Archers/bowfighters throughout the series

[Neofox]

Looking back at old debates, I find it kinda interesting that the popular arguments for claiming that archers are useless (they can't counterattack, they are useless during the enemy phase, front and back lines do not exist, etc.) seem to only apply for some games, but not for others. For example, a debate a while ago regarding FE5 tiers had people insisting that Tanya should go into the bottom tier because archers suck so badly, nevermind that her averages are awesome and her availability is equally good. However, upon debating tiers for FE7, Rebecca and Wil, despite suffering the same problem, go into decently-levelled tiers because their stats and availability are good. Perhaps there's something in this I'm missing, but I don't quite understand it...

Since we're going to get into some serious number crunching and debating here, I shall point out how archers have been throughout the series:

FE1: Dodge is practically non-existant. Indirect attacks are highly welcome for this reason.

FE2: See above, only now archers can counter at close-range for some reason.

FE3: See FE1.

FE4: You can bring everyone into each chapter. There's no reason not to use everyone.

FE5: The first game people argue that units locked to bows are horrible. To get into some specifics, Tanya and Roberto are particularly useful (Roberto especially for hit-and-run ability), Selfina is okay, and Ronan sucks but is not unsalvagable. Scrolls and manuals make everyone awesome, so I don't see how you could say that anyone is useless in this game unless you really can't stand the class.

FE6: Perhaps it's just me, but maps tend to be more narrow in this game. As such, blocking off an archer is not difficult, attacking over walls is always welcome since there's a lot of indoor chapters where you'll have the opportunity to do so, and Bern's ever-existing presance means tons of dracoknights to arrow down. I really think archers are underrated in this game, especially since using them doesn't take any more skill than any decent player has.

FE7: Not much has changed from FE6 aside from less dracoknights, yet people seem to think that archers are now suddenly worth using. Still, Rebecca is hard to hit, Wil can take a few hits, and Louise is in-between, so there's no real terrible ones here.

FE8: Everyone is good here. Even Innes takes out dragon zombies with ease.

FE9: Much like the first 3 games, nobody seems to be able to dodge here until near the end of the game. Indirect attacks are welcome once again, not to mention that both Rolf and Shinon have some pretty stellar durability compared to archers of old.

FE10: Marksmen. Crossbows. Enough said.

Looking at a general overview like this, I fail to see how archers are as terrible as people make them out to be.

[Lord Fuckboy]

FE1/3's lack of ability to dodge actually rectifies the bow user's lack of direct attack; melee fighters have to consistently stay alive in the frontlines whereas Archers don't have this problem.  Why?  They're not counterattacking or killing.

FE4 had Jamka and Bridget, both amazing archers/snipers.  And eventually Faval, who is a beast with Holyn or Dew as his father.  Lester isn't bad with the right dad (also, hit and run and probably being the guy who's using the Hero's Bow), and Mideel's alright for hit and run I suppose.

For FE5, I've heard it was the lack of ability to capture that caused people to shy away from Archers.  But even regardless, they can help weaken enemies to allow you to capture them easier so I don't even see that point.

No comment on FE6; Shin and Sue were mainly shat on because of the fact that leveling them up made you go to Sacae.  Wolt's bases are actually worse than the enemy Archer's stats, and I'm in little room to judge with Dorothy.

FE9's Rolf and Shinon weren't too hot.  Shinon had amazing growths but shitty bases, and Rolf came in later with decent growths.  These faults shy me away from both, and aren't worth using because of that.  Not only that, but there's no EXP rank that Rolf is helping patch.

Astrid's a different story; she can use axes after promotion.

FE10 is where Shinon and Rolf shine; Leonardo can't really do that much good due to his Speed lagging (even despite Lugnasadh's +5 Speed, he'll be behind throughout most of Part I ).  Astrid sucks though, that you cannot deny.

[camus the dark knight]

Archers can be quite useful when used strategically, however in the newer games they don't have a lot going for them to make them as useful as their older forms, they still have their uses, but they are not as useful.

A quick personal rating on the games archers throughout the series...

FE1: Archers are a nice class here... evasion is nearly non-existent and magic isn't as overpowered as newer games, plus bows are a 1 hit KO to fliers here (they could survive a shot or two on other games), so bows themselves are a nice weapon. Add to the fact only 4 classes can use bows, the archer, sniper, hunter, and horseman. The sniper class is a very powerful class boasting very high skill and speed in FE1 as well as nice strength, defense, and HP, which in turn makes the archer useful, because the only way to acquire the godly sniper is through the archer...

FE2: You must keep in mind that archers a sort of god class in FE2 such in FE1, because they become mounted for their final promotion as well as have a range of 1-5 with any bow accept the default... and like FE1, magic isn't completely overpowered (more-so then FE1, but still not fully) and evasion isn't too high (although better then FE1).

FE3: Well magic is more powered now (although mages with weak magic growth helps this), and evasion is also higher (but still somewhat low), bows still hold a use. Plus snipers are still a "god" class, so that's another plus for the archers.

FE4: Mounted archers can promote now, which in turns hurts the archers/bow fighters, however, bow fighters and snipers still retain nice stats as well as the pursuit skill, this keeps them in the lead in my opinion, but the mounted bow users are getting closer... Oddly they have an unused archer class (bow soldier), but it's like other soldiers classes and has sub-par stats.

FE5: And here is when it happens, archers become surpassed by mounted bow users, but not by too much. Reason being, they lost their awesome stats, still alright, but the whole 20 cap thing got the stats closer together (FE1/3 still had it, but still retained a variation).

FE6: Now archers are hit even harder, they have had their stats lowered even more, and their mounted competition, the nomad, has far better stats and the ability to use swords, really outclassed.

FE7: Not much is different from FE6, nothing else to say really...

FE8: Well the archer is now really the only non-promoted bow user, so it gets points for that. But after promotion, the ranger is a clone of the nomadic trooper and the sniper is no different accept it's sure-shot ability, which isn't enough to make up for the rangers advantages.

FE9: Mounted bow user is the bow knight/paladin now, so it has less stats in skill in speed then the ranger/nomad which makes life easier for the archer, however the archer is slightly better then the GBA archer, but not enough to beat the awesome FE9 paladin...

FE10: Finally the archer is back to useful, they have gotten rather nice stats back and can compete with mounted since mounted are now limited in-doors. Plus there is also the fact they can promote in to the Marksman which gets awesome stats and it's +1 range as well as the deadeye skill. They got their awesomeness back, I would say they are better then their mounted competition here.

[Lord Fuckboy]

FE6: Now archers are hit even harder, they have had their stats lowered even more, and their mounted competition, the nomad, has far better stats and the ability to use swords, really outclassed.

Are you honestly going to be using swords?  Their level starts quite low in a game absolutely dominated by Wyverns with Lances, so you're best off using the Bow.  The mounted advantage - while it's there when needed - is not that big an advantage because you don't want your bow user rushing too far ahead (seeing as you want them protected).

In FE7, Rath comes in a bit too late (but can patch EXP) to be better than Rebecca or Wil, and iirc Rebecca has an affinity that's better than the other Sniper's.  Her support choices aren't bad either; Sain, Raven, Lowen off the top of my head.

[Somewhat Overcooked Cheese]

From what I played...

FE 3: Snipers are pretty much the equivalent with bows of the Heroes, which is a very good thing.  The only disadvantage is training them from Archers, who have really low movement.

Hunters and Horsemen are ok, except there's only Kashim that's really useful ( unless you want to give a Speed Ring and your Manuals to Warren ).  The better strength and movement is nice, and so is the mount after promotion.

FE 4: Like in FE 3, the Sniper is pretty much the bow equivalent of the Hero class, the Forrest.  They get better caps than mounted units in general, but their movement is lower.  This can be somewhat bad in a game where about half of your army ends up mounted.  They also have the innate Pursuit skill, which combined with their naturally high speed leads to a high number of double attacks.

Arch Knights however can promote, and they are in a game where being mounted is a great, better than the other FEs.  They however tend to have lower stats and don't have an innate Pursuit, which can easily doom Lester.

FE 5: Snipers are less present than ever, with only 2 potential Snipers on your side, while on the Arch Knight side, Robert is generally thought to be the best bow unit in the game thanks to his high growths, assuming you give him a few more kills early on.  Stat difference is little, but it's back to a cap of 20 in everything and scroll abuse can eliminate most weaknesses in time.

FE 6-8 ( not that much difference, really ): Now this is where the Nomads and Rangers reign as archery units.  Except maybe FE 7 where Rath is a tough unit to train and the Archers can't make it either.  Basically, the Snipers have lost their insanely high skill and speed they used to have as the "Hero clones" in FE 3 and 4.  And while the Swordmasters and Berserkers picked up a neat critical bonus, they get the wonderful use of...the ballistae!  Nomads, on the other hand, have gained a bit in speed and resistance compared to the FE 3 Horsemen, as well as swords to attack at close range should they need it. FE 8's Sure Strike skill didn't really help in a game where 100% is a piece of cake to get.

FE 9 saw the Snipers finally get a critical boost ( now Halberdiers get nothing on promotion ), but the Bow using Paladins have great stats all around and axes to compensate that.  Not only that, but they had Sol which is one of the best Occults out there, enabling Paladins to stay on the frontlines longer than ever.  It doesn't help that both your own Snipers tend to be difficult to train without some favoritism.

FE 10 broke that.  Bow Paladins saw their stats decreased all around, and their move is even reduced in a few maps.  Sol has also been nerfed, activating with only half Skill%.  To make matters worse, Bow Paladins are restricted to lances at their final tier, and they only get it there while the fliers get their secondary weapon in second tier.  Snipers, on the other hand, have gotten the ability to use Crossbows and fight at short range ( and are especially useful at acquiring goods with Disarm and a thief nearby ).  Crossbows are exceptionally awesome with the "Foe" skills, which triple the might of the weapon equipped, which easily means dead laguz.  The promotion to Marksman grant them the ability to strike without retaliation without the use of costly and rather unuseful Longbows, as well as the Deadeye skill.  A fun fact about it is that it takes 5 less capacity, enabling said Marksman to have 2 15 skills, or a 20-10.  Finally, it also helps that one of the Snipers you get gains great stats all around, has good availability AND is easy to train, something no Silver Knight can claim to have in this game.

[Neofox]

For FE5, I've heard it was the lack of ability to capture that caused people to shy away from Archers.  But even regardless, they can help weaken enemies to allow you to capture them easier so I don't even see that point.

They're also better at killing than most give them credit for.

I'd also like to note that the fact everything caps at 20 in FE5 doesn't mean much, except that they can't suffer from terrible caps compared to everyone else. It doesn't make them any better or any worse than other units.

FE9's Rolf and Shinon weren't too hot.  Shinon had amazing growths but shitty bases, and Rolf came in later with decent growths.  These faults shy me away from both, and aren't worth using because of that.  Not only that, but there's no EXP rank that Rolf is helping patch.

Rolf comes in chapter 9 in a game with 30 chapters. How is that as late? Plus there's BEXP, which makes anyone easy to use.

Astrid's a different story; she can use axes after promotion.

Astrid can use whatever you want after promotion. Axes are generally a good idea since you might not have too many of them on your team, but you make it sound like she doesn't have a choice. Should one have a decent amount of axe-users on the team (there isn't exactly a shortage of good axe-users...), you can survive giving her lances or swords instead.

Astrid sucks though, that you cannot deny.

Astrid is still good, she just takes more work than most of the bow-using units. Hit-and-run is still effective and the fact she has to wait until promotion to use her second weapon isn't that big a deal since she's going to be using bows 90% of the time, anyhow (as do most units with a primary weapon).

FE 3: Snipers are pretty much the equivalent with bows of the Heroes, which is a very good thing.  The only disadvantage is training them from Archers, who have really low movement.

Who are these amazing snipers who can stand up to the likes of Oguma, Navarre, and Raddy?

Most of the FE1-3 snipers are pretty mediocre statistically, but as we all know, raw stats aren't everything. They're still among the most useful units due to being able to avoid the nasty counterattack.

[camus the dark knight]

Are you honestly going to be using swords?  Their level starts quite low in a game absolutely dominated by Wyverns with Lances, so you're best off using the Bow.  The mounted advantage - while it's there when needed - is not that big an advantage because you don't want your bow user rushing too far ahead (seeing as you want them protected).

Now if rushing ahead with bows is a problem, that's what the swords are for  . The dragons are not much of a problem anyway since you got bows (see where this is going?). The main reason is that they have a considerable lead in speed, sword use is just icing on the cake.

In FE7, Rath comes in a bit too late (but can patch EXP) to be better than Rebecca or Wil, and iirc Rebecca has an affinity that's better than the other Sniper's.  Her support choices aren't bad either; Sain, Raven, Lowen off the top of my head.

You do know I am judging the class, not characters in it (because if people like Meg from FE10 have taught us anything, it's that characters are by no means a good example of the classes average abilities).

[Neofox]

Now if rushing ahead with bows is a problem, that's what the swords are for  . The dragons are not much of a problem anyway since you got bows (see where this is going?). The main reason is that they have a considerable lead in speed, sword use is just icing on the cake.

For Shin it's worth considering since he actually has the strength to use them effectively, but Sue is better off just sticking to bows... The fact they must work up from an E doesn't help.

They're like mage knights, really... they can use bows and swords, but you're going to be using them for the bows more than anything in the same way you'll most likely be using mage knights for their magic rather than their swords (not counting the FE8 ones, of course).

[Superbus]

Let me go on record first and foremost by saying that the whole tier ideal is something I inherently disagree with. It's good for those that care about that sort of thing, but it doesn't take into account personal play styles.

And I say that with an intimate knowledge of what I'm talking about here because I'm a huge user of snipers in every game. It really doesn't matter what game it is, I utilize them because I like not having to worry about counter-attacks. The only game where I really don't utilize a classic archer is 6, because Sue and Shin are that much better as characters, but I use them everywhere else. I even use Ronan, damnit!

[Lord Fuckboy]

They're also better at killing than most give them credit for.

I'm talking about them starting out, but Tanya's counter critical is a point in her favor.

Should one have a decent amount of axe-users on the team (there isn't exactly a shortage of good axe-users...), you can survive giving her lances or swords instead.

Personally, I prefer to have more power over weapon diversity; Axes are cheap, and Steel Axes can be used from the get-go so obviously I'd choose that as a secondary and stick to it more often than Bows.

Astrid is still good, she just takes more work than most of the bow-using units. Hit-and-run is still effective and the fact she has to wait until promotion to use her second weapon isn't that big a deal since she's going to be using bows 90% of the time, anyhow (as do most units with a primary weapon).

Astrid disappears for most of the game and doesn't grow much Strength; at least Lucia had Speed and Skill to fall back on.  Astrid will most likely come back being doubled in Ike's chapters and even with Paragon, will only gain about 4-5 levels by then.  Which still won't allow her to do too well.

The dragons are not much of a problem anyway since you got bows (see where this is going?). The main reason is that they have a considerable lead in speed, sword use is just icing on the cake.

Huh?  Most of the enemies in FE6 use Spears, so I don't really see your point.  It's not just Wyverns that you have to watch out for (which Bows do a loads better job covering, btw).

back to homework

[camus the dark knight]

Huh?  Most of the enemies in FE6 use Spears, so I don't really see your point.  It's not just Wyverns that you have to watch out for (which Bows do a loads better job covering, btw).

back to homework

  I think your missing my point, since when has the weapon triangle= an instant win, what with FE6 only 10% bonus it's no big deal considering both nomads will have insane speed (and thus dodge) for dodging it and insane skill (and thus hit) for hitting with them.

And it's not like lances have as high a hit rate as they did in FE7/8 and dragon knights are not exactly a skill friendly class.

Who needs homework?

[Neofox]

It doesn't change that bows are far better for tearing those wyverns to shreds than swords could ever hope to be.

[Lord Fuckboy]

I think your missing my point, since when has the weapon triangle= an instant win, what with FE6 only 10% bonus it's no big deal considering both nomads will have insane speed (and thus dodge) for dodging it and insane skill (and thus hit) for hitting with them.

And it's not like lances have as high a hit rate as they did in FE7/8 and dragon knights are not exactly a skill friendly class.

Looks like my mind's been too much on FE9 and 10 lately.

Though, correct me if I'm wrong but Swords aren't doing that much to the Wyverns anyway (high defense vs the low might of Swords).  Bows are stronger than Swords and do 3x damage so even with melee combat, they aren't doing too hot against them.  Especially since Sue's Strength blows and Shin starts with an E in swords.

*won't let the subject of bows > swords go*

Who needs homework?

[Charliecane]

I don't think Archers are worth using in FE3 for the simple fact that they start out terribly weak. Gordon starts out with relatively poor offensive stats. His offensive abilities remain poor until he promotes, and even then he isn't that great compared to everyone else. Thomas is even worse in this regard. I don't think being able to avoid a counterattack is worth bringing along a character that can barely damage anything that isn't flying. I'd much rather use Kashim, who is actually a fairly powerful character without having to wait for promotion.

FE6 is another game where I tend to avoid Archers. Wolt is more or less Gordon reincarnated except he's even worse. Though I do have to admit that Dorothy isn't as bad as most make her out to be, but I'd still rather use Sue and Shin.

Other than that, I have nothing against Archers or Snipers. If we are to discount Archers because the can't counter at close range, then we'd have to discount Mages as well. Sure mages can counter at a close range, but you would never want them to because of how frail they tend to be. And I don't know about anyone else, but I don't see how people can use Javelins, Hand Axes, and the like as an argument against Archers. Javelins et al have fairly low accuracy and break after only a few uses. They also lack effective damage against flying units as well.

[theshim is the shimiest shim of all the shims that ever shim]

Well, I've only played 4, 6-8, and half of 9 and 10, so my expertise is limited, but...

In 4, You got Jamuka and Brigid.  Two insane units, and no max number per chapter.  And Faval too.  Midale was nothing special, and Lester wasn't going to be the best unit anyway, but they could be useful.

In 6, I avoided the archers and stuck with the nomads.  Wolt was just terrible and Dorothy was none too awesome (plus every single time I play she gets RNG screwed...  ), Igrene was nothing special and Klein's decent growths had a hard time salvaging those terrible bases.  Sue (who I always seem to get blessed with inversely) was pretty good, even if she was a bit weak, and Shin was a solid unit in his own right.  And speaking from the perspective of one who doesn't play ranked runs, and never got that far in HM, Sacae is not as bad as people make it out to be.  Shin and Sue were worth using.

7 gave us Rebecca and Wil for archers, more than making up for 6.  Rebecca was insanely hard to hit with pretty good strength and Wil was stronger and could take more punishment anyway; two very good units, locked to bows or not (but I'll get to that).  Louise was...less than awesome, but usable if you felt like it.  Sadly, I really didn't like using Rath.

8 had the Tower and the Ruins.  It didn't matter who you were, you could still rock.  Add to that the fact that Neimi and Innes were both pretty good (and Gerik as a Ranger was a monster on a horse) and they were awesome.

I only got through half of 9 once at a friend's house and I'm only halfway through 10, and all I have to say is:  Shinon is tasty, and Leonardo is an avatar of suck.

As far as the lack of melee counter making bows suck:  Not.  True.  It does mean that on the enemy phase, if your bow user is out front, they won't kill everyone off, but that is not necessarily a bad thing.  With the ability to shoot over walls and to not get countered by enemy melee units, they have quite a bit of utility.  In 6 (and to a lesser extent 7) there were plenty of flying units to smash out of the air.  And not countering (if you're not doing a ranked run, anyway) can have its uses too.

As far as bows>swords:  For Sue, stick to bows.  Especially against wyvern/dragon knights.  A unit who can switch between bows and a melee weapon is probably better off sticking to the primary weapon except in special cases.

[Lord Fuckboy]

Louise was...less than awesome, but usable if you felt like it.

Admittedly, Auto-A with Pent salvages her a little bit; the boosts aren't good enough to rectify her general average abilities, but it's there if you wish to have a bow user and didn't bother with the others.  And if you're using Pent.

And Musashi; Mages post-FE3 could actually evade once their levels got high enough.  Though, early on indeed are they not frontline material.

[Aori Radidjiu]

Well, since I haven't played 2, 5, or 10 at all, and IMHO haven't played enough of 1, 3, or 6 to really know too much besides first impressions, I'll refrain from opinion on those.

4: Okay, Bowfighters/snipers here are pretty damn good.  Jamka's got that awesome Killer Bow he comes with and can hit quite well, and Bridget and Faval have Ichival so they pwn to the max.  Statwise, the class seems pretty meaty this time around, not how I normally like archers and snipers but this means they can take hits well and their shots hurt pretty badly.  They're hurt a bit by not being mounted like how almost half the cast is.
Now, I don't like Bow Knights much.  Without a Hero Bow, Mideel and Lester aren't that great.  They're just too slow, and Mideel seems to have pretty glassy defenses.  They do a good job of hit-and-run, but can't take a hit.  Or maybe I just underleveled them, I dunno'.
Anyway, I think the Snipers are better here.

7: Competition's kinda' harsh here.  We've got VERY good archers and Snipers in this game, and one good Nomad here.  I'll say right now that I'm rather biased towards Archers, but I'll admit that Nomad Troopers are somewhat better than Snipers.  That being said, Wil, Rebecca, and Louise are VERY good and shouldn't be ignored.  I never really used Rath because he comes so late, but I'll admit that I found enemy Nomads Troopers much more annoying than Snipers.

8: All Archers and Snipers really have going for them is ballistae now, as Sure Shot is USELESS.  I say that Rangers are the winners here, they're pretty impressive.  I've always promoted Neimi to Ranger, honestly. Never really used Innes.  Oddly I almost always used Gerik as a Ranger instead of a Hero, I sorta' dislike Axes.

9: Okay, Rolf and Shinon are quite good, yes.  Astrid's nice, but her defenses are a little too glassy for me, and her Strength's a bit too low. Still, she can support Sothe, which gives her a good boost in my book.  I usually had Oscar use Bows after promotion for the Bow Triangle attack, and he wasn't bad at it, I guess, but I of course used Lances more.

I guess that's all I have to say.  IMHO Snipers are better than their mounted counterparts, but I guess I'm a little biased.

[Haken]

3: Snipers don't really rule the field for me here; I would say that Hunters are far more of a viable choice to slap the responsibility of bows on. I don't really bias against class, so instead I'll focus on the characters.
Gordon sucks crap when he joins. Sure, he's around for longer than Kashim (albeit not by much), his bases are hangmanned, especially his defence which is paper thin. Moreover, Gordon's one of those units that starts-out-weak-but-turns-awesome, but the fact remains he needs to be trained. Kashim on the other hand has very good starting stats and can actualy take a few hit right off the bat from those axe-wielding baddies. His strength is nothing to be laughed at, as I started using him at the chapter when Minerva joins and he KOed a dragon knight in one hit with an iron bow, and he hadn't been trained at all.

4: Snipers are the gods of bows here, yes, but I have to argue that Jamka and Brigid are the only two real overlords. Jamka starts out with great bases and has killer growths and a nice starting weapon to boot. For me, every time I paired him with Aideen, Lester was actually usable. He could KO Zwolf of the Dark Warlords with just a silver bow.
Brigid is awesome for the fact she starts promoted, but is actually a respectable unit and she gets the mighty Ichival. Midir is a bit ick, but we've already seen enough of that. Faval, however does not seem a good sniper to me. His stat gains always turn out the antithesis of what I would expect Snipers to have (21 skill at Lv. 30!), and it doesn't matter who his father is. His bases also don't start out stellar like his mother, as he only had around a 45% chance of hitting Ishtar.

7:To me, the only worthy bow-user was Rebecca. You can use her for a good amount of time (Wil too, but he does not have the field advantage->) and she has actual jeigans and mounted heavyweights who can weaken those axe- wielding thugs far enough for her to beat. Honestly, Marcus with an iron sword/ Eliwood and Lowen= Rebecca finishing bosses. Plus, in Hector mode, there are quite a few more flying units in Ch.s 12- 14, allowing her to shine.

Rath? He comes late, underleveled and has swordmaster caps. This really limits his strength and I find I can't have him get enough speed to really be a usable unit.

9: Rolf= pain to train, though is around longer than Shinon and can potentially turn out better.
Shinon= best archer, but comes late and probably underleveled unless you diverted all exp to him. I don't want to waste enough BEXP to get him up to scratch.

10: Snipers are clearly uber, but I don't understand the bias everyone has against bow/silver knights. Begnion seriously throws a ton of Dracoknights at you (as does Daein) and I find bows to be very usable with them. Shinon's strength cap is lower than a silver knight's and I find it tiresome to rely on critical hits to finish off high defense dragonknights. It seems like a waste to spend Adept on them too, when they can almost always double, just shame they can't always kill.

[Neofox]

9: Rolf= pain to train, though is around longer than Shinon and can potentially turn out better.

He's hard to train? I personally never had an issue thanks to BEXP and, more importantly, that personal bow of his...

Shinon= best archer, but comes late and probably underleveled unless you diverted all exp to him. I don't want to waste enough BEXP to get him up to scratch.

Rolf and Shinon end up fairly equal if we wish to go purely by averages, actually. It's mostly high availability vs high maintenance between the two.

Begnion seriously throws a ton of Dracoknights at you (as does Daein) and I find bows to be very usable with them.

While I agree silver knights are underrated, I must point out that dracoknights are not weak to bows anymore in FE10 (for some stupid reason).

[camus the dark knight]

Anyone remember back in FE1/3 how seeing an enemy sniper on the field made you go "oh god" (save maybe the final chapters).

Anyway, yes bows>swords for them, that's what I was saying, I just meant they have access to swords which snipers don't to use in addition to their bows (which, of course, is the main weapon of theres most of the time).