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[spoiler=Screenshots] [spoiler=Wait what are these showing?]1) Seth's base stats are reduced, especially in HP, STR, SPD and DEF. Seth received a few very needed nerfs - lower bases, reduced growths, and a tweak to the EXP formula in the earlygame, which although an indirect nerf, hinders Seth's early EXP gain far more than any other character is affected. 2) An example of a chapter 9 Eirika Shaman, showcasing their new defensive slant. Slightly higher offensive stats but much stronger defensively. Most enemies didn't gain much or any DEF/RES in this patch, instead I opted to raise HP to maintain balance of lower strength, high SPD units. 3) Marisa is significantly buffed in terms of bases. This is her in chapter 10 Eirika route. Marisa didn't receive any other buffs, so this is all she gets. How do you think she compares to Joshua (who was unchanged)? 4) Trainee 1st tier promotions are buffed significantly as well, especially Amelia (who is generally considered the weakest character in the game). Also, notice the CON gain. Trainees are no longer stuck on useless CON! Oh, and those are more or less average stats for Amelia before promotion as a level 10 Recruit. If you do the comparison, it might not look like she got buffed much (before promotion gains, at least!), but she does have a number of small buffs in a few areas of gameplay, as does Ewan and to a lesser degree, Ross. 5) Late game bosses are strong, but not ridiculously strong. Lyon is heavily buffed but still has fairly low AS - much higher than his usual ~5 AS though - so even though he's sporting 55 mt like usual, and now 29/30 defences with a whopping 88 HP, he's not too hard to gang up on and take down if you're careful. 6) Most dark magic tomes have been buffed, since they did sorta suck before. Luna with it's terrible hit but 10% crit was particularly notorious for usually being completely non-threatening, except the fact it often had maybe a 2% chance to simply kill you. FESS Difficulty & Balance 1.1.zip (Alternate download: Google Drive) I uh uploaded here first, then later realised I could just attach the file on the forums directly. Doesn't hurt having two versions in case one goes down I suppose. This is a patch that I've been working on for the last month, give or take, mainly for my own entertainment, but since it's done, it felt like a shame to not release it in case more people would be interested. As the name suggests, this patch aims to do two things - 1) Increase the game's difficulty and 2) Address some various balance issues in a number of places, at least as I perceive them. As many people would agree, The Sacred Stones is one of the easier FE games - even if you don't just have Seth demolish his way through the game, there are few seriously challenging chapters, and plenty of other characters who can be trained up quickly and destroy the later parts of the game. Many of those characters, and especially Seth, needed a bit of a tone down. Similarly, many characters are close to worthless if played in a traditional (no grinding) style, due to joining very low levelled, late, and often not being noticably better than similar units when trained. Those characters needed some kind of buff and/or niche to make them more worthwhile. Thus, this patch comes in. This patch is for anyone who wants to play FE8 again, but feels the original game is too easy, and wants something more comparable to recent FE games higher (not top) difficulties. In terms of difficulty, my goal was somewhere around perhaps HHM in FE7, or maybe F4 in FE11 - so I didn't want to make a super challenge for FE vets, just something where the enemies have a little more bite to them. In terms of balance, I wanted to make every character at least viable, and no character feel almost mandatory, for simply completing the game (LTC, speedrun or anything like that wasn't a goal or particular consideration). I was not trying to make every character equally good - such goals are almost impossible, and somewhat subjective. But I wanted even the weakest characters in vanilla to feel worthwhile and rewarding to train, and the strongest to not be overbearing. I feel (and hope!) that I succeeded. This is not a massive redesign of the game or a huge project. Don't expect things like new characters, sprites or ASM hacking. Everything I did was done with Nightmare, and all but one thing with publicly available modules (one module I made myself). This patch is simply doing the things I said it would - rebalancing the game and increasing the difficulty. I'd like to thank two people, who helped make this patch - one directly, and one indirectly. Kaoz/Chaosmaster helped a lot, suggesting various ways to rebalance characters, as well as other things I might want to adjust. I spent a lot of time talking to him about things I could tweak and how to do it. Vennobennu also helped indirectly, well over a year ago, since he told me how to remove the "mode coefficent" part of the EXP formula (and this is what my nightmare module I made as a result is for). Now that's out of the way, here's a changelog for those interested. [spoiler=Summary Changelog]Difficulty: Increased enemy stats (HP majorly, STR/SKL/SPD/LUK slightly). "Mode Coefficient" EXP removed (this basically means you gain less EXP for high level units until chapter 8) Strong units nerfed slightly Balance: Strong units weakened slightly by reducing bases, reducing growths, altering base level, etc. This includes Seth, Franz, Gerik, Duessel and others. Weak units buffed slightly by increasing bases, increasing growths, altering base level etc. Trainees have had their 1st promotion buffed. This includes Ross, Neimi, Amelia, Ewan, Marisa, Knoll and others. Shaman/Druid has slightly more defensively oriented stats, inspired by FE13, to give them both a more distinct feel from other magic users. A few other miscellanious changes. [spoiler=Detailed changelog]All enemy and NPC units unpromoted/promoted base stats increased: HP +4/+6; STR, SKL & SPD +1/+2; DEF & RES +0/+1 All enemy units growths increased: HP +30%; STR, SKL, SPD & LUK +10% Unpromoted Monsters gain 1 less base HP, 10% less HP growth and 5% less STR, SKL, SPD & LUK growth (mostly because Ghost Ship is too much of a difficulty spike otherwise) "Mode Coefficient" EXP removed (see bottom of page for info) Base stat & level changes (note: X>Y means the character is autolevelled from X to Y. All unlisted stats are unchanged): Seth: 26 HP (-4), 12 STR (-2), 10 SPD (-2), 10 DEF (-1), 7 RES (-1), C Swords (-2) Franz: 19 HP (-1), 6 STR (-1), 4 SKL (-1) Moulder: 8 SPD (-1) Vanessa: 10 SPD (-1), 5 DEF (-1) Ephraim: Level 7 (+3) Orson: 33 HP (-1), 14 STR (-1), 10 SPD (-1), 12 DEF (-1) Gerik: Level 8 Eir (-2), Level 8>10 Eph (was 10), 29 HP (-3), 12 STR (-2), 11 SKL (-2), 11 SPD (-2), 7 LUK (-1), 8 DEF (-2), 3 RES (-1), 12 CON (-1) Tethys: Level 1>3 Eph (was 1), 11 SPD (-1), 4 DEF (-1), 3 RES (-1) Saleh: Level 1>4 Eph (was 2>4), 17 SKL (-1), 7 DEF (-1). Cormag: 29 HP (-1), 9 SPD (-1) Duessel: Level 8>11 Eir (was 8>10), 39 HP (-2), 16 STR (-1), 11 SKL (-1), 11 SPD (-1), 16 DEF (-1) Neimi: Level 3 (+2), 18 HP (+1), 6 STR (+2), 7 SKL (+2), 8 SPD (+2), 5 LUK (+1), 3 RES (+1) Natasha: Level 2 (+1), 19 HP (+1), 3 MAG (+1), 9 SPD (+1) Amelia: Level 4 (+3), Level 4>7 Ch. 13 Eir (was 1>4), 18 HP (+2), 5 STR (+1), 4 SKL (+1), 5 SPD (+1), 7 LUK (+1), 3 DEF (+1), 4 RES (+1) Marisa: Level 10 Eir (+5), Level 10>12 Eph (was 5), 27 HP (+4), 9 STR (+2), 15 SKL (+3), 16 SPD (+3), 12 LUK (+3), 5 DEF (+1), 6 RES (+3), C Swords (+1) L'Arachel: Level 7 (+4), 20 HP (+2), 8 MAG (+2), 8 SKL (+2), 12 SPD (+2), 14 LUK (+2), 6 DEF (+1), 10 RES (+2) Dozla: 12 SKL (+1), 10 SPD (+1) Ewan: Level 6 (+5), 18 HP (+3), 5 MAG (+2), 4 SKL (+2), 7 SPD (+2), 8 LUK (+3), 1 DEF (+1), 5 RES (+2) Rennac: 30 HP (+2), 11 STR (+1), 17 SPD (+1) Knoll: Level 10 (was 9>10), 23 HP (+2), 13 MAG (+1), 2 LUK (+2), 5 DEF (+3), 11 RES (+1) Syrene: Level 6 (+5) 31 HP (+4), 14 STR (+2), 16 SKL (+3), 20 SPD (+5), 13 LUK (+1), 11 DEF (+1), 15 RES (+3), B Swords (+1) The Creature Campaign bonus characters all have the same bonuses as enemy units do (+6 HP, +2 STR, SKL & SPD, +1 DEF & RES) because well they're bonus characters anyway, they need all the help they can get (and it's less editing to leave like that) Lyon's Phantoms are stronger (+15% STR, SKL, SPD, LUK growths) because I felt like it. Growths changes: Seth: 80% HP (-10%), 45% STR (-5%), 40% SKL (-5%), 40% SPD (-5%), 20% LUK (-5%), 30% DEF (-10%), 20% RES (-10%) Amelia: 70% HP (+10%), 40% STR (+5%) Ewan: 55% HP (+5%), 55% MAG (+10%), 40% SPD (+5%) Knoll: 80% HP (+10%), 25% DEF (+15%) Promotion bonus changes: Journeyman > Fighter: +3 HP, +3 STR, +1 SKL, +1 RES, +3 CON (was: +2 HP, +2 STR, +1 SKL, +1 RES, +3 CON) Journeyman > Pirate: +4 HP, +2 STR, +1 SPD, +1 DEF, +2 CON (was: +2 HP, +2 STR, +1 SPD, +1 DEF, +2 CON) Journeyman > Journeyman (2): +3 HP, +1 STR, +2 SKL, +2 DEF, +2 RES, +1 CON (was: +2 HP, +2 SKL, +2 DEF, +2 RES) Journeyman (2) > Journeyman (3) +5 HP, +1 STR, +1 SPD, +3 DEF, +3 RES, +2 CON (was: +4 HP, +1 STR, +2 SPD, +2 DEF, +2 RES) Journeyman (2) > Hero Now gives +2 CON (was +3 CON), no other changes Recruit > Cavalier: +2 HP, +2 SKL, +3 SPD, +2 RES, +3 CON (was: +1 HP, +2 SKL, +2 SPD, +2 RES, +3 CON) Recruit > Knight: +3 HP, +3 STR, +1 SKL, +4 DEF, +1 RES, +4 CON (was: +2 HP, +1 STR, +1 SKL, +1 SPD, +2 DEF, +4 CON) Recruit > Recruit (2): +3 HP, +2 STR, +3 SKL, +2 SPD, +2 DEF, +2 RES, +1 CON (was: +2 HP, +1 STR, +1 SKL, +1 SPD, +2 DEF, +1 RES) Recruit (2) > Recruit (3): +3 HP, +3 STR, +1 SKL, +1 SPD, +2 DEF, +2 CON (was: +2 HP, +2 STR, +1 SKL, +1 SPD, +2 DEF, +1 RES) Recruit (2) > Paladin: Now gives +2 CON (was +3 CON), no other changes Pupil > Mage: +2 HP, +2 MAG, +1 SKL, +3 SPD, +1 DEF, +2 RES, +1 CON (was: +1 HP, +1 SKL, +2 SPD, +1 DEF, +2 RES, +1 CON) Pupil > Shaman: +4 HP, +1 MAG, +1 SPD, +3 DEF, +2 RES, +2 CON (was: +1 HP, +2 MAG, +1 SPD, +1 DEF, +2 RES, +2 CON) Pupil > Pupil (2): +3 HP, +3 MAG, +2 SKL, +2 DEF, +3 RES, +1 CON (was: +2 HP, +1 MAG, +1 SKL, +2 DEF, +2 RES) Pupil (2) > Pupil (3): Now gives +1 CON (was +0 CON), no other changes Pupil (2) > Sage: Now gives +1 CON (was +2 CON), no other changes Stat cap changes: All Trainee (1): 15 STR, SKL, SPD, DEF, RES & CON (Was 20 in all) Journeyman (3): 30 STR, 28 SKL, 26 SPD, 30 DEF, 24 RES (Was: 26 STR, 29 SKL, 28 SPD, 23 DEF, 23 RES) Recruit (3): 28 STR, 30 SKL, 29 SPD, 27 DEF, 27 RES (Was: 23 STR, 30 SKL, 29 SPD, 22 DEF, 26 RES) Pupil (3): 29 MAG, 29 SKL, 26 SPD, 24 DEF, 30 RES (Was: 29 MAG, 28 SKL, 27 SPD, 21 DEF, 30 RES) n.b. These 3rd tier stat caps are the ones in the Japanese version. Some are a bit odd like Journeyman's 30 DEF, but overall they seemed more appropriate to use. The 1st tier ones are just for effect, they're almost unreachable caps still (Ross has a 0.2% chance of reaching 16 Strength... if you give him the ch. 7 Energy Ring.) Weapon changes: Luna now has 75% hit, 0% crit and 11 wt (was 50% hit, 10% crit and 12 wt) Nosferatu now has 13 wt (was 14 wt) Fenrir now has 15 wt (was 18 wt) Gleipnir now has 21 mt, 16 wt, effective vs. monsters (was 23 mt, 20 wt, no effective bonus) All 1-2 ranged Lances (Javelin, Short Spear, Spear) and Axes (Hatchet, Hand Axe, Tomahawk) have -1 mt Other misc. changes: Shaman & Druid base stats: +1 HP, +1 DEF, -1 MAG, -1 SKL Shaman & Druid growths: +15% HP, +10% DEF, +5% RES, -10% MAG, -10% SKL, -5% SPD Including the universal growth & base stat buffs this gives: Bases: +5/+7 HP, +0/+1 MAG & SKL, +1/2 SPD, +1/+2 DEF, +0/+1 RES (for Shaman/Druid resp.) Growths: +45% HP, +5% SPD, +10% LUK, +10% DEF, +5% RES This makes Shamans & Druids slightly more defensively oriented, similar to FE13. Boss stats increased. Excluding HM bonuses (which are slightly larger now due to higher growths): Prologue-ch. 3 & ch. 5x have 4 HP, 1 STR, SKL & SPD Ch. 4-7 gain 6 HP, 2 STR, SKL & SPD Ch. 8-11 gain 6 HP, 2 STR, SKL & SPD, 1 LUK, DEF & RES Ch. 12-14 gain 8 HP, 3 STR, SKL & SPD, 1 LUK, DEF & RES Ch. 15-18 gain 10 HP, 3 STR, SKL & SPD, 2 LUK, DEF & RES Ch. 19-20 gain 12 HP, 4 STR, SKL & SPD, 2 LUK, DEF & RES. Riev also gains 2 CON Lyon (end) gains 12 HP, 1 MAG, 4 SKL, 4 SPD, 4 LUK, 2 DEF & 6 CON Formotiis gains 5 STR, 10 SKL, 2 SPD, 6 DEF & 6 RES, but stat caps have been lowered to 31 to avoid a stat overflow bug while suspending (in effect this means 30 or 31 MAG/SKL/DEF/RES and about 21 SPD/LUK) Note: "Mode coefficient": Normally, until the end of chapter 8, the game does something a bit weird with EXP. If your level is at least the same as an enemies level when you kill them, then the bonus EXP you get for killing them treats your level as though it's half of what it actually is. If that sounds confusing then here's some example numbers: A level 6 fighting a level 8 enemy gets 11 EXP for hitting and an additional kill bonus of 6 (+ a fixed 20 EXP) for killing, making 37 EXP total. A level 8 fighting the same enemy would get 10 EXP for hitting, but here's the weird part: Because their level is equal, it's treated as being level 4 for the kill bonus, so they actually get a kill bonus of 12 EXP (+ the fixed 20 EXP), making 42 EXP for killing. So a higher level character is getting more EXP, what. The main reason I've disabled this isn't because it's weird though - it's because it makes things harder, and especially makes Seth less able to get tons of EXP early on (it's not unusual for Seth to be level 6-8 at the end of chapter 8, in this patch, he probably won't be higher than 3). For reference, with the mode coefficient disabled, now our level 8 unit gets 10 EXP for hitting and an additional 0 + 20 for killing, making 30 total. The patch is currently complete - however, there is a chance I will make some more changes, likely minor ones, especially if people feel there is a character or perhaps other aspect of the game I have not sensibly balanced yet. If there are any questions, perhaps about why I did something a certain way or anything else, feel free to ask.