Alastor plays and ranks the whole series! Mission Complete! ...For now.

[Shadow Mir]

1 minute ago, Samz707 said:

I've not got far in Fates (put on the back burner since I've not even finished 3H yet.) but is it because the trees are like Awakening? (AKA Sprite trees that aren't actually directly on the forest tiles.)

Pretty much.

20 minutes ago, Jotari said:

You can get to Selkie on like turn three, probably even turn two without much effort. All the while she's attack stationary archers who will never hit her.

 

12 minutes ago, Alastor15243 said:

As for Sophie, there aren't any enemies near her, and it's a non-Conquest map, so it's not like clearing the enemies at your starting position is some huge task.

Still, given we're talking about the same game where NPC villagers actually RUN TOWARDS ENEMIES WHEN THEIR GODDAMN STARTING POSITION IS SAFE, leaving their survival to hoping artificial stupidity doesn't kick in before I can recruit them knowing full damn well they'll get squished isn't my thing.

[Alastor15243]

6 minutes ago, Shadow Mir said:

Still, given we're talking about the same game where NPC villagers actually RUN TOWARDS ENEMIES WHEN THEIR GODDAMN STARTING POSITION IS SAFE, leaving their survival to hoping artificial stupidity doesn't kick in before I can recruit them knowing full damn well they'll get squished isn't my thing.

I have never, ever, ever had any difficulty whatsoever recruiting Sophie or Selkie.

[Shadow Mir]

30 minutes ago, Alastor15243 said:

I have never, ever, ever had any difficulty whatsoever recruiting Sophie or Selkie.

Different strokes for different folks. Anyway, that's not even my main gripe, which is that offspring seals are a Massive Honking Letdown.

[starburst]

On 4/28/2021 at 4:53 PM, Alastor15243 said:

Honestly, in general, this map isn't very friendly to player-phasers except for the reinforcements I know are coming. I'll be relying an uncomfortable amount on my enemy-phasers to deal with these formations, and the entire damned thing is a multilayered literal wall that punishes going on the offensive at every turn. Well, I'll do what I can.

We could not disagree more about this map. Look at what I posted last week in this very thread! 😂

On 4/23/2021 at 11:34 PM, starburst said:

For example, I enjoy Chapter 23 precisely because most of it can be wiped without letting the enemies engage in a single Enemy Phase. It is a thrilling march clearing areas at will. (Again, ten units, no royals, no backpacks.) Will enemies ignore me? I would not know; march and assault them anyway!

We simply play very, very different.
My "tanks" are usually +Magic Cornflakes or whatever Silas. The real stars of the show are the other eight units, the ones who can actually blow things up and clear areas.

 

On 4/28/2021 at 4:53 PM, Alastor15243 said:

I need to kill 10 enemies...

...With 10 units.

Welcome to our world! 😎

[Shadow Mir]

Thinking about it... What was the "justice is an illusion" line in the original Japanese? Because I'm curious.

[Jotari]

1 hour ago, Shadow Mir said:

Pretty much.

 

Still, given we're talking about the same game where NPC villagers actually RUN TOWARDS ENEMIES WHEN THEIR GODDAMN STARTING POSITION IS SAFE, leaving their survival to hoping artificial stupidity doesn't kick in before I can recruit them knowing full damn well they'll get squished isn't my thing.

No, there's literally no way for that happen with the way Selkie's map is set up. The only enemies she has near her are archers and she will always attack them at melee range. Her AI is completely predictable. She will never prioritize doing something else when she can attack an enemy who can't attack back. And the archers are completely stationary, so she will move from one to the other without ever stepping in their range. Unless you just ignore the enemies in the opening of the level entirely, she is completely safe for recruitment.

1 hour ago, Alastor15243 said:

I have never, ever, ever had any difficulty whatsoever recruiting Sophie or Selkie.

I doubt Mir has either. Presuming things without actually experiencing them is pretty much his deal.

Edited April 30, 2021 by Jotari

[Shadow Mir]

18 minutes ago, Jotari said:

No, there's literally no way for that happen with the way Selkie's map is set up. The only enemies she has near her are archers and she will always attack them at melee range. Her AI is completely predictable. She will never prioritize doing something else when she can attack an enemy who can't attack back. And the archers are completely stationary, so she will move from one to the other without ever stepping in their range. Unless you just ignore the enemies in the opening of the level entirely, she is completely safe for recruitment.

Answer me this then - have you seen her AI move into a space where some of the other enemies (by which I mean the enemies that usually rush towards where your units start) can attack her? Which, admittedly, might not be an issue if her paralogue is done early (as she's most likely gonna kill the stationary archers in one round, though in that case I'd recruit her early as to minimize experience loss), but likely will be if it's done later.

[Eltosian Kadath]

8 hours ago, Alastor15243 said:

 

Azura: Ending this war will benefit us all, even the kingdom I grew up in.

There is no conceivable way anyone in Azura's position would believe that.

More evidence for the manipulative Azura theory...

 

8 hours ago, Alastor15243 said:

And while I don't have any need for a new unit yet because I'm gonna bring Niles to capture at least one of those pass falcon knights...

There is a classic endgame prep if I ever saw one...

 

8 hours ago, Alastor15243 said:

So I'll do Paralogue 15, Siegbert's one.

That is a tough map. Its one of those hard enough that I only play it if I want to actually use Seigbert, or want the challenge...good luck using it as training.

 

8 hours ago, Alastor15243 said:

 

And to top it off, I fucked up and forgot to re-highlight some snipers, and I accidentally put Camilla in range of two of them. She can't even survive one. Which means I'm down to my last goddamned rescue use.

Yikes...just one left...

 

8 hours ago, Alastor15243 said:

 

HOLY SHIT IS THIS CHAPTER A CLUSTERFUCK. HOW DID I REMEMBER THIS BEING AN ORDINARY CHAPTER IN MY FIRST IRONMAN!?

Holy smoke, you remember this as an ordinary chapter to ironman? That is some dangerous hubris there...

 

3 hours ago, Samz707 said:

I've not got far in Fates (put on the back burner since I've not even finished 3H yet.) but is it because the trees are like Awakening? (AKA Sprite trees that aren't actually directly on the forest tiles.)

I think @Interdimensional Observer was talking about how the Dragon Veins clear the forest (and water, as well as stop reinforcements), so unless you are thinking a few steps ahead, it isn't immediately apparent what the map will become...

[Alastor15243]

3 hours ago, starburst said:

We could not disagree more about this map. Look at what I posted last week in this very thread! 😂

Then I'm guessing you have either a team of mounted units or intimate knowledge of where you can stand without aggroing the enemy formations. I'm sure it's possible, but not in an ironman unless you already know.

[Jotari]

9 hours ago, Shadow Mir said:

Answer me this then - have you seen her AI move into a space where some of the other enemies (by which I mean the enemies that usually rush towards where your units start) can attack her? Which, admittedly, might not be an issue if her paralogue is done early (as she's most likely gonna kill the stationary archers in one round, though in that case I'd recruit her early as to minimize experience loss), but likely will be if it's done later.

The only other enemies that could attack her are the ones in your starting area, which you deal with by killing them on turn 2. If someone struggles to recruit Selkie then they're not playing the game well, it's not the game's fault. The game and the series as a whole is no stranger to stupid AI, but this is not a case of it. The map is very deliberately designed to make recruiting Selkie safe no matter how powerful the enemies in the map are.

[Punished Dayni]

19 hours ago, Alastor15243 said:

...And in the mother-child support... Siegbert... gives his bikini-clad mother... a massage.

...I'd post the meme song, but Serenes hates it when I post videos.

Which song?

As for my recent experience with Selkie and Sophie's paralogues in Hard (First time playing them), I would not say I found getting either of them difficult. I did worry a little about getting Selkie, but it didn't end up with her heading north, while I could recruit Sophie turn 2 consistently and keep the villagers from seeing combat. The issue I had was not getting my own units killed due to bad placement or Kaze getting hit by a berserker despite having Dual Shuriken.

Edited April 30, 2021 by Dayni

[Alastor15243]

5 minutes ago, Dayni said:

Which song?

 

[Alastor15243]

Conquest Day 32: Chapter 24

First off this morning I made sure to grab those heal staves and unequip gamble from Xander. Boy, I can't wait to find out what I still somehow forget to do when preparing for this next map.

One thing that's pretty obvious is I'll need to boost speed for this map's meal. First off, because even with a rally, Niles can't double these falcon knights without both a speed meal and a speed tonic. Secondly because Leo's speed has once again become inadequate now that we're out of the helltrap that was last chapter. Still, he's just barely good enough that he's worth deploying as an enemy-phase unit. Especially while he needs to get his support ranks with Felicia up.

Biggest scare here, by far, is the distinct scarcity of dragon veins. I don't have as big of an air force as I was dreaming of having by this chapter when I started this game. Especially since both of my poll-of-death casualties were fliers.

Not having Elise here really, really hurts. It would've been so much fun.

But yeah, since I don't have enough of an air force to just roll with Hinoka's ability to slow down land units and speed up fliers... the four dragon veins on this map are my sole defense against that. They do the opposite, and as long as I activate the dragon veins immediately after she does, I'll have, like... 12 turns minimum before I start having to deal with fliers with a threat zone of thirteen to fourteen spaces, while all of my land units can barely move.

...I just noticed there's a second gate in the background up to the north, fallen over. What's the story behind that? Was there an attack previously that knocked that down?

...Oh my god.

...Oh my god I just got a brilliant, killer idea that I can't believe I didn't think of before.

HOW THE FUCK COULD I HAVE BEEN SO BLIND!?

Alright, I'm gonna buy a heart seal...

...because I'm reclassing Gunter to malig knight.

Not only will this boost Dakota's magic and resistance, but it will also give Dakota the option of, with a turn of prep, exploiting one of Hinoka's dragon vein uses to fly straight over the wall of trees and fight Azama directly.

Honestly, the number of ways this map could go horribly, catastrophically wrong is terrifying. I'm just picturing so many scenarios where I can't get to a dragon vein right as I get cornered by a ton of kinshi knights and every one of my player-phase units dies. And incidentally, while this hasn't happened yet, if anyone dies before Dakota does in a map, they're still gone, banned just like the victim of the poll of death. And I do not want to have to deal with the poll of death again, because I shudder to even fathom what you guys will take from me.

Another issue is that this map is absolutely in love with mages, so Xander isn't going to be too much help on enemy-phase. This further increases the need to use Leo. I'm really hurting for cash, but there's no way I can see around it: I've gotta buy some tonics for both Leo and Dakota to make sure they can do as much enemy-phasing as they can in emergencies. And I imagine there will be plenty of emergencies.

I'm dropping Keaton, since Camilla, although incredibly strong, isn't going to be doing any enemy-phasing, so it's a major waste to give her a guard stance partner now that she's married and doesn't need the support points. In Keaton's place, I'm bringing Siegbert, because, well, I think why I brought him will be obvious once I start.

I'll come right out and say it: I'm not going to be able to finish this map today. But I'll do my damnedest to get as far as I can at least.

...Alright.

I've done everything I can think of.

The main plan here is to make a beeline for the exit as quickly but carefully as possible. We're on the clock. These dragon veins won't last forever, and we need to make continuous progress to maintain our access to them anyway. I'll be having my army stick together as much as possible, with the exception of Dakota, who will be going off on her own on at least two occasions I can think of. One of them on turn one.

...Let's do this.

Alright, so, turn one: I have Laslow rally a cluster that has Dakota, Gunter, Xander/Charlotte, and Leo/Felicia. Normally I'd then have Azura sing for Laslow so he can replicate immediately, but I don't have Azura. But I do have a guy with shelter and a couple of units with nothing better to do this turn. So I shelter Laslow with Siegbert, have Mozu transfer him to herself, swap, replicate, and then have Niles release her. Boom.

I then have Dakota hop on Gunter's back and fly up North so that she can fight the four onmyoji and the kinshi knight near that dragon vein on the island. It's the closest to us, so we've gotta secure it this turn, because I know what's coming.

Yep, here comes the Hinocopter cutscene, complete with lens flare obscuring the upskirt, and...

...the enemies attack.

Dakota gets a great level up that includes speed and res, which is really appreciated here, as is Leo's level up that included speed.

...And then, at the end, the dragon vein activates. The enemy highlight zones blot out the sun, and we will fight in the shade of the sakura trees.

Unfortunately, in order to use a rally defense on Dakota that ultimately did more harm than good (stopped a kinshi knight from attacking her), Percy placed himself in a spot where he can't actually help take out these kinshi knights. I could have him piggyback on one of my Laslows, but that wouldn't guarantee a kill, and if I put any fliers in range of those kinshi knights and they're still alive... hoo boy. No thank you. So instead I'll just have Leo tank the three kinshi knights after I nerf their movement.

Man it would be so much fun to do this map if I had more fliers. I really wish I still had Elise.

Alright. So the dragon veins only last two turns. I used it on turn 2, and it's over on turn 4. I'm not sure how much longer she's gonna wait to use it again, but I have a dragon vein secured for when she does.

...Just one turn. If you use the dragon vein immediately after she uses it, there'll only be one turn of normal movement. Peachy.

...And this bad. This is very, very bad. Suddenly, after some incoming fliers move, the dragon vein on the southwestern island isn't all that secure anymore. I have to fly to the dragon vein, and thankfully the devs were considerate enough to not allow Setsuna's group to reach that space even when their movement is buffed, but... there are still two falcon knights in the way, one with a bolt naginata, and if I retreat now, uh... yeah, that's not gonna be good.

I have to push forward. I have to kill the two falcon knights so they don't kill Laslow after I rally everyone up, and I have to have Dakota rush all the way over from the central area to right between the two cherry trees and block everyone but Setsuna from getting in range of anyone attacking these falcon knights.

...Shit.

...Shit, these are two of the four that have pass.

I need to get at least one of them. And I have absolutely no guarantee I'll have the luxury of letting Niles get a kill on one after this turn. If I capture one now, getting the pass falcon knight will be all but guaranteed, but so will Niles' death.

...But in doing so, I'll also further safeguard Dakota's life in case her dodges and dual guards aren't enough, by guaranteeing Setsuna will find someone else a more tempting target.

...Fuck it. This was going to be Niles' last hurrah anyway. At least I'll have one pass falcon knight.

Godspeed Niles, you creepy, strength-screwed son of a bitch.

...He's dead, and Dakota lives. And Mozu, who got access to the crescent bow just in time, uses it to take out Setsuna. She levels up. One more level away from bowfaire. Her strength is halved until the end of her next attack, but given that her strength wasn't the best anyway, and given that this doesn't count rallies, tonics, meals, quick draw, or the bowfaire she'll be getting soon...

...yeah, I have a feeling I'll be using this a lot.

...Alright, here it comes. The big turn. The turn where I prepare to have Dakota fly straight behind the trees to assassinate Azama.

SHIT! NO! I CAN'T DO THAT! THE FALCON KNIGHT REINFORCEMENTS MEAN GUNTER WON'T HAVE A SAFE TURN TO SWITCH!

AND THE ONLY DRAGON VEINS LEFT ARE IN AZAMA'S RANGE!

I HAVE TO DEAL WITH FOURTEEN FLIERS ALL OVER THE MAP WITHOUT BEING ABLE TO ACCESS THE DRAGON VEINS!?

…

...Hahahahaha...

...Yeah, uh...

...I think this is a good place to put a cliffhanger.

Because I really, really, really need to think about my next move.

Stay safe, everyone.

See you when I figure out how to get out of this mess.

[Shadow Mir]

5 hours ago, Jotari said:

The only other enemies that could attack her are the ones in your starting area, which you deal with by killing them on turn 2. If someone struggles to recruit Selkie then they're not playing the game well, it's not the game's fault. The game and the series as a whole is no stranger to stupid AI, but this is not a case of it. The map is very deliberately designed to make recruiting Selkie safe no matter how powerful the enemies in the map are.

Guess I'll ask then - when do you do the child units' paralogues? Because in general, I find them best done before enemies promote, as it means I get more benefit from the stuff I get from them.

[Jotari]

2 hours ago, Shadow Mir said:

Guess I'll ask then - when do you do the child units' paralogues? Because in general, I find them best done before enemies promote, as it means I get more benefit from the stuff I get from them.

When they can inherit the best skills they couldn't otherwise learn. Or just whenever I want to start using them.

Edited April 30, 2021 by Jotari

[Alastor15243]

1 hour ago, Jotari said:

When they can inherit the best skills they couldn't otherwise learn. Or just whenever I want to start using them.

Basically me too. And right about now I'm really, really wishing I got Soleil today. Would've been nice to have a shuriken user.

[Punished Dayni]

7 hours ago, Alastor15243 said:

...Fuck it. This was going to be Niles' last hurrah anyway. At least I'll have one pass falcon knight.

Godspeed Niles, you creepy, strength-screwed son of a bitch.

...He's dead, and Dakota lives.

Well, RIP Niles.

You weren't considering the Master Ninjas in Chapter 25?

7 hours ago, Alastor15243 said:

...I think this is a good place to put a cliffhanger.

Because I really, really, really need to think about my next move.

That is one hell of a cliffhanger, you got me there for sure.

[starburst]

20 hours ago, Alastor15243 said:

[On Chapter 23]

Then I'm guessing you have either a team of mounted units or intimate knowledge of where you can stand without aggroing the enemy formations. I'm sure it's possible, but not in an ironman unless you already know.

Ah, you mean playing it blind, and not exactly Iron Man.
Using only ten units during the entire game is very much opposed to the dynamics of an Iron Man, but I have no problem playing the late-game maps in Iron Man mode for a challenge. I lose units way more often during mid-game than in the later chapters, and I have completed the last third of the game without deaths multiple times.

I usually have two or three mounted units. And it would not matter if the enemies attacked you, for there is no way they all could hit you. It is impossible because they all can move six squares, and start in different positions. You on the other hand can kill them all in a single Player Phase, no exceptions. If you could not wipe them all, leave the one who cannot kill you, or use Freeze, or use Rescue, or use Shelter... In no section of Chapter 23 can the enemies corner or ambush you. Reinforcements appear far away from you.
I can tell you when I believe each enemy group moves, if you are interested.

 

7 hours ago, Alastor15243 said:

Honestly, the number of ways this map [Chapter 24] could go horribly, catastrophically wrong is terrifying. I'm just picturing so many scenarios where I can't get to a dragon vein right as I get cornered by a ton of kinshi knights and every one of my player-phase units dies.

To ease your concern, this map plays exactly the same in Hard and Lunatic, and can be reliably completed with ten units and no mounted units, without ever using a Dragon Vein, in under twenty turns.
Granted, if you are playing it blind, you do not know when the reinforcements arrive, but the movement gimmick is more annoying that it is dangerous. Adventurers, Kaze and Elise are immune to any and all Magic Pegasus or Magician; every single flyer is one-hit by Bows, Beast Killers, Hunter's Knife or a Wolf; trained Sorcerers cannot be touched by Kinshis; Onis have no Resistance... If you are ambushed, use a Cross formation and hold one turn, then wipe the area on Player Phase.

I fucking hate Azama, I give you that.

 

23 hours ago, Jotari said:

I doubt Mir has either. Presuming things without actually experiencing them is pretty much his deal.

Man, this made me laugh out loud. You summed it up.

 

4 hours ago, Jotari said:

(On recruiting children)

When they can inherit the best skills they couldn't otherwise learn. Or just whenever I want to start using them.

Around Chapter 12. I am not joking.

[Shadow Mir]

6 hours ago, Jotari said:

When they can inherit the best skills they couldn't otherwise learn. Or just whenever I want to start using them.

I don't think I ever cared all that much about inheritance in this game, short of Felicia passing down a high level skill to her child. Probably because there's no gender-exclusive skills that can be passed down.

[Alastor15243]

3 minutes ago, Shadow Mir said:

I don't think I ever cared all that much about inheritance in this game, short of Felicia passing down a high level skill to her child. Probably because there's no gender-exclusive skills that can be passed down.

Yeah but you can save children the trouble of skill training in bad classes, or give them skills in classes they won’t inherit from their parents.

[Eltosian Kadath]

5 hours ago, Alastor15243 said:

 

One thing that's pretty obvious is I'll need to boost speed for this map's meal. First off, because even with a rally, Niles can't double these falcon knights without both a speed meal and a speed tonic.

The sign of a Niles that needs some training...

 

9 hours ago, Alastor15243 said:

 

Not only will this boost Dakota's magic and resistance, but it will also give Dakota the option of, with a turn of prep, exploiting one of Hinoka's dragon vein uses to fly straight over the wall of trees and fight Azama directly.

Ah, the better way of dealing with him. Altough sending Dakota off alone sounds a little dangerous...I think that ends up triggering one of the reinforcement groups in the north as well...

 

9 hours ago, Alastor15243 said:

 

Another issue is that this map is absolutely in love with mages, so Xander isn't going to be too much help on enemy-phase. This further increases the need to use Leo. I'm really hurting for cash, but there's no way I can see around it: I've gotta buy some tonics for both Leo and Dakota to make sure they can do as much enemy-phasing as they can in emergencies. And I imagine there will be plenty of emergencies.

This is one of the chapters where having Felicia/Jakob sticking in maid/butler til tome-breaker really pays off, especially around that island to the west, and the Onmyoji reinforcement that pop out of the alcove just above it...

 

9 hours ago, Alastor15243 said:

 

...Shit, these are two of the four that have pass.

I need to get at least one of them. And I have absolutely no guarantee I'll have the luxury of letting Niles get a kill on one after this turn. If I capture one now, getting the pass falcon knight will be all but guaranteed, but so will Niles' death.

...But in doing so, I'll also further safeguard Dakota's life in case her dodges and dual guards aren't enough, by guaranteeing Setsuna will find someone else a more tempting target.

...Fuck it. This was going to be Niles' last hurrah anyway. At least I'll have one pass falcon knight.

Godspeed Niles, you creepy, strength-screwed son of a bitch.

Its not as time sensitive as it seems, as many of the reinforcements also have pass as well...

 

9 hours ago, Alastor15243 said:

 

...He's dead, and Dakota lives. And Mozu, who got access to the crescent bow just in time, uses it to take out Setsuna. She levels up. One more level away from bowfaire. Her strength is halved until the end of her next attack, but given that her strength wasn't the best anyway, and given that this doesn't count rallies, tonics, meals, quick draw, or the bowfaire she'll be getting soon...

...yeah, I have a feeling I'll be using this a lot.

I will also note that Mozu making an attack-stance hit will clear the debuff (and also not triggeer the debuff if she didn't have it before).

 

9 hours ago, Alastor15243 said:

 

SHIT! NO! I CAN'T DO THAT! THE FALCON KNIGHT REINFORCEMENTS MEAN GUNTER WON'T HAVE A SAFE TURN TO SWITCH!

AND THE ONLY DRAGON VEINS LEFT ARE IN AZAMA'S RANGE!

I HAVE TO DEAL WITH FOURTEEN FLIERS ALL OVER THE MAP WITHOUT BEING ABLE TO ACCESS THE DRAGON VEINS!?

One of them is only barely in Azama's range, so you should be able to trigger it, and then shelter the DV user to safety...

 

10 hours ago, Shadow Mir said:

Guess I'll ask then - when do you do the child units' paralogues? Because in general, I find them best done before enemies promote, as it means I get more benefit from the stuff I get from them.

I get them as soon as I can generally.

[Alastor15243]

33 minutes ago, Eltosian Kadath said:

One of them is only barely in Azama's range, so you should be able to trigger it, and then shelter the DV user to safety...

Hahahahaha, if only it were so! Dakota's the only one I have by that third one. Everyone else is stuck at the southwestern island.

[Shadow Mir]

1 hour ago, Eltosian Kadath said:

The sign of a Niles that needs some training...

Or better, it begs the question "why in the seven hells do people hype this loser???"... 

1 hour ago, Eltosian Kadath said:

Ah, the better way of dealing with him. Altough sending Dakota off alone sounds a little dangerous...I think that ends up triggering one of the reinforcement groups in the north as well...

Yeah, I remember that. Sounds like it's outta the frying pan and into the fire for ya, Alastor... what's your move now???

2 hours ago, Alastor15243 said:

Yeah but you can save children the trouble of skill training in bad classes, or give them skills in classes they won’t inherit from their parents.

Perhaps, but the fact that heart seals are as limited as they are for most of the game (iirc, you only get 4 in Birthright and 5 in Conquest until the level 3 shop; that's not a lot, especially if I'm planning to go back to the original class afterwards) is something to consider.

Edited May 1, 2021 by Shadow Mir

[lenticular]

I'm wondering if Conquest was specifically designed for replayability value and, if so, did that harm it from the perspective of how good a first time through is? I'm asking because of things like this:

On 4/24/2021 at 3:34 AM, starburst said:

For example, I enjoy Chapter 23 precisely because most of it can be wiped without letting the enemies engage in a single Enemy Phase. It is a thrilling march clearing areas at will. (Again, ten units, no royals, no backpacks.) Will enemies ignore me? I would not know; march and assault them anyway!

Which I am interpreting basically as there being a way to play that level that is fun but that it's only realistically available to people who already know the game very well, otherwise you're left with the not-fun way of approaching the level. Or there's this:

13 hours ago, Alastor15243 said:

Man it would be so much fun to do this map if I had more fliers. I really wish I still had Elise.

Which, similarly, seems to be implying that you can have more fun with the level when you already know that it's coming (and can prepare accordingly).

Any thoughts? Do you think that prioritising replay value over first-time experience was part of the design philosophy here? Or am I reading too much into things?

[Imuabicus der Fertige]

3 hours ago, Shadow Mir said:

Perhaps, but the fact that heart seals are as limited as they are for most of the game (iirc, you only get 4 in Birthright and 5 in Conquest until the level 3 shop; that's not a lot, especially if I'm planning to go back to the original class afterwards) is something to consider.

Step 1) Heart Seal, Friendship Seal, Partner Seal parent into class.

Step 2) Learn Skill as you needed.

Step 3) Get Kid as needed, inherit skill you want.

Step 4) Bench as needed.

That way you can bench your least favourites AND get neat skills on kids without needing to reclass. And as mentioned multiple times throughout this part of Alastors Fates adventure, you may want lv 15 skills on your kids, skills who rarely come in before you have "unlimited" reclassing anyway so that you can beat some maps easier. Which is all the use you need out of these skills.

1 hour ago, lenticular said:

I'm wondering if Conquest was specifically designed for replayability value and, if so, did that harm it from the perspective of how good a first time through is? I'm asking because of things like this:

Which I am interpreting basically as there being a way to play that level that is fun but that it's only realistically available to people who already know the game very well, otherwise you're left with the not-fun way of approaching the level. Or there's this:

Which, similarly, seems to be implying that you can have more fun with the level when you already know that it's coming (and can prepare accordingly).

Any thoughts? Do you think that prioritising replay value over first-time experience was part of the design philosophy here? Or am I reading too much into things?

 

Obviously, you can have more fun if you know what´s coming - that probably holds true for most FEs and even more so if you can do builds based on skills etc. Replayability comes from map design that isn´t just 30 enemies strewn about a vaguely laid out terrain and the ability to change things up. CQ does both pretty darn well.

 

On the other hand, at the very least I had fun going through the game the first time, because finding a working approach to the problem the map presented and then seeing it working out that way was a very neat feeling.

3 hours ago, Shadow Mir said:

Or better, it begs the question "why in the seven hells do people hype this loser???"... 

Because before his STR starts hurting him, he can quite competently capture enemies. He´s also a source of chip and one of the three natural bow users in CQ. The better the player, the better the Niles.

Edited May 1, 2021 by Imuabicus