How to Be Better in Fire Emblem 7

Using Units

Check where the enemy units can go. New players will commonly run into the mistake of not properly checking enemy range. Knowing the movement range of your enemies will help you decide how to position your units. This way, you can be prepared for incoming attacks.

Keep a staff user close by your units. Staves aren't only for healing, they can also do other things. Always read the descriptions of staves or any weapon in general. And always use them in order to increase a unit's staff rank. A quick and easy way to raise staff rank is by spamming Barrier staves -- they can be used on units with full health and they give a decent amount of weapon experience (or wexp for short).

Use Ninian/Nils. Ninian and Nils are a special type of unit that can allow another unit who has taken an action to be controlled again. This opens up a lot of opportunities for strategies and can allow for maps to be beaten significantly faster. Exclusive to this game are rings. Ninian and Nils instead of refreshing a unit's turn can instead use these rings in order to boost a particular stat for a bit. These are very useful in a pinch, as they can mean the difference between a unit dying or surviving.

Make use of promoted units! Contrary to what some players say, EXP isn't that limited of a resource. It is okay to use these stronger units to kill some enemies as your unpromoted units can always get stronger. While they don't gain levels as fast, their bases stats make up for this. It'll be some time before your other units can have similar stats to pre-promotes.

Gaining XP

Don't need to worry too much about your XP distribution unless it's a ranked run. While it's true that units get less XP as their level gets higher, don't micromanage exp like it's a limited resource. FE 7 has been beaten by many people in 0% growths(i.e units had no growths and relied totally on their base stats). Enemies in this game aren't much stronger than your army -- sometimes they are weaker. Due to the RNG factor of gaining stats upon leveling up via growth rates, the same unit on different playthroughs can have very different stats. Which is why sticking with units who have strong base stats over high growth rates is generally better. This applies to many late-game units. Sure, they might not have 80% in strength, but they might not need it if their strength stat is already high. Don't only disregard a unit just because their growth rates are low.

Don't feel pressured to wait until level 20 to promote all of your units. The promotion bonuses are nice to have earlier and will make the coming battles significantly easier to handle. Some units even gain an additional weapon type to use.

Using Weapons and Items

Select weapons according to need, some weapons have special effects that can be beneficial in different situations. Slim weapons are useful for units with very low con, however most characters have high enough con to use iron weapons without penalty. Iron weapons do less damage than steel and silver weapons. However, they are also more accurate, lighter, cheaper, and more durable. Sometimes using iron weapons may be more favorable than using their stronger steel/silver counterparts. Some weapons give more weapon experience than others. Most weapons grant only 1 wexp, but many of the higher tier weapons can give more. While these weapons give higher wexp, they could also weigh down units if their con and/or speed isn't high enough. Compare weapon weight to constitution and speed.

Watch out for the weapon and magic triangle: While its effect on hit rate and damage is not enormous, In many cases, having a better chance to hit and just a bit more damage makes the difference. For example: If facing multiple units of the same weapon types, Brigands, for example, units with a weapon triangle advantage and high avoid such as Guy, Raven or Lyn can be placed on defensive terrain and hold them off. It can make a huge difference.

Don't forget about weapon effectiveness. Some weapons deal 2x effective damage against certain unit types, doubling the weapons strength. For example, all bows deal effective damage against fliers, so make sure to keep your fliers out of range from enemy archers. Be sure to use this to your advantage if you're having trouble with a certain tougher enemy.

Use healing items when necessary. These can come in handy if there isn't a healer nearby. But they should never be your main way of healing after gaining staff users! They also uses up that unit's turn (unless the unit is mounted, in that case the unit can move their remaining tiles) so be careful!

Perfecting Your Strategies

Do your maths. Don't attack a boss with someone if they'll be killed by them during enemy phase! Con is also a very important stat as it determines whether or not a unit will receive a speed penalty from a weapon. If a unit's con is equal to or higher than a weapon's weight, no speed will be deducted. However, if a unit's con is lesser, a unit will lose speed equivalent to the difference of the weapon's con and their total speed. If a unit's speed is high enough, the speed penalty won't affect their ability to double attack. You don't always have to attack or use an item, sometimes it's better to select wait so the unit can attack on enemy phase and in turn lose less health.

Use support conversations. The handy conversations will up the supported unit's stats in battle by a small or large amount depending on the support level. Sure, they do boost a unit's hit and avoid and sometimes damage. But the bonuses are bonuses for a reason -- they're small. Like WTA, it is a nice bonus to have that may balance the odds in your favor, but they aren't necessary to complete the game.

Use terrain to your advantage. Remember that terrain can increase your avoid rate, defense, and can even heal health each turn. A lot of bosses are on some defensive terrain of some sort. Remember to check for terrain and use it, as well as remembering to factor it into your calculations.

Use the arena with caution. It is a useful, albeit risky, way of leveling up and earning money. It's not a bad idea to have some units use it before finishing off the chapter.