[What PS would YOU make?]

There was a thread on Reddit like this one a few months back. This is what I made:

Machiavellian

When being supported by a unit, grants additional Crit +10, Hit +10, and Magic Damage +3

When supporting a unit that isn't S rank, lead unit gets Crit -10, Hit -10, and takes +2 Physical Damage

[Favorite non-lord class for the MU (Corrin)?]

Sorcerer. I always roll mage if I have the chance.

[Magic Kana help]

Elise!Ophelia!Kana is +9 MAG +3 SPD.

Nyx!Nina!Kana is +8 MAG +8 SPD

Nyx!Rhajat!Kana is +9 MAG + 7 SPD

-DEF is selected due to the frailness of MAG-Based Corrin, which Dragonstone can help mitigate. -STR makes Kana's SKL even worse but it can still be selected if you wanted.

Oh! -DEF is also selected if you wanna stay in Nohr Noble / want to be "mixed" Dark Flier. Although, Dark Flier is much, much more MAG biased. (This is for Corrin)

This guy gets it. +MAG -DEF has been seen as the optimal combination for a magic avatar since awakening. However, this time around caps aren't as important or as practical as growths. If you're even somewhat concerned about the maingame (and/or are playing lunatic) you might want to consider doing -LUK (with a little bit of aptitude on the side but maybe that's just me)

[What to do with Leo? (Rev)]

Leo's prf tome is really good and he starts out with decent stats (lesser chance of being rng screwed as a prepromote). He'll never nuke like Rhajat, Ophelia, Elise, or the Avatar but he can take hits unlike most of them. With Horse Spirit and Nosferatu he can comfortably target res, heal himself, and tank. What he needs to ORKO enemies reliably is either a speed pairup and/or a reclass (Sorcerer or Dark Flier). He makes a really good defensive magical pairup himself for magical spouses too so it's a win-win if you have him with say, Witch Sakura.

Leo's niche isn't that he's the best magical/physical attacker or tank but that he can perform multiple roles reliably at once which is something many units cannot do.

[Conquest]

Yea you might as well stay on Nohr Prince if you want to use the Yato. Later you might want to use an Arms Scroll though. You can always buy skills online or if not, choose Diviner as a talent for tomefaire if that's more your thing. Nohr Prince has waaaaaaay better growths than both Dark Mage and Diviner. Personally, I never use the Yato, so I usually buy Aptitude from someone online and switch to Dark Mage ASAP.

Either way, it's fun and a good idea. Dragonstones are decent for tanking and OHKOs early game and later you get access to some pretty amazing tomes in Conquest.

[Would you have preferred it if the Lunatic "fixed growths" were average growths, like in FE9?]

Yea, same here or maybe at least an option for averaged growths. However, I do appreciate the sense of randomness with FE's leveling system as it's effective in inspiring multiple playthroughs and there are always a bunch of people with similar class sets and growths who are tied to the bench otherwise.

[ITT: Units that have always been RNG Screwed on previous playthroughs but have taken a shine for you recently.]

Ricken definitely. His speed is almost never good and his magic is kind of meh. But if you can manage to get him to Dark Knight, depending on the RNG, he can pull his own weight. The better growths actually get him magic once in a while and he becomes pretty tanky. He'll never be outstanding though, especially if you make him the father of Owain (or use the kids at all really).

[Magic asset Kamui??]

Anyone here tried Mag asset Sorceror Kamui or have any thoughts on its viability? Personally, I really don't want to use anything other than tomes more than I have to.

[Which difficulty do you think would be canon?]

Definitely hard mode. Honestly, how much sense would it make in canon Lunatic that Frederick is the only unit capable of facing ANYONE in the first few chapters of the game? Hell in Lunatic, it's a stretch to imagine Chrom being able to fight Lucina equally in Arena Ferox at all.

[Censoring CG cutscenes possible?]

I don't think wiping out the world with a zombie dragon can be chalked as "cultural differences" lol

Read the whole sentence. The censorship itself is what is being rationalized due to "cultural differences".

[Censoring CG cutscenes possible?]

Geez, censor one little ass shot and suddenly you're 4Kids

Well the censorship itself is a bit insulting. Censoring something as insignificant as a woman in a bikini in a game where characters can marry their cousins, uncles, and shotas while also using the very same units to kill people due to "cultural differences" is stupid. We, as players and paying customers, should never be withheld from content (no matter how small) because we speak different languages or live in different countries.

[The things that you don't like about this game?]

Who ever said the game was balanced around the assumption of grinding? As far as I'm aware, no FE game is like that.

Na I wasn't saying that. I was trying to say that anyone who didn't want grinding in the game for the fear that they would feel like they have to in order to progress needn't worry as the game wouldn't have to be balanced around it.

[The things that you don't like about this game?]

I suppose the counters aren't too bad if they're enemy turn only. I still don't like the auto advantage it will bring online though. The lack of skin color options didn't exactly urk me until I realized:

-Kamui isn't related to any of his "siblings"

-We have no idea what Anakos looks like
-It would have been incredibly easy to put in
-Rinka
-Even if Kamui was related to the siblings, the vast amount of differing hair colors and faces usually have Kamui look nothing like them anyway
-Rinka

And don't get me wrong, certain aspects of the new skill system, I think, are handled pretty well. I really like that if we went past the level we'd usually get a skill, it's acquired the next level. And I went crazy when I heard about the buddy/marriage seals. However, the replacement of the second seal for the parallel seal makes no sense. IS knows this and that's why we have the eternal seal, which is itself, unnecessary.

Lastly, grinding doesn't have to be this red flag for a lack of difficulty. Grinding is supposed to be a grind. Because of endgame multiplayer, grinding is important for attaining caps and just makes an exp dlc look like a cash grab. There is no excuse for this as the game wouldn't even need to be balanced around the assumption that the player will grind if grinding itself is limited. In actuality, the overarching difficulty that veterans love touting about the series is lost when everyone on the Nohr path inevitably gets said exp dlc anyway(This is mostly an assumption. An exp dlc could still be limited and maybe even only available for the endgame.)

[The things that you don't like about this game?]

Haven't even touched the game yet and I know i'm still going to love it. But:

-Magic Counter seems way too broken. Counter reflects damage if you're adjacent to an enemy, but magic counter reflects ALL magic damage. Hopefully I'm just overlooking a major detail in it's practicality.

-Holy Shit Defensive Formation is going to make ripples in the game. I wish it was more balanced/ a bit more nuanced than a simple "noone can double lol". The spam will be too real with this, counter, magic counter, and that doppelganger ability thing.

-Nohr's whole "no grinding becuz dats 4 noobz" niche. I get it, it definitely adds difficulty to the game. But how is someone with Conquest supposed to compete with fully grinded Birthright and Invisible Kingdom teams?

-I don't understand why infinite leveling was taken out. Monstrous caps + Limit Break broke Awakening far more than the continuous leveling ever did. All this does is make it more frustrating to gain skills.

-Genderlocked Witch and Ballistician classes :(

-Genderlocked children again. It was unfair and stupid in Awakening and it still is now.

I'm hoping someone can tell me my fears are stupid and i'm just ignorant because I haven't played the game yet. At the end of the day, I still think this will turn out to be the best fire emblem game so far.

[Surprisingly Powerful/Weak Units (Character Spoilers)]

Sorry, I know this isn't particularly character specific but how are Sorcs in general this time around? I absolutely understand why Nosferatu was nerfed this time around but seriously NO procs? What I've been getting so far is that they lost their tanky status and are now glass cannons, sort of like how sages were offensively in awakening.

["Fun" Pairings]

I think I did the eugenics thing with most of the kids so much initially that I became attached to a lot of the min/max pairings. Nowadays though the only thing that stays constant is M!Avatar x Tharja. Lets see here:

Libra x Lissa (One word: Odin)

Frederick x Cherche (C'mon. They were made for each other. Also makes the most sense for Gerome's backstory)

Chrom x Olivia (I loved the idea of Chrom being so entranced by the booty that he straight up marries Olivia within days of meeting her.)

Gaius x Nowi (Read that support. Tell me that isn't canon.)

Gregor x Miriel (I adore Miriel and I never liked Gregor. But this support was great in every way. It was almost as if Miriel actually had some character development.)

Gerome x Nah (One of the more believable s ranks. Also a little bit similar to Nowi's with Gaius.)

Lucina x Laurent (Really Lucina seemed to me like she'd be too much for most of the guys to handle. However, Laurent is the perfect person to balance Lucina out.)

Severa x Brady (They literally start a tsundere club where they are the only members.)

Owain x Morgan (Spill your breast unto me!)

Inigo x Noire (Tharja would be so proud)

[Avatar Skillsets and assets/flaws]

Whoa that sounds pretty broken. If one can get both of those skills I don't see why they couldn't proc in the same turn then. Would work wonders with a brave tome or a 1-2 melee with forged crit. Could be even more powerful with Ogre Strike and the stupidly op Magic Counter and Counter combo.

[Avatar Skillsets and assets/flaws]

Are there any katanas at all on the Nohr route? I want to run the Vantage/Vengeance Nostank combo but Vantage is apparently obtained from Samurai.

Anyway:

Avatar @ Sorceror

-Dragon Fang

-Defensive Formation (Nosferatu can't double/ crit. However, Sorcerors probably still have access to tomes like Ruin, Celica's Gale, Waste, and Mire)

-Astra/Luna

-Vengeance

-Vantage

I'm not sure if I might have went overboard with the procs. I feel like this build will need all the help it can get because A) Endgame Vengeance wont have a near perfect activation anymore and B) It's usually only getting one attack per turn, so each attack needs to hit hard.

Edit: +Magic/- Luck

[Does the amount of fanservice bother you?]

Seems like we're actively seeking things to complain about at this point. The Camilla scene is fanservicey sure but the scene in question is actually significant to the story. And after that, what else is there to be "bothered" by? If you're uncomfortable with even *hints* of sexuality in fire emblem, whatever, but I don't think there are even any cut scenes following it that are comparable to what we're all getting so riled up about.

the argument against the fanservice is that it kills the atmosphere and immersion. the argument i'm making with the theoretical genocide (for no reason) is that it would completely alter the way the writers wanted you to view the characters in the story of fire emblem. i'm not making a statement on what should be included based on morals.

What immersion is being broken? We know that we aren't actually Kamui or that none of the siblings are actually our siblings or that we can turn into mega Dialgas. Is one cutscene or flirty dialogue from a character going to hamper your enjoyment of the game that much? We're still doing super serious business like killing our would be companions on opposite paths and fighting our siblings. Besides, I think we're kind of supposed to get the feeling that Camilla is proud of her sexuality and that's what we get from the scene (among other things).

And with the whole incest thing, looking at the supports, the siblings all come on to Kamui; confessing that they've felt that way since the beginning. Is it weird? In a cultural context, sure, but they definitely address the fact that it's not normal or conventional and that others may think it's wrong. No one is being forced or coerced into an unwanted relationship due to a power dynamic.

[Does the amount of fanservice bother you?]

Ahh man BrightBow made such good points I'm seriously starting to feel a little guilty now. I mean the option for skinshipping with everyone implies everyone's okay with it... I guess. But at the end of the day it's still the same deal as everyone of the opposite sex (and tharja) magically falling in love with Robin.

Another thing I am confused about is why wait until the S-Support to hear this information. I'm sure the game will explain the shocking reveal by itself, but..

Shouldn't your character being revealed to not be related to the Hoshidan Royals be shown in the A-Support? It seems like pretty integral info to leave out. Besides this would imply that the player thinks that the pairing is incest up until the S-Support, so if you're playing blind, you will think it is incest when activating the S-support. Just sayin', if they really do want you not to be weirded out marrying the Hoshidan royals, why wait until they have activated the support that will inevitably lead to Marriage?

I think the whole "they're not really your siblings" thing is revealed within the story, regardless of whether you s support with them or not. In Sakura's s support I remember it was just something like her saying her and Kamui don't have the same father.

[Does the amount of fanservice bother you?]

I like the fan servicey aspects but I'd understand if someone who was more prudish conservative felt uncomfortable being in a game that's supposed to have serious and complex story telling initially. Most of these fears for the game are of a purely sensationalist nature. With regards to skin shipping; most of those in opposition of it are tired of the "it's optional bla bla bla" argument. But it is true. Not only that, but the "lewd" sound bites that we've all seen plastered and sensationalized by users on Reddit only happen with your S ranked spouse. One would have to skinship quite a bit to get there in the first place and as said before, if you ignore the mechanic completely, it's like it isn't even there.

Moving onto incest, I think we all know the spoilers by now. And once again, initially it seems like a huge copout on IS's part. In my opinion, however, the real details of the entire matter lend itself to a very nuanced and serious story. The story this time around IS dark and mature, a hell of a lot more than FE12 or Sacred Stones I think.

Lol and now Awakening expies. I hated the idea at first. Even if it did mean my beloved Tharja was back. But honestly, the details surrounding that weren't what I expected and changed my opinion for the better. I guess what my point is, if these fanservice mechanics do rub you the wrong way(lmao), looking past the surface and how much of the game it actually detracts from is imperative. And if you decide that a 15 second video of Camilla being hot is going to stop you from buying this awesome game, good riddance.

[Spoiler: Favorite Child]

Shara but OH MY GOD OPHELIA IS GORGEOUS.

[Release hype thread]

Lol the lines are way too much fun to read. I feel like IS just put up a huge middle finger to the weabs otakus err veterans who are pining for the "glory" days of Fire Emblem that spend a considerable amount of time crying about the degradation of the series and fanbase. Honestly though I don't find any of this particularly surprising. This is only limited to spouses anyway. I mean, does anyone find it surprising that teenagers skilled in at least 5 ways of literally ripping people apart happen to get married and *gasp* have sex?

Not that I'm going to use this of course, I'm only in it for strategy and tactics. Not "waifus" and "husbandos" or whatever you plebs call them.

Haha fuck that. Wait for me Camilla....

[Support Levels Confirmed. [Slight Spoilers!]]

Apparently the avatar can't actually A+ support :( The feature also seems to be limited to subordinates and their partners/ whoever they report to. I really hope i'm wrong though....

[What Will Your Secondary Class Be?]

Dark Mage for nostank assuming they didn't nerf it too hard.....