Third Maddening Play-through (Classic), first time not using the well or free goodies
Basically I really wanted to play through Engage again, but I let a family member borrow my copy of the game so I emulated it. Got it running smoothly, but I ended up getting an early version of the game before the well was added as well as the free stuff like the weapons/rings from Fire Emblem Heroes, or even recreation (I didn't even know that was a feature added after the game was released). I decided to roll with it and see how not having those things would change my experience. Fixed mode too, since it was a new game and all.
The major thing I missed was the SP books from the well. If I wanted to inherit multiple useful skills, it basically meant anything that cost over 1k wasn't viable (except for the late game units who join with a lot of SP). So most of my units just got Canter and Speed+ as they're effective and affordable. I didn't really notice the lack of other stuff from the well, and I still ended up having some spare gold at the end too. I was basically out of bond points though, otherwise more units would have Speed+4 instead of Speed+3.
Quick Ranking (Seadall excluded, because he's a dancers and while dancers are goated, I don't find much interest in comparing them to anything other than dancers from other games, tbh.
Diamant (Honorable...? Mention)- I intended to use him through the whole game and made him a Wyvern because Ivy was my only flier for most of the game. But I forgot how mediocre his growths are and he was a liability most of the time. Dropped him in late Solm.
Alrcryst- Suffered from most of the problems that plagued his brother, low strength and not quite enough speed. He also joins with an awkward amount of SP and I couldn't get him canter before losing the rings. I tried to believe in the Luna procs, but they rarely came through and without them he just did no damage. I know people like him with Lyn, but I'd much rather give her to someone who can reliably do damage. He came in clutch more often with Reposition than he did with Luna, tbh, which I gave him just because it was a cheap but potentially useful skill.
Everyone else was I actually pretty happy with.
Lindon (Celica)- I don't really have negative things to say about him. He's not as strong as most of the units you get mid-game, but he's more than capable of filler and a competent sage if you don't want to reclass him. Staffs are good, he gets 2k SP when he joins, and giving him Draconic Hex+Thorn was some added utility and Celica allowed him to debuff multiple enemies a round while engaged.
Boucheron (Byleth)- While he wasn't great at getting kills by himself, he provided chain attack utility from beginning of the game to the end and had the HP and Speed to basically be able to survive combat with just about any enemy. Also I underestimated how bonkers his build stat is, being able to use Greataxes and Longbows without worrying about getting doubled is really nice. Byleth was nice because he could rally strength, and I wanted him near bosses anyways for chain attacks.
Mauvier (Leif)- Honestly would rank him higher if I could have gotten him earlier. He added flier utility I needed for late game after I reclassed him. No real notes, I just gave him Leif because he made better use of it than Alrcyst.
Veyle (Marth)- Same deal as Mauvier really, she just suffers from the late join time. I was surprised by how well she does with Marth, and she was a solid offensive unit for the end of the game.
Celine (Micaiah)- One of my carries in the early part of the game after forging a Levin Sword. While she does fall off offensively, she can still do some damage and is a good support unit since she can naturally use staves in her personal class and break axe-users with the levin sword. But once I got Miaciah back she was mostly on staffing duty, as I didn't really want to put her on someone else.
Timerra (Ike)- I've heard mixed things about Timerra, saying how underrated she is or how bad she is. She turned out better than I thought she would, but I also know a lot of that is probably from Ike and how he works well with her personal skill. Regardless, she was one of my few physically tanky units, and she didn't get to the point to where enemies would ignore her, so she gets bonus points for that. I just wish her build stat in her personal class wasn't so bad.
Alear (Roy)- Hadn't tried magic Alear yet, and thought I'd give it a go. I did end up giving her most (if not all) of the Spirit Dust I got throughout the game. It was a little rough at first with how low her damage was, but she got pretty decent by mid-solm and was solid by the mid-late game. Roy is just a great stat stick for anyone really and she could make use of the sword perks in mage knight.
Goldmary (Sigurd)- Honestly the surprise build of the run for me. I originally planned to keep her in Hero, but I really felt like I needed someone else to take physical hits. I used her in General previously and she had too much defense, but Great Knight has her her defense at just about the right point to where she'll take a little damage from most physical attackers. And giving her Speed+ and Build+ allows her to double some middling speed enemies and avoid being doubled from most things, even with a Silver Greatlance or Spear equipped. And Sigurd is just nice for zooming around and getting her where I needed her.
Framme (Lucina)- Lucina on a QI adept is just broken and it's something I feel like I can't go without. While I do think Alear is a little better in this role (since they can pull staves out of the convoy), Framme is better offensively compared to them with fists, which was useful on occasion. And chain guarding is pretty useful when you can't bonded shield, too.
Ivy (Lyn)- Just really solid throughout, and Lyn fixes her speed and hit rate problem for the most part. Flying and staves are nice too. I gave her resolve because she already has good natural bulk, but maybe I should have just given her Speed+ to more easily double enemies at the beginning of maps to get speedtaker going.
Pandreo (Corrin)- Basically just a better Ivy without flying. He may not have speedtaker but his speed and build still lets him double most stuff. I really like Corrin on Mystical units for the Fire AoE, and he could still debuff from 3 spaces away with Thoron if needed. O
Merrin (Eirika)- She was basically my answer to most problems. I needed a specific enemy dealt with, she could kill them or get in their way and dodge their attack. Eirika fixes her damage problem, she doubles basically everything, crits often, dodges often, and a forged iron dagger is all she really needs. I gave her a levin sword too (which helped a little against armored units) and a Killing Edge when the Iron Dagger wasn't quite enough to kill but a crit would. I gave her momentum instead of Speed+ since she's already speedy and it's a cost effective damage skill.
Overall a fun run, even if I used mostly basic builds and quite a few of the typical units. I'd recommend it if you've beaten Maddening before and want a little more challenge but nothing too crazy.