Too many staves/hidden weapons?

[NekoKnight]

Does it seem like we're getting too many staff and hidden weapon users? In Hoshido, we get 3 staff users (Joker, Felicia and Sakura) and 5 hidden weapon users (Saizo, Suzukaze, Kagerou + Joker and Felicia). I assume you get all the staff users early because the first two are from Nohr and Sakura is your sister.

I know we sometimes get a lot of certain classes *coughcavalierscough* but this seems a little excessive. Do you think Hoshido will be playing a bigger debuff game than Nohr?

[Cysx]

Joker might not join right away in Hoshido, Suzukaze is available for several chapters before Saizou is, and we don't know about Kagerou yet. For the most part it should be fine. Nohr is a bit more of a problem for staves, since Felicia, Elise and Joker have all been shown as playable in early Nohr chapters. And then there's that second maid, Nohr's third ninja if you will.

Also guys, just think about that ninja debuffing triangle attack:

"Reduces max HP by 80 for the next turn"

That'd be glorious, it would make HP+5 an awesome skill for pvp.

Edited May 22, 2015 by Cysx

[Sroy]

I considered this too, and it worries me because I don't really like the design of the hidden weapon users, especially ninjas. (I'm sure I'm the minority here...)

I play FE for the gameplay, but also to use characters and classes I like. Plus, it would reduce the variety of strategies we have to use, right?

Unless there's a huge cast of playable characters, I agree that this many hidden-weapon users seems excessive.

[Ryo]

Well, we most likely will have to bench some of them.

[Philranger]

Either that or they're showing them all off now because they're new and exciting rather than show off a knight, a cavalier pair, a hotheaded fighter, and mysterious looking myrmidon, and all the standard FE character tropes.

[Cysx]

I considered this too, and it worries me because I don't really like the design of the hidden weapon users, especially ninjas. (I'm sure I'm the minority here...)

I play FE for the gameplay, but also to use characters and classes I like. Plus, it would reduce the variety of strategies we have to use, right?

Unless there's a huge cast of playable characters, I agree that this many hidden-weapon users seems excessive.

Well, we don't know how many we'll get in total, but at the moment, we have at least nine characters that can use swords, and at least eight that can use lances. I'm not really seeing the problem here, hidden weapons are also used to fight.

[Bovinian]

Here's hoping they introduce an interesting variety of staves to accommodate for all the staff users. Sakura's spring festival staff, whatever the heck it does, is hopefully a step in that direction.

Also regarding hidden weapons, since the general description of the weapon type is pretty broad and vague, I wouldn't be surprised if certain hidden weapons were limited to certain classes. Maids and butlers can use knives but may not be able to use shurikens, for example. Ninjas should probably get to use all of them.

Edited May 22, 2015 by Bovinian

[Philranger]

I initially thought the number of staff users so far was a little high, but I went back and looked and FE6 threw three staff users at you early in the game and Awakening does as well depending on when you do Anna's paralogue.

Also if the staff EXP formula is similar to Awakening's you won't have to worry about keeping them like that for long. That change was a godsend.

Edited May 22, 2015 by Philranger

[Ryo]

I'm probably just reading too much into this, but it seems they're implying that maids (and by extension, butlers) can only use staves that have healing effects.

The Famitsu article specifically said that they use hidden weapons and healing/recovery staves (回復の杖) in both of the instances where this was mentioned. Usually just saying that they can use staves is enough, because normally staff users can use all kind of staves. If they wanted to emphasize Felicia's healing utility, they could just have said that she can heal with staves, or that she can use staves to heal people. Saying that she uses "healing staves" is a bit too specific. But then again, I'm not that experienced in Japanese so perhaps that sounds more natural to native speakers...

Edited May 22, 2015 by Ryo

[Jagged Jagen]

I think more are needed to balance this new Weapon Triangle. Same goes for archers.

[goodperson707]

^ hmm we get possibly 4 so far in Nohr and 5 in Hoshido for hidden weapon users. As fire emblem weapon balance goes thats not bad just cause everything is part of the main triangle now the weapons probably still won't be balanced in numbers. Most games i remember normally had more lance and/or swords compared to axes. In SS for example you got 2 axe users in chapter 2 and did not get the next one til chapter 11 or 10 depending on route Compare that to the amount of swords/lance users.

[Neoleo21]

Honestly, I think you might need these classes, because thanks to dual striking enemies, they're going to do more damage, more often, meaning healing will probably be very important and organizing set ups to dual guard various healers and the like will probably be a very important strategy.

[Philranger]

I wonder if this game is going to differentiate when you have a staff equipped during either the enemy turn or dual strike opportunities. Like in FE10 if you ended the turn with a staff equipped you were stuck trying to beat people with it during the enemy phase even if you could wield a tome and had a suitable one in your inventory. Which is the opposite of GBA FE where you could heal a person and counter with your tome during the enemy phase. I think Awakening worked like the GBA games but I honestly can't remember.

Edited May 22, 2015 by Philranger

[Ryo]

Yeah you can't equip staves in Awakening, you'll counter-attack with whatever weapon you're equipping.

[Philranger]

Yeah you can't equip staves in Awakening, you'll counter-attack with whatever weapon you're equipping.

Ah, well then that's probably what this game will be like as well. I kind of liked RD's way of doing that.

[BrandedRogue]

it was funny but really useless to (counter) attack with a staff XD

[Bovinian]

Yeah equippable staves were pretty damn pointless; this was the only good thing to ever come out of that system

[Philranger]

it was funny but really useless to (counter) attack with a staff XD

Yeah equippable staves were pretty damn pointless; this was the only good thing to ever come out of that system

Well, duh. That was the point that you had to choose between healing your ally or totally gimping your ability to counter.

[arvilino]

I think it's good since it should establish hidden-weapons in the battle system pretty quickly(since Joker and Felicia seem to be early game units). I really wouldn't like the weapon type to be underepresented and end up like Path of Radiance's Knives.

Also as Staff/Hidden wielders Maids and Butlers might be very good units to utilize the Attack Stance since healers are better off unpaired and most staves require you to be adjacent to a unit to use. You can heal a unit while positioning that unit and the Maid/Butler for a dual strike during the same turn.

Edited May 22, 2015 by arvilino

[Eveangaline]

Since staffs, unlike weapons, still have limited use, and since I doubt shops will be too available, I think you may end up not equiping half your staff users with them.

[Jedi]

Does it seem like we're getting too many staff and hidden weapon users? In Hoshido, we get 3 staff users (Joker, Felicia and Sakura) and 5 hidden weapon users (Saizo, Suzukaze, Kagerou + Joker and Felicia). I assume you get all the staff users early because the first two are from Nohr and Sakura is your sister.

I know we sometimes get a lot of certain classes *coughcavalierscough* but this seems a little excessive. Do you think Hoshido will be playing a bigger debuff game than Nohr?

FE games usually go with alot of certain classes depending on the game. You said it yourself with cavaliers. There is also usually alot of fighters in the beginning of most FE's too. (see FE5 for instance despite Marty and Dagda being different classes from Othin and Havan).

I wouldn't be worried about this.

[BlueL]

Does it seem like we're getting too many staff and hidden weapon users? In Hoshido, we get 3 staff users (Joker, Felicia and Sakura) and 5 hidden weapon users (Saizo, Suzukaze, Kagerou + Joker and Felicia). I assume you get all the staff users early because the first two are from Nohr and Sakura is your sister.

I know we sometimes get a lot of certain classes *coughcavalierscough* but this seems a little excessive. Do you think Hoshido will be playing a bigger debuff game than Nohr?

Well I believe it said in Famistu that ninja's can wield normal weapons, so it's not like they're an exclusive hidden weapons class.

[Cysx]

Well I believe it said in Famistu that ninja's can wield normal weapons, so it's not like they're an exclusive hidden weapons class.

You're right actually, I didn't realize the implications of that. Maybe they meant upon promoting? All the material we got shows that they can use HWs and nothing else...

[Eveangaline]

You're right actually, I didn't realize the implications of that. Maybe they meant upon promoting? All the material we got shows that they can use HWs and nothing else...

They maybe just want to show off a new feature over something that's been in previous games.

[goodperson707]

^ so they decided to take out the enemy shinobi's non hidden weapon rank?