Lord of Riva

just to be clear here, this is only true for the maps that actually costs activity points. Normal grinding maps (which i used for the second playthrough to grind for skill ranks) do not give reputation, period.

I do agree to some extent, however there are no magic flyiers making them pretty lackluster in certain circumstances (heavy armor and monsters) and healing which would necessitate using other classes as well to protect your mages. You could probably help out with levin swords but yeah. I do agree that they are pretty strong, in some maps incredibly useful (timed maps) and overall probably the best classes due to their flexibility alone but if they work without the other classes in tow? i somehow doubt it.

But you see, that you are trying to discuss these fictionial aspects of a society with another person means in itself that the story has succeeded. And to that i want to voice as well that i believe there is no true route, it is a thought provoking argument it seem to me and that in itself is the "canon".

I agree with the characters mentioned in this thread as well. Edelgard and Hubert are absolute Top, Hubert especially manages to be both incredibly evil and harsh and at the same time oddly relatable that it is baffling. His A-support with Male Byleths was so Epic. Also surprisingly to me Linhardt is amazing as well. others that i really liked are Ferdinand and Sylvain (in his male supports mainly) and Raphael (who is undoubtedly stupid but that does not necessarily make him shallow). As others have said both Bernadetta (the shrieks... ffs) and mercedes are really bad. Mercedes voice is so high pitched it's like Bernadetta shrieking for the full support. All in all apart from those two all characters have something going for them.

That is the absolute best quote with Byleth in his unique class attire (as a man at least) and using bare fists (with the brawler ability) When i saw him Punching monsters 4 times his size down with one of those on the BE route and with that quote i had to laugh out loud

This isn't true btw, I definitely had Alois on Board on the full on BE route. EDIT: Also it turned out that Alois, regardless of strange beard is a pretty good character. Well there is that, I am still not calling people things that end with phobic over that but yeah, even Linhardt turned out to be great, even though he still looks way too feminine for my tastes.

The maps only really get better in the second half, even then they are not the greatest. There have been issues voiced already that i concur on, however overall it is a really good game, I think the new things it brings are all well done. Ui clarity, some tropey supports that are not that well executed (but well we also had trope emblem awakening and fates before...), the second half of the game feeling too rushed (in the two routes i played), the graphics that i surprisingly like stylistically are often just a bit too rough (GBA sprites being the best executed, albeit naturally simpler), maps being to simplistic, the class system while great on paper is pretty limiting and wierd in execution. The lost item quests and professor exp are pretty bad time sinkers without much fun, but they are skippable. The second play through is definitely harmed by the length and the same content but is aptly mitigated by the NG+ mechanics which makes it a lot faster. All these things though do not make it a bad game in the least. I really like a lot of the older games but that said, Shadows of Valentia being an absolute low point for gameplay, fates being a absolute clusterf**k with it's story (as in it was barely comprehensible) and the Tellius games a gigantic slow slog and pain in the butt to play (and completely destroying support mechanics) coming from that perspective Three houses does improve in a lot of ways. So when is the honeymoon period over? I guess for me it already is, right after the first playthrough but nonetheless i was ready to do the second playthrough directly after and I am still enjoying myself, that is because the game is simply well done and compared to the last few entries it's a great game that has some rough edges instead of a rough experience with pretty smooth edges. So i guess it's a win.

yes i agree, there was no good reason for no customisation and it is a step backwards from prior titles in that regard. This is worsened by the fact that you need different skill levels for recruiting and your classes and without allocating strengths it kinda is a pain to do. Flying, Armor, Riding and to some extent the magics (as Byleth has to know a spell before he can grind them...) are a pain in the butt.

yes, but this seems only possible for the Lord and only the one you are leading. In general you can only change the clothing of students if they are in your house, that means as soon as you recruit them you can change them to their post-skip design. Also their face-sets do not change, it is only the model.

it doesn't really matter if you take the time to grind C ranks. I have recruited everyone in chapter 4 now on NG+ I barely managed 4 the first time around, remember that supports can help you with recruiting.

I can confirm that, irritated me as well.

Defense scales pretty good on those, you can also give them Shield accessoires to further their resistance as weight is irrelevant anyways due to the low spd. At least in the case of Edelguards class the res rating also also pretty hight making her near indestructible. So yeah, if you play with them in a way that moving like, you know what, doesn't hinder your strategy i would say that they are worth it.

With her strength in magic it is wierd. That said Edelgard is an absolute monster, with the stats she has

Just scream "here is something to believe in" before you kill an enemy Fortress knight, Wyvern Lord or gigantic monster with a fist to its face as tbh, in the BE route both my Byleth and Edelguard are basically untouchable. Edelguard, while slow af takes barely any damage (even against magic, i got very high res with her...) at all while Byleth never gets hit and both have self-healing capabilities...

While the exploration part is true the merchant have been available in every week since clearing this event and i am nearing the end on be route