Classes You Know About, Expect to See, or Want to See

[colossus86]

22 minutes ago, HappyHawlucha. said:

Having a higher weapon rank would allow for infantry classes to initially have an advantage but on second thought over the long term the other variants would probably end up overtaking Infantry over time. I'm really stumped now lol. 

Yeah that's why my idea is to essentially give up on actually balancing the movement types and just make about resource allocation. I think it makes a good deal of sense too as man for man, something like a standard pike square was far easier to train, equip, and field than an equivalent number of mounted knights.

If IS really wanted to rein in Cavs in particular, I'd probably best be done through map design. Think about how many maps in FE don't have significant amounts of rough terrain or anti Cav weapons. That combined with most maps requiring for whatever reason (route, kill stationary boss, seize) to cross the entire map over the course of the level, and Cavs' strengths are often put at a premium while their weaknesses go unexploited by the opposition

 

[HappyHawlucha.]

I wonder how many base classes there will end up being if there are so many mov type variants now.

Infantry: Merc; Myrmidon; Soldier; Barbarian; Archer; Thief; Mage; Priest

Cavalry: Cavalry(Sword; Lance; Axe; Bow); Mage Knight; Troubadour 

Flying: Peg Knight(Lances); Wyvern Rider(Axes); Griffon Knight(Swords); 4th type of Flier(bows); Mage Flier; Light Flier

Armour: Knight(Sword; Lance; Axe; Bow); Mage Fighter; Light Fighter

At least these ones, not mentioning the three most likely canon promotions for Edel; Dimitri and Claude as well as Byleth's class.

Edited February 17, 2019 by HappyHawlucha.

[Kaminari]

I really hope Soldiers and Halberdiers return. It always a let down when they're not playable.

As for lesser used classes, I hope summoners and bards return as well.

I'm really excited for new classes. With the church theme Templars and Paladins could be cool additions. I also really want to see what new classes use the gauntlet weapon class.

[HappyHawlucha.]

How do you think skills will be handled in this game? I have a feeling we're gonna get the same skills system as Fateswakening, maybe obtained in a different way though, such as "mastering" a class which was seen on Petra's level up screen, with one skill being innate to each unit at the start, such as Edelgard appearing to have Vantage or Bernadetta appearing to have a skill which looks like Tempest. The "Lv 1" symbol for each weapon on Bernadetta's battle forecast I think hints that each "Level up" for the weapon earns a new combat art, such as Lv 1 for Bows being "Curved Shot".

I think having one passive skill for each class would be enough with Combat Arts also existing which may mean that all the activation skills may be moved to combat arts and all the passives are quite - y'know...passive, during combat.

[Jayvee94]

Y'all calling armored mages as fighters when our mage fighters were never armored. Baron is a more suitable name.

[HappyHawlucha.]

14 minutes ago, Jayvee94 said:

Y'all calling armored mages as fighters when our mage fighters were never armored. Baron is a more suitable name.

I was just using it as an example lmao, Baron seems like a promoted version of an armoured mage anyway.

I thought Fighter because of the Fighter skills being Armour specific in Heroes.

[silverserpent]

Third tier/Overlord classes need to make a return. Nothing's more satisfying than seeing your unit reach that final level 60 after so many odds. That's one reason I enjoyed RD so much. SoV brought it back to some degree, so I'm staying hopeful for 3H. 

[HappyHawlucha.]

36 minutes ago, silverserpent said:

Third tier/Overlord classes need to make a return. Nothing's more satisfying than seeing your unit reach that final level 60 after so many odds. That's one reason I enjoyed RD so much. SoV brought it back to some degree, so I'm staying hopeful for 3H. 

I highly doubt it if a decent chunk of our units are gonna be Tier 0 units and we'll have Tier 1 and 2 after they promote.

 

 

[silverserpent]

20 minutes ago, HappyHawlucha. said:

I highly doubt it if a decent chunk of our units are gonna be Tier 0 units and we'll have Tier 1 and 2 after they promote.

 

 

if the tier 0 lasts long enough and acts like a Tier 1, I'd be fine with it. Like I said, SoV handled them fine.

[Yunanuy]

21 hours ago, vanguard333 said:

I wasn't talking about villagers. These are some of the class chains in FE Echoes: Shadows of Valentia (and all of them except the lord classes are like this):

•  Cavalier -> Paladin -> Gold Knight

Oh yeah you right... Idk why that slipped my mind, it's been a while since I played echoes. Now that I think about it, the DLC classes were "Overclasses" if I remember correctly. 

Regardless, my point was that I hope they don't go the DLC route for Tier 3/Overclasses, and that an eventual Tier 3 is programmed in the base game. I hope the continent is as big as it looks, and it'll give units enough time to grow into Tier 3 classes, since it seems the students will get to Tier 1 before "graduation" or whatever. 

[vanguard333]

On 2019-02-18 at 7:07 AM, Yunanuy said:

Regardless, my point was that I hope they don't go the DLC route for Tier 3/Overclasses, and that an eventual Tier 3 is programmed in the base game. I hope the continent is as big as it looks, and it'll give units enough time to grow into Tier 3 classes, since it seems the students will get to Tier 1 before "graduation" or whatever. 

Agreed. It would be cool to see tier 3 classes return.

But, if it does return, what should be the tier 3 promotion for mercenary -> hero? My first thought would be vanguard, but I suspect that they might save that for DLC or Amiibo, which would be a real shame. 

[Guest LSM]

I thought this might be an interesting experiment: of the characters shown, what do you think their preferred promotions out of Noble will be? (I'll be referring to this tentative character list, as well as the direct video and the first trailer.

Black Eagles

Edelgard - In the direct we saw Brigand shown off, and later some footage where she looked more Hero-esque. From the first trailer, seems like her innate focuses are Axes and Swords (when she asks what to train), though both there and in the direct we see her use magic. Maybe the Lords will also have unique promotes (Emperor?). 

Ferdinand - His look and Lance screams Cavalier to me. When sparring at lvl 5 can use Swords, Lances or Axes. At least one's probably a custom focus (axes?). Or if you want a Knight amongst the group he'd be your best bet - plus in later footage he is more armoured up sans mount. (However, he doesn't have a shield as Knights tend to do.)

Bernadetta - In the direct she's wielding a Bow, so Adler's resident Archer. But! She's also shown in a cutscene with a book (and her design suggests to me a bookish type) so I'd expect Reason or Faith as her second focus. If it is faith, then maybe she'll track into a Bows/Faith Priestess-type class?

Dorothea - Begins wielding a Dark (?) Tome. Later see that she's Reason and Swords focused. A bit of Riding or Flying and she'd make for a good Dark Knight/Flier, but as that's something you'd have to custom teach maybe the standard Mage to Sorceress progression. Or we can look forward to the return of Tactician as a class.

Petra - Begins with a Sword, and seems locked on to be the Swordmaster of the group. In the shot of her gaining experience, we can see that she has Swords and Authority as "Professor Levels", so maybe these are her innate focuses?

Linhardt - He [(?) I think, maybe, 'she'] has innate focuses in Reason and Faith. I assume Reason is listed first here because it come first in the list of potential focuses, and not as a preference. In action we see them wielding a Light (?) Tome and used as a healer, so I'll assume Priest, with an eventual eye to a general magic wielding Sage type.

Caspar - Seen with an Axe to start, and Fighting weapons later on. I assume these are his innate focuses. A generally mousy design also helps suggest a future as a Thief. (The sprites for Thieves also seem to be wielding Fighting gauntlets), but maybe a pint-sized Brigand option.

Emo-haired boy - In the direct he's wielding an Anima (?) Tome. In the first trailer his portrait is attached to an Archer. A lot seems to have been changed, so it's hardly confident to say that he has a Bows focus. Later in the direct seems to be very much a Mage/Sorcerer. (Overlaps with Dorothea, making me assume that she'll be different.)

Blue Lions

Dimitri - Lance suggests Cavalier, possibly Knight. Mayhaps as a prince he'll end up a King at some point?

Annette - Her Noble outfit is customised with a belt from her right shoulder to her left waist when with Mercedes in the direct. This is the same as Ferdinand and Petra have elsewhere, and there we can see it's connected to their Swords. Alternatively, the house lacks Mages and an obvious Thief, so maybe one of those?

Mercedes - In the first trailer her portrait and name were attached to a Sword wielder (with a generic model). We see that her actual Noble appearance includes a shawl. Suggests more of a Priest or a Mage than a Mercenary to me. Maybe Swords and Faith?

Sylvain - When Ferdinand is sparring with him we can see that at level 4 he has access to Lances and Axes. Like Ferdinand, strikes me as a Cavalier. Axes are possibly innate, but come off to me as a custom focus. (When he introduces himself to Byleth he also has a Sword as a sidearm.)

Ashe - The Archer. Uniform has a hood, is in cutscene with Annette shooting a bow. The Archer. (Interestingly, his portrait does pop up in the initial trailer, attached to an Archer. He's an opponent, alongside the Monocle'd Professor, Hilda, and another Golden Deer. At least it seems he's kept his Bow.)

Blonde Girl - Seen in cutscene holding a Lance while talking to Sylvain. While it's possible that it's his Lance, I'm going to take that, plus the stereotype of woman riders, and say that she's the future Pegasus Knight of the group.

White-haired axeman - Huge guy wielding an axe. So... Brigand. His size also suggests Knight to me, as in games past they tend to be large individuals. (I'm assuming that classes will provide different caps, but that all the weapon types will be available depending how you've taught your characters.)

Blue-haired swordsman - Swordmaster. Not just because he's wielding a Sword, but the (for lack of a better term) "Eastern-iness" of his hair. It's hard to see, but he has long hair put up into a bun, with strands loose at the front. This is stereotypical of Myrmidons, who tend to get a bit of an "Eastern flair".

(2:52) people - Around 2:48 - 2:54 of the direct, in the background of what is clearly the Blue Lions home room, there are two other people present. There is a brown haired boy with his hand at his chin, as if pondering something. And a seated orange haired girl, with her hair braided at the ends and worn in front of her shoulders. This would bring the Blue Lions two members larger than the Black Eagles, so... something's up. I guess they could be random NPCs, though it's a bit odd that they'd be there. My other thought is that, with the blue-haired swordsman being absent, maybe he and the white-haired axeman are actually fellow teachers, and not students. Counter to this is that the two of them are dressed in the same manner as all the other students. Either way, not enough details on these two to speculate about classes anyway.

Golden Deer

Claude - Archer. Or unique promotion to... Chancellor? Chairman? Taoiseach?

Raphael - Built like a brick 'out'-house, they couldn't find the poor guy a shirt that fits. Overall design is very reminiscent of Knights. Notable that his model includes a Sword on his hip, much like Sylvain. (Maybe that's just a visual detail - after all, Sylvain doesn't have appear to have a focus in Swords.)

Leonie - Has an orange sweater/jacket tied around her waste, similar to Ashe's hooded sweater under his uniform, and a-symmetrical sleeves (in that her left arm has a black sleeve, with her right bare). More telling is that on her right hand she's wearing an Archer's very distinct shooting glove, and has a bow in a cutscene. The Archer.

Hilda - In the original trailer, her name and model are associated with a generic Archer. However, Leonie is an Archer so... maybe it's the likeness to Mae from SoV, but Hilda strikes me as a Mage? Maybe Bows and Reason, like Bernadetta might be? (In the direct (where she half appears behind Leonie and Raphael) I think I can also see a sword on her hip...)

Glasses-blonde boy - Has a definite magic user look to him to me, though it would be neat to have a rough and tumble character who wore glasses. I might force him into a Brigand or Thief, but probably naturally a Mage or Priest.

Thin-faced boy - In the first trailer, his portrait was attached to a Lance wielder. Character model has a bright red rose pinned to his chest, and his general facial structure and demeanour suggest an arrogant, superior type. I'll say that he's the Ferdinand/Sylvain Cavalier of the Hirsche, and keeps his Lance (unlike Mae and Emo-haired boy, but like Ashe).

Two white-haired girls - Not much to say about them, as we really only see the backs of their heads. They might not even be characters, though their inclusion brings us up to eight Golden Deer (matching the magic number of students we know from the Black Eagles). The one on the left has her hair up in an elaborate braid, reminiscent of some past Pegasus Knights. She seems to be wearing the standard uniform, with a bit of design at the nape of the neck. The other girl has her hair loose, and while not as unkempt at Bernadetta, does suggest a more casual appearance than most of the other Nobles. Maybe a Thief? Her clothing's details are obscured by the dark, so no hints there.

So: thoughts?

 

 

 

[HappyHawlucha.]

1 hour ago, Guest LSM said:

I thought this might be an interesting experiment: of the characters shown, what do you think their preferred promotions out of Noble will be? (I'll be referring to this tentative character list, as well as the direct video and the first trailer.

Black Eagles

Edelgard - In the direct we saw Brigand shown off, and later some footage where she looked more Hero-esque. From the first trailer, seems like her innate focuses are Axes and Swords (when she asks what to train), though both there and in the direct we see her use magic. Maybe the Lords will also have unique promotes (Emperor?). 

Ferdinand - His look and Lance screams Cavalier to me. When sparring at lvl 5 can use Swords, Lances or Axes. At least one's probably a custom focus (axes?). Or if you want a Knight amongst the group he'd be your best bet - plus in later footage he is more armoured up sans mount. (However, he doesn't have a shield as Knights tend to do.)

Bernadetta - In the direct she's wielding a Bow, so Adler's resident Archer. But! She's also shown in a cutscene with a book (and her design suggests to me a bookish type) so I'd expect Reason or Faith as her second focus. If it is faith, then maybe she'll track into a Bows/Faith Priestess-type class?

Dorothea - Begins wielding a Dark (?) Tome. Later see that she's Reason and Swords focused. A bit of Riding or Flying and she'd make for a good Dark Knight/Flier, but as that's something you'd have to custom teach maybe the standard Mage to Sorceress progression. Or we can look forward to the return of Tactician as a class.

Petra - Begins with a Sword, and seems locked on to be the Swordmaster of the group. In the shot of her gaining experience, we can see that she has Swords and Authority as "Professor Levels", so maybe these are her innate focuses?

Linhardt - He [(?) I think, maybe, 'she'] has innate focuses in Reason and Faith. I assume Reason is listed first here because it come first in the list of potential focuses, and not as a preference. In action we see them wielding a Light (?) Tome and used as a healer, so I'll assume Priest, with an eventual eye to a general magic wielding Sage type.

Caspar - Seen with an Axe to start, and Fighting weapons later on. I assume these are his innate focuses. A generally mousy design also helps suggest a future as a Thief. (The sprites for Thieves also seem to be wielding Fighting gauntlets), but maybe a pint-sized Brigand option.

Emo-haired boy - In the direct he's wielding an Anima (?) Tome. In the first trailer his portrait is attached to an Archer. A lot seems to have been changed, so it's hardly confident to say that he has a Bows focus. Later in the direct seems to be very much a Mage/Sorcerer. (Overlaps with Dorothea, making me assume that she'll be different.)

Blue Lions

Dimitri - Lance suggests Cavalier, possibly Knight. Mayhaps as a prince he'll end up a King at some point?

Annette - Her Noble outfit is customised with a belt from her right shoulder to her left waist when with Mercedes in the direct. This is the same as Ferdinand and Petra have elsewhere, and there we can see it's connected to their Swords. Alternatively, the house lacks Mages and an obvious Thief, so maybe one of those?

Mercedes - In the first trailer her portrait and name were attached to a Sword wielder (with a generic model). We see that her actual Noble appearance includes a shawl. Suggests more of a Priest or a Mage than a Mercenary to me. Maybe Swords and Faith?

Sylvain - When Ferdinand is sparring with him we can see that at level 4 he has access to Lances and Axes. Like Ferdinand, strikes me as a Cavalier. Axes are possibly innate, but come off to me as a custom focus. (When he introduces himself to Byleth he also has a Sword as a sidearm.)

Ashe - The Archer. Uniform has a hood, is in cutscene with Annette shooting a bow. The Archer. (Interestingly, his portrait does pop up in the initial trailer, attached to an Archer. He's an opponent, alongside the Monocle'd Professor, Hilda, and another Golden Deer. At least it seems he's kept his Bow.)

Blonde Girl - Seen in cutscene holding a Lance while talking to Sylvain. While it's possible that it's his Lance, I'm going to take that, plus the stereotype of woman riders, and say that she's the future Pegasus Knight of the group.

White-haired axeman - Huge guy wielding an axe. So... Brigand. His size also suggests Knight to me, as in games past they tend to be large individuals. (I'm assuming that classes will provide different caps, but that all the weapon types will be available depending how you've taught your characters.)

Blue-haired swordsman - Swordmaster. Not just because he's wielding a Sword, but the (for lack of a better term) "Eastern-iness" of his hair. It's hard to see, but he has long hair put up into a bun, with strands loose at the front. This is stereotypical of Myrmidons, who tend to get a bit of an "Eastern flair".

(2:52) people - Around 2:48 - 2:54 of the direct, in the background of what is clearly the Blue Lions home room, there are two other people present. There is a brown haired boy with his hand at his chin, as if pondering something. And a seated orange haired girl, with her hair braided at the ends and worn in front of her shoulders. This would bring the Blue Lions two members larger than the Black Eagles, so... something's up. I guess they could be random NPCs, though it's a bit odd that they'd be there. My other thought is that, with the blue-haired swordsman being absent, maybe he and the white-haired axeman are actually fellow teachers, and not students. Counter to this is that the two of them are dressed in the same manner as all the other students. Either way, not enough details on these two to speculate about classes anyway.

Golden Deer

Claude - Archer. Or unique promotion to... Chancellor? Chairman? Taoiseach?

Raphael - Built like a brick 'out'-house, they couldn't find the poor guy a shirt that fits. Overall design is very reminiscent of Knights. Notable that his model includes a Sword on his hip, much like Sylvain. (Maybe that's just a visual detail - after all, Sylvain doesn't have appear to have a focus in Swords.)

Leonie - Has an orange sweater/jacket tied around her waste, similar to Ashe's hooded sweater under his uniform, and a-symmetrical sleeves (in that her left arm has a black sleeve, with her right bare). More telling is that on her right hand she's wearing an Archer's very distinct shooting glove, and has a bow in a cutscene. The Archer.

Hilda - In the original trailer, her name and model are associated with a generic Archer. However, Leonie is an Archer so... maybe it's the likeness to Mae from SoV, but Hilda strikes me as a Mage? Maybe Bows and Reason, like Bernadetta might be? (In the direct (where she half appears behind Leonie and Raphael) I think I can also see a sword on her hip...)

Glasses-blonde boy - Has a definite magic user look to him to me, though it would be neat to have a rough and tumble character who wore glasses. I might force him into a Brigand or Thief, but probably naturally a Mage or Priest.

Thin-faced boy - In the first trailer, his portrait was attached to a Lance wielder. Character model has a bright red rose pinned to his chest, and his general facial structure and demeanour suggest an arrogant, superior type. I'll say that he's the Ferdinand/Sylvain Cavalier of the Hirsche, and keeps his Lance (unlike Mae and Emo-haired boy, but like Ashe).

Two white-haired girls - Not much to say about them, as we really only see the backs of their heads. They might not even be characters, though their inclusion brings us up to eight Golden Deer (matching the magic number of students we know from the Black Eagles). The one on the left has her hair up in an elaborate braid, reminiscent of some past Pegasus Knights. She seems to be wearing the standard uniform, with a bit of design at the nape of the neck. The other girl has her hair loose, and while not as unkempt at Bernadetta, does suggest a more casual appearance than most of the other Nobles. Maybe a Thief? Her clothing's details are obscured by the dark, so no hints there.

So: thoughts?

 

 

 

The one issue with having so many characters being this widely customisable is that standard FE archetypes won't be as pronounced anymore.

At least there will be more characters after the academy students who can fill in these archetypes. I don't see a clear Cain/Abel among this group now but I assume if they were here we would be able to tell by their designs, so they'll probably be recruited outside of the academy, so maybe we leave the academy sooner than first thought?

[Kiran_]

2 hours ago, HappyHawlucha. said:

The one issue with having so many characters being this widely customisable is that standard FE archetypes won't be as pronounced anymore.

At least there will be more characters after the academy students who can fill in these archetypes. I don't see a clear Cain/Abel among this group now but I assume if they were here we would be able to tell by their designs, so they'll probably be recruited outside of the academy, so maybe we leave the academy sooner than first thought?

Well I don't think all 24 units will be as widely customizable. I'm under the impression (and hope) that only the 8 from the house you choose will be custom and the rest you get will be in their "canon" classes if you get them at all.

But honestly, I sorta LIKE not having standard FE archetypes (like Cain/Abel, etc). I really like when games stand on their own, and I think the game could use a break from sticking so close to the same formula of archetypes. I'd for one be super happy if there wasn't a Jaegan in this game (or if we were!).

I'm hoping though for the 8 we DO get to customize that we'll be able to put together fun, new combinations! Like an axe-wielding magic user. Or a lance-wielding magic user on horseback. I love the idea of more custom classes fit under maybe standard name. Like a "Magic Knight" and their only requirement is magic, but you can make them custom in the sense you can choose them to wield swords or lances instead of being forced into one.

Think that would allow SO much variety. Also I just want a dragon rider class with swords and magic, soooo.....

[HappyHawlucha.]

1 minute ago, Kiran_ said:

Well I don't think all 24 units will be as widely customizable. I'm under the impression (and hope) that only the 8 from the house you choose will be custom and the rest you get will be in their "canon" classes if you get them at all.

But honestly, I sorta LIKE not having standard FE archetypes (like Cain/Abel, etc). I really like when games stand on their own, and I think the game could use a break from sticking so close to the same formula of archetypes. I'd for one be super happy if there wasn't a Jaegan in this game (or if we were!).

I'm hoping though for the 8 we DO get to customize that we'll be able to put together fun, new combinations! Like an axe-wielding magic user. Or a lance-wielding magic user on horseback. I love the idea of more custom classes fit under maybe standard name. Like a "Magic Knight" and their only requirement is magic, but you can make them custom in the sense you can choose them to wield swords or lances instead of being forced into one.

Think that would allow SO much variety. Also I just want a dragon rider class with swords and magic, soooo.....

My idea is that some of the classes will be "specialised" and you won't be able to pick their base weapon(Brigands with axes; Thief with gauntlets; Mercenary with swords; Mages with Reason, etc) but units like Knights; Cavaliers and Fliers will be able to chose their weapon type, from Swords; Axes; Lances; Bows; Reason and Faith.

[RexBolt]

5 hours ago, HappyHawlucha. said:

My idea is that some of the classes will be "specialised" and you won't be able to pick their base weapon(Brigands with axes; Thief with gauntlets; Mercenary with swords; Mages with Reason, etc) but units like Knights; Cavaliers and Fliers will be able to chose their weapon type, from Swords; Axes; Lances; Bows; Reason and Faith.

That style may even help put infantry units in a kind of equal footing with Cavalry and Fliers. If every class without a mount have their own skillset that you can only use on other if you master it (that's what i think mastering a class will be), but all the Cavaliers no matter the weapon they use have the same, it gives you a reason to not just make all your students into them. So the classes could be Cavalier (for the Riders with physical weapons), Troubadours (for Riders with Reason, Faith and ?Authority?) and the same with the Fliers.

Now, how this works for Pegasus/Wyverns/Griffons i don't know, we have confirmation of only one of the 3 after all. It also doesn't acount for class es that wield both magic and weapons, but that may be a promoted thing. Also also, i have no idea how this way with skill would affect Armors.

What do you think? 

[Heir of Dragons and Beasts]

Petra - Definite Swordmaster screams Athena to me.

[Cysx]

21 hours ago, Guest LSM said:

So: thoughts?

I generally agree with your conclusions, and you spotted many things I didn't. As for the few I "disagree" with:

Bernadetta: It bears mentioning that this is a lone classroom shot, so it might be a studying book rather than magic, especially since beyond the icons, magic users do not seem to wield books in battle, implying it's not necessarily that closely tied to reading. She also has remarkably low res for a character with magic affinity(2). I do agree about the bookworm appearance though, and am not too sure what other weapon she'd get.
Edit: Worth noting is that she has a LV1 lances icon above her combat forecast.

Dorothea: Considering that the mage Caspar fights shows us that fire is a black tome, I think it's more the black and white magic of Echoes than the Light and dark we see usually. Anyway out of her two focuses reason is the one at D, so I'd expect a primarily magic-based hybrid out of her, and yes, tactician seems perfect.

Leonie: Her design screams tomboy that gets up close and personal to me(not only because of Chie from Persona... but that obviously doesn't help), so while she is seen with a bow, I assume she'll be using gauntlets as her primary weapon, and will perhaps be a thief.

Hilda: ...which would open up the archer slot, beyond Claude I suppose. I'll trust the first trailer on this one.

Also, I find myself wondering if any of them will have authority as a primary focus, and what kind of class would result from that...

 

Edited February 20, 2019 by Cysx

[Guest LSM]

Great catch on the Fire Tome being the darkened symbol. Hmmm... maybe they've split magic into Faith's healing (light symbol) and Reason's damage dealing (dark symbol) and curses (arrows/diamond symbol)?

Same with Bernadetta's low Res. I had a quick thought that maybe we'll have low resistances across the board (I really liked that in SoV - made magic scary) but with the ability to give everyone a bit of magic, that wouldn't turn out well.

I like the Thief call with Leonie too. I had been wondering about Archer overload in Golden Deer (what with Claude's Bow preference and Hilda's trailer one appearance) but her being a Thief instead would fit nicely. 

With the trailer one characters, we had:

Mercedes - Sword

Unknown Eagle - Bow

Hilda - Bow

Ashe - Bow

Haughty Rose Deer - Lance

We know that Ashe is still an Archer, but Unknown Eagle has a Reason Tome of some sort (in the first trailer characters were around lvl 3, in the direct lvl 2, so comparable). You said that you think Hilda's still an Archer, how do you feel about the others?

It's also interesting that in trailer one, the other characters weren't "Aristocrats" with different builds (as the game seems to have evolved into vis-à-vis everyone being a Noble now) but represented by Archers, Mages, and Knights/Soldiers models. Plus whatever Mercedes was - didn't look like a Mercenary, more like a Sword wielding Priestess. 

[Cysx]

I edited the above a bit late for you to see, but Bernadetta has lance and bow lv1 above her battle forecast, so lances are probably her secondary weapons. Which is funny because they suit her about as well as they suited Amelia back in FE8.

Yup, the secondary reason tome will probably modify stats in some way, which would make it the new shuriken!
But frankly it's unclear what it'll do at this point.

I'm willing to trust trailer one overall. It's not been straight up proven wrong(or on very few things), and if anything Edelgard's 5 man team showcased a lance user that could very well be Ferdinand, since both emo boy and him are once again shown alone with Edelgard and Byleth in trailer 2. So emo man would have a bow/reason focus, and perhaps Hilda and Claude will be differentiated by Claude getting his own class line. Mercedes certainly doesn't look like a sword user, though, I'll give you that.

I think the different builds were pretty clearly a result of the models not being made yet. I'm even wondering if what we've seen in trailer 2 is final, because of the similarities first, but also because your analysis made me realize that a lot of characters are carrying swords right now... even emo-man, making his potential focus reason swords bows... that'd be fresh at least.

[Guest LSM]

Hah - I just came back in here to mention that exact thing with Bernadetta (you noticed it in the Skills and Combat Arts Thread like me, right?). 

[Also: I was super slow at actually posting and I can't edit as a guest, so apologies for repeating some of what you had said.]

[Cysx]

28 minutes ago, Guest LSM said:

Hah - I just came back in here to mention that exact thing with Bernadetta (you noticed it in the Skills and Combat Arts Thread like me, right?). 

[Also: I was super slow at actually posting and I can't edit as a guest, so apologies for repeating some of what you had said.]

Well it reminded me of it:p Lots of information at once for that small brain of mine.

[HappyHawlucha.]

I wonder if the Pegasus/Wyvern/Griffon Rider classes are pretty identical in terms of utility and promotions(as I'm pretty sure we'll be able to chose our weapon type from everything apart from gauntlet when promoting to Flier; Cavalier and Armour, we should be able to chose our secondary weapon upon promotion too), but the only deciding factor is the character's nation of origin.

E.g. Faerghus has a Griffon on it's emblem so all fliers in the Blue Lions and originating from Faerghus later on in the game will ride Griffons as a mount rather than Wyverns or Pegasi. As for the other 2, I'd imagine that Adrestia will have Wyverns and Leicester will have Pegasi but I can see them switching, however Faerghus has a Griffon clearly on it's emblem so if this happens I bet Faerghus has Griffons 100%.

Edited February 21, 2019 by HappyHawlucha.

[Guest LSM]

A little part of me is a little concerned that we've only seen Pegasus Knights so far. But like you say, Faerghus has a Griffon right on their flag, as does what may be the flag of the Church of Seiros (the red+white, with a gold griffon+star), so griffons at least should be around. But I am worried for wyverns.

(I assume it's on purpose that the Church and the Holy Kingdom of Faerghus both have griffon flags.)

//

As for my previous wondering about the students of Löwen Klasse, at 2:08 of the direct the wide shot of students in the courtyard finally clicked for me. I had been individually looking at Sylvain + Blonde, Annette + Ashe, and Dimitri + training buds. Somehow I didn't realise: these are the eight Blue Lions. I can even kind of see now how the one person in the very back is Mercedes (the light colour around the shoulders is her shawl, and you can see the edge of her skirt below her hips' outline). So white-haired axeman and blue-haired swordsman are definitely in, and brown-haired boy and orange-haired girl are randoms.

[Arvin]

I do agree that Infantry might be at a disadvantage. Depending on the maps, Cavalry could be the best movement type to give the students. Flying for healers. Those Fist weapons used while mounted seems awkward though. Has there been an RPG game that had something like that?