Sire

I typically don't mind New Game+, but the completionist in me dies every time I find out something is locked behind NG+ and it can take hours get to a place where something new/different happens. Sure, I can try speedrunning, but I like to take the time and experience absolutely everything the game has to offer. I'm more of a fan of post-game content since I like sticking with my band of characters and optimizing the heck out of them instead of starting up multiple playthroughs. As for Fire Emblem, I enjoyed Sacred Stone's implementation of the Creature Campaign and the two side dungeons (the Tower and the Ruins). Echoe's Act VI was also fun since it had an "endgame dungeon" and I loved Awakening's "DLC postgame challenges" which required both optimization and tactics. My ideal FE endgame content would essentially be a combination of these things. 1. Optional Side Dungeons/Maps with an "ultimate endgame dungeon" (Think Sacred Stones and Shadows of Valentia) 2. Super Challenging Maps with the Ultimate Challenge Map (Awakening Style) 3. Access to NPCs who are either treated solely as bonus characters or have a valid reason to join the party. (Sacred Stones did bonus characters well, I think. Awakening's "detailed bonus characters" were nice to have, but the main story can be said to have suffered due to their implementation.)

I guess I'll toss in mine with my poor image editing skills. Explanations Honorable Mentions

Let's see... 1. Main Team - Ephraim, Nino, Ryoma, +Extra || Either Arena Bonus, Olivia, or Azama, but anyone can technically go here 2. Makeshift Flier Emblem - Michalis, Clair, Spring!Camilla (-SPD), 4* Palla || All run Goad Fliers save for Clair who just runs Spur SPD 3. The only one here that is really outfitted is Michalis. If only I had the SI and feathers to promote my +ATK Cherche, train up a proper Palla, and get my hands on a F!Corrin... Then there is also Valter to think about as well when he releases... 3. Makeshift Horse Emblem - Xander, Olwen, Camus, 4* Cain || Both Camus and Cain are in training and Olwen really needs help with her subpar ATK with Life & Death as well as a better nature. Otherwise, I just use some randoms from my 5* list with optimized 4* heroes and see what makes a decent team. They are usually headed by either Alfonse or Sharena, Anna is still a 4* and I have not built her properly yet due to lack of SI fodder. * * * * * Honestly though, I'm not to worried about getting the most efficient rewards for my time anymore, so I do not mind being somewhat unoptimized. Precious Orbs that I originally would go out of my way for are now mostly just a bonus when I get them.

Voted for Seth, but I really want to see Dussel, Marisa, and L'Arachel in Heroes. Otherwise, just add everybody from Sacred Stones. I love all of them...

After getting some rest, I can definitely say I am looking forward to the new content. Looking at the status of F!Corrin and Xander, I really want to add them to my roster, but I will wait and see if a Voting Gauntlet banner pops up instead. I'm holding out hope for a Voting Gauntlet Girls banner so I can get a better Summer!Robin and to obtain Summer!Corrin, but if not then I'll just try for Summer!Corrin on her proper banner. As an aside, I am also interested on the main topic discussions and while I don't mind most derails, it does get tiring shifting through multiple page of fluff to see what actual content is present. Often times I just end up skipping pages entirely and hope the discussion is back on point...

As for the star ratings, the 4* category practically has every single hero save for 5-star exclusives and event characters. I do not recall any heroes being 3* exclusive. I personally like that 4* is getting the spotlight since it makes it infinitely easier for inheritance and to pull heroes that are in the 4*/5* category. The only real thing that will remain a pain to obtain are the 5-star heroes like Lucina, Hector, Linde, or Takumi.

In the spoiler is the link to the album.

The Datamining is active and up on Reddit, if anyone is interested. Summer!Corrin's damaged artwork is definitely something. Not that I am complaining, of course...

That is true, but going off of past Voting Gauntlets there have always been Voting Gauntlet banners (Prince vs Princesses, Pegasus Knights vs Wyvern Riders, Male Mages vs Female Mages, & War of the Clerics). The main thing with the current Summer Voting Gauntlet is that there was the Ylissean Summer banner for the whole month of July and then there is the Nohr one for (supposedly) the whole month of August. Either they will simply make a new Ylissean Summer banner during the event of the Gauntlet to run alongside the Nohrian one, or they make a "Girls Summer Banner" and a "Guys Summer Banner." // This is provided there is are Voting Gauntlet banners for this Summer Gauntlet at all, since we had the primary banners be in the spotlight as of late. I personally think there will be one to follow tradition, even if the primary banners are in the spotlight.

Of course. How else would I obtain a +ATK, -RES F!Robin? In context I meant a Summer!F!Robin. The one I have is +DEF, -SPD, and I would prefer a better nature for her...

Right now I'm leaning towards F!Robin, because I actually have her and I like F!Robin. However, if I end up pulling a F!Corrin, then my choice will be much harder to make. I like both F!Robin and F!Corrin...

I didn't see another Swimsuit banner coming, but at this point I'll just roll with whatever banner Heroes throws at me. If I were to go nuts on this banner, it would be for F!Corrin. However, I can't help but suspect that there may be a Voting Gauntlet banner, perhaps one for the girls and one for the guys. If so, I'll happy roll on the Girl banner so I can try to get a proper F!Robin while attempting to also obtain F!Corrin. Although, I do much prefer the Nohr banner than the Ylissian one and I won't mind getting Xander, Leo, or Elise as well...

So, let me try to get some collective thoughts on this... * * * * * 1. Bound Hero Battle (Lilina & Cecilia) - August 7 // Valter Grand Hero Battle The Bound Hero Battle is nothing spectacular, but Valtar's GHB is interesting because I believe he has a unique weapon in the Cursed Lance (16 MT, +2 ATK/SPD, Accelerates Special by 1, Takes 4 Damage after Combat). Also, I have Sacred Stones bias, so there is that too. 2. Tempest Trial Changes - August 11 - The theme continues with Shadows of Valentia - Clive is the TT hero, no big surprise. - Continuous Auto Mode (Keeps Auto Battle on throughout multiple maps, useful for those who just Auto for TT) - Reserve Team System (Keep up to 10 Teams on hand for easy selection) - Wider Level Range (Normal can get Level 10-20 enemies, also just costs 15 Stamina instead of 20 - Hard and Lunatic are still 20) - TT Daily Bonus (Earn triple the points twice daily!) - Bonus Allies Boost (+10 HP, +4 All Other Stats, Double EXP & SP) Overall, I absolutely adore the Tempest Trial changes. Sometimes I wonder if the feedback I send is actually read because I did send some regarding burnout, so this may get me back into heroes even with the Slayer Weapon thing which I am still not too happy about. 3. Arena Assault A super Arena Mode similar in the vein of Squad Assault. So, think Arena, but you will require multiple unique teams to win. Unique items are also present to turn the tide of battle and the like. 4. Version 1.6 Stuff - Heroes Catalog - Hero Merit raised to 3000 (from 2000) - Training Tower Imporvements - Boosts to Arena EXP & SP 5. Summer Festival Part 2 // Summer Voting Gauntlet - August 1st - F!Corrin, Xander, Leo, and Elise are featured for the 2nd Summer Festival - The voting gauntlet pits all the summer heroes against each other. I need to get F!Corrin. Getting everyone else is a nice bonus. As an aside, I have a feeling they are saving Hoshido for a possible Yukata banner. However, as I know little of how the entire thing works, I'll leave the proper speculation to those more knowledgeable in this area. 6. 6 Month Anniversary Celebration - Up to 40 Orbs to be earned from the Anniversary Celebration Log-In Bonus - 20 Orbs earned from the Starter Support Log-In Bonus - Special Quests & Maps (Training Tower, Seals, Turn Limit Special, Daily Special) - Hero Fest 2 - August 10 7. Misc - 3* and 4* Rates are changed. Essentially, it is now much easier to get 4* (58%) units instead of 3* (36%) units. (This starts August 7th, so those hopping early to the 2nd Summer Banner still have the current rates) - First Free Summon (Seems to indicate a single hero summon and not a full pull, as evidenced from plenty of users in this topic.) Extra: No Choose Your Legends yet, but I assume that will happen after August and all of these Summer banners. So, August is Summer, September is CYL, and October is (theoretically) Halloween.

3* and 4* rate change? Definitely appreciated, making 3* heroes better for raising up when required. Free First Summon?! However, no real thoughts on whether it is a full summon session (all 5 from the selection) or just one.

More Summer? F!Corrin, Leo, Elise, and Xander. Xander is special now. * * * * EDIT * * * * * Summer Voting Gauntlet?! They are going all out for this...

Tempest Trials is looking up. I'm liking what I see thus far. 1. Super Auto Mode (for those who auto everything) 2. x3 Points two times daily (helps for people like me for burnout) 3. Super Bonus Heroes (Points, Stat, and EXP / SP Boosts?) and probably more stuff I missed.

I want to say the VA is the same as Delthea's but with a lower voice. WAIT SACRED STONES WHAT

* * * * * 7/30/2017 Update * * * * *

I used to be on the "Completionist" mindset" but as of late I find myself keeping my barracks numbers low. I recently purged (sent home) a lot of units from my roster, sending perhaps 40-60 heroes home out of the 190 or so I had. The reason for this is because realistically, I will never be able to put the time and effort on raising all of these units. I can always pull these units again later down the line making saving for SI (outside a few exceptions) mostly irrelevant. Why should I wait around for an uncertain period of time to obtain a hero who wants the skills when I can make use of the "retired feathers" now? Essentially, I now play heroes for "super optimization," only using characters with useful natures or those I highly favor. Even though I like most of the characters in Fire Emblem, there is no way for me to properly build them all with the time and budget I have. Using Healers as an example, I am narrowing mine down to just Azama and Clarine (with Elise if I can ever pull one), even though I would also love to have Sakura, Genny, Lissa, and Priscilla around. Azama serves as my "tanky infantry healer," Clarine is my general "mounted healer," while Elise is planned to be a "Combat Healer" with Wrathful Staff. * * * * * As for potential Tempest bonus units, I just work with what I have these days. I find Tempest to be particularly draining despite the amazing rewards, so I just play it casually instead of grinding up points to obtain a shiny seal.

Thanks for the comments! I played through a bit more of Trails in the Sky (still doing the Prologue, trying to do all the sidequests and keep up with the various NPC substories and their dialogues), and I think I have a better handle on how the battle system works. Trying to get one of those Shining Pom creatures taught me to "farm CP" and then unleash S-Crafts at full power and in quick succession, and I'm sure once I obtain proper healing and AoE skills I may figure out better strategies. I still need to wrap my head around "turn order manipulation" outside of S-Crafts such as why my characters can sometimes act twice before an enemy. I suppose this is why I enjoyed Grandia II's system since everyone progressed on a bar - Trails seem to cut out that bar entirely and simply show the "end result" when someone can do an action or carries out an action. I know plain movement does not carry as much weight such as attacking, using an art, or using a craft, but I am curious what else factors into the equation outside of the SPD stat. Anyways, once again thanks for the comments. I'll look further into Cold Steel after I end up finishing the Sky Trilogy, the faster pace and "feels better to play" sounds good to me!

I'm not really sure what is rare / expensive these days, so I'll just throw out some random titles. Marvel vs Capcom 2: New Age of Heroes (Sega Dreamcast) Super Mario 64 Goldeneye 007 (N64) Perfect Dark (N64) Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn

I'm getting into the Trails series for the first time, trying out Trails in the Sky. I think I put two hours before even getting into the prologue (when Estelle's dad leaves), the amount of text the NPCs have for nearly every single thing is insane! I feel like my inner completionist may just want to do the sidequests and finish the game instead of trying to 100% it. So far, I love the setting and the stories I've been given, but I find the battle system to be somewhat lacking or not to my tastes. Maybe this will change as I progress, but right now I feel the system is a "poor adaptation" of Grandia's system (which I love to death). Anyways, to the topic at hand, how does Trails of Cold Steel differ from Trails in the Sky? From what little I have learned, they take place in the same "grand setting," but I am wondering if the gameplay is different and the like. I probably won't be picking up Cold Steel until I get around to buying and finishing the Sky trilogy on PC, but I am curious how it goes.

Spring: Anna - The first thing that comes to my mind when thinking of Heroes' bunny outfits are casinos, so Anna comes to mind. Brides: Erika - She appears as a Bride in Awakening and it gives her an excuse to wield a Bow or a Lance. Summer (Awakening): Cherche - I gotta go with Cherche since she was my avatar's spouse on my main file. Summer (General): Micaiah - I am curious how Micaiah would be depicted on a Summer Banner.