NTNP

Honestly the idea itself is pretty good.. However I don't think that having it be for 'promoted units only" and it being... an item I guess or a promotion bonus would really work well. If anything making it into an FE9-10 styled skill would be the easiest way (design wise) and probably least invasive way of making it work for new players. You could have skills like "sword mastery" and have them take up... probably 15 capacity. It would allow that unit to use any sword within a certain weapon rank... like say for Tier 1 units, it would allow the use of weapons up to C rank. For Tier 2 units, raise it to B and if IS ever does 3rd tier units again it would go up to A. Generally this would make it like a secondary weapon, only a little weaker than naturally occurring ones based on class but with the positive of not requiring any WEXP training. Of course, this would have draw backs like robing your unit WEXP (unless they gain that weapon type later) that could be given to 'real' weapon types. Alternatively this scroll could be given to units whose classes would eventually unlock that weapon type, allowing them to gain WEXP to be added to the minimum rank (usually E). Using examples like the one from the above poster: Say in FE9 at chapter 9, the boss might drop the 'sword mastery' scroll. At base in Ch10, you could assign it to... lets say Boyd. From that point on, Boyd (Fighter and later Warrio) could use E-C rank swords. At this point, it would give Boyd a number of advantages over 'non sword scroll Boyd': The sword would give him the option to use a higher hit weapon, its lower weight in case Boyd's STR isn't up to par for steel axes yet AND most importantly it would give him instant access to any weapon up to C rank; such as steel swords (and blades), armor slayers, longswords, laguz slayers and killing edges. Now later in the game, this ability would lose some of its pazzaz due to a C rank in swords not netting you very much (especially once others have gotten their weapon levels up and can use all those weapons) and B rank (upon promotion) still wouldn't allow Boyd to ever use silver weapons, since that would essentially make using anything other than these 'instant' weapons useless. Another example (perhaps one with more long term benefits) might be say... having the same situation as before being used but instead of giving the sword scroll to Boyd, give it to Oscar. Assuming Oscar chose 'swords' as his promotion weapon. He could gain WEXP with that weapon type long before he promotes, allowing his promotion weapon rank in swords to be increased significantly (at least from E (FE9) to say C+) if it was used much at all. He could have had the early game advantage of swords, gained additional weapon EXP in swords but upon promotion the scroll would become useless since he already gained that weapon type naturally. Now if you used the FE10 system where skills can be traded around for fun, this becomes slightly more... exploitable. However it would be an interesting addition that I believe a lot of people would use since being able to give a character instant access to: horse slayer, armor slaying and later killer or brave weapons can only be a positive for the player. If IS decided to use FE9 styled skills in the future, then this would be great. If it was made in an FE10 styled one, then nerfs would be needed like making the weapon levels -1 (tier 1 being D, tier 2 being C, tier 3 being B etc) and potentially increasing the capacity requirements. But that's just me.

I would like to see support conversations return (ideally at base like it was in FE9) while keeping the generic/semi generic 'talks' that would show up between supported pairs. Like say if Leo and Edward had a support, after the first 5 maps they could have had a traditional support that would raise it up to C rank. Then on the next map 'talk' would appear when Eddie gets near Leo where you would hear things about Eddie wanting to take on everything and Leo saying that he's got his back. Then the next chapter maybe it would be Leo's turn. Both of these would be decrease the total number of turns needed until the next support can be unlocked. After all, having them chat for a few seconds per battle did break up each turn. As far as reclassing goes, I'm against it. I would prefer if they went back to branched promotions and maybe give us non sucky trainee classes back (like the first 'group' that you get and those in the prologue(s) might be trainees where say the trainee with a sword could become a mercenary, thief or myrmidon, the lance recruit could go soldier, cavalier, knight etc. That way we could have a little control on how our units grow, but not enough to literally shift around everyone each chapter and make the entire 'usefulness' of a character be based on when they join since essentially everyone is the same now baring 1-2 points per stat. I also like the idea of a My Unit character, especially if he or she was given the options for supports (perhaps based on the initial choices made about ones background, current and future so its no all about getting the stats and growths you want). I also liked FE11's forging system (increasing the power of existing weapons) as opposed to the other types along with the option of using cross bows as introduced in FE10. As far as where the series should go, I would like to see a new world. Ideally we remove laguz and replace them with the Manaketes of the former games. However the idea of them being able to 'transform' based on a gauge instead of semi rare stones would be nice though. Of course, certain things could make it easier like A: automatically transforming if attacked when at full gauge, giving dragons 1-2 range, having 'strike' go up based on level instead of use and maybe making it where at 'half' of the maximum that these units could transform or they could keep gaining points in the gauge to stay transformed longer later on. Story wise, I'm fine with just about everything. However if IS decides to use the 'two sides of a conflict' design again, they should make sure that both sides are given the same amount of chapters AND similarly leveled enemies that way one side (GM's in FE10) aren't 10 levels higher than the other (DB). But that's just me.

I'd go with bows. Usually a forged axe of any kind doesn't face anything under 80% hit rates against any enemy. An E rank in lances (baring a forge) means just iron weapons. With a bit of work it could become a D rank, giving him access to steel but that means having Kieran get stuck with using a really weak weapon which is lucky to 2RKO most enemies when he could be using an axe forge (steel probably) to 1RKO everything in sight. Swords are similar, but worse due to no 2 range options other than magical (which Kieran's low MAG doesn't work well with). However bows, even iron ones, are capable of doing significant damage against fliers giving him an easy 1-2RKO even up into the end of the game. If he gets someone else's iron bow forge, Kieran could even 1RKO most fliers with it due to his naturally high strength. So really you can either A: have an inferior weapon type with an extremely low rank so Kieran has overkill hit against sword users or has another sword unit that is lucky to 2RKO most enemies due to him being stuck using irons or having to rely on someone elses forge. Or B: have a weapon type that is effective against at least 1/10th the enemies that you'll find for the rest of the game that can effectively 1-2RKO any flier.

My most hated RNG moments have to be when the game decides to kill one of the mission sensitive 'other/allied' units resulting in a game over. I've had Jill die from RNG hating her very often, I've had Zihark die once (which really was amazing), Fiona is almost a given half the time, Tibarn (in both FE9&10) dies quiet often when he's controlled by the AI. I've even had Skimir get himself crit killed once in 3-E. For honorable mention for when it doesn't make my game end: I've had Ena dies quiet often in FE10, I've had all the hawks but Tibarn get killed in the last part of Ch.17 of PoR. I've had Reyson get owned by a couple of paladins before. Astrid (which is no surprise) AND Gatrie in PoR a few times. Honestly when its my own characters that bite it because the game hate them, that's one thing. I can always go back, rearrange my units and positions to keep it form happening twice. When it's the game's 'other' units (who are mission critical) end up dying because the RNG decides to give five enemies who had at most 1-10 crit and 40+/- hit rates to ALL connect AND critical though that just seems like a slap in the face.

As stated BEXP is lessened and some 'over powered' units become a bit more clutch during HM playthroughs. I would also recommend that if you aren't using supports, skills and forges that now would be a good time to get accustomed to them. Certain support combinations: Earth x Earth is amazing for avoid; Water x Water/Fire is very useful for concrete durability and attack. Also decreasing the number of units you 'focus on' with each team would probably be a good decision as well. The DB could effectively raise 2-3 units (including prepromotes or laguz like Zihark, Volug etc), the CK could handle 1-2 and the (and certain bits of part 2) GM probably 5-8 depending on what types of levels you are looking at and how easy you want early game to be (where you have higher levels than normal) versus later in the game where you have less feasible characters. When you reach the later end of part 3 and the beginning of part 4 you gain laguz royals, 3rd tier units and other additional powerful units (compared to all the characters you never raised) that can help fill out most teams during the split. Really the lack of weapon triangles just makes concrete durability a little better than mehish avoid, makes axes more overpowered and removes a few tactical advantages.

PoR: Prologue - CH25 Well I am not winning in turn counts in PoR, but I've only got a couple of chapters left. Oh and I am sorry about missing some of the stats, some chapters either ended quickly and I wanted to go to the next chapter before bed or I didn't have access to the computer at the time and just jotted down the turn count on something.

If he would have started out with an axe rank in RD it might have been useful for the first couple of chapters. After all, handaxes (which are forgeable) are better than wind edges in every way except for an extra what 10 hit?

Hmm... I'll try PoR and RD with this idea: Ike: Mercenary -> Hero Lets be honest hand axes in PoR would have made him much better post promotion. In RD, he could have easily started with axes to help his 1-2 range before getting Ragnell back. Rolf: Hunter -> Ranger Somehow it felt like he should have gotten a sword and a horse to help with his low level, low growths and generally bad position within the GM. At least in RD people might have considered him for the move advantage alone. Mist: Priest/Clerc -> Valkyrie Why they didn't just give her swords and staffs in tier one and then light upon promotion boggles my mind. At least this way she could be an offensive unit instead of a heal/support bot. Mia: Mercenary -> Hero Truthfully, its just a preference of mine that they provided a few mercenaries throughout the game. And we never had a female mercenary before and something about her with an axe seems interesting. Ilyana: Shaman -> Druid She might have been better with dark magic since it would give her unique options in PoR, in RD her bases/growths are made for it and it would fit her back story well (she is always hungry, perhaps due to the magic?) Astrid: Archer -> Sniper Really she has paragon, giving her axes just made her too good. This way she would be stuck with bows to ensure that she couldn't be instantly 'raised' by 2 levels just by soloing a part of the map on enemy phase with a steel axe. Makalov: Soldier -> Halb It doesn't really make sense how he's dirt poor but still has a horse. You would think someone would take it from him. Moving on, as a soldier his growths in PoR and RD would be pretty similar to what he has now except instead of being sword locked early on he would have lances (better weapon type) and other than still having horrible hair he would still be pretty usable with this change. Although increasing his base level would help more. Devden: Warrior One, we need more warriors in PoR/RD. And two, with axes and higher HP/STR he could have helped out more considering as of now he's 'average' at best. Callil: Sage (thunder) We have a duplication of elemental sages in RD and PoR with her having fire along with Tormod. I would think with Ilyana being gone (as a Shaman/Druid) she would make the best thunder sage. Tauroneo: Halb Honestly his stats resemble that of a Halb far more than a General. Plus the extra move would make up for losing swords/axes in the other games. Lucia: Rogue She seems extremely 'rogue' like in story with being the head of Crimea's spies and all. Plus with the ability to steal she might replace someone like Sothe (if he actually promoted, which he should) or a non paid Volke. Ena: White Dragon Should be obvious enough with her massive magic stat and laughable strength one. Plus having an extra white tide would make her a shoe in for most maps, especially if she joined in P4 instead of endgame. Edward: Mercenary -> Hero It might not help his start much, but the idea of a "Hero" and Edward's few lines would add up well. Meg: Fighter -> Warrior Hear me out here. One it would improve her base strength issues (along with growths for later on), it would bring her speed down to a reasonable level once growths are modified, her skill would suffer but with forges meh, Plus her high con and general appearance would fit with what we might consider a female 'fighter' looking like. Fiona: Draco Knight -> Draco Lord Honestly she should have shown up promoted (lv.20/3 maybe) but at least as a flier she could help later on with things not involving combat. Her horse is more of a hindrance in part 3 while a flying mount wouldn't be. Pelleas: Shaman -> Summoner/Necromancer If he started out with staves and showed up in the starting chapter at base, he could be usable. Especially if when he hit third promotion that he would have been able to summon undead/NPC units to help your side. That would have made him unique and worth using since in PoR/RD dark magic lost some of it's charms. Sanaki: Arch Sage If she had access to staves (high enough rank for physics ideally) she would be much better. Even with her horrible base strength she would be significantly more useful in P4. Obviously that is just FE9 and 10, but that's what came to mind first.

Good job Maji; I always wanted to play DQ1 and 2 and after reading this I feel like I almost did. I think your mix between humor and role playing was very entertaining. I hope that you'll tackle another one of these games eventually and do a Let's Play of it that would end up posted here. Congratulations on your accomplishments.

Hmm off the top of my head its between: Shogun Total War 2 (but when can you ever beat a game like that really?), FFIX, FFX, FFT (PS1), FE9, LoZ:OoT and LoZ:MM although in what order I'll never know.

Good luck with this project. I have a question about it though. Once you collect the script yourself and recording all the voices are you planning on putting it over a video of the characters via a youtube video or something so we can see and most importantly HEAR it?

I'd just stick with how the game records it. In PoR, it counts defend chapters ending on an accurate turn while in RD it adds a turn. When on a defend map in RD, just add an extra turn to all defense maps since that is the way the game remembers it at the end. Also Xander, good job on your current turn counts.

I really wish that Maji would continue this...

PoR: Prologue - Ch7

Alright, well changes have been finalized. You may start playing and posting how well you've faired during your playthrough. I'll try to update the first page with everyone's turns and/or chapter in the following weeks. Good luck all.

I guess I'll do an initial thought too while other people figure out if there is any changes they want to make on the BEXP list before I repost it in it's finalized form: 1st: Haar: Truthfully, I've only used Haar once during RD. Once he promoted half way through part 3 (without favoritism like a speed wing or early promotion) and could solo entire maps up through endgame with just handaxes I was pretty sure he was too broken to be used during a standard playthrough. Now that I'll be using him in a draft for the first time, it'll be interesting seeing exactly how overpowered I can make him. If I am lucky he might end up making about half of RD a lot easier while he's around. 2nd Nolan: I will really appreciate this character during RD. He will essentially make P1 doable without a lot of hair pulling frustration. Not to mention that he will also be the one killing Ike during P3, ideally with Jill's brave axe. He probably wouldn't have lasted another turn, so I don't regret choosing him in the least. 3rd Mordecia: During drafts, I've always loved Mordie. At the beginning of the game, I use him as a smite bot. If he does transform during the early map, its usually rare but he can effectively take no damage and either 1RKOs or at most leaves even the strongest enemies with only 1 or 2 HP remaining. Once I get the demi band, he can start being used as a standard unit again up into endgame. In RD I can expect him to limit my penalties slightly and be useful during P3 thanks to being at most 8RKOed by P3 endgame units at base. The only worry will be getting his strike rating up. 4th Kieran: How and why I got Kieran is beyond me. I was honestly expecting Radiant Kitty to take him since he had Oscar (the two of them work wonders together). However I managed to snag him instead. In PoR, he starts at a good level with high bases. He'll probably be keeping up with Titania within four or five chapters. I expect him to be one of my greatest units by that point in time. Forward into RD, he should help Geoffrey with handling the C. Knight chapters, then rejoining Ike's group long enough to clear a way to part 4. 5th Calill: I'll just say this, have you ever tried to draft without a mage before? It is just too enjoyable 1-2 rounding certain chapters thanks to a good vigored meteor assault. She will be doing her very best to ensure that my maging needs are taken care of considering she was half way down the drafting positions. 6th Ulki: Before Haar shows up in PoR, Ulki will be useful for a couple of important drop chapters. Although he's only moderately useful here due to Haar and not being able to wear the demi band or full guard at all times, I do expect him to make up a few turns. Moving on to RD though, he is amazing. With overkill avoid, he almost doesn't need nullify and has little to fear from anything in this game. He can quickly be BEXPed up to 30 in order to get tear. From there, I doubt I'll have any troubles out of him. 7th Skrimir: Although it is personal experience, I will be looking forward to seeing this guy handle most of P4 by himself. With just half shift (or olvi grass due to having herons), a concoction, innate resolve and gifted quick claw he should be able to really make a dent in my part four and endgame. I'll really enjoying seeing how well this hot blooded prince can do against P4. 8th Rolf: I somewhat regret this decision, but it might be possible to make Rolf usable considering my low concentration of characters and the even lower demand for stat boosters. However I have no doubts that he will not be of much use in PoR. With some hope he might make it through PoR in order to join the team in RD. Using all the early game BEXP, Shinion's bows and the GM's skills he should be able to quickly level up to a point where he will be able to first compare to Shinion and then overtake him throughout the game. Or he might end up never being used at all, I'm not entirely sure. 9th Leonardo: Usually the biggest issue with Leo is the fact that he can't be protected early in the game. However, I am in a unique position for this draft. During the earliest parts of P1 (where Leo needs the most help) I can use essentially everyone. Hopefully by 1-4 he will be strong enough to drop Edward's protection and be able to fend for himself through out the rest of P1. Of course, once P1 is over its mostly just a pair of defend chapters and a 2tko for Nolan before he rejoins the rest of the cast. Maybe he might be useful, maybe not. I'll find out though. 10th Renning: Renning is one of the few beorc characters to join for endgame. Considering my high number of laguz (3 at this point), I thought being able to use ranged axes would be more useful than a lot of the characters. He is essentially a filler unit, might double some things, might not double others. However, he does make my last few chapters better, which will be nice if another unit doesn't make it 'up to snuff'. 11th Largo: I really like Largo. If his stat transfers go through to Calil, I'm sure she'll appreciate an extra 7 HP. If not, well its not like Bastian would have been that much better of a choice.

Well that is everyone. Xander gets Oliver and now we only have to finish clarifying the rules. The only thing not examined thus far was the PoR BEXP limits: [size=2]Chapter Character BEXP 8 Ike +0.X Boyd +0.X Oscar +0.X Rhys +4.X Soren +3.X Mia +3.X 9 Ilyana +3.X Mist 7/- Rolf 8/- 10 Lethe +0 Mordecai +0 Marcia +3.X Volke 12/- 11 Kieran 15/- Brom 13/- Nephenee 12/- 12 Zihark 13/- Sothe 9/- 13 Jill +2.X 14 Astrid +5.X Gatrie +2.X 15 Makalov +4.X 16 Muarim +0 Tormod 14/- Stefan +0 17 Danved +2.X 18 Tanith +0 Janaff 10/- Ulki 9/- Reyson +0 19 Shinon -/8 Calill -/8 22 Tauroneo +1.X 23 Ranulf -/10 24 Haar +1.X 25 Lucia +2.X Bastian +2.X Geoffrey -/13 Largo -/11 26 Elincia -/9 28 Ena 14/- Nasir 17/-[/size] Is there anything on this list that anyone disagrees with before we start playing?

I believe it worked on mine during one of my playthroughs; although I wouldn't swear to it. But lets be honest, I doubt that either Oliver or Bastian would be much better.

Well I'll take Largo thanks. At least now Calill will have something to transfer other than weapon levels.

I'll take Renning. I guess I'll just have to hope that Largo makes it one more round. Although lets be honest, its not like he'd be exceptionally useful for anyone else. Also if one more person agrees to Option B we'll just reverse the cycle for Round 11.

I'll put it up to the drafters and let them vote: After this round (where it goes back to Xander in slot one ending Round 10) the final round will occur. Would you rather: Option A: Not Change the Order: Allow Xander (position 1) to get to choose from the last 6 characters first and then have it end with Red Fox of Fire (position 6)? This gives the drafters in the upper positions an advantage. Option B: Reverse the Order: Allow Red Fox of Fire to get to choose first from the last 6 characters and have it go back up to Xander in position 1? This gives the drafters in the lower positions the advantage. Option C: Randomize the Order: Have me reassign the order for the last round, giving no one an advantage. Personally I prefer Option C: Randomize since it couldn't help be said to favor a particular position more so than the other two options.

Alright, the first page has been updated (I hadn't been around today, sorry). I'll be taking Leo then. At the very least he can help with chipping damage early in the game and if I'm lucky his +5 speed bow might make him usable.

Although I might regret it later, I'll take the last remaining GM: Rolf.

I'll take Skrimir then.

If one more person says that they want Naliah available for 1-8 as the free unit, then I'll make that amend. Moving on; I'll take Ulki. With Callil I can essentially be assured nullify in RD and it'll give me a second flier. Although he's stint in PoR will be a bit limited he should still be useful for drops with savior. Or maybe I'll give Haar PoR's savior, oh well. Next person please draft!