paladin21

Feeding the animals is part of the dlc, right, but so is Constance. Maybe I've been biased by my game having the dlc installed to feeling that Annette's magic axe and Mercedes' magic bow are better sure to availability than they actually are. However there are other means to get arcane crystals. You just have to face the right type of beast in the red-marked battles. By exiting the battle to the battle selection menu, you reset the enemies you'll be up against. Otherthan that, the weapon rank you need for both is fairly high (B), which would delay you getting them. However, you get a free repair before timeskip, and once upgraded you get 3-ranged magic with 35 uses. After timeskip, you'll eventually get the dark merchant, by I never had that much of a money problem, even before DLC, to spare some gold to get magic weapons. There's one thing I don't quite understand: why keep you saying that feasible magic axe user being weak in bows is a problem? I'm finding it hard to add two and two with this. If they're going to use a ranged magic weapon (that can be 3-ranged), there's no actual reason to invest in an additional weapon. I agree that bows are broken with curved shot availability, but after getting that art (which I usually do for all my physical units, and it's not hard even for characters weak in bows), you have barely no reason to keep investing in them.

In my current run (hard AM), I've been using magic characters with their weapons of choice (Annette with axes and Mercedes with bows), while jumping between magic and physical classes. Both of them struggled at the beginning with their shaky strength, but using techniques helped them a lot to be actually useful. However, once they get access to magic weapons, either becomes a monster regardless of which class they're in. Obviously, using magic weapons while having spells ready in a magic class isn't advisable, but neither of them have 3-range spells, and the magic+ weapons can provide that perk. Like them, mostly any other mage has, or can get, a proficiency in a weapon to develop a sort of 3-range spell with up to 35 charges, which is a lot. And getting arcane shards isn't that difficult if you feed the animals, all the animals, at least once a month.

I think that Byleth's customization should have been more focused on personality and background. That way, story conversations could have been made fully voiced with established answers based on Byleth's personality. For example, when walking around the monastery, Byleth was asked by two different characters (Mercedes and Gloucester boy) of the were in the cathedral to pray during the same day. You get bonus support points with each character of you answer opposite things. If you had to set Byleth as either more religious or more pragmatic, answers would be giving automatically, scenes would be more fluid, and you wouldn't get the feeling that there's a perfect answer to each question. Doing that could also potentially limit your S-endings, since some characters would be incompatible with certain traits, like if you're passionate about emblems, you'd get on with Lindhart and Monocle, but there would be a rough relationship with Sylvain.

I hadn't used many of the gambits by the time I reached that part, so it was easy to kill most of the reinforcements safely at the same time, since they were all of them clustering together.

I've used her as a sniper, but with her magic bow+, she'd could get 5 range as a bow knight. I think wyvern Edelgard isn't unexpected at all. Her regular class on the other hand...

I thought of a different approach to rebalance the system that would go in a different direction. Characters could get up to four classes per tier, limiting their skill development, but the benefits for all of them would be active at the same time (if a class gives you an art or faire skill, you have it active no matter what). Now, to balance this out, a few more things would have to be implemented: Classes start with no skills. You get them when you master each of its levels, like in a three-star-mastery system, where you unlock a different art or skill with each star (with the first one you get the class stat bonus and the other ones class-related skills and arts). You only get class exp when using the appropriate weapon/armor/mount mix. Of you have a swordmaster/warrior/hero, you'd only get SW exp when using swords and warrior when using axes. Hero exp would come from either weapon but with a reduced quantity. Mounts and armor become equipable items like balloons, with pros and cons (heavy armor reduces speed, but its the only way of getting armor exp). Some maps allow battalions and some don't. It make sense for them to appear in some maps, but not in others, like the map where you rescue Flayn. I have some more ideas in mind, like infantry only arts, a different approach to forging... But it would take too long to describe everything without sounding dull.

That would mean that mostly the Black Eagles would be there, since most of them get supports from the new guys. I might be willing, but I think I saw Hubert in the trailer. I think he was the guy on the top right corner during the dual teleport show. Thinking of which, maybe that's the trickster's third skill. It would certainly suit the class.

Cross-recruiting would be based on gameplay during the first half. For example, Dorothea and Ingrid end in opposing sides of the war, but if they developed their support AND did their paralogue achieving some "hidden" side-objective, they can recruit each other. The same could happen with Ashe and Catherine. The key for this type of recruitment is bonds. If characters developed them during the first part, they'd be more open to sever tires with their former allegiance. That would require very careful planning from the start to recruit all the possible characters each route.

What I thought about the story is that Jeritza should have been the Black Eagles professor until Flayn's chapter, when he leaves and Byleth takes over. Until that moment, Byleth should be able to choose any of the students missions, which would be more house related. I find the missions highly tied to the Blue Lions house (Lonato, Miklan...). Alternative (and simultaneous) missions taking place in the empire (having Jeritza as an ally to explain the relics) or the alliance (with Holst to protect the border from a raid), would have been a nice detail. The second part of the White Clouds is totally main story, so it shouldn't matter which house you choose, everyone should be able to be deployed. Then, in the second part, I think it should have been different, with characters partying ways. Some of them would always join the empire (Hubert, Ashe, Gloucester boy), while other ones would always side against it (Ferdinand, Dedue, Hilda), and the rest being dependent on their support levels with other non-Byleth characters (rising Lysithea's support with Edelgard would make her join the empire from the beginning). Eventually, there would be a rift between the kingdom-alliance factions making you choose one over the other. Characters on enemy sides could be recruited with their bestie or Byleth of the had the required support level with him from the first part.

Something weird happened to me. In my second playthrough (Azure Moon with NG+, the first was Silver Snow), I was given the chance to unlock the S-Support with Sylvain with prestige when the previous game was a male character. If there's some bug like this in your game, you may unlock several S-Supports in the same playthrough.

I don't actually like these outfits that much. I'd rather have the chance to use any outfit from an unlocked class as another one. I think some beginner and intermediate outfits look way better than some advanced and master ones.

Fortify as an art is to op. There's a reason why only two characters can use it as a full action and only 2-4 times per map unless a crest triggers. As for their classes, if say dragon general for Seteth (with skills relying on his statue boosts), and saint for Flayn (basically a boosted bishop, since she's said to have been a healer during the first war).

I quickly noticed about Rhea being Seiros, since she hasn't changed basically, and teaches swords and brawling. Flayn being Cethlean was pretty straightforward, and Seteth being Cichol, once it was revealed that Cichol was Cethlean's father, was easy to guess as well. Jeralt's death was a given, though I was hoping for a surprise and make him live. Monica turning out to be evil was easy, and hanging around Edelgard asking you to leave them alone just made it too obvious. I started suspecting Solon and Jeritza when I couldn't train with them. That's what triggered the alarms.

I think Jeralt's death was meant to make Byleth understand that the flyer of time is a one way path, and some events can't be avoided.

I mentioned it in another post, but I think dual weapon classes should have a unique dual weapon faire skill (+3 to attack with both weapons) and a dual prowess skill (giving the same bonuses that the prowess skill for either weapon equal to level of the least developed one). For example, if a MS had reason IV sword V, his prowess skill would give him reason IV and sword IV, but equipping sword V would override the effect of the class built-in skill. That way you could actually have a unit able to use two different weapons with enough skill without using many skill slots since the secondary weapon gets a free prowess skill. It would also mean that, if you have two prowess skills at the same level, you could potentially free the other skill slot.

Maybe it could be one of Edelgard brothers, said to be dead but actually survived the implant.

I agree, this guy deserves more love action, with the recruitment conditions being: Silver Snow and save him in the battle pre-timeskip. Having a green ally called "Gate Keeper" during that battle would have been funny as hell. If he fell during the battle, he'd just retreat, and say different things in his base dialogues.

Hero and warrior should have arts like the other infantry physical units. Something like Aether for the hero and Eclipse for the warrior would have made some people think they were worth using. They are lacking in skills of compared to other advanced or master classes. For the hero, vantage is not enough to make up for the speed difference with the other two classes or the lack of magic. If it had something like a built-in steady stance (or steady breath) from FEH, his overall usefulness would rise as an enemy phase class. I hate the way this class is nerfed, since I always liked it, and it has a nice model attached to it (unlike grappler, thank Sothis now I can use other models for that class). If in DLC4 you could use any model from unlocked classes as the monastery look, I'd probably use it for M!Byleth.

Byleth also was implanted a crest, like his/her parents. The difference is that it was done three right way. Anyway, we have for more characters coming and several unused crests, so chances are we might get something like what you said in the dlc4.

Has anyone checked if Jeritza's unique skills are inheritable via traveler adjuntant? These would be Mastermind and Counterattack. I hold no hopes, but it could open some interesting gimmicks in the game.

I think Silver Snow would be the route to choose, mainly for the relation between Byleth and Edelgard. I think they would make great opposite main characters. However, taking a few licenses here and there within the story could enrich it. For example, having Byleth being an academy professor with no assigned class at the beginning of the story, so that he would make bonds with all the roster, but after rescuing Flayn, he'd be assigned to the black eagles sure to their main professor, Jeritza, disappearing. This way he'd deepen his bonds with Edelgard even more. After the timeskip, some events could appear in the anime even without Byleth appearing there, just to build up tension between all for factions before the battle of Gronder fields. At that battle, the church army would arrive late, in time only to save a few characters, and enlist them or have them recovering from their wounds after that I'm the infirmary (I could see Raphael surviving with heavy wounds, and Ignatz promising him to keep up the fight, or some emotional last words from Leonie to Byleth after meeting again). What I don't like is the satellite-shot missiles that appear twice in the story, it feels out of place for me. Is change it to ultra-powerful ancient magic. It may look alike, but it feels way better suited for the characterisation. High-tech guided missiles... Well, that doesn't work.

There's a gimmick I take advantage of in the game, that is getting classes for the stats, like Lysithea getting myrmidon, mercenary and mortal savant to raise strength and defense, which she doesn't actually grow on her own. With axe users, getting armor knight for some extra defense is a nice touch early on, which usually takes very little effort.

I remember my first playthrough (silver snow hard), where I had most of my units grinding skills from the previous map. That meant no dancer (Dorothea was a warlock, fair enough), Petra was an assassin (she was the designated flyer, usually at least), Caspar was a brawler (just for the laughs, he had just mastered pavise, so being a fortress would have made this all easier), the other three were in nice classes on the other side. Still, I learned a valuable lesson: story missions, not good for grinding. However, I think Flayn should appear in that map. She's part of the class at the moment of the promise, and, along with Seteth, would give you a full roster. She even gives Byleth the lord bonus to damage. However, after having some struggling on hard on level, I can see how problematic it can become on maddening.

Maybe with trial and error or by data mining, but it's pretty consistent with my last trial. I was using Marianne with a magic sword, and the difference between a regular attack and the combat art was 7, +2 from the art and +5 from from the resistance bonus (19 res).

I actually think way different than this. I think the twelve crusaders' blood would be related to the ten (+ one) elites and Narga's being the crest of flames. Lopt would be Seiros and the other crests would be lost to history. It just makes more sense in my mind that the genealogy war was an alternate timeline where Nemesis wins the war and becomes saint Heim. Then he vanished the Agartheans, and they tried to use children to bring back Seiros/Lopt. There are actually quite a few similarities between the two stories. You could even argue that Nemesis changed history to suit his means (it easier to say that your powers are god-given than god-stolen to secure your power).