I'VE BEEN TRYING SO DANG HARD TO GET ASHE TO JOIN ME but he won't sob what am I doing w r o n g
OKAY SO I KNOW EXTREMELY LITTLE ABOUT THE ACTUAL INTRICACIES OF RECRUITMENT BUT
from what I understand there are two ways to go about it
First, you need to have the things they’re interested in -- this usually amounts to one skill and one stat. Generally the skill should be level C or above and I think the stat needs to be at least 15-ish? for optimal results. Next, it’s highly recommended to get them to at least a C support, since it tends to make things a lot easier (at least from my own experience, since C support unlocks the ability to invite them to tea parties and potentially boost your relationship a heck of a lot faster). At that point, you should have a much easier time getting them to join; if they still won’t (like Felix in my game), try inviting them to a tea party and giving them gifts they like, since that can tip you over the edge.
Alternatively, students from other Houses will almost always join you once you hit a B rank support with them (though you may still want to put a little work into their skill of interest -- I had to with Ingrid, despite hitting her B support). This can be really handy for characters that have harder skill requirements to meet (like Ingrid, given that male Byleth doesn’t have access to the pegasus knight class and therefore can only raise flying level through faculty training); however, there are certain characters whose B support doesn’t unlock until after the timeskip (I’m looking at you Ferdinand), so you’re kind of forced to go with the skill and stat grinding.
Basically, make extensive use of the mission assistance for students you want, keeping them glued to Byleth as much as possible to grind support between them, and try to save a little time for faculty training every time you explore; I’d personally recommend putting time into the movement skills (riding, heavy armor, and flying) because those are the ones that you can’t grind without a class change that requires a minimum in those stats.
