Part 76: Elise
Elise
Troubadour (HS: Wyvern Rider)
A+ Support Classes: Effie (Knight), Azura (Sky Knight), Camilla (Wyvern Rider)
Personal Skill: Lily's Poise (+1 damage dealt and -3 damage taken for allied units within 1 tile)
Growths (With Default Class):
HP: 30% (30)
STR: 5% (5)
MAG: 65% (75)
SKL: 25% (45)
SPD: 55% (65)
LCK: 70% (85)
DEF: 15% (15)
RES: 40% (55)
Wyvern Elise probably makes even less sense when you look at those growths, but I'll get around to explaining why I did soon.
Compared to Sakura's surprising okay strength and bulk, Elise is a quintessential white mage and Troubadour. Her magic is excellent, her luck is through the roof, and her speed and her resistance are both high too. Every single other stat however will proc once in a blue moon. Her high magic means she'll heal much more effectively than whatever servant you got at the start, although thanks to her abysmal skill she'll maybe struggle to hit more evasive enemies with her offensive staves.
Lily's Poise is extremely powerful and can be combined with other sources of bulk such as pair-ups to massively increase the survivability of units for the sake of luring out dangerous enemies or establishing chokepoints. You do have to stand next to a unit for it to activate, which can be problematic when dealing with enemies that can attack from a distance. It also means Elise might make herself your dual attack partner, which is not ideal when she can't actually attack.
At least until she promotes, anyway. Elise can either become a Strategist or a Maid, but unless you really, really want the extra bulk or are going for a Flame Shurriken glass cannon build then there's really no reason not to pick the superior mobility and tome access of the former. Elise's lopsided growths make her an ideal candidate for promoting early, since once she caps her magic she won't get better in any meaningful way. The ability to sling spells from her beefy magic stat makes Elise capable of both offense and support, and as a mobile healer she's suited to hiding behind stronger allies and benefitting from their dual attacks. Unfortunately her terrible skill will actually get worse when she promotes, and she will struggle to hit with any tome beyond the weak and basic E rank Fire.
So why Wyvern...? Well the answer is that I saw people better at the game than me do it and I thought it looked cool. I've never actually tried it out myself... But there are actual reasons. As an unpromoted flier Elise can coast by on her bases decently enough. After a single level she'll unlock Strength + 2 which combined with the relative power of axes will help her deal decent damage for a good while. Early flier utility is very cool and even when her own stats aren't enough she'll be able to pair up with someone more competent so they can take advantage of her mobility instead.
It's her promotion to Malig Knight that really makes her work. 8 move, tome access, high magic stats and good enough bulk. Imagine a Camilla who trades strength and some of her bulk for insane magical power. Camilla's an amazing unit but her magic really isn't her strong point, Malig Knight Elise lets you explore the magic side of that class much more. I have no experience using her as one, but I have seen some fun map clears where she absolutely demolishes enemies with a Lightning tome.
I guess you could also make Elise a Falcon Knight through Azura if you want a flying staff user with actual magic. You could also make her a General through Effie if you liked Amelia from Sacred Stones but wish she was even worse.
TL;DR
Pros
- Super high magic for very good heals
- Personal skill combined with Troubadour/Strategist skills and healing make her excellent at support
- Good candidate for early promotion thanks to lopsided gains
- Turns any child she's the mother of into a magical powerhouse
- Can activate dragon veins
- Can be a wyvern...?
Cons
- Dies to a gentle breeze
- Awful skill limits her offenses
- Can mess up dual strikes if you're not careful
My Rating: Baby
Walla" post="518242776 posted:
Elise: Wyvern Elise is a bit of a meme really. I actually feel it's a bit of a waste to reclass her now since she does just fine waiting until she's level 10 and instantly promoting, and by then you'll probably have a free Fire tome. Though at least now she has one of the highest defenses on your team and her strength will be on par once she gains a level. Bolt Axe and Lightning Tome will be fun but she will always want a Fire Tome as well, and her magic and speed will always be high enough that she won't need anything else. She's probably the 3rd best user of Calamity Gate as well if you get it. Her skill will always be horrible no matter how you build her.