Shanty Pete's 1st Mate

This seems like a losing bet. Only one of their children will be born with Major Naga blood, and there's a 50% chance of that child being a girl. I wonder what's more important to Azmur - having the right kind of magical blood, or having a dick? I always forget that Lübeck is supposed to be in Silesse. At this point, everything just looks like Grannvale. Who plowed all the snow, anyway? Wait, isn't that the plot of Harry Potter and the Cursèd Child? Erm, isn't Isaach under occupation by Grannvale right now, since they lost the war? Shannan will be in danger either way. Returning home would offer him more civilian support, but in turn, he'd be at a greater risk of being targeted by the authorities. Not pictured: babby Larcei, Scathach, Diarmuid, Lester, and Lana toddling after Shannan. Would've been neat if Sigurd gave them a horse to ride to Tirnanog, rather than expecting them to hoof it. Would help explain Oifey becoming a Paladin. And c'mon, we just killed all those knights. You can't tell me there aren't any spare horsies to go around! They targeted Loptyrians. Loptyrians. In my first playthrough, I let Erinys (then Ferry) die on Eldigan's blade. I didn't know Lachesis could talk to him, haha. I went the rest of the game without her... until this phase. This was my "time to use the Valyrie Staff" moment. Because in a game without Longbows, or playable Siege Tomes, Erinys is literally the only means of handling these jerkwads. Suffering_from_success.jpg I know you didn't use him much, but this is also Alec's time to shine. Nihil means he need not fear any Horseslayer. Holy shit, it's Weezer! And should, when it comes to Tyrfing! It doesn't matter how many uses Sigurd ends the chapter with, so long as it's not broken. "If you wouldn't mind killing a couple people on the way out, I'd really appreciate it." A shame we didn't get the classic Pokemon translators on Project Naga, or we could've gotten a "fufufu" or two from Manfroy. Leftists and capitalists are natural enemies! Like leftists and monarchists! Or leftists and conservatives! Or leftists and liberals! Or leftists and other leftists! Damn leftists... they ruined leftism! Actually, Byron got better offscreen. This grievous injury is entirely unrelated to the first one. Source: dude trust me.

If Hawke is the Chad, and Ced is the Vergil, then what is Amid? The Cath? And who the hell is Belf, anyway? Okay but like. Bow Fighter promotes into Sniper. In every other game outside of Jugdral, the class that promotes into Sniper is named "Archer". But hey, it's not as though Jugdral would also give us Sages that don't come from Mages, right? ...Right? But calling the promoted Sword infantry class in Thracia 776 "Mercenary" was an exceedingly silly choice to begin with. The Archanea-Valentia games established "Mercenary" as a first-tier class that would promote into something stronger. "Hero" in Archanea, or "Myrmidon", and later "Dread Fighter", in Valentia. But now, Mercenary is a promoted class? After taking a title off for something called "Forrest"? It feels like Jugdral being different, not in an interesting way, but in a way that is just prone to breed confusion. On the flip side, I do have to give these titles their due for inventing the Swordmaster class. And taking the first steps toward the GBA-onward "Mercenary/Myrmidon" split. Even though they were technically all "Sword Fighters" in these games. So we've got Boomer Arvis and Millenial Byron? ...Maybe the planet Jugdral is on just rotates in the opposite direction. *starts slamming desk* THIEF SWORD SIGURD! THIEF SWORD SIGURD! Not to keep, just to make some cash money if he so chooses. Hey now. Phila feels just as relevant as that one generic Pegasus Knight lady who shows up once on Ephraim's route to deliver a single piece of news. ....Or was it Eirika's route?

Oh yeah, I recall. Didn't mean to insinuate that this was some sort of debate between us. Just that this added detail reinforces the original point. Would've been nice to see an aged l-up Edain, even just as an NPC. Maybe give her unique conversations with Lester and Lana, if they return to the home castle. Well yeah, I know that much. But my assumption was that Diarmuid joined up with the Tirnanog crew sometime after the Battle of Belhalla. Either by his own volition, or because a surviving Lachesis dropped him off there. As for Nanna... wait... according to the wiki: So Nanna must have been born after Belhalla, because Lachesis would've never been to Leonster beforehand. In that case, Nanna wouldn't have been among the squad going to Tirnanog. In fact, she may have never stepped foot (hoof?) onto Isaachian soil. He'd pass it down, it would just be unusable. Like the Valkyrie Staff on Arthur. Oops! Well, at least you can buy it back, starting in chapter 8. The bad news, Status Staves cost a fortune in this one. If he sells the Paragon Band, then that's 20K. Exactly enough to re-purchase the Power Ring. Even if having to sell it, then buy it back, feels sub-optimal. I, for one, am looking forward to the impending maßacre. Even if it is a rather macaßre scene... Weird, I thought Eldigan's squad was pronounced "Ecks-Nights". If you were to use a mounted unit with the Return Band, then they could self-Return immediately after attacking.

Congrats on making it! That's some clever strategy. Yeah, chapter 13 tends to be a high water mark for difficulty.

In some regards, like Magic (base of 22) and Resistance (base of 17), Hawke outshines most variants of Ced. Oh, and he has a chapter 9 secret event that buffs each of these by 3 more points. Plus, very solid HP, Skill, and Speed, alongside Pursuit. Inheritance on Ced is great, but the number of generics who survive a round against Hawke's Light tome, I could count on both hands. Well, chapter 6 occurs 17 years after the Battle of Belhalla - at least, so sayeth the wiki. But some of the kids - Seliph, Leif, the Sword Twins - have already been born. Others, it's ambiguous whether or not they exist yet. It's a fair bet that they're all under 20 at the start of Gen II, at the very least. "But wait!" *Erinys pulls out the Brave Lance* "There's more!" Interesting maneuver. Come to think of it, I don't think any class is stuck with C-rank Bows. Bow Armors, Arch Knights, Generals, and Warriors all have B-rank Bows by default. Whilst all other Bow-using classes have A-rank. Not like Jamke would struggle as an Archer, though. The Killer Bow is already at C-rank. That's a funny way of writing "7x2 with Brave, or 13 with Silver, while wearing a Power Ring". C'mon, you know he can afford it... "Should I repair this blade for my son, or keep it at 30 weight to carry around with my dying breaths?" I do like seeing enemies with interesting weapons. That'll come up again, later in the same chapter... Ced with Forseti is hilarious, because he'll spam it every turn as a green unit. Without exhausting any uses. Not even recruited, and he's already pulling his weight. Will he be getting the Silence staff as well? Either of these could also go to Larcei, since she's not inheriting a ton yet. Or Diarmuid. The sooner you get a Sword, the more options you have with it. Admittedly, I'm no big fan of effective weapons in this game. Patty's a great pick for it, but Lester also springs to mind. Non-Killer Bows can get kinda heavy, while Killer Bows can get kinda pricey. Really, though, anyone with Pursuit will appreciate it. Get that lad a horse! Diarmuid and Nanna were canonically among that cadre, too? ...This is just reinforcing my "Let Edain go so that they have parental supervision" paradigm. No way did teemage Oifey, and tweenage Shannan, transport seven toddlers cross-country on their own.

Ooh, I'm replaying Gen I now, so I can answer this! In the original Japanese, the Cross Knights are the クロスナイツ, or "Ku-ro-su-na-i-tsu". So, as close to the English name as possible. "Please reconsider!" Reminds me of a technical note: Archers don't exist in FE4. Instead, there are Hunters and "Bow Fighters". But it's weird to think of Jamke as anything other than an Archer. Like, I could believe that Erinys became revered, after fighting alongside Sigurd and avenging her sister's death. But before that, she's just a generic Pegasus Knight. No holy blood, just the Pursuit skill. ...Actually, scratch that. Pursuit alone makes Erinys the best flier in the entire continent. Incidentally, it just occurred to me that this formula isn't sustainable. In a hypothetical Gen III, each kid will have 2.25 times their grandparents' growths. In the next gen, that becomes 3.375. Give it a few more generations, and we're talking Awakening-level growths! Huh, I thought I remembered Awakening doing female generics, but maybe not? Anyway, we definitely got them in Three Houses and Engage. But yeah, Genealogy was well ahead of the curve here. Good to see Kaga is so- Erm, well, let's leave it at that. In both cases, your units get to chow down on civilians in the fifth of six chapters. It's like poetry, it rhymes. Hm, maybe the Bragi peninsula could've had some Civilians to protect/munch on, in chapter 3? That could help Tailtiu get some early levels. Or Dew, as he goes there for his secret event. Both units I struggle with getting to promotion. Hey, it should be fine by then. Sigurd already did his pirate genocide. Well, first you'd need to actually hit him with the Sleep Sword. And the status swords are not renowned for their accuracy. ...I'd be really curious as to whether this will actually work.

Ah, the duality of Kaga. To be sick and twisted enough to make Thracia 776 in the first place, yet also benevolent and merciful enough to provide a slightly easier secret mode. Love that the original Japanese title - "Elite Mode" - makes it sound like it's gonna be harder. I wonder - have any games since done anything like Paragon Mode? Closest I can think of is Fixed Mode in Path of Radiance, but it's debatable whether that's slightly easier, or merely different. Yeah, Quan has become my closest thing to a "carry". Also I'm gaining more appreciation fo Naiose, who has been dealing more damage in one hit than Alec manages to exert in two. Plus, going Sigurdless means that Ethlyn and Ayra get to play around with the Silver Sword. So, not a total waste. Maybe I'll count how many turns this takes me, then count how many turns "Sigurd solo" demands, and see which one comes out on top (bottom?). But I've never done a Sigurd solo, so... more work, yay.

RIP Wind Sword. Gone, but never forgotten. Can't wait for one of Pamela's squad to "pull a Thracia", kidnapping Edain and robbing her of all staves. For my part, I like having Lex sit on the castle. He tends to be so defensive that the generic enemy Pegasi don't even try to attack. And with Paragon, getting him to the level cap is trivial. But I could see a promoted Lachesis working as well. So the best Silessian knights are Mahnya, Pamela, Deetvar, and Erinys? Out of everyone in the country, they have the most talent and experience? Why aren't old Pegasus Knights allowed to exist? Of course, that would get into FE's scant track record with older ladies in general, so... ...Y'know, she's not older-looking, but she's a woman and a villain. Thank you, Kaga, very cool. It's neat to see, when all the way through the DS era, female generics in non-female-exclusive classes were practically nonexistent. Heck, Genealogy is probably better in this aspect than any of the GBA titles. If only barely. It really bugs me how they all realize this immediately. Do they see her die? Hear her cry out in agony? Either way, it screws with the scale. I'd rather have Rahna realize it when Castle Silesse gets stormed. Something like "The castle is under attack? Then that means Mahnya... oh, gods...". Casual players: "Paragon is a great skill, because it doubles Lex's experience gain!" Me, an elitist: "Paragon is a great skill, because it means Lex doesn't have to buy the Paragon Band." Kinda funny to think that Paragon and Bargain, as different as they sound, kind of have the same endpoint in "optimal" play. I'm still not sure which skill I appreciate more. At first I thought Genealogy was the original Strand-type FE title. But then chapter 4 came around, and I discovered it was ahead of its time as a thumb-twiddling simulator. Nah, I think Beowulf would be into it. He couldn't be prouder of his hypercompetent uber-Paladin wife. I wonder - as useless as Strength is for Edain, maybe they gave her a growth so Lester wouldn't be totally up a creek? Since her growths partially determine his, and we're still over a decade from magical Bows happening.

Congrats on making it at all! I am impressed that it was possible, without too much misery. In the "challenge run" sphere, I am actually revisiting Genealogy right now, for a "Sigurdless" playthrough. What happens when your main Lord is only allowed to Seize and serve as an Authority bot? Time to find out!

You need to reach a certain column on the map for the northeast bunch to spawn in. Once you've moved far enough east, they'll spawn the next turn. Hm, maybe you could put Teach in a corner and have a couple other units surround them? That way, even with Pass, the enemy Thieves and Assassins couldn't get to Teach.

Thanks for the catch. I think it was in earlier fanslations. Per the wiki, her Japanese title was "Raijin", which is also the name of a God of Thunder in Shinto. So it's understandable for the fanslation. Obviously,any official localization trumps that. Oh yeah, I remember something like that. Very peculiar. Different teams at different times, I guess. We've had Kings and Queens, Emperors, an Empress and a Kaizerin. I wonder - will we ever see a Tsar(ina)? A Pharoah? Maybe a Sultan? Would be neat to encounter in a future title. I can agree with the "folk hero" aspect, but I'm coming from the perspective of viewing the difference between that title, and "god", as one of kind - not degree. As you and others have pointed out, though, that's not how Jugdral handles its mythology. I mean, so does Gharnef, and he doesn't have Dragonic blood (that we know of). So does Camoo. I don't know if the ability to persist beyond death is actually tied to having magical blood.

Thanks for the notes. Apparently, the barrier of entry to divinity in Jugdral is far lower than I had expected. Oh yeah, I remember Ishtar being called the "God of Thunder". Which was weird, because A. the notion of someone who currently exists in physical personhood, bring regarded as a god, is still bizarre to me, and B. shouldn't it be "Goddess", anyway? Or is this gonna be an "Emperor Edelgard" scenario, where the masculine form is treated as being gender-neutral? In which case, fine if they want to do it that way. But for the sake of fair play, Brian should get to be the "Goddess of Tomahawks", dammit! I was gonna raise the whole "just because the Saints are prayed to doesn't make them divine" point, but it's not like that's the only evidence for your case - far from it. We can still wonder hoemw this stuff'll turn out in any official localization - except for whatever's already in Heroes - but it definitely sounds like, in Sigurd's mind, his great-great-grandfather was actually a god.

Ziguludo-chan-sama-senpai is indeed the best character in Fire Emblem: Descent of Jihad. Fair 'nuff, I was more thinking of terms like "Father" and "Priest", which to me, convey ersatz-Catholicism. ...But on the other hand, "Priest" has been used for female characters as well, which is a big no-no under the Pontiff, so. True enough, but on some level... it's kinda arbitrary, isn't it? At least, within a fantasy realm. Like, say there is a religious "day of rest" in Jugdral. If we were using the Gregorian days of the week, then I think it would make the most sense to assign that day to Sunday. Given Jugdral being broadly inspired by Medievel Europe, where Christendom was dominant. Could we make it, say, Wednesday? Sure. But there wouldn't be any real rationale for doing so - at least, not that I can think of. Fair play! I do think, perhaps, the holidays should last for more than a single day? Perhaps a full week where characters can benefit from it? Not sure if 7 turns is too much. But a single turn feels hyper-specific. Widening the frame would provide the player with more wiggle room, rather than making it a "blink-and-you'll-miss-it" effect. Wait, are they? My understanding was, the Dragons who gave their power at the miracle of Darna (i.e. Naga, Forseti) were revered as gods. Whereas, the Crusaders were holy warriors - saints, perhaps - but not actually divine in their own right. Or did I miss something? Ah yes, my favorite months: Flotsam, Jetsam, Bedlam, and Smarch.

Well, this is one of those tricky territories. Jugdral, like most of Fire Emblem, is heavily inspired by Medievel Europe. Which was, of course, predominantly Christian. While Christianity itself doesn't exist in the game, a lot of the religious elements (outside the doctrine itself) seem to take a heavy cue from Christianity. Were I being more specific, I'd say Roman Catholicism. In any case "Churches" exist, the "Crusader" Bragi is revered as a "Saint", and "Father Claud" is a "High Priest"... I don't think it's an overt stretch to imagine that they would keep Sunday as a holy day. Albeit for some other rationale than real-world Christians use. Admittedly, though, Nintendo (of America, specifically) might shy away from any representation that cuts too close to real-world religious practices. See, I was thinking each Crusader would get their own month, rather than day-of-the-week. It would line up perfectly with the real world Gregorian calendar. And, maybe the Loptyr Cult could have their own timekeeping method, distinct from what those rebels came up with? (A 12-day week concept isn't bad in a vacuum, but it might get confusing to handle. Either you get 12 months of two-and-a-half weeks (30 days) each, or 10 months of three weeks (36 days) each. Or else, the year's length is significantly diffefent from our world.

I was originally not so keen on this idea... but, I think I've started to come around on it. In fact, I think there's a lot more you could do with a "days of the week" system. Namely: I. Arena Enemies. Seven days of the week, seven arena enemies. Rather than fighting them all consecutively, I'm envisioning one enemy each day. I feel like that would cut down on the grind - or at least, disperse it over more turns. To make it easier on the player, let's suppose that every chapter begins on a Monday. Tuesday is the "round 2" enemy, Wednesday "round 3", and so on. Thus, there's something keeping the player coming back to the Arena, as well as trying out the Arena from later castles, rather than doing it all from home. And, if they beat Gazzak one Monday, and come back a week later, they'll find Gazzak again... but with a Power Ring this time! That's right, "rematches" of Arena enemies with items buffing them. So serious players can gain more Gold and EXP than ever before - even if they don't want to bother with "take the Paragon Band down, pass it around" strats. II. Daily Discounts. The Armorer, the Blacksmith, and the Pawn Shop. All drains on an adventurer's wallet. But what if they could be just a bit cheaper? Instead of spending 5000 on that Silver Sword, it only costs 4000? That's what I'm thinking - a 20% discount on specific pawns, buys, and repairs. Swords on Monday, Tomes on Tuesday, Axes on Wednesday, Bows on Thursday, Lances on Friday, and Staves on Saturday. As for Sunday? They're all closed! Everyone needs a day off, now and then. Speaking of which... III. Free Healing on Sundays. Well, on Saturday night, technically. This would apply whether you're in the home castle, or landed on a church. Either way, on Sunday morning, your HP will be full, and it won't have cost a dime. A blessing of Bragi, perhaps? Or a nicety of Naga? Who's to say, really? There could potentially be others, like events specific to a certain weekday. Hm... maybe secret events that previously required a certain tile, like Pursuit Ring Arden, could instead demand a specific day within a more general area? Not sure if that'd make things easier, or harder. See, this is the part that kind of makes me wince. I'd prefer things happen on a relatively fixed timeline. Seliph's journey isn't just the part we're guiding. It's also time spent between chapters, as well as the "missing arc" between Thracia and Miletos. If he goes substantially faster, or slower, it could have serious geopolitical implications. If they got to Miletos too late, would the children have been hunted already? If we're too early to Thracia, then maybe the Munster arc hasn't even happened yet? Who knows! My take is, open up the "ranged arena" to anyone who has a weapon that can attack beyond 1-range. Hand Axe, Flame Sword, Nosferatu? You're all in. ...Admittedly, this would actually lock mages out of the "melee arena", unless a "Surge"-style tome were introduced. I am here for anything that gives our boy Arden more love. Maybe "birthday month" could have other bonuses? Like, all weapon kills count for 2 stars, rather than 1, during that month? Or an additional skill, such as Paragon, taking effect. If a month is overkill, perhaps a week would be enough time.

Perhaps he's gotten rusty with age? It's common for older characters to fall behind where they were in their prime, both in stats and ranks. Take Marcus, from FE7 to FE6, for example: ...Huh. Actually, outside of Strength, his stats are barely changed. Still, FE6 Marcus is far behind where a trained FE7 Marcus would end up. And his ranks, aside from Lances, definitely deteriorated. Seteth has probably experienced the same loss, as he traded his spear for a quill.

Admittedly, I generally like how Genealogy handles crits - both in the "most units can't do it", and "it doubles attack power" senses. So, giving the enemies Luck, and having it mitigate Crit, would make the Critical skill nigh-useless. Unless they reconfigure the formula, so that the skill (and Killer Bow) give an automatic 20 Crit, with the Skill-Luck margin determining any modifiers from there. Hey, three soldiers may have been all they had! Totally fair motivation re: Azelle. Still kinda wild to think, how the very first chapter beats in "don't let anyone take the home castle!" Only for the second chapter to see... everyone abandon their home castle. Well, I was thinking of it happening after the flight to Silesse, but before the start of chapter 4. Although, maybe chapter 3 could "end" with Claud and Tailtiu leaving, followed immediately by Rango and Reptor arriving? I dunno. As for the interaction, Jotari had a point, that maybe it couldn't be shown, due to it being in Grannvale. I'd be fine with Claud relating the experience to Sigurd at the start of chapter 4. Even in such a case, Claud might not be wholly trusting of Arvis, which he could express to Sigurd as well. Honestly, I've tried to get the enemies to conquer Nordion before. The ones under Clement, by retreating Lachesis as far away as possible. That way, Sigurd can re-seize it, so it becomes a Warp destination. Plus everyone gets an extra 1K next chapter. But I've never tricked the enemy AI into doing it. Well, thank you for providing the portraits, to make this dialogue possible in the first place! Epic Dew gaming moment. Interesting that Dithorba (ah, I remember when she was Deetvar) would switch to the Slim Lance when attacked at range. It weighs her down more than the Silver Sword. Yes! And it didn't crash your game, neither! I really like the Shield Sword on anyone using Miracle strats, since being able to control how much damage you take in that regard is a huge boon. Or you can just use it to make someone uncharacteristically bulky. Okay but like If Mahnya and Rahna got together Then like Erinys would be Lewyn's aunt. ...So any other day in Jugdral. Hey, but thank god a solid third of the map is taken up by a nigh-untraversable mountain that's used to punish players who actually believe in permadeath, right? ...RIGHT?

Luck continues to be such a garbage stat. Especially in Genealogy. The devs realized it didn't matter, and couldn't be bothered to give any Luck to the enemies. Alas, a shame. I've tended to play with the opposite attitude: "if I'm not getting this dude hitched, then I'm free to send him wherever in battle! Screw positioning!" Ergo, I find myself getting more in-field use out of the bachelors than the suitors, who tend to be doomed to follow after their respective prospective paramours. Sure, I'll take it. I like the idea of Rahna having some importance outside of her marriage to the former king. I like to imagine Rahna cleaning up after Sigurd and co in her childhood home, even as Mahnya insists that such behaviors are far beneath a Queen. Eh... sometimes, games treat a name as this "all-important detail that a character, even one who has lost all other memories, will surely remember". In this same game, there's Briggid*. In more recent games, Corrin, and Sothis. Even if Manfroy tried to impose a different name upon Deirdre, I doubt it would stick. *Me when I forget about Eyvel, but hey, she wasn't in Kaga's head yet. I meant before Rango and Reptar pulled their UNO reverse treason card. From the invasion of Verdane, to the total conquest of Augustria. Was Chalphy just left unguarded? I wonder because - as great as it is to have them along for the ride - it might've made narrative sense for Ethlyn to watch the place once Sigurd absconded. She is, after all, Byron's daughter. Or just leave Arden behind, giving him more time to train everyday. That way, he can repel every conceivable threat to House Chalphy from Arvis, Manfroy, and random Brigands for the next twenty years. There's a saying about castles: "if you build it, they will come." "They" is Sigurd. He hasn't met a castle yet that he hasn't conquered. Valflame-hot take, but I think it'd be better if Claud had spoken to Arvis about it. Arvis would take his allegations seriously, of course, and respond that he's suspected as much. However, he doesn't have enough evidence yet, and needs more time to sway the king. Until then, one of his underlings will keep Claud's seat warm in Edda, while our High Priest keeps on aiding Lord Sigurd in Silesse - until this whole mess can be sorted out, that is! What a swell guy that Arvis is! As an added bonus, Claud briefly caught a glimpse of his bride-to-be: a woman of serene beauty, and striking white hair. Too bad he never caught her name...

Senghor is cheating, buuut your calculations are slightly off, because you failed to account for the Luck stat. Remember, Avoid = AS * 2 + Luck. So, if he has 22 Avoid, that doesn't necessarly mean 11 AS. He could have, say, 5 AS and 12 Luck. You can only really know his AS by which units with Pursuit succeed, and fail, at doubling him. Anyway, yeah, it does appear that they had certain "combat stats" in mind, and worked backward to adjust their stats accordingly. Thankfully, that does not appear to extend to giving Senghor 29 Attack with the Flame Sword. Anecdotally, EXP was the only area I managed to Ace on my latest (subs only) ranked run. But I also did merciless amounys of Arena grinding, gold grabbing, and Paragon passing. Alec and Noish, still in the single digits? That's a bruh moment. They're only, like, the second-worst Christmas cavs out there. Ya gotta love 'em! The "sicko" part was getting 50 kills on the Steel Lance to begin with. Basically, I need to send Quan on a murderous rampage, and hope he Adepts with uncanny frequency. That said, actually getting 50 kills on something that isn't a Sword is an uncanny feeling. Just like Eldigan, ay-oh! ...What, too soon? Weird how the uncles are barely pallete swaps of an Augustrian father-son duo. What's the age difference supposed to be here? And at the very least, they could've been given green hair! It's kinda crazy to think that Sigurd and co get a whole-ass castle to themselves. Like, what happened to the previous "Duke of Silaine"? Did he get thrown out on his ass? ...Actually, if they wanted to give the enemies any sort of nuance, they could've taken this angle. Make the previous master of Silaine a minor enemy you face, working in concert with Lewyn's uncles to get his domain back. Hm... maybe the Gold and the Pursuit Band? Plenty of kills on their weaoons, too. It's been a nice spot of training, these past couple years. ...Wait, who's running Chalphy while all this is going on? Byron's at war and/or dying, Sigurd's leading this campaign, and Ethlyn just follows Quan wherever he goes. Do they have a mother who's still alive? I'm just thinking, if not, then it creates a power vacuum at home. God, I hate "staff-only enemy Bishops". Since Staves don't have a Weight stat, they have an uncanny Avoid rate. Add in some Authority stars, and it gets super unlikely to actually hit them with the Thief Sword. When normally, these kinds of enemies would be "free real estate". Yeah, they both have their time and place. What's kinda funny is, the Killer Bow's namesake advantage is "negated", in a sense, against flying enemies. Since every bow attack is always critting a flying enemy. The Killer Bow is still good against fliers, of course, but because of its light weight and accuracy - not it's "Killer" effect. Love this convo, even if it's easy to accidentally trigger. Speaking of secret events with Sylvia, don't forget the Shield Sword event in one if the northeastern villages! It's widely usable, and a great tool for anyone to inherit.

While I think it's the former, I kinda like the second as a headcanon. I like those little details about the characters having their own drive and motivations, beyond just what I (the player) try to make them do. It's why I'm one of the, like, three or four people who prefer Genealogy's "falling in love accidentally" to the "gating it behind an S-support" that the new games all do. By the way, it's kind of wild that the Blacksmith is totally cool with repairing Holy Weapons, while the Pawnbroker refuses to touch them. Like, dude. You're ripping me off 20K gold every time I pass the Paragon Ring around. I put your kids through the Academy at Belhalla. You can afford it. Finn x Silver Lance is the real OTP. ...Or if you're a sicko like me, you give him Quan's Steel Lance with 50 kills on it. The more I've thought about it, the more I've come around to the notion that Chagall - craven may he be, and generally awful all the time - isn't wholly in the wrong at the start of chapter 3. It's a "morally gray" moment for an otherwise "morally black" dude. Hard to say, exactly - it would be a quickly evolving scenario. Would Sigurd flee to Silesse, as he does in canon? Try to cut through to Chalphy? Surrender to Rango and Reptor? Or team up with the remaining Augustrians? It's hard to say, especially if he's acting without the knowledge that Father Claud gleaned at the Tower of Bragi (due to either being stopped at Madino Castle, or else getting killed by Pirates in Orgahill). He's a fundamentally honorable person who keeps stumbling into an ever-more messed-up situation. He always has the "right reasons", but whether he's doing the "right thing" becomes debatable, at least after aiding Lady Lachesis at Nordion Castle. Taking the fight further into Augustria becomes the turning point, with his horse's brake lines seemingly severed. Very impressive, getting Ethlyn to level 30! I think I've only made it to the high 20s with her. You never told us you were going for rankings! ...Or you did, and I missed it. As for the inventory, while I'm a fan of Pursuit on either Lewyn or Naoise, I must admit that it will make a big difference for Leif early on. Best of luck to the Leonster defense squad! So you're saying that they're pirates... who don't do anything? They just stay at home, and lie around? These little goofy touches - conversations or events that give a straight-up stat boost - are one of my favorite aspects of Genealogy. It really serves to make even something like stats feel less abstract, and more linked to the world around them. Moreso, in my opinion, then being gifted an "Energy Drop", or what have you. AYRA OVERRATED CHULAINN OUTDATED LONG HAVE WE WAITED MAGISWORD DEW ACTIVATED! It's kinda funny to think that, with 13 Weight and +10 Speed, Briggid will have the exact same speed using it as she will with the Killer Bow. It's a 3-weight weapon with just one +10 boost. Hell, they could've given it 40 Might, and it'd be functionally equivalent to Yewfelle as it is. Enjoy your Holy Weapon with no stat boosts. ...Kidding aside, the non-mainline Bows in the game all do something interesting, and none seem to overshadow the others. There's the light and accurate Killer Bow. The ever-Adepting Brave Bow. And the immensely powerful Yewfelle. None of them are broken, but they're all good, solid weapons. Reptor: "Boy, I hope nobody is listening into my villainous monologue right now, keh heh heh! That would certainly render my position most precarious, indeedly so!" It's funny to think of how allergic Kaga apparently was to giving skills to your infantry staffbots. In all of generation one, only two playable characters have no skills whatsoever: Edain, and Claud. Even Arden gets Vantage, while Briggid gets Pursuit as a class skill. As a result, Lana and Lester are the only child units who can end up skill-less - most notably, when Claud is their father. Even getting thrown a bone, like Miracle or Renewal, would've been appreciated. What, am I supposed to believe that this is some "teleporting Oifey", who can travel between Sigurd's side and the home castle at will? I doubt that very much! Wait, Finn is really that young? His portrait does not convey that very well. He looks to be the same age as Alec or Naoise. Honestly, village-pillaging is optimally a two-man job regardless. One to rob the Bandit - either by being a Thief, or by using the Thief Sword - and one to kill the Bandit. One to visit the village, and one to... uh... twiddle their thumbs, I guess? Admittedly, with Canto or the Knight Ring, you can visit the village right after killing the Brigand, so that's cool. Anyway, if you're targeting a village without actually robbing the Bandit (at least, at the point in the game where it becomes possible to do so), you're essentially leaving 5K gold on the table. More broadly speaking, would the ability to control the amount of gold that Thieves or Partners can give between each other be the worst thing in the world? Sigh... no, it wouldn't. I don't personally see it as necessary, but I could live with it. If such a change enhances some people's enjoyment of the game, then they're not true fans and they don't deserve - ahem, I mean, I would be happy for them. Yes. Sincerely.

I do wonder whether the stats reflect the rider, or the mount. Like, Strength and Con appear to be directly tied to the rider, since they're the one wielding the weapon. But Speed seems like it would depend moreso on the mount. The rider's personal agility wouldn't affect the mount's ability to dodge attacks, and to gear up for a second attack. As for Defense and HP, that depends on whether the one being hit is the mount, or the rider. I assume that a "Horseslayer" would only do effective damage when targeting the mount; although, ironically, the "Ridersbane" would suggest exactly the opposite effect.

Too easily exploitable, in my opinion. Dew could just give 100 Gold every turn to get 10 EXP for essentially free. Plus, you'd have to come up with an interface to decide the amount, and it'll just take up more time for the action. I really like the existing "all-or-nothing" system. It makes the player think "hm, how can I make sure my Thief will still have funds after giving some away?" Stuff like buying weapons or Rings as "collateral", to sell back later. And the fact that the current system rewards clever thinking, like "if I Give between every Arena battle, rather than after three of them, then I'm getting 30 EXP rather than a mere 10!" I wouldn't mind that, although my personal guess is, in the inevitable remake, at least one of the Paladins will be playable. Would be wild to see an "Eva vs. Alva" boss conversation, for instance. As it stands, the trio exist in this really weird space. They're Cross Knights... but not the Cross Knights who fought in chapter 1... or in chapter 3. They give Lachesis the Knight Band, once they split up at the end of chapter 2... or do they split up? One of them is the father of substitute units, but those kids' existence doesn't depend on himself surviving, but on Lachesis dying. The Cross Knights are obliterated in chapter 3... but does that include the trio? Perhaps they would change the Claud x Edain conversation in chapter 5, so that she agrees to leave the battlefield after Lubeck Castle is seized. Would suck to lose the Rescue Staff so early, but hey, it won't be gone for long. Just a couple decades. Thinking on it, why didn't she entrust Seliph to Oifey? He's supposed to be in the home castle as well - if you try promoting anyone, you'll have to go through him. And he's like 15 or so at this point, which is... not an adult, but certainly old enough to babysit. These are fair points, that we don't totally know the answers to. In terms of point 1, I do think the Cross Knights are principally loyal to Eldigan, rather than Chagall. Which means they're loyal to House Nordion. Which means Grannvale, who is currently occupying House Nordion, is their sworn enemy - regardless of Eldigan's personal friendship with Sigurd. They may not dislike Sigurd - hell, they probably dislike Chagall more, since he had imprisoned their liege. But at the end of the day, it's Sigurd, not Chagall, who's standing between them and a trip back home. If Eldigan were to surrender, or simply stand aside, would the Cross Knights have his back? My guess is, most of them would, but not necessarily all. Some would fight regardless, or return to Chagall, or else abandon the situation. Hardly an ideal situation. And while Sigurd would do no harm to the Cross Knights who aren't fighting him, it's not clear where they'd go from there. Does Eldigan join Sigurd on his bogus journey, to Silesia and back to Grannvale? Does he try to return to Castle Nordion, Grannvale be damned? I don't really know. My personal take on #2 is, there weren't really concrete plans to withdraw from Augustria. I don't believe there's any justification for Grannvale's continuing presence in the south, outside of "Sigurd conquered y'all, and we're worried about you being a counter-balancing force to Grannvale". It's not clear that Chagall - or Eldigan - or Sigurd - could've done anything to change their minds. At least, not without any sort of unilateral action. Chagall was the one to take it here, but at some point, someone was gonna have to act. It could've been Eldigan saying "screw Chagall and screw Grannvale, I'm going back to Nordion". Or it could've been Sigurd getting orders to "conquer the rest of the country LOL", and being stuck with an impossible choice. But hey, maybe I'm wrong. Maybe in another timeline, atmonth 7, Sigurd would've gotten orders to return to Chalphy. At month 8, the rest of Grannvalean forces would withdraw. And at month 9, Azmur, Chagall, Sigurd, Eldigan, and Arvis would all sit down for a picnic together. Who's to say?

Me, when I murder Hollace, without ever figuring out who in blazes "Hollace" is supposed to be. Possibly. I just think there's still some ambiguity in the wording. Perhaps there are different connotations in the original Japanese? I dunno. Patty feels like one of those cgaracters that there's nary a bad father for (except Claud LOL). They all offer something different, but interesting. I rated Azelle low in my own estimations, but that was more due to him making the worst possible version of Febail, rather than how he impacts Patty. It'd be neat to see it do "(Luck + 20)% to preserve a weapon use", since Luck is even less useful here than it usually is. Maybe even make an "Armsthrift" skill, to go on an underperforming unit? Like Arden in Gen I, and then Asaello in Gen II. I mean, when Eldigan does try to extricate them from the situation, it ends with his execution. Like, could he surrender to Sigurd - sure. But it's not for granted that the Cross Knights would all follow him. And House Nordion is currently occupied by Grannvale, so Sigurd couldn't let him go reclaim his own territory. Even if he did, he'd quickly be faced by Reptor and Rango. It really feels like a no-win situation for him. Funnily enough, I had assumed that Claud just... brought the Valkrie Staff with him. I forgot that he picked it up at the Bragi Tower. I don't think it makes a huge difference, either way. The Staff is technically useless to anyone without Major Bragi blood, so it's not as though there was any danger of Mamfroy using it to revive Loptyr. Oh, and there are others with Bragi blood, like Silvia. But hers is minor, because, well, there usually isn't more than one major-blooded person of a particular lineage at one time. Yeah, it's 50,000. I'd be fine with the inevitable remake bumping that up to 99,999. Do a Legend of Zelda style "your wallet can only fit so many digits!". I've never had the biggest issues with the cap, though. If you want a unit to have a lot of wealth, you just need to transform those liquid assets into solid ones, like expensive weapons and Rings. Hell, I basically see the Earth Sword as a 5K Bullion, rather than an actual weapon to be used in battle. Oh, and the cap does have a slight benefit, when it comes to your Thief. "Giving" stops at the Gold cap. So, if Quan has 42K, and Dew has 10K, then Dew can "Give" him 8K, and still have 2K left over, to give to someone else. That's 20 EXP, rather than 10. Oh yeah, the three Paladins stayed with Sigurd's army, but as "invisible soldiers". That's fine, I guess. Interestingly, though, they say that Tristan and Jeanne left with Oifey in chapter 5. With Shannan, Seliph, and the Sword Twins, this means that there were 7 of them. Lotta rugrats to keep their eyes on. Might've made more sense, canonically, for Edain to lead them. That way, there's an actual adult in the party, and it would pleasantly explain how Edain and her kids made it to Tirnanog. But of course, they didn't want to take her playability away mid-chapter. I appreciate these games usually not having the "conversation from across the map" that new titles revel in. But these two are still pretty far away to be making small talk. Yes and no. Her decision to leave Seliph behind, irresponsible as it might seem, probably saved his life. Were she a "responsible mother", taking her son along, we wouldn't have a second generation. Anyway the whole "Dierdre is responsible for her own kidnapping" is bullshit, because Manfroy's "villainous rewarp" powers are also bullshit. How do we know that Manny couldn't have just warped to the home castle, and plucked her there? He had no issue warping into Castle Augusty earlier, when Chagall was running it. Ultimately, this kind of rewarp BS is impossible to guard one's self against. ...That said, it was dumb for Dierdre to go out, but because she could've been skewered by a Cross Knight, not kidnapped by Dark Wizard McGee. Like, if I cross the street without looking, and get hit by a bus, yeah that's my own damn fault. But if I cross the street without looking, and fall into an interdimensional portal that pops up for mere seconds, I don't think I'm the one at fault for that particular demise. Not even true, LOL. If Sigurd sees a castle, he wants to conquer it. Even a stylish pile of mud, like the one at Orgahill. It's in the blood of every noble. Claud!Fee's higher Res is a pretty big deal, actually. It means she can comfortably fly around the last couple maps, picking off Loptyr Mages, without worrying about their tomes or Status Staves. Even with her lower Strength, they're usually not surviving a round with her Brave Lance. Or you could give her the Light Brand, and hope she Adepts. He's very reminiscent of Darin to me, with ambitions that outstrip his actual abilities. Not to mention, a dark wizard having his ear. And his death kinda marking the end of the "midgame". All he needs is a son to neglect, and we're good to go!

Reader, be wary - you choose the treachery! Thinking on it, Sigurd had to cross a river to get to Evans Castle. It was the Prologue, and he was already crosding his Tiber. Shoot. Until now, I was thinking that she could be the mother of Tristan and Nanna. Actually, maybe she is? What happened to Eve? Did he die with the Cross Knights? Or was he somewhere else when everything went down? Heck, when were Tristan and Jeanne conceived in all of this? Yeah, Restore is weirdly high-range here. But with the way status staves work, there aren't many cases where I "need" it. If I do, it's only because I was foolish enough to leave my 16-Res unit in range of a 17-Mag Bishop. Still very useful when that sort of thing happens. Damn, can't wait for the inevitable Azelle solo. Yeah, while I still think Chulainn is the better partner mechanically, Lex makes a strong case for his compatability with Ayra. It's a fun meeting of personalities. This is the kind of micromanagement I live for. Never change, FE4. Honestly, 14 Cross Knights (led by Eldigan) showing up at once is a great jumpscare for anyone left on the west side of the map. Love that Claud's master plan is "imma get some divine revelation that nobody else will be able to corroborate." No jury in Jugdral is gonna convict Reptor and Lombard on secondhand testimony from God. But hey, maybe Azmur could be more easily swayed? Now, hold on a moment. This doesn't necessarily mean that Dierdre knew Sigyn was her mother's name. If Manfroy had called her "Alice's daughter", she might've had the exact same reaction. If she takes for granted that Manfroy is correct in identifying her parentage, then of course she'd be curious in hearing how he knew her mother - even if she never knew her mother, herself. Honestly a great antagonist speech. Like a more honorable version of Jarod's, in I-E of Radiant Dawn. Huh - I just learned something new. I had assumed it was "+5 Hit/Avo for every star". Based on Sigurd's two stars granting +10 Hit/Avo. But at least per the wiki, it's actually "+10 Hit/Avo for every star, not counting the first star". So I assumed Eldigan gave +25, not +40. That's... cripes, that is overtuned for Eldigan and the other 5-star generals.

I was also thinking of RD on this matter. Because, while it handles supports a world away from 3H, they do share something in common - transparency in their effects. Arguably, RD is even more transparent, since you don't see 3H's "special supports" until you start building them. But likewise, I could say that RD doesn't outright distinguish between +5 and +10 Crit Bond supports. Of course, it is a pretty marginal difference. Anyway, I think Earth affinity would feel decently balanced in a 1 RN or "Fates RN" title. But the 2 RN system means that, say, going from 70 Hit down to 25 Hit is actually 82.3 dropping to 12.8. A difference of almost 60 points, rather than the displayed 45. Not sure if you knew this, but it still exists... sort of. Alm grants Celica +10 Crit and +20 Dodge, while Celica grants Alm +20 Crit and +10 Dodge. Also it activates within 3 tiles, rather than requiring immediate adjacency. I'm gonna disagree a bit. Not that I doubt Alm can get 100 Crit, with the right weapon and combat art. But rather, the particular case of Royal Sword Double Lion. In my experience, Alm tended to have about 50 Crit with the art, when Celica was fielded. If Celica granted him a guaranteed crit, it would be a game-changer, turning every "could-kill with the right RNG" into a "will-kill". Thabes would become much more consistent and reliable. OG Lover crit, apparently. Dunno whether this is "hot take" territory or not, but IMO... guaranteed lover and sibling crits wouldn't be overpowered in Genealogy*. Maps are big, positioning is hard. In Gen I, you don't want to overextend Ethlyn due to her frailty, and as for Deirdre, she has no hopes of keeping up with Sigurd. You can start to abuse it more once other pairings happen, but that isn't until chapter 3 at the earliest. In Gen II, a guaranteed crit sounds great on the Sword Twins... but these two also have Astra, and can inherit 50-kill weapons. Killing power isn't what they struggle with. Conversely, it could actually be a meaningful improvement to "Sword Twins at Home" Radney and Dalvin. Throw 'em a bone, would ya Kaga? *Admittedly, in my "idealized" version, it would be limited to the first strike when that unit initiates combat. So, if Quan is adjacent to Ethlyn, his first attack would be a guaranteed Crit (unless he misses, or the enemy Pavises, or the enemy has Nihil). If the enemy survives or avoids, and Quan Adepts, his next attack would not be a Crit (since he cannot Crit naturally). Unless he's using a Horseslayer, or a 50* Steel Lance. Finally, if Quan is under attack, even while adjacent to Ethlyn, he wouldn't Crit in return.