Johnwaluigi

Perhaps you could permit Skill Inheritance, but only from units available to summon at 3/4 stars (and that are only unlocked at that rarity - so no promoting Hana for Life and Death)? That way you're not tapping into the broken skills in the game, but there's still enough variety to keep things interesting.

How about Garon from Fates? Ok, bear with me. I mean if he had been done properly - the tortured king of a barren nation, at war with himself over whether to be pragmatic or empathetic. His 'gruff, villainous' persona is a projection of strength - to lead his people through times of great famine. His incessant guerrilla attacks on Hoshido are not out of simple spite - but are rather uncontrolled outbursts of Nohrians looking for food from their bountiful neighbours, who have refused Nohr and Garon aid based on his... treatment of the Ice Tribes, or something? This refusal leads to the embitterment of Nohrians, whose raids on Hoshido turn to pillaging rather than simple thievery. Then Iago can be the true 'villain' of the piece, goading Garon down the most brutal path for the good of the country - often against the king's more sympathetic side. And then, since it's Fire Emblem, he can embrace some dragon's power and become the villain the Hoshidans made him into. Gosh, prompts like this thread always make me lament the missed opportunity that was Fire Emblem Fates.

I've had good success with Hayato/Sakura in Revelations (Hard Mode). It makes Rhajat reasonably good, and makes Sakura quite a capable combat unit as a Shrine Maiden if you can get your hands on a Shining Bow (not sure about that item's availability in Birthright though).

I understand that 4 tiers is too much for such a small player base, I just thought they were interesting variations on the theme - perhaps they could be considered fun challenges, rather than tiers. Also, in defence of some of the more restrictive measures I suggested for competitive mode, a large majority of them are designed to level the playing field between those who have all the DLC and those who don't. 1 of each DLC Class, and a restriction on DLC Skills ensures that no-one can abuse having unlimited access to Vanguard Dawn for example. Similarly for the idea that only Iron Weapons can be used. They are always available and are reasonably cheap, so anyone can forge them if they have the patience. Those with the Museum Melee DLC have a distinct advantage otherwise as, even without forging, they have access to a theoretically unlimited supply of powerful weapons, such as Brave weapons, that other players may only have 1 or 2 of. Limiting weapons also forces classes to fulfil certain niches, as only classes with access to Shurikens/Daggers/Tomes/Scrolls would have the ability to equip 1-2 range weapons. As for how rules are policed, I would imagine that if there's some sort of ranking system, both players would have to consent to a result before whatever ladder or ranking system is updated. Therefore, if one player breaks the rules the other can invalidate the result, for example. I will admit that I have always been someone who preferred the strategies involved in reclassing and creating interesting skillsets, and exploiting personal skills, rather than the strategy of equipping each weapon so perhaps I am somewhat biased in that regard.

Here are my ideas for four tiers of competitive play, some of which is repeating what was said above. Tier 0: Free for All Exactly what it says on the tin - no rules or restrictions, anything goes. [spoiler=Tier 1: Competitive] What I imagine to be similar to Smogon’s OU: some restrictions which ensure a fair, but competitive, environment. Class Restrictions The following classes are restricted to 1 per team: Master Ninja, Dread Fighter, Dark Flier, Lodestar, Great Lord, Vanguard, Grandmaster, Witch and Ballistician. No Einherjar Units, including Amiibo Units. Item Restrictions Units may only have Iron Weapons (or Thunder or Ox Spirit) in their Inventory (however, these weapons can be forged up to +7). Units must have 1 (and only 1) of each weapon they can equip in their inventory (e.g. Great Knights must have 1 Iron Sword/Katana, 1 Iron Lance/Naginata and 1 Iron Axe/Club). Healing and Stat Boosting items are permitted, as are Gold Bars (for Spendthrift). Units may only have 1 Staff/Rod in their inventory, if they can equip it. Hexing Rod is banned. Skill Restrictions Replicate is banned. Hacked Skills are banned (e.g. No Nohrian Trust on 1st Gen characters). Skills that are exclusive to DLC Classes may only be equipped to units of that class (e.g. only Dark Fliers may have Galeforce equipped, only Witches may have Warp equipped, only Vanguards/Great Lords may have Aether equipped) Map Restrictions Battles cannot take place in either player’s My Castle. Tier 2: Classic Same as above, with 5 extra restrictions: No DLC Classes/Skills 1st Gen Units Only Corrin (Avatar Unit) is banned Characters may only be in a Class that they can access using a Master Seal or Heart Seal. Characters may only have Skills equipped from Classes they can access using a Master Seal or Heart Seal. Tier 3: Little Cup Same as Competitive, with 2 extra restrictions: Base Classes only (All units must be Level 20 or under) Units may only equip Skills learned in Base Classes. I realise this isn’t perfect, and in some cases may be too restrictive, but I thought it might give a good framework for someone else to work off.

"Orochi's questionable methods of persuading the enemy" indeed... But still, some nice tidbits here and there. :) Thank you very much for the translation!

Yeah, Leon appears to have some "Earth" magic as his unique weapon. It would make sense, as we've seen him surrounded by floating rocks in nearly every cutscene plus his "tree" Attack. (Also, am I the only person who sees subtle shades of green on his horse's armour in the new Introduction trailer?) From the cover of his tome, it looks like Dark magic, but since we're not certain Dark Knights can use Dark Magic in this game, it would probably be safer to assume that it's just deliberately misleading. :)

I think it would be wrong to overanalyse this. I would be of the opinion that this is just I neat little homage to Awakening for Nohr players. But, that said, I REALLY like Odin's artwork. They certainly did Owain justice in his spiritual successor (and while I'm less sold on the Dark Mage class instead of Myrmidon, at least we get a different set of move names to Awakening. :) ). Though, it would be nice if the Amiibo Lucina could support them....

I will end up playing all three paths, but I've decided to start with Nohr since we found out we could pick a side. :) Im not totally sure why though, I guess I just dig the Western influence and the overall feel of the Nohr side. Plus, Leon's design intrigues me. Somehow, he looks so arrogant and full of himself, but all the while seeming extremely powerful. Also Marx, and Elsie, and... Camilla I suppose. I also like the whole "hidden depths" theme all the Nohr characters seem to have. From what we know, they seem to be a little more three dimensional than the Hoshido characters.