The SWORDMASTER Problem.

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In this video I break down why Swordmaster is an rough class.

#fireemblem #fireemblemengage #feengage

[cowei]

The only game in the series where I can't justify going swordmaster on anybody. Removing the crit bonus from Swordmaster and Berserker was a stupid idea.

[VangolaGear]

I think this is more of a problem of locking the cooler class skills behind lord classes or Engage Attacks. For instance, one of the things that Swordmaster was known for besides being a crit machine was Astra, but that’s locked behind Marth’s Engage Attack (albeit renamed but that’s exactly what it is). Imagine how much better some of the classes would be if they had better class skills.

[marcoasturias]

I really hate how they removed the class bonuses, weapon rank boosts and weapon triangle bonuses. Those things were what defined the SM, halberdiers, Berserkers, the single weapon classes. Without them they're literally worse in what they are supposed to be masters than the mix classes.

[pketr]

Run through should have added crit, since it puts you in danger. Or have it have the override effect for up to 2 enemies or something.

[declanm]

I think Engage also has the problem where S-rank weapons come really late and also are a bit disappointing (usually they’re smash weapons or high weight, and they have absurd upgrade costs that make them pretty unusable). In other games these would be pretty powerful tools that make the classes stand out more, or compensate for things like lower strength

[saggsman]

I do miss the days when having a higher weapon rank actually adds bonus damage to your attack as long as you have the weapon triangle advantage. FE12 did that and it made sense. Like having S rank in swords should allow like +5 attack when using a sword or something with a built in crit like you said. It's just really unfortunate.

[JordiCalcos]

I think the intention with most of the land units was to pair them up together…warriors passive is about attacking broken units but with only axes that’s not happening often…but when paired with a Lance/sword hero they have the weapon triangle and hero wants to assist….sword masters run through sets up pincer attack which can be hard to set up otherwise

[DarkflameEmperor]

Swordmaster feels like it isn't an advanced class sadly.

[deklou-l]

i think the intented goal with run through was to work with pincer attack, because it garantees to be in the right position to trigger it
but if you initiate combat with your swordmaster, why would you need to double with your hallberdier

[Noasphere]

If the legendary weapons were more accessible and cheaper to upgrade then that could be a factor. But you either have to pay like 90k for them or you get them really late. And then they cost so much to upgrade that it just isn't worth it.

[starliyue]

Swordmaster’s greatest asset is the drip 😬
Best outfit for Alear imo

[razorsharp]

This class was insane on the old Fire Emblems. You basically had like a flat 20% Crit even on Iron Swords. It had massive dodge and crit chance, making it a great boss killer. In this version, it's basically inferior to Hero since you'd rather have the ability to use two weapons over the slightly better speed and meh ability.

[ahmadkazan]

Swordmasters got shafted, not even a crit boost, if they have something like adept(which could trigger with chain attacks) would be very fun, not the most reliable but something unique.

[CosmicChris]

The only niche situation I can think of where run through is good, is critting through an enemy, and getting onto an avoid tile. And that is the most situational thing. It works... but you cannot depend on it, especially on maps that don't really allow for that.

[ashenwolf]

This is one of the sad things I noticed about Engage, Swordmaster had nothing standing out for it, which sucks a lot because it was one of my favorite classes in Fates, and Three Houses. In Engage however, it's just well there, even Hero a class that in other FE games had an amazing personal skill in Sol, but wasn't as good as Swordmaster stands out more. They really did this class dirty in this game.

[Or_ange]

The only reason to use a class like swordmaster is if youre cooking something up with a backup Emblem bonus...

To which I'd point out that hero is just about the same but with a better passive and another weapon.... (And I don't even use Hero much myself)

Also I know a lot of people point out the combo of Run Through and Pincer attack... But this is identical to just using two strong units to attack a target...

[maximeminassian]

Swordmaster has pretty much always been pretty mediocre aside from very specific instances like Ryoma because of the absurd bases and Rajinto, or Rutger, because of the abundance of axe ennemies in FE6.

[chrisc]

Swordmaster went from the fastest class, among the most difficult classes to hit, high crit, and overall exciting classes in fire emblem to competing with wyvern knight for speed, no crit, no dodge, and you don’t know what you’re doing if you use it

[Andinus]

I think the reason a lot of units lack identity is because in this game its about how you build them with the emblems. You can make a high crit high avoid sword master with using the right emblems and forging the right weapons.

[dinoson]

in 3H, the indisputable speed of sword master (I know assassin and falcon knight can par them) make them great dodge tank especiall since 3H AI doesn't ignore 0% hit rate like in engage, which make dodge tank in engage alot less attractive in maddening run (they still have usage but not as prelevance as older titles) in 3H, my swordmaster Felix can simply solo 1 route on his own without any support and relax alot of support for other routes (especially those maps with alot of archers, bow knight, and wyvern) and his only requirement is evasion ring and a bush. in Engage, bonded shield strat + other engage ability leads to many more option to enemy phase tank without needing dodge, and even if one need dodge, Corrin thief or bushes just do that much better (and thief is 1-2 range too). I suppose 1 unfortunate thing is timing, swordmaster Marth will be an absolute monster and Marth is not particularly heavily contested but sadly his availability is too narrow (only last few chapters).