Character bios

[Etrurian emperor]

I guess this means we'll get Sylvain and Ingrid the next two days to round out the childhood friends, then the next three days focusing on Ashe, Mercedes and Annette, and then the next trailer. 

[tipperthescales]

30 minutes ago, Etrurian emperor said:

I guess this means we'll get Sylvain and Ingrid the next two days to round out the childhood friends, then the next three days focusing on Ashe, Mercedes and Annette, and then the next trailer. 

Interestingly, the Japanese site orders the Lions as Dimitri / Dedue / Felix / Mercedes / Ashe / Annette / Sylvain / Ingrid (which is also their website code number when you Inspect Element, and also the order displayed on the Japanese FE3H page). This is almost the trailer order (Felix is pushed to midpoint as a stinger for the trailer), but it varies quite differently from 3H's internal order (Dimitri / Dedue / Felix / Ashe / Sylvain / Mercedes / Annette / Ingrid).

I'm honestly expecting Mercedes next, but they could easily throw a curveball with one of the remaining Faerghus Four or even Ashe.

===

Of real interest however is when we get to the Deer - internally that order is Claude / Lorenz / Raphael / Ignatz / Lysithea / Marianne / Hilda / Leonie, but the Japanese 3H site order is Claude / Lorenz / Hilda / Raphael / Lysithea / Ignatz / Marianne / Leonie...

I'd hazard a guess and say that Lorenz and Hilda, Raphael and Lysithea, and Ignatz and Marianne swap positions to have an MFMFMFMF pattern, but patterns are made to be broken, so...

[tipperthescales]

In a blink and you'll miss it moment, the Japanese Twitter had to delete and re-post Mercie's second tweet due to forgetting to attach the images.

I'm not sure if the ally healing here is a Priest or Mercedes specific skill, but in either case it does bring to mind Mipha and her ally healing ability. Whether it's restricted to musous or if charge attacks can also grant this healing...

Addit - some replies to the Japanese tweet also call to attention Zelda (presumable Bow of Light), which would be a reasonable comment from a visual perspective, but we do need to take into account that what we've seen so far doesn't quite resemble a binding / locking down playstyle nor luminescent mode.

I wonder if the light ring that sometimes appears around Mercie indicates a move that can cast AOE healing zones, though both instances we see it relate to a Cx move (what could be C5, and C6; with the C5, R3 seems to be the trigger for the rings to appear as the first pose doesn't feel very R1 like at all).

Edited May 15, 2022 by tipperthescales

[Fabulously Olivier]

Mercedes healing with her moveset is really interesting because it means healing may not have anything to do with the equipment slot in this game, unlike its predecessor. To some degree, that makes sense when they have the Combat Arts/Spells to do that now. But more healing on top of that with musous or combo strings is certainly a power boost.

Edited May 16, 2022 by Fabulously Olivier

[ciphertul]

9 minutes ago, Fabulously Olivier said:

Mercedes healing with her moveset is really interesting because it means healing may not have anything to do with the equipment slot in this game, unlike its predecessor. To some degree, that makes sense when they have the Combat Arts/Spells to do that now. But more healing on top of that with musous or combo strings is certainly a power boost.

They could do it like strikers where certain persona has a heal in their combo but at a greatly reduced effectiveness.

Edited May 16, 2022 by ciphertul

[Fabulously Olivier]

Just now, ciphertul said:

They could do it like strikers where certain persona has a heal in their combo but at a greatly reduced effectiveness.

Yeah, maybe. One thing that concerns me is that the new system may make it hard to issue manual healing commands to AI, which would make base defense more difficult. It's just a wait and see thing I guess.

[tipperthescales]

Just as I was about to lament the double post as well, haha~

Good observation with Healing, though Mysterious Mercenary's trailer with Monica having a Heal command despite carrying Wind God's Genesis, for general healing at least, to me means one of:

1) the Healing spells are tied to Combat Arts;

2) Magic using classes have stocks of healing;

3) Healing is determined by the number of vulnerary stocks (but this probably still falls under equipment...)

===

The trailer seems to pose this wind field as either a C1 or a character unique command skill (though I don't think it makes sense as a combat art to be honest). I think the main deal breaker here is if the field has persistent effects (i.e. enemies who enter the field after it's set also get launched up and juggled).

===

I did actually have some scattered thoughts about the claims some people make about movesets being too similar to FEW; in the case of Archer:

- I think the spinning bow swing attack is either N3 or N4 (compared with FEW's spinning 5 shot N4), and it's actually preceded by a different N2 or N3 - a standing 5 shot attack as opposed to a standing 3 shot attack (FEW N2) or crouching 4 shot attack (FEW N3).

- The following N4 or N5 anchors Ashe to the ground and he fires true in a forward fan, compared with the upward shots in DEW's N6.

I do wonder why Ashe has a reasonably grounded set of bow attacks if his personal promotes air juggling though...

The shots that open and close Ashe's section do feel like part of the same musou (except for maybe the aerial final shot??).

[Fabulously Olivier]

What we may see as a result of spell lists is Ashe being the wind archer, Bernie being lightning, Ignatz and Shamir being ice, and Anna being fire. (Ignatz is notably the only male character in 3H whose spell list leans ice).

 

I feel pretty mixed on Ashe's design. There's a lot here that's just good enough for me, but I wish the platemail were less bulky and the flowing cloth/leather cloak was longer around the legs.

Edited May 16, 2022 by Fabulously Olivier

[ciphertul]

2 minutes ago, Fabulously Olivier said:

What we may see as a result of spell lists is Ashe being the wind archer, Bernie being lightning, Ignatz and Shamir being ice, and Anna being fire. (Ignatz is notably the only male character in 3H whose spell list leans ice).

 

I feel pretty mixed on Ashe's design. There's a lot here that's just good enough for me, but I wish the platemail were less bulky and the flowing cloth/leather cloak was longer around the legs.

However Bernie has no real reason to go lightning either she is ice as well. 

[Fabulously Olivier]

Just now, ciphertul said:

However Bernie has no real reason to go lightning either she is ice as well. 

They may make that decision for the sole reason that no other archer can go lightning, whereas ice has others.

[ciphertul]

1 minute ago, Fabulously Olivier said:

They may make that decision for the sole reason that no other archer can go lightning, whereas ice has others.

Who says we will even get a lightning archer or a fire archer? Maybe Ignatz will be one of those?

[Fabulously Olivier]

2 minutes ago, ciphertul said:

Who says we will even get a lightning archer or a fire archer? Maybe Ignatz will be one of those?

Ignatz' spell list is 2/3rds Ice and again, he's the only male ice character.

[tipperthescales]

11 minutes ago, Fabulously Olivier said:

What we may see as a result of spell lists is Ashe being the wind archer, Bernie being lightning, Ignatz and Shamir being ice, and Anna being fire. (Ignatz is notably the only male character in 3H whose spell list leans ice).

 

I feel pretty mixed on Ashe's design. There's a lot here that's just good enough for me, but I wish the platemail were less bulky and the flowing cloth/leather cloak was longer around the legs.

I'm actually kinda wondering if Ignatz goes Thief / Assassin (though this depends if they give this or Wyvern to Petra), given that Claude kinda fills the 'default' archer slot for the house?

I think Ashe's design in the context of him training as a squire makes the plate mail bulkiness a bit more logical (definitely not very sleek for him as an archer though, lol), and not really too fussed about his leather overleggings (too long and they'll be a trip hazard, not that Felix got the memo with his Rodrigue cape, lol).

[Fabulously Olivier]

1 minute ago, tipperthescales said:

I'm actually kinda wondering if Ignatz goes Thief / Assassin (though this depends if they give this or Wyvern to Petra), given that Claude kinda fills the 'default' archer slot for the house?

I think Ashe's design in the context of him training as a squire makes the plate mail bulkiness a bit more logical (definitely not very sleek for him as an archer though, lol), and not really too fussed about his leather overleggings (too long and they'll be a trip hazard, not that Felix got the memo with his Rodrigue cape, lol).

It's very much a personal preference thing. I LIKE sleek metal and flowing cloth/plate from an aesthetic standpoint.

[ciphertul]

7 minutes ago, Fabulously Olivier said:

Ignatz' spell list is 2/3rds Ice and again, he's the only male ice character.

I just don’t believe that the will have Bernie use anything that has to do with fire (or lightning as it causes it) do you remember the “Burn-a-deada “ memes?

[Fabulously Olivier]

Just now, ciphertul said:

I just don’t believe that the will have Bernie use anything that has to do with fire (or lightning as it causes it) do you remember the “Burn-a-deada “ memes?

No I don't remember the memes, but any such memes would actually make such a thing more likely, not less. Koei loves their memes.

 

As for fire, it's pretty well covered by Anna and/or Leonie. Potentially providing fire element for both sniper and bow knight movesets.

[ciphertul]

3 minutes ago, Fabulously Olivier said:

No I don't remember the memes, but any such memes would actually make such a thing more likely, not less. Koei loves their memes.

 

As for fire, it's pretty well covered by Anna and/or Leonie. Potentially providing fire element for both sniper and bow knight movesets.

Just like how Mercedes is 3/4 Fire but is using light, even though she only learns Nos?

Then do you think Dorothea will be a Thunder mage?

[Fabulously Olivier]

1 minute ago, ciphertul said:

Just like how Mercedes is 3/4 Fire but is using light, even though she only learns Nos?

Then do you think Dorothea will be a Thunder mage?

Mercedes is using a priest moveset. It's not about spell list. Spell list is being used to designate element type onto non-magical movesets. And she may very well have some fire spells to equip.

 

As for the reason movesets, we know that wind mage is a distinct thing, but we don't know if fire, thunder, and ice have distinct movesets yet.

[ciphertul]

Just now, Fabulously Olivier said:

Mercedes is using a priest moveset. It's not about spell list. Spell list is being used to designate element type onto non-magical movesets. And she may very well have some fire spells to equip.

 

As for the reason movesets, we know that wind mage is a distinct thing, but we don't know if fire, thunder, and ice have distinct movesets yet.

I’m really getting “it only matters when I use it” from you. Hell, that screenshot looks just like Abraxas which she doesn’t learn. If spell list doesn’t matter then why is Annette wind? Or why is Dimitri lightning?

[Fabulously Olivier]

1 minute ago, ciphertul said:

I’m really getting “it only matters when I use it” from you. Hell, that screenshot looks just like Abraxas which she doesn’t learn. If spell list doesn’t matter then why is Annette wind? Or why is Dimitri lightning?

I thought I was pretty clear in my reasoning of why exactly it is as it is. Mercedes' canon class is priest. Priest doesn't need an element. It has one innately. And she probably does have big fire spells to distinguish her.

[Etrurian emperor]

28 minutes ago, tipperthescales said:

I'm actually kinda wondering if Ignatz goes Thief / Assassin (though this depends if they give this or Wyvern to Petra), given that Claude kinda fills the 'default' archer slot for the house?

I hope he doesn't. I know Assassin is a decent class option for him but Ignatz marking all sort of acrobatic moves is just weird considering he's got a very nerdy physique. I think he'll be the footie archer while Claude's the flying archer. 

Edited May 16, 2022 by Etrurian emperor

[ciphertul]

4 minutes ago, Fabulously Olivier said:

I thought I was pretty clear in my reasoning of why exactly it is as it is. Mercedes' canon class is priest. Priest doesn't need an element. It has one innately. And she probably does have big fire spells to distinguish her.

Not at all, based on what you are saying Linhardt and Marianne will have that same move set but will only be different on command spells. 

[Fabulously Olivier]

3 minutes ago, ciphertul said:

Not at all, based on what you are saying Linhardt and Marianne will have that same move set but will only be different on command spells. 

I mean, yeah. But maybe no. Also, don't you think that a mounted tome might be more Marianne's style?

[ciphertul]

5 minutes ago, Fabulously Olivier said:

I mean, yeah. But maybe no. Also, don't you think that a mounted tome might be more Marianne's style?

No her canon class is Priest. So just like Mercedes.

[Fabulously Olivier]

15 minutes ago, ciphertul said:

No her canon class is Priest. So just like Mercedes.

Just saying that literally no character in the entire game has their "canon" class in the master tier. If Marianne can't be a canon holy knight, no one can be a canon Bow Knight, Great Knight, Wyvern Lord, Falcon Knight, Dark Knight, War Master, Gremory, or Mortal Savant either.

Edited May 16, 2022 by Fabulously Olivier