Weaponry

[Anacybele]

I liked the Taguel, they would've made fine bunny laguz, imo. Bunnies are awesome. ^^

But I will admit that they didn't have as much story behind them and still needed stones to transform. So yeah, they were still inferior to the actual laguz.

The Tellius games (Ike's titles) had shapeshifters that could turn into cats, tigers, lions, ravens, hawks, herons, and red, white, and black dragons. Wolves were added in the second game. Wolves and bipedal dragons are badass, I want them back the most. It'd also be cool to see more new species of laguz. ^^

Edited January 17, 2015 by Anacybele

[Dai]

I liked the Taguel, they would've made fine bunny laguz, imo. Bunnies are awesome. ^^

But I will admit that they didn't have as much story behind them and still needed stones to transform. So yeah, they were still inferior to the actual laguz.

I wouldn't exactly call the Taguel entirely inferior to the whole of Laguz. Taguel only had the weakness of every other unit in the game(Barring being weak to a certain weapon and a lack of range, which plenty of Laguz shared), which was simply requiring a weapon to attack. Aside from that, they were always transformed, unlike the Laguz.

[hammerene]

What do you guys think about Staves? There's quite a few, like Sleep, Silence, Berserk, Warp, Return (If there's a home castle system like FE4). Should the player/enemies have access to these staves if they do return?

If status staves returned I would get a nostalgic attack immediately. There's nothing that strikes more fear in my heart than seeing an enemy unit with a Berserk stave. (I'm pretty sure there are other situations too but enemy unit + Berserk stave is my earliest.)

This is just something that's been bothering me for awhile but in the trailer, I noticed that there's some kind of wooden paddle weapon? Here's the screenshot:

It's the weapon that "Rinka" has equipped, at the upper right corner. I'm not sure if it's just another type of sword or maybe the Eastern replacement of the bronze sword... heck, maybe the weapons between the Eastern and Western factions are completely different. (Ex. Iron swords for the Western faction, katanas for the eastern) Any thoughts? If this has already been discussed though, I apologize.

[Anacybele]

I wouldn't exactly call the Taguel entirely inferior to the whole of Laguz. Taguel only had the weakness of every other unit in the game(Barring being weak to a certain weapon and a lack of range, which plenty of Laguz shared), which was simply requiring a weapon to attack. Aside from that, they were always transformed, unlike the Laguz.

But those weapons were limited use just like beorc weapons. Once they run out of uses, they're gone. You didn't have to worry about replenishing a laguz's weapons, because they were natural weapons and never broke. Saves you money for when you want to buy pricey, but powerful beorc weapons and other pricey items.

[Fateborn]

I have a fair bit of a hunch that the 'new' weapons are simply a redesigned archetype of weapons using a weapon type that one class can't use but can use the weapon.

For example, that fighter use axe right? Using Sword background (or is it lance? Fuzzy memory atm) the weapon is classified as that particular background but can only be equipped by axe users.

It could be a form of reaver weapons.

[Shadow Mir]

I wouldn't exactly call the Taguel entirely inferior to the whole of Laguz. Taguel only had the weakness of every other unit in the game(Barring being weak to a certain weapon and a lack of range, which plenty of Laguz shared), which was simply requiring a weapon to attack. Aside from that, they were always transformed, unlike the Laguz.

I actually agree with Ana here. There's also the point that for how pricey beaststones were, they were rather weak.

[Philranger]

If status staves returned I would get a nostalgic attack immediately. There's nothing that strikes more fear in my heart than seeing an enemy unit with a Berserk stave. (I'm pretty sure there are other situations too but enemy unit + Berserk stave is my earliest.)

This is just something that's been bothering me for awhile but in the trailer, I noticed that there's some kind of wooden paddle weapon? Here's the screenshot:

It's the weapon that "Rinka" has equipped, at the upper right corner. I'm not sure if it's just another type of sword or maybe the Eastern replacement of the bronze sword... heck, maybe the weapons between the Eastern and Western factions are completely different. (Ex. Iron swords for the Western faction, katanas for the eastern) Any thoughts? If this has already been discussed though, I apologize.

It's in the axe family of weapons. Swords have a red background on their icon, and lances have a blue blackground, and axes are green.

[Neoleo21]

YES, GIVE ME STATUS STAVES (but please no Sleep, sleep is dumb)! Staves are probably the best in the game for strategy, Berserk is hilarious and terrifying and Torch is a must have for Fog of War levels (if we must have them). Warp and Rewarp are crazy useful (though it'd be more interesting if enemies used more of these within certain parameters). Barrier is really neat at times too. More status staves is always a good thing (as long it isn't like sleep).

It would make sense for East and west to have different types of weaponry. I just hope that they're not reskins of one another.

[Aiddon]

Actually, due to the East v West vibe, I think we could bring in something REALLY big: firearms. Stuff like cannons and black powder rifles would be an interesting addition to the roster. I imagine they would be very powerful, but like any early firearms, would be woefully inaccurate, thus there's a risk with using them. Maybe as compensation they'd have higher crit rates and could be used as point blank range.

[nocturnal YL]

Speaking of magic weapons, would anyone like to see the return of the Wind Edge family from RD? I kinda liked that they finally gave swords a physical 1-2 range option that was commonly avaliable.

Those should return. Personally, I think Radiant Dawn had one of the better weapon systems. Everything's so systematic, and sword users are finally no longer limited by range (although wind edges are still rare).

[Hong]

I want more emphasis on quality and variety of weapons than quanitity. Awakening had a lot of small statistical variations of stuff.

For instance, some games choose to have fewer tiers of tomes and stagger them out (so that basic Wind and Fire is E, Thunder is D, and so forth). Going with the tome example, I want them to have more fun with the basic anima elements and have more contrast with them. Exaggerate their existing differences. Instead of Thunder having just a little more crit with a little less HIT, ramp up the crit and the cost. Make it the "Killer" of the anima tomes. Wind can continue to be reliable and serve as anti-air, and Fire can move a little bit more in the direction of being meaty. Dark and the return of Light magic is a welcome addition, with those tomes focusing mostly on utility like Nosferatu or Thani.

All that aside, interested to see what they will be doing with the naginata, katana and whatnot. Have a number of theories.

[Dragoncat]

Vegetation staff? That's a neat idea...but idk what I think of it other than that, how useful it would be and etc.

The reaver weapons need to come back, I agree. And I did like the greatlances/blades/poleaxes/longbows and the magic weapons. The poison weapons I wouldn't mind seeing again. But they need to be more avaliable to the player instead of just having enemies have them.

I doubt laguz will come back...real shame, I love them.

[Shadow Mir]

Vegetation staff? That's a neat idea...but idk what I think of it other than that, how useful it would be and etc.

I'm not impressed with the idea, as it'll likely be either something that's incredibly broken or incredibly useless. And honestly, I always found most non-healing staves to be the latter.

Edited January 17, 2015 by Levant Caprice

[Anacybele]

Actually, due to the East v West vibe, I think we could bring in something REALLY big: firearms. Stuff like cannons and black powder rifles would be an interesting addition to the roster. I imagine they would be very powerful, but like any early firearms, would be woefully inaccurate, thus there's a risk with using them. Maybe as compensation they'd have higher crit rates and could be used as point blank range.

Ew, no thank you. I'd much rather FE stay medieval. Adding guns would just ruin what FE has always been about, which is a medieval war to stop some evil guy/great evil and save the country/continent.

Granted, Age of Empires II, which is a medieval RTS, had cannon units (cannon galleon, hand cannoneer, etc.), but I still don't feel that they would fit in FE because you only got access to those cannon units in the most advanced age of the game which is based on the era after the middle ages. And I don't think FE goes that far.

Edited January 17, 2015 by Anacybele

[Florete]

I really never understood why reaver weapons were ditched and never made a return. I'd like to see them back. A complete light/dark/anima magic triangle, too. Otherwise, each new game usually brings something new and interesting to the table anyway, and from the trailer it looks like this one might be bringing the most uniqueness to the weapons we've seen yet, so I'll wait and see.

[Lusankya]

I want weight for weapons and tomes back. It was a good method to prevent slower but stronger characters from being useless and also made more weapons viable.

[Shadow Mir]

I want weight for weapons and tomes back. It was a good method to prevent slower but stronger characters from being useless and also made more weapons viable.

I disagree on it making more weapons viable - I think it did the exact opposite.

I really never understood why reaver weapons were ditched and never made a return. I'd like to see them back. A complete light/dark/anima magic triangle, too. Otherwise, each new game usually brings something new and interesting to the table anyway, and from the trailer it looks like this one might be bringing the most uniqueness to the weapons we've seen yet, so I'll wait and see.

I can see where you're coming from with the ditching the reavers, but not so much with the magic triangle... I think it'll only end up one of two ways - either how it wound up in Genealogy (broken because one magic school is head and shoulders above the rest), or how it wound up in Radiant Dawn and other games (largely irrelevant because of stats).

Edited January 17, 2015 by Levant Caprice

[Hong]

I want weight for weapons and tomes back. It was a good method to prevent slower but stronger characters from being useless and also made more weapons viable.

I disagree on it making more weapons viable - I think it did the exact opposite.

It makes more weapons relevant in the sense there are a greater range of mechanisms in which to determine what makes a weapon good. Barring crit and special modifiers (anti-armor, anti-rider, etc.), it's nice if something beyond damage, accuracy, and cost can distinguish multiple weapons within a classification. The developer can, for instance, afford to make a particular kind of sword really strong only because they know a limited range of units can wield it proficiently. All these other weaker swords won't just be sold to an NPC because the player has plenty of other units who may prefer it, and thus the developer has much more freedom to create a wider range of weapon statistics and ultimately the player reaps the benefits of feeling there is more meaningful choices. Especially since they are no longer forced to make this stronger sword much more expensive just to balance it out.

[Anacybele]

What? Weapon weight DID make more weapons viable. Take the steel sword and iron sword. The former is stronger, but if it's also heavier, it should slow the wielder down a bit. Therefore, you have to decide: trade in some speed for more power or sacrifice some power for more speed?

I want weapon weight back too.

Edited January 17, 2015 by Anacybele

[Florete]

Weapon weight is good if they go back to the GBA Con system (and balance it well). Otherwise I can't help but feel I'd rather it stay gone. And it probably will regardless.

[Shadow Mir]

It makes more weapons relevant in the sense there are a greater range of mechanisms in which to determine what makes a weapon good. Barring crit and special modifiers (anti-armor, anti-rider, etc.), it's nice if something beyond damage, accuracy, and cost can distinguish multiple weapons within a classification. The developer can, for instance, afford to make a particular kind of sword really strong only because they know a limited range of units can wield it proficiently. All these other weaker swords won't just be sold to an NPC because the player has plenty of other units who may prefer it, and thus the developer has much more freedom to create a wider range of weapon statistics and ultimately the player reaps the benefits of feeling there is more meaningful choices. Especially since they are no longer forced to make this stronger sword much more expensive just to balance it out.

What? Weapon weight DID make more weapons viable. Take the steel sword and iron sword. The former is stronger, but if it's also heavier, it should slow the wielder down a bit. Therefore, you have to decide: trade in some speed for more power or sacrifice some power for more speed?

I want weapon weight back too.

But on the other hand, you get situations where the people who would want to use a stronger weapon get punished for it, which just serves to widen the gap between units (and I think this applies to all weight systems). And honestly, I don't like instances like the likes of FE7's Durandal, where a weapon is rendered bad to outright unusable for being too heavy.

[Anacybele]

Well then, there can be less harmful consequences to using a heavier weapon.

[Hong]

But on the other hand, you get situations where the people who would want to use a stronger weapon get punished for it, which just serves to widen the gap between units (and I think this applies to all weight systems). And honestly, I don't like instances like the likes of FE7's Durandal, where a weapon is rendered bad to outright unusable for being too heavy.

The characters who are strong enough to wield heavy weapons are balanced around being strong enough to wield a heavy weapon. If someone is too weak to wield a weapon, they are balanced around speed, skill, potentially innate crit, etc., and are probably way better suited for wielding something like a Killer weapon. If the player chooses to defy this proficiency, they are probably going to have to spend more gold to get more expensive weapons suited for them. Likewise, if you want, for example, a Fighter with a very accurate axe at no expense to damage (IE not using iron instead of steel), you are probably going to have to spend gold to use this character outside of their intended purpose.

With a case like Durandal, that's not a problem with the weapon weight system. It's a problem with balance within the existing framework of potential weapon variables. Otherwise, weapon weight actually makes it easier to create strengths and weaknesses for different characters and classes.

Edited January 17, 2015 by Hong

[Shadow Mir]

The characters who are strong enough to wield heavy weapons are balanced around being strong enough to wield a heavy weapon. If someone is too weak to wield a weapon, they are balanced around speed, skill, potentially innate crit, etc., and are probably way better suited for wielding something like a Killer weapon. If the player chooses to defy this proficiency, they are probably going to have to spend more gold to get more expensive weapons suited for them. Likewise, if you want, for example, a Fighter with a very accurate axe, you are probably going to have to spend gold to use this character outside of their intended purpose.

With a case like Durandal, that's not a problem with the weapon weight system. It's a problem with balance within the existing framework of potential weapon variables. Otherwise, weapon weight actually makes it easier to create strengths and weaknesses for different characters and classes.

It also inflated the worth of certain weapons (case in point, why would I use a steel weapon when a killer weapon was better in just about every way?). Plus, this could apply to most units. And Durandal was just an example. What about all the higher ranked tomes in FE7 and FE8??

Bold: I'm not sure what you mean by this example, given that in general, the most accurate weapon type is iron, and fighters generally have enough strength to make even those sting.

Edited January 17, 2015 by Levant Caprice

[ClassyWolf]

They had multiple stones back then IIRC. Stones like Magestones and whatever stone turns the Manakete into an Earth Dragon would make them less boring. Also I never liked the Taguel class, its just a giant bunny. I never played the Ike!FE's but I saw stuff like shapeshifting lions and giant birds. Additions like those would be nice.

Oh yes, I really liked the way dragonstones worked in fe 3, and we really could bring the old ones back (or invent 4-6 new ones?).

Actually, due to the East v West vibe, I think we could bring in something REALLY big: firearms. Stuff like cannons and black powder rifles would be an interesting addition to the roster. I imagine they would be very powerful, but like any early firearms, would be woefully inaccurate, thus there's a risk with using them. Maybe as compensation they'd have higher crit rates and could be used as point blank range.

Oh yes, I would actually want to see that. and while we are at it, we could bring the tanks back from tearring saga:

Yeah I took a screencap quickly from youtube, sue me.

From this guys channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCfzjtd4HgcXpxP9KkBa6kVw.

I know he has been known here too as Kelsper, but I don't know what username he uses nowadays.

And I'm not being sarcastic, I really would want to see them.