Avoiding Being Burnout

[Jingle Jangle]

With reviewers saying it took them over 40 hours to complete just one route alone. No less than 4 possible routes with alternative endings to each one, I was wondering how will people continue to play the game without being tried over the 100 hour mark.  For some one of the issues of Fates was that it was exhausting starting the game over again three times, but 3 houses takes that idea to another level. Still there is no word if there will be recycled ideas (maps, plotlines, major events) from route to route. Having mostly different characters will help keep things interesting

For me at I least, after completed a route I will probably play another game in the meanwhile to refresh my mind before starting again. Or later playthroughs y on new game + for recruit new students.

Edited July 17, 2019 by Jingle Jangle

[Book Bro]

I had this issue with Fates when I finally got to Revelation, but honestly it might also have been because of how bad Revelation was.

For 3H I'm planning to do at least 2 routes back to back, then maybe take a break and/or watch a playthrough of the third route, depending how long it takes me, before going back to the game eventually to finish the rest.

Also, I'm planning to do Hard/Classic for my first file, but I'll be turning the difficulty down or playing on Casual afterwards just to make it easier to get through the whole story.

[egobarrier]

I don't really have any breather games to fill the gaps, so I'll either play through everything if it's good or probably drop it and get around to it later if it's not, as I did with Revelations.

But you're right that the game is starting to sound almost daunting in scope. I intend to fully play through all routes at least once, but even the idea of playing through the same route again with different recruited characters just to see the dialog differences is starting to sound exhausting. I never thought I'd say this, but I kind of wish Phoenix Mode was still here to speed things along.

Edited July 18, 2019 by egobarrier

[Timlugia]

I have between this game, Total War, Arma3 (both have new DLC coming out), so I will probably rotating games between houses.

Besides I have life and work to do.

Edited July 18, 2019 by Timlugia

[Eltosian Kadath]

Odd as this sounds I find a simple extra challenge like a PMU, all one gender run, an  all infantry run etc. can spice things up just enough to keep burnout from being an issue.

[Duke of Dozel]

My ex wifes Overwatch and Street Fighter 5 are always begging me to touch them again. It'll give me a breath before I return to the old ball and chain.

[firewitch912]

2 minutes ago, Eltosian Kadath said:

Odd as this sounds I find a simple extra challenge like a PMU, all one gender run, an  all infantry run etc. can spice things up just enough to keep burnout from being an issue.

I think a particularly interesting/challenging run could be commoner/noble class only. It may remove the option for the professors and knights though, since we don't know if they'll have access to lower ranked classes than their starting class

[Gregster101]

I'll probably take a break between each route just so I avoid burnout like I did with Fates

[Fabulously Olivier]

I couldn't finish Fates. But that wasn't because of length. It was because of bad gameplay (cheap difficulty spikes) and bad story/characters.

 

Echoes was short, and that was its single best quality, because the abysmal gameplay meant that I had to force myself to finish it. 

[Interdimensional Observer]

Now that I think about it, this game might be perfect for a New Game+ feature.

Not sure what that could entail in an FE context, particularly one where you'll side with a wholly different group on your subsequent run. Money isn't really farmable in FE, equipment breaks, swapping houses makes level carryover have only a minor impact. Although those log units you could summon for Gold in Fates would be good for an NG+. 

Ideally, the NG+ features would not be so overwhelming it destroys any notion of difficulty for the entire game. Since hopefully each house has distinctive maps for at least part of the game, and one may wish to experience these distinct maps as a challenge. I'd want the NG+ features to be usable when I want to minimize challenge, and easily skippable when I feel like more than just getting to the next story segment.

 

As for burnout, I was feeling that earlier this year with my gauntlet of trying the old FEs for the first time. And Rev after CQ and BR put me through similar feels, as did multiple SoV runs in the months after it released. So I'm aware of the need to minimize burnout.

[KelluPato]

I don't think the burnout will be all that bad, I'm hoping that each playthrough/route will have something different to offer.  What's interesting is the sandbox-ish levels of customization in the game, even if you are playing the same house you can do different class combinations.  But I see where you are coming from with recycled stuff, let's hope the game handles it well?

[Moonlit Knight]

5 minutes ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

Now that I think about it, this game might be perfect for a New Game+ feature.

Not sure what that could entail in an FE context, particularly one where you'll side with a wholly different group on your subsequent run. Money isn't really farmable in FE, equipment breaks, swapping houses makes level carryover have only a minor impact. Although those log units you could summon for Gold in Fates would be good for an NG+. 

Ideally, the NG+ features would not be so overwhelming it destroys any notion of difficulty for the entire game. Since hopefully each house has distinctive maps for at least part of the game, and one may wish to experience these distinct maps as a challenge. I'd want the NG+ features to be usable when I want to minimize challenge, and easily skippable when I feel like more than just getting to the next story segment.

I hope it’s just something like your teaching level carries over. That would be something tangible (you can get a whole lot more done early on) without being game-breaking. Indeed, if Lunatic and above exist, starting with a high professor level may be practically required.

[Lynsanity]

21 minutes ago, Duke of Dozel said:

My ex wifes Overwatch and Street Fighter 5 are always begging me to touch them again. It'll give me a breath before I return to the old ball and chain.

Same but with Splatoon 2. It's nice to have a fast-paced competitive PVP game to alternate with a solo strategy one.

Unfortunately for me they scheduled the final Splatfest literally this weekend, just before the launch of Three Houses. -_-

[firewitch912]

4 minutes ago, Moonlit Knight said:

I hope it’s just something like your teaching level carries over. That would be something tangible (you can get a whole lot more done early on) without being game-breaking. Indeed, if Lunatic and above exist, starting with a high professor level may be practically required.

Well, so far only teaching level is confirmed to be part of NG+. I'd think it would be interesting to see if support levels could, but they might still need to reset Byleth (or at least his S support). I could also see maybe monastery items or some of Byleth's stats like charisma

Spoiler

Especially since charisma apparently has a deciding factor on an important part of the plot at one point, as revealed by iamRussFrushtick on reddit

 

Edited July 18, 2019 by firewitch912

[Captain Karnage]

easy, just chug 15 Monster energy drinks in less than an hour and you'll be able to finish it in a weekend, plus you can punch through drywall if needed

to be honest I think this is going to be inevitable if you want to do back to back playthroughs, my best bet is to just do one path and just comeback like a month or so later just so I don't get sick of the game. Honestly if I were a reviewer I might knock points off of it if it's as long as people are saying.

 

[Darkdragoon324]

Eh, if I haven't gotten burnt out on replaying the gba and Tellius games yet, 3H probably won't be a problem. I'll just go through at a nice slow pace. now that Trails of Cold Steel III has apparently been delayed til October I've got no other games to look forward to for the next few months anyway, so I hope to drag this one out as long as possible so I don't fall down the Skyrim hole again.

[Kliss88]

I started playing ESO again so I may bounce between the 2. Also Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 will b out so if a break is needed I'll play those. 

 

Now for NG+ I really want a version where you can randomize the students strength and weaknesses.  Kind of like how PoR had a mode that fixed stat growth to the weapons used. Some feature like that that would completely change up gameplay if enabled. Also your professor level carrying over would open up a lot more things in tbs beginning. 

[nhaer042]

I'll play until I'm bored then ignore it until I'm interested again.

[Sire]

I tend to marathon through things, even if it does lead to burnout. Good games can keep my attention for long periods of time (I had like 100 hours in Xenoblade Chronicles X within two weeks).
- - - - -
I tried marathoning through all 3 of Fate's routes, but never managed to finish Revelations. The flaws of Fates became too apparent for me and made me simply drop the game. It didn't help I also had other playthroughs of the other routes that wanted to become "optimal postgame" runs. (The first run is a "canon" run while the 2nd tends to be my own "avatar" and optimized for postgame.)

I also marathoned through the original God Eater (original, Burst, and Resurrection) and then dived into the 2nd. I think I managed to finish the 2nd's original storyline, but didn't get far into its Burst story expansion. Total time here was maybe 120 hours within a month.)

I'll probably end up marathoning through Three Houses as well. At the moment 3H is looking amazing, so burnout shouldn't be an issue for me.

[Interdimensional Observer]

5 minutes ago, Sire said:

I also marathoned through the original God Eater (original, Burst, and Resurrection) and then dived into the 2nd. I think I managed to finish the 2nd's original storyline, but didn't get far into its Burst story expansion. Total time here was maybe 120 hours within a month.)

 

This is totally off topic, but how is God Eater? As someone who has never played Monster Hunter, but does play a lot of RPGs, would God Eater 3 be a good game to try? Judging from the other ones you've played, would not having online be a serious downer on the fun?

 

2 hours ago, Moonlit Knight said:

I hope it’s just something like your teaching level carries over. That would be something tangible (you can get a whole lot more done early on) without being game-breaking. Indeed, if Lunatic and above exist, starting with a high professor level may be practically required.

So would this be like what I hear of Persona 5? NG+ there apparently carries over the levels of your social skills, making maxing all Confidants on NG+ a breeze with time to spare.

Edited July 18, 2019 by Interdimensional Observer

[Humanoid]

I don't see a reason to commit to finishing all four routes just because they exist. Plenty of other games have multiple routes, and even if it's just two, I often just play through once. I'll just start the game, pick my route depending on which feels most natural (that is, I won't make a decision until the time to make it arrives), and from then on just play it by ear.

[Sire]

Just now, Interdimensional Observer said:

This is totally off topic, but how is God Eater? As someone who has never played Monster Hunter, but does play a lot of RPGs, would God Eater 3 be a good game to try? Judging from the other ones you've played, would not having online be a serious downer on the fun?

I loved my time with God Eater. From my perspective, God Eater is more story and character focused than Monster Hunter and also has a better singleplayer experience. (My entire time with God Eater has been solo play. In solo, you can field other "story characters" and customize them to some extent.) It basically revolves around hunting large "boss monsters." As the weapons are hybrids between "melee" and "ranged," one tends to be swapping between the two frequently in battle. There is also a thing called "Bullet Customization" which can create crazy ammunition that can look visually pleasing or be outright devastating to use against the enemy. Also, the soundtrack for God Eater is amazing. (Sample 1, Sample 2)
If I had complaints with God Eater, it would be to note that they do tend to follow anime tropes and the games can be rather lengthy. I also would not recommend going for 100% completion as while there are many battle missions, they can get repetitive as later battles like to toss several bosses at you in differing combinations. Despite these flaws, I absolutely loved my time with God Eater. (As an aside, the first arc even has an anime version by ufotable. The EN VAs are different through and I haven't seen it myself.)

However, I personally haven't played the 3rd game, so I can't comment on that. I recommend picking up the 2nd game on Steam, as if I recall correctly, it is automatically bundled in with the first. As of this moment I prefer the first game (Resurrection) than God Eater 2: Rage Burst due to some differing mechanics, the main character cast, and just the general polish of Resurrection over 2.

* * * *

In short, if you want an action RPG with emphasis on story and boss battles, God Eater is great. I haven't touched online at all during my playthrough as the NPC allies are interesting to play with in solo. I personally recommend getting 1&2 as they should be bundled together, and because I don't know how 3 plays.

[Tybrosion]

1 hour ago, Humanoid said:

Plenty of other games have multiple routes, and even if it's just two, I often just play through once.

Shadow the Hedgehog (the game, not the character): “Did somebody say multiple routes?!?”

[Zapp Branniglenn]

I'm not worried about this since I can't envision a scenario where I'd play through again immediately after first playthrough. Even if I have to see the other routes, the first two FEtubers I can think of are tackling the two other houses. This was definitely an issue with Fates. Three very different games, and I can remember almost nothing that happened in Birthright since Revelation was releasing in just a few short days when I started so I wanted to hurry along to the "real ending". Maybe Three Houses will have a "content complete" route hidden behind certain conditions but I could probably relent from replaying just for that. I have a lot to do in August before classes resume.

[Maimishou]

3 hours ago, Humanoid said:

I don't see a reason to commit to finishing all four routes just because they exist. Plenty of other games have multiple routes, and even if it's just two, I often just play through once. I'll just start the game, pick my route depending on which feels most natural (that is, I won't make a decision until the time to make it arrives), and from then on just play it by ear.

This. With Fates I played  Birthright and ignored the other two routes completely, not even watching Let's Plays of them.With Three Houses I'm going to do the Black Eagles route and that's potentially the end of it.