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@Interdimensional Observer Yes, yes, I'm increasing my Inca quota from 68.3% to 68.5%. But I'm pretty sure I also planted a city on snow for the very first time in my Civ5 career, and it's not even a meme. Yes, I'd rather have had the river hill one above this position, but I wouldn't have been able to improve the crabs that way because of the ice.
And those 1food/0production Terrace farms are going to be marvellous
I also need to point out the audacity of this settle (and tile purchases), one or two turns after Dido asked for a declaration of friendship. The whole position is incredibly defensive, with three one-tile choke points between me on the south of the mountain ridge and Dido+Genghis on the north, so this forward settle doesn't feel as overly risky as it normally would. What would've felt way too risky is that beautiful city location north of the second choke point, next to the wheat. Dido and Genghis would murder that so hard.
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10 minutes ago, Interdimensional Observer said:
"It's not like that baby! I just see death flags looming over your head and opted to book that levirate marriage [in a loose sense] I'll be craving in the depths of my sorrows for you in advance. -Why not stop the flags? Uh, sorry honey, can't change your tragic fate. Love ya dearest!"
Till Death Flags Do Us Part
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25 minutes ago, BrightBow said:
When I first did this map, I deployed both Julian and Ricardo. I noticed they had a Talk command with each other. Said Talk turned out to be their recruitment convo again.
Okay, fair enough. Ricardo can also be gotten on this map, so a bug like that makes sense.
But then once the convo was done, it also triggered a Game Over for some reason.
I don't know if that always happens or if this is the result of a specific rom / patch combination, but it was very funny.I still had the save state from doing both recruitment talks for Samuel, so I could test this and... yeah, recruitment convo into game over, just as advertised. That is funny.
25 minutes ago, BrightBow said:Oh yeah, let's send the only remaining authority in Khadein away on a mission. Great idea Gotoh. Can't imagine why Khadein turned to shit under your watch.
You could maybe argue that Wendell is one of the very few humans that Gotoh trusts, considering his attitude towards them as a whole. But Pope Sonic-the-hedgehog memes aside, picking the elderly, pacifist bishop to find all the small orbs scattered across the countryside sure is a choice that Gotoh made.
15 minutes ago, Saint Rubenio said:Sooo what you're telling me is, Juliatthis ship go?
I dig.
I mean, it's far from the most morally bankrupt implication stemming from a fan ship, but I think leaving your love interest in favour of their sibling is generally accepted to be a dick move, bro.
On 1/4/2024 at 7:57 PM, ping said:So, to collect some of the Awful FE People lore thus far...
- In the Gaiden timeline, Berkut and Rinea aren't involved because they're currently playing out cottagecore tradwife fantasies. Rising stars in the Republican party.
- The Wolfguard is getting into the Alpha Male grifting business
- Anna (and Gotoh, apparently) are really big in NFTs, although I think Anna would have cashed out and entirely disappeared from the scene. If anybody managed to find her, she'd just pretend she's one of her many sisters (who all have no idea what this is all about, of course)
- Gotoh is acting like Gotoh.
- Julian dumps Lena (while, or shortly after, she is in imminent danger of being devoured by a big-ass dragon) in favour of her older brother.
Which means that Gotoh's the first character to be mentioned twice, but I think that's agreeable with the general sentiment in the thread.
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17 minutes ago, Saint Rubenio said:
...Followed by the most forgettable death quote in the history of history. C'mon, dude, do better! Be as witty as you were just then!
At least he couldn't not be defeated and had to retreat.
17 minutes ago, Saint Rubenio said:As opposed to using his own teleportation powers to do that instead.
I'm sure Gotoh had more important business to attend to. Like, decide what wine to drink. Or decide if he should call the next father-murderer a "moron" or if he should give "fool" another go.
13 minutes ago, Interdimensional Observer said:It looks so... empty. Like was Lang in the process of moving out to his new bigger castle?
Not Gaiden design, but...? -Reinforcements from behind and asymmetry of the symmetrical-ish do save this simply-designed map.
It fits with the story, imo. Lang is a craven cur, so he's keeping half of his troops (or half of the half of the troops that didn't keep guard outside) very close to himself. With that, and with the reinforcements arriving a little too late, it's appropriate that there isn't much left to harrass Marth with immediately.
If I was to change just one thing about the map, I'd probably add more troops to the hidden area; make Lang even more holed in than he already is (like, the guy is surrounded by Knights and has two healers on stand-by). Maybe add a big group of enemies that always spawns in the wrong room, i.e. on the side that you don't open the door on: They were trying to jump you, but read your movement wrong, so now they have to haul ass to the other side of the map. And maybe add a thief to the throne room, so that the second door will open, too... but only after a few turns of warning, since the thief will have to move there first.
Although for all this, I'd probably need a second change and make the hallways between those rooms a bit wider, to make these troops more threatening.
1 minute ago, Shaky Jones said:What I wanna know is why having Navarre would calm him in the first place. Bro is mid.
Samto is coasting on Navarre's reputation, not on Navarre's abilities. And I guess we have to take Lang's word for how Akaneia at large views him.
2 minutes ago, Shaky Jones said:At least fe12 had mages too. A couple on the left and one more to the guy on the right. This is just far too empty, and having no mounts makes all this space just a slog to walk through. I don't dislike this chapter in FE3, but it feels very dull in comparison.
Eh, it's not that bad, I think. As I said, a few (or even a lot) more hidden enemies wouldn't have hurt, but the map isn't that large, nor is the path particularly winding. You can engage with the enemies on turn 1 enemy phase, and I think I opened the door to Samto on turn 3 or 4. It's definitely no Ch.3, or even Ch.8 in BinBla.
5 minutes ago, Shaky Jones said:No fighter reclass. What's the point?
Hey, I never used Mage!Yubello before, so this is novelty for me.
6 minutes ago, Shaky Jones said:How dare you imply Matthis would make things worse. She'd clearly get so fed up that she'd one shot Medeus out of pent up frustration, causing both Matthis and Julian to run away in fear and get a paired ending."Men become gay because women with their own agenda are scaring them" sounds like a plausible Fox News talking point. I was going to say "in 2026", but then I looked at the sentence again and it's probably been a talking point for decades already.
No surprise that the game where the main character has blue hair and pronouns also features strong female characters #MuhImmersion16 minutes ago, Jotari said:Makes me wonder, where was this castle in Shadow Dragon? Did Marth take it off screen? Is it one of those little forts to the South West of the capital in the Camus chapter? Hell why didn't they just make this the capital of Grust (it's specifically not) since we never actually fight there?
I guess Marth is coming from the opposite direction in Book 2. In FE1, he liberates Altea, then crosses the big bridges (offscreen, in Book 1) into Grust/nia. In Book 2, he presumably moves from Macedon to Grust/nia per boat, so maybe this castle is between the southern/eastern coast and the capital, not between the capital and the bridges in the north.
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The Wyvern Knight option would be a nice buff for Shanna and Tate, since its higher Con increase would be translated 1:1 into AS for all lances except for Slim and Iron. There would still be a point in early-promoting Shanna into Falcoknight for the Western Isles, but Tate would absolutely want to go Wyvern Knight every time. Killer Lance is the default weapon at that point, anyway.
For the Axe Bros, this is more difficult to answer, since the Fighter->Warrior promotion is so much worse in SacSto than in BinBla. The "correct" choice for Garcia is Hero because he doesn't get any Spd out of Warrior, but Lot and Wade do gain +2 Spd from their promotion. If Hero would still be the faster option, it would definitely be the way to go for them, but if both gave the same +Spd, it would be a pretty balanced decision. Warrior maybe a bit stronger long-term, since bows are a better weapon type than swords in the later stages of the game, but Lot/Wade might promote when enemy axe users are still prominent.
Summoners are great, so that would be a fantastic boon for Raigh. Sophia would find herself in a similar (well... worse) situation than Shaman->Summoner!Ewan - more effort with no real advantage.
Mage Knight Lugh? Mage Knight Lugh. (also Lilina and Hugh, obviously, but Lugh is the best of the three anyway. Also, MK has a higher Mag bonus than Sage in SacSto, which Lugh would certainly appreciate, too)
2 hours ago, Cdijk16 said:5. Elen/Saul: Both of these would have their combat marginally improved by Anima magic, but they're not really used for their combat anyways. Anima magic has higher Might than Light magic, making Sage the better choice for combat purposes. There are no monsters in FE6, making Slayer useless.
Natasha's alternative to Bishop is Valkyrie, actually, so that would be a pretty sweet deal for Elen. As you said, wihout Slayer, Bishop doesn't make a great case for itself.
For the average player, that might even make her better than Saul - one of my Unpopular Opinions (tm) about BinBla is that Elen isn't that much worse than Saul to begin with, unless you're playing at a dondon pace, and having a horsie for a healer is just really useful. Not only to keep up with the rest, but a nice aspect of Clarine and Cecilia is that they can partake in rescue/drop shenanigans when their staff utility isn't needed.
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FE3 Book 2 Chapter 6: Nest of Evil
Spoiler
All that remains is Olbern Castle, held guard by the commander of the occupation army, General Lang. Land used his position to steal possessions from the Grustian citizens, to steal young girls, and to steal lives. Historically has there been a man crueller than him? "He cannot be allowed to live. I will definitely defeat him!" Prince Marth raised his sword towards the skies and shouted out an order. Altean knights charge!!
: "Hahaha... They're here? Our reinforcements will be arriving soon. If we hold out long enough, we'll be able to attack them from both sides. Swordfighter Navarre! When they open the gate that will be your chance to attack. Don't hold back, just kill them all!!"
: "Uh... Okay. The Altean knights are, um, nothing to me. Yeah..."
: "Oh! I should have expected no less from you. As long as we have you, not even Talys's Ogma can defeat us."
: "What? Ogma!!? Uh... Um... Yeah... I can, er, take care of that dude."
: "Good, with your words I can relax now. Well, good luck, Navarre."
It's a silly little joke, but I can't help but like a terrible impostor that is still somehow successfully fooling a mark.
The map! After the first action of the fight, which was very slightly revised after Matthis's very unfortunate encounter with a very threatening enemy soldier.
I don't think New Mystery changed (or rather will change) a ton of this, which is fine by me, since the map doesn't have any egregious flaws that absolutely need to be addressed.
The initial configuration is not terribly overwhelming. A bunch of knights to the left, which are held in check by the three choke points, while there's only two enemies with a weapon in the eastern part of the castle:
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A Mage that Warren can easily dispose of in the first enemy phase, and a Swarm-using Bishop that Warren can also one-round, although he needs to use Kashim's Killer bow since Iron is too weak and Steel too heavy. The second Bishop has a Physic staff, although he never uses it during the fight, and drops a Secret Book.
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The Knights are all just Lv.1 (although the ones reinforcing, as well as Lang's bodyguards, are a bit stronger), which means that even Steel Swords deal decend damage against them.
The main danger comes from the reinforcements, even though it really doesn't look like it at first. But they spawn every turn, in random numbers. According to FEWoD, it's four potential spawns with a 50% chance each, although it seemed to me like the average was significantly above 2/turn. It also says that they spawn on turns 3-8, but that also seems wrong...
...as this is a screenshot from right before I seize on turn 11, so that Knight at the bottom must've spawned on turn 10.
Related to the reinforcements one FE12 change: There's a third chest in the southeast cell (where Rickard spawns). It not being there is somewhat helpful, since that way, Julian and/or Rickard don't have to move as close to the reinforcements when moving on to the other treasure.
Once you open either door (the left one, in my case), all the hidden parts of the map are revealed. Lang, brave soul that he is, has surrounded himself with a bunch of Knights, as well as two Bishops exclusively on Heal duty (i.e. without a tome).
To the left is "Navarre"...
...and to the right a lone Mage with Elfire. Unlike the Knights, he does immediately become aggressive and will run left if that's the door you've opened, but Warren simply interrupts his bishop-shooting duties to intercept him.
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Marth is well-suited to absorb an attack from "Navarre" - he survives a crit without much issue and (the more likely case, thanks to Sheeda's moral support) wouldn't crit-kill "Navarre", either. Recruitment theme, play!
: "Huh!? Dude, who are you? I have no business with women or children... That said. (Hey, she's pretty cute) What do you want?"
: "..... You can't be Navarre!! Who are you?"
Gasp!
: "I'm Samuel, a, er, humble mercenary. Since I look like Navarre, lots of people mistake me for him. So I pretended to be him. But I really hate that General Lang. If you think I'm of any use, let me help you."
: "Uh... I guess you would be alright..."
It might detract from Sheeda's cunning that after her FE1 exploits, the only enemy she recruits is this little dummy. Still a funny recruitment, so I can live with that. But for the sake of completion, and with the help of a little save state magic, the other option:
: "Navarre... You disappoint me..."
: "Woah, I don't believe it... This Killing Edge is, like, so deadly..."
: "Do we have to fight? Alright. I guessed that we would have to duel eventually.
: "Ah... Oh, snap! Woah dude! I'm just faking it! ...Faking!"
Honestly, I think I might prefer this Samuel/Samto to the version from the FE12 fan translation.
: "It's me... Samuel. Have you totally forgotten, Mister Ogma?"
: "Samuel!? The pit-fighter from Knorda, Samuel?"
: "Yeah, that was me. Thanks for saving me back then. When everybody tried to escape, you got yourself caught, to hide our escape..."
: "....."
: "I heard from the others that you were taken to the arena to be whipped. Even then, you didn't say anything about our whereabouts. In the end, the young princess of Talys, who was passing by, protected you even when she was in tears, and rescued you. So that's why, for Talys... No... For the princess, you wielded your sword again..."
: "Enough... Don't say anymore! It's already in the past... In the past..."
: ".....Mister Ogma... Regardless, I hope to repay your favour! Let me follow you, okay?"
"Hey Ogma, remember when you were brutally tortured? For days, maybe? Must have been really rough. Do you remember that, Ogma? Ogma? Remember?"
[HP 70% | Str 20% | Skl 20% | Spd 60% | Lck 10% | WLv 40% | Def 10%]
As you might expect from a Mercenary who has to pose as somebody else to make a living, Samuel is pretty underwhelming. Worse bases and worse growths than both Ogma and (woah! Spoilers!) the real Navarre. If you want to be pedantic, his Spd growth is actually the highest between the three, but Ogma's (14) and Navarre's (16) bases are so high that this isn't much of a selling point for Samuel.
Overall... salvagable, but outclassed, I reckon. Merc->Hero is not a bad class to be in, what with the regular indoor maps, and Starshards are everybody's friends. If Samuel manages to consistently carry even just Gemini (+Str/Def, -WLv) during his level-ups, he honestly should do well enough.
Meanwhile, a small detachment battles the reinforcements. Since an even smaller detachment (Warren and Rickard) is hiding in the east, I have to keep at least some troops close-ish to the entrance, to make sure that reinforcements don't go the wrong direction. What makes this a bit dangerous is
Matthis's low Lckthe fact that you get this neverending stream of enemies where you can't attack one without walking into the next one's range.
But on the plus side, this all is a great learning experience for Jubelo.
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Meanwhile, Marth and a few friends slowly chew through Lang's bodyguards. Since they're a bit stronger, Marth can't reliably one-round them with the Rapier, but he ends up critting everything he fights to death anyway. But even if he didn't, the Knights have no FE12-style linked AI, so they're more a roadblock than a threat.
Lang himself is quite strong and very physically bulky, and has a Javelin to make sure he can't just be cheesed by a Mage. This does, of course, mean that Linde doubles him even with Aura...
...so she does just that. Being as bulky as she is, she easily survives Lang's counterattack with one whole HP.
: "Please... Please wait. I'm sorry... Please forgive me. I was just following the Emperor's orders. I also hate what I have done, but I had no choice. So... So... Please... Help me... Please just let me explain. Yes... That's right... Like that... You let your guard down... Idiot... Die!!"
Come now. That's an old trick. #GuileDidItFirst ...no, wait, Guile only does it in the FE12 translation. Kaga, you old dog, you win again.
And Linde chips Lang down far enough for Sheeda to finish the job somewhat reliably - 91.6% chance to get the one hit necessary, and Marth would've been around for another swing if she hadn't succeeded.
: Urgh... How... Could I be defeated...?"
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With the boss kill secure, the squad dealing with the reinforcements can kick some butt without caring about longevity. Unfortunately, Cecille can't get in on the fun...
...because Matthis, after actually distinguishing himself with his good HP/Def stats, manages to disappoint everybody a final time (...on this map).
: "Ah, bishop Wendell! It's great to see that you're safe. When I heard you were taken from the village in Macedon, I was really worried."
: "Lang wanted me to help him deal with the Grustian rebellion, so he took me here."
: "But, as the Pontifex of Khadein, and with your power, you shouldn't need to fear Lang."
I have to appreciate that Kaga doesn't even try to hide how good FE1/Book 1 Wendell is.
: "I don't like using magic in battle. And also, I already left the magic city, Khadein, in the care of the two youths, Merric and Arlen. I left because I must carry out an important mission given to me by Archsage Gotoh."
: "A mission from Gotoh? So, are you travelling the continent?"
: "That's right...You should know that there was once a sacred juwel, with markings of the 12 constellations, known as the Starsphere. In order to dispel Gharnef's dark magic, Gotoh created the holy Starlight magic from the Sphere. However, at that time it created a powerful shock and the Sphere broke into 12 fragments, which flew and scattered across the continent. Gotoh said that this world is protected by the mysterious power of the five Spheres. If any one of them was lost, the world will fall into ruin. And right now, the Starsphere has been broken. Therefore, even now the world is decaying. The 12 fragments must be brought back together, so that the Starsphere can be restored. Unfortunately, I was captured and the fragments that I laboriously collected were taken by the imperial soldiers. Prince Marth. I realise that I cannot complete my mission just by myself. Can you aid me in my quest?"
: "Huh... How could this be...? Suddenly hearing that the world is falling into ruin. I am finding it difficult to believe. But, are the Star fragments these? I already have a couple. Once I've reclaimed ALtea, I will help you look for the remaining fragments and Spheres. If possible, can you wait until then?"
: "Oh, that's right... Your highness's country was attacked by Archanea... I am deeply sorry. My request was a little selfish. You highness, I understand... I will also fight, to reclaim Altea."
: "Huh? Bishop, can you really help us fight? What about Gotoh's mission...?"
: "I bet meeting your highness was also planned by Gotoh. If that is the case, I must follow my fate. But, can we first go to the Fane of Raman? At that lost temple, perhaps we can recover some of the lost Spheres and Star fragments."
: "I understand. The Fane of Raman is along our road to reclaiming Altea. We'll head there immediately!!"
That's a lot of exposition. But Wendell joining clearly warrants a lot of dialogue.
I also have to commend Gotoh for asking the fastest man alive to rush across the continent to find all the Star Fragments. Very good choice.
The Team:
Lv. HP Str Skl Spd Lck WLv Def Res +XP Marth 8.59 27 9 10 11 11 9 8 0 +166 Sirius */7.88 27 13 11 15 2 14 11 6 +50 Matthis 8.78 23 9 4 8 2 11 9 1 +146 Cecille 10.34 21 10 8 15 9 12 8 1 +126 Caeda 5.67 20 6 8 15 14 10 8 6 +117 Ogma 8.64 26 8 14 15 5 9 9 0 +48 Samuel 5.00 22 6 10 11 3 7 7 0 -- (base) Julian 9.06 22 10 9 16 9 8 7 0 +42 Rickard 3.09 18 6 3 9 1 6 3 0 -- (base) Warren 10.60 28 10 9 8 2 8 5 1 +164 Linde 6.48 21 3 7 10 10 9 2 4 +52 Jubelo 8.42 21 7 5 8 10 11 3 3 +298 Yuliya 7.06 17 4 6 7 14 10 2 5 +172- Another point of Spd on Warren! And +3 Str in three levels for Jubelo, too.
21 hours ago, Saint Rubenio said:Ach, you got me. It was me. I was the one championing for ArchaneaSoldi. It's not my fault! I didn't know he'd go after Matthis! He promised he'd kill Mallieschia, grumble grumble...
I can't believe you assumed I would field Maliesissichen without anything to hammerne. Oh ye of little faith...
21 hours ago, BrightBow said:And that whole "Don't fall in love with a thief" thing was already in FE1. Which very much set the direction for his relationship with Julian.
It's such a specific thing to warn for, too. I wonder (once again) if this is a common saying or concern or trope in Japan or if it's just the comedy of Matthis warning her not to do precisely what she did about 30-45 minutes of playtime prior.
18 hours ago, Jotari said:All this discourse is reminding me how I wish New Mystery had the courage to break from the SNES and open up who can rescue the Maidens beyond four specific characters. Why not have Matthis be able to rescue Lena? What's that? Michalis can't bare to face Maria, so much so that he'll literally let her be eaten by a dragon instead of trying to talk to her? Marth,, you love your sister, right? But I guess she can only be broken out of her hypnotism by someone who wants to give her the dick. Horace, you owe your life to Nyna, tell her how much she means to you and your country? No, only the tall handsome stranger with a mask can do it? How reductive.
Honestly, yeah. From a gameplay perspective, too, since that would make it less frustrating for a player that isn't consulting a guidebook or the internet. Like, Merric and Elice's blossoming relationship isn't exactly broadcast on the main channel.
However, Lena's reaction to Matthis should be, "Holy shit, let me make my own decision and stop messing with my life", and she can't be saved at all if you make the terrible mistake of letting Matthis anywhere near her -
13 minutes ago, Interdimensional Observer said:
Aesthetics I've heard argued isn't really amazing for Culture. Opener is nifty, but otherwise you have to basically finish the tree to get much of a benefit from it. Rationalism is arguably better some would say b/c faster Internet matters more for a quick win than what Aesthetics provides.
Well, Rationalism is better than every other tree in every situation
I guess Aesthetics is not the easiest to fill out early, since you also want the Tier 3 Broadcast Tower policy from Freedom sooner rather than later for a culture win, but I generally find that at the very least, being able to faith-buy Musicians once your base Tourism is high enough to make rock concerts worth it, is a very nice feature. And only putting four points into Rationalism (opener, Secularism, Humanism, Free Thought) isn't the end of the world, imo, so I tend to prioritise Aesthetics over those last two policies in a Tourism game.
Of course, in this game, I played Poland, so any considerations about not having enough policies are moot.
28 minutes ago, Interdimensional Observer said:Biggest city I've ever had I think. I managed to get America to ideology flip from Order to Freedom. Should've taken Order myself with that boundless Indian happiness.
Exporting democracy to the US, very nice. And with cities that huge, Statue of Liberty should be worth its weight in gold, so from a glance, Freedom doesn't seem like a bad pick.
Pop 35 in a fourth city is pretty insane, especially because India only gets Happiness bonuses and not to food production. Sounds more like an Aztec situation to me. Internal trade routes all the way would be my guess?
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@Interdimensional Observer Funny little Culture-without-Aesthetics game as Kasimir. I initially thought that, because I was somewhat boxed in by two city states, this would become a warmongering game, but I happened to get a rather decent faith income (you can see Uluru in the top center of the picture, plus Stonehenge) and both Pagodas and Mosques, so I went with a religious tourism game instead. This screenshot is from before Airports; I think Warsaw went up to ~200 with one. Victory on turn 266 and without any wars necessary to cut down any culture runaway, which I think is pretty decent.
My closest neighbor was Suleiman, who was a bro for the entire game (until he got eaten by his closest neighbor, Harald). Biggest culture civ was Hiawatha on a second continent, who ate Ashurbanipal. Always funny how one of the worst civs tends to be one of the strongest AIs. Meanwhile, me and Ramses both chilled on three cities each.
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#KagaDidItFirst wins again!
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Meet the first Matthis-slayer of the playthrough! This brave Soldier, part of the reinforcements in the upcoming fight.
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On 1/8/2024 at 11:47 AM, Saint Rubenio said:It is a proven scientific fact that all you have to do is believe in Matthis and he'll do well.
I suppose I didn't believe hard enough. Or maybe somebody believed really hard in Generic Soldier Guy. Now, Ruben, I don't want to point any fingers, but believing really hard in Generic Soldier Guy sounds like a very ruben thing to do....
On 1/8/2024 at 11:45 AM, Emperor Hardin said:No mention of the fact that he actually moves?
That caught me offguard the first time I played and I lost some units to him!I guess I just immediately assumed he would, having played New Mystery first, so I forgot to make note
On 1/8/2024 at 11:45 AM, Emperor Hardin said:Funny dialogue.
Also I'm very curious as to what translation patch this is?
On 1/8/2024 at 11:45 AM, Emperor Hardin said:I forgot to mention, @Saint Rubenio listen too, I hear its normal for older siblings to refer to their younger sibling, male or female, as kawaii in Japan.
In english, it just comes off as creepy.
On 1/8/2024 at 2:24 PM, Jotari said:I showed the original Japanese text to my girlfriend and she said he's being overprotective, but normal over protective and not "Yuri from Spy x Family" (whom if you haven't seen that show, plays this trope way passed 11 for the sake of comedy). We see Kawaii as a direct translation of cute but it can have a more broader meaning of nice or kind.
Another point in my list for arguments against direct translation. Which, I'll say again, is not something I hold against the fan translation, but something I would hold against an official localisation.
Although maybe one could argue that "cute" is an incorrect translation when other English words would catch the meaning better. But you could still change Matthis's dialogue to make him look overprotective, but not weirdly so. Like (oh god, I'm writing fanfiction again...) having him hyperfixate on Julian's criminal past and that Lena, in Matthis's eyes, is too kind-hearted to see how dangerous he is. You could even do a pretty good equivalent of whatever the miscommunication during Matt's Book 2 recruitment is in Japanese:
: "Oh, push off. I'm not running around stealing innocent girls' hearts." (Message sent: "I'm not a skirt chaser, me and Lena are genuinely in love.")
: "Then that is cleared up. Glad you're seeing reason." (Message received: "I will stop chasing Lena's skirt.")
Boom, whacky miscommunication retained, without adding the Ugh (if not Eww) that the direct translation causes.
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13 minutes ago, BrightBow said:
More specifically, he tries to stay out of attack range. Which means a pincer attack is very much required here. Which is difficult to do without knowing where that arbitrary line is drawn. Which is not great.
Since the box is so small, you can't even try to lure the Snipers away from the Bishop.
Huh, he didn't run away from Palla, who was sitting as close as possible (two left, one up from the Sniper to the left), even though nobody else was even remotely in the area. Must be some randomness or some other restriction on the movement.
6 minutes ago, Saint Rubenio said:Look at him kill the boss. I'm so proud of him.
He's trying very hard. Always giving 110%.
7 minutes ago, Saint Rubenio said:IT'S A FUCKING D
Well, yeah, D as in "deka". I know how the metric system works.
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FE3 Book 2 Chapter 5: Grust's Liberation
Spoiler
Hardin was once a companion in battle, and an irreplaceable friend. But why...? Why has he attacked Altea? What have I done wrong? Filled with lament Marth, before hurrying back to his homeland, was faced with his first challenge. Led by the corrupt General Lang, Grust's occupation army was based at Olbern Castle. Its nickname was the "Nest of Evil".
: "But Lord Jeorge's archers left to quell the rebellion. Can we win just by ourselves?"
: "What did you say!? Call Jeorge back this instant. While you're there, call that mercenary, Navarre, here. Anyway, I'll leave this to you, General Toras. I must leave to prepare the defences inside. You will stay here and guard to the death. You mustn't let them get close. Understood?"
This fight's map... has some good ideas. You have an imperfect pincer manoevre by the cavalry, which I think is a good thing in FE maps - if you're fast enough to smack the one group and then turn around to face the other, you easily pick that trap apart, but you're in trouble if you can't do that. However, here, the Cavs from the south can very easily be blocked in a one-tile chokepoint, making the whole set-up pretty pointless.
You also have a group of Wyverns lurking over the mountains, which can create a situation where you have to be careful engaging one group of enemies without getting overwhelmed by the flyer squad. But like in Ch.3, these Wyverns don't do that. The only thing they guard is the village in the top right; you can fight every single enemy on the map without stepping into their range. As a result, they just delay Marth a bit on his way to grab the Hammerne.
And then there's a couple bad ideas, too. 8 forest tiles and 3 mountain tiles if you want to move Marth from the village to the castle? Fuck off. The long, one-tile wide bridge? Annoying.
The map does look good, though, so that's nice.
[HP 50% | Str 20% | Skl 70% | Spd 90% | Lck 70% | WLv 80% | Def 20%]
In the battle preps, we get access to Caeda, who's... not terrible, I guess? She still has her overkill Spd generally excellent stats... with the exception of her Str and her Def. She has the same physical bulk at base as Cecille had in Ch.1, which is to say lackluster, and her Str is downright bad - the worst of all physical characters thus far, I think.
Now, she already had that Str issue in FE1 and Book 1, of course, but now in Book 2, her competition is stiffer. She isn't your only flyer until Minerva anymore, and I think that the Whitewings are just plain better than Sheeda, even if you didn't give them any levels until now. As a result, Sheeda is still OK - she reliably doubles with Lances, and we have a handful of Silvers - but very overshadowed by her peers.
And because I made sure that Julian starts the map in the most forward position, we immediately gain access to our secondary thief on turn 1:
: "Hey, Rickard! What are you doing here?"
: "Oh, big bro. It's been so long. Originally, I planned to earn money with you. But you had already stopped your ways. But, even if you found yourself a pretty cleric, it wasn't nice to just abandon me like that. Our love is just like that, huh?"
: "Hey! Shut up!! Don't spout nonsense like that, or other people will get the wrong impression. Anyway, you should quit your ways as well, and come with me."
: "Ha... I understand. Wherever you go, I'll follow you. Big bro Julian❤️ "
[HP 50% | Str 50% | Skl 20% | Spd 60% | Lck 40% | WLv 30% | Def 20%]
I mean, it's the same old story with Rickard. As a combat unit, he's wholly outclassed by Julian. It's even worse than in Book 1, since Julian gained more stats than Rickard (like +3 Str instead of +2). I might field him a bit more often because I want to use Julian as a fighter, but it'll always just be as a walking lockpick.
Well, here's one round of combat for him, against the most forward thief on the map.
And here's Siriüü suffering from his low Lck. Enemies on this map hit reasonably hard, so crits do hurt. Luckily, no enemy followed up on this until Yuliya found the time to heal him back up.
But... honestly, I already said most of what I think is worth saying about the map. Neat ideas, but not very interesting in execution.
: "Captain Jeorge. The commander ordered us to return to the castle immediately."
: "Lang...? I hate that guy. He treats the civilians like slaves. I'm not seriously going to work for a guy like him. Just ignore his order."
: "But, Captain Jeorge. If we do that, you will become a criminal. Captain!? Are you thinking of siding with Altea...?"
: "No, I couldn't do that... If I did that right now, my men would get into trouble. That's something that I must avoid at all costs."
: "Captain Jeorge..."
"That sounds very well thought out, if you didn't think of it before."
: "Alright, just tell everyone this. Tell them to stay where they are. However, if the enemy gets close begin the attack."
This dialogue plays at the start of the 2nd enemy phase. "Close" actually means pretty close here - the rectangle that you're not allowed to step into is much smaller than the range of the Sniper squad. However, this still means that you have to keep somebody ready to kill the Bishop behind them on the same turn Marth seizes, if you want to grab his Physic staff. Palla takes that job here - the Bishop moves around a little, and non-flyers could be thwarted by the forest tiles.
Village saved. And Knight's Crest gotten.
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The three Ballisticians have one Arrowspade (the boss) and two Stonehoists. The former only has 7 Atk (19 vs. flyers), the latter do sting when they hit, but they don't do so very often.
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Case in point.
Thank you, Matthis. I know you're doing your best.
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Here, try taking the easiest boss kill in the entire series (including Idoun) instead.
As I said, the Wyverns can then be pulled, after everything else on the map has been done. Doing so towards the south is overall easier, since there's more room to manoevre. With two bow users and two Mages, we're getting more characters that can actually hit them hard, too, so it's not a problem to pull several of them at once.
Very impressive, Matthis.
: "Oh, Prince Marth. It's been a while. How is my granddaughter, Lena? What, she's not here? Really...? Then, does that mean this Hammerne staff is useless? At least, Lena's pupil, Marisha, should be able to use it... Well, please take it."
And yoink, because I'm not interested in walking Marth back to the south of the map for the next 10 turns...
...and yoink again.
I dunno. This map isn't painful to play, nor as boring as Ch.3, but it's low-key irritating. It's better in FE12, if I remember correctly, with the enemies being a bit smarter and (very importantly) that bloody rough terrain between village and castle removed, which brings us to a 60% ratio of maps that the remake significantly improves. Shaky, I think this is your cue to point and laugh at Echoes, is it not?
: "Your highness, we've finally subdued Grust. However, many enemies are hiding inside the castle. So we must be careful."
: "Hmm, I understand. Still... If we don't defeat Lang, the citizens of this country cannot be saved."
: "That's right. He must be defeated at all costs... Yet, we don't know what dastardly plans he has prepared for us. So, if we're fighting inside, we must be extremely careful!"
The Team:
Lv. HP Str Skl Spd Lck WLv Def Res +XP Marth 6.93 25 7 9 10 10 8 8 0 +32 Arran */5.76 22 8 9 11 4 10 10 6 +40 Sirius */7.38 27 13 11 15 2 14 11 6 +82 Matthis 7.32 22 9 3 8 2 10 9 1 +221 Cecille 9.08 21 9 8 14 9 11 8 0 +77 Palla 12.39 26 10 13 16 9 12 9 6 +82 Catria 9.42 25 8 11 15 9 13 10 6 +42 Caeda 4.50 19 6 7 15 13 9 7 6 +50 (base) Ogma 8.16 26 8 14 15 5 9 9 0 +20 Julian 8.64 22 9 8 16 8 7 7 0 +42 Rickard 3.09 18 6 3 9 1 6 3 0 +9 (base) Gordin 7.78 22 7 7 6 5 8 8 0 +61 Warren 8.96 26 9 8 7 2 7 4 0 +122 Linde 5.96 21 2 6 9 9 9 2 4 +50 Jubelo 5.44 21 4 3 7 8 8 3 3 +218 Yuliya 5.34 17 2 4 7 12 8 2 5 +230- Res on Matthis! Magekiller incoming! (also two Str procs)
From Doras, we grabbed the Gemini shard, which is very strong: [30% Str | -10% WLv| 20% Def]. Some characters already have all the WLv they'll ever need (Siriüü, Palla, Catria), so they can use it with literally no downside, and even for the others - 10% isn't that much of a penalty.
On 1/5/2024 at 11:38 PM, BrightBow said:The thing is, Book 2 Medeus cannot be attacked by magic at all.
Which is a bit surprising considering not even Mage Dragons use that effect in this game. They just have their 20 Res.
Curses! Ruben can't keep getting away with this!
...by the way, Ruben, did you find anything to spend the 90k on eventually?
On 1/6/2024 at 3:38 AM, Jotari said:Ditch Lena because of my royal bias, replace her with Yuminia, remove the oddness of introducing a character only to have her kidnapped by doubling down and focusing heavily on her twin brother, not the least misogynistic choice out there, but that ship kind of sailed when the blood sacrifice of maidens became a core part of the plot.
Really, another kidnapped and brainwashed girl would be but a drop in the ocean. And it wouldn't even be an additional one, since we'd replace Lena (...being un-brainwashed by Julian) with Yumina (...being un-brainwashed by Yubello).
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1 hour ago, Armagon said:
Still not as bad as the time my Hector failed to get enough kills to promote. I went into endgame and he was a Lv.7 Lord.
That is a thing?
I would've assumed that you just get a Lv.7/1 Great Lord anyway.
45 minutes ago, Saint Rubenio said:Yes, and exactly nothing else. All you need to do is javelin that guy to death and the game is straight up over.
You also out-range him and he starts with his Iron Axe equipped, so Seth can just waltz in and Iron Sword him. Just needs Colm with a torch to make sure you don't accidentally let him attack you.
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29 minutes ago, Saint Rubenio said:
What a bad
I agree!
30 minutes ago, Saint Rubenio said:Why is this my fault? I have barely played this game! I didn't even know you had this issue!
What, you're not even reading what I write?! That's it, Malicishea murders Medeus!33 minutes ago, Saint Rubenio said:Come to think of it, yeah, that was likely what would've become of her without the rescue. As for Yubello... Honestly? Death sounds like the only plausible answer, grim as it may be.
Yumina gets shipped off to Mediuth's dinner table, Yubello is rescued a few days later by Ogma. They join up with Marth again, this time not by running into them by chance because they both want to seek out Pope Man, but because they gained some level of insight into Mediuth's plan, or maybe they even saw Gharnef when Yumina was taken away, or somebody mentioned his name... In any case, they know something (but not everything, of course, this early in the game) about the Evil Plan and Ogma figures that Marth is the man for the job of thwarting it. Before running into Marth, Yubello realises that all of his fancy magics weren't able to save himself or his sister, so he throws the Fire tome into the trash and starts training as an axe fighter.
...oh jeez, I'm starting to write fanfiction.
42 minutes ago, Saint Rubenio said:Anyway @ping Your new pfp is peak
Appreciated
I like to keep the Engage hair - or cowl, in this case - theme running.
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18 minutes ago, BrightBow said:
I suppose Yumina would have been used as the 4th priestess if it wasn't for Ogma. Since Hardin only sold out Nyna after he learned that she had the Fire Emblem delivered to Marth. Without Nyna, they would have needed someone else.
That's a good point. These events line up nicely.
From a narrative perspective, it would've been odd to come up with a new character just to be kidnapped, as @Jotari said earlier.
Then again, didn't stop Kaga with Elice22 minutes ago, BrightBow said:Yubello must have been someone else that the FE12 devs really had it out for. Sure, unlike Cecil he wasn't directly nerfed. But considering every other mage has a much higher magic stat there, him being left at a pitiful 1 magic seems like deliberate cruelty against him. Catria and Shiida start out with more magic than he does.
And they needed to give him a -2 magic base just to ensure that he would have only 1 magic as a mage.They're just advertising his true destiny.
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12 minutes ago, Interdimensional Observer said:
Now, Camus isn’t many of the above things
he’s worse, he’s a Camus. But, he is a blonde-haired man, an elite soldier, and a villain who “dies” and later becomes a hero with a thin disguise.A blonde-haired man with a fair share of black/red(/white) colour schemes in his artworks and ingame portraits. I can definitely imagine that he's very directly inspired by Darth Gundam. But of course, Fire Emblem has boatloads of inspirations and references that don't have any implications unless somebody really wants them to (I remember somebody making the argument that the names of their regal weapons imply that Eirika and Ephraim are in an incestuous relationship because the OG Siegmund and Sieglinde were). But already on the first map of the first game you have Kain and Abel, who I'm pretty sure are neither brothers nor does Kain try to murder Abel at any point, so I personally just don't read anything into that sort of thing.
18 minutes ago, Interdimensional Observer said:Thank you for this!😃🤓
Makes Freud sound a little more respectable, than just the man of Id-Ego-Superego, eggplant envy, and the Oedipus complex/daddy hate.
It also makes him seem a bit more self-important, naming himself as one of only three men who caused these big, humanity-wide humiliations.
(There's probably something to said about the eurocentrism, too. But if we keep that aspect of the list intact, we should be able to add "white folks aren't intrinsically 'better' in any way" as another entry)
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FE3 Book 2 Chapter 4: Joy and Sorrow
Spoiler
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Small stat change from going back to grab Iote's Shield: +1 Str / -1 Def compared to the previous Marth.
[HP 50% | Str 40% | Skl 30% | Spd 20% | Lck 20% | WLv 70% | Def 20%]
I also forgot to show Matthis, who might be stronger in Book 2 than ever before. No, really. His growths are unchanged, with a damning 20% Spd in the middle, but he gained +2 HP/Def between books, making him the most bulky out of the unpromoted Cavs. ...at base, at least, since Rody and especially Luke have higher HP growths. And he's also an example why Lck, despite usually being an afterthought when talking about a character, does matter when it's *too* low. It's less of a problem for Warren, who shouldn't take as many counterattacks, but I'd be pleasantly surprised if Matthew never caused a reset because of an untimely crit.
Back to the regular broadcast!
...headed to visit bishop Wendell, who once protected the children. However, the bishop resides at Holm Beach, ruled by the dreaded Macedonian Vikings. In front of Marth's path countless pirates wait him. Can they really safely rescue the children...?"
: "Yuliya, Jubelo. This place is the territory of the dreaded Macedonian Vikings. Originally, I didn't want to come here, but we must cross through here to reach the bishop."
: "Ogma, I'm scared... I want to... go back..."
: "Jubelo! Be strong, you're a man!! Remember, you can use fire magic to attack with!"
: "But Mister Wendell told me not to use it to fight with... Not that I like to fight anyway..."
: "Honestly, you're still making excuses? Right now it's just the two of us. If you don't become strong, I... I don't know what to do..."
: "Oh... Yuliya... I will try my best... So please don't cry."
: "Crap... This is bad... We've been discovered. No choice, we'll have to break through them. You two, stay close to me!"
The map! It has a ton of dead space, but I still think it's fairly decent. The "desert" in the northern part will slow down your advance but not to an insufferable degree, since you only have to walk along its edge (just imagine how bad a map that's entirely desert would be - what kind of madman would design something like that?) and split-army scenarios tend to be interesting, especially when one of the groups would really appreciate some help.
What's a bit annoying, though more of my own fault, is Kashim's village behind Ogma and the twins. Since Hammerne can only be used on weapons and staves count as items, I don't want to spend Rescue uses when I don't really need to, so Marth has to walk a lot. South to get the Shaver tome, then all the way north to Kashim, and then back south to seize. But all of that is still significantly less annoying than the previous map. At least Marth doesn't need his entourage with him.
[HP 30% | Str 20% | Skl 30% | Spd 40% | Lck 40% | Wlv 60% | Def 10%]
Speaking of Rescue - it's Yumina's personal staff in this version of the game, which already disables some warp/talk/trade/rescue/talk again/rescue again/etc. possibilities for the final map. Shame that she doesn't start with any healing staves in her inventory.
Stat-wise, she doesn't seem to be too different from Malicisheia. Better bases, with +1 Str and more Spd to make sure nothing doubles her, but just as frail and with slightly worse growth distribution.
[HP 50% | Str 50% | Skl 30% | Spd 40% | Lck 40% | WLv 60% | Def 10%]
Kinda bad base stats, not terrible, but exacerbated by a lack of a personal tome like Linde and Merric have, and without Yuliya's excuse of being a staff bot, but his offensive growths are very good. Keep in mind that other magic users tend to have 10-20% Str growths, so 50% is pretty incredible. His Spd looks more suspect, but it's helped by Fire not having any weight. He seems a lot better than in FE12, once you get over the part where he can't reclass into Fighter/Warrior yet.
Ogma gained 2-3 points in every (non-Res) stat between books, so he shares the ol' "solidly better" category with many fellow returnees. His level was increased by 5, which one could argue makes the stats/lv ratio a bit worse, but that doesn't come with any XP gain reduction, that doesn't really matter at all. So yeah, he seems solid, just like in FE1 and FE3.
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Now then, why didn't anybody tell me this? I've been complaining about not being able to see enemy ranges since the very beginning of Book 1, when all I needed to do was press any direction after selecting an enemy! I'm very tempted to rely on a Palla/Catria hard-carry just to spite two readers at minimum, if that's how we're doing this.
In this instance, the feature makes it easy to see that the two Pirates in the back aren't quite covering the four in the front, so it's not that difficult or dangerous to remove the four in the front directly on turn 1.
Fun Fact: The damage cap seems to be 99.
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Silly XP optimisation: Because Linde procced Spd after chipping a Pirate with Aura, she now doubles with that tome, so Palla trades her to the weaker Thunder.
Naturally, she then crits on enemy phase anyway.
Back to the trio in the north, about to become a quartett..:
: "Who's there? Are you one of the pirates!?"
: "I am Sirius, a traveller..."
: "Is that so? I'm sorry. I overreacted a little, please accept my apologies."
: "Those children..."
: "Something happened, so I'm taking care of them now. You know them?"
: "No... But if you're carrying the children, you won't be able to escape. I heard, from a village to the south, that the Altean army has come. Leave this place to me, and make your escape."
: "What!? The Altean army...? So Prince Marth... I understand. Thanks. But, why are you helping me?"
: "I want to help those children. That's all..."
: "Really...? So you are Sirius... If we escape safely, I hope we can meet again. I plan on killing the ruler of Grust, Commander Lang. So I can avenge a man named Lorenz. You... If you could lend me your strength... With you, I believe I will be able to succeed."
: "Hmm... Perhaps it might be interesting... However, to do that you must live. Well, get going."
I was going to nag that from Camus's perspective, it would seem very plausible that Ogma is actually kidnapping the twins. But of course,
he might also be able to see their attitude towards Ogmathis isn't Camus, but a completely different character.
[HP 80% | Str 50% | Skl 50% | Spd 40% | Lck 30% | WLv 40% | Def 30%]
In his work Eine Schwierigkeit der Psychoanalyse (A Difficulty in the Path of Psycho-Analysis), Sigmund Freud coined the concept of three Kränkungen der Menschheit (humiliations of humanity) that have shattered our collective naive narcissism:
- The cosmological humiliation: Kopernikus's discovery that Earth isn't the center of the solar system, let alone universe
- The biological humiliation: That mankind evolved within the animal kingdom, as discovered by Darwin
- The psychological humiliation: That a significant part of our psyche takes place outside of our control and even knowledge - Freud's own discovery.
Later authors expanded this list, with Gerhard Vollmer landing on a whole ten, numbered 0-9 because he considers every child's realisation that it's part of the world in it, which obviously predates even Kopernikus. However, I will keep with Freud's three in order to draw a parallel to the three humiliations of Arran:
- The Catrian humiliation: That the day of being outclassed might be fast approaching
- The Pallan humiliation: That the day of being outclassed has already come
- The Albertan humiliation: That he is outclassed even within his own profession as a Paladin.
Here, too, later works will add more, although I believe that only a fourth humiliation is widely accepted as fact by most: The Mayoonit humiliation, also known as Arran's Krisis of faith.
(Er, to tone it back a bit: I believe that in FE12, Sirius is generally considered to be very good, but not to a Sethian degree, as his personal bases aren't quite as good as those of a promoted (good) growth unit. Both there and here, is abysmal Lck base is a problem, too. In FE3, since caps are all 20s, he's probably even better, although unlike Seth, he has to compete with even more imba units.)
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I didn't intend to prevent all the Pirates from attacking, but I don't think it's a big deal. Apart from the one that crosses over, none of them threaten the twins in any way.
And that one was intended, as Yubello cleanly two-rounds with Fire, or one-rounds with a crit.
Since this part of the will be isolated from the rest, I'll stay here and ignore the main group of a bit. Pictured here is some unnessecary caution, blocking the thief without entirely blocking the village, in case he'd go aggro if there's nothing to destroy. He doesn't, and I've seen that Thief behaviour on previous maps already.
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Between Sirius and Ogma, the former is still tankier by a decent amount, so he goes ahead and murders a bunch of pirates while Ogma stands and watches. I didn't expect the second Hunter to attack from the bridge, since the +Avo from forest tiles is right there, but it's not a big difference. Only one of the Pirates would've been able to reach him, anyway.
And with that, the area is pretty much secured. Back to Marth.
: "Oh, aren't you the prince of Altea? I have heard a lot about you."
: "I heard bishop Wendell lived in this village."
: "Yes, that's right... However, yesterday, some uninvited visitors from Archanea came and took him away. Your highness, the bishop left behind a magic tome. It seems to be the type that controls wind... Please take it with you."
You'd think that the disappearance of His Holiness would've caused a bicker ruckus.
The Shaver tome has very similar stats to the basic Fire spell, except that it's effective vs. flyers (against whom it has 15 Mt) and has a 20% crit rate.
Honestly, there's nothing to really say about this theatre after the first turn. Forts are blocked in time to avoid reinforcements, and everybody is moving forward at the edge of the desert.
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The one fort further to the east, right below the pop-up, I keep unblocked for the XP. Not like we're on a tight schedule with Marth making the entire trip on foot. The Vikings spawning here carry Hand Axes - technically a bit annoying because they get an extra attack in without getting chipped down, but hit rates and damage aren't much to worry about.
At some point, I also draw the remaining generic enemies from the south. Catria (carrying Iote's, ofc) two of them, Sirius a third.
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During all of this, I try to pass around the Taurus, too, just out of principle, even though +5 in every growth isn't that huge. But, again, this map is pretty chill (some might say boring) after the first two or three turns.
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Bosskill: Not very difficult to acquire.
One of the units farming the reinforcements was Julian - since he's also needed on the final map, he might as well go there with the stats to be useful outside of that one Talk. With the 20-caps, it's not like he' a bad combat unit, anyway.
: "Ah, Marth! Sniff... Well, my mother fell ill and I needed gold to pay for her medicine. However I couldn't find gold at Talys, so I came here."
: "Really...? That's terrible... I hope your mother gets better soon. Well, goodbye..."
: "..... Please wait! My mother's illness... Er... Gold..."
: "Huh? Oh, that's right. I'm sorry. Will this be enough?"
: "Sniff... Marth. Thank you so much. You are so kind, even to a guy like me."
: "Castor... What...? Aren't you being just a little over the top? Helping people in need is the natural thing to do."
: "No, Marth! You are my saviour. I also wish to help you, Marth. Please take me with you. I will lend my life to you!!"
Looking back on our previous discussions about Castor's career as a swindler, this seems to be a point where he has started it, but still has enough of a conscience to feel bad for swindling his friends. Well, either that or he's channeling his inner Soren and is fighting the urge to kiss Marth on the mouth right here and now.
[HP 70% | Str 60% | Skl 40% | Spd 40% | Lck 20% | WLv 20% | Def 20%]
The Barts to Warren's Saji. Better stats across the board, outside of slightly worse Skl.
As usual, higher level than in Book 1, with higher stats than an auto-leveled Kashim would have. He's a bit more likely to reach Parthia WLv (12) on his own, since he gained +2 WLv despite his low growth, but it's still far from guaranteed. But apart from that small Manual-dependency, he easily seems to be the strongest bow we can get.
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Honestly, the rest of the map is just Marth walking southwards while people whack the reinforcing Pirates one by one. But people might be interested in these levels - Matthis's first, while Yubello got a worse one earlier.
And Ruben will much appreciate that Malicisheia is continuously standing in range of these Pirates. He'll be more conflicted to hear that it's all part of Yuliya's training regiment and Malicisheia is still standing at the end of the fight.
Seventeen turns. Eh, not that much shorter than ch.3, but far less annoying since most of the roster doesn't need to be moved at all after a while.
: "Marth!!"
: "Caeda!? What, even you've come here...? Could it be that something's happened to Altea?"
: "Marth... Altea... Altea was ambushed by the imperial army... After being ambushed by the Archanea, Gra and Aurelis united army, the Altean knights were decimated... Even the castle has fallen..."
(not really enough to be called a mistake, but "the united armies of Archanea, Gra and Aurelis" would sound better, imo)
: "Wh-what!? How could... Altea... Jagen, what's going on?
: "It is regrettable... What I feared the most has happened. Emperor hardin has listened to Lang's words and declared us traitors. Your highness, please forgive me. It is because of me that this has happened."
: "No, I still cannot believe it. That Hardin would attack our country. Did Hardin really believe Lang, and thought that we wished to rebel against him?"
: "No, even if that was the case, everything happened too fast. If they hadn't prepared in advance, they wouldn't have been able to attack us that quickly. The Grustian expedition was a trap they planned for us all along, as well as the rebellion in Macedon..."
(here, the block of text is five lines long, so the first has to make room for the last - not a problem for reading along, but since the patch is generally very good about avoiding this, I thought I'd mention it)
: "They wanted us to leave Altea, to divide our army's strength. Hardin had already decided upon this action from the beginning. What happened with Lang was just an excuse to attack our country."
: "No, that can't be right! So you're saying Hardin attacked our country for no reason? And everything was a trap that he set up for us? I don't believe it. I don't believe that Hardin would do that..."
: "Your highness, regardless, our country has been attacked by Archanea. Not only that, but we were ambushed without prior warning. That, to us knights, is the most dishonourable action one could take. In that case, we have no choice but to fight back with our full strength."
: "Damn, Hardin... Why... Why did you..."
: "Your highness... Caeda, what about the others? is Elice safe?"
: "Elice... She agreed to be their hostage, to allow me to escape... The others... I don't know... Abel and Est were still fighting the last time I saw them... Marth... I'm sorry. Only I escaped, but I had to so I could warn you.. So..."
: "Caeda... Don't cry. I understand. It's great that you're safe at least. I should be the one apologising. It was because of me that you experienced such terrible events... I will reclaim Altea. Even if I must fight Hardin to take it back!!"
I think I figured out who Kaga's favourite character must be - Elice. Think about it, she gets kidnapped twice, will be brainwashed the second time around, and it's practically all there is about her. I suppose Est gets captured twice, too, but without the brainwashing and it took her three games to get there.
Anyway, wimpy Marth makes a return here, but happily doesn't stick around for very long. Honestly, the brief shock at the betrayal, followed quickly by the resolution to do what is needed, even is quite in line with FE11!Marth.
Oh, and at this point I remembered that I didn't screenshot the boss's stats. 24 Atk is pretty strong, but the Lady Sword is kinda good.
Also, while I don't dislike the Generic Bandit Boss Recolour, I do appreciate Big Boy Guile in FE12 and his more memorable battle quote.
The Team:
Lv. HP Str Skl Spd Lck WLv Def Res +XP Marth 6.61 25 7 9 10 10 8 8 0 +10 Arran */5.36 22 8 9 11 4 10 10 6 +10 Sirius */6.56 27 13 10 15 1 14 11 6 +256 Luke 4.86 22 7 6 7 5 6 7 0 -- Rody 4.61 22 6 6 8 6 7 6 0 +32 Cecille 8.31 20 9 7 13 9 11 7 0 +104 Matthis 5.11 22 7 3 8 1 8 9 0 +79 Palla 11.57 25 10 12 16 9 12 9 6 +42 Catria 9.00 25 8 11 15 9 13 10 6 +62 DOGA 6.00 22 8 4 4 2 6 11 0 -- (base) Ogma 7.96 25 8 14 14 5 9 8 0 +96 (base) Julian 8.22 22 9 8 16 8 7 7 0 +222 Gordin 7.17 22 7 7 6 5 8 8 0 -- Ryan 1.42 18 5 4 4 3 5 6 0 -- (base) Warren 7.74 26 9 7 7 2 7 4 0 +190 Castor 7.00 24 10 7 8 4 8 6 0 -- (base) Linde 5.46 21 2 6 9 9 9 2 4 +52 Jubelo 3.26 20 2 2 7 6 7 3 3 +226 Marisha 1.98 16 1 1 4 12 5 1 5 -- (base) Yuliya 3.04 16 2 2 7 10 7 2 5 +104 -
Turns out I accidentally cheated
In the Fade, the game lagged a bit after I clicked a Font of Dex, I clicked a second time, and apparently, I managed to use it twice that way. I never invested in Dex, so I should be at 10 (base) + 1 (human) + 4 (# Font of Dex) = 15. Now I have 1% extra avoid, very OP. And maybe 0.5% more accuracy if I go full Aura Mage Tank and swap to a physical weapon.
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42 minutes ago, RPGuy96 said:
You know, I was going to bring up Radiant Dawn, but I think I've gone a little heavy on #KagaDidItFirst. But hashtags cannot lie.
Credit where it's due.
And considering how easy the pickings were during FE2, I don't think I'd have the right to complain about overused memes20 minutes ago, Saint Rubenio said:Yes, well. Maybe FE11 is just the best script in the series.
I think at this point, we have to specify "the best English script".
20 minutes ago, Saint Rubenio said:Heh... Fair enough. Can't hold it against you. I kinda wanna say tackle Thracia blind, though, just to see how many of its funnies take you by storm. FE4, though? FE4 is boring enough without missing all the secrets.
It wouldn't be exactly blind, I watched Dondon's playthrough years ago (holy shit, it's 7 years old at this point), plus the occasional spoiler one picks up when hanging out on a FE fan forum, but it's worth considering. I won't be caught by surprise by Thracia-fog, but I'm sure I'll scream angrily over it.
7 minutes ago, BrightBow said:She also got Nosferatu now. It doesn't have the shaky accuracy it has in FE4, so she can pretty much cheese anything with it.
It's quite heavy, but otherwise, the stats look really good on it. Doesn't seem to be buyable, though, so one probably can't go full Awakening with it.
8 minutes ago, BrightBow said:I sure hope people not dying from getting killed does not become a trend in the series moving forward.
#KagaDidItFirst, not always an endorsement.
9 minutes ago, BrightBow said:They stay put even if you kill them? That most certainly makes things easier. No need to lure them in after visiting the armory.
Healing AI overrides it and I didn't wait and see what the Wyvern would've done after healing up to full, but yeah, Palla and Catria can just kill them one by one. If Palla sets up the kill for Catria, the latter doesn't even have to eat a counterattack, so it's not too hard on the Vulns/Heals/delay to heal on forts, either.
10 minutes ago, Interdimensional Observer said:Just was reminded that I in case I haven't said it before, I wonder if Matthis was inspiration for Makalov? Cav big brothers that are pretty pathetic and share their little sis's hair color.
Matthis does even become a bit more pink on the DS, so that might be a bit of an after-the-fact acknowledgement. Makalov manages to be an even shitter person, with Matthis at least having (presumably) good, if creepy, intents, but the basic premise is similar.
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12 minutes ago, Saint Rubenio said:
These points about direct translations and interpretations are so interesting considering the ongoing conversation elsewhereAnyway, it gets across pretty well what a creepy loser Matthis is, in this version of the script. Matthis is actually way cool in the good versions, you see.
Not entirely a coincidentI skimmed over the FE3 and FE12 scripts, trying to find a Matthis that wasn't being weird about his sister's "cuteness" or her dating life. I failed in that, but I suspect you're talking about the Matthis that is supportive towards a F!Kris dating his sister? I wouldn't follow that argument, though, since "being supportive" for Matthis translates into "creepily tries to hook up her sister without her consent, with somebody she has never met" still falls under Creepy Loser for me.
17 minutes ago, Saint Rubenio said:Stop.
Nevah!
If you can't handle the Matthis Slander, you don't deserve the Easy Pickings18 minutes ago, Saint Rubenio said:Wow. Well that fucking sucks...
It was a different time. Good on them for having a better reason than "b-but the children", I guess.
21 minutes ago, Saint Rubenio said:And if you think this is bad, wait till you get to FE4's secret gear that is entirely unit-defining.
Brave of you to assume that I won't aks FEWoD about those when it is time.
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2 minutes ago, Interdimensional Observer said:
No Iote's? Not like this game is so difficult as to need it, and dismounting exists.
...I didn't know about any Iote's.
But I have to admit that I made a savestate before attacking the boss with Matthis (as he had to attack on PP to avoid throne healing and Marth also had very imperfect hit rates and fuck playing this whole map again), so... yes Iote's.
5 minutes ago, Interdimensional Observer said:I kinda like it. The huge mountain, the plentiful water, some forests. Looks to me like it'd make a wilderness preserve & resort, take a hike and go for a swim.
Battlefield? Yeah, map bad.
Pretty much, yeah. Aesthetically, Book 2 is definitely a step up again compared to Gaiden. As a playing field, too, but only most of the time.
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FE3 Book 2 Chapter 3: Abducted Princess
Spoiler
100 years ago the whole continent was controlled by the dragon tribe, who sent numerous slaves to these undeveloped forests. The slaves were forced to excavate ruins and construct the country. Many people could not find food, were forced to work, and died from abuse. Amongst such tragic conditions, finally one youth stood up. His name was Iote. He and his companions escaped from the forests and fought, riding dragons, to continue the battle of liberation.
After Dolhr's fall, the slaves established their own country at these rich and newly developed lands. And the heroic Iote was encouraged to become its first king. Afterwards the Kingdom of Macedon was feared as the land of dracoknights, and that was how it was born. However, this strong country not only lost its Prince Michalis, said to be the second coming of Iote. But now, even the 'Crimson Dragoon', Princess Minerva, has been lost.
Before the map starts, Palla enters the map from the west and meets up with Julian...:
: "I will go with them to rescue Princess Minerva. Please take Lena and hurry to safety."
: "That isn't possible, Palla. Miss Lena's gone missing... I'm not leaving just by myself."
: "Huh, Lena's also... Princess Maria has also vanished. Why are the clerics the only ones missing...?"
: "Anyway, I'm staying to search the village. So, apologies, but I can't help you rescue your princess."
: "Oh, it's alright. We should be able to save Minerva by ourselves. But Julian, although I know you're worried about Lena, don't push yourself."
: "Ah... I'm sorry, Palla. Say 'hi' to Prince Marth for me."
A lot of tonal intricacies and cultural connotations that I feel are going right over my head here. Why exactly does Julian say 'Miss Lena', but uses no honorific when addressing Palla, who also doesn't use honorifics for either of them? How nonchalant is Palla's "Oh, it's alright" in Japanese? What are the implications of her "don't push yourself" that seem to make Julian a bit flustered?
I know I've been pointing out oddities with the translation, but that is not my intention here - this being a fan translation, I understand why this is attempting to more directly translate what is there. But I felt like illustrating why, in an official localisation, I wouldn't be satisfied by a purely reproductive translation, unless it was the author's intention to make the conversation needlessly cryptic. Like, I can make guesses (for example, if I had to guess, I'd read Palla's last line as "I know Lena is special to you, but take care of yourself, too"), but even if that one was accurate, the dialogue still sounds really odd (which, again, I don't blame on Vincent or anybody who retouched these lines).
The map! It's bad. So, for those unfamiliar - the Cav not standing adjacent to the boss is Matthis. You recruit him by forcing Julian to talk to him (it seems unlikely that Julian would want to if given a choice). You recruit Julian in the top right village. So, since Marth has exclusive village utility in all the Akaneia games, you have to haul his arse all the way round the map. This map doesn't quite reach Desert Fort levels of awfulness, but it's still one of Akaneia's low points. Even New Mystery, after making some improvements upon the first two maps, just threw its arms up in the air and spent its time adding Wryf's gaiden instead.
[HP 70% | Str 50% | Skl 80% | Spd 20% | Lck 10% | WLv 30% | Def 20%]
As compensation, we get another, even more overpowered Pegasus Knight. Palla's growths are, with the exception of a her Str, stricly worse than Catria's, but that's because she already has bases so high that I wouldn't be surprised if they're endgame-ready with an insta-promotion. A shitty Spd growth is a lot easier to reconcile with if you're only four points away from the cap, *Warren*.
Just to put it into perspective: Palla has +2 Str compared to Arran and DOGA, +2 Spd compared to Catria, and her physical bulk isn't even that much worse than DOGA's (+2 HP / -2 Def). Her WLv is high enough to use the Gradivüü at base, so the low-ish growth is literally inconsequential.
[HP 40% | Str 20% | Skl 70% | Spd 60% | Lck 80% | WLv 70% | Def 10%]
Linde looks very modest in comparison, although her big Aura nuke is really strong at this point, despite all those promoted enemies flying around this early in the game already. But her base stats mostly just got a +1 increase, which isn't a lot considering that she's three levels above her FE1 self.
That is not meant as a complaint, though. Considering how much earlier she's joining in Book 2, Linde seems much more useful even with these modest gains. If anything, it's Palla who's just a tad unreasonable.
Well then, time to walk. And then walk some more.
Meanwhile, Palla moves forward to intercept the Thief (she easily one-shots)...
...and DOGA positions himself to pull the first Dracoknight from the group east of the boss. FE12, at least on higher difficulties, has these enemies (or some of them, I don't quite remember) grouped up so that this isn't possible, but in FE3, you can just pull them one by one.
DOGA DOESN'T FEAR YOUR PUNY CRITS
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So yeah, imagine these three screenshots, repeated another five times. I initially had the Steel Bow on Warren, the logic being that he's the long-term character, so he should get the more advanced weapon, but his accuracy is worse with it and he, of course promptly missed his second shot, which would've resulted in a dead Marisha. Yes, Ruben, I know, but I don't think I had a Vuln on the other three characters to replace her utility. (also, I still want Hammerne and Thief)
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Gasp!
: "Ah! ...You are... How are you still...?"
: "You thought I was dead? Haha... Nevermind."
"What do you want, an explaination?"
: "Give Minerva back to me. I don't care about this country anymore. You can do what you want with it. However, I won't rest until I have dealt with 'that guy' personally."
: "Yes... But... Princess Minerva has already breathed her last... She cannot be saved..."
: "Don't waste my time. Hand her over now, or do you prefer to die by my lance?"
: "O-okay! I understand. Hey, you, bring the princess here!"
: "Losing your precious Maria, and even being abondoned by your men. Is this really the perfect country that you wanted?"
: "Mi... Michalis... How...?"
"What, you want an explaination?"
At some point, Cavaliers start spawning from the forts in the northeast. Since you're strolling across a narrow path, these pose practically no threat.
: "Your highness, thank you for rescuing this village. We don't have much to reward you with, but please take this Silver Axe. It is a very expensive item, so it should fetch a good price in the shops."
I assume that at this point, Shaky punched a hole into his display after being so cruelly reminded of the Majilessness of this book.
A few steps further, I waste some more time trying to figure out what the heck is up with the four Wyverns flying over the big mountain. Pulling them individually doesn't work. Flying into all their ranges, which I believe is what will aggro them in New Mystery, also doesn't work.
Stabbing the first one also doesn't work, although the one stabbed Wyvern flies north to heal at a fort after this.
"If you're going to visit it, be extra careful."
Ohhhhh. Welp, guess that's some XP for Catria, then, unless we can glue some wings to Cecille's horse. How silly that would be. (just kidding, mostly - I like messing with DSFE reclassing)
Well, this one is some XP for Palla instead, I guess.
And even later, the forts are secured. I don't even know if reinforcement still would've spawned at this point. In the south, you can see Catria pulling at least one of the Cavs from that island, which is the most she can do without walking into Ballista range.
(an Arrowspade, which I forgot to mention)
: "Julian!? Even though I heard you went to Macedon with Lena, I didn't expect to see you here... Is Lena well? Of course, since she is with you."
: "Well... Miss Lena suddenly disappeared... I... What should I do?"
: "Huh? Wait, Julian, what happened?"
: "Miss Lena vanished yesterday. I heard from the villagers that a nasty-looking bishop came by. It seems Miss Lena was taken by him."
: "A bishop...? Julian! I heard Princess Maria has also gone missing. I have a bad feeling about all of this. Anyway, staying here won't achieve anything. You should come with us. I am also worried about Lena. We can help you look for her."
: "Your highness... Thank you."
The plot thickens!
[HP 80% | Str 70% | Skl 50% | Spd 50% | Lck 80% | WLv 40% | Def 30%]
Another character three levels higher than before, with appropriately increased stats. Julian gained 2-3 stats in most stats, so maybe even a bit more than just "appropriate", the only stat that increased even more being his WLv, which went from 2 to 6. This puts him only one point away from Killing Edge and Wyrmslayer rank, so that's actually a pretty significant boost to his combat ability. So yeah, he seems pretty decent for that, too, although his thief utility means that he'll often have things to do other than gobbling up XP.
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Further progress... Luckily, Matthis is carrying a Javelin, so he's rather unlikely to kill himself on anybody.
: "Hey! That was uncalled for. Why do you always keep picking on me? If you continue like this, you'll make Miss Lena sad."
: "Oh, it's Julian. Are you still clinging onto Lena? No way, I'm not handing my cute sister to a thief like you."
Ugh.
: "Don't worry... Lena and I aren't that close. I just want to help her, any little that I can."
: "Oh, I finally understand. You're really cool, Julian!"
: "Well, I... uh... never expected to hear you say that... Nevermind. If you're worried about Lena, come with us."
: "Oh, really? Thanks. I was forced to join the rebels. I didn't really want to fight. Well, 'little brother', let's join forces to find my cute Lena!"
Ugh.
Also, another example of a direct translation not really getting the point across to stupid gaijins such as myself. What exactly was so enlightening to Matthis, although I guess Julian was confused by that, too. And it gets across pretty well what a creepy loser Matthis is.
Case in (the 'loser') point.
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In two turns, with throne healing in between, Linda chips down the boss to four XP...
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...which is as perfect a set-up as Matthis can ask for.
...
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: "The Altean knights... Truly impressive..."
"As opposed to that redhead we conscripted... Complete loser, that one..."
With that, we grab our first starshard; appropriately the most boring one. Taurus just increases every growth by +5%, since naturally, Kaga did Afa's Drops first.
21 turns, most of them pretty boring. Bad map. Next one should hopefully be more interesting.
: "Jagen, how is the situation at the castle? Have they found Minerva yet?"
: "Right, about that... Although the enemy has fled, there seems to be no trace of the princess."
: "Huh, why is that? Minerva should have been taken here..."
: "Ah, your highness, General Lang appears to have arrived. I wonder what kind of nonsensical request he's going to give us this time."
(let's not linger too long before either of them figures out that there ought to be some civilians in the castle who might have seen and recognised Misheil)
: "Ah, I should have expected no less from you, Lord Marth. Very impressive. Good work. Leave Macedon to me. Your highness, you have a new mission."
: "General Lang, what is it this time?"
: "...Well... My castle was attacked, and the captured Grustian royal children appear have been taken. The culprit seems to have escaped to Macedon. Your highness, you will chase after them and bring back the royal children."
: "What!? Really, those children... They're safe... That's great. General Lang, I will not follow your orders. We're going back to our own country."
: "What did you say!? You're going to disobey my orders? So you were behind it, I knew it."
: "What? What do you mean?"
: "The one who escaped with the royal children was Ogma, the Talys mercenary. He once served under your highness, correct?"
: "I don't know a thing. But if I could, I would have done just that. Since that time, when I couldn't rescue the two, I have been deeply regretful. Even if I must fight you, I will still rescue them."
: "What, you! Your actions are treasonous! Do you want me to inform Emperor hardin about this!?"
: "Go ahead. We're planning on going to Pales anyway. We will inform Hardin and Nyna of the truth, and of your crimes. Jagen, I'm sorry, but I can no longer stay silent. I want to find Ogma, so we can rescue those children."
: "I understand. You've had to stay patient for so long. I have also reached my limits. Lang, you have constantly mocked our prince of Altea with your actions. Even if his highness could forgive you, I certainly could not. Come, draw your sword. Even though I, Jagen, am old, I will not lose to somebody like you."
: "Wh-what...! Damn, you... I will not forgive you for this!! I will inform the Emperor, and turn Altea into dust! Mark my words!"
It's good to see that push-over Marth seems to have been a very temporary phenomenon.
: "Ha... He fled fast despite his big words. He should be pretty faraway by now."
: "Jagen... You really surprised me. I couldn't believe you would say something like that."
: "You think I'm too old? Haha... Your highness, I won't lose to you youths just yet. That said. Even I, who persuaded your highness to stay calm, got into a dispute with Lang. I was too careless. What should we do next?"
: "Hmm. Well, we should go and find Ogma. If Lang was correct, he should have come to Macedon. I bet he's probably heading for the village of Wendell's residence. Even though I'm worried about Minerva, there's nothing we can do right now. We should go and meet Wendell as well."
: "Understood. But, I wonder about Lang... I hope nothing bad will happen."
Prioritising the pope over the beautiful princess. Atta boy, Marth.
The Team:
Lv. HP Str Skl Spd Lck WLv Def Res +XP Marth 6.51 25 7 9 10 10 8 8 0 +203 Arran 5.26 22 8 9 11 4 10 10 6 +82 Luke 4.86 22 7 6 7 5 6 7 0 +8 Rody 4.29 22 6 6 8 6 7 6 0 +82 Cecille 7.27 20 8 7 12 9 10 7 0 +257 Matthis 4.32 21 7 3 7 1 8 9 0 +32 (base) Catria 8.38 24 8 10 15 9 12 9 6 +196 Palla 11.15 25 10 12 16 9 12 9 6 +115 DOGA 6.00 22 8 4 4 2 6 11 0 -- (base) Gordin 7.17 22 7 7 6 5 8 8 0 +60 Ryan 1.42 18 5 4 4 3 5 6 0 -- (base) Warren 5.84 25 8 6 7 1 6 4 0 +270 Julian 6.00 20 7 8 14 7 6 6 0 -- (base) Linde 4.94 20 2 5 8 8 9 2 4 +94 (base) Marisha 1.98 16 1 1 4 12 5 1 5 +56 (base)- Very fast Cecille (only three/four points behind the Whitewings!), but with only +1 Str/HP and no Def proc at all.
- +1 Spd on Warren!
- And an empty level on Arran. I suppose I should try to not use him too much, so that he'll have more opportunity to gain starshard levels, but he's rather useful now...
Answers!
Spoiler18 hours ago, BrightBow said:It really is quite funny how we have the new and improved Katua who is so much stronger than her much later joining version from Book 1 on one side, and then on the other we have basically Book 1 Kashim, but he forgot his speed growth.
And the real Kashim has been working out since Book 1 too. The returning characters have it so much easier than any of the new faces.Can't say I hate it. For me, Warren falls into the "funny bad" category, if probably not quite as funny as Darros, and people who don't appreciate the funny can just not use him. The beautiful mess of old FE unit balance, where the jankiness is proudly carried as a badge.
18 hours ago, BrightBow said:Indeed. Because if you go into Book 2 from a Book 1 save, Marth already starts the game with the Fire Emblem. So he basically gets it twice.
Well, technically he has the icon on his status screen and uses it during combat. But it's not actually in his inventory until he gets it here. Really weird.
That's a funny little detail. I didn't even try if the save files would be compatible between translation patches. I learned in the meantime (on FEWoD) that I might miss some extra text at the end of the game, but I don't expect that to be huge additions to the plot.
18 hours ago, BrightBow said:The Girdle of Masculinity/Femininity could be much older than that. It's a 2nd edition artifact. Seems like it goes back to 1990. At least according to this wiki, which lists it as appearing in an 1990 adventure.
https://forgottenrealms.fandom.com/wiki/Girdle_of_masculinity/femininity1 hour ago, CelestialContrail said:That magic item dates back to at least 1st edition; It's listed in the 1979 printing of the Dungeon Master's Guide I have (that originally belonged to my parents).
See, learning these neat little details is what the internet should be all about. Old oldschool DnD is fascinating to me, even though I only played tabletop RPG with a German system.
15 hours ago, Jotari said:This feels relevant
So, to collect some of the Awful FE People lore thus far...
- In the Gaiden timeline, Berkut and Rinea aren't involved because they're currently playing out cottagecore tradwife fantasies. Rising stars in the Republican party.
- The Wolfguard is getting into the Alpha Male grifting business
- Anna (and Gotoh, apparently) are really big in NFTs, although I think Anna would have cashed out and entirely disappeared from the scene. If anybody managed to find her, she'd just pretend she's one of her many sisters (who all have no idea what this is all about, of course)
1 hour ago, RPGuy96 said:Ich bin dumkopfamerikaner und ich verstehe das nicht.
Umm... Knochen-Amerikaner = bone-American, i.e. @Shaky Jones, who pretends that he's the world's biggest Maji fan even though he used him even less than me in Book 1. So I assume he's heartbroken that Maji doesn't rejoin Marth's team in Book 2. Either that, or overjoyed that New Mystery added him back, and didn't even completely gut his viability like it did with, say, the Wolfguard, since they just came up in a different context.
1 hour ago, RPGuy96 said:Shouzou "balance is my passion" Kaga introduced dismounting because FE1 mounts are super overpowered, and it would be rude to ride horses indoors. And then decided to supercharge flyers in Book 2 just to keep things "interesting".
A concept that Radiant Dawn would later copy. Probably the worst showing of the Cav/Pala class line in any FE game that I've played, but the two strongest characters of the two main teams are still Haar and (more arguably, I guess) Jill.
53 minutes ago, Saint Rubenio said:Ahh, the Niles-style representation. Gotta love it...
Well, more like accidental representation. I don't think it's particularly offensive (not my place to decide, of course), but the whole Edwina sidestory is pretty much treated as a big joke. A more wholesale variant on the "man is forced to disguise himself as a woman, hilarity ensues" trope.
(The story about queer representation is that it was initially planned to be included, with one male companion being gay and another one bisexual, but because one of the writers didn't get the memo that he was supposed to write three romances and not one, the number of romances was reduced from six to four. And because at the time, the target audience was pretty decidedly "heterosexual male teenager", the ones that were cut were those two dudes, so they ended up with three romances for a male main character and one for a female one; all heterosexual.)
1 hour ago, Saint Rubenio said:Eyyyyy I know this word!
A very important word when talking about Germans.
(to be nitpicky, it's Dummkopf. We like our double letters)
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10 minutes ago, Saint Rubenio said:
My favorite FE country, Maced. Ruled by Miner. Full name Crypto Miner.
New thread: Which FE character would be an NFT bro if transferred to Earth, 2022/23?Actually, one of the Annas, probably. The black sheep of the family, maybe. Or the golden girl if she would've managed to make a killing before the bubble finally popped.
13 minutes ago, Saint Rubenio said:Good balance.
Good balance.
I mean, not that FE12 is the pinnacle of balance either, but Jay-sus.
Considering that Warren still manages to be at least kinda useful shortterm, since he doesn't have the awful, awful movement / terrain penalties combination that plagues the Archer bros... And considering that the Wolfguard in FE12 gives Wendy and Sophia a run for their money... I mean, I'm obviously not even 10% into Book 2, but the trajectory is that FE12 might still manage to be worse in that regard.
19 minutes ago, Saint Rubenio said:On 12/29/2023 at 11:18 PM, Interdimensional Observer said:FE has no such magic.
Not with that attitude
Reminds me that Baldur's Gate had a Gender Transformation
BeaaaaaamBelt all the way back in 1998, very likely intended as a funny teaching moment ("don't just equip unidentified magic items, ya dummy"), as the belt is cursed and can't be taken off unless you go to a temple and pay some money. And then BG2, in 2000, Gender Transformation Magic becomes more of a plot point in one of your companion's personal quest: He finds a magic scroll that he thinks will turn him into a powerful Lich... but it transforms him into a woman. Including voice acting for Edwin-turned-into-Edwina; although no portrait change, iirc. And since Edwin is a supremely arrogant, condescending, misogynistic shitbag, most of your other companions find his suffering to be really funny. So hey, that's trans representation in gaming two decades ago!Anyway, now you know what the proprietor of the Gnawed Noble in DA:O is a reference from. For further very important information of this category, I'll have to find an opportunity to rant about floating skulls.
3 minutes ago, Shaky Jones said:Wasn't there a discussion here a while back about this guy and the chapter overall being really tough for Kaga Era FE? Maybe I'm thinking of a separate thread.
I don't remember that, but on paper, Rumel (promoted, flyer that isn't glued to the throne, effective weapon) is pretty silly. But because you also go into the chapter with two Archers, plus Warren on turn 2 or 3, the real challenge is to correctly count to 11 so that you don't walk into his range prematurely.
Actually, without Warren, Ryan+Gordin don't even kill him in one round. And if you don't have Arran or DOGA's Steel Lance nearby, all your other characters will tink him. So yeah, he's probably a bit overtuned even with the Archer bros around, although just -2 HP would fix that.
9 minutes ago, Shaky Jones said:Whoever asked for him, I thank you. I love this guy. Just look at him.
Shaky likes the bad unit with the Maji-like hairstyle. I should've known.
10 minutes ago, Interdimensional Observer said:Better than Mercurius? Maybe? Possibly? Pass it on and see.😛
...OK, "effective against Thieves, Bandits, Pirates and Barbarians" is pretty insane
11 minutes ago, Interdimensional Observer said:YOU MEAN WOODEN SWORD.
Can I cut down the tall grass with that? -
FE3 Book 2 Chapter 2: Rebellion at Macedon
Spoiler
After the war of Darkness, Macedon was ruled by Minerva, who removed the generals, who had caused suffering to her people, and renovated the army. However, the powerful General Lykke opposed Minerva's actions. He gathered the removed soldiers to overthrow her in a coup. The unprepared Minerva was captured by Lykke's followers and Macedon fell into the control of the rebels. They then dispatched powerful dracoknights to sternly guard the country's bordering forests.
(I assume that the title card can't be any bigger, so there's no room for the -on.)
: "Lord Marth!! Great, so you are here."
: "Catria!? I heard a rebellion broke out in Macedon. Are you alright?"
: "Yes. My sister, Palla, and I managed to escape, but Minerva was captured by the rebels... Marth, please rescue Minerva! If this continues, her life will be in danger!"
: "Of course I will. Catria, please take me to where the princess is."
: "Yes! But we must break through the bordering forests in front of us... These forests are full of General Lykke's dracoknights. If we approach head on, we'll be discovered by them."
: "Is that so...? Then we will march through the left or right side. I understand, Catria, leave everything to us!"
(This structure is used consistently in Vincent's translation, but I still feel like "My sister, Palla, and I" is two commas too many)
Compared to Ch.1, this map has been changed in a more obvious fashion by the DS remake. There, the fortress and the boss are located at the very top of the map, with the cavaliers arching below them.
And like in Ch.1, I think I prefer the New Mystery version, although maybe it's the lack of QoL still plaguing FE3. With the three Wyverns covering that much more of the map, it's really annoying to move in to recruit Warren (the top left Hunter) and to kill the Thief before he escapes to the northwest of the map - but maybe this would've been much less of an issue if only FE3 had the option to view enemy ranges. But as is, I constantly had to recount the 11-tile reach of the boss and his flunkies, since you really don't want to aggro them without your bow users in position.
Speaking of "bow users in position"... Yeah, actually, let's reshuffle.
Better.
Oh, and I mustn't forget to offer the funny Knochenamerikaner my condolences for the lack of a village just east of Marth's starting location.
And here's the boss. He tanky. Since we don't have any magic users on our team at this point, the only characters that deal any meaningful damage to him are Gordin and Ryan (so there's a possible answer to the question why we needed smol Gordin). Arran, too, I guess, but he obviously wouldn't like to be ridersbaned. At least he can tango with the other two Wyverns reasonably well.
[HP 70% | Str 40% | Skl 80% | Spd 80% | Lck 40% | WLv 70% | Def 20%]
Our own nucleus for an air force might be hilariously bad vs. the Wyverns, but she still outclasses the rest of our team by a pretty large margin. Compared to Book 1, she gained 3 levels, despite joining a *tad* earlier, with stat increases equivalent to three good level-ups (like +2 Str/Spd and +3 HP).But just to compare her to the Cav squad - Catria has the same base Str as Luke and Cecille, about twice as much Spd, and more HP/Def than all three of them, too. The only stat in which she doesn't have the highest growth rate between the four is HP - 70% vs. Luke's 90%. Otherwise, she is at worst tied for best in every single stat, even though she lost -10% Def growth compared to Book 1. Oh, and when I said that she's "hilariously bad vs. the Wyverns"... I lied. Like Sheeda, she can just grab this book's Jeigan's Silver Lance, and unlike Sheeda, she only trails Arran's Str base by a single point.
But at least for now, Arran holds on to the Silver Lance and goes on a bit of a solo tour along the West Coast. He stays as far away from the enemies as possible without losing movement, to make sure that most of them go east to the main group, but he is tasked with killing the Thief and 1v1-ing one of the Wyverns along the way.
Because Rumel's two flunkies fly to the two forts left and right of the big fortress, taking a position more similar to (non-Lunatic) FE12 (and making my Wyvern reach marking on the map obsolete).
Overall, enemy movement worked out fine, with only one Cav moving towards Arran. And careful counting reveals that Warren is just outside of the boss's range, so..:
: "Warren!? Even you've joined the rebels...?"
: "Whitewing, Catria, it's been a long time. I am just a hunter. I'll do anything as long as I get paid."
: "Warren, listen to me! Princess Minerva worked hard to create a country where everybody can live and work in peace. That was the reason why she removed those worthless generals and soldiers. But, even knowing this, General Lykke provoked the soldiers into joining the coup. His only reason being because he wanted to take this country for himself. So do you think what he's doing is right?"
: "...Is that true? I don't like the army doing as they please. I understand. If you're going to rescue the princess, let me help as well."
[HP 70% | Str 50% | Skl 50% | Spd 10% | Lck 20% | Wlv 20% | Def 20%]
Seeing Katua and Warren's growths side by side is kinda funny. Although hey, he beats her Str growth by 10%! Wow!
Of course, what ruins him is his abysmal Spd. He starts with 2 AS with an Iron Bow, i.e. literally incapable of doubling anything, and that is unlikely to ever change unless he gets some help, as he is tied with Arran and Nyna (lol) for the second-worst Spd growth. Out of all the requested characters, including Arran, he's easily the one most desperately waiting for the +Spd starshard (Libra, iirc?).
Because of the second Hunter (the third running right and getting murdered by Marth and Cecille), Catria has to dismount before recruiting Warren. Unfortunately, it's not possible to talk and then attack; I believe she then would've one-rounded with her Slim Lance.
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First Wyvernrider: Chipped by Ryan and killed by Gordin. It's nice that Gordin still has perfect accuracy with the Steel bow.
Second Wyvernrider: Starting his duel with Arran. Arran's at a disadvantage, but with a single Vulnerary application, he can win this as long as he doesn't eat a crit.
The overall positioning here is a little dumb, with multiple bow users in range of the enemy, but that's to make up for the low HP on Rody and Luke, who are standing at the front.
Arran's the guy your girlfriend told you not to worry about.
No casualties. Hurray!
And enough firepower to dispose of all the remaining enemies. Marth is in range to pull the boss here, and because I'm a bit of an idiot and forget to have Luke swap him to an Iron Sword, he's about to waste two Rapier charges.
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DOGA stays behind and talks to the locals, just in case there's any interesting dialogue. In general, the answer is "no", but I thought this one was a little odd. Wasn't Archanea occupied and the royal family murderised? Is this Macedonian propaganda at work?
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Anyway, this is Altean-Macedonian bowmanship at work. Gordin and Warren deal precisely enough damage to kill Rumel without any additional help.
: "General Lykke, I leave the rest to you..."
And with that, the map is beaten. Not terribly difficult to figure out, but I still had to reset three times - once because I miscounted and pulled Rumel without any archers in range; then once because I hadn't saved after giving Arran a Vuln and he would've lost the 1v1 against the Wyvern; and then another time because of miscounting. Maths is hard.
But wait, post-chapter events!
: "Huh? ...Linde! What are you doing here?"
: "Lord Marth! It's great to finally see you. IN order to find you, I looked all over for your news. Then Macedonian soldiers captured me, and took me to this fortress..."
: "I see. It's good to see that you're safe. Coming here by yourself was a dangerous thing to do. But, why were you looking for me? Shouldn't you be at Nyna's side?"
: "Princess Nina wanted me to give this to you."
: "? ...!! That's the Fire Emblem! Isn't that the Archanea royal family's treasured Emblem shield?! But why give it to me? Right now, shouldn't Archanea be prospering under Emperor Hardin's mighty rule...?
"He invested the 90% of the royal budget into the military. That's how one creates a prospering realm, isn't it?"
: "In this peaceful age, why has Nyna given the 'Conqueror's Proof' to somebody like me...?"
: "I don't know either. Nyna didn't say anything and just told me to give it to you... I don't know why, but her eyes seemed so sad... As if she had been crying very hard..."
: "Nyna!? Why... Linde, regardless. It's dangerous for you to go alone."
"Take this Pokemon to defend yourself!"
: "After this battle is over, we will return to Nyna. Before that time comes, you will travel together with us."
: "Understood, Lord Marth!"
Hurray! ...or not, considering the circumstances.
The Team:
Lv. HP Str Skl Spd Lck WLv Def Res +XP Marth 4.48 23 6 9 9 9 7 7 0 +74 Arran 4.44 22 8 9 11 4 10 10 6 +144 Luke 4.78 22 7 6 7 5 6 7 0 +20 Rody 3.47 22 6 5 8 5 6 6 0 +71 Cecille 4.70 20 8 7 9 6 7 7 0 +96 DOGA 6.00 22 8 4 4 2 6 11 0 -- (base) Gordin 6.57 21 7 7 6 5 8 8 0 +65 Ryan 1.42 18 5 4 4 3 5 6 0 +17 (base) Marisha 1.42 16 1 1 4 12 5 1 5 +14 (base) Catria 6.42 22 7 8 14 9 10 8 6 +42 (base) Warren 3.14 23 8 5 6 1 6 4 0 +114-
Immediate Str/Spd level-up for Cecille, too, so that's a nice start.
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Serenes Forest's Teehee Thread
in Forum Games
Posted
Whoops, of course. Must be the purple border markings that she shares with Dido. I normally prefer to get my own religion whenever I get a decent faith pantheon (and I did, 6 salt tiles with the appropriate pantheon), but with Byz next door, it might be worth considering to just accept the 1034 missionaries she's going to send my way.
I don't really have Theodora pegged as particularly noteworthy in either direction, as far as war willingness goes. We'll see how she feels after the friendship dec ends.
Tiwanaku should definitely be very much in her sphere of interest.