Hello and welcome to my first FE Warriors character guide. This time, I’ll be covering the twin royals of Aytolis: Rowan and Lianna.
| Stat | Value |
|---|---|
| HP | 977 |
| Str | 108 |
| Mag | 87 |
| Skl | 135 |
| Spe | 141 |
| Lck | 135 |
| Def | 118 |
| Res | 114 |
Rowan’s stats are balanced across the board, which is to be expected from a protagonist. His bulk is very solid, He’s got great skill, speed, and luck, and while his offenses are on the lower side when compared to the whole cast, they are still solid.
Always
Enliron/Faccina, comes with Beastslayer free in 7th slot, True Power in 8th
Potent Potion: When this unit heals with medicine, nearby units are also healed.
Str/Skill/Luck (+5 if A/A+, otherwise +3)
| Stat | Value |
|---|---|
| HP | 940 |
| Str | 96 |
| Mag | 109 |
| Skl | 134 |
| Spe | 130 |
| Lck | 134 |
| Def | 114 |
| Res | 130 |
Lianna has a very similar stat spread to Rowan, losing some points in most stats for higher Resistance and Magic. As such, Topsy-Turvy is a must for her. Otherwise, she is extraordinarily well balanced.
Always
Enrilon/Faccina, comes with Beastslayer free in 7th slot, True Power in 8th
Live to Serve: Then this unit heals an ally with a staff, this unit is also healed the same amount.
Str/Skill/Luck (+5 if A/A+, otherwise +3)
C1: The unit slashes in an X formation repeatedly, hitting enemies in front. Pressing X multiple times extends the duration of the slash. This combo has some use as a stun gauge killer, but is wholly outclassed in that regard by C5.
C2: The unit spirals upward, carrying up any nearby enemies. The unit can press Y a few times on the way down for some extra light attacks, or X again to slam down on the ground. This combo is… meh. Launchers are nice, but since Rowan/Lianna also goes up, they can’t use this to juggle. However, a paired up ally can use it to juggle if you switch while the enemy is in midair. This takes practice, and the enemy having an exposed stun gauge makes it easier to pull off.
C3: The unit spins a few times and then slashes forward. This is a solid area clearer, but overshadowed by C4 and C6.
C4: The unit throws their shield around them in a circle of light, which then pushes outward in a moderate AoE, revealing the stun gauge on any unit that doesn’t have WTA over them. In the early game, this is not only a utility move, but also their best crowd clearer. C6 outdoes it as a crowd clearer and general damage dealer, however, so it ultimately finds its niche in revealing the stun gauge.
C5: The unit jabs forward a few times with their sword, and then launches themselves and enemies in front into the air, where they have the same options as detailed in C2. This is their best stun gauge breaker. A raw C5 on an axe (or lance, if using Antitriangle) breaks the stun gauge right before the launcher. C5 will also break a white gauge exposed by C4 most of the time, provided that you hit each regular attack leading into C5.
C6: The unit slashes 4 times with a long blade of light, and ends with a large horizontal slash. This attack can be aimed slightly after beginning it. This is your bread and butter crowd clearer. The range on the 5th slash is pretty huge, and this combo just does a lot of damage in general. Sadly, C6 does not break any kind of full stun gauge, as units caught do hit the ground during the combo.
C5 and C6 are your bread and butter combos that you’re going to be using for just about everything, so definitely boost those up. Rainstorm is great on pretty much anyone, and Rowan is no exception.
For your second slayer skill, it’s really your call. I listed them in what I consider to be most useful to least. Wingslayer and Plateslayer turn two bad matchups (Pegasus Knights and Armor Knights) into winning ones, while having the added bonus of doing effective damage vs Wyvern Riders and Great Knights. Mountslayer is a solid option if you aren’t running that on anyone else/can’t seem to pull Wing or Plate, and Dracoslayer, while useful, is a little unnecessary with all of the Falchion users. For your 5k skill, it comes down to preference and convenience. These three are the most consistently useful. From what I have read, Pair Up+ provides a 20% damage bonus to everything, including Warrior specials, while in Pair Up. The other two don’t rely on being paired up, but they are more limited in scope.
Your last slot is basically filler. C4 is largely outclassed as an area clearer by C6, though since it exposes stun gauges for neutral matchups you will probably wind up using it a decent amount. Antitriangle is a pretty neat skill that you definitely want on a few of your sword units, and since Rowan has the slot space for it, it’s worth consideration. If you choose to run Anittriangle, opt for Mountslayer over Plateslayer. Awaken Gift is kind of mediocre but it’s by far the best of the 2k skills and it can be useful to build up Awakening on maps with a lot of neutral matchups.
Seeing as Lianna is basically the same as Rowan, their weapon builds are going to be pretty similar. However, there are some key differences. The most notable is that Lianna does not share Rowan’s flexible 6th slot, instead opting for Topsy-Turvy to take advantage of her high magic stat. On related note, Topsy-Turvy means that Wingslayer has an edge over Plateslayer for her, given that Pegasi have extremely high resistance. Everything else has been covered already in Rowan’s weapon set.
| Skill | Hero | PC | AI |
|---|---|---|---|
| Astra | Ryoma | M | M |
| Luna | Chrom | M | M |
| Trample | Camilla | M | M |
| Armored Blow | Tiki | O | – |
| Pass | Lyn | O | – |
| Luck +20 | Celica | O | – |
| Str +10 | Lissa | O | O |
| Live To Serve | Lianna | O | O |
| Aegis | Xander | O | O |
| Pavise | Frederick | O | O |
| Sol | Cordelia | – | O |
Astra (Ryoma), Luna (Chrom, Trample (Camilla)
Armored Blow (Tiki), Pass (Lyn), Luck+20 (Celica), Str +10, Live to Serve (Lianna), Aegis (Xander), Pavise (Frederick)
Live to Serve (Lianna), Str +10 (Lianna), Aegis (Xander), Pavise (Frederick), Sol (Cordelia)
| Skill | Hero | PC | AI |
|---|---|---|---|
| Astra | Ryoma | M | M |
| Luna | Chrom | M | M |
| Trample | Camilla | M | M |
| Armored Blow | Tiki | O | – |
| Pass | Lyn | O | – |
| Luck +20 | Celica | O | – |
| Mag +10 | Leo | O | O |
| Live To Serve | Lianna | O | O |
| Aegis | Xander | O | O |
| Pavise | Frederick | O | O |
| Sol | Cordelia | – | O |
Astra (Ryoma), Luna (Chrom), Trample (Camilla)
Armored Blow (Tiki), Pass (Lyn), Luck +20 (Celica), Mag +10 (Leo), Live to Serve (Lianna), Aegis (Xander), Pavise (Frederick)
Live to Serve (Lianna), Mag +10 (Leo), Aegis (Xander), Pavise (Frederick), Sol (Cordelia).
In conclusion, Rowan and Lianna are solid all around units. Since they are allowed in most character-restricted maps, they effectively run a monopoly on the Beastslayer skill. There is really no reason to run it on anyone else considering their availability. In my opinion, Lianna has a slight edge over Rowan, being one of the few sword units to make good use of Topsy-Turvy. As I said earlier though, they are basically the same, so unless you need a magic sword user for whatever reason either one will do the trick. Be sure to run a different slayer on each of them to further differentiate the two.