[From hack to indie] Path of the Midnight Sun

[ScumbagJade]

who the fuck considers themselves good at FE then manages to restrict themselves so much such that regular completion is difficult? O_o

i don't even care about the rng; the games are beatable with growths turned off (from your anecdote i don't think you understand how character tiering works)

Yeaaah... I'll leave that sort of challenges to the experts who want to play the game the way they know they can play. The only kind of challenges I generally do is specific unit type runs or the sort. I can give props to those who like to LTC and no RNG run things... but I certainly wouldn't do it. My playstyle doesn't really allow for those... Mr. CT, if you can do it, by all means. I'm just merely stating my own opinion on this. Not to insult anyones intelligence or talents at the game.

A prepromote run of FE7 Hector mode pretty much left me raging more than FE8 girls. But twas fun. In any case, no I don't really know why tier lists exists... they are rather pointless to me. I generally let my own experiences with the characters after 2-3 different tries of using them do it for me. Or, in the case of FE9, I pretty much used every character to get a good feel for their strengths and weaknesses were. Maybe theres something about them I'm just not getting.

Edited June 12, 2014 by ScumbagJade

[HF Makalov Fanboy Kai]

well the reason why tier lists exist is because some characters are strictly better then others.

there is no way to prevent that unless every character as the exact same.

[solfire545]

I love this hack just completed it going for a second run

[Xtremekiwi]

I took a break from this (played through Path of Radiance with an Ike that only had 17 strength at 19/20) and now returned to chapter 8 (after WAY too long on chapter 7) and I have one small question: Is True Hit in effect or does the RNG just hate me that badly? First Cristoph misses twice with displayed 80% hit odds, then Menmus misses with 94% displayed hit odds...yeah, I think either way the RNG is out to screw me over in every conceivable way.

EDIT: About halfway through chapter 8.

Who would have thought the best strategy for a map where the idea is "Hurry before Fa summons something unstoppable" is to bunker down at the shrine, hold back the initial waves, then play the luring game so you don't get overwhelmed. Considering I'm currently at turn 22 and the worst enemy I can see is a silver axe-wielding centaur (And a Shadowshot big eye, but Helios completely invalidated him by making it waste the attacks on 0/1/0 attacks.

For the trap at the bottom: Did you really think I'd be surprised at the prospect of a trap? There's a reason why I sent Hellios down there, even if it ended up giving him way more experience than I would have liked. Oh well, free elixir and ability to kill off most of the big eyes/mogalls.

One thing that I would like, though, is access to my supply convoy. Because Fa is unavailable for the map and she's the only one who can take items out of the convoy, I would like to have someone else serve as the convoy master/mistress. Maybe Rya or Shiori.

Edited June 15, 2014 by Xtremekiwi

[Rainbow Skittles]

True hit is there. The only hack that changed that was FE Girls.

[Xtremekiwi]

Well, I guess that confirms that the RNG just plain hates me.

Anyway, just completed chapter 8.

Plot! Hellios actually the main villain after he got to level 17! Shiori getting annihilated by him! Revelations! Instant game overs at the tower of trials and chapter 9! Fun!

Alright, here's my party after chapter 8 (For comparison, here's the post containing my party at the beginning of chapter 7: http://serenesforest.net/forums/index.php?showtopic=35455&p=3114481

Andre (and Rya) saw the most improvement. He's still squishy, but his other stats are definitely quite sweet. In 7 levels + promotion gains: +7 HP, +4 Mag, +3 Skl/Spd/Luck, +2 Def, +5 Res.

Her ability to hit for resistance on high def wights definitely helps, plus ranged is also quite sweet. I like archers as a class in general due to getting fairly good archers, she is no exception. In 9 levels: +4 HP, +5 Str, +0 Skl (really?), +5 Spd, +6 Lck, +2 Def, +3 Res.

Still mobile tank. Arguably most balanced unit. Pretty good, though I still think he could be a bit better. In 4 levels: +4 HP, +0 Str, +2 Skl, +4 Spd (He needed it), +2 Lck, +1 Def/Res.

Hits hard, that's about it, though. One of my first candidated for benching once I get some more units (due to having Menmus and Weiss as axe users). In 1 level: +1 HP, +0 Str, +1 Skl, +0 Spd/Luck, +1 Def, +0 Res.

Still fail to comprehend a peg with such low skill. Probably another potential bench. In 2 levels: +0 HP, +1 Str, +0 Skl, +2 Spd, +1 Lck, +0 Def/Res.

Sturdy, reliable, strong, fast and even a staff on a horse! Definitely a good unit. In 5 levels: +4 HP, +2 Str, +1 Skl, +3 Spd, +1 Lck, +2 Def, +4 Res.

Speaking of the RNG hating me... in 4 levels: +4 HP, +2 Str, +2 Skl, +0 Spd, +1 Lck, +2 Def, +0 Res.

Still got a lot of potential. If she picks up some more defense, she's be a very good unit. As it is right now, a bit too squishy for my tastes. In 3 levels + promotion: +5 HP, +2 Str, +3 Skl, +4 Spd (Nice), +2 Lck/Def, +3 Res.

The third trainee unit. I'm hoping he turns out well, considering he's not dissapointing me yet. In 6 levels + promotion: +9 HP, +2 Str/Skl (...really?), +6 Spd, +3 Lck, +2 Def, +3 Res.

All hands on deck necessitated the deployment of all capable units + healers. In 1 level: +1 HP/Mag/Skl/Spd, +0 Lck/Def/Res.

Fairly strong for a thief. No complaints in that regard, though. Don't have his bases, so can't tell how much he has grown.

Garion and Cattleya weren't deployed at any point, so I'm not posting their stats as they're the same as they were upon when we got them.

Finally, our protagonist. Not being able to get any exp/levels on chapter 8 definitely prevented her from leveling much. In 2 levels: +2 HP/Mag/Skl, +1 Spd, +2 Lck, +1 Def/Res.

And now...the least entertaining part: the wait.

Edited June 15, 2014 by Xtremekiwi

[Chaz]

That Weiss, I can only say WooooooooooooW!!!!.

[Xtremekiwi]

I'm actually curious what Weiss' level 20 averages are so I know just how badly he got screwed so I know the extent of the RNG's hate towards me.

[eclipse]

That Weiss somehow wound up slower than Menmus. He hits pretty hard, and is just fast enough to avoid being doubled, so I guess it works out.

EDIT: Character growths. If you all want to feel better about your units, my ability to get screwed hasn't changed a bit.

Edited June 15, 2014 by eclipse

[Xtremekiwi]

The thing with Weiss at the moment, he's okay for now, but I have a feeling that, once I get a second cav unit I'll probably end up benching him unless the second one turns out even worse than Weiss (And I have faith in the RNG that it'll make sure of that).

And remember, Menmus is 6 levels behind Weiss.

Edited June 15, 2014 by Xtremekiwi

[Omegaman]

I am having a problem with recruiting Garion and Djambo. The first time I tried chapter 4, Garion appeared. I ended up restarting the chapter because somebody died. Garion won't appear anymore, and I am getting frustrating. Do you know why this is happening?

[Alfred Kamon]

The thing with Weiss at the moment, he's okay for now, but I have a feeling that, once I get a second cav unit I'll probably end up benching him unless the second one turns out even worse than Weiss (And I have faith in the RNG that it'll make sure of that).

And remember, Menmus is 6 levels behind Weiss.

Hey, glad you finished the current patch.

Why are you assuming you'll get a second cavalier, though? ;P

I'm not implying you won't get it, I still haven't decided at all tbh.

I am having a problem with recruiting Garion and Djambo. The first time I tried chapter 4, Garion appeared. I ended up restarting the chapter because somebody died. Garion won't appear anymore, and I am getting frustrating. Do you know why this is happening?

That was a problem in version 1.0.

Please download the new patch and try again. Remember to patch it to a blank FE8 rom; you can just load your save after that.

Also sorry guys if I'm not answering much as of late, but exams are approaching and I'm reeeally stressed. ;A;

P.S. I'm planning on adding weapon rank bonuses to the hack.

These ones:

Rank: B | A | S

Swords: +5 Crit | +1 Mt +5 Crit | +1 Mt +10 Hit +10 Crit

Lances: +5 Hit | +1 Mt +5 Hit | +2 Mt + 10 Hit

Axes: +1 Mt | +2 Mt | +3 Mt +5 Hit

Bows: +10 Hit | +1 Mt +10 Hit | +2 Mt +15 Hit

Anima: +5 Hit | +1 Mt +5 Hit | +2 Mt +5 Hit +5 Crit

Dark: +1 Mt | +2 Mt | +4 Mt

Light: +5 Crit | +1 Mt +10 Crit | +1 Mt +20 Crit

Edited June 16, 2014 by Alfred Kamon

[X-Naut]

Is it possible to give staves something?

Edited June 16, 2014 by X-Naut

[Alfred Kamon]

Is it possible to give staves something?

I don't think so.

[Crimson Red]

Seems like the weapon rank bonuses are going to sort of polarize weapons more.

Axes will be even stronger while maintaining their lower hit.

Sword users tend to have decent if not high skill and certain classes even get crit bonuses, so the weapon rank crit bonuses will make them even more likely to crit.

Lances are just sort of the middle ground with buffs to both

Light magic tomes tend to have higher base crit than other tomes (only slightly but still) and now it's getting even more of a crit bonus (+20 means crit rates are going to be around the high 20s or 30s for characters... o_O)

Technically this is just a theory based on observations but I pointed it out to make sure you realized the potential consequences of doing this... it's just a theory but I think weapons will become even more polarized in their uses

Toodles~

[Alfred Kamon]

Seems like the weapon rank bonuses are going to sort of polarize weapons more.

Axes will be even stronger while maintaining their lower hit.

Sword users tend to have decent if not high skill and certain classes even get crit bonuses, so the weapon rank crit bonuses will make them even more likely to crit.

Lances are just sort of the middle ground with buffs to both

Light magic tomes tend to have higher base crit than other tomes (only slightly but still) and now it's getting even more of a crit bonus (+20 means crit rates are going to be around the high 20s or 30s for characters... o_O)

Technically this is just a theory based on observations but I pointed it out to make sure you realized the potential consequences of doing this... it's just a theory but I think weapons will become even more polarized in their uses

Toodles~

Yup, thanks for the feedback, Blazer!

That's exactly what I want. I didn't like that Swords and Axes in FE12-13 ended up being pretty much the same because of the boosts.

I mean, give a sword +3 mt and an axe +15 Hit and you have the same weapon.

However, in GBAFE you also have to take in account weight, so a 12+3 Mt sword would be much better than a 15 Mt axe.

More variety, more fun. That's how I see it.

and it kinda suits my new branched promotions system

Cheers.

[Xtremekiwi]

Hey, glad you finished the current patch.

Why are you assuming you'll get a second cavalier, though? ;P

I'm not implying you won't get it, I still haven't decided at all tbh.

Wishful thinking mostly, hope to get a non-RNG screwed cavalier unlike Weiss.

[Brendor]

Those weapon rank bonuses seem OP as fuck

Is it possible to give staves something?

Staves aren't equipped

Edited June 16, 2014 by Brendor

[Rainbow Skittles]

+20 crit for light magic? I dread having to fight exorcists now lol...

[Alfred Kamon]

Those weapon rank bonuses seem OP as fuck

+20 crit for light magic? I dread having to fight exorcists now lol...

Remember that those are the boosts for S rank. You won't face S ranked generic enemies, if not perhaps in the last chapter (and in postgame), don't worry.

[Brendor]

I'm not talking about the enemies really. I know the difficultly has been increased but still seems really like high buffs

[Alfred Kamon]

*thinks* They're still not definitive though, especially because I have to consider support bonuses too.

I just wanted to say that weapon rank boosts will be a thing. ;)

I'll balance them accordingly, don't worry.

[eclipse]

For stuff like crit, you'll need to balance around innate class bonuses, weapon bonuses, natural crit, and support bonuses. I don't mind a small bonus for S-ranks, as long as it's really small.

[X-Naut]

Trying out the new patch on DM to see how Cattleya fares, haven't cleared Ch3 but her performance is much better so I'm anticipating she'll make it to Ch8.

On another note, for someone who used to play Pikmin 2 extensively it took me way too long to realize

[tuvarkz]

Trying out the new patch on DM to see how Cattleya fares, haven't cleared Ch3 but her performance is much better so I'm anticipating she'll make it to Ch8.

On another note, for someone who used to play Pikmin 2 extensively it took me way too long to realize

It is? lol I always resetted too fast to notice.