Special Heroes: Summer Vacation

[Fire Emblem Fan]

As everyone expected, we're getting both Claude and Micaiah on the banner, as well as Dimitri and an Edelgard + Altina Harmonic unit, and Elincia as the TT+ unit.

 

Edited June 15, 2022 by Fire Emblem Fan

[Sunwoo]

>Harmonic Edelgard with Altina

No. So many levels of no.

Also, they seriously couldn't make Micaiah literally any other color tome? Why couldn't they have just made her legendary a staff?????

[Florete]

Damn it, I need to save orbs.

Another Micaiah right after I finally got legendary?

Edelgard + Altina!?

Thank Ashera Elincia is free. (although I was hoping for a proper Sothe alt)

[ZeManaphy]

Surprised they gave Edelgard a very Modest Swimsuit. Most other swimsuit females tend to have a more risqué outfit, meaning they have a part of their breast exposed. 

[Interdimensional Observer]

Altina comes off as odd. Why does a character who exists 99% in lore in her games of origins (she does get voiced in a couple brief flashbacks) get a seasonal alt? Even as a backpack it seems weird. Does "cool sword lady" and the possibility of being paired with Micaiah explain everything? Sounds like a cynical reason if it is the case.

 

1 minute ago, ZeManaphy said:

Surprised they gave Edelgard a very Modest Swimsuit. Most other swimsuit females tend to have a more risqué outfit, meaning they have a part of their breast exposed. 

From what I've heard other people say, doesn't Edel have some kind of traumatic past that would make showing more skin compromising and uncomfortable for her? Maybe IS was being consciously tasteful?

[Xenomata]

...what the... Claude is the demote, but his default skills are still good? I mean yes he has very few fodder skills, but Spd/Def Rein on a demote unit?

But also let me emphasize, CLAUDE is the demote? CLAUDE???

[Acacia Sgt]

2 minutes ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

Altina comes off as odd. Why does a character who exists 99% in lore in her games of origins (she does get voiced in a couple brief flashbacks) get a seasonal alt? Even as a backpack it seems weird. Does "cool sword lady" and the possibility of being paired with Micaiah explain everything? Sounds like a cynical reason if it is the case.

I'm guessing they were playing it safe, since this is clearly a rulers/royals theme, and the Begnion represent is... Altina over Sanaki.

Edited June 15, 2022 by Acacia Sgt

[Tybrosion]

Man, this banner is packing heat with all these Prfs (both old and new). I'm going to be real sad if Elincia doesn't get a Prf weapon (she'll definitely be my next +10 Grail project regardless).

Oh, and we're now one movement type (Armor) away from having a Colorless Tome Micaiah Emblem. You better make that happen IS because Staff Micaiah was apparently never an option for FEH.

[Interdimensional Observer]

Just now, Acacia Sgt said:

I'm guessing they were playing it safe, since this is clearly a rulers theme, and the Begnion represent is... Altina over Sanaki.

I didn't notice that.😅 Why not grace us with the mature bear of Summer Caineghis then?😙

Maybe IS remembers some of the backlash over Bridal Sanaki? Or perhaps that's irrelevant here.

[GrandeRampel]

Oh wow... I read many people argue that with Claude and Micaiah as carries the rest of the banner could easily have been lesser known characters (outside of the lead in the Duo/Harmonic) and it would have been fine. 

I agreed with that take and fully expected to see the Dawn Brigade or some other Golden Deer student. But no, they went with Dimitri, Edelgard and flipping Elincia! DAMN! They really don't want this banner to flop, we seriously went from rarely having lords on summer banners to ALL-LORDS summer banner, including a lord as the TT+

It would be hilarious if this banner flopped regardless, but it's impossible. The least popular character here is Altina that can be argued to be a similar case to Reinhardt and Igrene as a character that was made really popular by FEH and managed to sell well in the past.

1 minute ago, ZeManaphy said:

Surprised they gave Edelgard a very Modest Swimsuit. Most other swimsuit females tend to have a more risqué outfit, meaning they have a part of their breast exposed. 

Edelgard seems to be the one female lord that they really don't want to sexualize. And I agree with them, since they were able to make her so popular with no sexuaization before they really don't need to start now.

2 minutes ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

Altina comes off as odd. Why does a character who exists 99% in lore in her games of origins (she does get voiced in a couple brief flashbacks) get a seasonal alt? Even as a backpack it seems weird.

Mate, this is her second seasonal alt and also her second Harmonic. She was the lead of the Altina/Sanaki duo for Christmas.

[vikingsfan92]

8 minutes ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

Altina comes off as odd. Why does a character who exists 99% in lore in her games of origins (she does get voiced in a couple brief flashbacks) get a seasonal alt? Even as a backpack it seems weird. Does "cool sword lady" and the possibility of being paired with Micaiah explain everything? Sounds like a cynical reason if it is the case.

 

From what I've heard other people say, doesn't Edel have some kind of traumatic past that would make showing more skin compromising and uncomfortable for her? Maybe IS was being consciously tasteful?

I think she has actual scars from her past that they probably don't want to show for a fun alt. Plus they probably don't want to bother to draw them because its much easier if they don't. I don't think its about being tasteful or anything like that in this case but more about her lore. And her getting over her inability to swim is also a reason I wanted her to be Summer hero.

Also FINALLY the house leaders are free of in game alts only. Its one of the things I wanted most for them is to break free of the in game variation alts. Mainly because it seems like a waste to only do versions that are in three houses and that's it.

Edited June 15, 2022 by vikingsfan92

[Acacia Sgt]

Just now, Interdimensional Observer said:

I didn't notice that.😅 Why not grace us with the mature bear of Summer Caineghis then?😙

Maybe IS remembers some of the backlash over Bridal Sanaki? Or perhaps that's irrelevant here.

There wasn't one over Summer Yglr, was it?

At the very least, it's certainly hard to ignore that, in light of the theme and character selection, that it looks like they deliberately excluded Sanaki.

[Sunwoo]

I ... legit have a problem with Altina being here. This is a character who basically exists in the past tense in her own universe, who never really had a definite, canon personality, who as far as I know wasn't even listed in CYL even after she was added into the game so we can't even gauge her popularity. She has a base form (which is fine) and a harmonic winter alt with Sanaki (which worked, especially with Sephiran being in the banner too). But this ... I'm a bit less okay with. REALLY wish they could've picked someone else. It's bogus that Altina gets to exist in Heroes more than Seephiran and Deghinsea, who were actually characters in the home game, because female.

6 minutes ago, Acacia Sgt said:

I'm guessing they were playing it safe, since this is clearly a rulers/royals theme, and the Begnion represent is... Altina over Sanaki.

As much as I wouldn't want another Sanaki alt and think summer would be a bad fit for her anyway, I think I would've actually preferred her over Altina. Because at the very least it'd be the three beorc rulers at the end of Tellius with the three rulers of Fodlan instead of two Tellius queens and a posthumous empress.

That said, I kind of don't want ANY of the three Tellius queens being in a harmonic with Edelgard, so I guess the one I give zero shits about taking the plunge works out best for me anyway. I just hope Elincia has a prf too. I'll rage if she doesn't.

[Alexmender]

Harmonic Edelgard with Altina as the backpack...I'd have never guessed this pair would happen. So the banner is 3H lords and Micaiah, Elincia and Altina (sort of) as the RD representatives. It kept the 2 guys 3 girls (+backpack) format, but the picks weren't what I predicted. 

Everyone here has a Prf so I hope Elincia will get one too. 

The theme for this banner is Slaying+conditional brave effects. That's cool, although it seems some will have it tougher than others to meet the conditions. 

S!Dimitri finally breaks the lance curse and becomes an Axe cav. His brave condition is to have any kind of Bonus active or outspeeding his opponent by 10, and his prf also has Spectrum+5 and Canto Rem.+1. Combine Atrocity and he's going to be a really fierce unit to try to tank (although Near Save units with Hardy Fighter and Deflect Melee should have it relatively easy...as with everything else not called L!Nanna). 

S!Micaiah keeps her usual dual effectiveness, gets +6 to her Atk/Res. Her Brave condition is having 15 more Res than her foe, which seems kinda rough to meet. At least she only needs 5 more Res to double. Expect the typical Micaiah spread of high Atk/Res, low-ish to middling Spd and low Hp/Def. 

S!Claude gets Canto Rem and +6 Atk/Spd. His Brave condition is having a 12 point buff/debuff difference against the foe he's facing. He might need some Sabotage support to proc it reliably, but it's not the toughest condition to meet. 

S!Edelgard gets a Spendthrift-like effect and 40% dmg reduction on first hit. The Brave condition is kinda confusing, but most of the time it means it'll need 2 foes in the cross range to proc. It feels a bit inconsistent due to it depending heavily on the type of map, but it feels a bit more lenient than Micaiah's condition. Assault Troop feels like the evolved version of Armored Stride, but just like it's predecesor it's highly inconsistent due to how it can straight up do nothing if the map doesn't cooperate. There's also the thing of Player Phase armors being in a bad spot as an armor's role these days is being a Save unit, but S!Edelgard's brave condition is dual phase so that shouldn't be that big of an issue. 

[Jave]

Well, Summer Micaiah is here and I'm out of orbs. This is going to be painful for my paycheck, but I'll pull until the spark if necessary.

Perhaps the most fascinating thing about this banner is that Claude's ice cream weapon looks like a Game Boy.

[Florete]

4 minutes ago, Sunwoo said:

who as far as I know wasn't even listed in CYL even after she was added into the game so we can't even gauge her popularity.

She's been in CYL since CYL5.

[vikingsfan92]

Oh yeah forgot to mention I am really happy with Elincia getting a grail alt.  1000% my next grail project is going to be her

[Sunwoo]

1 minute ago, Alexmender said:

The theme for this banner is Slaying+conditional brave effects. That's cool, although it seems some will have it tougher than others to meet the conditions.

Oh, right, I did miss that the first time around. These "conditional brave effects" weapons are kinda bullshit, they get the full mt of personal weapons while getting another good effect on top of a conditional brave effect. Literally they could refine Reinhardt and Olwen's Dire Thunder, stick them with just a lull skill as the personal refine, and they still wouldn't break the game with all the broken brokenness shit going on nowadays.

[Xenomata]

So every summonable unit here was a Legendary unit in the past, and they each come with their Prf B passives as well as a Prf weapon that has an effect that triggers a Brave effect (with Micaiah also getting her Prf Assist)

• Dimitri's Brave effect is triggered if his Spd is at least 10 higher than the enemy, or if the enemy has a Bonus active. His Spd being higher shouldn't be an issue, given he can be 26 points above his enemy if he targets the victim of his Menace skill. He's also doing a LOT of damage per hit thanks to Atrocity's bonus damage effect...
• If Micaiah's Res minus her foes Res is between 5 and 14, she makes a guaranteed follow-up attack. Higher than 15, it becomes a Brave effect instead. (see Harmonic Lysithea) By default she gains an effective +20 Res in combat if all effects are triggered, so she shouldn't have any problems at least getting the guaranteed follow-up.
• If Claude initiates and the total bonuses on himself + total penalties on the enemy is at least 12, that becomes his Brave effect. That, plus [Canto Rem.], slaying effect, and Atk/Spd +6, AND Fallen Star... he is a dangerous unit to leave as the demote...
• Edelgard is an Armor unit, but she also has the new Charge effect to let her move up to 3 spaces in cardinal directions... and her Brave effect is triggered by the number of enemies within 3 columns or 3 rows of herself, dependent on the number of enemies remaining. She is... frankly dangerous.
• Hm... Elincia is the odd one out right now, never having a Legendary alt yet, ergo no Prf passive to call her own... she might not even have a Prf weapon, but then what would the effect of that weapon be...?

...well this banner is utter bullshit. I'm getting sick of how spoiled Three Houses has become...

[Interdimensional Observer]

10 minutes ago, GrandeRampel said:

Mate, this is her second seasonal alt and also her second Harmonic. She was the lead of the Altina/Sanaki duo for Christmas.

Must've forgotten that, being a non-player.😅

Perhaps it makes it even stranger/unfair? -Not like it really matters in the scheme of things, it's a gatcha video game with pseudo-medieval fantasy people in anachronistically modern swimwear. I don't think Charlemagne King of the Franks and Holy Roman Emperor ever wore swim trunks and licked some popsicles.😄

[Some Jerk]

Wow, they actually broke pattern and did a Harmonic twice in a row!

...Wow, it could not be any more opposite to what I asked for. (Well that's a lie, the backpack could've been Ashera instead, then the irony would be perfect.) I guess this confirms that IntSys is committed to Sothis having zero meaningful interaction with anyone other than Byleth, not even with fellow like-minded goddess Yune.

Wasted potential aside, the 4★ Claude (with his PRF Skill!) and Harmogard's inheritable C Skill are points of interest.

Edited June 15, 2022 by Some Jerk

[Acacia Sgt]

1 minute ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

I don't think Charlemagne King of the Franks and Holy Roman Emperor ever wore swim trunks and licked some popsicles.😄

*looks over at Fate/Extella Link*

You'd be surprised...

[Use the Falchion]

Kinda salty over this one, pun partially intended. 

I love Dimitri and like Edelgard, but I was really hoping there'd be a banner where Claude doesn't need them, since he has all of the same alts but the Fallen Heroes one, which makes me feel like he deserves an alt the other two don't have. 

And Edelgard and Altina?! Of ALL of the Heroes that Edelgard could have a Harmonic with, they chose ALTINA??? Didn't Altina already have a Harmonic with Sanaki? If that was the case, then I guess I may be able to see my dream of a Tharja/Azura or Tharja/Dorothea alt someday. 

I'll pull for the House Leaders, since Claude is my favorite, I love Dimitri, and I already have every other Edelgard alt. But CYL is still my priority. 

[Tybrosion]

6 minutes ago, Use the Falchion said:

Didn't Altina already have a Harmonic with Sanaki? If that was the case, then I guess I may be able to see my dream of a Tharja/Azura or Tharja/Dorothea alt someday. 

Yeah, and this isn't the first time we've had something like this. Ephraim has been in two Duos (leader with Lyon, backpack with Eirika) and Catria has been in a Duo (backpack with Palla) and a Harmonic (leader with Thea).

I can't say I was ever expecting Altina to join this two time club.

[Florete]

5 minutes ago, Tybrosion said:

Yeah, and this isn't the first time we've had something like this. Ephraim has been in two Duos (leader with Lyon, backpack with Eirika) and Catria has been in a Duo (backpack with Palla) and a Harmonic (leader with Thea).

I can't say I was ever expecting Altina to join this two time club.

And Alfonse leads two duos.