"I just want to know one thing!" - FE13 Edition

[Othin]

Can you retreat from skirmishes?

Not after beginning the battle. However, they do not keep you from passing through to reach other locations, and from the preparations screen before any battle, you can exit and return to the world map.

[shadowofchaos]

Not after beginning the battle. However, they do not keep you from passing through to reach other locations, and from the preparations screen before any battle, you can exit and return to the world map.

^What he said.

They don't block you like in FE8:

Again, after the battle has begun, there's no option to retreat in the map menu, unlike in FE8:

[shadykid]

How does Weapon EXP work in this game?

[arvilino]

WEXP increases by 1 point(2 with the Discipline) per round of combat in which the unit attacks, regardless of the weapon used or whether your unit hits with their attacks. I think Staves is just 1 WEXP each time a stave is used. Also your characters can sometimes gain WEXP from the sparkles on the ground on maps.

Also different to the previous few games the Arms Scroll raises all the units available weapons up a rank(so Great Knights for example would rank up in Swords,Lances and Axes, whereas a Paladin would just rank up in Swords and Lances)

[shadykid]

WEXP increases by 1 point(2 with the Discipline) per round of combat in which the unit attacks, regardless of the weapon used or whether your unit hits with their attacks. I think Staves is just 1 WEXP each time a stave is used. Also your characters can sometimes gain WEXP from the sparkles on the ground on maps.

Also different to the previous few games the Arms Scroll raises all the units available weapons up a rank(so Great Knights for example would rank up in Swords,Lances and Axes, whereas a Paladin would just rank up in Swords and Lances)

I was looking more for the amount of WEXP needed to go from E to D, D to C, etc. but thanks anyway.

[Othin]

The WExp requirements are pretty similar to the FE11/12 system, only cut in half since you gain WExp at half the rate. 15 for D, 20 for C, etc.

[Book of Ereshkigal]

You know the bonus spotpass characters/chapters (the ones with actual supports and all that, you know who I'm talking about.).

Do you have to reactivate them every file, or do they appear automatically in all new files?

[shadowofchaos]

Do you have to reactivate them every file, or do they appear automatically in all new files?

If your 3DS already has the data in the SD card when it downloaded it, all you really have to do is go in the Download box for the spotpass maps to activate them in every file.

Takes about 20 seconds.

[Remnant Sage]

You have to activate them through the wireless menu for any new file to put them on the map.

[Trickster]

Are the spotpass characters like Emmeryn and Renha useful or do they just useless?

[Othin]

Are the spotpass characters like Emmeryn and Renha useful or do they just useless?

Depends on how we define "useful". Gangrel, Renha, and Inverse definitely are good for when you recruit them; I grabbed them all before the Final on my Lunatic run and used them to great effect.

The other three have chapters that are generally harder than the Final, so they're not as easy to get ingame, but Valhart is probably even more powerful when you recruit him. Furthermore, his starting class is an enormous boon. Overlord is single-tier, so he can reclass into it and have the stats of an extremely high leveled promoted unit while gaining Exp as a LV16 unit, while reclassing say Inverse back to Dark Pegasus would have her gaining Exp as a LV41 unit.

Emmeryn is not as effective, as she starts at with a lower level and lower stats than the others while still having a really difficult chapter. She could be effective if you grind, but not otherwise.

Paris is really hard to compare, since it takes a ton of grinding to be ready to challenge his chapter, but he also has the best starting stats of any character in any FE game. But the thing is, it's really not possible to be much more powerful than Paris already starts out, so when you have him, he's pretty awesome.

[Garteam]

On a scale from 1 to 10, How hard is normal mode?

[Othin]

On a scale from 1 to 10, How hard is normal mode?

FE8 HM

[egobarrier]

Playing "properly," FE8 HM is probably a good equivalent. (What's that, a 3?)

That said, I personally give it a 1, just because change seals make it stupidly easy to solo in this game, especially MU. Even without grinding or Nosferatu abuse, a soloing MU is practically invincible from around Chapter 4 on, and it never* catches up with you like in other games because change seals effectively remove the level cap.

[spoiler=Sidequest 17]*Unless you want to recruit everyone. Tiki will get slaughtered in her sidequest if she only has 1 bodyguard.

[Othin]

FE8 HM has Seth; I don't think MU is any more broken regardless of how you play.

Edited October 28, 2012 by Othin

[egobarrier]

I didn't mean so much that MU was broken, but that normal mode foes were hopeless. At least Seth could be challenged by HM Formortiis, but by the time MU reaches Final s/he'd have leveled up over 60 times, and the Normal Big Bad just can't compete.

[Sock]

When it comes to exp gains... In terms of a non-grindfest playthrough, is it better to: a) promote -> reclass to non-promoted class -> promote; or b) reclass to non-promoted class -> promote -> reclass to promoted class?

Option B, right? (Though the second promoted class probably won't happen 'til post-game, which, by that time, you could do whatever the heck you want.)

Edited October 28, 2012 by Tsamimi

[Othin]

When it comes to exp gains... In terms of a non-grindfest playthrough, is it better to: a) promote -> reclass to non-promoted class -> promote; or b) reclass to non-promoted class -> promote -> reclass to promoted class?

Option B, right? (Though the second promoted class probably won't happen 'til post-game, which, by that time, you could do whatever the heck you want.)

Depends.

B will go faster and keep your Exp gains up: LV10 unpromoted only adds 5 internal levels when reclassing, while LV10 promoted adds 15 internal levels. So going through it at the minimum levels, B will give you a character gaining Exp as if at LV26 in the target promoted class, while A will give you a character gaining Exp as if at LV36. You'll also gain two skills instead of one.

A, on the other hand, keeps your character stronger the whole time, since they'll stay in the stronger promoted classes for longer. You also tend to get better skills, and can stay in the first promoted class to LV15 to get both skills for an even better skillset long-term.

And in fact, if you're using a character throughout the game, they usually will have time to pick one or the other ingame. It'll happen especially fast if you go for B, but you should have plenty of time in the final class if you go for A, as well.

[egobarrier]

It really depends on whether you're waiting until level 20 or using seals as soon as you have all the skills.

If you're promoted, you count as your level +20, and each time you use a change seal, you add half your displayed level (+20 if promoted) to your "unseen level." Thus, your options can be written as follows, assuming my math's right:

Specifics:[spoiler=Level 20]

Option A: Gain 20 levels as a level 0 character, 20 levels as a level 20 character, 20 levels as a level 20 character, and 20 levels as a level 40 character

Option B: Gain 20 levels as a level 0 character, 20 levels as a level 10 character, 20 levels as a level 30 character, and 20 levels as a level 50* character.

*in normal mode, unseen levels cap at 20, making the end of option B 20 levels as a level 40 character

In Hard and Lunatic, option A is easier for the 3rd and 4th classes, while B is only easier for the 2nd, making A preferable. It's more of a toss-up in normal mode/ignoring the 4th class, but as there's a chance you won't finish the 3rd class before the campaign's end, 10 and part of 30 is likely better than 20 and part of 20, making B preferable.

[spoiler=Skill hunting]

Option A: Gain 10 Levels as a level 0 character, 15 levels as a level 20 character, 10 levels as a level 18 character, and 15 levels as a level 38 character

Option B: Gain 10 Levels as a level 0 character, 10 levels as a level 5 character, 15 levels as a level 25 character, and 15 levels as a level 43* character

*in normal mode, unseen levels cap at 20, making the end of option B 15 levels as a level 40 character

In either mode I find option A preferable, as it makes both sets of 15 levels easier while option B only makes the second set of 10 easier.

Edit: Damn ninjas...

Edited October 28, 2012 by egobarrier

[shadowofchaos]

I have a question about Lunatic, because I have yet to try the Prologue on Lunatic and NOT get critical'd by a bandit. Because I suck at FE.

Sidequest 22: The Fountain of Truth

Those... "things" copy your stats. Would it essentially be the same on Lunatic? Or would their stats receive bonuses in addition to the base "copied" ones?

On Lunatic+, would they have their "cheating forged weapons" and their unfair skills?

[Othin]

The clone enemies indeed get bonuses on Hard and larger bonuses on Lunatic; the bonuses seem to be simply dependent on the class of the character they're copying. They also get regular forges on Hard and hacked forges on Lunatic. I haven't played far enough in Lunatic+ to say if they get the skills as well.

The bonuses are constrained by stat caps, so you generally want your best character to be at or near their caps so that their own clone won't be much stronger, making it possible to defeat the clone one-on-one with buffs. For the other characters, as on lower difficulty levels, you want them to be weak enough that the leader can take them out easily.

[Knight]

Is there a magic triangle? I noticed there were the different elements wind, fire, and thunder, despite them all being one weapon level.

[shadowofchaos]

Is there a magic triangle? I noticed there were the different elements wind, fire, and thunder, despite them all being one weapon level.

Nope. There is no Trinity of Magic. Wind, Fire, Thunder, and Dark Magic do not affect each other.

[Othin]

Is there a magic triangle? I noticed there were the different elements wind, fire, and thunder, despite them all being one weapon level.

No.

[solynna]

Hi, I have a gameplay question and a more general question. Parents (except Chrom) pass on their fifth skill. But to even have five skills they have to reclass at least once. Let's say I want Soiree/Sully to pass Astra to Chrom's children - is it even feasible to get her to lvl 10, reclass, then take her all the way to lvl 5 promoted before her first child joins? Would it be possible to pass a promoted lvl 15 skill in time for the child to play a role in the main story?

My other question concerns the descriptions in the character introduction page. Almost all of the characters are defined by some weird personality quirk (hidden candy, tripping and falling, has the mentality of a child). Can the characters in this game be taken seriously? As heroes and professional soldiers?