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Thanks to everyone for their input and opinions, as always.

The next unit is Ike, someone many should be able to talk about in a myriad of ways! From FE9 only, mind you (FE10's version will come in due course). Feel free to talk about his character as a WHOLE between the two games though, since he's pretty seminal in both. But as a UNIT, try to stick to her praiseworthy performance in FE9.

Ike, Ike, Ikity Ike. You are a person that is well...Ike.

Lets start off with how he is as a person. He is there for the people. He is for his friends. Good traits when used right. But once it gets to the point where he acts stupid well then you know things went wrong. Personally I do not think he went wrong in the games, but it felt like later on there were things that were overdone. He's a good person, but it feels overdone.

As a unit I know he is great in Path of Radiance. Aether, Ragnell, decent caps...what more is there to say? He could theoretically solo the game alone with a bit of trouble but still be a great person. Heck once he gets Ragnell I get rid of all his other weapons because at that point I pretty much deem him "god." He is able to fight from a range, Aether at close range...he will screw pretty much anyone that steps in his way.

Radiant Dawn Ike? Truly I am actually not much of a fan. Getting Nihil in that game? I am not sure I see the point to that. It kinda makes him be even more broken especially if he can keep Aether himself. It makes fights against him harder because you have to rely merely on your own power alone and no skills while he can use skills all he wants?

Let's just say it was more Freudian slip than typo. xD

And as such, I guess I'm not changing it.



This confuses me a little. What do you mean by him getting Nihil making him even more broken?

You GIVE him Nihil, if only during the endgame to avoid getting Luna'd to death by the Black Knight. He doesn't just get it on his own. Nihil is also one of the only ways to get around things like Dheginsea's Ire and the Aurora of Ashera's Aura. Ike's one of the best candidates in the later situation since he's presumably one of your strongest units (he can do without it for Dheginsea since Ire can only activate at 1-range and Ike can attack from a distance with Ragnell). Plus, in those situations, enemies with Mantle have a built-in Nihil, so he's not going to be activating Aether on any of them anyway.

If it isn't Endgame, he really doesn't need Nihil at all. I personally give him Provoke during Part 4 so he can rake in the experience to hit those caps he needs for Endgame sooner.

Ike can solo FE9, given he doesn't get screwed, though it can be hairy at times (lookin' at you, Day Breaks. All four of you. Forged Iron Swords ahoy!). I know it can be done. I haven't done it myself, but an Ike solo is on my radar for the next time I start up a new game of FE9.

Ike's stats are pretty solid for the most part. Aether is a great skill, and with a 50% skill growth it's not unusual to have it trigger reasonably often (And since it is a good skill in itself, I prefer giving the Wrath+Resolve combo to someone who doesn't have that benefit). He promotes at a decent point in the game. Ragnell is a great weapon, though you only have it for the last two (three counting the fight with the black knight) chapters of the game. It's got 1-2 range, +5 defence and unlimited uses. He has a variety of support options. I look forward to testing how solid he is in a solo playthrough (Though of course support options aren't of use there).

Personality wise? Ike's a pretty simple guy. Hardworking and down to earth. He's blunt, and he doesn't sugarcoat things. He's honest, and he's a bit naive, especially during the first half of the game. He has no taste for class disputes and politics and the like, but he always does the right thing at his core. Though his social skills can suffer a bit a times. While he has a sense of what is right and wrong, he's perfectly content with just living life as mercenary and fighting.

What makes Ike special to me is the interactions he has with other people, as well as how other people perceive him. Ike's lucky to be in a game with many base conversations and base supports, as well as characters that talk about him even when he isn't there, and various conversations he takes part in over the course of the main story. I love how personable Ike is. I love that he can talk with pretty much anyone and come out of the conversation knowing a little bit more, or leaving an impression. He doesn't care about the race or class of the people he talks to, he just talks to them as people. And while that helps him be a relatable leader type, Ike isn't immune to pissing people off or making them worry, even if they like Ike overall. Is he really accepting or does he take everything for granted? Is he a glory hog, overly concerned, thoughtful? None of these ideas clash with Ike's character, and you can see why they might think these things. Ike talks and bounces off of nearly every recruitable character at least once over the course of the game. And of course, not all conversations are created equal. While I love the dynamic that he, Titania and Soren have together in the main story, Soren needs Ike far more than Titania does, and they have the more emotional and interesting conversation in their supports. But little exceptions and such would take forever for me to point out. I don't think Ike is perfect, like I know a lot of people portray him as. He has his own arc over the course of the game too. He's always the same Ike at his core, but he becomes a much more experienced Ike as he goes from a new recruit in a small mercenary company to an inexperienced and slightly insecure mercenary commander to the general of an army that consists of people from all sorts of countries, races, and backgrounds, united under him. He grows into his shoes, and while he is similar to his father (a whole different matter to ramble on), Ike in many ways surpasses him and has a story of his own.

I feel I've made it no secret that Ike is my favorite lord during my time here. I feel like I could easily say that I like Ike because I like Path of Radiance, because I feel Ike is one of the big things that makes Path of Radiance the story that I adore and honor so much. What do I think about him in FE10? Well, I can't say nearly as much as I can here, but that's for FE10 Ike Day. Though I will say that I still like him in FE10, he's a bit misused in my opinion. And it's FE9 that makes him my fave.

Ike is my main in SSBB.
The first FE9 Ike I ever had was Speed and Strength screwed (but Defense blessed).


So Ike is Ike. He’s essentially the new standard for a really strong main character. Great growths and all that. Which is a good a point to start at as any.

Ike doesn’t really have any weakness statistically, aside from a so-so Luck growth. I mean, his Resistance growth is just as good as his Defense growth at 40%, even. In no other game does a physically included protagonist have their Resistance grow at the same rate (and such a respectable rate, too). His averages suggest he will cap Strength, Skill, and Speed, with Defense being less than a point away from its cap as well, with his caps being very well balanced without any area particularly lacking either (a substantial improvement over FE7 and 8 giving male Lords rather disappointing Speed caps). Going to exact chances to cap if you’re going to push Ike to 20/20, he has a 59% chance to cap Strength, 56% chance to cap Skill, a whopping 78% chance to cap Speed, a 46% chance to cap Defense, and even an 8% chance to cap Resistance. Get lucky and Ike will give you GREAT transfer date for FE10 (I know I have a file saved solely for FE10 transfer bonuses, where Ike has some fabulous free base boosts). As far as his performance in FE9 goes though, Ike’s stats leave very little to complain about. Skill wise, I generally go the Aether route, personally, because he’ll get more out of it for the entirety of the game than Wrath+Resolve which requires him falling under half HP which, with his awesome performance, isn’t very often (Wrath+Resolve is definitely the “stronger” option in certain specific situations though where you can expect him to fall under half HP). Regardless of what skill setup you prefer with Ike though, he kicks a** usually, not that he’s RNG proof. Awesome unit.

And then there’s his Earth affinity and the fact that he has more support options than any other character in FE9 at 7 (shame they reduced the general number of possible support conversations people can have in FE9), making him even better because he provides utility to a very good number of units and can become a “dodge-tank” if you pick certain supports (and especially make Oscar one as well with his access to full Earth support). Everyone likes having their avoid boosted, after all.

And then he got Ragnell, with a free +5 Defense as if his 46% chance to cap Defense wasn’t enough – although he admittedly doesn’t have it for very long. Still, Ragnell as your personal weapon set a new standard for personal broken weapons with its 1-2 range and 18 Mt. It might not be giving a free 30 stats like the FE4 Holy weapons, but that 1-2 range on a physical weapon was still groundbreaking for a weapon of that caliber.

Again, awesome unit, generally speaking.

As a character… Ike’s story is definitely a high mark or the series as far as a bildungsroman goes. I will admit that I’m never a fan of when everyone is talking about one character as if everyone’s life revolves around just one person – I find it very Mary Sue. But even in that regard, Ike isn’t too bad of an offender. Roy’s game is definitely much more obsessed with a 15 year old compared to a 17 year old Ike. He’s really well fleshed out and develops over the course of the game with all those base conversations he has, justified by his position. Good character overall. I really don’t feel like I need to say much because Tiki already did so well, and she’s the FE9 Ike expert. I do think he’s a little too straightforward and short-sighted occasionally, but a lot of that stems from FE10 anway, and I’m splitting hairs at this point. I’ll save that for another day. Overall, they did a great job with him. Ike’s sexuality will also be a topic for FE10 Ike day, for me, simply because I feel like it gives more to go off of than a still developing virtually un-sexualized (and underage) FE9 Ike.

I like Ike.

I had a feeling Titania would be next and I looooove her.

Right when I very first saw her and her spectacular Valkyrie hair, I was in love. And then she spoke and I fell more in love! I love the dynamic that she and Soren have with Ike. Titania represents morality and while I can sympathize with Soren's straightforward logic, I nearly always agree with Titania, because I know what she's saying is the right thing to do. She will do what is right over what is easy. She is kind and gentle without sacrificing her loyalty and strength. She's like a mother to the mercenary group. She will always be there for you, and smite anybody that tries to do you harm. And she does all that while looking very fine.

On a side note, I love supporting TitaniaxRhys because it is major adoracles, though I also like to think she had hidden feelings for Greil.

As a unit, it's only more to love about her. Her averages don't have her capping anything, but she's well balanced and well usable all the way to the end of the game. FE8 is easy; when I plan on using Seth, I'll leave him to the side until the enemies get tougher so that other units I want to use can get better use out of the exp. But there's not much I need him to do. I can't say that for Titania. While I might have Titania sit to the side too, there's been more times when I needed her to swoop in than Seth or Marcus.

As the first female Jeigan (or rather, Oifey) archetype, she passes with flying colors. Although, I absolutely hate the lack of attention she gets from FE10. The game treats her like an old maid and it disgusts me. She deserves so much better.

As FE9 was my first FE, Titania was my first taste of power. I used her. I used the hell out of her. And she's wonderful, as a unit and a character. And while I do now like the satisfaction of raising some weaker units and using various different unit combinations, I've never really been afraid to let my Jeigan/Oifey archetypes get some action (To varying degrees, of course, depending on the character, and I did go through certain phases in playing the game). Though it all depends on who I want to use for the duration of the game, because it is always changing.

Titania's growths are actually pretty close to Ike's in general, give or take 5% in a few areas. Her bases are solid, and she stays... pretty darn solid. Counter... eh. It's not a bad skill, but you can give her better skills. Like Sol! Give her Sol. She is likely to get surpassed by other units, but that does not make her bad at all. This has already been said. Not Seth, but pretty darn good.

Like you two have said before me, and I have said before me, I love PoR's dynamic between Ike, Soren, and Titania. But I'm gonna take a third option: I agree with Titania and Soren on different occasions. Just like Ike. Titania's morality and Soren's objectivity are always both useful to hear, they both think in different ways, and they are both very valuable assets to Ike, whom Ike appreciates very greatly. And that's why they are both on the cover and featured prominently in the intro to the game. In Ike and Titania's A support, Ike even flat out says just how much he appreciates her for being a pillar of the company. Which she very much is, from a player perspective as well. Ike's not just blowing hot air, she's a great fighter, she helped start the company, and she is team mom. Titania is a valuable asset to everyone, and worth everyone's respect.

And I think it's fairly obvious that she had feelings for Greil. Titania gets very emotional at some key points, especially when Greil's death comes up. We see her crying alone during a chapter 8 base conversation... And Ike mentions it in their A support. But she doesn't let it get in the way, instead keeping it personal and understanding that she wouldn't really be able to act on them. But what always strikes me is after chapter 22 where everyone is putting the facts and events together, and Ike finally says that he knows who killed Greil. Titania demands to know who in a a small outburst before recomposing herself. And that combined with the music playing at the time always struck me. Later, it is Titania Ike talks to before he goes off to fight the black knight and reveals he has Ragnell. And it's a great conversation for both of them, and they both get some resolution regarding Greil's death.

Unfortunately, like Rath, I also think that she really got the short end of the stick with her RD characterization. RD throws out the dynamic between the three and gives Titania hardly any lines. Soren and Ike get to talk, and I'll talk about them later, but Titania? What happened to the respect? The input? Soren isn't even filling the same role anymore, but at least he gets lines! Titania's still a good unit, and I'll cross that bridge when I get to it, but...

To end on a positive note, can I also take a moment to talk about how awesome her character design is? Titania's one of my favorite designed characters in FE. And that's saying something, with all the cool designs floating around. Red, white, and golden trim is a powerful combo, and her brilliant red braided hair is distinctive (She even gets called "The red-tressed knight" in game. The enemies know she's strong too!). She can look kind and powerful, strong, feminine and pretty while still wearing armor and not being drawn in a degrading way. And she has an axe! Rock on, Kita.