Othin

If keeping utility units from getting "screwed" even seems to be an issue, the reduction could be implemented purely as a part of the combat Exp equation and therefore not affect it. Also, perhaps it would be more fair if it was based around 100 Exp rather than any level gain? Since otherwise it'd really penalize units going into battle near level-up.

TRS/BS. Character-specific skills both from base and from level. Main difference is that TRS had tutoring, while BS didn't. It's both good and bad: TRS offers more flexibility, while BS makes the characters more unique. I'm personally more fond of how Berwick pulled it off: half the cast has at least one skill completely unique to them, and the other half has at least one rare skill that only one or two allies can use. The only exception, Alvina, still has four skills and a personal weapon. That and it has cool command skills like Deathmatch, Pulverize, and Rapid-Fire. And three times as many skills total.

I like this idea. Basically, anything that makes it hard to dump a ton of levels onto one character. Berwick Saga did something similar with being extremely punishing Exp-wise for having a level advantage over your enemies: characters fighting a Soldier just three levels lower would gain no Exp, no matter what. Characters can't just snatch all the kills to cap their level and tower over enemies - and perhaps just as important, maxing level doesn't mean they'll tower over enemies, because growths are too low for them to ever get that much strength.

Avatar/Robin would make most sense next to Chrom rather than as a replacement for him, but yes. Using a hood could also take out the need for the original customization options to dominate the appearance selection; far more likely, they'd just do the Wario thing with slightly different appearances for the two genders and a set of colors for each, with an added voice change. Of course, given that the main purpose would be to introduce an FE character with notably different fighting styles, such as magic, it would be complete foolishness for them to apply the Counter move yet again.

Same. I learn the names of people I talk to and work with, but I can't keep track of random other people.

Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga is a lot of fun, but it hasn't aged too well and it's extremely tutorial-heavy. If you have access to either of the sequels, I'd say they're probably better choices; in addition to being less bogged down by the tutorials, I think they're just plain more fun. Gotta learn to tune out the babies crying in Partners in Time, but it's nowhere near as bad as people tend to act like.

Honestly, I don't see a design problem with the ones that do level off properly, like Jagen, FE6 Marcus, and arguably Frederick. Valuable in earlygame, but they actually fall behind in a reasonable period of time, unlike the ones in FE7-10.

I don't know much about FE12, but it's kind of ridiculous that Bantu's even been mentioned for the other games. Growth rates or no growth rates, Dragonstone access is great, and the Archanea games are filled with units that can only dream they had any quality that good.

Wasn't the 2-RN system not implemented until the GBA games? I can't imagine why it would be in TRS. Also, I haven't played TRS enough to say, but from Berwick's wonky hit rates and how they tend to work out, I'm pretty sure it's got a 1-RN system. Not conclusive of anything, but I really don't think the Saga games ever implemented the 2-RN system. Better to assume 1-RN until indicated otherwise.

That sounds perfect; I've blocked the sensors so I can swap discs with no problem, and I should be able to use Final Fantasy Tactics for the swap. I'll try it and report back. Thanks!

That's pretty cool. Not particularly useful, but it makes a lot of sense.

I've done all those mods to get Swap Magic to work, but I have a PS2, not a PS1. In-motion swaps don't seem healthy for either the discs or the system, from other times I've tried them... Is there a way to safely use that trick to swap PS1 games in a PS2?

I'm interested in replaying this game, but as I'm not big on emulators, I'm looking for a way to play it on console this time. I have the disc, but no Japanese system to use it with. My system is an American PS2, modded to be able to run SwapMagic, which is how I play Berwick Saga. I bought Breaker Pro, hearing that it was supposed to do the same thing for PS1 games, but despite trying it a multitude of times, I had no success. My understanding is that it just doesn't work for some systems? So I'm looking for another method. Does anyone have suggestions for alternative ways of running the disc? Preferably methods cheaper than buying a Japanese PS1; those things are pricey. (And before someone asks, yes, I know I can't run patches on console; I don't use translation patches)

Donnel is the obvious choice, although Brady might be a competitor. Still, at least he can Rescue when you get him. Anyone who says Virion hasn't tried using him on the higher difficulty levels.

So while Sony's managed to thoroughly embarrass Microsoft and draw plenty of attention to that fact, those same points are just things shared with every big past system ever... including the Wii U, which is apparently the PS4's only console competition this gen.

TRS does have Narcus with the Transform skill, so maybe not too different at all beyond swapping characters around to have Xane in his place? Of course, Kaga was also planning on having an isometric view, but he held off until Berwick Saga for presumably unrelated reasons, so who knows what other plans he might still not have gone through with.

They never fixed the early EXPonential Growth release in America, so they're probably not gonna do anything about this, either. Even though it's a different "they" in this case? Probably won't make a difference.

Haven't beaten Apotheosis. I've been distracted.

Yes.

Gamble isn't risky; it's just bad. +10 Crit is nothing compared to +5 Str with axes.

Virion and Cordelia are great to have, Virion for bows and Cordelia for Rally Speed, but reclassing MU like that right now sounds like a really bad idea... I don't want to tell you to restart but you're not going to have an easy time losing a powerful mage before the rest of your team catches up. Are you using Renown? DLC? Perhaps any SpotPass recruits?

Minimal grinding is no grinding. If you want some extra Exp, though, make good use of sidequests and use the DLC the same way: maximum of one run of each map.

To clarify: the characters with universal reclassing, other than MUs, are the guest characters from previous games.

I'm sticking to my usual patterns for this gen. I already have a Wii U, as a primarily Nintendo player, and as someone who's never owned any Xbox, there's no way the One is going to change that. I have no immediate plans to buy a PS4, but I ended up getting a cheap PS2 and PS3 after they'd finished their runs, and I figure the odds are I'll do the same for the PS4 in five years or so.

Go for the Lost Bloodlines and Smash Brethren packs, at least to start. Between the two of them, you'll get both of the class-change items and a couple of neat skills, and they should be very much within your reach right now.