Othin

Strategy for using Kent in FE7: Send him near enemies and watch him kill them, healing when necessary. Strategy for using Gerik in FE8: Send him near enemies and watch him kill them, healing when necessary. Strategy for using Zihark in FE9: Send him near enemies and watch him kill them, healing when necessary. Strategy for using Aran in FE10: Send him near enemies and watch him kill them, healing when necessary. Combat strategy is pressing the "Attack" command, which most of the time works out the same as if the enemy attacks you instead anyway. And playing rock-paper-scissors. It's not very interesting, and it's pretty much the same no matter who you use in those games. No, I think personal skills like in Berwick should return. Skills that give characters unique or semi-unique commands that let them fight in different ways than standard combat, and that force you to use unique strategies for each character in order to use the skills effectively, and in situations where they actually have an impact. Fast play in recent games brings forth a few additional strategies that a few characters can use effectively, and others can't. And if by "fast" you mean those "efficiency" runs, they limit your options so much that there's no reason to play the game at all. Alternate capabilities and strategies are good when they give you more ways to play through the game, not when the only strategy that matters for any given chapter is the one ridiculously complex method that lets you save one more turn, making all other strategies worthless except when you substitute nearly identical characters to do the same thing. When Sherlock uses his Rapid-Fire skill, yes, the goal is killing enemies more effectively. On the other hand, when he uses his Shooter skill, his goal is to stop enemies in their tracks, filling a support role instead, as so many other characters can with their skills. But even for characters who don't have much in the way of support skills, like Chris, the common goal of killing enemies does not make them the same. The end is important, but even support strategies are typically for the purpose of making other characters better at killing enemies. It's just how a game like this works. What matters is the means to that end. The means are where the gameplay and strategy come into effect. Perhaps this is a more illustrative and pertinent example: Axel - Pirate Skills: Swim, Search, Robbery, Pulverize, Hide Sedy - Thief Skills: Unlock, Provoke, Steal, Evasion, Search, Hide, Critical II As you can see, Axel is the most thief-like non-thief in Berwick Saga, having their Hide and Search skills, as well as the ability to occasionally take items his own way, randomly from a defeated enemy. He also has terrifying combat effectiveness backed up with Pulverize, allowing him to double his Attack power for one attack before even applying enemy Defense, at the cost of having to remain still that turn and giving up his defenses for that round of combat. Sedy remains useful not because of competing directly with Axel's combat abilities; he can't do much damage at all without a crit, but with even more strongly emphasized utility. He of course has the basic thief abilities, which are particularly important in this game with the lack of keys and his ability to take even heavy unequipped weapons, although there are other limits on doing so. Using knives, he gets an increased chance of inflicting the Injury status, disarming and weakening enemies and making them easier to cripple and capture. Provoke seems like a completely counterproductive skill on a thief, but it's used by command in Berwick Saga, making it effective if used skillfully. It certainly combines well with his Evasion skill, granting him a huge Avoid bonus until he moves, but like Sherlock's Rapid-Fire skill, requires a few turns to recharge (and like even more skills, requires remaining still on activation). This is the sort of thing that gives thieves their own role and effectiveness, rather than making them be able to do everything every other unit can do but with some bonus commands. But it's not something that can be tacked on, either. Provoke would be superfluous in a game that could easily be won with simple strategies, the Unlock skill wouldn't be so valuable in a game that provided other easy means to get doors open, and even knives help make thieves more distinct because they were specifically built for utility rather than simple combat effectiveness. It takes a lot to make a game work like Berwick Saga does, but it's worth it. As I said, it can be significant at times, but that's only half of the matter. As I noted above, giving a thief better combat ability just makes it so the only difference between them and other units is that the thief has some additional options. It doesn't give thieves and fighters separate roles; it just gives them one role to share and thieves some other abilities on top of that, making them just better fighters. And don't bother bringing up other stat advantages fighters will have. Stats are a simple matter. You either have enough to fight in melee or you don't. It's not quite so simple for ranged attackers, since they can fight without being in melee, but thieves don't have range, at least in most games. And if they have good range but can't melee, they're just better archers rather than better fighters. Well of course, you have to avoid the scenario of being forced to protect a vital but vulnerable unit. Why, that might even require strategy! Mind elaborating on some meaningful differences between FE characters and how they'd actually change your strategy notably from the one I listed above for Kent/Gerik/Zihark/Aran? I'm not sure which version of Berwick Saga you've been playing where Sherlock and Chris have any meaningful difference in their stats and availability. Their differences, as I explained, are differences coming from skills granting them entirely new commands. Each of them has at least one command entirely unique to them among all playable characters, and another command requiring careful positioning, therefore being best for characters with the additional mobility of being mounted, and they're each the only mounted playable character with that command. Almost every playable character is like this, having some unique skill or skill combined with something that gives them a distinct strategic capability other characters lack. Unique commands or near-unique commands with a unique way of using them are the ways characters are distinct from one another, not tiny statistical differences.

As the first post noted, in recent games, picking locks and stealing stuff hasn't been particularly significant. It's not enough for thieves to do some minor thing combat units can't do, or even some significant thing. Distributing roles between classes means giving thieves something meaningful that combat units can't do, and giving combat units something meaningful that thieves can't do. It also means giving those combat units meaningful things that other combat units can't do. To use Berwick Saga as an example again: From the start of the game, you get a few units. Say you're deciding whether to use Sherlock, a Horseman, or Chris, a Bow Knight. The classes sound rather similar, and they are. The most fundamental differences are that Chris has the option of using crossbows to trade range for accuracy, melee, and somewhat fixed power, while Sherlock has better effectiveness with regular bows and better ability to move through terrain. It's worth noting that Chris is one of two characters in the game able to use crossbows, and that they have certain unique effects, as does every weapon type. Another matter is skills. Chris has the Aim skill, allowing her to increase accuracy with either bows or crossbows as long as she doesn't move, while accuracy is often undesirably low otherwise. She also can keep from losing weapon durability as quickly with her Weapon Care skill. Sherlock, on the other hand, can use the Rapid-Fire skill to get additional attacks in combat, but has to wait four turns before using it again. He also learns the Shooter skill, allowing him to give up his turn entirely in order to prepare his bow, to automatically fire at the next enemy entering his range the following turn, ending their turn if they're hit. They aren't the only characters to have the skills Aim and Shooter, but they're both the only mounted units to have the skills, which becomes quite significant when giving up movement becomes necessary, to get where they need to be before that point. Chris also has a personal crossbow, the Hawkeye, and gains swords on promotion. All in all, Chris is easily the better of the two, but despite their similarities, using Sherlock rather than or in addition to Chris is not using a character worse at doing the same thing, but using a character that does a completely different thing. That is the sort of thing that makes a choice between characters meaningful, not some simple statistical difference. It's the main thing Berwick Saga has over the rest of the series: actual differences between characters.

You would prefer they serve the exact same function as every other unit rather than them being built into their own, unique role? Recent FE games are just melee, melee, melee. If a character has half-decent melee, and sometimes range to fall back on if needed, it really doesn't matter who you pick. The worst offender is FE10, where that fact makes the characters virtually identical in how you use them. It's not conducive to good gameplay.

That would be rather ridiculous. Berwick Saga has a perhaps more fair system where knives ignored enemy Def, but had pathetic Mt and only applied a random amount of the user's Str. Unfortunately, Czene and Sedy both have pitiful Str, so the only time knives without added magic damage will do more than like 5 damage on a hit is if they're used by Estobar (who has abysmal Knife Skill instead, so he has enough problems even hitting things with them) or enemy Thief or Assassin bosses, but at least it's reliable enough damage. Not perfect, but it works really well, with thieves having other abilities, and knives having improved critical and injury rates to be able to do something to the enemy regardless.

I've played some or all of every Fire Emblem game with the exception of FE1 and FE2, but including TearRing Saga and Berwick Saga (very little of TRS, though), with no translation patches, and never having any background knowledge of how to read a single word of Japanese until the past couple of weeks. I basically had zero issues from doing so until I started playing Berwick Saga, because of the lack of English information about its mechanics, and had to pretty much feel my way around the mechanics until I started using online translators to get information from Japanese sites. Even then, playing Berwick effectively blind wasn't that difficult; it's really been more of a whole new level of things to explore in playing the game. Translation patches aren't anything close to a necessity. Personally, I've never seen any reason to use translation patches even if I played the games on emulator; I haven't seen a translation patch I'd consider usable other than the FE6 one, and FE6 is only good if played while ignoring its story and as a handheld game anyway. Every existing FE4 and FE5 patch, in particular, is a patchwork abomination; I could never take a game seriously if it had weapon names listed as "Silver" or "Lightnin". Far easier on my mind to see the Japanese text and know what it actually means from background reading.

Thieves are good when they can actually steal worthwhile stuff, like in FE5 and Berwick. They also get Hide in Berwick, which helps them sneak around like they should. Also, the playable ones get Watch, which gives them other utility, and I don't think Chest Keys even exist in Berwick. And Czene actually gets the ability to ride horses on promotion, although I'm not sure whether or not she gets Re-Move when mounted.

Because of course there's a point to actually playing the game when your options are that ridiculously limited.

I've played the game up to the start of Chapter 7 so far. As a result, I can't check everything myself, but I've been using this file and an alternate file when necessary to look into everything I can. I'm not certain about everything, but I'm quite confident about the vast majority of the weapon effect translations. I've also started using this site as a second reference; it's particularly helpful in that in addition to providing the ingame description of the weapon, it gives side commentary that can help as an additional frame of reference with which to pinpoint the exact effect. It also has some information I hadn't found on the wiki, like explaining exactly how the durability system works. That said, more people checking something like this always helps, especially since I know there's information I don't have at present. So I'll send it to anyone interested as soon as I can figure out how. As for the tables, they're currently in spreadsheet form; I don't know anything about what form might make them more useful, although I'm willing to learn if necessary. Mostly my goal here is to make Berwick known well enough as a complete game rather than bits of information, explaining enough about its unique mechanics that people can understand how to play it without having to go through all the hassle I've been having to. I've certainly been enjoying this process, but I know not everyone would say the same. Current progress: Finished redoing the Knives/Swords/Blades/Maces pages, did the Breath and Support Bonus pages, and did most of the Accessories page. The one thing I really haven't been doing at this stage is the Repair column. The current pages on the site here have a column with Repair data for every listed weapon, but it doesn't seem accurate. The wiki also has a Repair column, which seems to be accurate based on everything I've checked, but unfortunately, it only lists Repair data for a minority of the weapons. Also, Repair costs seem to change based on durability level, and not knowing how it's determined from the base value unless it's broken, at which point most weapons are impossible to check anyway, it's difficult to look into data for other weapons or to verify it myself, to correct potential mistakes. @YayMarsha: The effects were just Bau Crash and the percentage heals for Area Heal and Dark Heal. It's more names that are an issue. I've found that a lot of the more plausible translations for the names differ from the ones that tend to be found other places (Kali Axe for the "Curly Axe", Grimhild for the "Cream Hilt"), but I'm still looking into other stuff. Good find for Reese's promotion. I'll see if I can retroactively figure out my current Tactics points and verify it myself, although that requires at least 9 up to this point, which I probably don't have. Edit: According to the other site: Google Translate version: Looks like that's another source verifying it.

Good find; I hadn't looked in the FAQ much. Are you sure the x2 replaces the /2, though? It looks like it's saying it just takes whatever you already have and multiplies it by x2, and it's just that in that scenario, the /2 was already negated by the other effects. I'll see about looking into this, although I don't expect great results from one file alone. It might be worth looking at odd data like number of civilian requests completed, etc. I certainly intend to do so. I'm right at the start of Ch7 on my main file and haven't gotten a promotion event yet, so I can try different things throughout the next few chapters and see if I can find anything useful. Well, there's some section that lists horses and doesn't provide any useful information. I guess I didn't look around enough to find the right one. Does the 4 movement come from the Sprint skill, or is it just a separate gain? --- Compiled all wind/fire/thunder/holy/dark magic, all bows/crossbows/ballistae/arrows, all spears/lances/forks, all axes, and all shields, although there are still a few names and effects I couldn't figure out and intend to look into more. I also intend to redo the knives/swords/blades/maces; I haven't noticed any major issues with the pages on the site, but they could still use some cleanup. Vincent hasn't answered whether or not he's even interested in using any of this, but even if he isn't, it's good to have. Of course, it would be far more useful to the development of Berwick Saga as a playable game if he is...

Ah, yes. That's something I've been wondering about, as well. I haven't looked into food much; I don't know if the wiki explains it in any detail. There definitely doesn't seem to be sufficient information about horses and resulting skills or other effects. Working on bows now, and it seems the Demon Bow has the same effect as Lightning. It definitely seems to be something about heavy injuries, but there's no % or anything... Maybe it doubles the chance? I'll work with that assumption for now. Mercy? That definitely sounds odd; I was watching YayMarsha's videos of his Berwick playthrough, and he noted the same thing about Marcel gaining +1 Move at LV15. And based on what he said, he's played through the game a few times and likes using Marcel, so I assume he'd know if that was incorrect. But we'll just have to see, I guess.

Ah, so it is indeed a Miracle-type effect. Good to know. Anyway, I've essentially finished pages for each of the characters' base stats, growth rates, skill progressions, and class changes, and a page for the elemental magics. I don't have class change requirements written up, just the benefits of the class changes, but that shouldn't take too long (and seems to fit better on a separate page). I'm also not sure what Lightning's effect is (戦闘不能確率2倍, something about heavy injury/non-combat/crippled status?), and of course, when I do get the class change requirements compiled, Reese's will have to be blank for the time being, although I intend to address that mystery as soon as I can. Anyway, if you're interested, I'll see about uploading these. I tried to upload what I had earlier, but MegaUpload got stuck somewhere after uploading the document, just like every other time I've tried to use it.

I think I understand it well enough to translate most things, at least in combination with my testing with the game. I've often found myself having to cross-reference the translated and untranslated versions, though, because of really stupid stuff with the online translator like switching the order of words or translating the same Japanese word as one thing one place and another thing another place. This was particularly an issue for skills, where, for example, it translates one skill as "Allowance" on the skill page, then on the character page, lists some characters as having the skill "Allowance" while other characters as having the skill "Go Easy". Checking the untranslated page, I was able to confirm that it's referring to the same skill (which I translated as Mercy, naturally), but it was still a pain. I have what I believe to be a complete listing of all the characters and their skills (and other key characteristics) with a decently translated, consistent name for each skill, which should be a big help in making any character guide or other relevant pages. The only thing I'm missing is one skill Aegina and Saphira have. The site lists a translation, but I can't figure out what it says, and I don't think I've seen it work. HP以上のダメージを受ける攻撃が命中したとき、命中率を-10%して再判定を行う。 According to the Babelfish translation, it seems like something along the lines of the Prayer/Miracle skill in FE4/5/9/10, but I don't want to assume anything, and it affects how I'd translate it. Edit: Currently working on spreadsheet that should basically be ready for the Learned Skills page. For now, I'm working under the assumption that the mystery skill functions as Miracle and using that name. One other issue I noticed, though. According to the wiki, Marcel gains +1 Move at LV15, which lines up with what I've heard. What seems odd is that it's an identical effect to gaining the skill Sprint, but the wiki doesn't say anything about him actually learning Sprint, just gaining the movement. So, for anyone who's played the game, do you know whether he got the skill or just the movement? I haven't been using him on my current playthrough, so I can't check for myself. Specifically, the wiki says: 移動力+1(Lv.15)、 低速Ⅱ(Lv.15→14→15) I don't know what to make of this. I've just been ignoring the second part, but if anyone has any idea what it might mean, it might help clear this up.

In FE5, you just use whatever you have on hand that has decent stats, and you tend to have a lot of Short weapons on hand. In FE6, though, it seems completely useless. Same accuracy, weaker, and 6.5 times the cost per use.

Now if only it was one of the FE games where stats other than Mt actually mattered...

On a related note, this site seems to have almost complete information on Berwick Saga's gameplay mechanics. I don't know Japanese, but with a Google Translated version of the site combined with my own knowledge and testing from playing the game to make sense out of it, I believe I can clean up and nearly complete the section of this site focused on technical information on Berwick Saga... well, rather, I can compile the stuff into spreadsheets so it can be stuck into the site. Are you interested in this?

Just as I didn't say you did, just putting it out there since it's worth taking note of.

Indeed, indeed. Although I just looked at the average stats of Ross and Garcia as Warriors, and they don't look too different. Garcia has a big lead in HP, Ross has some more Spd and a lot more Luck... Overall, though, it's pretty even. Again, the reality isn't always what we'd intuitively assume it to be.

Ah, alright then. If you're referring mainly to liking units to gain considerable Exp at any given time, that's definitely a view I can understand; it tends to not control how I play FE games much, but I've felt the same way about other RPGs.

Just don't mix up a Spear and a Lance while playing Berwick Saga if you value your characters' lives. "Oh, hey, a Lance Knight. They're the ones with the +1H weapons, right? I'll just send Elbert to deal with him. With his above-average durability, I'm sure he won't get OHKOed or anything..."

I'm not talking about overall quality, just the false assumption that Jiegans (and other prepromotes) have poor growths and/or averages to make up for their bases. And I wouldn't say Oscar is better for the last third of the game. For endgame levels of 20/20 for Titania and 20/15 for Oscar, Titania is still overall better statistically, although not by much. Oscar may still be better at the very end because of his supports, but I doubt he'd catch up until well into the last third. Again with the assumptions. Picking a random prepromote from the list, Innes has a growth total of 290, while Ross has a total of 270 - worse than Garcia in every stat except Res, which he wins by a pathetic 5. Looking at others, Dozla has 295, Duessel has 305, Syrene has 320. And checking the rest of them, Amelia has a growth total of 270 as well, while Ewan has a growth total of 275. Meanwhile, the prepromotes with the lowest growth totals are Saleh with 250 and Rennac with 275. Innes in fact has the third lowest growth total of the prepromotes with 290. So, where exactly are these mythical "growth units"? Sounds like they're just something out of the imagination of players with only the faintest grasp of the underlying mechanics of the games.

It's unwise to make assumptions. In FE9, Titania actually has equal or better growths than Oscar in every single stat. He's better if he ever catches up in level, but that wouldn't normally happen anyway. In FE10, Oscar has slightly higher growths, but even when they're both at 20/20, Titania is better overall, losing by just a couple points in HP and Luck and half a point in Def in exchange for winning in every other stat. There's nothing wrong with liking delayed gratification and using who you want to use, but be aware of the underlying facts, which aren't always what you expect them to be.

Bases alone absolutely determine a unit's stats at at least one point in the game and determine the minimum in those stats throughout the rest of the game. Growths don't necessarily determine a character's stats at any point in the game. Statistically speaking, there's no question about it.

I don't know enough about the details of FE1/3's stories to say much about that. Even if it's the case, any issues FE3 may have do not excuse FE7's problems. FE4 is another story. Out of all the games in the series, it took the most broad perspective, showing things happening throughout the continent but not going into detail. That left plenty of space and even plenty of need for another game to fill in those details, especially with regard to Manster and Thracia. FE5 certainly had plenty of reason to exist. If you know of any reasons for FE7 to be made, please say what they are. Looking at the plot, the only one I found was showing Zephiel's background in more detail, which was already covered to a sufficient extent in FE6 anyway and has almost nothing to do with FE7's plot.

Because every statement is completely literal. Yes, FE7 exists. But the series never had room for it. IS attempted to cram FE7's story into a setting where there was no place for another story. Yes, IS was physically capable of making a second Elibe game. Yes, IS would be physically capable of making a third Elibe game. But they could not make a good story for a second or third Elibe game because, as was noted, FE6 never left sufficient loose ends to justify a prequel or sequel.

Sounds accurate to me. There was no good story that could be made for FE7, therefore it didn't have one, as has been demonstrated.