Use the Falchion

...I'm going through the endings now, and I love how Chloe's ending explicitly mentions a fairytale whirlwind romance. But why should Chloe go for a Hallmark story when she can go for an actual fairytale and marry her princess, or her god? Also, F!Alear x Alfred. ...and given that Yunaka's paired ending is nonromantic due to her apparently being underage, I'll probably just ship M!Alear and Ivy, especially since her paired ending already mentions him. Maybe I'll try out that Seadall x Yunaka ship.

NGL, I'm a little surprised about Gullvieg. I knew she was popular and would probably be Top 5, but to be in first place was a shock. Congrats on Robin winning though! Another win for Awakening! And congrats on Corrin too! I like most of her art in the game, so I'm excited to see how it turns out now. I hope Kozaki draws the Brave alt for at least one of the two, and I'm curious which he'll get permission for. Soren winning means that there will finally be a Brave Alt that I will actively not pull. Huh... Looking forward, I think the next two years will probably be something like: 2024: Diamant & Felix/Alcryst); Ivy & Bernadetta 2025: Sigurd & Alcryst/Felix (whoever doesn't win 2024); Timerra & Sharena/F!Alear Overall, I'm not as excited about this year as last year, because the one person I wanted to win DID win, and now I'm just coasting. However, with Byleth winning CYL last year, and Robin and Corrin winning this year, Avatars aren't going anywhere. (Yes, this is an obvious thing to state, but I feel like it still should be stated.)

While I haven't finished the game (I have 2-3 more chapters to go), and my ships aren't usually locked down until Playthrough 3 for me and that will probably change once the DLC characters are added, I have some ones I think will stand for a while: M!Alear x Yunaka (at least for a bit) I really like their supports, and I'm partially convinced that Yunaka will be the new Marianne. Ivy is another good choice, but Yunaka means no political ties to one nation or another. (Citrinne's isn't explicitly romantic due to localization, but there are some romantic leanings in the Pact Support that I like as well. I also like the fact that Citrinne talks about dancing in her supports and I've given her Emblem Byleth so she could be my refresher. Although the Pact Ring benefits + Dire Thunder strats + an increased Crit rate and Secret Book Stats...hmm... Eh, I could do all that with Ivy as well.) Diamant x Jade. I like their supports so far. His relationship with Ivy doesn't lean romantic to me, so I think they end as good friends and peers. Although I'm not opposed to them being romantically involved either. Alcryst x Lapis. Great support, great ship, and I'm a sucker for the "Blue haired boy and Pink haired girl get together" thing. Celine x Chloe. The Knight wins the heart of the princess - it's a fairytale after all. Originally, I was leaning towards Celine x Jean, but I'm not sure that'd work out. I also have this silly and fun head-canon that after the war, the nobles see how well Alcryst and Celine get along (seriously, Alcryst is at his best in his supports with Celine) and try to arrange a political marriage, only for Alcryst to spontaneously and confidently marry Lapis while Celine runs off with Chloe for a time. Celine also has a great support with Fogado, but I can't see either of them giving up their positions as protectors of their older siblings to be with one another. (Although the Solm nobles are definitely the type of people who'd run away with their lover for a time.) Fogado x Rosado - I need to see their supports, but they seem to have a fun dynamic. Although maybe Fogado x Hortensia? I feel like Hortensia has a support with Clanne that I need to check out. Although I could see Yunaka and Fogado as a pretty powerful couple. Flirts and zany facades that hide calculating and pretty interesting facets. Ivy would probably marry MASSIVE SPOILER CHARACTER but I can't tell if their dynamic is "two wayward souls looking for redemption and finding love" or "two souls who need to see and be seen find that in each other, creating an intimate but non-romantic bond." But I also like Ivy's supports with Alfred so far. And I like Ivy's relationship with Alear so far. It adds depth to Ivy's character IMO, going from someone who was an enemy, to an ally, to one who worships you, to a valued ally, to a lover. The idea that Ivy went from being someone who worshipped Alear out of defiance to one who can now worship openly, to one who can be in a relationship with their god...I don't know, I just like it. While I gave her the Pact Ring on a save-scum file and have already seen the paired ending, I'll probably go back and romance her again on Playthrough 3, assuming I can get to it before the DLC with new characters comes out.* I also want to find a ship for The Final Character, but I'm not sure with whom yet. I'm leaning towards either Alfred or Diamant. We'll see. Those are all of my ships for now. I'm sure I'll have more by the time my next playthrough ends. *I'm guessing that the new characters will come out sometime between October and December, so I should have time. But there are other games I plan on playing this year, and I don't want to suffer from burnout with this one. So, Playthroughs 1 & 2 - Late-January - Mid-February. Playthrough 3 (hopefully they'll add in NG+) Mid-March - Early-April, or whenever the next DLC wave hits. Playthrough 4 August - September. Playthrough 5 (probably the final playthrough of the year and for some time) will be in December, or whenever the final DLC wave hits. After that, it's waiting to see what next year brings.

Nearly a week later and a few chapters away from the Endgame: Best: Alear (over-leveled, super stats, and he doesn't even need Emblem Ike anymore), Alfred (Lance/Axe Great Knight with Roy makes him unstoppable), Timmera (her and Lucina are a mainstay from now on), Diamant (the dude doesn't need an Emblem Ring, he's that strong), Alcryst (Crit Machine), Jade (her and Ike are nearly unstoppable now), Chloe (she's the true MVP of the team. She has put the team on her back since Day 1 and carried us all throughout.) Worst: Citrinne, and not because she's bad, but because she's so fragile. I made her a Mage Knight, hoping for her to be more like L'Archel, Maribelle, and even a little Elise in archetype, and she's not. That's a good thing, but I should have turned her into a Sage. Next time, I'm thinking she'll be my Sage and I'll pull the "Dire Thunder" strat with her while Anna will be either a Sage or a Mage Knight. Disappointing: No one, but I do wish Yunaka kept up with everyone else. She's not bad, but I wish she was a little better. Same with Merrin. I like and use them both, but I do wish they'd hit a little harder.

Currently playing Engage, and I'm really liking the Qi Adept classes. It makes me think that the problem isn't that a unit needs high might and magic to function well in a hybrid class, but that classes need more ways to utilize Might and Magic. Framme and other Qi Adepts use Might for the Body Arts/Fist attacks, and then magic for healing.* Since those don't cross over, Framme has a reason to need both Strength and Magic growths and stats. Maybe going forward, if there were units like this, it'd be good? For example, imagine a unit type - I'm calling it a "Bannerman" in my head for this conversation - who is able to use Strength to Aggro units or has the ability to use Shields as weapons compared to just shields, and also uses Magic or Staves to fortify themselves? Or maybe an Enchanter who can turn physical weapons into magical ones or ones that at least have magical effects, but the quality and duration of the enchantment depend on the unit's Magic/Skill and Strength/HP respectively? In these cases, you'd be incentivized to use both stats outside of just attacking and options, and it creates niches for characters to fill so we're not all using the same class or weapons. Anyways, I agree with your point regarding Fates. The Hybrid classes are fun builds, but IMO they're mostly good for the skills they offer, not the Strength/Magic combination they advertise. *This isn't new. Nearly every type of Lance-wielding class has been able to use Staves at some point or another. Very few were good at balancing the two, but they have.

Of the units I use: Best: Yunaka, Framme & Alcryst - these three are my MVPs and playmakers. Worst: Alear or Timmera, which sucks because I genuinely like her. Or maybe Jade. She's a good tank but her accuracy sucks. Disappointing: Alear - he's just so...bleh. He's strong but not strong enough to kill anything. He's fast, but not fast enough to dodge or double every enemy. His Def/Res aren't bad, but they aren't good either. He's just there, and since I'm trying to build other units, he's not even benefitting from an Emblem Ring/Bracelet right now.

NGL, part of me is regretting choosing Hard/Classic. I've only had about 30-45 minutes per day this week to play, which means that I can't get through a level without someone dying in that time. Usually, I'll end up getting halfway through a level and then having to restart it the next day. It's a frustrating feeling, not having anything to show for the time spent. But that's Fire Emblem. Depending on how NG+ works, if there is any (which I don't think there is), I may actually go down to Normal/Classic for my next playthrough so I can focus on unit builds and support grinding.

Not gonna lie, as a fan of Power Rangers, I unironically love it. Engage is such a Saturday Morning Cartoon vibe, and with major icons of my childhood dying last year. (Rest in Power JDF and Kevin Conroy), I'm totally fine with that. Anyways, I chose Hard/Classic. I usually do Normal/Classic for first playthroughs, but I wanted to challenge myself this time around, and challenged I have been!

The oft-memed but still viable option - Turn Oifey into an Avatar whose gender can now be changed. Oifey's a preexisting character, is already a tactician, and doesn't play too much of an active role until Part 2. Giving the chance to change the gender and making them an active and romanceable character in the first generation is a pretty non-invasive change IMO. What people would probably prefer - A random soldier who is named and customizable. They don't become best friends with Sigurd, but they're known and well-liked. What I'd personally prefer - The illegitimate child of a different noble house (you can choose the house, and this will grant the Avatar Minor Holy Blood of that house) who was a page of Sigurd/knight under Sigurd's father, as the Duchy of Chalphy was the only place to take them in.

Final crackpot theory before the game releases: Going off of the whole "Alear is the Fell Dragon" theory, what if Lumere and Alear were Fell Dragons in the past and defeated Sombron, the real Divine Dragon. Lumere was able to act like the Divine Dragons won, and even in the end actually came to model the aspects of the Divine Dragons themselves. Due to her change of heart, she changed Alear's personality, which had the side effect of changing their memories as well.

Weekly Arena Ticket - Vanilla Loki! I surprisingly haven't been able to pull one yet, so I'm really happy with this. Now all I need is Askr and Otr, and I'll have the vanilla forms of all of the Heroes OCs released! I decided to Spark on the New Heroes banner instead of the New Year's one (although I may use some of my reserves to get enough to Spark on the New Year's one if Askr/Embla really is as good as people say and as the TT+ made them out to be). I was hoping to get at least either Alfred or Alear before Sparking. Fortunately, I was able to pull Alfred and Chloe before Sparking for Alear. Overall, it was a good choice. All of the free tickets, two of which I haven't even earned yet, mean that I have more orbs saved for the aforementioned New Year's banner than I originally predicted.

That is a brilliant idea and you shall not be alone in doing so! Also I guess this confirms that Bond Rings from Heroes will appear.

But they didn't even try here either. They have two lance units, a red infantry sword user, and a green magic user. If they wanted to try, they could have done Alear, Aflred, Etie or Celene, and Boucheron. Or even Alear, Alfred, Celine (now as a colorless tome), and Vander.

Not surprised, but a little disappointed that they didn't do all of the older nobles + Alear as a banner. Still, this makes the most sense. You've got to sell the other banners somehow, and Firene is the first country encountered, according to the information we've been given. Not sure if I'll Spark on this banner or the New Year's one for Duo Askr/Embla.

5 Sharena, 1 Itsuki, 1 Azura. I don't think Sharena is going to win, but I thought I'd have some fun and push her forward. Azura is my one realistic hope, but I don't think even she will win this year. Maybe I'm wrong though. I'd love to be. On the guy's side, I'd find it HILARIOUS if Byleth and Soren got third or worse place this year. I have all the M!Byleth alts I could want, and Soren is one of my least favorite characters in the entire franchise, so him losing would be a good thing for me. But if they do win, it just means I'll spend the orbs on the two winning gals and Byleth, and skip Soren. Which means more orbs for other things, so I'm happy either way.

That's what I've been taking out of it. Engage is a celebration and a palate cleanser. It's a fun homage to the past while making sure the future isn't all grimdark.

I'd argue that Awakening was no different, particularly when it comes to theme and tone. Also, since Awakening is my favorite game (but I also agree that PoR is arguably the best), I'm super stoked. I don't always need super-detailed lore of every single event in history. Key landmark events are enough for me. (Which, funnily enough, Ylisse had: You had its founding, its original battle with the Fell Dragon, and the Plegian genocide nearly 10 years prior. That was enough to give us the lore, political context, and motivation among key characters for the first and final arcs of the story. I was fine with it. If I want super-detailed story lore, I'll read The Wheel of Time again or play Mass Effect.*) I'd argue that it's more important for the game to have better characters - which several previews have been iffy on - or even better gameplay, which nearly all of the previews have lauded, than to have a good story. People still hate Conquest's story, but the gameplay is praised as some of the franchise's best and still recommended to this day. People can hate on Awakening all they want, but Chrom won CYL 6, nearly ten years after his game came out. Lucina was one of the first winners. People LOVE key members of the Awakening cast. If the story is simple, so what? If the story isn't engaging (pun intended) and it's simple, so what? There will be something to love on the game, and we can focus our attention on that instead. Complexity doesn't always mean engaging or good, nor does simple mean bad. (I'm not accusing anyone in particular of this thinking, but it comes up more often than I'd want.)

Maybe it's me, but I'm not surprised by the idea that many reviewers are saying that the game is vanilla or straightforward, but I don't know why that's a BAD thing. Straightforward and simple isn't inherently bad, so long as it's done well. I haven't seen a lot of indication that it hasn't been done well, other than that it's not what the previewer would prefer (or what the audience would prefer). Sometimes you can have rocky road ice cream, but vanilla is what you want. Sometimes after a heavy dish and a complex dessert, you need a little water or a nice palate cleanser in your life. Engage doesn't seem to be advertisng as much more than it is, and I'm fine with that. I'm looking forward to some fun gameplay, nice soundtracks, and a few characters I'll learn to love. I don't think that's too much to ask, nor do I feel like expecting more than that. We just got a pretty morally and geopolitically complex game in Three Houses and a solid follow-up in Three Hopes. It's been heavily rumored that we're getting a Genealogy Remake next, and that has all the complexity one can handle. Let this game but a simple fun celebration.

Since Sharena is in the top 20, I'll probably go for Sharena one last time for Day 5, and then give Itsuki and Azura one vote each. My low-key hopes for winners are Sharena and either Gullveig or Azura for the Gals and Itsuki and Felix, M!Robin, or Sigurd for the Guys. But since Chrom already won, I'm still fine with how this year turns out.

Was able to preorder the Divine Edition from Walmart! WOOHOO! Anyways, Just a random theory based on a random theory and some potential leaks and speculation: Anyways, it's late and I need to go to bed. Don't think too much about this theory.

Malig Knight - Axe/Tome Flying Axe/Tome - Armor Edgedancer - Sword/Staff - Qi Adept Windrunner - Lance/Sword - Qi Adept Yes, these are the names of Knights Radiant Orders from Stormlight Archive BUT IF DARK DEITY CAN USE WINDRUNNER AS A CLASS NAME, SO CAN FIRE EMBLEM. I'll think of more serious DLC class options after the game comes out and I've played with the classes a bit.

So, Clanne sounds like he's voiced by Justin Brinner aka Deku from My Hero Academia. If so, I may just turn him into a Monk so he can beat enemies with his fists and legs in green once again.

Interesting! I know that Diamant and Ivy were getting shipped together a few days or weeks ago. Celine and Fogado sounds like a hoot! And Alcryst and Hortensia, I definitely want to see that support!

Going with Sharena this year I guess. Sharena really needs some love story-wise, so I think it'd be funny if she gets a Brave form before Alfonse. ...or would they add Alfonse into her Brave form just because he can't be outshined? Maybe I'll save a vote for Robin or Azura, but since Chrom won last year, I'm not too caught up in who wins this year.

I'm usually a characters > story > gameplay person, but every few games that's reversed or switched around. This may be a time where it is. Story - I just want a simple story done well. I don't care about complexity. Characters - Make them fun. I can deal with simple or complex, so long as they're likable. Gameplay - It seems to be the focus of the game, and I'm fine with that.