feplus

It's a tradeoff. Typically I do HHM runs fresh (no Lyn Mode), but I can see how a higher-leveled healer could be a boon in earlygame HHM. Just a small thing to consider. Why? They'll be used roughly the same amount and they'll both have access to a plentiful supply of physic staves from the Ch.22 secret shop. Depending on where their magic stats end up, Prissy is probably the better choice to bring to Berserker as a warper (or you could use Pent instead), but I fail to see how the difference between the two is anything remotely significant.

Because experience is at a premium in ranked, specifically EHM and HHM. Healers enjoy their own experience pool distinct from combat units.

No Merlinus and no way to have Nergal trade his tome to a unit who drops items. If there was a way to open up his door early, it'd be doable. I'm curious if those other glitches (or any I've overlooked) open up new possibilities.

From what I understand, while the mine glitch has been known since forever, people have uncovered more major glitches fairly recently. The list of major glitches is as follows: 1. Mine glitch; control enemy units for a turn by resetting when an enemy is burned by a mine tile. 2. Torch glitch; control enemy units for a turn by resetting when an enemy ends their turn on a torched tile (includes both torches and torch staves). 3. Lava tile glitch; control enemy units for a turn by resetting when an enemy ends their turn on a lava tile (IIRC, only present on Eliwood's post-promotion map). Two questions. First, is this list comprehensive? Second, do the latter two glitches open up new possibilities for casual play? For example, I recall trying to get Nergal's Ereshkigal tome using the mine glitch, but couldn't find a way.

In ranked play, Prissy's advantages become mostly theoretical. She's still got a horse and the better weapon type post-promotion, but ranked play introduces two new winkles to the comparison: 1. Larger level lead for Serra. Assuming a player opts to go through Lyn's Mode- which has fairly generous turn requirements- Serra's level lead can grow to something significant. 2. There is no reason not to use both healers extensively. Does a horse really matter when you're guaranteed to get both to 20/0, promote both because of their experience-gain bonuses, and end up with both at ~20/5?

Permadeath is not the only core gameplay mechanic in Fire Emblem, but it is a core gameplay mechanic.

Yes. EDIT: Take a look at this comment from the linked video... The intro isn't played because I mash start and it skips every cutscenes of the game except the dialogue between Eliwood and Athos after chap 27. If you are on your first playthrough the cutscene after chap 28 can't be skipped either, but you can on next playthrough. Based on this, I see no reason to treat a LM run as any%.

do you really believe that casual mode brought in upwards of 900% extra sales do you really believe that do you

No. By "marketing" I meant media exposure. How much less do you think Awakening would have sold without Casual? Ballpark it.

The Prissy / Serra comparison is more interesting in the context of ranked runs. Both are among your best units. In casual play Prissy stomps.

IIRC, Awakening needed to reach global sales of 250K for it to be considered successful, i.e. inspiring confidence for the development of future Fire Emblem titles. As Awakening sold well over a million copies, it's quite possible, even likely, that the inclusion of Casual Mode did not save the series from cancellation.

You may be a moderator, eclipse, but understand I am not obligated to alter my debate style to satisfy your preferences. You have been rude throughout our exchange and I have been exceedingly patient and cordial despite your feigned incredulity and insults. If T-Bone's offer to collect data stands, I will happily hand this off to him. No reason to involve myself in senseless drama.

I ask because while we get plenty of anecdotal evidence about how important Casual Mode was to bringing in new players, I suspect the unprecedented marketing budget, flashy animations, and aggressive media push were much more significant. Awakening sold, what, 600K copies in the United States? What percentage of those sales is attributable to Casual? 10%? 20%?

How successful was Casual Mode in bringing people in?

Why assume less? I think 1,000 Renown is a super conservative estimate already. Sure, I'd be happy to try it. Using the Wolt map sounds intriguing.

I read eclipse's posts just fine. I've been involved in two major arguments: that Casual hurts the FE experience, and that Luna+ is overblown in terms of challenge. Neither are majority opinions, but I'm not the only one who feels this way. This community, like any community, has a plurality of views. I think that's a positive.

Neither of those posts feature me looking down on anyone.

Elitism is an attitude, not a position. Some people in this thread, for example, are elitist and pro-Casual. I do not look down on anyone who plays Casual or wants Casual in future Fire Emblem installments.

@Red: Myself, I would not. Imagine an otherwise brilliant platformer had a series of poorly designed, shallow tutorial levels. They're optional. I still wouldn't want them in the game because I'd rather the game be more tightly designed than pander to certain players. It's a choice between accessibility and polish.

Please don't call me elitist because you did not understand my position.

I'm not arguing against "the community"; I'm arguing against you. Your analysis is mostly pointless since, as you say, Pair Up will mitigate any statistical deficiency. Money issues are dealt with via free Renown rewards, a point I have made repeatedly. And the more you grind, the easier grinding gets.

You do not understand what is meant by "conceptual question." Here is the data for Nanna's Luna(+) SpotPass team. There are several other comparably easy teams. Which units stand out as to make grinding unfeasible?

I will repeat myself: 1. Whether or not we consider grinding when evaluating difficulty is a conceptual question. 2. You are asking, instead, whether grinding is viable in Awakening. I have said that SpotPass grinding is viable. Are you under the impression that even the easiest SpotPass team is too difficult to grind against? If so, I am happy to correct that misconception with data.

More precisely, it recommends SpotPass grinding. Talking about Risen is a nonsequitur.

I guess we are going to rehash old arguments. Speaking only for myself: Casual Mode does not hurt my enjoyment of Classic Mode; rather, the inclusion of what I take to be a bastardized version of the game hurts the integrity of the game, and I do worry that new players intimidated by Classic miss out on the definitive way to play.