[OUTDATED] Fire Emblem: Dream of Five

[Thor Odinson]

It's not in route A

I stuck mine on Kolbane for most effective axing shitheads in the face and usually I get good Kolbanes and his item comes earliest so he's the first to promote anyway

[Wayward Winds]

Hah, there's the...

...10B Master Seal! I wonder what it was doing there of all places... (Not that I can say more to confirm I actually do have it, seeing as I know my head will roll if I even hint at the location...)

Now I'm scratching my head over how it...

...can be on the same tile in 10A, seeing as I don't remember a way to actually get there. Unless you've pioneered a way of letting enemies pick up items, in which case it'll be a case of "Be a good enemy and move over there... Thank you, now say hello to Mr. Javelin!"

Oh well, I'll figure it out next time I run through Musain.

To be honest though...

...I'd have hidden it on certain other tiles. There are a trio of "Fence" tiles surrounded on three sides by "Wall" tiles that have no reason to ever be visited; they are dead ends that can only be landed on by flyers and don't actually put you in range of enemies. Namely tiles F16, J16 or R6 (where letters are the horizontal axis, running left to right, and numbers are the vertical axis, running bottom to top).

...Wait, why am I suggesting ways to be more devious?

Edited July 10, 2013 by Wayward Winds

[AstraLunaSol]

The only reason I put it on that tile because it's kinda annoying to get, just like 10A's.

[Wayward Winds]

Fair enough. I was just surprised when, ready for a long and tedious sweep, Juan landed on it on the first turn of actual searching. Again, I'm not elaborating because I know you don't want the location spoiled.

Up to 12B now (via 11Bx, yeesh the boss of 11B was hard to reach when simultaneously raiding all chests and protecting Katrina. Thank goodness for Draco riders and their high defence!), liking the idea of a chain of objectives. I just hope there's a door key in one of those villages or the vendor, because Chester's lockpick is running out of uses... (Unlike Musain, there seems to be a distinct lack of thieves to relieve of their lockpicks in Onduris. Maybe they've all finally been executed for trying to rob the royal vaults again... (EDIT: No, wait, there's one in Ch. 14B. In the Royal Treasure Vault.)

UPDATE

...And that’s 14B completed, so I guess it’s time for feedback. You’ve already got half a million character stat screenshots, so I'll forget about that (mostly) and concentrate on the chapters. In detail. Feel free to shudder.

Note: I’m using white text for certain speculation or information a little too close to revealing bits of the plot, so if you see a supposedly empty spoiler or random blank bit in the middle of a section, then try highlighting it. (Unless you happen to be a newcomer who hasn’t actually reached that point of the hack yet, in which case, don’t.)

Prologue to Chapter 6...

Overall: I actually really enjoyed the obligatory early game bandits. You’ve made the Darkwraiths complex and with ties to the overall story, with plenty of internal politics too. Pity they’re only around for four chapters really (not counting the remnants popping up in Ch. 4). In fact, I wouldn’t mind seeing them show up again in the late game (say, as one last remnant seeks revenge on Farrel (or an underling), coincidentally becoming temporary allies of Renair (a tiny band of green units that get slaughtered in gameplay before her band can even get close).

And then we had the escape segment, where you actually manage to repeatedly justify why “we can’t just talk to them”, with each defeated boss only fuelling the next battle.

Prologue: Ouch! It bothers me that two sword users can’t double any of the axe users, despite at least one of them being a class known for its speed. The double trouble of a malicious RNG that consistently makes 40% hits, and a general lack of units for your side makes this rather tricky... until Asher shows up to solve the HP issue. Then it settles down a bit.

Ch. 1: Amelia was next to useless until she got to the Vendor and picked up a Fire Tome, seeing as the RNG was repulsed by the idea of actually landing a hit with Thunder (Lightning never strikes the same place twice? Too right it didn’t!). I do like the idea of Pegasus Knights being able to use swords, even the downside means that Falco Knights are no longer so appealing when they give improved stats and nothing else.

...I was half expecting to take a different way over the wall though. Rather than Ilanice just hopping over and opening the gate, I was somehow expecting to be using her as an airlift service, one unit at a time. But that would probably be too tedious, wouldn’t it..?

Ch. 2: ...I’ll admit, this was the first map that I outright enjoyed the design of. Rugged terrain gradually narrowing down into a chokepoint, and yet still offering a fair few tactical options. Although I have to wonder why villagers in the houses are babbling on about the weapons triangle when we clearly should know it to have gotten this far... This was also where I finally accepted that I needed to attack each enemy with a pair or trio of my own units, seeing as only Chester and the Queen of Fragility Ilanice could actually double. It’s better for it though, gives it more challenge that means everyone actually grows at a similar rate. Although I hate to think how difficult it was before you introduced Asher to the hack...

There was one little nuisance, likely an intentional one on your part. The ambush spawn mercenaries that appear behind Chester, immediately move just into his attack range, and then he turns around and gets himself slaughtered (Yes, I was letting him come to me on that run. On later runs I did the smart thing and sent Ilanice to collect him after picking up the Ranseur).

World map: It looks kind of crude at this stage. Now, this isn't a complaint, because the further you get the more you see, and the more you realise that what it really looks like is hand drawn. Just as you'd expect a map in this setting to be. And personally, I prefer hand drawn to sterile machine work.

...I find Varkade sort of suspicious. Almost like he knew more about the Darkwrights than he let on...

Ch. 3: Again, this chapter was harder before? And I thought the archers guarding the entrance hall (one with a longbow) were tricky enough... As for splitting the party, uh, no. Even if I was expecting a thief to pop up and start ransacking the chests (where was he by the way? You’d think that some rat would have had the sense to leave the sinking ship, taking whatever treasure he could on the way out...). But I liked this chapter. Nice and complex, not attempting to baby you in the early game as many hacks do (Seriously? Won’t most players already be Idoun/Fire Dragon/Formortis slayers, i.e. competent, before they reach the hacks?). And then there was Crowe’s amusing recruitment speech with Renair, and I’m sure you’ve had enough people gushing praise over that CG scene...

Ch. 4: ...So why did Lia choose to help us over the Aukeman army, when we clearly have a bandit in our ranks? Not that I’m complaining mind you...

I like the new Soldier sprite, although I’m not sure it’s more dangerous looking full stop. The original Soldier struck fast and accurately, but looked very flimsy, the new one is slower but... I wouldn’t want to be in front of him. He (or she, when Seren comes along) has momentum.

As for Driscoll, it’s a good idea to make him the only Fighter with that battle sprite, makes him more unique. Apart from that, this was a fairly average FE map.

...Again, Varkade. He seems so certain that there’s no point trying to talk. Maybe he has some sort of history with Farrel...

Ch. 5: I’ve already stated my approval for the ‘reach your turn limit = say hello to Mr and Mrs stupidly overpowered’, so I won’t go into detail on that. I do like the new Knight sprites (is that Archanean armour?). The old design was a bit laughable... even if it was tearing you a new one. Now it actually looks threatening. No new General design yet, but a look at a certain one of your preview screenshots suggests that will be changed soon as well.

But... were those Darkwright character sprites popping up with the reinforcements? I know they’re generic portraits, but wouldn’t it have been better to use standard Aukeman soldier portraits? Just in case idiots like me get the impression that the Darkwrights are now working for the Aukeman army?

I also manage to finish this one with about seven turns to spare, taking the long way round (past the shops) and not moving all too fast either. Perhaps a slightly shorter turn limit?

Ch. 6: Well, Juan’s fellow Draco Knights are suicidal. After they flew straight into the heart of the Longbow and Ballista enemies, I was lucky to get two of them to survive the level. So if there was a bonus for saving them all, I didn’t see it.

This Chapter’s design was good overall. I remember having a rather poor first impression, but then I took a closer look and noticed the Valley of Death we’d be funnelled through (or along the eastern wall of), lined with longbow (and poison) archers, Ballista and with plenty of close quarter support. At that point my opinion abruptly changed and I decided it was a well designed map.

...The fortune teller states to rush this map, for there will be enemies nipping at your heels (which makes sense considering we’re virtually at the border and fleeing from the country with all haste). So, of course, Garath gets rearguard duty with Katrina... and does absolutely nothing. Turns out she lied. No doubt that was intentional as well...

Route A, Musain (Chapters 6x to 14A)...

Overall: I really enjoyed Musain, nasty as it was with regards to my inventory. Its plot seemed more fluid with better twists, and it had more interesting setpieces. That isn’t to say I disliked Onduris, but I discuss that more down in the relevant section. And Musain’s characters were, in my opinion at least, more interesting. The unusual hairstyles may have helped, they seemed less standard FE fare and more unique.

Anyway...

Ch. 6x: I bet no one entered this one for the first time with both Renair and Garath well prepared! To be fair, the preceding chapter was a long one, and the limited inventory they’ll likely be bringing does mean the new characters get a chance to show off. But the Boss is just mean. A Harvester/Runesword on an Assassin? This early? And then the *BEEP* went and stood on a pillar, and I couldn’t even hit him! The fact we’re reliant on potions for healing doesn’t help. This is the point where Dream of Five takes the kiddie gloves off... but at least you feel great when you finally manage to clear the level... and then you see half your inventory saunter off. (Oh well, at least it’ll come back in the next patch).

...This chapter also shows that one area where the GBA FE falls down is that it doesn’t have an option for factions among enemies. Why would the Looters not attack us again? (I saw a similar issue in A Sacred Dawn DX, where the entire Renais and Grado armies take time out from their battle to attack you and only you. That was really pushing the bounds of credibility.)

Oh, and one last thing. I know Eclipse is taking over writing duties, but please, please, please leave Gareth’s “Who wants to be my friend” line in. In fact, Gareth’s always good for a laugh.

Ch. 7A:

Not much to say for this one. Anna’s room is a nice little bonus for those of us who think there’s something suspicious about a locked room with nothing in it. And I didn’t have any real trouble with the Sage boss (goodness knows how, because I believe plenty of others did). The constant fire effect was interesting, if a little distracting.

Ch. 8A: Interesting setpiece number one; while you’re trying your best to survive, there’s a large scale battle raging away up north. I hope you’ll try this again later, because in my opinion it really adds to the impression that there’s more to the war than your little corner of it. Although I doubt many people ever head straight for the rebel leader anyway, who wouldn’t want all that experience?

It’s a good thing you’ve given a shop and armoury for emergency weapons, but I had virtually no cash by this point so they were next to useless for me. This is arguably why Seren had the chance to become such a monster later, because I was forced to use her now. But, you may want to give her, say, a gem worth about 1000 (would that be a new item? Say, a murky gem?). That would give a little more leeway for those of us with limited resources... then again, those of us with limited resources should either use Seren/redistribute her weaponry to Juan, or shift ourselves up to the rebel leader ASAP.

Also, I'm probably the only one, but I had trouble at first realising that the rebel leader was talking to a Musain soldier. The portrait made me think he was abusing one of his own rebels for cowardice or something.

...Last, I’m a little unsure whether marking the bonus objectives for side chapters is a good idea. As I said, most people will head for the boss anyway, and this isn’t really a stupidly obscure condition (unlike, say, the ones in Last Promise or the infamous FE7 HM19xx). On the other hand, it does leave people with more incentive to test themselves.

Ch. 8Ax: Okay, the lack of a preparations screen bugged me, but you’ve already said you’ve fixed that for the next patch. I did like how Garath goes from suicidal “Come and get me” to more subdued, and eventually perking up when Kolbane gets to talk to him. Difficulty was fine, with enemies choosing varying ways to get to me as I moved my main force through the level, but there were quibbles. That Berserker lurking in the dark near the boss finds it easy to massacre nearly anyone, and I have no idea where the Ancient Lance was (there was a conspicuous house, but no one could visit it). Next time, I’m doing a more in depth search. Still, keeping Chester trained pays off when you notice what the boss was carrying...

Ch. 9A: One chapter that everyone seems to enjoy, even if it caused so much strain on my inventory that I’m kinda surprised someone didn’t desert. Having pairs of your units pop in from every which way kept me on my toes, and really serves to reinforce the idea that the rest of your team were out searching for the wayward Renair. The fact they get more characterisation as they arrive only sweetens the deal. Pity Kolbane and Garath start so far from where the boss eventually pops up, but I’m not complaining when the level was just so memorable. That’s interesting setpiece number two if you’re wondering.

Ch. 10A: ...Where the heck is that Master Seal? (Don’t answer!).

The two named rebels are an interesting idea, considering they don’t actually join you. Again, it helps suggest there’s a greater war going on than the bit you’re fighting. There goes the idea of keeping them alive for recruitment...

Flooding the level with enemies after eighteen(?) turns is a good way to make your players panic though. I can’t remember if the fortune teller alluded to Maythunder or not, but it was IMO a little easy to miss. Some hint somewhere?

Ch. 11A: ...What was all the fuss about this chapter? It forces you to be tactical, let thief number one (on the right) come to you (for Chester to relieve of his lockpick, heh heh), and quickstep up the left to intercept the other one before he makes off with the gold (Being careful not to agro that Soldier carrying the gem). The lack of visual hints to the location of the poison jets was the only thing that really bugged me.

And River and Annelise have some interesting designs. Considering they both turn out pretty good, I’m not upset about being forced to use them.

Ch. 12A: This map reminds me of the one in FE7 where you face Jerme, just a lot more complicated. Another Anna room (harder to notice than the last one considering it borders the edge of the map), and the collapsing tower kept things interesting. I’m curious about the other cracked wall in the top right though, that seemed to be there for no other purpose than to distract us...

In general though, good map to force you to think tactically (and wonder how so many cavaliers come up those stairs, would that be the stables by any chance?). One suggestion though; fix Enjolras and Melissa’s C-rank support for the next patch. Because it seems to trigger nearly straight away, it’s one most people will likely get.

Ch. 13A: Okay... weird screen tearing glitch whenever the twins spoke as you advanced, or for the second convo, the advancing unit just kept flying (Anelise) off the top of the screen, reappearing where she was supposed to be, then repeating. Both issues fixed after the scene was over, but it was distracting. The first in particular made me think the twins had managed to make their madness manifest in the map.

Other than that, interesting, but the thieves are no threat – they spawn too late and you’ll doubtless have gained both chests by the time they leave their rooms (at which point they stop moving and don’t even attack adjacent units). I’d say to adjust their spawn points or times, but they do admittedly let other units out of the rooms as well (but a door key would work just as well).

Ch. 14A: I much preferred this to 14B. It was open, and often had enemies coming at you from several directions at once. And the story was epic. I can’t help but think that one enemy thief was too few however, he only spawns on turn 14 and takes some six plus turns to reach any of the chests, by which point you’ve had plenty of time to get in his way and make preparations to lift his lockpick. Still, I can’t say this chapter lacked difficulty in general... especially when I found two of the bosses bearing down on me (although not at the same time, thankfully). That siege tome in range of Katrina did not make the opening rounds any easier.

...And oh look, Varkade finally pops up again. And just where have you been for the last five odd chapters?

And we finally get to meet Stolypin, mystery man number one from all those unedited supports...

Route B, Onduris (Chapters 7B to 14B)

Overall: I’ll be honest, route B didn’t grab me as much as route A. The story was more of a ‘get from A to B’, and seemed a bit like filler. Gameplay and map design was great throughout, but only when the politics of 11xB and onwards kicked in did the plot start grabbing my attention. The difficulty also seemed a bit less constant, with early chapters being relatively simple and later chapters throwing way too many Glass weapons your way.

Ch. 7B: Interesting level design, if a bit constrictive where tactical positioning goes – it was essentially just one long chokepoint. But it did look like a border crossing. Also in its credit, the boss was actually fair... providing you don’t dawdle and let Farrel pop up at your rear.

Ch. 8B: Saving all of the villagers is a hassle (I know, it’s meant to be). It’s the nearby ballista that proves the final straw, meaning that you have to do some hasty movement, use Garath for rescuing seeing as he’s one of the only units who can soak enough hits to survive a turn while so encumbered, and hope the RNG is feeling generous. And then you leave all bow users back at base for later wyvern slaying, and that slows the rest of your advance down. This level... kind of drags. It’s a long way to go, enemies aren’t too much of a threat, and there isn’t much scope for alternative strategies. It’s about the only Do5 chapter I can think of that I feel that way about.

Ch. 9B: I covered this one in detail a few posts back, so I’ll keep this one short. It looks hard at first glance, but the difficulty is almost entirely tied up in the opening enemies. Clear them out quickly (as I did in about 4/5 turns) and you’re left with two predictable reinforcements per turn. That’s not difficult. Maybe adding a third (e.g. another Soldier or a Mercenary spawning near the boss) to help bump the difficulty back up?

Ch. 10B: Wait, the NPC pirates are supposed to die? Uh, no, I still had three right to the end of the level (the NPC archer on the other hand hit the deck on round 2, the Bloody Axe wielder more than made up for him). And Balder is a beast with Lienn backing him up.

If I’ll be honest though, while I liked the level design, this chapter didn’t really give me any real trouble (bar a certain couple of swordmasters).

Ch. 11B: Inari...has a nice battle sprite. Almost better than the male Mercenary, given it seems more... detailed. Pity she doesn’t like getting speed (strength on the other hand). Hmm... she looks similar to Amelia. Almost as if they could be distantly related. But they don’t seem to have Supports together, so that’s probably just me...

This was however, probably the most enjoyable ship level I’ve ever played in FE. Obviously there’s little scope for variation of scenery in such levels, but nonetheless each ship managed to look unique. I’m just glad it wasn’t a requirement to get everyone back on board ours for the end of the chapter. The difficulty promptly leapt up a cliff for this chapter, given the time limit and the ‘necessity’ of raiding all of the chests with one little thief. If I hadn’t diverted my fliers to form a rescue/give/take/drop chain, then I’d probably have failed to finish in time. As it was, I had one turn left... and then the rain started, making me paranoid that you were about to do something nasty...

Ch. 11Bx: ...I’m starting to cringe whenever I see an enemy Halberdier (Or Sentinel), they always seem to get a critical on me!

What, no enemy thief? No reason to rush the level? Okay... This is where Glass weapons start popping up seriously, and they are not a welcome sight when nearly every enemy seems to be packing one. Sure they only have five uses, but you’ve probably killed them by then. Might slightly higher than steel weapons and weight way down so they keep on hitting, yeah, that’s a difficulty spike. Hopefully you’ll let us buy them later, just so we can give the enemy a taste of their own medicine for a change...

This is also where the story starts picking up again, getting back into a more convoluted plot that holds the attention. But I can’t really discuss that...

Ch. 12B: I have no issues with this chapter, beyond more glass weapon abuse. I’d have liked more than two objectives, but this is only one map and by that point people would probably be getting fed up of it.

Ch. 13B: Still no enemy thieves? Seriously? We’ve had one lockpick, one set of chest keys, and even with a Vendor selling door keys one chapter back, Chester’s lockpick is looking pretty shaky by this point. Plus, it effectively allows you to turtle should you so choose (I didn’t, but then I didn’t realise about the lack of thieves until much later on).

On the subject of Jinsei, yes, you need to stop people from being able to steal his Alch’s Glove. This is way too early to be passing over an Iron Rune analogue, even if you do need to break his sword to do so. I get the impression we might get Zephyr ourselves later, so making it unbreakable is probably not the solution. I was surprised, given the name, that it didn’t have bonus damage against fliers as wind tomes do...

Other than those gripes, we do still get plenty of tactical opportunities here.

Ch. 14B: (Drumroll) Finally, an enemy thief!

In terms of each enemy compared to equivalent ones over in 14A, this chapter might actually be tougher to advance than such. Of course, that could be the Glass weapons again. On the other hand, it suffers a similar problem to 7B in that it’s mostly one long choke point. It’s not particularly tedious though, at least not in my opinion.

The stairs are a good idea, but it would have been nice to have some sort of visual clue that you’ve stepped on the right ones, because stopping and not warping across to the treasure room until the turn is over just prompts the reloading of a save state. On the other hand, I like that the really obvious stairs in the bottom left (the ones surrounded by the fancy tiling) are not the ones you need to step on. So there really is no need to rush to the extent you might think you have to in order to beat the thief.

I did prefer Ch. 14A’s story to this one in that it felt more climactic, but they are really just climactic in different ways. Here you’re essentially fighting your way through the enemy’s last stand, there you essentially have the enemy’s trump card to deal with.

Glitch wise, using the stairs occasionally made the chests change appearance to grass tiles... or black spaces (just the appearance, they still worked as chests). There was also a little chaos architecture when a character warped back, random tiles appearing off the east side of the map. This fixed itself when moving the view to the left, apparently deleting the glitch area and returning the map to normal.

I’ll say, while the soul of 14A gave out more information, the soul of 14B was a more interesting concept.

Miscellaneous bits and bobs...

>If there’s one issue I have about the hack’s difficulty, and the apparent changes where you’re making enemies stronger and more accurate... none of my characters (bar Juan, Arcus, Bellona and Seren) have defence into double figures. They already rely on dodging to stay alive. I personally don’t see what’s wrong with the Exp gain at the moment; why do we need to gain levels faster when we’re only just getting promotion items? And why do we need to promote before we’re even halfway through? Unless you plan on somehow introducing tier three promotions, fiddling with the EXP is likely just going to lead to a whole load of 20/20 characters at, say, Ch. 24. Out of 32(?). Hardly leaves much room for raising enemy capabilities beyond say, Ch. 27. As for lower levelled characters, River at level 12 polishing off an enemy yields something like 2.5 times as level 16 Gabriel against the same enemy (I’m estimating, but that’s how it works for me).

>Okay, now just something I’m curious about. Why is viewing Renair’s journal optional? It’s not exactly long, and anyone who doesn’t like it can just press ‘B’. Or ‘Start’ if they really don’t like reading anything story related (which is unfair, considering the effort that has clearly gone into the script).

...

...Do we get a reward later for being studious or something?

>I’m impressed with the Shadow Dragon music included here, modified slightly as it has been (I will never get tired of hearing the Do5 version of Liberation). Hopefully you’ll put A Hero’s Destiny in later as well, that was one of my favourites from Shadow Dragon...

>I also like how characters, once recruited, keep popping up for odd scenes here and there – e.g. Crowe acquiring money from Seymour. Much better than leaving characterisation for the Supports.

>Hmmm... I see another character. Glitch mode (‘Ch. 19’) reveals ‘Saskia’. But whether she remains a thief or that’s just leftover data from Legault (with a new portrait, name and character description) is up for debate.

>In general, might I request you lower the number of Glass weapons later on? Constantly being rushed by a brigade of them almost feels ‘cheap’. If it’s mostly limited to late Onduris then I don’t mind, we can just pass it off as a local speciality, but I’d personally rather be massacred by Bloody or Titanium weapons than those things for the rest of the game.

And I’m stopping there, because, frankly, you’re probably sick to death of me by this point... At least you won’t hear from me again until the next patch comes out. For the record, I'm playing using GameBoid instead of the usual VisualBoyAdvance, so I'll be able to point out any issues with using it on that emulator.

Edited July 14, 2013 by Wayward Winds

[eclipse]

Thanks for the feedback! I did some reworking of Onduris' story, so hopefully it'll feel more interesting. If anyone else has any story feedback, please let me know!

(and yes, I kept THAT line from Garath)

[X-Naut]

I've played through this hack a few times on both routes and I've enjoyed it. The cast is well-balanced, the difficulty is great, the sprites look excellent, and the plot is good. It's nice to see random units pop up from time to time to put in a quick word, it gives more life to the cast than the typical GBA FEs do. Speaking of which, here's my thoughts on them:

Renair: Despite being yet another sword-wielding female lord, she's actually a decent fighter without heavy reliance on her Prf. She doubles just about everything and backs it up with decent damage, and the Gold Edge is great for when she needs that extra oomph. I also like that she can take two hits unlike Lyn or Eirkia.

Kolbane: High-risk high-reward as far as growing goes. He can be one of the best units in your army or benched for life depending on whether his Str/Spd/Def growths offer him returns. Sword-lock hurts when he has to compete with Renair for the good swords, but at least he has good CON, unlike some other GBA mercs...

Garath: Great Jeigan unit, he never feels overpowered and is great for chipping or soaking up damage. Greatbow is clutch at times, and his adequate Str/Spd growths can extend his lifespan.

Asher: Decent early-game healer, he's not that great but he serves you well throughout the length of the patch. I like how you gave E Light to priests, it gives them something over troubadours and something to do when they're not healing, although that's not often...

Amelia: Has a rough start, but once she gets a Fire tome and some speed she grows into a glass cannon and one of the few units that can reliably one-round enemies. Tomes having FE6 level weight is a boon for her. Not bad with a Heal staff once she promotes either, and mine tend to get more Def than they should.

Ilanice: Even worse start than Amelia (At least Thunder actually hurts!), but once the Darkwright arc is over she improves dramatically thanks to her Ranseur. She doesn't need much to reliably ORKO cavs (knights aren't worth it unless it's an emergency) and swords mean she isn't helpless against axes. She does have Def issues, and I've had some that would not grow a single point...

Chester: It seems like there's always something for him to do, be it stealing items or opening doors and chests. Combat isn't that great but it's usually enough to keep taking the occasional kill and he can support a few units.

Crowe: Hey, it's a useful archer! He could get a longbow earlier, but he's still good for chipping and has some fine offense on his own right. Low defenses aren't a bid deal, but his hit rates and kind of shaky if he's not using iron. Also I like his dark sense of humor, gives me a laugh every so often.

Lia: Great healer, great support bot, sometimes an item caddy. Pretty slow for a troubadour but that's not a bid deal when you're not fighting. Her Light chip after promotion is also respectable.

Driscoll: Best non-Garath foot unit IMO. His asymmetrical bases/growths work out very well: if his Spd grows well he becomes a ORKO machine, and if it doesn't he still 2HKOs almost every unpromoted enemy. Both routes are lance-heavy, and he has plenty of CON to use the heavier axes too.

Gabriel: He's pretty one-dimensional when all he can do is Flux, but he does it very well. 2HKOs everything unpromoted, and one-rounds the occasional armor knight. Probably an even better healer than Amelia on promotion, and while he's slower he can usually survive one round of combat.

Juan: Great physical tank, flat out amazing in Onduris if he's Spd blessed (like mine so far). Normally won't double much but he still deals respectable damage with a lance and takes physical attacks better than anyone else. Swords users can't touch him and get ripped apart by Partisan, although he does face hit issues. Not as great in Musain, but still helpful during the escape mini-arc.

Arcus: Even better physical tank than Juan, and much better against mages since he OHKOs them with Ramvirus. Promoted units give him trouble since they could double him (especially the magic sword Paladins), and he does need a Holy Water to tank magic extensively...

Seren: Really helpful during the escape mini-arc and with her growths she can continue that way through the rest of the route. It's no surprise people promote her over the cavs when her stats are so solid on average. Kinda wish she had supports though...

Enjolras: Needs a point or two in Spd to get going but once he does he's fantastic. Easily replaces Amelia if she's falling off but still very good if she's growing right. Maythunder sniping is clutch on promoted mooks and bosses.

Marius & Feuilly: Both are decidedly mediocre but I can understand they might be too good otherwise. I usually end up using Feuilly because he's faster, but Marius has that nice durability lead, maybe he'd shine if he got the Zoran Water. Training Lance is great to help one of them get going.

Annelise: Finally a Pegasus Knight with good durability! She's still prone to getting 2HKO'd by stronger enemies but so is everyone not named Garath/Driscoll/Juan/Arcus. C Swords is neat but sadly not that helpful in Musain, at least she has the rank to use the Ranseur and once axes start showing her sword rank should become useful.

River: Haven't used her much, but it seems like she'll be a better Flux nuke than Gabriel. Now if only she could take a hit...

Melissa: ...Is she supposed to be that tall? Her ponytail doesn't fit in the portrait box all the way! Anyway, she's probably the worst healer because she doesn't get good stavesto use her rank and has the worst Mag, but at least her Light rank doesn't blow! Shinebolt helps make up for her Mag deficiency.

Seymour: Just like Eliwood he usually turns out mediocre, although lances help differentiate him from the other swordies and Gladius is a wonderful Prf. Same situation as Annelise as far as weapons, but at least there's more axe users in Onduris and he has Gladius.

Chase: It's impressive that he doesn't immediately outclass Crowe like archer vs nomad usually plays out, that lower Str makes a big difference. But if Crowe's not turning out well he makes a fine alternative, and with all the dracoknights using both isn't out of the question. He relies heavily on the Bloody Bow to do damage at first, though.

Karen: Pretty vulnerable to the RNG because while she has great growths they're all around the 40-60 region barring Def, but at least she can use Physic off the bat. I often rotate the three healers in and out during Onduris.

Kanus: This is the only character I feel doesn't stand out much. His combat starts out very mediocre and can be match or even surpassed by Juan, he isn't remarkably durable (swordsmen can actually hurt him and double him), and if you want another lance user you get another dracoknight the same chapter. His only notable quality is "lancer that isn't weak to bows," and we already have Seymour.

Bellona: Have yet to use her extensively due to Juan and Ilanice filling my flier needs, but I can see her perks: better accuracy, higher Spd base, and not as weak to crits. Maybe next time...

Balder: He has some hit issues and slightly weaker CON, but he's still an acceptable substitute to Driscoll and has the perk of promoting to Berserker. I love how you can promote him with the Bladed Crest instead of needing a separate item.

Inari: B Swords is nice for using the Dracoslayer and the Kris she comes with, but other than that I find her superfluous when I already have several other sword users and units competing for the sole Bladed Crest (Master Seal usually goes to a flier). She also joins the chapter before enemies' Spd jumps 1-2 points for the rest of the route.

Vixenk: He has everything a myrmidon needs and is a great last-minute addition if you desperately need someone to stand up to the late Onduris bosses. (And even if you don't desperately need him, having another fast unit still helps when doubling is out of the question).

Adrian & Lienn: Not as easy to fit into the team when there are already so many good units, but when you have an extra slot and nobody to fill it they make a fine choice. I've found an occasional niche for them, such as turning Brielle into a joke.

Some other thoughts and questions:

-Seconding that in some points the constant streams of reinforcements offer no difficulty and only pad out the chapter. It's fine in some places like 9B and 11B, but in others larger, more spread-out appearances would be better.

-Why do the Dracoknight reinforcements in Chapter 5 have triple the Luck everything else has?

-Wait, there's an Ancient Lance in 8Ax? I hope the prep menu includes a mention of this, otherwise most people are going to pass it up. (Is there one on Route B as well, and if so around what point?)

-I know double WEXP upon killing is gone, but do any weapons still give more than 1 WEXP? I feel like none of them do...

-I noticed a few character bases in the stat calculator are off by one or two points, like Driscoll's Spd and Marius/Feuilly's Spd/Str respectively.

[AstraLunaSol]

I've played through this hack a few times on both routes and I've enjoyed it. The cast is well-balanced, the difficulty is great, the sprites look excellent, and the plot is good. It's nice to see random units pop up from time to time to put in a quick word, it gives more life to the cast than the typical GBA FEs do. Speaking of which, here's my thoughts on them:

Renair: Despite being yet another sword-wielding female lord, she's actually a decent fighter without heavy reliance on her Prf. She doubles just about everything and backs it up with decent damage, and the Gold Edge is great for when she needs that extra oomph. I also like that she can take two hits unlike Lyn or Eirkia.

Kolbane: High-risk high-reward as far as growing goes. He can be one of the best units in your army or benched for life depending on whether his Str/Spd/Def growths offer him returns. Sword-lock hurts when he has to compete with Renair for the good swords, but at least he has good CON, unlike some other GBA mercs...

Garath: Great Jeigan unit, he never feels overpowered and is great for chipping or soaking up damage. Greatbow is clutch at times, and his adequate Str/Spd growths can extend his lifespan.

Asher: Decent early-game healer, he's not that great but he serves you well throughout the length of the patch. I like how you gave E Light to priests, it gives them something over troubadours and something to do when they're not healing, although that's not often...

Amelia: Has a rough start, but once she gets a Fire tome and some speed she grows into a glass cannon and one of the few units that can reliably one-round enemies. Tomes having FE6 level weight is a boon for her. Not bad with a Heal staff once she promotes either, and mine tend to get more Def than they should.

Ilanice: Even worse start than Amelia (At least Thunder actually hurts!), but once the Darkwright arc is over she improves dramatically thanks to her Ranseur. She doesn't need much to reliably ORKO cavs (knights aren't worth it unless it's an emergency) and swords mean she isn't helpless against axes. She does have Def issues, and I've had some that would not grow a single point...

Chester: It seems like there's always something for him to do, be it stealing items or opening doors and chests. Combat isn't that great but it's usually enough to keep taking the occasional kill and he can support a few units.

Crowe: Hey, it's a useful archer! He could get a longbow earlier, but he's still good for chipping and has some fine offense on his own right. Low defenses aren't a bid deal, but his hit rates and kind of shaky if he's not using iron. Also I like his dark sense of humor, gives me a laugh every so often.

Lia: Great healer, great support bot, sometimes an item caddy. Pretty slow for a troubadour but that's not a bid deal when you're not fighting. Her Light chip after promotion is also respectable.

Driscoll: Best non-Garath foot unit IMO. His asymmetrical bases/growths work out very well: if his Spd grows well he becomes a ORKO machine, and if it doesn't he still 2HKOs almost every unpromoted enemy. Both routes are lance-heavy, and he has plenty of CON to use the heavier axes too.

Gabriel: He's pretty one-dimensional when all he can do is Flux, but he does it very well. 2HKOs everything unpromoted, and one-rounds the occasional armor knight. Probably an even better healer than Amelia on promotion, and while he's slower he can usually survive one round of combat.

Juan: Great physical tank, flat out amazing in Onduris if he's Spd blessed (like mine so far). Normally won't double much but he still deals respectable damage with a lance and takes physical attacks better than anyone else. Swords users can't touch him and get ripped apart by Partisan, although he does face hit issues. Not as great in Musain, but still helpful during the escape mini-arc.

Arcus: Even better physical tank than Juan, and much better against mages since he OHKOs them with Ramvirus. Promoted units give him trouble since they could double him (especially the magic sword Paladins), and he does need a Holy Water to tank magic extensively...

Seren: Really helpful during the escape mini-arc and with her growths she can continue that way through the rest of the route. It's no surprise people promote her over the cavs when her stats are so solid on average. Kinda wish she had supports though...

Enjolras: Needs a point or two in Spd to get going but once he does he's fantastic. Easily replaces Amelia if she's falling off but still very good if she's growing right. Maythunder sniping is clutch on promoted mooks and bosses.

Marius & Feuilly: Both are decidedly mediocre but I can understand they might be too good otherwise. I usually end up using Feuilly because he's faster, but Marius has that nice durability lead, maybe he'd shine if he got the Zoran Water. Training Lance is great to help one of them get going.

Annelise: Finally a Pegasus Knight with good durability! She's still prone to getting 2HKO'd by stronger enemies but so is everyone not named Garath/Driscoll/Juan/Arcus. C Swords is neat but sadly not that helpful in Musain, at least she has the rank to use the Ranseur and once axes start showing her sword rank should become useful.

River: Haven't used her much, but it seems like she'll be a better Flux nuke than Gabriel. Now if only she could take a hit...

Melissa: ...Is she supposed to be that tall? Her ponytail doesn't fit in the portrait box all the way! Anyway, she's probably the worst healer because she doesn't get good stavesto use her rank and has the worst Mag, but at least her Light rank doesn't blow! Shinebolt helps make up for her Mag deficiency.

Seymour: Just like Eliwood he usually turns out mediocre, although lances help differentiate him from the other swordies and Gladius is a wonderful Prf. Same situation as Annelise as far as weapons, but at least there's more axe users in Onduris and he has Gladius.

Chase: It's impressive that he doesn't immediately outclass Crowe like archer vs nomad usually plays out, that lower Str makes a big difference. But if Crowe's not turning out well he makes a fine alternative, and with all the dracoknights using both isn't out of the question. He relies heavily on the Bloody Bow to do damage at first, though.

Karen: Pretty vulnerable to the RNG because while she has great growths they're all around the 40-60 region barring Def, but at least she can use Physic off the bat. I often rotate the three healers in and out during Onduris.

Kanus: This is the only character I feel doesn't stand out much. His combat starts out very mediocre and can be match or even surpassed by Juan, he isn't remarkably durable (swordsmen can actually hurt him and double him), and if you want another lance user you get another dracoknight the same chapter. His only notable quality is "lancer that isn't weak to bows," and we already have Seymour.

Bellona: Have yet to use her extensively due to Juan and Ilanice filling my flier needs, but I can see her perks: better accuracy, higher Spd base, and not as weak to crits. Maybe next time...

Balder: He has some hit issues and slightly weaker CON, but he's still an acceptable substitute to Driscoll and has the perk of promoting to Berserker. I love how you can promote him with the Bladed Crest instead of needing a separate item.

Inari: B Swords is nice for using the Dracoslayer and the Kris she comes with, but other than that I find her superfluous when I already have several other sword users and units competing for the sole Bladed Crest (Master Seal usually goes to a flier). She also joins the chapter before enemies' Spd jumps 1-2 points for the rest of the route.

Vixenk: He has everything a myrmidon needs and is a great last-minute addition if you desperately need someone to stand up to the late Onduris bosses. (And even if you don't desperately need him, having another fast unit still helps when doubling is out of the question).

Adrian & Lienn: Not as easy to fit into the team when there are already so many good units, but when you have an extra slot and nobody to fill it they make a fine choice. I've found an occasional niche for them, such as turning Brielle into a joke.

Some other thoughts and questions:

-Seconding that in some points the constant streams of reinforcements offer no difficulty and only pad out the chapter. It's fine in some places like 9B and 11B, but in others larger, more spread-out appearances would be better.

-Why do the Dracoknight reinforcements in Chapter 5 have triple the Luck everything else has?

-Wait, there's an Ancient Lance in 8Ax? I hope the prep menu includes a mention of this, otherwise most people are going to pass it up. (Is there one on Route B as well, and if so around what point?)

-I know double WEXP upon killing is gone, but do any weapons still give more than 1 WEXP? I feel like none of them do...

-I noticed a few character bases in the stat calculator are off by one or two points, like Driscoll's Spd and Marius/Feuilly's Spd/Str respectively.

Yeah, I'm going to change up some reinforcements, mostly so they're less streams if the map doesn't call for it and instead they're in groups (so like 5 unit spawn at 1 time every 3 turns or something)

I never noticed those, I'll look into those later

There may be something, it's kinda like a secret shop area, fairly obvious. There is one on route B, chapter 8.

None so far, "blade" and "greatlance" weapons will have a greater wexp gain, though I'll probably have to think that one through some more

Best to post what they are in the game and what they should be

[Thor Odinson]

>Okay, now just something I’m curious about. Why is viewing Renair’s journal optional? It’s not exactly long, and anyone who doesn’t like it can just press ‘B’. Or ‘Start’ if they really don’t like reading anything story related (which is unfair, considering the effort that has clearly gone into the script).

...

...Do we get a reward later for being studious or something?

I've played DoF no less than 20 times by now due to Astra's heavy playtesting demands, and not being able to skip things would take too much time considering I've been asked plenty of times to test the patch from the beginning if there's any changes to chest material or earlygame enemies or exp and whatnot. From what I've gathered around these boards most people do read the story first time through, and only skip on subsequent runs, which is fair. And can't force the ones who really don't want to.

[Wayward Winds]

Twenty times? Well no one can accuse you of not being devoted, that's for sure. I'm slowly working my way back through a second time now, and yes, re-reading the story as I go. I'm one of those people for whom story is generally more important than gameplay (although admittedly not by a particularly significant amount).

...Has anyone reported Renair's brief recolour pre-Ch. 1? Well, just in case; On the world map, Renair starts out as her normal palette (red hair, blue clothes). The moment the brigand sprite pops up she immediately recolours to green hair and red clothes (is that an "Other" side Eirika palette or something?). Once the pegasus knight sprite pops up, she returns to normal. I know you're changing Renair's pre-promotion sprite to an original one for the next patch, but for all I know the glitch will just manifest itself with the new sprite instead (my programming knowledge is effectively zilch).

I'll keep an eye out for other oddities on my way back through.

...On the side of characters, Annelise actually struck me as the anti-pegasus knight - high strength and defence, low skill and resistance, not particularly outstanding speed. Not normally traits I expect to see on my pegasi riders... but then my troubadours don't usually limit themselves to a mere 5 defence points at level 20 either...

I'm also kinda surprised you didn't offer us a knight somewhere... (but Juan and Bellona's defence stats make up for it).

[AstraLunaSol]

I've already mentioned that world map events are glitchy as hell, and I'll do as much as I can with them.

The one knight you get comes in chapter 16, high base stats, high growths (pretty sure he has around 400-450 growths and I think I'm going to increase them further) and is able to be promoted on the spot. He also comes with a training lance.

Edited July 22, 2013 by AstraLunaSol

[NobodiePichu]

.....

The one knight you get comes in chapter 16, high base stats, high growths (pretty sure he has around 400-450 growths and I think I'm going to increase them further) and is able to be promoted on the spot. He also comes with a training lance.

jeez Astra talk about over compensating!

[AstraLunaSol]

did i mention that the map after his recruitment is a defend map too

[CT075]

The one knight you get comes in chapter 16, high base stats, high growths (pretty sure he has around 400-450 growths and I think I'm going to increase them further) and is able to be promoted on the spot. He also comes with a training lance.

this is the greatest character in the game for reasons

[Kngt_Of_Titania]

I've already mentioned that world map events are glitchy as hell, and I'll do as much as I can with them.

The one knight you get comes in chapter 16, high base stats, high growths (pretty sure he has around 400-450 growths and I think I'm going to increase them further) and is able to be promoted on the spot. He also comes with a training lance.

This knight will be named AstraLunaSol and will only partially reflect my glorious and overpowered nature.

Fixed.

[CT075]

it's actually not astra's character

no points for guessing who it actually belongs to

[Kngt_Of_Titania]

no points for guessing who it actually belongs to

Obviously it belongs to me.

I mean, I bet it's you, Cam. XD

[Wayward Winds]

Hmm, Knight in Ch. 16, likely joining at about lv. 14. Well, he/she won't be a knight for long if they're half as good as you say (providing we aren't just going to stick with existing favourites).

So the world map is "glitchy as hell"? It really doesn't show; the only place that caused me to stop and take notice was the missing text for Ch. 11Bx's intro. So I'd say you're doing a great job of un-glitching it.

Edited July 22, 2013 by Wayward Winds

[Thor Odinson]

The 20 times does include very old versions even before v1 patch etc

Astra how long have we worked on this again

[Garland Chaos]

Oooooh. Seems promising.~ *downloads so he can comment on how good or bad he thinks it was*

EDIT: The World Map event in chapter 3 pretty much fucked itself, resulting in glitchy-ass sound effects.

Edited July 22, 2013 by GarlandDaMerc

[AstraLunaSol]

Hmm, Knight in Ch. 16, likely joining at about lv. 14. Well, he/she won't be a knight for long if they're half as good as you say (providing we aren't just going to stick with existing favourites).

So the world map is "glitchy as hell"? It really doesn't show; the only place that caused me to stop and take notice was the missing text for Ch. 11Bx's intro. So I'd say you're doing a great job of un-glitching it.

15 actually, really his only downfall is his terrible move

yes, someones units don't show and I can't seem to make portraits pop up

The 20 times does include very old versions even before v1 patch etc

Astra how long have we worked on this again

too long

2 years, almost 3

Oooooh. Seems promising.~ *downloads so he can comment on how good or bad he thinks it was*

EDIT: The World Map event in chapter 3 pretty much fucked itself, resulting in glitchy-ass sound effects.

yep, you have to smash start to skip it, oddly it glitches for some but not others

[Garland Chaos]

Thanks, but I've actually already fixed it.

[EldinnerPlate]

Just got through the B route and I just wanted to say this is a really good hack. Portraits are amazing and the story is good. Each character has their own personality and it's awesome. Gameplay wise it was very fun and the maps never got boring. The only criticism I really have is how low the gains are later on. And I wasn't very sure about the gaiden chapters because I only got to 11Bx. Maybe I just missed some hints or something. All in all though it was very fun and I can't wait to see this when it's done.

[AstraLunaSol]

oh wait i'm supposed to look like i have nothing for fee3

spoiler: i only have this chapter

been 8 months since any serious hacking, getting back into it and the chapter is far from completed but it'll be done in time

other spoiler: he missed

[Wayward Winds]

Whahey! Darkwrights! (Looking somewhat worse for wear since tangling with Renair in the prologue...)

...Has Seymour's sprite changed, or is it just me? Come to think of it, Enjolras looks subtly different as well, but that one probably is my imagination.

And here I was thinking I couldn't anticipate FEE3 any more...

[Chocolate Kitty]

hey look my co-op map and palette i inserted

i was wondering what ever happened to them