Part 78: Arthur

Arthur
Fighter (HS: Cavalier)
A+ Support Classes: Niles (Outlaw), Keaton (Outlaw*), Benny (Knight)
*even though keaton does not have access to this class himself
Personal Skill: Misfortunate (Reduces critical evade of enemies within two tiles by 15, reduces own by 5. Cannot reduce below 0)
Growths (With Default Class):
HP: 50%(70)
STR: 45% (65)
MAG: 0% (0)
SKL 55% (70)
SPD: 35% (50)
LCK: 5% (10)
DEF: 45% (50)
RES: 20% (25)

BEWARE MY FISTS OF JUSTICE!

JUSTICE STRIIIIKES!

YOU'RE OUT OF LUCK, FRIEND!

NO HOLDING BACK!

Arthur's not really a unit I've explored to his full potential, so forgive me if I'm overlooking some of his best aspects. He's... okay. His base stats are serviceable, and his mediocre base growths compensated for by his class. I think his biggest problem is that the stat bonuses he offers as a support partner are better than his actual contributions in combat. The fighter class awards +4 str and +2 speed, and that's before factoring in extra bonuses from support levels!

Misfortunate really hurts him more than it helps him. Critical hits and cool and fun but it's never really practical to rely on them, and getting a surprise crit every now and then does not make up for the 1% death chance constantly hovering over Arthur's head. What's important to note is that Misfortunate cannot reduce crit avoid below 0, and that before support & weapon bonuses crit evade is calculated from Luck / 2. This means that an unsupported Arthur with a non-bronze weapon will need at least 12 luck before his personal skill stops cancelling out his natural crit avoid entirely! Without Goddess Icons he is never going to reach that value.

Combatwise I always find him to be just short of whatever I want him to do. His strength is good but not great, his skill is high but he still struggles with hits sometimes, he's never really fast enough to double, and his surprisingly good bulk for a fighter is overshadowed by threat of crits. Keeping a Bronze Axe on him at all times isn't always convenient. He can go Hero to boost his luck and gain access to swords, or he can go Berserker to boost his offensively massively and give himself even more crit at the cost of losing what measly luck he has and getting an even bigger penalty to crit evade (Berserkers lose 5 crit evade just by being Berserkers...). But if you do go Berserker and give him a Killer Axe then you can be sure to see some big crit numbers, both on your opponents and yourself.

Oh and Cavalier is a fine reclass option with a load of cool skills if you want to do that. Great Knights can use axes so Arthur can keep his axe rank if he wants. He can also go Outlaw if you want to shoot dudes from far away where you can't get crit. Really though Arthur's not a unit I'm 100% familiar with so any Arthur defenders out there please give me your opinions, I feel bad for slandering the hero of justice like this.

TL;DR:

Pros

• Amazing selection of classes by default
• Excellent pair-up bonuses, provides the amazing Fighter class to his spouse
• Personal skill can help units around him without needing to enter combat himself
• Can reach very high chances of critting with little effort

Cons

• Mediocre bases, mediocre growths
• Terrible luck and crit avoid lowering personal skill makes using him a constant danger
• Struggles with hit rates in spite of his high skill

My Rating: Chin/10

theshim" post="518240109 posted:

Arthur...oh dear. For such a unique design and personal skill, he always seems to end up just below mediocre in everything. Can't reliably OHKO, can't reliably double, can't reliably tank, and is always in constant crit danger. If he had something like +2 to all his bases it would go a long way towards making him a more stable unit, but with his start as low as it is, you need a lot of luck for him to shine. I end up benching him in almost every single run, and even in my Bad Units Run of Conquest he was one of the weaker units.

Walla" post="518242776 posted:

Arthur: He sucks. I love him as a character and you can use him if you want to and make him work, but it takes a lot of work and effort compared to almost anyone else. That said he's probably your second or third best natural Berserker, and if you're not throwing a seal on your servant then it wouldn't hurt to make him a Cavalier so he could catch up in speed and weapon ranks before the penalty is too severe. But if you are using him, he needs to end up a Hero. Also that Goddess Icon and a Bronze Axe immediately cancel out the drawbacks of his personal, and his son was made to be glued to his side.