has growths of 30% for Strength, Skill, AND Speed – definitely erring towards the low side of things, albeit not terrible. While Lowen excels as a great defensive mobile unit, his offenses on their own leave a bit to be desired. He barely avoids having the lowest Strength at 20/20 by a fraction of a point over Isadora, is the second slowest only ouspeeding Marcus by a couple of points and has the lowest skill of all the possible Paladins at 20/20. And that’s ASSUMING he reaches 20/20 (which is very much possible, especially considering his join time, but it isn’t a given and doesn’t reflect his stats for the majority of the game). You may notice that Kent and Sain weren’t mentioned in his competition for lowest stats in the three most important offensive stats as well, which may well be why so many people gravitate towards them. But that hardly makes Lowen bad offensively.

Remember, this is a unit who has full control of the weapon triangle which will not only prevent from having any problems hitting enemies he might have from the only stat he finishes last in, but can niftily give him a boost to power against most melee weapons, and in that sense, his class substantially makes up for his statistical weaknesses. On top of that, he has one of the most offensive affinities around in Fire, which boosts Attack, Hit, Crit, and Avoid, which goes a long way to more than making up for his comparatively low offensive stats to others of his class. Lowen might appear to be the worst offensive Paladin, but the game almost tailors every other factor to address this problem of his, and he’s really a perfectly fine offensive unit. To put it in perspective, Guy and Matthew both also have a 30% Strength growth, Hector’s Speed growth is only 5% higher (but starts lower), and Skill is one of the less important stats in the game considering it’s not difficult to land hits with the formula or hitting. On top of that, he has the highest Con of all Paladins as well, which can contribute to making up for his lower speed. Lowen is still doubling and one rounding the majority of common enemies without grief, don’t be mistaken.

And that Fire affinity of his is not only a huge boon to himself offensively, repairing his lower growths, but it makes him a great unit to support with because just about anyone loves a Fire affinity boost, increasing his utility to more than just his great mobility. Attack, Crit, and Avoid are great things to have increased (and no one’s complaining about higher Hit, either). And he has numerous good options in support partners that would be happy to support with Lowen. Lowen is also one of very few units in all of Fire Emblem that can garner 5 full Fire-Fire supports for a VERY fabulous +5 Str, +25 Crit, +25 Hit, and +25 Avoid (which, by the way, takes him from the lower end of offensive Paladins to second only to Sain if they’re both doubling) between Rebecca and Lowen. Even better, 3/5 of his options either start on a mount or get one upon promotion (and the other 2 are the Fire affinities). ANY of his supports would be happy to have him, so it’s a matter of who Lowen wants to support with, really. Supports are definitely a boon rather than a cause for frustration with him.

Is Lowen outclassed? No. Is he underrated? I’d say Yes. He plays differently than Sain and Kent, but he’s definitely not outclassed as a unit, and I think if more people experimented with him, they’d be happy about the results and use him more often. Defensive players, take note.

As far as his character goes, I don’t dislike Lowen, but I’m not exactly impressed, either. The whole “unexperienced knight in training, eager to learn and to serve” is semi bog standard. The whole food obsession is a unique twist on his characterization, and there isn’t a single character he supports where their conversation doesn’t involve food at some point, it isn’t really a personality trait. And while I like Lowen/Rebecca, I’d hardly say I like it much more or less than Wil/Rebecca (and one look at Wolt and it’s easy to make the case for Wil being the father). As far as personality goes, I WOULD say he’s outclassed.

Nothing is stopping anyone from using him, Sain, AND Kent simultaneously, or some combination of them or more. Paladins are definitely one of the best classes around in this game, and having full weapon triangle control means for each one, you get a Sword, Lance, and Axe user.