Fire Emblem: Binding Blade (U)

[Robert Stewart]

Didn't he already say he was updating Axe hit rates to match FE7?

[X-Naut]

Just gonna drop my word here on the whole Percival issue. I really see no problem with him. Those Hard Mode bonuses turn him into a VERY usable unit, in a game that is IMO, one of the top three hardest FEs. That's a very good thing. Like has been mentioned, giving him a boost for recruiting him in chapter 13 when the next chapter is a DESERT CHAPTER(screw you desert chapters and being the bane of my FE8 Seth Solo Run!)is pretty much pointless. No real point to it. Along with the Knight Crest, I never had any real problems with that. The only time I did was when I used all three of the armor knights and 3 cavs. Worst idea ever by the way. Onto something I believe is being addressed, and that's the viability of axe units. Let's face it: Axes in FE6 are utter crap due to just how BAD their accuracy is. Combined with most of the usual suspects of axe users(the two fighters whose names I forget right now, and Gonzales)having pitiful skill(Gonzales with more levels to gain on that one route, WITH Hard Mode Bonuses has about an average skill of about 18 as a Berseker), I really didn't get much use out of axes except one Hard Mode playthrough where Oujay ended up wielding Armads. Anyways, there's a couple of ways you could go about this: Making axes what they are now, with decent accuracy and a little less power than what they have in FE6, or you could buff the skill of axe users. I'd prefer the former as Axes are very much brute force weapons, relying on their destructive force and wide range more than anything. Speaking of Gonzales, I honestly think he needs to not start with a Devil Axe. If you're unlucky(and in FE6, you are), he's going to kill himself. A lot. Maybe give him something that makes him a threat, but not so much that he breaks the chapter's boss?

EDIT: tl;dr: See no problems with Percy and Knight Crests. Axes need to have SOMETHING done about them.

You make it sound like axes are borderline useless like they are pre-FE5; they're not. Axes only lose 5-10 hit versus lances (barring the Hammer, Halberd, and Brave Axe) and the weapon triangle makes up for it against axe and lance users. And there's a hell of a lot of those: you have brigands and fighter enemies on axes and soldiers, knights, wyverns, pegasi, and all cavaliers beyond Ch13 on lances. So most axes are winning or breaking even in hit and have more might behind them against the majority of enemies barring... Sacae, really. The main problem is that the only units with a good Skill stat are the ones who gain axes on promotion; Lot/Geese/Gonzales have bad growths and Ward's good growth is shafted by his bad base. Dieck and Echidna are quite accurate by FE6 standards with axes, provided they aren't fighting enemy swordsmen.

And I disagree with taking away Gonzales' Devil Axe since you can easily have Lilina carry an axe or two for him into the chapter. And it's not like you're expected to use the Devil Axe, Gonzo comes with it to show that Nord is a dick and couldn't care less if he died.

tl;dr axes' main problem isn't so much hit as it is users, although I'm fine with a hit buff as long as it isn't just for axes. Weapons in general need it.

Edited August 13, 2013 by X-Naut

[JSND Alter Dragon Boner]

The main problem is that the only units with a good Skill stat are the ones who gain axes on promotion; Lot/Geese/Gonzales have bad growths and Ward's good growth is shafted by his bad base. Dieck and Echidna are quite accurate by FE6 standards with axes, provided they aren't fighting enemy swordsmen.

But Percy and Marcus can't promote >_>

Edited August 13, 2013 by I have a Dragon Boner

[That One Guy]

You make it sound like axes are borderline useless like they are pre-FE5; they're not. Axes only lose 5-10 hit versus lances (barring the Hammer, Halberd, and Brave Axe) and the weapon triangle makes up for it against axe and lance users. And there's a hell of a lot of those: you have brigands and fighter enemies on axes and soldiers, knights, wyverns, pegasi, and all cavaliers beyond Ch13 on lances. So most axes are winning or breaking even in hit and have more might behind them against the majority of enemies barring... Sacae, really. The main problem is that the only units with a good Skill stat are the ones who gain axes on promotion; Lot/Geese/Gonzales have bad growths and Ward's good growth is shafted by his bad base. Dieck and Echidna are quite accurate by FE6 standards with axes, provided they aren't fighting enemy swordsmen.

And I disagree with taking away Gonzales' Devil Axe since you can easily have Lilina carry an axe or two for him into the chapter. And it's not like you're expected to use the Devil Axe, Gonzo comes with it to show that Nord is a dick and couldn't care less if he died.

tl;dr axes' main problem isn't so much hit as it is users, although I'm fine with a hit buff as long as it isn't just for axes. Weapons in general need it.

Huh...Maybe I just had REALLY bad luck with axes barring the Heroes. I was more leaning towards the pure axe users. I also kinda forgot about Geese. Oops. I may or may not have thought axes have lower hit percentage than I thought. Really, the only people I ever had use axes fairly successfully are Oujay(I had him wield Armads once. He may or may not have owned things), Dieck, and Echidna, aka the Hero Squad. Anyways, I definitely see where you're coming from here. The users definitely hurt the weapon in this case. Like I mentioned earlier, Gonzales's average skill on 20/20 I believe is about 18. That's not okay. Sure he's not the smartest guy around, but at least he should know how to wield the axe effectively. Every other FE game I've played that has dedicated axe users, makes them useful to at least some degree. And by that I mean their skill is manageable that it gives them a decent hit. I'm not saying I want every axe user to turn into Berserker Ross. As much as I'd LOVE to see that happen, that might break the game. Just a bit. Whatever happens, something does need to be done with the axe users. The pure ones I mean. Maybe a slight buff in skill growths? I dunno. I'm not good at balancing things.

[Arch]

When you first encounter Percival in chapter 13, it is possible to recruit him, but it is something that is almost impossible to do. Not only does Percival leave extremely quickly, but he spawns at the other side of a very big map. In order to recruit him in chapter 13, you have to transport Lalum or Elphin with a flying unit and somehow get past his large regiment of high-level guards, which consists several ballistae (which will target your flying unit, and you haven't gotten the delphi shield yet) and many cavaliers. If you want the knight's crest, you can't even kill the cavaliers, making it even more tricky, as they will attack you!

This would be all good and well if the reward paid off, but here’s the irony; if you wait until chapter 15, you get him almost without any trouble at all, and his stats will actually be BETTER. This is because he will get the hard mode bonuses this way, where as in chapter 13 he will not. You’ll even get the knight’s crest without even having to work for it.

I would like to (if possible) have the stat-thing reversed. Percival should get his hard mode bonuses if you manage to recruit him in chapter 13, and not the other way around. Considering the game's severe lack of knight's crests, how bout letting him spawn with one in the chapter too? I'd love to see a point to this, as it is a very satisfying challenge to accomplish.

It'd at least be fair to give him the hard mode bonuses in both chapters (since Ch13 comes before that desert chapter, he kind of wants them). I'd also consider perhaps giving Ch13 Percival the Knight's Crest in his inventory, and give another bonus for keeping the cavaliers alive. That way it offers a rewarding challenge, without the awkward "his stats decreased because you didn't recruit him" thing.

Gonzales with more levels to gain on that one route, WITH Hard Mode Bonuses has about an average skill of about 18 as a Berseker. Speaking of Gonzales, I honestly think he needs to not start with a Devil Axe. If you're unlucky(and in FE6, you are), he's going to kill himself. A lot.

I'll look at taking off the Devil Axe, but X-Naut is right, it makes sense for the boss to give it to him. He's just an expendable idiot, after all. As for that level issue, I'm doing away with that shit. Hard mode bonuses are enough, he doesn't need to be unbalancing the routes with that silly level change.

As for axes (which was actually the point of your post, I just sort of clipped out everything that wasn't about Gonzalez), I'm using FE7's weapon stats. That means improved hit rates, and I'll look at buffing the skill growths of some of the native axe users as well.

[ThisProfileNoLongerUsed]

Not to sound impatient, but how far are you on this, Arch? Can't wait to play this, it was about time that FE6 needed improvement

[Arch]

Not to sound impatient, but how far are you on this, Arch? Can't wait to play this, it was about time that FE6 needed improvement

It's been stalled a bit as I've been putting the finishing touches on Elibian Nights, but I'm at the start of Ch8.

[That One Guy]

It'd at least be fair to give him the hard mode bonuses in both chapters (since Ch13 comes before that desert chapter, he kind of wants them). I'd also consider perhaps giving Ch13 Percival the Knight's Crest in his inventory, and give another bonus for keeping the cavaliers alive. That way it offers a rewarding challenge, without the awkward "his stats decreased because you didn't recruit him" thing.

I'll look at taking off the Devil Axe, but X-Naut is right, it makes sense for the boss to give it to him. He's just an expendable idiot, after all. As for that level issue, I'm doing away with that shit. Hard mode bonuses are enough, he doesn't need to be unbalancing the routes with that silly level change.

As for axes (which was actually the point of your post, I just sort of clipped out everything that wasn't about Gonzalez), I'm using FE7's weapon stats. That means improved hit rates, and I'll look at buffing the skill growths of some of the native axe users as well.

Okay. Great to hear. The Devil Axe was more of a personal gripe, since I was pretty bad at FE when I played FE6. And my luck may or may not have sucked when Gonzales attacked the boss with the Devil Axe. Let's see...I've lost him about 5 times to that piece of crap? Anyways, as long as axe users get a buff, I'm happy. Like I said, I don't want everyone to be Ross. That'd be utterly ridiculous because that boy is nuts.

[gringe]

I'm just going to throw out a comment here: if you really want to try to make this game seem as "official" as possible, then I feel that adding Rogues and playable Soldiers and new promotions ruins the illusion a bit. You can do do things like that to try to improve the game, but if anything, they make it feel less "official."

(In other words, with the current changes you're making, I feel the new title of the thread is unfitting. This is my opinion and I mean no offense of course.)

[ThisProfileNoLongerUsed]

I'm just going to throw out a comment here: if you really want to try to make this game seem as "official" as possible, then I feel that adding Rogues and playable Soldiers and new promotions ruins the illusion a bit. You can do do things like that to try to improve the game, but if anything, they make it feel less "official."

(In other words, with the current changes you're making, I feel the new title of the thread is unfitting. This is my opinion and I mean no offense of course.)

Well, you gotta remember that "as official as possible" can still mean unofficial. I mean, even though Arch is updating 6, it's still gonna be considered a fan-hack.

Also, I have a question: you said you're importing updated mechanics, but what about animations? I know that the mercenary and archer animations in 6 are very...well, different compared to the ones in 7 & 8. And the Sage animations have no sound when they're casting the spells, either. I think including that would be good, but you can leave it as is. I wouldn't mind, it's your hack after all :P

[gringe]

Yeah, it's gonna be unofficial no matter what, but making a class playable that was intended to be enemy-only in this era of FEs (not to mention giving it a promotion) is surely not "as official as possible."

[ThisProfileNoLongerUsed]

Yeah, it's gonna be unofficial no matter what, but making a class playable that was intended to be enemy-only in this era of FEs (not to mention giving it a promotion) is surely not "as official as possible."

Dude, it was never going to be literally be "official as possible". It's just Arch's vision of what "official as possible" is.

[gringe]

Clearly. Like I said before, just offering my opinion.

[Chocolate Kitty]

Dude, it was never going to be literally be "official as possible". It's just Arch's vision of what "official as possible" is.

Actually, it's supposed to be essentially a NA/EU localization, so official as possible is pretty much the goal.

Edited August 15, 2013 by Kitty of Time

[ThisProfileNoLongerUsed]

Actually, it's supposed to be essentially a NA/EU localization, so official as possible is pretty much the goal.

Oh, well, whatever. It's still his hack, he should do whatever.

[Klokinator]

Considering the U version of FE7 removed and added a few gameplay elements, such as the Blood Type for the tactician as well as a universal difficulty nerf, it's not like anyone can say a gameplay change is out of precedent here. Besides, who can argue with making the characters more diverse and interesting, really?

[Shugey]

Yeah, previous FE games have changed quite a bit in localization. PoR gave certain classes Crit boosts in the NA release.

[Book of Ereshkigal]

Didn't the level 20 auto promotion thing in Radiant Dawn get added in the localization?

EDIT: checked the site, The localization seems to have also added permanent map saves... huh.

Edited August 15, 2013 by L95

[shadowofchaos]

Didn't the level 20 auto promotion thing in Radiant Dawn get added in the localization?

EDIT: checked the site, The localization seems to have also added permanent map saves... huh.

Correct.

It was all suspend saves in Japanese. Promotion via Level 20 was added.

And so was the widescreen function.

[Arch]

Yeah, it's gonna be unofficial no matter what, but making a class playable that was intended to be enemy-only in this era of FEs (not to mention giving it a promotion) is surely not "as official as possible."

Let's examine that little "era" part. If FE6 were to be localized, that would probably have happened sometime after FE8 (which started development after FE9). That "era" for the series would have already passed.

I understand your concerns, though. I'm planning on offering a "vanilla" version as well for the purists out there.

[Celice]

If FE6 were to be localized, that would probably have happened sometime after FE8 (which started development after FE9). That "era" for the series would have already passed.

To be more clear: FE8 was announced and began development in the middle of FE9's development period. FE8's development and sale happened before FE9 was released.

I think it was VincentASM who suggested, or maybe Gamersara, that the development of FE8 was handed off to a different team, while the main team continued work on FE9.

[gringe]

Considering the U version of FE7 removed and added a few gameplay elements, such as the Blood Type for the tactician as well as a universal difficulty nerf, it's not like anyone can say a gameplay change is out of precedent here. Besides, who can argue with making the characters more diverse and interesting, really?

There's a reason for the blood type thing though. That's because in Japan your blood type is basically your Zodiac sign. People think it influences your personality and how well you get along with people, so everyone knows their own blood type. Not so outside Japan. Standard localization stuff.

[Klokinator]

I understand your concerns, though. I'm planning on offering a "vanilla" version as well for the purists out there.

That's actually good news, since I was hoping you'd make two versions available. I know I'll be playing your "updated" version myself but we need an actual officialized non-gameplay enhanced version to replace the old translation anyway.

Plus that FEE3 video I'm working on right now...

[CT075]

there are a bunch of people working on the latter anyway

[Mangs]

I’m pretty sure her name has already been mentioned in this thread a couple of times, but despite that I’d like to give my input on this lovely girl;

[url=http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/826/k71v.jpg/][/url]

Sophia is classified as an “Est” archetype, although she really isn’t. She doesn’t join THAT late, and while her growths are good, they're nowhere near the level of other Est archetypes.

She gets severely outclassed by Rey, hell even Niime would be a better pick.

Sophia’s Growths

HP:60% Mag:55% Skl: 40% Spd:30% Lck:20% Def:20% Res:55%

Combined: 280

While a combined growth of 280 is slightly better than most units in FE6, Sophia sure as hell needs ”slightly” better to warrant her use. If we take a look at her ridiculous bases, it is not difficult to see why she is mostly placed on the bench.

Lvl: 1 Hp:15 Mag:6 Skl:2 Spd:4 Lck:3 Def:1 Res:8 Con:3

These base stats always boggle my mind, 2 skill and 1 defense is laughable, even for a level 1 character. And a constitution of 3? How skinny is this chick? Even after promoting she can hardly use a flux tome without getting weighted down. Although a body ring will fix this slightly, upping her con to 4 or 5 would be a welcome change.

One thing you could do is to up her level to 5 or 10, and increase her base stats accordingly. Joining at level 1 in chapter 13 is beyond ridicolous, and on top of that it's a map full of bloody wyvern riders... in the desert.

In her growth department, I feel like she could sacrifice some of that ridiculous 55% resistance, maybe putting 10 of those points into speed, and another 10 in luck, giving her 40% speed, 30% luck and 35% resistance. This would make her a much better unit without actually increasing her growths.

Edited August 18, 2013 by Mangs