For those curious, behold the retinue I took into the final battle for Revenge of the Seven:
First and foremost, we have Wilug. My Final Emperor. One man weapon-platform:
For those who have not played Revenge of the Seven, something important to know is that the Final Emperor is busted. It’s more or less impossible to build them poorly. You’d have to deliberately use weapons they have 0 proficiency in and they’d still probably catch up. So I decided my lad would be best served as general DPS. Greatswords for the Dayblade because I wanted to use the cool magic sword and Bows because I’d used them enough with my Ranger (F) Emperor that they were incredibly strong. Plus Stunner and Barrage Shot are very useful. Restoration for party heals, Flash Fire for magical nuking, and we’ve got a good allrounder. Fujin Blade kinda ended up useless though.
Moving on, the local vanguard Brokkr:
I picked up Imperial Blacksmith when I first unlocked it and fell in love. None of the other principally axe-wielding classes struck me that well and I appreciate the Staff proficiency for its utility — Headblow is an mvp tech and Nutcracker was nice for softening up tough enemies. Her magic is kinda useless, but it is what it is. An emergency Light Wall user is helpful in a pinch. Plus, I like Smithy a lot as an ability. Maximizing heavy armor efficiency on top of Lightweight from Light Infantry (M) made her a very sturdy striker. Resplendence might’ve been more worthwhile somewhere else, but… Eh. I liked having it on her given the raw power she could wield in a Reverse Delta.
Third in line, we have Tsubaki, the principal physical damage dealer (kind of; she’s not that much better than Brokkr):
Why Ninja? Simple: I met Azami and fell in love. She’s probably the most charming, silly character in the game and I knew I was going to use Ninja in just about every party from then on. I am sad Tsubaki’s haircut isn’t as nice, but… That said, Ninja is a very useful class. She’s quick, she’s funny, she wins me lots of money. Doubling up on Greatswords was kind of less than optimal, but… They’re effective. Good elemental coverage and having someone besides the Final Emperor to use Flowing Slash was nice. Then with her Speed, she could seriously lay the smackdown with Martial Arts. That Guanyin is nothing to sneeze at. Again, her magic is basically useless, but the emergency Lightwall is good — especially on someone so fast — and Heat Hand offered something of coverage she could use well with her Martial Arts. I probably didn’t need Heat Hand and Dual Gunner, but… Oh well. In any case, Analysis is a super useful skill for a striker and with Imperial Guard (M)’s Critical Striker and Martial Artist’s Tech Damage, she could put out some serious numbers.
Moving on, the all-star support caster, Amphitrite:
So basically what happened here is that I needed a sea-faring Emperor to explore the Comroon Strait. I didn’t have Corsair as an option, so I thought maybe the literal aquatic being might count. Imagine my disappointment. But on the other hand, her good Dexterity meant she could pick up the Bow and Short-sword skills my Ranger (F) Emperor passed down. And she was perhaps my best Emperor, Final Emperor aside. Amphitrite was never quite the damage dealer her predecessor was, but she could do some good control between Glamour Blade and Stunner with Corrupter fueling them. Plus Elixir and Lightwall made her indispensable in keeping the party alive. I probably could’ve removed Snake Shot, but hey. Sometimes you really need to kill a frog.
Finally, we have ‘just kinda there’, Liza:
So. What happened here? You see, I never really used Light Infantry (F) all that much in my playthrough. She’s just a bit too jack-of-all-trades for my tastes. Even Swift Combatant is kind of mediocre as skills go. Nice if it procs, can sometimes bypass the detriments of heavy armor, but too unreliable to, well, rely on. Why, then, did I use her in my final retinue? If I were to give a well reasoned answer, it’s that I wanted someone who could tank with swords to fuel Auto-parry. But at the same time, I needed someone with good Lance levels to fill that niche and use the Lance of Ukom I’d made with my first piece of Avalonia. Which led me to Light Infantry (F). If I were to be honest, it’s that I really, really like her design. I mean, look at that tailcoat. The boots, the armor, even that dumb JRPG armored-headband you see all the time. It just works so well. So I tried to make her work and she kinda didn’t. If I were to do it again, I’d probably go for either Levante Guard or Court Mage (F). Maybe Imperial Guard (F), since Tough Skin can help tank somewhat. Light Infantry (M) would probably be the best option, since I actually built him up, but then I couldn’t put Lightweight on Brokkr, so…
And there you have it. Is this a good party? Probably not. I mean, heck, I’m using Witch’s Cap which probably isn’t a very good formation in the first place. But it’s the party I ended with and I’ll stick by it. Mostly.