Toggle Background Color
Ah, Aira. Or Ayra, or Ira, whatever you want to call her. She is...a very hyped up unit. That's mainly due to Meteor Sword, but also because she has pretty good bases, A Swords, and a very offensive stat spread. Because of these advantages, she can probably kill just about anything in the game with enough luck. And there's no denying the worth of someone like that...
But here's the thing. Having a walking murder machine sounds amazing...but we already have galloping murder machines like Sigurd, Lex, Fin, and Cuan. And those guys not only have excellent offense, but also have excellent Defense, excellent Move, early 1-2 Range, AND the ability to move again after attacking, while Aira really just has the excellent offense.
First of all, if you haven't picked up on this by now, this game's maps are absolutely GIGANTIC, and Road tiles benefit mounted units more than they do foot units. So even just GETTING to the battlefield before the fighting is over is a real challenge for any foot unit. So Aira's got that against her. But even if she could, you'd still have to be careful with her because her durability is simply "decent", not great. She can survive about 3 hits in Chapter 2, but her lack of Canto (the term we use for the ability to move again after attacking) prevents her from being able to be too aggressive without exposing herself to heavy enemy fire.
Like I said though...she's still not too shabby either. If you're willing, you can also get her the Steel Blade from Chapter 2's item shop, which gives her 16 Might instead of just 12. So even if she doesn't get any Strength procs, she's STILL strong enough to kill just all but one unit type in Chapter 2 with just her raw stats. And for the more stubborn enemies? Well then she's essentially got a 34% or higher chance of instantly killing THOSE enemies with Meteor Sword! Plus, you CAN always give her the Prayer Sword, a female-only sword that grants the Prayer Skill. And Fin's already proven how awesome THAT is, right?
So if nothing else, she's a darn sight better than Alec or Noish will ever be. And her extreme offensive abilities help her to clear the Arenas easier than just about anyone. But even still, she's kind of like a high school Quarterback trying to compete in the Olympics. She's good...but she's just not good enough to stand out. She's neat to have...but she's not really NECESSARY, if you get my drift.
6/10
Sent from my iPad