Information regarding the 'Est' character

Est is a unit in the Fire Emblem series who appears in Fire Emblem: Ankoku Ryuu to Hikari no Tsurugi and in Book 1 of Fire Emblem: Monshou no Nazo. She appears earlier in Book 2, as well. Fire Emblem (Japanese: ファイアーエムブレム) is a popular strategy and role-playing video game franchise, developed by Intelligent Systems, and published by Nintendo. ...

There are many units in the Fire Emblem series who are retconned from the original 'Est' character. 'Est' characters, including Est herself, are primarily regarded as useless and weak. Most 'Est' characters come at a very low level, either in the beginning of the game or (mainly) near the end of the game. The 'Est' character starts out with very low statistics, particularly Strength/Magic and Defense, to trick newbies into thinking that they are weak and therefore are not supposed to be used much. For example, Nino, a young mage with a strange past, joins Eliwood and company in Fire Emblem: Rekka no Ken. She is a level 5 mage with seemingly low stats compared to those of other units, but that's because she is naturally lower in level. Whereas Oswin, your General, who is at level 10 (which is actually 30, if he was raised to level 20 at first then promoted and advanced another 10 levels), can smite anybody with a single blow, Nino, a level 5 mage (an unpromoted class), could barely scratch enemies! The level difference between Oswin and Nino would be, in this example, 25 levels. The fact that 'Est' Characters join late usually leads them to be abandoned by the user.

Generally, 'Est' characters have a very good growth rate in all departments, making them extremely powerful fighters if raised.

Some 'Est' characters

-Est: Described earlier in the thread.

-Nino: A young girl who works in the Black Fang. Only 14 years of age, she has made friends with other members of the Black Fang, such as the swordmaster Lloyd and the hero Linus. Her parents died defending her while Sonia, the leader of the Black Fang who pretends to be Nino's mother, killed them. Now, she only has a few friends left, counting Legault, a thief formerly known as the Hurricane amongst the Black Fang, and Jaffar, The Angel of Death and one of the Four Fangs. Nino is recruited by Eliwood in Eliwood's story, and by Hector in Hector's story of Fire Emblem: Rekka no Ken. She is used to convince Jaffar to join up as well in the same stage, with much caution. The Black Fang is a group of assassins in the game Fire Emblem who Lyndis, Eliwood, and Hector battle. ...

-Farina: A pegasus knight of Ilia who loves money. She holds a position in Strongwings, a battalion of Pegasus Knights from Ilia, and has two sisters. Loud and often rude, she barges into conversation with Hector in Hector's story of Fire Emblem: Rekka no Ken. She can be recruited for 20,000 gold pieces, and her recruitment is up to the user. She comes in chapter 25, Crazed Beast, in Hector's story only. She can marry Hector if the two support to an 'A'. She is the best pegasus knight in that game, even though she only comes as a level 10 pegasus knight.

-Ross: An energetic young boy from the village of Ide (Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones). He longs to be a great, well-respected warrior like his father, the former warrior Garcia. Ross is the first of 3 underdog trainee units to join Princess Eirika's entourage, and he comes with the Hatchet, a one-of-a-kind axe. You can recruit Ross by rescuing him with Vanessa, then have Eirika talk to him. His stats are very bad at first, but since he begins as a level 1 Journeyman, he grows for 9 levels at an alarming rate (If he just scores damage on an opponent, he gets around 30 experience; the same amount as if another unit defeats an enemy altogether!), then when he becomes a level 10 Journeyman, he can become either a Fighter or a Pirate. Finally, when he continues and gains another 19 levels, he can class-up again, and the choices are based on whether he is a Fighter or a Pirate. Ross joins early for an 'Est' character, but counts as one of the game's three 'Est' characters anyway. He also gets abnormally high luck for an Axe user, and he is probably the best axe user in the game with the exception of Gerik. When he has enough experience as a Fighter or Pirate, Ross can upgrade into a Hero or Warrior if he is a Fighter (Hero Crest), or a Berserker or Warrior if he is a Pirate (Ocean Seal). If Eirika's and Ephraim's routes are both completed in two separate files (the files do not have to be in save slots anymore), then Ross and the other 2 trainees can become super trainees. When going through the game a third time, and when Ross reaches a level 10 Journeyman, you can promote him to the Journeyman class again! He gains everything he should from the promotion except for constitution, and his movement increases by 1 space. As level 20 Journeyman, Ross can turn into a Hero or a Journeyman again. If you select Journeyman, his stats can now cap at higher levels (above 20) and he gets another 1 space added to his movement. The biggest surprise is the 15% extra critical rate that he obtains. He can only use axes, though, but he is great as a Journeyman when completely classed-up.

-Amelia: A young girl from Silva, a village in Grado (Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones). She is a new Recruit, and the second underdog trainee to join your army. She is a lance user and comes with a Slim Lance and a Speedwing. Amelia lost both of her parents in the war started by Grado, and because she wanted to able to protect herself, she joined the Grado army at once. Known well for stumbling and bumbling everywhere, she eventually gets the hang of things. She can be recruited in both siblings' paths: In Eirika's first solo mission at Port Kiris, have either Eirika or Franz talk to her when she shows up. In Ephraim's first solo mission at Fort Rigwald, open the gate and wait for Amelia to come down to the entrance to the fort. You must use Franz to convince her to join your side. Amelia can marry her recruiter, Franz, through support. She can also marry the other trainees, Ross and Ewan. Just like Ross, Amelia can become a super unit. With a rediculous growth rate, she can become a Cavalier, Knight or Recruit again, then a Paladin or Great Knight if she was a Cavalier (Knight Crest). If she was a Knight, she can become a General or a Great Knight (Knight Crest). If she follows the super Recruit pathway, use a Knight Crest on her when she is a high-level Recruit to upgrade her into either a Paladin or a Recruit again. As a super Recruit, Amelia can cap her stats at higher levels, and she gains an additional 15% Critical rate like Ross does. She is the closest to being a Swordmaster in this state, as she can get 30 Skill and 28 speed, and also because she has the extra critical like a swordmaster gets, although not quite as much. See Nabarl for more details on swordmasters and myrmidons. The introduction of this article does not provide enough context for readers unfamiliar with the subject. ...

Ewan: A young Pupil and a sage-in-training, Ewan is a hyperactive, eager kid who can use Anima magic (Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones). He is Tethys' younger brother, and also the third of the trainees to be recruited. He is known for playing tricks on others, but mostly due to jealousy. He wants to be a Sage like his teacher, Saleh, but he will surpass even Saleh if raised. Being the only trainee to use magic, Ewan can be either easier or harder to raise. He can attack from afar, and yet his low Defense factor (which starts out at 0) and HP can get him easily killed. At level 10, he can become a Mage, Shaman, or Pupil again (3rd time through the game only). When he is leveled up high enough, use a Guiding Ring on him so he can become a Sage or Mage Knight as a Mage, a Summoner or Druid as a Shaman, or a Sage or Pupil as a Pupil. As a super Pupil, Ewan gains the ability to use Anima, Light, and Dark magic, as well as higher stat caps than 20.

Florina

• Florina is a pegasus knight of Ilia in Fire Emblem: Rekka no Ken. She joins early in the game as a level 1 pegasus knight who is terrified of men and archers. Most consider her to be weak and pathetic, but she can grow to be a very strong unit. There is controversy over whether Florina is an 'Est' character along with Farina, her sister, and Nino.

'Est' characters vs. 'Jeigan' characters

'Est' characters are the exact opposite to the Jeigan character of the Fire Emblem series. While 'Est' characters are low-level, normal-class units that have low stats and high growth rates, 'Jeigan' characters are higher-level, upgraded units with higher stats but horrible growth rates. Typically, 'Est' characters are regarded as a huge improvement over 'Jeigan' characters. An archetype in the Fire Emblem series, a Jeigan is a character who is prepromoted, and introduced at the beginning of the game. ...

Other links relating to Fire Emblem characters:

• Oguma
• Nabarl
• Jeigan