[Sad look at some thoughts on our fanbase]

4 hours ago, eclipse said:

There's a line between being passionate and being obnoxious.  Some people confuse the two.  I'm quite passionate about FE as a whole, and have my likes/dislikes.  However, if someone else thinks FE4 is the best/the DS games are awful, that's fine.

I've met people who I would say that I didn't like their favorite game due to X reasons--and I would make it extremely clear that they were personal opinions (i.e. "the music is too light-hearted for me to get into the combat")... and they would act as though I called them stupid or that they had bad tastes.

I asked why they were making the game be an extension of themselves because it wasn't like I insulted them. They wouldn't answer that and instead cry that nobody likes what they like and "everyone likes the bad games and characters." I also tried to tell them to cut that negativity out because nobody in that discussion was saying their game was bad so why did they feel they had the right to call another game bad. Nope. Nothing.

--

I see a little bit of talk about how Chuggaaconroy is using the fanbase as an excuse for his learning curve difficulties. Don't be mean. We were all there once--maybe not with Fire Emblem but a game genre you've never tried before. And again, when he makes mistakes, he is either admitting to them or having them be funny, which is way more than I can say for some people.

If he wanted to hide his "incompetence," I don't think he would even mention having "logistical issues."

If I wanted something to be more worried about, it's the backseat gaming. Fire Emblem is really open to backseat gaming and that can tie into his fears of the fanbase as well.

[Sad look at some thoughts on our fanbase]

It could start with just acknowledging everyone has different tastes and, you know, don't get insulted if someone doesn't like your favorite game. Some of us are very passionate about video games, but does it mean we need to feel like as though we're being attacked personally if someone doesn't like one's favorite game? Absolutely not.

The new player or old player issue is hard. Both camps are stubborn. They're born out of personal preferences and expecting the next game to be what they like... when one of the reasons why I like FE is because they tend to change it up with each installment. I won't always enjoy the changes, but it's better than getting the same game system and mechanics but tweaked ever so slightly.

Though I'll admit, I highly doubt anything can be done about it. The tonal shift after New Mystery was that big. If anything, the best thing we could do is have open discussions in places other than forums and be civil--and those that aren't civil be reprimanded. Like any good discussion should be.

----

Funnily enough, I wouldn't mind if Chuggaconroy did videos on Fire Emblem. If there's one thing I know him for is that he does his research. He's not correct 100% of the time but the man does look things up as his videos are educational as well as entertaining. He will state when he's wrong. I give him respect for that.

[Heroes needs to be made easier.]

27 minutes ago, Saleh said:

im going to be honest and admit im being petty because eliwoods art is so ugly lol

ive been low on stamina because of lunatic campaign so i dont have enough to train my lower units up. ill probably train him up alongside gunter when i finish chapter 9 but for now hes benched.

That's okay. His art is pretty bad, haha. Just was wondering if there was anything else that made Eliwood bad.

 

38 minutes ago, Anacybele said:

Oh, I'm aware. Remember, I play Disney Magic Kingdoms. I've already had to shell out some money for Halloween, Christmas, and most recently Lunar Festival/Chinese New Year events. :P I expect an Easter one and maybe even St. Patrick's Day to follow. There probably would've been a Valentine's Day one as well if not for the Lunar Festival/Chinese New Year being at around the same time.

Eesh. I try not to spend money but there are temptations, oh are there...

[Heroes needs to be made easier.]

4 minutes ago, Anacybele said:

Partly because Takumi and partly because I don't want Virion to be the only archer I ever get. I'd be content with getting Gordin or Jeorge or whoever even though I'd prefer Takumi.

...Oh wait, I forgot I did get Niles once. But I don't like him. He creeps me the fuck out. So he's the only one I refuse to use.

Mm, fair enough. Just be careful about your Orbs. It's not unheard of for games to hold an event like the banners and then have an event right after (you know, incentivizing you to spend money after you used all your free Orbs).

Well, at least you'll have a better time getting an Archer than getting a specific sword like I've been trying for. Not even a 5* one either...

[Heroes needs to be made easier.]

3 minutes ago, Saleh said:

i wish i had as many cavs as you, im stuck on the lunatic quest where you need a cavalier to kill a bunch of 35+ enemies because my only cavalier is a 3* eliwood and hes not the best unit to invest in.

meanwhile ive got 2 5* wyvern riders and about 8 mages and 4 healers like rng why

im so tempted to forego saving 20 orbs just to spam and see if i can pull a takumi or a hector but i reeeeaaaally shouldnt. curse those orbs.

I mean, he's still an A on the tier list, such as Abel, Olivia, Fae, Felicia. From experience, these guys fill their purposes fine.

Why do you say he's not worth investing? I don't know about Eliwood at all.

Wait a minute. Don't you have Gunter from the special map? Granted, he's 2* at most, but same tier as Eliwood and the rest I mentioned. He could be decent. Even if you raise him to just a 3*, he should be fine.

 

27 minutes ago, Anacybele said:

Yeah, I hope we can increase stamina a bit in the future too.

I did some hard difficulty story chapters and got enough orbs for a full summon, but my luck will never change... I still didn't really like what I got. Another female Corrin, two Subakis, a Stahl, and a Selena. Selena is the only one I ditched though. I merged the Corrins and Subakis. And I like Stahl enough to keep him (he's four star too).

I also have an attachment to Peg knights and cav knights.

This game seems to sense that I really like tanky units, Peg knights, and cavs (and Frederick since I've gotten two of him in total as well lol), but I only had red and blue summons available that time and I wanted colorless to try for archers again... Sigh.

 

It's unfortunate but at least they're going to a cause. I believe I heard it'll reduce Subaki and Corrin's feather cost when you want to unlock potential. No worries. I got unlucky and pulled Selena twice in a session, both 3*.

May I ask why you're going for Archers? I haven't seen if you got yourself a decent Tome/Dragon. And I highly doubt it's just because of Takumi you're going for Archers, haha.

[Are colorless summons supposed to be rare or something?]

26 minutes ago, Anacybele said:

Desire sensor? What do you mean by that?

But I guess it's just my crappy as hell luck again.

I mostly get green or red summons. Blue hasn't been too common for me, but not as rare as colorless.

"Desire sensor," I assume, as in you really want something but don't end up getting it in a random pull. For me, it's Reds and I feel I haven't gotten a lot of Reds (I can recall like... 10? from the 3-4 pulls I've probably done?).

Anyways, in terms of Orbs, if you're strapped for a certain color but are fine elsewhere, you may want to do something like this:

Two summons from first session, two summons from second session

or

One-three summons from first session, one-three summons from second session (i.e., if you summon three in first session, buy one in second, and vice versa).

Either of these plans are 18 Orbs for four summons total. You'll be missing out on a summon, yes, but this gives you a refresh if the first session does not have the colors you want.

[Pulling vs Castle Upgrades]

You could always get bad pulls for 20 Orbs.

The EXP boost is guaranteed and permanent. For 26 Orbs (a summon session + 6 Orbs), you get double the EXP, which you can use to get more SP, more stats, and higher rarity units faster (not counting the feather dump). Now for efficiency talk for anyone strapped for Orbs, getting at least the first two upgrades is a boon. You pay 3 Orbs for +40%; the others aren't as Orb-efficient.

But if you're hurting in an area of your collection (say, you don't have good magic-users and not willing to raise the free/special units), pulls first is probably where you're going. Keep summoning until you feel you're not lacking something. Like me, while I would like a Takumi, I'm not doing significantly worse without him. And if this game gets updated often, he may not stay on top if they listen to user complaints and introduce power-creep/nerfs.

[Heroes needs to be made easier.]

There is more of a difference at the lower levels than the higher. Either the enemies around Level 25 don't give as much EXP or the EXP bar is long enough to not notice a difference. I know considering I'm trying to raise Adult Tiki for the Lunatic infantry quest and it's being a slog after Level 25.

With how your team is, you're probably going to be attempting maps a couple times. Don't be frustrated. Stamina is meant to be that roadblock even if you were successful on a map. Do training tower while we still got 1/2 stamina cost. Do Arena as it doesn't eat stamina and you still get EXP. I might jump on the camp of +100% EXP soon as I have myself a nice collection and don't feel I'm hurting in any area, bar having an SS Tier character--and the meta is always changing so it's not guaranteed they'll always be top, you know? That's the good thing about content that can be easily updated. If anything, you just need a team you're comfortable with while still being able to get around your weaknesses. Like Pokemon.

WTA/WTD does bigger bonuses/penalties than they do in mainline Fire Emblem. Never be afraid to switch units that are lower leveled but have better colors for a map. Since WTA/WTD targets Attack, how your Defense/Resistance is doesn't matter as much so long as they can actually take the hit and kill.

[Heroes needs to be made easier.]

Honestly? Just having 4* is good enough at times. Even 3* is nice. You get a majority of their skills at 4* anyways. At first I was thinking of 5* Olivia for my first 20k feathers but then I realized not only is that a big drop of feathers, but I could be raising other good units for less than a tenth of the feathers and keep saving up for that eventual 5* any unit.

I judged Alphonse harshly during his 2* period, but he's gotten better somewhat as a 3*. He's not speedy but now he's not getting doubled as much and you can see his Attack truly start to shine. Just goes to show how just going up in one rarity can mean a big difference--and that's only for 200 feathers!

[Grand Hero Battle: Narcian]

2 minutes ago, Maelstrom. said:

Thanks. Nino's got Pull Back, so I may be able to swap Gwendolyn for Hana. Granted, she's a 3 star, but I already gemmed her to lvl 20 while Caeda's still lvl 1. Still, it could work. Which one would be the better choice? Oh, and Gwendolyn has Drag Back as a skill so that's definitely a plus

I'd go Gwendolyn/chokepoint first since (not knowing how Caeda grows) I'd rather you try the Gwendolyn way and not having you spend resources on Caeda if it turns out she can't kill the Archer in one go or just tank the whole top of the map in general.

If after a couple or so tries the Gwendolyn/chokepoint still isn't working (and you don't think grinding will help), then try Caeda. In that scenario, you may need less initial pressure (i.e. getting rid of Archer and at least hurting Narcian a little). The Sword on that map is not the biggest deal compared to the others.

[Grand Hero Battle: Narcian]

27 minutes ago, Maelstrom. said:

My team right now is a 4-star lvl 32 Nino, 4s 31 Hana, 5s 32 Marth, 5s 34 Takumi, and soon a 5s Lucina I got today.

Available with training: 4s Subaki, Hawkeye, Caeda, Cain and a 3s Gwendolyn is my only unit that should be tanky. So far, from that, the highest defence is a tie between my Marth and a lvl 20 Gwendolyn. Something weird happened to my Subaki, as he has 27 atk at lvl 25 and 25 def. Still, that sapphire lance would screw him over. 

Let's see... I'm thinking...

- One of an Infantry Sword (Marth, Hana, Lucina, whoever's best at taking on Narcian)

- Caeda can be helpful if she can take out the Archer (going the flying route)

- Gwendolyn can get enough Res from experience with my own Gwendolyn but her problem is the movement, so you would need someone with Drag Back or a position skill to help her out there, especially if she's going to be the chokepoint unit.

- Nino can support killing Narcian and potentially tank the Blue Tome

- Takumi because Takumi (just don't use him to tank that square if going the chokepoint way)

- I don't know about Hawkeye but he's the only Axe you've listed

- Iffy on Cain as the map is dominated by everything else but the Sword and you have better units/more leveled units against Narcian

- No on Subaki (I've heard he's supposed to be the defense flier). He's only good against Sword and you have other units to fill up the slots. The main threats can be the Tomes if you have taken out the Archer and he's not going to be good on those. The only pro I can think of is his positioning skill.

 

5 minutes ago, SniperGYS said:

I feel that Lyn and Takumi are my "tanks" ... My Robin is actually screwed in his stats. Lyn is better at thanking because she have more Res than Takumi, so probably she could take the hit and the magic attack? I'm leveling her and Takumi now, they are lv 26, gonna keep them training after I leave the office.

I'm leveling up both Subaki (who had that skill to swap place) and Abel too. Subaki have good def for his lv, but bad Res... Abel is all the contrary, bad Def but good Res... I will try using one of them a long with Takumi and Lyn and maybe Lissa for healing.

Thanks for your help, I hope to beat at least the "Easy" map before it go away

From experience, my Robin had a rough start (slow and not resistant). Once getting into the late 20s-early 30s as a 5*, he's been rounding out more (though still on the lower parts of Speed and Resistance, both at 20 as Level 34 5*). And thanks to Olivia's Hone Attack 3, he's likely to one-shot many enemies due to his already ridiculous Attack (38). I guess he's more built to be a Defense Blue Tome with insane Attack.

I'd still vouch for Robin as a tank but between Lyn and Takumi, I'd probably go for Lyn. If Takumi is too strong, he might be in a position where he kills everyone on retaliation and is open to a third attack, whereas other units can't retaliate one attack and only take two hits. Though if Takumi is not strong enough to kill the Archer/Blue Tome and still tanky enough for two hits, you can go with him.

I find Abel better but after you've killed a couple units. The three movement in such a cramped map can be viable. Though I also had Camilla to park on mountains so it wasn't as crowded.

Good luck!

[Grand Hero Battle: Narcian]

7 hours ago, Vaximillian said:

Beat Normal after replacing Serra with Cecilia. Res-buffed (16 grand Res, girl, you suck) Sharena tanked the blue mage cavalier and counterkilled the sword fighter, Lilina and Lyn did the rest.

Hard will be a massacre, haha.

Good job! If you want to prep for Hard, here's what I can remember for skills (though, sorry, don't remember all of them):

Narcian - Emerald Axe+, Vengeance

Blue Tome - Swordbreaker 3, (one of the Sacrifice skills, the one that heals 10 HP for 10 HP)

Green Tome - Death Blow (2?)

This also lists Green Tome and Archer having Reprisal and Sword having Escutcheon.

 

6 hours ago, SniperGYS said:

Well, it looks that I'm doomed into getting Narcian.

I don't have enought time to play, and my best character is a lv23 Takumi, followed by lv23 Lyn... The other two are a bad Res lv21 Robin and lv22 Shanna

Bye Narcian, I don't think I'm going to be able to have you D;

... But, yesterday I try to get Oboro again, but I got a 4* Subaki and 4* Abel... Did one of them could be useful? Since I read a previous comment mentioning Abel

If you're going for the route where you start off with the first accessible danger square, try raising the tank's defenses or putting a more reliable tank there. Out of those characters, seems like Robin would be the best bet. While Cecilia is from the special maps and can have Rally Res, she doesn't start with it at 2* and you mentioned not having enough time. Unfortunately, Shanna is having a bad time at the beginning since Narcian+Emerald Axe and Archer are around.

If you have positioning skills (Shove, Drag Back, etc.), it's helped a few people to reposition and/or get people out of harm's way after getting assaulted.

Personally, my Abel isn't much of a tank--but he's still a solid unit just for having Brave Lance and Swordbreaker. He can be okay here but you probably need to pick off a couple enemies first before he can go in. Maybe not for this map in particular but Abel can be worth investing for other maps. (And since switching him for my Arena defense team, I've won more matches that way).

 

15 minutes ago, wheelsonfire said:

Have Chere, Gaius, Eliwood, and Odin. All are 4*. I'm playing on normal.

Is "Chere" Cherche?

If you have a sword flier that can kill the Archer in one go, try starting there. But the usual buffs are also appreciated (Hone, Rally, etc.). You either go the flying route or the chokepoint.

 

4 minutes ago, Maelstrom. said:

Any tips for someone lacking a decent flying/lancer/tanky unit?

Or am i just screwed?

I don't know your collection and/or the time you're willing to spend but:

-Sharena if trained enough could be the chokepoint unit. Though she'll likely need Rally Res from the likes of Cecilia, who's from the special map and can learn the tome that's effective against colorless units.

-Raigh, a character we've had from the beginning, can learn the tome that's effective against cavalry and Rally Attack. If he can survive an encounter, he has Seal Res.

-Position skills (Shove, Drag Back, etc.) has helped some people to retreat or just push them out of harm's way.

-Like any map, de/buffs are always nice.

Having a good Sword/Red Tome/Red Dragon is helpful against Narcian since he's equipped with the Emerald Axe(+), though he has Vengeance at least in Hard.

 

2 minutes ago, Jayvee94 said:

I think nobody has asked this before.

What is his skill set?

I can't recall if he has other stuff but it's Emerald Axe(+) and Vengeance (at least in Hard).

[Grand Hero Battle: Narcian]

21 minutes ago, Troykv said:

I have a trained Est, Roy, Cecilia and Jeorge. (Roy is Five Stars, the rest Four Stars) 

 

Some of them work for this level or not? 

Est, not so much. This map is very disadvantageous for her. Narcian has the Emerald Axe so she'll likely die if not from him but his two cavalry (if she managed to kill the Archer). Do you have other units to replace her?

 

18 minutes ago, Thany said:

My only tank is a lancer.... an armored tank.... i cant get her to tank a magic attack and a sword attack and expect her to run away from narcian before he completely murders here... what can i do in this situation on hard mode?

The team is a level 33 Fae, 33 Gwendlin, 34 Lyn, and 37 Takumi. Am i gonna have to grind more? or is there a character i should be replacing?

Now I don't know how AI prioritizes going for targets of certain distances but see about doing this:

1) Have a unit be directly south of Narcian (whoever's the best at confronting him)

2) Have Gwendolyn tank the first square

3) Fae has Drag Back/Gwendolyn runs 

If her Resistance is good enough, this at least help with tanking the first square IF Narcian prioritizes going after the closest unit.

Otherwise, your other post mentions having Abel. Try raising him. Swordbreaker at the least can be helpful here.

[Grand Hero Battle: Narcian]

2 minutes ago, Vaximillian said:

@Dual Dragons I have a lv21 4★ Raigh and a lv21 3★ Cecilia. Will those do if leveled up?

After checking their skills, that's a tough choice. I can see merits for both (I don't know their stats so I can't help there).

I'm pressed to say to try Cecilia first. She can Rally Res Sharena to tank the first square. From there, you need to back up and be able to pick them off from there. The first big obstacle is just surviving that first square as an all ground team.

[Grand Hero Battle: Narcian]

2 minutes ago, sdgj1994 said:

Ok, so other units I can potentially grind up (that are around level 20 right now) are Laslow (his Res isn't fantastic though), Merric (also has bad Res), Awakening Tiki and Azama, all at 4*, as well as Fae and Effie but both are a bit weaker. I also have 4* Cordelia and Florina but both are lance fliers that would get destroyed by Narcian. Camilla cannot one-round the archer as she is now, I just checked, archer lives on 9 HP. Sophia can boost Res for Camilla so I might keep her around. I have no units with Shove though Effie has Smite which pushes two spaces. So that's what I have to work with.

Out of those units, I'd try in order: Fae/Tiki, Azama, Merric (don't bother with Effie or Laslow; they'll just get caught by tomes and die). Fae has Light's Breath to buff your team's Def/Res and can have Threaten Attack to reduce the severity of Narcian's troops (Renewal can help if you don't plan to bring a healer). Tiki has the better color and can counter at any range. Merric, while bad Res, can at least help deal with Narcian and cheese the sword if he can damage him. I put Azama before Merric as perhaps having one person be dedicated to support might be stronger than having four fighting units. You may need a Rally/Hone person to give just that little damage you need to kill Narcian.

If you're replacing people, I'd probably drop Arthur at the very least since Camilla can supply the team's Axe. Sophia and Lyn can have niche use of helping kill Narcian. Change around as you see fit.

(Though as Brand said, Effie is a good unit, I've heard. You may want to train her for other maps... just not this one.)

 

10 minutes ago, Herman Bloom said:

I don't even get to the Archer. I move someone to the first purple danger square and the fighter at the top right comes down and either kills someone outright, or almost does. If they are still alive, the tome damage dealer comes across and finishes the job. Mission ends, archer not even moved.

Do you have a reliable flier to get the Archer and tank Narcian's assault? Unless you have a really good team, I don't know who's surviving that square, to be honest. My best bet for that square would be lance/Robin, as Robin will have advantage against Archer as well. You need to either be able to damage the sword or damage the Blue Tome/Archer and tank the other in that instance.

 

2 minutes ago, Vaximillian said:

No fliers and almost no blues on my roster :/

No way it's beatable for me unless my gals are all lv40?

Do you have someone to buff Attack or Def/Res that's not Sharena? I think your team's Speed is good enough. You probably just need the extra Attack or bulk.

[Grand Hero Battle: Narcian]

39 minutes ago, sdgj1994 said:

I am still having difficulty clearing this map on Normal. Grinding is proving fustrating as my units keep dying and losing their experince due to unavoidable weapon triangle issues. Camilla is now lv. 28. Lyn is 30, Arthur is 27 and Sophia 29. Does anyone have any more ideas of how to beat this with what I have? Camilla doesn't tank the archer well and then nobody can reliably handle the path on the left. Doesn't look too good at the moment.

Can Camilla kill the Archer with just her Brave Axe+? Have her pass the mountain and kill the Archer by coming directly south of the Archer. If she tanks the Narcian and Green Tome attacks, run her back. She'll also need to be able to tank Narcian's second attack when he's chasing her if you don't have a skill like Shove. I assume Blue Tome doesn't have his Sacrificial Aid in Normal so Narcian may go down on the second encounter. Your team is going to still have a tough time against the Tomes but try starting with getting the Archer first.

[Hard Mode Tips?]

Ooh, trying Hard? I remember that from PoR and how daunting it can be at first. Thankfully, Awakening's Hard mode isn't as big as a jump as other games.

I'm just going to put some stuff in spoilers as I can get lengthy at times:

Donnel

Spoiler

Much like the rest of the game, Pair-Up is going to be the big thing for him. Since his Paralogue is set levels, it actually can be easy to soften up foes for him as your team can be higher level than the enemies. The Thieves are probably the best for him to eat up. I usually use Kellam or Frederick as Donnel's partner as they give nice defensive and offensive buffs (helps that it will start building a support with Kellam). Aim to give him more than just the required level up if you plan to use him for the rest of the game. It's going to be harder for him to get the levels in other maps, but it's not hard to actually acquire the level in his Paralogue.

A good starting grinding spot is what someone else said: Edward's SpotPass team. The Thieves are good. I also used Wolt's team if I wasn't comfortable yet raising someone against Thieves.

Frederick 

Spoiler

Depends on what you mean by "use." I'd say those who don't want to use Frederick only use him for the early game. That's what Jeigans are for. To ease the early game when your units haven't grown yet. Heck, even make him a Pair-Up partner only sort of guy. He's still being useful despite not being in combat. I know that it may seem bad if he takes a kill but sometimes it's necessary. Besides, you're likely to make up the lost EXP later. You tend to outgrow the enemies even if Frederick took those early kills.

I can't recall when Frederick starts to drop from my team but it's pretty early. Probably after Chapter 4. I've never made Frederick a part of the main team as I liked other characters.

Even this part could apply to all characters you use in the early game but drop later on. Sometimes it's just necessary for them to take a kill because you don't have many options that early. I always drop Virion but that doesn't mean he does nothing on his joining chapter. He's chipping or being someone's partner. Had he not done those roles, I would have had a harder time. In the long run, it was good he did those things despite I drop him.

Always take into account range and damage you'll likely be receiving. The biggest fear I had when I played PoR Hard was more because I didn't know how damage worked. The game got significantly easier once I took into account range and damage output. Sometimes it means counting squares if, for example, you have a unit in the way of an enemy and you intend to pull them back.

 

3 hours ago, TheSilentChloey said:

I know, however from what I have seen when using normal mode I would have thought that Lissa would actually benefit from Frederick's extra defense especially since she is at a risk of getting killed more so then Robin who would be able to at least fight back (plus I had attempted HM before with a +spd Robin but felt a little out of my depth...I think I should have gone with my usual Robin first I think)

Nah. Keep Lissa out of range of enemies and you'll never have to worry about her dying. And heal spam is a thing. Do that and she may be one of the first people to promote--aside from Robin, that is.

[Grand Hero Battle: Narcian]

Just now, sdgj1994 said:

I wasn't looking to complete this on Hard, because as much as I would like to, if I'm struggling on Normal then Hard is just gonna be hell for me, haha! The problem with the rest of my team is, Lyn gets caught by Swordbreaker, Arthur can't deal with the sword guy cos of the Emerald Axe, and Sophia just gets doubled by almost everything cos she's so slow. So it looks like I'mma have to grind Camilla up to the late 20's. As for spending Orbs on castle upgrades I haven't bothered yet because I just want to summon more allies when the time comes, and where I'm at right now Orbs are very hard to come by when you're not spending money. I may just buy some crystals using My Nintendo points, that should help Camilla catch up.

Oh no. I was just saying Hard because I honestly forgot what skills they had on Normal. It was just a reference point for you.

Yeah, this map can be difficult when your most reliable units are Infantry. It was cluttered even with my team that had a flier and a cavalry.

To me, the 20% and 40% are worth it if only because they're a total of 3 Orbs and you can see the difference even low in the training tower (and soon we won't have half stamina for training tower). If you're F2P like me, it's probably not worth getting the 60%+ right away. You get more % per Orb for the 20% and 40% (both are 20%/Orb). The 60% is 12%/Orb and the 80% and 100% are 10%/Orb (and that's not counting how you had to foot the bill already as you can't just automatically buy the 100%).

If your team is having difficulties or you need more diversity, go ahead and invest in more summons. But if you're not hurting that badly, picking up the 20% and 40% upgrades could be worth it in the long run.

[Who are the best upgrade-only 5* units?]

6 hours ago, Chelone said:

I don't know much about tiers or the current meta besides Takumi and Hector, but my 4* Effie has been wrecking almost all sword users. While my Abel (he's supposed to be the better one?) dies way too fast. (they're both only about level 32 though). But if feathers were easier to come by I'd definitely 5* her. Also have Lilina or Gordin to think about or maybe 3* > 4* Nino or Felicia too. I've heard they can be pretty good.

Oh don't you worry. I have Abel as well and he can be dead before he can do anything. He's surprisingly not that speedy or bulky. I think the main gimmick was that he attacks first and kills or tells Swords to take a hike.

I was thinking of 5* Olivia but the only real upgrade she gets is the ability to buy Silver Sword+ and she's been seeing less and less combat as the enemies get tougher or she's just not in range of killing people. I might vouch for Fae as she was a fantastic de/buffer with Light's Breath and Threaten Attack. While she's not the fastest or tankiest, she can still tank a little thanks to having access to the three tiers of Renewal. At 5*, she'll access Light's Breath+ and Threaten Attack 3. My only thing is that she doesn't have a battle skill but gets Draw Back--but it could be useful in certain situations, I suppose.

[Grand Hero Battle: Narcian]

I used up my (not maxed) stamina just to beat the maps. I mean, it took me a couple tries on both difficulties (I was trying to raise a different team on the Level 25 and wow what even). But yes, the map is difficult for their suggested levels. It's kind of cool.

My team for both maps was 5* Camilla, 5* Robin, 4* Olivia, and 4* Abel. It's... kind of not recommended considering how cluttered it is at the bottom with the forests.

Spoiler

Also that stupid healing Blue Tome Cavalier healed Narcian juuuuust short of Camilla taking him out with Brave Axe+. It took two Robin attacks with Olivia's assistance just to lower him down again after Camilla took out the Bow and promptly got pummeled to 3 HP by Narcian and his goons.

The second attempt on Hard was just because of that guy.

Fuck that guy. Stealing my 15 stamina.

@eclipse Kind of wish I took notes on placement but thankfully it's not a map where the enemies charge at you before you enter their danger zone.

 

2 minutes ago, sdgj1994 said:

I feel like I need some help clearing this on Normal difficulty. Unfortunately I got screwed over with summoning and only have two 5* units right now, Lyn and Camilla, the latter being a bit underlevelled right now. My current team has Lyn, then Cordelia, Arthur and Sophia all at 4*. I don't even know if this is possible with my current team, but I feel like its all I have at the moment. So yeah, someone please help me!

The main threats on Hard is Narcian with Emerald Axe+ (Normal: Emerald Axe), Blue Tome Cavalier (I think he has Swordbreaker 3; I know he has Swordbreaker on a map, at least; also has the Micaiah Sacrifice skill on Hard), and Bow guy just for any flier. The Green Tome has Death Blow (the Attack +4). Honestly forgot the Infantry Sword because he was easy after the other guys. Also, Blue Tome's got Triangle Adept 3 so a resistant Green can basically take no damage.

Among those, Camilla's probably your best bet on at least ridding yourself of the Bow. Hope she can tank Narcian and the Green Tome (she'll likely take 0 from Blue Tome if you've leveled her properly). I don't know Cordelia's stats/skills but I wouldn't think she would be helpful here since Narcian can have a max +40% on her.

I think fliers are better here as the mountains really limits where you can go with also a couple forests down south.

If you got someone to tank the sword + blue tome/bow, that's probably where you're going for now. Unless you feel like raising Camilla just for this map. (And if you're going that route, you might want to pick up the castle upgrades 20% and 40% if you haven't already. They're the most efficient per Orb).

[Struggling to understand damage mechanics]

1 minute ago, Jman1115 said:

Cool, thanks guys. Do either of you happen to know if there is a way to tell before going into a battle what TYPE of units you will face? It shows weapon types but doesn't seem to indicate whether they are fliers, heavy armor etc. 

Not that I know of, unfortunately. Hence why I bring at least one magic-user (preferably a tome). Even if they have weapon triangle disadvantage, if the armor can't get to them, the armor will die eventually.

The most diversity is in the swords/lances/axes in terms of defensive stats (ranging from armor to flier, defense and resistance). So if you can, pick up a magic-user. Even a dragon will do so long as you're careful when they go up against armors they have disadvantage.

[Struggling to understand damage mechanics]

From observation, the order of damage calculation goes like this:

Attack (+bonuses/-penalties) - respective Defense/Resistance = Damage

Weapon Triangle advantage/disadvantage will be 20% added or subtracted from the Attack.

Effectiveness (Armorslayer, Falchion, bows vs. flying, etc.) grants a 50% bonus to Attack.

Triangle Adept 1 is 10% bonus/deficit to advantage/disadvantage (the rest of Triangle Adept I can't recall right now)

If you're facing a staff such as Assault, you half the Damage (still observing this; I've been off a few times).

All decimals are truncated before you do the rest of the calculation. Ex. 24 Attack with weapon advantage = 24 + 4.8 but remove decimal before you deduct the defensive stat from it, so you have 24 + 4 - defensive stat.

And to repeat what everyone has said, check skills.

 

EDIT: Ninja'd by Birdy but he seems to have the better understanding so I'd go with that.

["Ask Fire Emblem Heroes Questions and Get Them Answered Here" Thread]

8 hours ago, Vaximillian said:

Somebody (@Birdy?) did calculations and discovered that you get between 2x and 3x points for using one to four special characters, depending on the number of characters used.

6 hours ago, Birdy said:

Hmm, I got mine from a post from reddit. It showed pictures of the in-game FAQ and for some reason the german guide had the multiplicatives. They were 2X, 2.3X, 2.6X and 3X for respectively 1, 2, 3 and 4 bonus characters entering the Arena.

For your second, it depends. Personally I'd say always take the castle upgrades whenever you can, because I feel it's really good. With it, you need to grind less and can spend your valuable stamina elsewhere. It's not flashy, but it always gives you something useful, unlike summoning. If you're team is pretty bad, then maybe it warrants a summoning before completing castle upgrades, but the sooner you do the castle upgrades, the better.

Ah, that's cool. Guess I'll keep Shareena around for now.

Having 13 Hard chapter parts and 43 Lunatic chapter parts and needing to do the 5 Orb quest still, I guess I can start affording the smaller castle upgrades. My team and collection are relatively doing well. I would just want the one character out of favoritism, haha.

Thanks for the replies, you two.

 

["Ask Fire Emblem Heroes Questions and Get Them Answered Here" Thread]

For Arena, it has the special characters to use for more points. How many do you need to put onto a team to get those extra points? I'm thinking of swapping Shareena for my 4* Abel or Shanna. For reference, I also have Camilla and Robin to satisfy at least part of those characters.

I'm F2P so far and don't know if to start using Orbs for castle upgrades or get more summons. I really want only one character out of it (though Takumi and/or a green tome would be nice) but haven't been lucky despite he's one of the 3*/4* characters. Because of the half stamina for training tower, I've been mainly focusing on gathering EXP/Badges and eventually will have enough Orbs for my fourth or fifth pull. I'm stuck since the event for increased pull percentages will be over soon but so will the half stamina. Thoughts?

 

[Arena Meta Seriously Broken, Needs a Duplicate Clause]

Perhaps I'm not high ranked enough to see the Takumi's? Rank 15,903 currently and I've never faced that many Takumi's. I keep doing Advanced matches as well. There's the occasional one but my Robin + Olivia usually puts him in his place.

I guess I should be scum and try for a Takumi... Swords and Colorless, here I go.