Use the Falchion

NGL I'm a little annoyed that you'd share the classes openly, since I felt like I was trying to avoid some of the datamined stuff. That being said, this is beneficial for unit-planning, so thank you. (Also thank you for putting spoiler tags around the other info. I won't be looking at it.) It's interesting to see Dark Bishop as a Master Class. I'm happy for and intrigued by the change. No Dark Flier or Malig Knight, which stinks but isn't surprising. (Although I AM surprised about why Malig Knight wasn't brought back at all. It was such a cool class and concept!) At least my Ashe is on the right track to become a Wyvern Rider.

Yup, and you can abuse it with the right set-up for Midori as well. Have an Elise!Midori or Mozu!Midori that has Salvage Blow from Blacksmith, Profiteer from Merchant, and Witch's Brew from Witch. Max out her Luck, pair her with someone who can boost her Luck just a bit more, and for those first seven turns you're bound to pick up at least something.

I have a few guesses or thoughts, but my two main ones are part of a Direct "don't forget this game is now out!" trailer that quickly announces a DLC before dovetailing into a potential mainline game announcement, and or with an accolades trailer, so Nintendo can advertise the game again and make an announcement. I like these! The only thing I'd add (back in from mine) would be Malig Knight, assuming it's not in the base game. I sort of want to wager a guess that since you left it out, it is in the base game, but I'm taking no chances! Yeah, the Oni Chieftan comparison was for a reference point. The class would definitely have to have a different name and vibe going on in-game. Shaman/Druid actually works really well, although part of me is tempted to make that Dark Magic because of my love of the class line in the GBA games. But that's an aside.

19 pulls, roughly 60 orbs, and no luck for the Summer banner. I usually try not to pull on banners I can't spark on, so this isn't surprising to me. I was able to pull a 4*+1 Minerva (new) and a Melady, but everything else has been Feather Fodder. (Although at this rate I'll get 950k or so when it's time to do all of the merges.) I'm stopping here for today, but I'll circle back at the end of the summer if I have enough left over. If not, there's always next year.

Got 78 Achievements so far on my Azure Gleam playthrough! I'm hoping to get to a solid 80 before Release Day. On Verdant Wildfire, I have 60 Achievements, and I'm good with that. It's a test of balance between wanting to play the game and playing so much I burn myself out before the game itself even releases.

I figured Gold Knight could count for that, even if it's more of a hybrid class in my head. Valkyrie can always be reintroduced. Maybe that's where Poe could fit in? Griffon Rider for sword, so it can balance out the Pegasus Knight's lances and the Wyvern Rider's axes. For tome, it would depend on how Dark Flier functions, honestly. Or a new class can be introduced. I'm not that picky. Yup. Magical Axe could be covered by Oni Chieftan, or a new equivalent. Bow and gauntlet I have no idea, outside of reworking Adventurer (which is basically Trickster) and War Monk. I don't know how to treat Trickster in-game; also, right now I'm not looking at any class leaks and assuming that Mortal Savant is a sword/magic class.

Hmm...maybe the Sword of the Creator is just used for crits/combos/Awakening/specials/etc and this is Byleth's main prf for the game. Or maybe it's like Shez's sword and is always equipped, as you theorize. I have no idea, but I'm interested to see!

Just some thoughts of potential DLC characters and classes. \ NOTE: This is under the assumption that no class like this or character like this will show up as playable in the base game. Scarlet Blaze - Ferdinand's half sister, as there was some unused data for a Commoner with Ferdinand's Crest and stat spread in Three Houses. In my head, the class introduced would be a new version of Basara, so a magic-wielding lance-user. Azure Gleam - A Duscur General. (Preferably a woman, but I'll take a man.) Make this character something like an Oni Chieftan (aka a magic-wielding axe-user). Azure Gleam - A child of Rufus. Rufus is a known womanizer, so I can see a kid coming out of the woodwork. (I think this is highly possible for Azure Gleam already though. But as a counterpoint, the King of Almyra may have that "womanizing father with children fighting for love and inheritance" down for this game.) This kid would be a Gold Knight.* Azure Gleam - Gwendal's daughter. I just want to see a spurned lover of Sylvain's, in all honesty. She can introduce the Dark Flier or Seraph Knight class (aka the Lance-wielding flying magic-user) if it's not in the base game. If it is, she can introduce the Griffon Rider class as a sword-wielding flying class. But if she's introduced, maybe we can get Gwendal reintroduced alongside Count Rowe, someone who has a connection with Yuri. (If she introduces Dark Flier, then a child of Rufus can have the Griffon Rider class while the Gold Knight goes to a separate character probably on Scarlet Blaze.) Verdant Wildfire - Another child of the King of Almyra who is more open to helping out the people of Fodlan. ALTERNATIVELY, Nader has a daughter, so maybe we can just meet her? Either way, the class introduced would be Malig Knight. Or both. Both is good. Verdant Wildfire - The Demon Queen of Almyra as a Vanguard or Warrior. Because why not? Agarthans - Nothing of note here, but if Thales and Kronya are playable/recruitable due to DLC, I'll laugh my head off. (I DO think that, depending on how the game goes, I could see them teaming up with Edelgard but on her terms...then again, maybe not.) A Potential Byleth Route?- Macuil and Indech. It'd be fun to see them as beast units, or just as regular units who are amazing. (Or maybe terrible but fun for lore purposes?) *I legitimately don't know how they'd function though, since I think I heard that Great Knight is in the game, and I'm assuming that will be an axe-wielding class, and Paladin/Dark Knight/Holy Knight have the lance-wielding class down. Bow Knight has the bow-wielding class down...maybe Gold Knight is a bulky sword-wielding armored cav class that can use axe Combat Arts?

No problem! I think it's the same source and same leaker in three different places: Direct Source shares pictures Leaker shares on anime Discord, which is then uploaded by someone else entirely. (With more details provided by a THIRD person.) Leaker then goes to Resetera to provide more details that the Direct Source gave. (I haven't checked this one out yet, and I'm okay with that for now.)

Here you go!

Emily Rogers talks a little more about the game. Her post reads Take what you will from this. More stuff from the person who leaked the picture is apparently being said, but I can't find a direct quote or citation, so I'm not fully comfortable posting it. Someone on the Famiboards thread summarizes that info, but again, it's not a primary source.

After a night of sleeping on it, I actually like the design a bit more and am excited to see how it fits into the game. But if these leaks do come from a real Fire Emblem game, a Genealogy remake is on its way, and Three Hopes needs an announcement about its DLC plan, I'm starting to think that we be better off with a 5-10 minute Fire Emblem Direct instead of taking up roughly five minutes of a Direct. Then again, if it shows up at a Treehouse...idk, there are too many ways this could go.

Sigh...

It never ceases to amaze me how fast fan artists can work. The artwork does look good though! It's very cute, reminiscent of the Heroes artwork when Sharena introduces a new Hero.

Someone is talking about the new leaked image and the game in a little more detail. I'm still not sure how to feel about this, but I'm going to need gameplay and more aesthetics and real stuff, because this is weird and I'm not liking how I feel about it. True or not, this is all fun to talk about though.

So, I ended up seeing all of the leaked images, including the new one. I don't hate them, surprisingly, but I find them to be exactly what I feared in a way. I've never played an Atelier game, but once I heard the rumors of Gust working on the game, I looked up some of the artwork, and I wasn't a fan. It was too...Moe-leaning for my tastes. I don't need my Fire Emblem to be as down-to-earth as say Shadows of Valentia was, but I don't need it to be more anime-esque than it already is either. To me, Fire Emblem (and especially Heroes) has had the distinct privilege of being perfectly within the anime-esque JRPG genre without it going generic, like several other Gachas, brand-mascots in Japan, and forgettable anime have gone. Maybe it was the quality of the artwork, maybe it's simply my familiarity with the genre, but that's how I felt. This...this may be a step too far. I don't know. I need to see more of the world's aesthetic, the classes, and the final artwork of the characters themselves. I will say that the massive style change amuses and delights me though. The last two times we got a style change this massive was Three Houses after Shadows of Valentia (and SoV itself after Fates), and Heroes Book 4 after Book 3 - they went from a dismal nihilistic underworld adventure that ended with them killing Hel to a freaking fairy dream world. Man, Norse mythology is a trip!

Will we see a "one more week" trailer this Friday? And if so, what do y'all think will be in it? Will it be a story trailer? A trailer that shows us characters we haven't been able to play as yet? Something else entirely? Personally, I think we'll see one because I'd be surprised if Nintendo didn't push a trailer out either on Friday or on Monday.

So the new protag's hair photo was uncovered on at least one forum and then again on Reddit, and then some YouTuber who shall not be named used another leaked character as a thumbnail on their video which I did not and will not watch.* I've seen more than I wanted to, but I still want to be relatively blind and open-minded going into whatever reveal may or may not happen. Anyways, for the protag's hair...I don't hate it. I don't like it, but I don't hate it. It just reminds me of Azura from the back, which makes me think we'll get to choose the gender of the protag but they won't necessarily be an "Avatar." Like Byleth in Three Hopes vs Byleth in Three Houses, if that makes sense. If that is a guy and that's his hair, I think maybe seeing the face and full body art may put it into a more "yeah this works" perspective. The background of the picture looks unpolished, but that's what I'd expect from an early picture that was probably taken during an early build or whatnot. I'm sure the real game - will look better. The thumbnail picture of the old man looks about what I'd expect out of a Fire Emblem/Atelier combination, or just Fire Emblem in general. It's a little more generic than I hoped for, but nothing out of place. Again, context, perspective, and a better sense of the game and aesthetic overall will help put these desperate pieces in place. *Edit: now more YouTubers are using pictures or at least the same picture as a thumbnail. Not happy.

This makes sense, if Emily is right, since she backed up Nate the Hate, who talked about an FE4 remake before the February Direct IIRC. (It was before Three Hopes was announced, he talked about a new mainline game this year and a Genealogy remake next year.) I'm staying away from the pictures, but I just found out! Man, this past week has been good to Fire Emblem fans. Heck, these past 24-30 hours have been great! Even if none of it's true, it's always fun to have leaks, rumors, and speculation to base discussion off of, until the real thing comes out, and we get even more stuff to speculate on. I have no other major thoughts at the moment, but I'm excited to see how the leaks and rumors ultimately resolve themselves for this one!

Kinda salty over this one, pun partially intended. I love Dimitri and like Edelgard, but I was really hoping there'd be a banner where Claude doesn't need them, since he has all of the same alts but the Fallen Heroes one, which makes me feel like he deserves an alt the other two don't have. And Edelgard and Altina?! Of ALL of the Heroes that Edelgard could have a Harmonic with, they chose ALTINA??? Didn't Altina already have a Harmonic with Sanaki? If that was the case, then I guess I may be able to see my dream of a Tharja/Azura or Tharja/Dorothea alt someday. I'll pull for the House Leaders, since Claude is my favorite, I love Dimitri, and I already have every other Edelgard alt. But CYL is still my priority.

Fortunately

I'm having a LOT of fun with Mercenary Lysithea. I put her in this class so that she can go the Mortal Savant route and so I can have at least two sword users if I can't/don't recruit any more characters, or I miss the chance to do so. Pegasus Knight Leonie is still a blast. Humorously, my Priest Ingrid didn't get any Magic from her final two level-ups, leaving her a little weaker than Mercedes and Annette, but still fun to use. I should probably put her in the Cavalier line in a bit, just in case Holy Knight needs stems from that line. (I imagine some of the Master Classes will actually stem from 2 or 3 Intermediate/Advanced Classes, but with Weapon Class still meaning something, I think just be cautious and prepared is a solid way to go.) Again, I'd still prefer Dark Flier for her, if it's in the game or if its DLC, but I haven't looked at the leaks for that answer and don't want to know. Well, it looks like Mage Sylvain, Mage Dedue, and your priest recommendation may be next on my list of fun builds to try and grind out! ...I think I have enough Intermediate Seals to try them out...maybe...

I mean I just saw it not ten minutes ago! I'm...torn. From how Emily describes it and from what Nate said months ago, I'm not really feeling it, but I'm very willing to see how it looks before I judge it. I do think that it's an interesting approach and a good way to do what Heroes did for the crowd that either left or for those who don't like the game. However, there are some interesting and alleviating tidbits, as some have noticed: There are a few more, but I need to go. Lastly, I'll say that if the game has been done for over a year, then I'm a little curious as to why IntSys and crew have been sitting on it. 2021 would have been a great time to release a new FE in 2021 and to give fans a nice break before coming back to Fodlan. I guess they didn't want people to forget about Fodlan? If they've been sitting on it for over a year, what have they been working on since? And assuming Emily and Nate are right, will we see this new Fire Emblem soon? EDIT: Just a thought I had while I was out: What if this game leads into a proper FEW 2? The main premise of the game seems to be something ripe for crossovers, Nintendo and now more specifically IntSys have a good working relationship with KT, and Three Hopes - assuming it does well - may set up a pattern of doing a mainline game and then a potential Warriors-style spin-off/sequel down the line. Doing so with this game may be the perfect way to have a sequel to a potentially popular game while also providing fans with what they asked for all those years ago. Two birds, one stone. But those are MAJOR hypotheticals that depend on information we don't have a speculation we can't really verify. But that's part of the fun of speculating responsibly.

That would be the dream! It could be an 8-month rollout as well, although a 12-month rollout is acceptable as well. (The placement of a new mainline FE game should be taken to account if it was to be released this year, but it's nothing major.) June - Game releases. (A June/Summer Direct can introduce the DLC packs in the "don't forget about this game!" trailer that will most likely happen.) August - History Mode or something similar added, as you note, assuming it's not in the base game. (If it is, then we skip this one) September - A Direct that introduces new DLC stories and characters for the game. October - The DLC story and character expansion releases. December - New costumes (great to use if promoting a new game as well, by having character skins of the new protagonists instead of introducing all of the new characters.) February - Final DLC that introduces several or all of the FEW characters into Three Hopes. Give us a silly crossover campaign, some new supports, a few costumes (because if we don't see the warriors characters in Garrag Mach uniforms, we riot; and what was the point of the Plegian costumes in Heroes if we don't see an alt of Dorothea in her Plegian dancer garb?), and call it a day. This can be introduced in January on its own or in February as part of a potential Direct with an "available now!" at the end. Tharja and Marianne would be a fun support, with the gloomy black-dressed dark mage supporting the troubled but light-blue dressed priest. (She's more or less console Marianne about her fear of her Crest, not unlike what she did with Azura.) Lysithea would be taken under her wing and she'd be a big sister to her (much to Lysithea's annoyance but appreciation.) Tharja would also have a fun support with Dorothea, because Tharja seemingly befriends dancers. Claude and Lyn of course would have a lot to talk about, as would Dimitri and Xander. (Xander would be disturbed at what happened to Dimitri in the past and what he did in the Demo, while Dimitri would understand Xander's hesitance in his own situation but urge him to do what was best for the country when he returned.) Leo would get along with Annette...far too well, probably. Ryoma would be Glen 2.0 to Felix, much to his annoyance and relief, because now he has someone he can talk to and spar with. ...and I should probably stop because I have other things to do today...

I hope so! Good points. I'm still using the magical classes and having a decent amount of fun, but not as much as I feel I should or would like to. Priest Dimitri is hilarious and super fun though, if only because I get to spam Thunder. So far to me they've felt more or less the same, but I'm also VERY new to Warriors games in general, so a lot of differences I simply don't pick up on. To me, they have the same sort of basic attacks and movements, and ultimately a similar spell list. I'm positive they're not the same as you say, but I just don't feel much of a difference at this time. It's just going to take time with me to see, experience, and appreciate the differences, and that's what the game is offering. Cyril has a timeskip design, an interesting backstory, and a few cute supports and endings, one of which is with one of the most popular girls in the game. Not to mention he's roughly in the same age group as most of the cast. That's not to say that Hanneman and Alois don't have interesting backstories or good supports because they definitely have great ones, but Cyril has a little more going for him to make him memorable and a fit for the cast in a way that Alois and Hanneman sort of struggle with. Granted, all three are pretty forgettable IMO, although Alois is was made for a Warriors game.