starbat

Yes, I guess my phrasing was a bit off. I did say in the same comment that by going to unit details and checking the stats you could see specific gains, I just wasn't really considering that a 'preview'. I think in my mind I was imagining the little popup you'd get in Awakening for pairups like in this image: as opposed to going into inspecting the unit when trying to figure out who's giving buffs in which stats. Most of the ease-of-use when it comes to checking stats in the 3ds games was thanks to the split screen of course, but something like this would be possible even on the switch. My guess is they didn't want the numbers to detract from the visuals of combat in this game. Navigating one extra screen for the information isn't too unreasonable, it's just not extremely apparent to players either, is all.

Jumping on the UI tweaking bandwagon a bit here, but I don't think it's been mentioned specifically yet.... Engage is pretty bad at showing the support bonuses. Aside from a little popup indicating A, B or C support with allies, I don't actually think the game has any sort of tangible preview of the gains you get from placing supported units adjacent to each other apart from I guess just...noticing that the number goes up in the forecast? It's not like showing this very overtly has been in absolutely every fire emblem, but I think it's a huge QOL improvement from the last handful of games that is just not present in Engage. You can check exact numbers without an enemy forecast by standing them next to each other and going to unit details, but it's a bit tedious. Especially having to do it with multiple allies in case one will buff a stat you need (say, accuracy) and one will buff a stat you aren't really aiming for (say...crit dodge). It'd be nice if they could at least add some sort of shorthand icon somewhere so players could know what type of support a unit gives allies without either memorizing it or waiting until deployment to check. Just go back to basics with the unit element typing, the solution already exists. Displaying the full numbers for all supported allies somewhere on the reference screen might be a good compromise, seeing as it is for some reason available mid-battle anyways. Like....if you can't rewatch the supports from this menu, and you need to be on the somniel to advance them, just what is the point of having reference available mid-fight anyways?

Seriously. For as much as people talk about Engage being a game that really rewards player phase action, I feel like the heart of that is that the developers know exactly how fans tend to play the games and it shows. Both in the ways they've tried to put certain habits in check with new elements (like dodge/facetanking becoming much harder to pull off with the high accuracy true damage that is backup chaining) and in the ways they've designed the enemies, especially bosses, to abuse the same tried and true tactics right back at you on their phase.

I really felt like Engage did a fantastic job with a lot of the lategame chapters. To the point that I made multiple save files not out of caution but because I wanted to be able to go replay a specific chapter whenever I wanted. If I had to pick one chapter as my standout favorite/most memorable, I'd say chapter 19 was extremely fun and brutal. I'll spoiler specifics here just in case. I already talked a ton in there, but I also have to add that 10-11 and 21-22 were also very high points for me as someone who really liked the four-chapter siege in Path of Radiance. I can admit to some bias there, haha. But 11 and 22 are also some of the only chapters to have non-rout clear conditions, which I feel add a lot to the game/story integration and can really affect the strategies players end up using.

This is something kind of cool a few of the paralogue maps do, the random enemies near the boss with extra health bars are usually stand-ins for close allies/story-relevant characters. The bow knight and wyvern rider are Selena and Beruka respectively, I think. There are a few other examples of this for paralogues it doesn't seem you've gotten to just yet, so I'll refrain from mentioning. It's not just the DLC map though. Also congrats on the clears! If it's of interest to you (although it can really only save you a bit of time save scumming for anyone else you want later) it looks like the ring RNG manipulation game has been refined a little recently. I'll spoiler it in case you don't want specifics, but it's strictly related to scumming for rings.

I'm in agreement with OP about most of the changes to add back things from PoR like BEXP and in particular the base conversations. I feel like the last few games have been rather weak on lore/making the in game countries feel like distinct places and not just named places that have a vaguely differing Aesthetic, or whatever. In PoR the player gets to see firsthand the differences in ideology citizens of these places have (ie prejudice or lack thereof against Laguz, how commoners can move up in the world, even mentions of past wars and economic strife) through conversations with unnamed NPCs, which, realistically, would be the people most affected by the events of a huge war. Fates was deeply troubled in terms of a consistent narrative, and I'm hoping that the switch title will bring some better worldbuilding to the table than both it and Awakening were able to manage (Awakening's primary narrative weakness in my eyes being the Mustache-Twirling "Let's end the world because evil" logic of the grimleal). Echoes did better than the both of them, and maybe could have achieved something like the base conversations if not for the fact that all the NPCs really seemed interested in doing was giving Alm and Celica intercontinental fetch quests (they were enjoyable for me, but not exactly enlightening in terms of story). Gameplay wise, I can really only echo previous opinions: Bows with 1-3 range and drawbacks for shooting at 1/3 range as needed Make forging less broken or give it a better utility like limited weapon repair bring back diverse map objectives and gimmicks, if only for BEXP. one that comes to mind is the PoR chapter "Solo", AKA priest-shoving simulator. Time consuming as it may have been, trying to force your way through a map without killing certain/any enemies (this also applies to the desert map of PoR with Tormod and Muarim's escaped slave crew) is REALLY interesting because it forces you to change your strategies from "throw a Lord at it until it dies". And lowkey offers built in time to heal grind, but shhh lol Possibly less popular, but I really liked the concept of mages learning their spells instead of reading them out of breakable books. I wouldn't mind it if they kept the magic system the way it was in Echoes, but if they do change it back I agree that light magic should come back, as well as magic effectiveness similar to the -slayer weapons, ie thunder > dragons, fire > beasts, light >undead (assuming there are undead, as has been the trend lately) and etc. Basic 'starter' magic could be type-less so units don't start off with an advantage, assuming they keep the Echoes system of learning spells by level up. I also agree that the extra modes like a randomizer mode would be fun and contribute a lot to the replay value!

Although I agree with a few people later in the thread who said it's likely random, this idea is really cool. Assuming this is the case and there is a method to the Brand's madness, I wonder where the royal siblings' father had his, considering he grew up to be a warmongering asshole? Maybe on his sword hand or something?

This is really only a minor detail, but doesn't Nowi meet/know Bantu? I'm pretty sure she only mentions it in event tiles, so it's laughably canon at best, but it still makes me wonder if she really hasn't ever known any other manaketes.... It also makes me bitter about the fact that she doesn't get a support with Tiki, ostensibly the only other manakete she's ever met if the rest of the board is right and she was kidnapped shortly after birth, haha. *Edit: Whoops, shame on me. Someone already pointed out that Nowi knows/knew Bantu earlier in the thread and I didn't see it. Sorry!