# 10 - Frederick (Awakening)

                    Have you ever tried to beat Lunatic or Lunatic + mode on Awakening without Frederick? No? Well now you know why Frederick is this high on the list. Frederick is so powerful that he makes the most unfair modes in all Fire Emblem (in my opinion) actually possible. Frederick has a clutch early game leading fans to start calling the harder difficulties "Frederick Emblem".

                     He starts the game off "with a D rank in swords, a B rank in lances and a D rank in axes which allow him to use 1-2 range from the get go." (JSND: Rate the Unit: Frederick - http://serenesforest.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=40201&page=9#entry2409367) Frederick also comes with the Discipline skill so he's going to get high weapon ranks very soon. Like a good number of Jeigan / Oifey characters Frederick starts off with a Silver Lance and will either kill early game enemies in one hit or one round. In the meantime most enemies won't even scratch his armor (unless they have Luna + or a Hammer). 

                       Within a few level-ups Frederick gets Luna and if you really want to you could probably reclass him to a Paladin just to get his speed higher. He also is a great pair up partner for your army as he gives a + movement and defense boost. He's an especially good Pair-Up partner for Sumia and Cordelia as he gives them boosts in stats they want boosts in (strength and defense although they wouldn't mind extra movement).

Another factor to take into consideration are his growths. His Great Knight growths are greater than or equal to PoR Titania's:

Frederick

HP: 110

Strength: 65

Magic: 10

Skill: 55

Speed: 50

Luck: 40

Defense: 55

Resistance: 25

Titania

HP: 80

Strength: 45

Magic: 25

Skill: 60

Speed: 50

Luck: 45

Defense: 40

Resistance: 45


That's pretty dang impressive.

             So some of you may be asking why Frederick isn't higher up on this list. Well, Frederick embodies the negative that people associate Jeigan characters with. He has a fantastic start but his mid-game is shaky and his endgame isn't quite as good. His problems do have solutions though in the form of Second Seals, Pair-Up and stat-booster items. Nevertheless he will be outclassed later on by characters like Robin and Wyvern!Panne.

           Another issue that Frederick faces is that since his early-game is where he shines the most his usefulness varies by difficulty. In Lunatic and Lunatic + mode he saves your army from death and destruction. In "hard mode" he's not quite as useful and it's much easier for the rest of your army to surpass him. 

           Frederick also wishes that he had more speed as well. Great Knights are meant to be tanks on horses and aren't known for their speed. "Starting at 10 base is already annoying. Adds in the chance of getting Speed Screwed, and growth speed being absurdly low and it adds up. I already have problem with Stahl, but Frederick is basically Stahl, but worse when it comes to this problem. Basically IMO, the more speed screwed Freddy is, the faster he is forced as a Pair Up Fodder." (JSND: Rate the Unit: Frederick - http://serenesforest.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=40201&page=11)

            Plus, keep in mind that Frederick has some intense competition on this list. Everybody else above him can trivialize their games even more without suffering from Frederick's problems. In addition to that he's # 10 for goodness sakes that's pretty awesomely high given how many powerful units he's passed up.

Anyway, Frederick is a great unit and definitely a clutch Jeigan character. The characters only get better from here.