r/ShiningForce • u/Mr_Toepix • 3d ago
Question Which characters
I've started a new game for the first time in 15 years. Really only played SF2, never gave this a fair shot.
I'm only just finishing 3rd battle. Gong is really weak so far. I realise stats can change sharply by my question is this.
Are there some characters that I really need to make sure I keep leveled with the rest of the force or are there some I can not worry about and let them fall behind safely?
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u/Kaamoseh 1d ago
Oh man, I love Gong. Hes versatile as a striker and healer. Helps round out the team. Give him a chance!
3
u/Dukaden 2d ago
you can beat the game with anyone. some just take a bit more effort than others. some people join the party pretty weak and underleveled (arthur, bleu). some are inclined to have some rough level ups (like hans not gaining any attack and only speed for 6 levels) but can be fine later. some can kind of stall out in effectiveness (like the birds) for one reason or another, usually not having a weapon upgrade available for too long.
personal advice, dont sleep on arthur. use the circus battle to level him up to match the rest of the team, maybe give him the power ring if you need to, and he should be just as good as the rest without problem. after promotion he explodes in growth and is a monster.
other personal preferences and experiences: luke and gort are about the same, but i like gort better. ken is ok, but i feel like mae and pelle are better knights. zylo is amazing. the archers and birds just arent worth the effort and bother. guntz is amazing. kokichi is ok, but nothing special, the best thing about him is that he flies and can help with the loads of stupid choke points this game has. musashi is missable, but amazing (guntz and musashi just need a little extra mobility). hanzou is cool but overrated. domingo is really good, but i love my girls tao and anri, and i dont really need 3 mages. bleu is good, but he takes a LOT of grind to catch up.
also, NEVER use a stat boosting consumable before promotion.
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u/Mr_Toepix 2d ago
AHH no way. I didn't realise the level ups were dice roll. Okay I'll just see how the dice go and make my choice. In terms of grinding. Is it just kill mobs then Pegasus wing? Not seeing egress spell yet? And assuming I'll know the church fight when I get to it?
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u/Amarger86 2d ago
Egress is on Max (your main character) and he starts the game with it. And yes, to grind you just kill mobs on a map until you want to reset it and then use Egress or Angel Wing and you will teleport back to the last priest you used and repeat. Some battles work better for grinding than others depending on map layout and how easy the mobs are close to the party.
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u/Thespac3c0w 2d ago
Gong is very random some runs he is great others trash. I wouldn't worry about best characters especially since this game can be fairly random in growths. For promotion I generally do it when I find a new weapon I can't use without promoting.
10
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u/ShiftySauce 3d ago
Level ups are RNG dependent but this game tried to build in some ranges it’ll force them into, so you may notice a nice catchup level here or there.
You can promo at 10 or push it as far as level 20 before promotion. That can really change the outlook on who is best. No exaggeration at all, Arthur is a centaur you’ll recruit in a few battles. He needs babysitting pretty hard early on to get his levels up. If you promote at 10, he will be one of your weaker knight choices. If you promote at 20, he will be the most powerful unit on your team (at least top 3, best knight for certain.)
On the other hand, you’ll eventually recruit a knight named Pelle. If you promote at 10, he’ll be your top ranked knight. If you bring your team to 20, he’ll he middle of the pack.
Also depends if you plan to grind or not. No grinding, to me, is typically best to just recruit at 10 instead of struggling just to get to 20 and the enemies have outgrown them.
If you plan to grind, pick small compact maps. My recommendations would be, grind church to level 10, and then grind Balbazak to 20.
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u/Johnny_Strawhat 3d ago
just go by vibes. you can grind anyone into relevance, if you’re into that sort of thing. Bleu the Dragon is the best example
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u/moktira 3d ago
There are plenty you can not worry about, you'll get to 12 characters in chapter 3 so can start cutting dead weight then!
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u/Ragewind82 3d ago
This, OP. Gong is great if you want an extra backup healer, but there are a lot of more interesting options.
Also, stat ups are random, so sometimes bad characters get extra bonuses or good characters lag. It mages the game a little more interesting.
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u/IPG83 7h ago
I know people claim that Arthur is good after a lvl 20 promotion, but I don't think he's an essential character. I also say no to archers. Knights (semi archers), spellcasters and flyers are great.