Devola

Just saying this won't solve the one-shot issue for some units okay, like I said there are some units with such horrid HP that you'd need heavy investment to avoid that altogether. Yeah every bit of HP helps but when you have issues with your def/res adding to bad speed anyways leaving you vulnerable to being doubled its kinda... an uphill battle.

The problem is... low HP is a wide spread issue among many troops so... bluntly speaking a lot of other units can just as well benefit from Seraph's robe, some more so than others have a slightly better combination of HP and def/res. That aside, its really a matter of whether you like the character or not but just saying Seraph robe's are going to be in high enough demand as is so its really between you trying to min/max or just helping along a favorite, but even then don't expect it to solve the issue entirely for some units who have such bad HP bases anyway.

I think it is also irrelevant of an argument because... Pokemon games are centered around trading so you aren't necessarily feeling locked out of what the other option has to offer, without having to shell an additional amount.

You seem to be forgetting that Binding Blade is a marked difference in gameplay from FE5, which is the more apt measure of considering the game as being different. With regard to FE7 well no doubt that it is more or less the same, which is a demerit in its own right rather than praise. Still at this point we'd be looking at the narrative itself, which separates the two as being entirely distinct by chronology. Story wise Blazing may have developed 6 a bit further but gameplay wise it does feel at best as a refined version but doesn't exactly evolve it much in the same way 6 brought about a new direction. It would be unreasonable to think that Fates necessarily compelled to improve upon the mechanics because at the end of the day it is intended to use the same mechanics, I might expect different difficulties but the core remains in tact. They are at the heart of it intended to be different versions or retelling, so it is a matter of perspectives rather than development or chronology that need be measured. I think the marketing makes the intention crystal clear in this respect, in the same way Blazing and Binding are marketed and intended differently -- meaning there is nothing to interpret. So I am not sure why there is a confusion in categorizing a prequel or a stand alone game from a game that literally markets itself as being diverging routes. Again for some of us who've played a lot of games with diverging routes or what have you I don't feel story, characters, or objectives is enough to justify calling it a different stand alone game. If you feel narrative and nuances in objectives are enough to justify as a stand alone then that is your own view. We'd just be going at this as either a glass half-full or half-empty, which goes beyond the original point since this is a matter of semantics now. The point is whether or not the third route offers more. If semantics is brought up it is because I don't think a forum should be as hostile towards a difference in views, because it is reductive to simply claim them as being a matter of feeling self-entitled or not. Though really the semantics should be left to another topic altogether, since I think at the very least I've brought up that there is a difference in definitions and standards floating about in classifying things that aren't necessarily borne of negativity. Going back to original topic again I do feel that the third route does offer more replay value as compared to the other two routes, and ultimately in the long run is much more likely to benefit from DLCs. That said answering the question of the OP do you feel the third route to be more rewarding?

I will just quote Thane from above since he already answers the question fair enough. I think invalidate is too strong a word, a hyperbole, but in terms of being more "complete" and offering a higher replay value, and advantageous to future DLC or My castle competitions, the third route definitely has an edge above Hoshido or Nohr. More importantly, from my quote of Thane this is independent of endings, because I don't think an ending necessarily is what demarcates whether the game is more or less complete. Yeah Nohr and Hoshido are two different paths but aren't necessarily offering more content than the other, they are more or less equal whereas here it is obvious there is a much bigger skew towards the neutral path. Perhaps, superior carries too much connotation so I'll just stick with higher replay value. That said I think with this thread another thing that people need to consider is the difference in the generation of gamers you're talking to. Myself, as a veteran gamer coming from the earliest days of gaming I've played a lot of games with multiple unique paths and diverging story lines so Fates/IF isn't anything new to myself. However, as an older gamer I think there is a difference in mentality between thinking that these are 3 separate games, as Jedi keeps insisting, and feeling as if this was one game split into three. I think the latter is the sentiment of more veteran gamers, since we're more used to having a complete package so to speak -- or a re-release of a deluxe version if need be. I don't think this is a matter of being self-entitled as it is just coming from a different era and adjusting to the concept of DLCs and what people now consider "separate" games is still alienating. The definitions are just different simple as that, and I think trying to be hostile towards that difference is not exactly pleasant to read. Even then if I do consider this as just one game it has more to do with the core gameplay itself. You may have three different story lines, objectives, characters etc... but essentially the core mechanics remain the same. I guess if I were to put forward standards more objectively I'd have to look into the core mechanics as being markedly distinct, generally upgraded. Well you have Pokemon but that is an altogether different beast, even then there is usually a cohesiveness that marks the games by generation. At the end of the day I consider the 3 versions more or less cohesively similar rather than distinct enough to consider as another game, or at least categorized under the umbrella. Again looking back at older games I don't consider different paths as being different games altogether, just because of exclusives or changes in objectives, I just consider them different routes or versions of the same game, the core mechanics remained in tact. That aside I Thane's point already elucidates the matter as to why the Third Path has such an obvious edge above the other paths.

If you actually read the support it is not even necessarily incest or any romantic feelings being harbored more like a rather immature childish affection. So I'd hardly worry by the fact that Leon is acting like a child around Camilla it isn't romantic.

More or less similar sadly, with the caveat of the S rank.

Camilla is arguably one of the better units, you're hardly screwed and her support skills work well with the avatar's Nohr skill they make a rather nasty pair. No qualms in that regard, yeah she is a pre-promote but she is a solid all around and comes with very useful skills to abuse without any effort. As for Orochi well I would hardly worry since you have free grinding in Hoshido, so you can always compensate using that.

Well your repeat playthroughs involve different paths with different scripts and scenarios, as well as a different set of characters (save 3rd route wherein you'll have your fest of toons).

I'm playing it and I am not sure if I'd go so far as to call it the second coming if 776 since it really depends on how you attempt to do efficient runs. However, I do have to say there is more a learning curve, but that is also due to the novelty of features, that I found myself replaying certain maps to figure it out better -- whereas I know a lot of the recent FE games have allowed me to play at it blindly and still accomplish it without breaking a sweat. That said don't be intimidated by the difficulty, if this is off putting for you don't be as it really is IMO a matter of learning curve it is something that can be overcome.

Quality over quantity. You'd have to balance the game more overall with say difficulty depending on the viability of X amount of characters. While some just end up as being bench warmers, I can't imagine too many characters being used in Nohr route for instance (as of playing) since there are missions with more limited amounts of characters and without any way to grind. Grinding is another issue, sure a fat cast might work in Hoshido but it won't work for Nohr since it doesn't have a free map to level up.

Sure but you get more time playing with the characters you have at hand at least this time around, since they all join fairly early-midway. Other than that it is deliberate as well given the third path, as well as the S-rank feature for children.

I get you don't like spoilers but there is a point at which that allergy becomes silly. Certain pictures, like mine own, as an image by itself is not going to in any way affect your enjoyability of the game -- as it is purely your own initiative at this point to do research and spoil yourself. Just because you somehow see an image of something I don't believe you to be a fortune teller to somehow decipher the story enough. Besides, given that the real pleasure of the game is the gameplay and other features... it aint lethal. Other than that this is not against the forum rules, and the images of characters are more or less prolific around the forums as avatars. Moving back to the topic, I'm not surprised at all by the news they had a fairly good marketing, and did their best to make apparent that they'd be trying something new even if down the line that wasn't necessarily the case. That said I think the posts above are fairly accurate in their assumption, at least based on what I've seen and read with JP message boards and other fans, in so much that Nohr definitely tickled the fancy of veteran fans. Whereas Hoshido has more appeal to the people introduced via Awakening, which is a fair number. Which collectively is little surprise that it tops the charts, besides it doesn't have any strong competition during its release.

You're not good enough for her go away. *shoo*