Sylvain: Difference between revisions

Sylvain holds the unique distinction of being the easiest unit to recruit outside of the [[Blue Lions]]. As long as you picked a female [[Byleth]] at the beginning of the game, Sylvain can be recruited during the first exploration session in [[Familiar Scenery|Chapter 2]]. Since he essentially has no recruitment cost, Sylvain can essentially be considered one of your starting units in any route and be trained as though he started as a member of the [[Black Eagles]]/[[Golden Deer]]. Sylvain's personal skill also has great synergy with [[Hilda]] and [[Leonie]]'s personal skills, Hilda's giving Sylvain +5 damage output in conjunction with his own personal skill and Leonie's allowing the two to boost each other.An additional perk of an early recruitment of Sylvain is that it allows you to keep the Lance of Ruin by refusing to return it to [[Rhea]] after [[The Gautier Inheritance|Chapter 5]]. Giving you a 22-might weapon to bring to your next encounter with the [[Death Knight]] and to Gronder Field without playing Sylvain's [[The Forgotten|paralogue]], which usually unlocks at the beginning of [[Field of the Eagle and Lion|Chapter 7]]. Using [[Knightkneeler]] with the [[Lance of Ruin]] is a very reliable one-hit kill against the Death Knight. On the other hand, if you picked male Byleth in the beginning, Sylvain's standards for out-of-house recruitment are more stringent, demanding a high level of charm and proficiency in [[Black Magic|Reason]], a proficiency only helpful for Byleth if you plan to keep him in the [[Enlightened One]] class or if you are playing [[Black Eagles]] and also seek to recruit [[Lorenz (Three Houses)|Lorenz]]. These conditions make Sylvain more difficult to recruit before the main map of Chapter 5, potentially making you miss out on a great advantage to recruiting him.