I'm going to teach all of you how to debate Fire Emblem. ^_^

[Swordsalmon]

Alright, I really want to see more FE discussion here, so why not a tutorial on debating?

If you read this, please do try out debating. I trust you shall find it quite fun and good for the mind. I hope this article will prove decently useful. ^_^

The first thing in this is: Who are you debating with? This could be any discussion, or an organized debate between characters or teams. Tier lists cause much debating. However, this is for the organized character debates. Here are some general rules to follow.

1. Most debates are about three posts per debater. No double-posts, and the second posts hold the most weight.
2. Choose a character within the chosen Tier-such as Vanessa VS Lute, as both are top tier.
3. No flaming at each other, unless it's obviously playful.
4. Show good, logical points. If you say "Raven has good Strength", make sure to back it up with facts.
5. Typically the hardest mode of the game is used, along with ranks. The exception is FE9 Maniac Mode.
6. Level-ups are typically 1.5 per chapter. As such, you should never compare character levels "fairly", in a sense. In Seth VS Franz, you don't compare level 1 Seth to level 20/1 Franz. Realistically, Seth would of gained multiple levels by the time Franz promotes. Make sure to note stuff like that.
7. Most importantly, have fun! Video games are serious business, but not totally serious.

When determining how good a character is, think of these.
1. Stats-How high are this character's stats in comparison to anyone else's and the enemies? This is a reason Marcus is usually considered good; his stats are much better than anyone else's for a good part of the game, killing many enemies in one round.
2. Supports-What affinity is my character? Who does he support? How fast are supports? What bonuses come? Supports are extremely important, as a good character becomes great with them, and generally all the best characters have good supports (Miledy is the sole exception for the GBA FEs).
3. Usefullness-How does this character benefit the team? Joining times, special weaponry or other utilities fall into this. For example, Matthew. He's considered very good due to having Lyn's mode to train, giving a level advantage. Then, Matthew steals many good items, including the ever-important Silver Card.

Here is a list of websites that proved incredibly useful in debating Fire Emblem.
http://fea.fewiki.net/
This site has average stats for most games. You'll learn to love it.

http://serenesforest.net/
Tons of information on stuff like calculations and other stuff.

http://www.eaichu250.superbusnet.com/index.php
Another general information site. Not as good as Serenes Forest, but they've a list of pre-calculated support bonuses.

http://z11.invisionfree.com/Fire_Emblem_Fusion/index.php
Check some of these topics. This forum has quite a bit of good debates for reading and also a topic of HM and HHM bonuses.

[Kiroshima]

I acknowledge support kinda now, because Colm and Vanessa are good examples of characters who really benefit from Anima, which is definitely awesome.  (Although unfortunately, Colm isn't Anima himself, whereas Vanessa IS)

Seth wouldnt necesarily gain that many levels, because of Jeigan-itis he gets EXP penalty.  He has great growths though, but I believe Franz/Seth would even out in the long run, especially since Franz comes in early too.  I'd say...not until after Burning Sands would Seth actually grow decently to even up with Franz.

How do you govern weapons?  If the character has a legend weapon unique to them, does that factor in?
EX: Ike and Ragnell, or Ephraim and Reginleif/Siegfried (or w/e it is called)?  Or is it iron all?

So situation also has an effect?  Like if there are mostly one unit type over another (and therefore weapon)?  Seems kinda unfair.

For FE8, stat items should apply, because they are EXTREMELY expensive, and even 4k takes a chunk out of ruins pay.  After all, you earn the money to buy them buy slaughtering all 10 floors worth of nasty monsters.  Also, you could factor in who you would give items to first, since certain characters might have a priority over others.  (Like easiest to cap out, like Ewan Summoner or Knull Summoner, obviously Cap Ewan first since he will be closer, and thus cost less).  Besides, only extreme completionists would class change and cap EVERY character.

You forget BEXP for FE9/10, although I don't like the FE10 system, it is still the main thing I think.
Mia vs Zihark for example.

Am I missing anything?

[PhoenixTears]

Oh lols... learning to debate fire emblem. =P
I read it... but not really interested...
I'm more into debating real world topics. I'll leave Fire Emblem to the experts.

[Swordsalmon]

I acknowledge support kinda now, because Colm and Vanessa are good examples of characters who really benefit from Anima, which is definitely awesome.  (Although unfortunately, Colm isn't Anima himself, whereas Vanessa IS)

Seth wouldnt necesarily gain that many levels, because of Jeigan-itis he gets EXP penalty.  He has great growths though, but I believe Franz/Seth would even out in the long run, especially since Franz comes in early too.  I'd say...not until after Burning Sands would Seth actually grow decently to even up with Franz.

How do you govern weapons?  If the character has a legend weapon unique to them, does that factor in?
EX: Ike and Ragnell, or Ephraim and Reginleif/Siegfried (or w/e it is called)?  Or is it iron all?

So situation also has an effect?  Like if there are mostly one unit type over another (and therefore weapon)?  Seems kinda unfair.

For FE8, stat items should apply, because they are EXTREMELY expensive, and even 4k takes a chunk out of ruins pay.  After all, you earn the money to buy them buy slaughtering all 10 floors worth of nasty monsters.  Also, you could factor in who you would give items to first, since certain characters might have a priority over others.  (Like easiest to cap out, like Ewan Summoner or Knull Summoner, obviously Cap Ewan first since he will be closer, and thus cost less).  Besides, only extreme completionists would class change and cap EVERY character.

You forget BEXP for FE9/10, although I don't like the FE10 system, it is still the main thing I think.
Mia vs Zihark for example.

Am I missing anything?

Well, Colm is Light though, which is almost the same as Anima. Both are excellent affinities.

Seth does kill the majority of the bosses, so he does level at nearly the same pace as everyone else. It's very close with FranzxSeth, though.

It depends. For example, the Sacred weapons would apply only for the final few chapters, such as Ike w/ Ragnell. If you can use a weapon, they are allowed to use it. Example would be Percival having Silver weapons while Alan would use a weaker weapon, probably. Percival doesn't cut as much into Funds with the promotions, whereas Alan loses 10k. Also, higher weapon levels. ^_^

It depends on their usefullness in-game. People like Nino's entire purpose is for boosting Experience, but is absolutly terrible otherwise, correct?

Stat items and CC usually don't apply. It's too easy to abuse and promotes favouritism.

Well, BEXP would count in a standard debate, as it's earned. ^_^ Probably like, 1.5 levels extra are given for BEXP.

[Kiroshima]

You can't buy stat items until CC, and then there is only one way to earn the cash, so it is essentially the same as BEXP, minus the actual points.  Sure, Silver Card cuts it down to 4k, but seriously, going through the Ruin's 10 floors is NOT easy business, and it is the only way to make good money.  You do get more powerful characters than BEXP, but more work is involved, it only seems fair for FE8 characters.  (Do not compare too much between games?)  Those dracozombies are NOT friendly to one's health, since they IGNORE YOUR DEF, it always bugged me.  Really, I hate that, a LOT.

Seth kills majority of bosses?  Since when?  I use Eirika (with Support with Seth) to easily kill those Armor bosses at start, and later your other characters can easily work together to take later bosses down.

So dancers/bards (if there are bards) are either great or useless? (But Herons are fantastic though)

((Lol, mostly debating FE8 here, answer and I'll stop so you can continue the lesson xD))