Special Heroes: In the Moment

[Vicious Sal]

Zihark is here, finally!

it’s por though so I will get one copy and keep waiting for my Trueblade RD outfit one. 

Besides i have 30 orbs.

[Othin]

The newspost has a note saying the new seasonal weapons won't be refinable. I don't remember seeing that earlier.

[Sunwoo]

10 minutes ago, Othin said:

All of that was before September 2019, which is what I see as the start of that trend. There were plenty of exceptions before that, but I'd hoped we were done with them.

Fair

20 minutes ago, Tybrosion said:

And now Laevatein somehow has more alts than the actual face (Fjorm) of Book II. Who the f*** asked for this?

The rest of this lineup is fine, but boy does that Laevatein alt actually piss me off (and her art has also now regressed to the point that she only barely looks like the same character).

I'm too busy being surprised that IS still cared that Laevatein existed tbh

[Tybrosion]

16 minutes ago, Sunwoo said:

I'm too busy being surprised that IS still cared that Laevatein existed tbh

Yeah, and I would like to know why they even bothered considering that Laevatein couldn't even stay in the top 100 in CYL4 (Fjorm and Laegjarn, meanwhile, did) and that her CYL results have been trending down with each passing year. She was never anything except a flavor of the month character but now has as many alts as characters like Alm, Roy, Eliwood, Micaiah, etc..

Edited November 4, 2020 by Tybrosion

[Jave]

Laevatein is one of my favorite OCs so I'm not complaining about this.

[Etrurian emperor]

Oof that Laevatein art looks horrible. I briefly thought the banner trailer was fake when I saw her. 

[SockPuppet]

I am sad we didn’t get a Kaze or a Saizo alt. Lyn and Florina are cute, but I would much rather have had them in like Winter gear (to match that one Cipher card of theirs) than in... Ninja attire? I guess the whole theme of ninjas is kinda meh for me... though being biased towards pirates might have something to do with it 😛 

Anyway, Zihark is cool, though seasonal first is always a bit meh. At least he got a GOOD alt like some of the pirate folks did! I hope his fans are happy 🙂 

Navarre... ooh, he looks cool! I will definitely try for him. I am also surprised it took THIS long for him to get an alt. About time! TMS Navarre when?!

Laevatein... umm... yeah... I don’t like it. She looks weird and her face is very unflattering. It doesn’t really look like her either. Disappointed overall, especially since she’s a rather cool character in my book. I hope the other sister gets some alt love again soon. I just hope her art isn’t as... er, like that.

 

Overall, it’s a cool theme for a banner just like the pirates one was. I wish I enjoyed it a bit more, but alas... will try for the Duo, the 4* (both per tradition) and Navarre. 

[Florete]

2 hours ago, ChickenBits said:

Not saying the Serenes crowd does this but the double standards man. Some people were dreading and joking about another Camilla yet Lyn is a-okay. I just wish they'd be consistent with their supposed too many alts complaint. 

Most of Reddit was pretty mad. I'm no Camilla fan, but considering it's been over a year and a half since her last non-Brave alt, I wouldn't be mad about a new one.

2 hours ago, XRay said:

In the Moment Weapons cannot be Refined. It is stated at the end of the video.

Yeah, I saw that a little later. Was kinda hoping they might add refines for brave weapons (and other like raven tomes and Poison Dart) alongside these, but this is fine.

1 hour ago, Sunwoo said:

Fair

I'm too busy being surprised that IS still cared that Laevatein existed tbh

We're at the end of book IV and we get a book II alt. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[XRay]

2 hours ago, Alexmender said:

I don't find a lot of value in quadding, if one reaches that point it means their dmg is very lackluster to begin with and if the unit is not under a Desperation effect it can mean the enemy unit gets free charges to their special, which is way too dangerous when these weapons lower your bulk by a sizeable margin. 2 shotting stuff will always be a more reliable strategy and to that end regular Brave weapons do the job well enough. 

Quadding deals less damage per hit, but it deals more damage overall when you quad attack. Dealing 18 damage 4 times with Brave Weapons would always be better than dealing 26 damage 2 times with regular Weapons. The only reason player phase exclusive Weapons at the time of their release can rival or slightly surpass regular Brave Weapons at all is because they are stacked to the brim with stat boosts and skill effects. However, exclusive Weapons as a group will always be in a losing battle due to future unit's stats being pushed higher and A, B, C, and Sacred Seals getting stronger over time. Brave Weapons as a group simply scale better over time because they can take advantage of the latest stat increases more by doing more. While the latest exclusive Weapons can always count on having enough effects to remain competitive with Brave Weapons for a time, older exclusive Weapons cannot unless they get a Refine.

If we look at Catherine for example, In the Moment Weapons are only slightly worse than Thunderbrand, missing out on only 4 kills.

Challenger List: Against Hard List, both sides +10 with 6/6/6/6 bonus buffs. Challengers at 1 HP. Brave Sword has Spur Atk+1, Spur Spd+9, and Def/Res-4 to simulate In the Moment Weapons.

Spoiler

CHALLENGER LIST  
Catherine (5*+10 +atk -hp)  
Weapon: Thunderbrand  
Special: Ruptured Sky  
A: Brazen Atk Spd 4  
B: Lull Spd Def 3  
😄 Time's Pulse 3  
S: Brazen Atk Spd 3  
  
Catherine (5*+10 +atk -hp)  
Weapon: Brave Sword+  
Special: Ruptured Sky  
A: Brazen Atk Spd 4  
B: Desperation 3  
😄 Time's Pulse 3  
S: Brazen Atk Spd 3  

371:4:0
367:8:0

If we look at Mareeta, a unit that is only slightly older, In the Moment Weapons are practically identical in performance to Mareeta's Sword, but In the Moment Weapons does not have any positioning requirement drawbacks.

Spoiler

CHALLENGER LIST  
Mareeta (5*+10 +atk -hp)  
Weapon: Mareeta's Sword  
Special: Luna  
A: Brazen Atk Spd 4  
B: Desperation 3  
😄 Time's Pulse 3  
S: Brazen Atk Spd 3  
  
Mareeta (5*+10 +atk -hp)  
Weapon: Brave Sword+  
Special: Dragon Fang  
A: Brazen Atk Spd 4  
B: Desperation 3  
😄 Time's Pulse 3  
S: Brazen Atk Spd 3  

359:16:0
358:17:0

If we look at Jill, the power of Brave Weapons is more pronounced on fliers due to their access to Rein skills. Just a regular Brave Axe already slightly outperforms Talregan Axe, and In the Moment Weapons magnifies it a bit more.

Spoiler

CHALLENGER LIST  
Jill (5*+10 +atk -hp)  
Weapon: Talregan Axe  
Special: Moonbow  
A: Brazen Atk Spd 4  
B: Desperation 3  
😄 Spd Def Rein 3  
S: Brazen Atk Spd 3  
  
Jill (5*+10 +atk -hp)  
Weapon: Brave Axe+  
Special: Luna  
A: Brazen Atk Spd 4  
B: Desperation 3  
😄 Spd Def Rein 3  
S: Brazen Atk Spd 3  

358:17:0
365:10:0 (Brave Weapon)
368:7:0 (In the Moment Weapon)

I have never found entering Desperation to be a huge issue, even on low bulk units. Aether Raids have Bolt Traps, and while Abyssal enemies hit hard, they do not hit that hard and you can often eat a counter attack most of the time. If all else fails, there is always Fury on A so you will be guaranteed to enter Desperation range. I have far more issue with high bulk units than low bulk units, because they cannot enter Wings of Mercy range fast enough. In my opinion, units like Raven are good because they have abysmal bulk, and they need that abysmal bulk to enter Desperation and Wings of Mercy range quickly. In my opinion, low bulk is far more of a beneficial trait than a detrimental one.

Slow Brave will always be inferior to fast Brave from how I see it. Under ideal max investment scenario (Brave-Brazen-Lull-Brazen vs. Brave-Brazen-Desperation-Brazen), while slow Brave deals 3 more damage per hit, it is only reliably hitting twice, and while fast deals 3 less damage per hit, the two extra hits will usually deal far more than 3 damage per hit and fast Brave comes with a guaranteed Luna activation. If we are assuming regular max investment scenario (Brave-Death Blow-Lull-Death Blow), slow Brave is only dealing 1 extra damage per hit.

2 hours ago, Alexmender said:

However, thinking back on it the reason I feel Brave weapons are kinda lackluster right now is due to how increasingly common Dmg reduction is becoming, which practically shuts every standard Brave weapon down hard. Except the +4 Spd these ones give grant a better matchup against any unit that uses Spd based dmg reduction. They'll still do no good against B!Ike and B!Dimitri, but that's just 2 units and a teammate can cover for that weakness. 

When I use Cordelia, she only has issue with BH!Ike primarily because he is green and got high Def on top of damage reduction. She does not have any trouble with any of the Dimitris, and the only scenario where she could face an issue is if they run Deflect Melee. She does have an exclusive Brave Weapon though.

Hana with max investment also should not have any issue brute forcing past most BH!Ikes using Brave Sword, according to the calculator. If BH!Ike stacks Def on all his slots and run Deflect Melee, Hana would not be able to get past that, but I do not think I have seen any BH!Ike go that hard core.

Edited November 4, 2020 by XRay

[Yexin]

ok so uhhh... rip my dream of seeing a regular PoR/RD banner with OG Zihark anytime soon, i guess

i'm not really fond of the ninja aesthetics (especially "anime ninjas") but i must admit Zihark and Nabarl look really good

 

oh, and it looks like IS went
Yet

Another

Lyn

Alt

i'd like to post the "another one" video, but it's honestly not even funny anymore, at this point

Edited November 4, 2020 by Yexin

[NSSKG151]

I'm sad a New Heroes banner was sacrificed just to add more alts and new Tellius characters on seasonal banners. The banner just doesn't look interesting to me. Oh well, at least it will be easy for me to ignore.

[Vicious Sal]

I just realised I can give that Lyn my Pumpkin a box and disarm trap and have an even better Galeforce unit for AstraForce. With Velouria, Altina and Plumeria it’s a perfect match.

I might just try for the one off copy and pick up some Zihark along the way.

[GrandeRampel]

Okay, Ninja alts.

First of all, really glad they didn't pick the obvious choice of the Fates ninja trio. In fact the only Hoshidan on the banner is Hana, who isn't a bad pick. She looks really cute and is free, so can't complain about her.

Then we have Zihark as an alt-first new hero. I like that they are keeping the trend of introducing new heroes in seasonals. With how many seasonals banners we get it's a way to keep the stream of new faces flowing.

Navarre is pretty awesome. We can never have enough lance infantry units and he was a popular character ignored for far too long. Plus he's yet another character who debuted as a GHB and gets a seasonal. He can join Narcian, Zephiel, F!Robin, Ursula, Berkut and Lyon (fallen alts are half-seasonals to me) in the club. Can Valter/Aversa/Arvis be next? I want one of them to be next.

Laevatein is absurdly cool and unique, I love her! I don't know what the people who hate the artwork are talking about, she is perfect! Honestly, I really like the fact that they give every Laevatein to a completely different artist with a unique style. It's way better than being trapped with a single artist (like Mia, Nino, F!Corrin, Azura, Eirika and Ephraim). I don't know how it works exactly, but with so many artists available it's kind of a waste to always pick the same guy/gal to do a character. We already know how they draw said character, we want to see how someone else can draw them. Heroes who get a lot of artists like Laev are blessed IMHO. Other blessed characters with different artists every time are:

Edelgard (even Flame Emperor is drawn by a different artist), Dimitri, Tharja (even counting Kiria and Rhajat it's always a different artist), Robin (okay there was a repeated artist but with seven versions across both genders it's forgivable) and Hector (same as Robin, with six versions including the resplendent it is more forgivable to repeat an artist one time).

I can get reusing an artist only if their art-style evolved a lot over time (you could tell me that OG!Lachesis and Dancer!Lachesis were drawn by two different people and I would believe you. Same for Olivia) or if they are drawing a character that undergoes a change in appearance that is very drastic. I like that Baby Marth is drawn by the same artist as OG!Marth it makes for a nice contrast that let's you see more clearly how much he changed. I wouldn't mind old man Karel getting the same artist as young Karel. Same thing for Sothe.

Than we get to the last unit: Ninja Lyn. On the one hand it's Yamada Kotaro AGAIN and I already explained I don't like that. On the other hand it's a completely new artist for Florina, so that's a win. Let's hope she gets a third artist when she finally gets her Resplendent. Speaking of Florina, I understand the disappointment of those who would have prefered her as the lead, but you should all make peace with the fact that EVERY lord will get a Duo and they WILL be the lead unit (unless you are Celica, but I wouldn't put it past IS to release a Celica/Mae duo unit in a year or so) so it's better to just accept it and move on. And with that said I'm happy they picked Florina, a way better choice than Rath or anyone else they could have picked, fight me.

And hey, this is Lyn #7, same number as Camilla. Except she also has a Resplendent and Camilla doesn't. Can we move all the "jokes" about Camilla alts onto Lyn now? Logic dictates we do.

EDIT: Can Lyn #8 (which is going to exist let's not kid ourselves) be drawn by Soeda Ippei? He can draw women pretty well, he has drawn an Eir for Cipher even. And it would make me stop complaining about the lack of variety in Lyn alts in an instant.

Edited November 4, 2020 by GrandeRampel

[Diovani Bressan]

Interesting that the inheritable weapons of this banner are not refinable. Kinda expected, to be honest.

I may summon all the green and colorless orbs in the free summon circle, and quit. This banner doesn't look interest to me.

From all the seasonal banners this year, this is the least interesting one for me... and the easiest to skip.

[Etrurian emperor]

Even as someone who hates Hana I must admit she looks very cute and has a very good art as well. 

Its a bit of a schizophrenic banner. None of the characters really have anything tying them together. Its as if they just threw darts at a board. Its still a fine selection. Zihark especially has been long overdue, and Areon was one of the most prominent Jugdralians not yet in the game. 

So has Lyn officially surpassed Camilla in the number of alts? Its been years since the last Camilla alt but I don't think the Lyn alts ever really stopped. 

[Fabulously Olivier]

2 minutes ago, Etrurian emperor said:

Even as someone who hates Hana I must admit she looks very cute and has a very good art as well. 

Its a bit of a schizophrenic banner. None of the characters really have anything tying them together. Its as if they just threw darts at a board. Its still a fine selection. Zihark especially has been long overdue, and Areon was one of the most prominent Jugdralians not yet in the game. 

So has Lyn officially surpassed Camilla in the number of alts? Its been years since the last Camilla alt but I don't think the Lyn alts ever really stopped. 

Areon was announced? Am I missing something?

[Etrurian emperor]

6 minutes ago, Fabulously Olivier said:

Areon was announced? Am I missing something?

whoops. Mistook him with Navarre. 

I was watching it on my phone and might have misread ''argon'' who was the artist 😅

Edited November 4, 2020 by Etrurian emperor

[Othin]

Speaking personally, I definitely wouldn't have wanted Lyn or Camilla to get another regular seasonal, but I have no objections to Lyn getting her first duo and I'll have no objections when Camilla inevitably gets one. Lyn/Florina, in particular, is a duo I've been expecting her to get in some form, and it does make for Florina's first alt.

With Ninian, Hector, and Lyn all appearing in other duos, I have to wonder why Eliwood's inevitable duo will pair him with. Roy? Marcus? Someone from another game? Marcus would be nice, I want him in the game in some form.

[Interdimensional Observer]

10 hours ago, Jave said:

Oh shit the artist for Laevatain is the guy from the Devil Survivor games, no wonder it looked so familiar. I kinda want to pull her just for that, but I'm low on orbs.

It doesn't look similar to me, Laev doesn't look any good, the face looks poorly drawn, and the breasts look elongated.

Though examining the full-body character artwork instead of the portraits:

https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/megamitensei/images/1/16/Airi_Ban.png/revision/latest?cb=20120324203406

https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/megamitensei/images/6/65/DeSu-Atsuro.png/revision/latest?cb=20141129053053

https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/megamitensei/images/6/69/Yoshino_Render.png/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/616?cb=20180127163922

https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/megamitensei/images/0/07/Daichi.png/revision/latest?cb=20150920090631

I guess I can see some vague similarities, notably in the faces. 

Shame Miss Named After A Weapon Created By Loki, didn't get better, since I do like the Devil Survivor character designs myself. Hell, I'd love for every single one of them to crossover into FE -but thats as much or more because personality.

Edited November 4, 2020 by Interdimensional Observer

[MisterIceTeaPeach]

^ The links can't be opened.

Also none of the characters look in any way similar to Devil Survivor's artstyle.

 

[kradeelav]

11 hours ago, Benice said:

Pinging @kradeelav, 'cause his boy Zihark is finally here!

\o/   bless you for remembering, LMAO.  Wow.  RIP my orbs, indeed.  Still holding out for a RD version since I'm still trying to decide if I like the art or not, but boy this will definitely help to tide over for a long, long time.  Literally was just thinking it's about time more myrms show up! 

11 hours ago, LoneStar said:

I forgot their name, but that user who really likes Zihark is going to have a field day. Hope they have better luck with 4 star focus than I do.

( Probably me unless if there's another Zihark fan on here I need to get talking with. :P )

[Vicious Sal]

2 minutes ago, kradeelav said:

\o/   bless you for remembering, LMAO.  Wow.  RIP my orbs, indeed.  Still holding out for a RD version since I'm still trying to decide if I like the art or not, but boy this will definitely help to tide over for a long, long time.  Literally was just thinking it's about time more myrms show up! 

( Probably me unless if there's another Zihark fan on here I need to get talking with. 😛 )

Probably you but I am quite the Zihark and Jill fan =p

 

[Nimue]

aAAAH

Zihark is finally here! I guess at this point I'll give up on Dimitri and save for him instead. All my favorite Myrmidons take priority.

Kinda funny that Blazing's NA anniversary was yesterday and another Lyn alt was revealed.....

[Xenomata]

...hey wait a...

Why do these weapons have 1 more Might than the regular Brave weapons despite otherwise being absolutely and completely better in every way?

[XRay]

6 minutes ago, Xenomata said:

...hey wait a...

Why do these weapons have 1 more Might than the regular Brave weapons despite otherwise being absolutely and completely better in every way?

Yes, they are better than regular Brave Weapons in every way. The bulk reduction is a nice bonus too to make getting into Desperation range easier.