Classes & Skills talk.

[Jade M. Caldwell]

At 60+ classes that's a lot of skills. Plus characters have character specific skills.
We could potentially have around 150+ skills with our current knowledge.

The skill mechanics of If are very different with Parallel Seals being in the game. If there are no Secondary Seals, then the game will be forcing a very specific skill path.
That doesn't really make sense though now that I think on it, because there are 6 slots, 1 is filled by default. Then there's 5 more, and if each class has only 2, then with Parallel seals you can only attain 4 more skills per character, so then there must be a way to reset the characters level or somehow get more skills than at cap. Plus the UI before battles has a "Swap Skills" section, imposing that you will have multiple skills.

How do you think they will handle skills in Fire Emblem If? Will Hoshido and Nohr share classes and class skills? Will there be Secondary Skills or a way to reset EXP? Will different classes on Hoshido and Nohr have the same skills (I.e. Dragon classes and Pegasus Classes having the same skills)?

There are too many questions for skills.

[Jade M. Caldwell]

Also no more Armsthrift :/

[raazychx]

Hopefully, we'll have skill scrolls. That's what we desperately need. Then we can avoid a grind fest and still get the skills we want.

Besides, skills won't be obtainable the way they were in Awakening. We will get skills upon leveling up, but we can't second seal down to a pre promoted class or a level one promoted class and then grind and level up like to get skills we used to.

There are only two ways it's going to work... Either characters will instantly acquire all skills of a granted class upon Parallel-ing, or there will be skill scrolls. Hopefully, the latter.

[Jade M. Caldwell]

Hopefully, we'll have skill scrolls. That's what we desperately need. Then we can avoid a grind fest and still get the skills we want.

Besides, skills won't be obtainable the way they were in Awakening. We will get skills upon leveling up, but we can't second seal down to a pre promoted class or a level one promoted class and then grind and level up like to get skills we used to.

There are only two ways it's going to work... Either characters will instantly acquire all skills of a granted class upon Parallel-ing, or there will be skill scrolls. Hopefully, the latter.

How would you have them handle skill scrolls? However they do it, I would just like a good Fire Emblem If Meta game

[raazychx]

If it were left to me, the skills could be bought. That's the best solution, in my opinion. Hopefully, there will be a My Castle function that will allow the purchasing of skill scrolls. But a gamer can dream...

[Jade M. Caldwell]

To be able to buy skills? That's a bit strange. Upfront I mean.

I'd love if they had it like a training area thing where an old master trains a unit in something (the skill) in return for gems or money.
Or something better hidden so it's not so upfront.

I guess a library would be cool, and the books where skills. I could dig that, buying skill scrolls for the library.

[raazychx]

To be able to buy skills? That's a bit strange. Upfront I mean.

I'd love if they had it like a training area thing where an old master trains a unit in something (the skill) in return for gems or money.

Or something better hidden so it's not so upfront.

I guess a library would be cool, and the books where skills. I could dig that, buying skill scrolls for the library.

That's the basic idea, yes, either for gold or for gems. It would be an resource exchange of some sort.

It probably won't happen, though. Knowing IS, it's probably going to involve real money, in the form of DLC, for only a few certain-but-very-useful skills, as it was in Awakening.

[Jade M. Caldwell]

Oh I wonder if they will have micro transactions in this game. Real money for FE money/gems. Let's all hope that doesn't happen.

I would love for skill-scrolls to become a reality, as well as some DLC chapters too

[Self-Keeping Secret]

I feel like the unequippable signature skills could work interestingly as a balancing element, working like Pokemon abilities that intend to power down a pokemon that may be too powerful like Slow Start and Truant. Harold's skill I think to be interesting because of an element like this present, because it gives him an advantage, but also has him affected to some extent by the same advantage, preventing you from just mindlessly tossing him in situations that could abuse that upper hand.

Regarding classes I'm interested in, the Puppetmaster class Kagerou reclassed into in the newest trailer looks like Im going to like it. I enjoy the weird classes like Trickster and Griffon Rider, and tbh I'm unreasonably excited to see that class in action.

[Jade M. Caldwell]

I feel like the unequippable signature skills could work interestingly as a balancing element, working like Pokemon abilities that intend to power down a pokemon that may be too powerful like Slow Start and Truant. Harold's skill I think to be interesting because of an element like this present, because it gives him an advantage, but also has him affected to some extent by the same advantage, preventing you from just mindlessly tossing him in situations that could abuse that upper hand.

Regarding classes I'm interested in, the Puppetmaster class Kagerou reclassed into in the newest trailer looks like Im going to like it. I enjoy the weird classes like Trickster and Griffon Rider, and tbh I'm unreasonably excited to see that class in action.

I love how If has been doing the whole, this weapon does + this but - this. It really ups the strategy and I hope to see more out of the skills that can do the same.

And same on the class talk, the Puppetmaster looks awesome. What skills would even come from that?

[DualMix]

I see no reason for Galeforce to be a Pegasus Warrior skill, since the class is now accessible to both genders and easily gained.

Oh god, that would be horrible.

[Tori]

So far, I think the character's personal skills hold the most interesting potential so far. Not only does this help make characters of the same classes work very differently, but there's a lot of interesting synergies that could be worked out.

One I thought of that I'll definitely make use of in my Nohr run is Harold's unique skill + Odin's. With Harold decreasing the critical evade for enemy units and Odin increasing his own critical hit rate just for having weapons with 8 kanji, you could gain more than an extra 20% chance to critical hit nearby foes. Add weapons forged with higher critical hit ratios, and bam, game set and match.

[Ambulz]

How would you have them handle skill scrolls? However they do it, I would just like a good Fire Emblem If Meta game

Skill scrolls were present in the Tellius games. Every skill took up a set amount of points depending on the skill, and each character had a limited amount of points to equip skills with.

[raazychx]

So far, I think the character's personal skills hold the most interesting potential so far. Not only does this help make characters of the same classes work very differently, but there's a lot of interesting synergies that could be worked out.

One I thought of that I'll definitely make use of in my Nohr run is Harold's unique skill + Odin's. With Harold decreasing the critical evade for enemy units and Odin increasing his own critical hit rate just for having weapons with 8 kanji, you could gain more than an extra 20% chance to critical hit nearby foes. Add weapons forged with higher critical hit ratios, and bam, game set and match.

The game isn't even out yet and you pretty much broke it...

[Tori]

The game isn't even out yet and you pretty much broke it...

I have a tenancy to think out strategies for games way, way too much.

To be honest I only reached that strategy when thinking about Owain's hilarious hero talk and if Odin and Harold will compete for best hero.

[Jade M. Caldwell]

Combine that with whatever killing weapons you could get, + if Harold and Odin can support, then go ahead and add in skills that can be learned to increase crit.

I knew the character specific skills would be able to multiply themselves with other variables, but actually seeing it unfold is different entirely. Effectively everyone will build their units around their skills.

[Tori]

Oh god, I can't believe I didn't even think about the possibilities that come from Harold and Odin having supports.

Not only would those probably be extremely entertaining, but a good A or B support with them would probably increase Odin's critical hit rate even more. Far enough into the game you could probably get around 30 to 40% extra critical chance.

[Vineron]

I hope that there are some new class skills replacing previous ones (obv exp being Armsthrift) that are more than balls of stats, or at least are very flashy.

[Jade M. Caldwell]

I am all for flashy skills.

Personally I could do without the OP skills like Lethality though, as flashy as it is a streepass team of 10 with all lethality is a guaranteed loss of a unit.

Just think about the other groups of people that could stack skills together. That's true FE supports/romance right there.

Edited June 13, 2015 by The Autumn Rider

[raazychx]

I am all for flashy skills.

Personally I could do without the OP skills like Lethality though, as flashy as it is a streepass team of 10 with all lethality is a guaranteed loss of a unit.

Just think about the other groups of people that could stack skills together. That's true FE supports/romance right there.

Easy! Activation rate equals Skill/4. There. It'll occur so rarely that it won't become as useful as a skill anymore.

[Jade M. Caldwell]

Easy! Activation rate equals Skill/4. There. It'll occur so rarely that it won't become as useful as a skill anymore.

Until Skill caps at 50 rough. The chance is 12.5%. With 10 people, and the fact that some units can have rightful king, the chances add up.

[goodperson707]

only guaranteed if they can actually hit you though, and with the amount of ways to avoid that, or to kill them first it really ain't that bad. It is harder or easier depending on the map you get, but with all street-pass battles seemingly taking place in my castle which seems decently large, along with buildings being destroyed which should make focusing on certain units easy. so lethality should be quite easy to avoid.

Edited June 13, 2015 by goodperson707

[Jade M. Caldwell]

While yes, with dual guards and hit rates and the many ways of avoiding an attack may be present, an enemy phase is there phase and they have every means of countering hit rates and all that.

Fire Emblem stresses unit survival, when a skill can just fell a Unit no matter the opposing stats, then it really is game breaking.

But to each their own, I'm not on the FE:If dev team, and I have no idea what they'll do with skills. There will probably be more extreme ways of abusing the skill system in If though and that is truly a thought to be thinking.

[TheCaptain]

Just bring back RDs skill system and combine it with Awakening's so each class gets 1 skill when they reclass (regardless of their level) and have units have personal skills that either come with the unit or are taught by scrolls that are found in chests or on enemies.

[Jade M. Caldwell]

Just bring back RDs skill system and combine it with Awakening's so each class gets 1 skill when they reclass (regardless of their level) and have units have personal skills that either come with the unit or are taught by scrolls that are found in chests or on enemies.

I like that