Shanty Pete's 1st Mate

The actual Twiztid is a hip-hop duo, in the same vein as Insane Clown Posse. I'm calling the Agarthans that because it's already how I pronounce the more-proper TWSITD, and because I find it funny. I think it boils down to "no good answer". Edelgard disposing of Arundel and co before beating Rhea totally kneecaps the notion that "I need their support to win this war". If she's confident in beating her two greatest foes thus far (Dimitri and Rhea) without their aid, then did she really need it beforehand? Or was she enabling needless suffering by keeping them around (including giving Arundel free reign over the defeated Alliance)? Meanwhile, dealing with them in the post-game credits just seems lazy and rushed... but having you fight them undercuts the significance of Rhea as the final boss. Maybe the best answer is an optional post-game fight, but having an "optional end" (a la FE6) feels bad to me, too.

You already get nobles who aren't assholes, though, such as Lukas and Clive. I don't think "Berkut is an asshole because he's a noble" is the message that comes across. I've been thinking about a future game that leans on an Echoes-style system. In my vision, you can go to level 30, and don't reset level upon promotion. Villagers promote at level 3, First-tiers (i.e. Mage, Cavalier) at level 10, then Secon-tiers (i.e. Sage, Paladin) at level 20, into Third-tiers (Archsage, Gold Knight). Using a pitchfork retains level - an overleveled Villager (say, 15) just has to level up once before promoting again (at 16). Same for whatever it promotes into (can promote at 17). Also, each spell comes at a specific level (except for those that are class-linked), as do combat arts (which are now character-specific, rather than weapon-linked). So there's a lot that goes into this, ahah.

"What happened to Arundel?" "I put poison in his wine." "...Gwa-ha-ha!" While the Agarthans allied with those nobles in the past, in my vision, their current rebellion is without Agarthan support. Thales wouldn't have a motive to displace Edelgard while they share a common enemy in Rhea. If anything, the rebellion would establish Edelgard's own need for Twiztid to achieve her goals - without them, even her control at home is incomplete. Hm, maybe? That would make Edelgard look morally better. But there are still a large contingent of Kingdom-Church forces. Losing the support of not just Thales, but Twiztid as a whole, could compromise her own mission. I'd rather see her keep working with them, but express a distinct plan to undermine them after the war. Show that she's planned this out, not just "crossing that bridge when she gets to it."

Wouldn't that reinforce the "nobility > commoners" point that the game is ostensibly against? Since the common-born Berkut keeps getting his ass kicked by the noble-born Alm? Seems like it's just breaking its own aesop further open. You can use Falchion, until you can't, until you can again. Gonna guess Rigel's hold on "strength" as a philosophy is about as slippery as the Klingons' sense of "honor". Namely, they have a firm moral code, which they're totally willing to bend when the opportunity arises. Slayde could be interpreted as a tool to further Rigel's own strength, even if he's gutless himself. Yo dawg, I heard you like Witches. So I let this Witch summon Witches, so you can get ambushed while you're getting ambushed. Laughs in re-recruited out-of-house Ashe or Lorenz It's worth checking out. They've got a couple fountains and a gold piece.

Obviously, they deserved the cutscene(s) more than the reunion in Crimson Flower. Or getting buried before the start of Crimson Flower. Or Dedue consoling a dying Dimitri in Crimson Flower. Or- okay, that's enough beating a dead wyvern. So, this is what the Claude/Teach paired ending looks like: For the record, you mean my point was confirmed? Namely, that Those Who Slither survived in some form. As for the ending itself - weird. I thought it was a romantic one. Just based on this ending, it definitely should have been possible to pair male Teach with Claude. That said, I kinda hate how impersonal this one is. Then again, I'm not a fan of several elements of Verdant Wind's ending (Nemesis showing up apropos of nothing, Claude yeeting himself back to Almyra, Teach becoming ruler of Fodlan because IDK a sword picked them or something, and the lack of any clear designs for how a "unified Fodlan" will operate).

I have no illusions that he would receive any better treatment than Baron "Totally-not-a-generic-Paladin" Dominic. Not only that, but the nukes don't even accomplish anything narratively. They're not acknowledged to kill any named characters, and they don't turn the tide of war either toward or against the player's army. You could argue that Rhea stopping the nukes made her sick, but that's inconsistent (she dies relatively peacefully on VW, whereas on SS, she goes dragon-crazy and only survives with a high-enough grandchild support). Thales could've used some sort of "poison trap" to the same effect. The only thing they do "accomplish" is revealing their location to Hubert. Which isn't really explained, as Hubert wasn't a direct witness to either attack. I agree and disagree. I think she's more dependent on her Professor on CF than on any other route. This was the route where, not only did they teach her, but they allied with her, even after she invaded the Holy Tomb. She has full confidence in them, just in time to lose them. While she can act without them, a big part of her character is her emotional investment into the Professor. As for Twiztid, I generally agree with Jotari's assessment. They were in an excellent position, and they squandered it. All Thales has to do is get Edelgard killed - as Regent of the Empire, he's next-in-line for effective control. Had he capitalized on this, rather than presumably keeping her around as a tool after Rhea's defeat, he could have held all of Fodlan in his hands. But the plot requires him to be a dumbass about it. Is it specified that Shambala is their only hiding place? I had imagined it to be moreso their capital, but not their only location. Not only that, but there are plenty above the surface. In any case, it's naive to think that destroying Shambala marked an end to the Agarthans.

I can see some value in this, to be sure. But any attempt to show what happened during the timeskip would have to be positioned carefully, to avoid coming off as an "infodump". That said, I do think she still has some growing to do when it comes to trusting her peers. How can she expect them to help her defeat the mole people, when she won't even reveal to them their existence? Thematically, there's no beating the Immaculate One as the game's final boss. Edelgard's principal quest is to displace the Church's authority in Fodlan, so any other ending is an anticlimax. Maybe there could be a mission to Shambala, but I really don't want Nemesis as the final boss (too samey with Verdant Wind). My own desired extender chapters aren't backloaded, but frontloaded. Rather than kicking the post-skip off with an invasion of the Alliance, require Edelgard to set things right at home first. My chapter 13 would see an escaped Count Varley lead a pro-church mutiny, including an assault on Fort Merceus. Once that's repelled, Chapter 14 sees Edelgard defeat the rebellion's leader, Duke Aegir, in Aegir territiry. New scenarios on old maps, that give the player a hand in establishing the legitimacy of Edelgard's rule, over the nobility of old. Plus, you get to live out everyone's fantasy of killing Bernadetta's father.

Fair and understandable, thanks for letting me know. It's tricky to say when availability should, and shouldn't be considered. Like, Point-Blank Volley is a great combat art, but should it be considered lesser for being only on two units? Or, Wrath Strike is a rather average art, but should it get credit for its near ubiquity? It depends on the question at hand - am I considering how much I'd like to see this art on any given unit? Or, how much harder the game would be if I could never use this technique?

While I agree that the Empire and the Kingdom-Church Alliance were likely evenly matched, Edelgard may have had other reasons to hold the war at a standstill. Like, maybe she didn't have confidence in being able to defeat Twiztid without the Professor's help. In which case, she'd want to hold off on capturing/killing Rhea. The "dog-piling" happens beforehand, and Teach shows up to help free the Immaculate One from them. Then, when Teach gets knocked into the crevasse, there appears to be one or two clinging to the Immaculate One. Which she probably could've knocked or shaken off. That's said, let's suppose those beasts do succeed in holding her down. In that case, why would Rhea end up in Edelgard's captivity (without Twiztid's awareness)? Thales is right there - he literally just attacked the Professor. There's no way he would willingly abandon a chance to take Rhea for himself. As such, I doubt that her capture was immediately after the cutscene in question. Gronder II feels forced every time. In this version, for instance, why would Claude attack Kingdom-Church forces? I know he doesn't care much for Rhea, but they nonetheless would hold a mutual foe in Edelgard. That said, I really like CF's "Garreg Mach defense" map. On other routes, it feels like a rehash of Chapter 12. CF is helped by having a totally reversed chapter 12, and including some notable named enemies among the post-skip invaders. I'm not a fan of letting the player win in gameplay, then lose in the narrative. Agreed, though, that CF could have been done better in at least two aspects - length, and personal growth for Edelgard.

@Shadow Mir I feel I must interject, regarding your grade for Dance of the Goddess. Per the original grading guidelines: The rationale here is, once this is done, we'll also be grading the battalions. At that point, factors like availability and authority demands will be brought into play. As will the gambit it comes with. So grading the gambit itself on availability would have the effect of "double counting" such factors when grading the battalion as a whole. Instead, to be totally fair going into the next step, the gambit should be considered divorced from its associated battalion(s). Not to say you need to change your grade - I, too, gave Dance of the Goddess an 8 out of 10. On the basis that its effect, while incredible, was held to a single use on no more than 4 targets. Knowing these guidelines, I ask - would you grade this gambit the same, or differently, from before?

Welcome back, everyone! Of the two gambits we considered last time, one of them really took the positive reception in stride. The other one, though, I don't see recovering anytime soon from the roaring denunciation it received. So, what's on the docket today? Chapter 13: Blessing and Dance-of-the-Goddess Whereas yesterday, we considered two gambits with large areas of effect and multiple uses, today we consider those that can impact far fewer allies, just once per map. Do their effects make up for this shortcoming? Blessing Dance of the Goddess Brief reminder of the guidelines: And now - what do I think of these two gambits? I'll look forward to reading your own thoughts!

The thing is, the "splitting point" comes very shortly after Teach disappears. The fact that Rhea managed to escape to the Kingdom, immediately following the Battle of Garreg Mach, appears to be what changed things. It's not entirely clear why this happens on CF, but no other routes. Since we never actually see Rhea get captured by the Empire. It's a little trickier than that. Cornelia commits a coup, but since she was an influential figure in the Kingdom (and the royal family is all dead or disgraced), the "Faerghus Dukedom" can attempt to call itself the legitimate successor to the Kingdom. Hence the civil war, as Houses Gautier and Fraldarius recognize Cornelia's claim that Dimitri killed Rufus (upon which her legitimacy hinges) as a lie. Not necessarily. The Alliance is still a far weaker military force than the Empire, and it's not entirely unified (owing to its confederate nature). Suppose Claude pushed for war, which starts out great, until they meet a rousing defeat at Fort Merceus. Then, Count Gloucester could assert that the invasion was foolhardy, and that Claude's leadership is not what the Alliance needs. All he needs is a similar "vote of no confidence" from two other represented houses (say, Edmund and Goneril) in order to take effective control of the Alliance. That said, a coordinated effort between the Alliance and the Kingdom-plus-Church could probably have defeated the Empire. But it's not clear that the other noble houses would have preferred that to a continuing neutrality. Agreed, though, that invading the Alliance was... morally gray, let's say. And it's a minor miracle that devoting the resources necessary to successfully invade didn't cause their front with the Kingdom-plus-Church (previously a stalemate) to collapse.

I would counter that Edelgard isn't more successful on Crimson Flower - at least, not at the start. She has a major geopolitical rival in the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus (under Dimitri), in league with the Central Church (under Rhea). Compare to non-CF routes, where the Church and Kingdom have effectively been decapitated, and half of the latter is under the effective control of an ally (Cornelia), rendering the Empire uncontested as the continent's biggest power. Even the Alliance, which exists regardless, is more capable and united under Claude on CF (note Acheron fighting for the Alliance, rather than the Empire). Edelgard finds success, of course, but only after starting from a worse-off position.

If the goal is class balance, maybe buff Archers? They're at one of their weakest points in Awakening. Higher stats wouldn't totally fix them, but it may make them more bearable.

Yeah, but this time, it's handheld. That's what's new and significant about it.

Not I. For starters, the option demands A+ Professor Rank, and it applies to A-rank weapons. Ergo, it's generally not even an option until the lategame. The 3 extra Might is nice on the already-high-Might Zoltan weapons, I grant - but at what cost? 12 Wootz Steel. For comparison's sake, 4 Wootz Steel makes a Silver Weapon go Brave, and 6 more Wootz Steel makes it go Brave+. So it's cheaper, in terms of ore, to go through both Brave phases than a single Zoltan+ phase. And I would say, except for using with combat arts, or on enemy phase, the Brave effect is far more valuable than a few points of Might.

Yes, because it's produced by having the sheep stomp the grapes, giving it its distinctive flavor. ...Which is never confirmed, but neither is it deconfirmed. Agreed that it's stat-dependent. I was really impressed by my Bow Knight Boey, even without the Killer Bow, but he had great starting Res and got bonus levels through the Pitchfork (itself a contested resource). That said, I've found Heavy Draw off the Steel Bow to do decent damage. Nothing compared to Hunter's Volley, but solid chip regardless. Very weird that Jedah seems to think he's doing Celica's company a favor, by sending them to hell. Then again, his moral compass seems to point toward "surrendering your soul to Duma" as the highest honor a woman can strive for, so.

Ram Village probably isn't even its proper name. Dollars to donuts, it's called that due to the sheep that live there. Try to leave Clive and/or Clair behind when going into Duma's Temple, and Fernand will summon them. Weird that he doesn't just send them back outside. Ironically, sending them down to be eaten by Duma seriously backfires, by allowing them to be present for the final battle. Presumably, he expected some of her team members to die along the way. Not sure whether this dialogue changes if any of them do. Genuinely wild that Dread Fighters get 7 move. Movement "balancing" across the first 3 games, and their respective remakes, was all over the place. That said, I do think Gold Knights deserve some credit for their mobility (2 is no small margin), access to ranged weapons, and physical bulk. Bow Knights are less there in bulk, but more there in range. Even without Hunter's Volley, a class that can move 8 tiles, and then attack 5 further, is good (full stop). Regarding Mages, while spell lists hugely matter, so does management of the Mage Ring. Armors... yeah, I've got no defense there.

I like Assassin, but let's not go down a "which classes are bad and which are good" rabbit hole on a thread about the utility of forging. Anyway, the previous point - that forging certain swords can make for more reliable critical builds - is a salient one.

I mean, I would've said Banjo-Kazooie. They haven't been relevant since the N64 era, so no way they're coming to the series now! And of course, I would have been wrong, because characters are often added with a shocking disregard for commercial interests. So I'm not gonna make any guesses, lest I unwittingly wish, say, Geno into the world of Smash.

I can't believe IS. Let Linhardt wear the dress, you cowards! ...Ahem. Dimitri's Great Lord class is the closest counterpart. Commit to a 5-year revenge tour, and it can be yours today! For my part, I like the game's addition of punchy options! But I'm not a fan of the outfits of... well, any of the punchy classes. Also, not sure if/how the gender restrictions might play out. To be safe, how about War Monk? I get to punch people without looking like an escapee from a BDSM dungeon. And I get the chance to heal and use some spells, for when I'm feeling lazy. And if I can be totally self-indulgent, I'll take some Rallies as well. Class Path: Commoner* -> Fighter* -> Brigand* -> War Monk* Abilities: Gauntlet Prowess, Death Blow, Gauntlet Avoid +20, Rally Charm, Rally Luck Personal: Sea Shanty - Can perform an additional action (i.e. healing, attacking), but not moving, once per turn after Rallying. Weapons: Training Gauntlets, Steel Gauntlets, Killer Knuckles, Aura Knuckles Combat Arts: Shove, One-Two Punch, Bombard, Pneuma Gale Spells: Wind, Sagittae, Heal, Nosferatu, Physic, Restore

I like this one. It's pretty much perfect for the class concept. And it matches being a sidegrade of Fortress Knight. Yep - Great Knight's ranks are demanding in general (heh). Kind of wild that B+/A/B+ was allowed, when Mortal Savant is just A/B+, and several classes are C/B+/A. Compared to those, A/B/B should be totally reasonable. If you're already using a "Repositional" slot, then Smite is a good one - it's a strictly better Shove. Plenty of combat arts can deal more damage, but few can move an ally by two spaces at a time. As for Weight -3, thinking of it as a substitute for Speed +2 is something of a mistake. You get them in totally different ways - Weight -3 comes from skill ranks, while Speed +2 needs class mastery. If I chose to master a different Beginner class (say Fighter for Strength +2), then going back for Myrmidon will take precious time that I could be working on, say, Brigand. That said, if I do go for both Speed +2 and Weight -3, the skills can actually synergize fairly well. If I'm going for a "speedster" build (say on Petra, or Felix), having both can help to maintain doubling thresholds, even with heavier weapons in hands.

Why is two non-weapon skills worse than one unused weapon and one non-weapon skill? Elf already pointed out that A Flight plus C Lances requires more skill exp than B Flight plus B Armor. Along with a swath of "borderline worthless" things that come from Armor investment (early 12 defense, Weight -3, and Smite). Training in Lances gives combat arts and higher Prowess, sure - but on those units where I'm all-in with Axes, this won't be of any material benefit, aside from the certification. Would it be harder for some units to certify, sure (Seteth comes to mind, as do out-of-house Sylvain and Ferdinand). Would it be easier for some units (i.e. Gilbert, Raphael, Edelgard), also yes. My intent was to construct a Master class that offers something other than "Wyvern Rider, but better", while also being less broken and centralizing than vanilla Wyvern Lord. In trying to create an "Armored Flier", I don't think it's asking too much that the unit have at least some basis in Armor and Flight.

Unironic advice - find something else to do while the support is playing. Say, folding laundry or washing dishes. Funnily enough, I got this advice from the Leonie-Lysithea support. And don't forget, Rigel's chief crop is grapes. You know, the kind of fruit renowned for its hardiness in barren soils and cold weathers. Anyway, the "food as a healing item" could've worked, if you didn't just pick it up wherever. Like, maybe a village donates bread to the Deliverance, and Alm is conflicted because he fears they may starve. Or Celica beats a bunch of bandits hoarding food, and can return some of it to the villagers for a reward. Moments like this make me hate that they set this right between FE1 and FE3 (admittedly, before FE3 was a thing). It really constrains the activities of the few shared characters. And I have to believe that these two nearby continents experienced three cumulative world-churning wars in as many years. Disappointed that he wasn't recast as Jedah's stunt double. Anyway, congrats on bearing him here! Something I've never managed.

Well, it seems like Resonant White Magic didn't really brighten anyone's day. On the flip side, Retribution has come back with a vengeance, to reign supreme among all support gambits (thus far). Which ones will we be considering today? Chapter 12: Stride and Recovery Roar Here, we look at two gambits - one ubiquitous, the other obscure - which share the ability to affect a huge number of allies simultaneously. Stride Recovery Roar First, a brief recap of the grading guidelines: Now, what do I think of these gambits? Find out below! Can't wait to hear what you all think about these two gambits!