Part 89: Benny
Benny
Knight (HS: Fighter)
A+ Support Classes: Arthur (Fighter), Keaton (Fighter)
Personal Skill: Fierce Mein (Reduces avoid of enemies within two tiles by 10)
Growths (With Default Class):
HP: 50% (70)
STR: 40% (60)
MAG: 0% (0)
SKL: 50% (65)
SPD: 10% (15)
LCK: 35% (45)
DEF: 55% (75)
RES: 45% (45)
Okay first of all giving Benny Fighter as his Heart Seal class and then making all of his A+ support classes give Fighter as well was a really mean thing to do to him. Jakob's got the same problem in Conquest, but at least he can support Takumi in Birthight to get Archer...
Benny is the quintessential Knight. His bulk is high, his speed is low. 70% HP, 75% defense, and 15% speed tell you all you need to know about him up front. Benny won't get to his destination fast, but he will get there in one piece.
Besides his non-existant speed stat, Benny's growths are actually quite good. Obviously his HP and defense are through the roof, but he's not too bad in other areas - he's surprisingly accurate, his serviceable luck keeps away the critical hits, and his resistance is actually quite okay for a physical tank. His biggest problem can be fixed by giving him the Wary Fighter skill he gets as a level 5 General, which prevents him from being doubled (and also doubling but that is never a thing he will ever be able to do). Promoting him instantly isn't too bad a call if you want him to have it as soon as possible. The trick to using him is simple - place him in range of the enemies, and watch him not die. Sometimes the enemies might not want to attack him, in which case you march him over to them risk free. He's a great user of Javelins and Hand Axes since their drawbacks mean nothing to him anyway, but his avoid-lowering personal skill make him good at close combat too. Weaken an enemy with him at close range and someone else can finish the job.
Otherwise he's got a similar problem to Selena in that while he's quite good at not dying, he doesn't really do a whole lot besides. Tanking is useful, but his mediocre strength and complete inability to double make his retaliations not so threatening. A Benny with Wary Fighter can be a good tank in classes that aren't General if you want some extra movement or attack power, so Berserker Benny can be a thing if you want it to be.
A unit supported by Benny can do similar levels of tanking while also being much more effective in other areas. One unit who appreciates a Benny support is Beruka - it turns her into a flying brick wall who can tank while also having nearly twice the movement range Benny does. If you have no place in your army for a slow moving tank then consider pairing him up with someone faster to make them a tank instead.
Pros
- Obscene levels of physical bulk, surprisingly decent resistance
- Wary Fighter circumvents his speed problems
- Fierce Mein is a cool skill that allows him to set up kills for others, his bulk makes it less risky than using a Dark Mage for the same purpose
- Turns any unit he's paired with into an even bigger tank
Cons
- Terrible speed can be problematic before he gets Wary Fighter
- Absolutely garbage movement means he'll struggle to keep up without a partner to ferry him
- Doesn't really do much besides not die
- Joining late means less time to build supports
- Has the second most difficult child paralogue to complete and one of the worst children to boot
My Rating: Beats Arthur for "best husband material in Conquest" because he wouldn't drop your wedding ring down a sewer grate by accident