Alastor plays and ranks the whole series! Mission Complete! ...For now.

[Eltosian Kadath]

5 hours ago, Alastor15243 said:

 

 

…What’s going on with Roy’s?

 

I picked a random slim lance to see what this would do to it, and while Leif’s is a pretty cool attack, accuracy and avoid boost in exchange for one more weight…

 

…Roy’s increases might by 2… in exchange for adding eight more weight and a thirty avoid debuff.

I have noticed that the game gives comically large penalties to weight onto any engrave that adds more than 1 attack. Its almost like they don't want to make it possible to double that bonus to damage.

 

5 hours ago, Alastor15243 said:

…Wow, that was a full level up from using Great Sacrifice. That… that’s amazing.

I will literally use Great Sacrifice just for the massive amounts of experience it gives people.

[Acacia Sgt]

From what I recall, Great Sacrifice is also a good SP giver. However, it scales with the amount of people it heals, so you need to have everybody to have taken damage to maximize SP gain.

[Shanty Pete's 1st Mate]

9 hours ago, Alastor15243 said:

It also would’ve meant potentially getting Hector instead of Lyn to have an armor emblem, which would’ve been interesting. But who would’ve taught flying…?

If they had planned for "movement type proficiencies", perhaps they would've swapped in Hector for Lyn, and Elincia for Ike? Getting an Emblem with Staves and Amiti would be really cool.

9 hours ago, Alastor15243 said:

But like seriously, what the fuck? Is Roy’s just a joke on him being the Emblem of Binding? That his engraving literally binds you? Is there some secret benefit to it? Does the game really think that suddenly going from +1 to +2 might on an Emblem engraving is such a batshit insane power step that this has to happen for it to be justified? I suppose applying it to a smashing weapon has few downsides, though, but still, seriously…

Marth's and Sigurd's Engraves are some of the best, perhaps a bit overtuned. I used Roy's on a +1 Thunder tome, because it's not like I'd be missing out on the ability to double. Would've been nice if it granted Crit, or just more Might, but oh well.

9 hours ago, Alastor15243 said:

Alas, it would appear that engaging does not, in fact, let you use the weapon type the Emblem gives you, just the weapons.

Only one I've seen that does so is Micaiah letting you use Staves. If another one granted a certain weapon type, it'd probably show up in your weapon ranks, too.

9 hours ago, Alastor15243 said:

Wow, that was a full level up from using Great Sacrifice. That… that’s amazing.

Now I really want to test this on Vander, since his EXP gain is usually dismal. Even relative to other promoted units.

9 hours ago, Alastor15243 said:

But yeah, he finishes off the boss after my remaining units finish off the axe armors, and we’re done here. Kinda sad that they gave us an objectively inferior rematch with her immediately, but I’m hoping this means she joins us now.

It didn't dawn on me until after the fact that they were giving us the exact same boss, two maps in a row. Not a big fan of that.

9 hours ago, Alastor15243 said:

But she just says “could I ask you to forget that?” after she says it… and Pepsiman says “yes”, like fucking what!?

I guess it's something the game wanted to tease the player with, without letting the characters react naturally to it. Would've been better as a "just Ivy" aside, or in convo with her retainers.

9 hours ago, Alastor15243 said:

I got a bunny!

Donating to countries is a complete waste, except insofar as it lets you adopt more animals, in which regard it is unquestionably worth it.

9 hours ago, Alastor15243 said:

No wait, story.

 

…Okay, if the game’s just going to act like I’m advancing on with the story whenever I depart from a story location, it probably shouldn’t ask me whether I want to go to the map or the Somniel until after I leave and see this story bit.

Yeah this bugs me too. I've started just saying "To World Map", because being forced into plot feels slightly less jarring that way, and I can go to Somniel right after.

9 hours ago, Alastor15243 said:

These conversations are already just two lines long.

And yet, they're more bespoke than Radiant Dawn's support conversations. Like, if this is what RD had gone with, I think I'd be less sour on their supports.

9 hours ago, Acacia Sgt said:

I'd say, it was certainly... a curious decision. Like, I can see it with Martial Monks being Fist+Staff, but did like High Priest also needed to use Fists? Maybe Berserkers could've been Axe+Fist. Or maybe a new class could've used that combination is the idea was to keep the Swordmaster/Berserker/Halberdier/Sniper quartet of mono-weapon S ranks.

Painted themselves into a corner. By making Martial Monks Arts + Staves, they made it so both default promotions of the class (High Priest and Martial Master) needed access to them. My preferred system would've been to make the default Qi Adept Staves only, bring back Brawler as an Arts Covert class, let Brawler and Healer go Martial Master, and cut High Priest so Healer can just go Sage. Oh, also make Berserker an Arts-and-Axes Covert class, that Axe Fighter and Brawler can go into.

8 hours ago, Jotari said:

Being kind never actually backfired on Sigurd. What looks like an example would be him taking Shannon in, but it seems clear Repter and Lombard would have framed him as a traitor regardless, as they were really after Byron who had grown too influential.

Taking in Shannan may have saved Seliph's life. When Dierdre departed the castle in chapter 3, she left Seliph behind with Shannan. If there's no Shannan there, she might have taken her baby with her. I wouldn't want Manfroy to get his hands on the scion of Chalphy...

9 hours ago, Alastor15243 said:

That... sounds like insane amounts of fun. Next indoor map I get, I'm going to have Clanne bring in an infiltration squad!

Rewarp? No, We Warp!

[Acacia Sgt]

20 minutes ago, Shanty Pete's 1st Mate said:

Painted themselves into a corner. By making Martial Monks Arts + Staves, they made it so both default promotions of the class (High Priest and Martial Master) needed access to them. My preferred system would've been to make the default Qi Adept Staves only, bring back Brawler as an Arts Covert class, let Brawler and Healer go Martial Master, and cut High Priest so Healer can just go Sage. Oh, also make Berserker an Arts-and-Axes Covert class, that Axe Fighter and Brawler can go into.

High Priest could've just been the counterpart of Sage. Both use Tomes and Staves, but which one has the higher rank would differ. Well, the game already does this, but it would've been perhaps better if Sage and High Priest had followed suit.

Well, now that I think about it, Warrior could've been like Hero. Axe as main weapon type, but choosing between Bows or Arts as options.

[Jotari]

2 hours ago, Shanty Pete's 1st Mate said:

If they had planned for "movement type proficiencies", perhaps they would've swapped in Hector for Lyn, and Elincia for Ike? Getting an Emblem with Staves and Amiti would be really cool.

I don't see them removing Ike. Especially since he's one of the few Axe users (plusn you know, he's freaking Ike). More sensibly would have been to put in Shiida or Pegasus Knight!Kris as a Mystery of the Emblem rep. Byleth could also give all movement types in the way Leif gives (almost) all weapon types. 

You could also make proficencies more freeform and less Emblem centric by letting bond rings grant them. By equipping a bond ring for a certain number of maps or combats you fill a meter that gives your proficiency based on that character. This further justifies the existence of bond rings in competition with Emblems and helps to stop certain promotions being gated behind certain Emblems being acquired later in the story.

[Shanty Pete's 1st Mate]

4 minutes ago, Jotari said:

I don't see them removing Ike. Especially since he's one of the few Axe users (plusn you know, he's freaking Ike). More sensibly would have been to put in Shiida or Pegasus Knight!Kris as a Mystery of the Emblem rep. Byleth could also give all movement types in the way Leif gives (almost) all weapon types. 

Well, if Hector were introduced, suddenly being the "blue-haired Axe guy" isn't a unique niche for Ike. That said, yeah, cutting Ike would be rough, when he's one of the foremost faces of the franchise.

7 minutes ago, Jotari said:

You could also make proficencies more freeform and less Emblem centric by letting bond rings grant them. By equipping a bond ring for a certain number of maps or combats you fill a meter that gives your proficiency based on that character. This further justifies the existence of bond rings in competition with Emblems and helps to stop certain promotions being gated behind certain Emblems being acquired later in the story.

Rather than a meter, maybe just do a level scheme, like with the Emblem rings? It'd be much shorter (say, 5 levels), but with a proficiency or two and (for S-rank Rings) a skill at the end. Conversely, though, you couldn't use the Arena to exchange bond shards for level - you'd just have to earn it in battle.

[Acacia Sgt]

I feel involving the class types is making it too complex. At least, I find it fine keeping it to the weapon proficiencies. Emblem availability is mostly the problem there.

[Alastor15243]

Engage Day 12: Chapter 10

 

I just got a reminder to “Promote Anna for the hell of it”.

Fuck it, I could use a guinea pig to see if this talk about early promotion being consequence-free is true.

First off, gotta get her to level 10 though.

…Unfortunately her first arena opponents are Vander and Louis. Needless to say, she loses both. But then then she fights Boucheron, who’s equipped with a greataxe I don’t recall ever giving him. In fact come to think of it, I’m pretty sure it was steel. Well I guess that’s to keep you from cheesing these fights by unequipping every other conceivable opponent.

…It’s kind of weird that this is more effective when you’re training a unit who’s already strong. Shouldn’t you gain more experience from losing a fight, logically, than winning one?

Still, Anna continues to get good levels.

Also, gotta say, I’m digging the arena music. Which I have time to appreciate while Clanne tries to fight Micaiah and can literally do 0 damage to her.

…As Shanty Pete’s 1^st Mate said… yes, these two-line bond conversations are indeed way better than what Radiant Dawn did, as weird as that is to realize. In fairness though, you only need to write 12 of these, maybe a few more for DLC, for each character, as opposed to Radiant Dawn needing you to essentially write (Radiant Dawn’s massive cast) x (Radiant Dawn’s massive cast minus one) of these.

I just inherited avoid + 10 on Yunaka and yes, sure enough, it does reduce the cost of the subsequent avoid boosting skills.

I’m gonna get Jade some training with Micaiah in the arena to let her inherit skills, because she can afford the resistance boost, which will be a big help with her apparent niche. I’m gonna try to use her, and potentially give her Micaiah long-term eventually. A staff using armor knight sounds like a really fun niche, but Louis clearly makes the best use out of Sigurd, so I’ll see if I can have her be my armored healer later.

PFFFF

I just ran past Etie and she was all “Oh! Are you out jogging?”

That was funny.

Jade: I might have to write a book about this.

Oh, so she likes writing? I see!

Okay, moment of truth: what happens to res+2 when you get res+3?

…It says it’s inherited automatically. Okay, so that settles that. I must’ve been misremembering what I did with Louis.

Oh shit! I just got an S-rank Arden bond ring! Niiiiiiice! Might as well put that on Jade, then!

Speaking of which, Jade now has Celica’s engraved hand axe, forged to +4. Hopefully this helps her contribute a lot! We’ll see.

…Ah, so that makes sense, even if it’s a bit annoying. Apparently leftovers get destroyed next time you make a meal. I mean, they’re leftovers, they’ve gotta have a limited shelf life, so it makes sense.

…I wonder if Jade and Etie have supports. A bookish heavy infantry and a body-building rear lines unit sounds like it has potential to build on as a dynamic.

Alright, now let’s look at supports!

Pepsiman and Clanne’s B.

So Pepsiman is now really concerned about Clanne being a workaholic out of his devotion to the Divine Dragon. And I have to wonder…

…I really hope this game allows for the occasion to talk to Clanne, Framme and Vander after the “big reveal” I’m expecting that Pepsiman isn’t Dragon Jesus, but Dragon Antichrist. Like Sanaki talks to her holy guard when she realizes she might not actually be the apostle. Not that I expect it to be brilliantly written, but I really hope they at least have the presence of mind to try. Because that is a big deal with their dynamics. Hell, if this were Three Houses, and I can’t believe I’m saying something nice about Three Houses’ support system, but if it were Three Houses they’d probably lock their A support until this reveal happens and require you to do the C and B supports before that point so it makes sense. So Three Houses could totally accommodate this story arc.

But anyway, predictably, if still a bit charmingly, Pepsiman “orders” Clanne to get some rest.

I like the vocal performance when Clanne says he’ll “lie down for a bit”. He sounds like he’s literally about to collapse on the floor from how much he’s been overworking himself.

Pepsiman and Louis’s C.

Oh my god. Pepsiman’s voice actor really knows how to play “awkward and weirded out” to a T. It’s pretty damned charming, honestly. Especially with the improved facial animations.

Louis is just standing in the middle of the square watching two people talk, and Pepsiman’s like “Um… okay. And you’re doing that… why?” and Louis is all “That is the question, is it not?”

PFFFFFF

And then he goes on a fucking philosophical tangent unpacking the word “why”.

…Okay, I’m half disappointed, half relieved that he actually answers the question and gives a mostly-reasonable response. Louis is probably my favorite character in the game gameplaywise, and it would be a damned shame if I had to live with him being some kind of deranged creeper, even if it were funny.

Still, they do point out it’s still a little creepy, and Pepsiman really sells the awkwardness of trying to explain this to him.

Louis kinda reminds me of Azama. Except “kinda socially oblivious” instead of “comically unrepentant asshole”.

Now for Clanne’s B support with Framme!

So now Clanne and Framme are handing out those fliers they mentioned in town, and Clanne is apparently dealing with social anxiety.

…And Framme completely throws him in front of the train.

Framme: Listen up, everybody! My brother has a reeeal important announcement to make!

Anyway, after some awkwardness, Framme relents and introduces them herself, and Clanne has a nervous breakdown over his stage fright. This is simultaneously really cringey but also really endearing.

But while they don’t get into a fight, Clanne as a complete breakdown of confidence that in its own way makes this another “how the fuck does their cooperation improve after this exchange?” B support.

Oooh, Framme and Anna? Lemme guess, Anna tries to run some sort of racket revolving around Pepsiman.

…Anna’s insistence on being called “Lady Anna” and acting like it’s less formal than “Anna” is an incredibly quick joke to get stale, I have to say.

Seems like my guess was off. In fairness I guess it would be a repeat of what they did in Awakening with her and Tiki. Framme’s looking for advice from Anna about an anniversary present for her parents, and she shows her a bunch of cool trinkets they might like.

…And then Anna brings up the fact that she doesn’t know where her family is. Honestly, this is a good bit more… uh… “substantial” than I was expecting to give the game credit for.

Ooh, Yunaka and Alfred have a B support!

….

FIRST LINES.

Alfred: So, where are you from!

Yunaka: Ooo, look at you! Shootin’ off questions like barbed arrows outta camouflage!

I swear, Yunaka has a lot of lines that are like the “that’s a sharp outfit, Chan” line from Avatar the Last Airbender, except without any awkwardness or hesitation. And somehow, in its own way, that’s pretty awesome.

And then she tried to butter him up with his question asking skills in order to distract him from actually pressing for the answer… and he presses for the answer anyway, seemingly oblivious to her attempts to dodge it.

Honestly, I think I unironically like Yunaka as a character. And Alfred’s a pretty great foil for her here.

Louis: Show animals love, and they become fond of you. That’s why I’ll keep petting this little one.

…He’s standing in front of a chicken.

Oh man, Louis, never change.

…Alright, I think I’m good to try this next chapter now.

…Wooooow, this next map is really deep into Elusian territory. Are we really getting in this far without incident?

There’s a fucking border wall between us and there!

…Elusia has a donation level, which pretty heavily implies they’ll join our side entirely at some point. But probably not for a while.

…Which means we won’t be able to adopt anything in the after-battle for a while.

Christ, they’re probably going to mock us by filling the next after-battle field with high-quality, industrial-strength geese.

…Oh shit.

Thanks for the warning, game. Apparently we can’t go back to the Somniel after this battle. We’ve got a series of battles in a row. Alright, lessee…

Let’s stock up on healing supplies and the like then.

I buy all the antitoxins, as well as all the torches and another illume staff, because those are definitely things I don’t want to get caught with my pants down about.

Also I get myself up to 5 of each type of tonic just in case, as well as a bunch more healing staves, also just in case.

Alright, I think I’m good now.

Oooh, Hortensia again! Maybe we’ll be getting Lucina!

Oh shit, Hortensia’s got out-of-date news regarding Ivy. She doesn’t even know if she survived the initial castle siege!

That’s… curious.

Is Lord Sombron genderless? Hortensia mentions how her father’s been acting different since Lord Sombron was released, and then refers to that again as “since they came into the picture”. Genderless, or is she talking about Sombron and someone else associated with them? Or… does this again imply something that can change with player customization choices?

…But that would imply that Pepsiman isn’t the son of Sombron…

…but Sombron himself.

…I woooooonder…

…Nah, it was option two, as Rosado immediately clarifies. She’s counting the girl I suspect is Veyle and some others.

Christ, the conclusions you can jump to when you stop to reflect on every line.

Goldmary: King Hyacinth… has asked you to join him at the altar.

…Oh dear. Given the topics I brought up before regarding royal blood and that ritual… thaaaaaaaat doesn’t bode well.

…And a black ring with a purple gem? …I don’t think black and purple is… okay it might be Byleth’s. I’m pretty sure the “Crest of Flames” is associated with purple, and Byleth is of course associated with black.

But if it isn’t Byleth’s… I think that might be something really nasty. Like an evil Emblem or something, like of a villain.

…Marth senses Sombron’s presence in the Cathedral.

Thaaaaaaaaat isn’t good. Something’s telling me that ring ain’t Byleth’s.

Wow, Marth’s really emphatic that we should run the fuck away if Sombron’s revived. It seems to be indicating how powerful he is, but I think it’s actually implying again that he knows something he’s hiding from us.

I got a reminder from the loading screen that you can lower difficulty in your bedroom at the Somniel.

…Which makes me wonder if they considered that during this “can’t enter the Somniel” gauntlet. I’ve heard one of these chapters is pretty infamously hard. Either 10 or 11, can’t remember which. I’m not the type to reduce difficulty mid-campaign, but this sounds like one of the places where the people who do want to do that would really want to do that.

So, Hyacinth accuses them of murdering Ivy, Hortensia buys it, and we completely ignore the comment, of course. Jesus I hate this sort of forced miscommunication bullshit.

So, as I was spoiled, King Morion is not just dead, but Corrupted. I wonder if the verb would be capitalized too?

So, we delay in fleeing, but the sheer distance between us and the doors that close make it clear we had no chance of escaping at this point at all.

…But shit, we get more dramatic prep music! Awesome! I love when games do this.

…Oh. So that explains why Hyacinth was fighting unarmed. Because he’s a qi adept, not a mage.

…And Lyn apparently gives him, among other things, 4 defense and 9 HP. Why do I have the sneaking suspicion that those buffs aren’t going to be anything like what we get from her?

…Oh no, it was Byleth that Hortensia got! Okay! Interesting!

PFFFFFFFF

Byleth has the ability to use divine pulse to save scum missed hits! It doesn’t say exactly what the formula is, just that its base is 30% and increases with high luck.

Oh, and Byleth’s big special attack is apparently a rally that changes in type depending on what type of unit he’s on.

…Now I’m really curious what that does for Pepsiman. Could it be like rally spectrum?

…Okay, I am really, really, super nervous about that big, suspiciously understaffed cathedral room beyond the doors. Everyone’s been hemming and hawing about what happens in either this or the next chapter, again, can’t remember when, and always with respect to the game’s ambush spawn policy. Here’s hoping it isn’t anything too awful.

But hey, no deaths so far.

…Items in the convoy aren’t bundled together when they have an identical number of uses. I have 5 of each tonic, and I can see all five of each of them in a row on the convoy screen. That’s… not good.

…Okay, since we’re about to go into a pretty major battle, and since holding off on promotion has bitten me in the ass before when trying to ironman certain games, I’m going to roll the dice with Diamant’s future and early promote him. Axe access even outside of engagement will be really handy. Ideally though I wanna make him a hero with lance access, so he can have full weapon triangle advantage when engaged. That’ll be insanely useful. Then again, later Leif is going to give him the master lance, so…

…Okay, yet again, way better class change sequence than Three Houses. Good to know. Also, he can wield my forged hand axe with no speed penalty! Also good to know! Alright, that’s going on him. Unfortunately I can’t afford to bring Jade into this battle, which is a shame, but I’ll see about next time.

…Alright, I think this is the most prep I can manage for now. Let’s go.

Okay, yeah, so here’s the magical artillery, and I am far more willing to believe that a magic artillery can amplify whatever tome is used with it to long range rather than a ballista apparently letting you use normal bows.

Either way though, way better gameplaywise.

This music is pretty badass, incidentally. Anyone know what the map theme of this chapter is called? I’d love to search this up after the fact but don’t want to get spoiled on anything with irresponsible YouTube searches.

And I notice that the game says you have to defeat Hyacinth and Corrupted Morion… but it doesn’t say anything about having to defeat Hortensia. Could it be that I can only recruit her if I ignore her here and go right past her?

…If she starts using the freeze staff on me or decides to start moving, I’m going to assume the game doesn’t expect me to do something so annoying, but otherwise I might give it a shot.

I’ve got Yunaka taking care of the left flank. Her insane dodgetanking potential lets me deal with Rosado’s terrifying killer axe. Louis will deal with the opposite flank until it’s a bit more manageable, then I’ll start sending everyone else in. For now, they’re just getting out of the way of that magic turret.

…It seems this map music is like final boss music, in that it doesn’t change between map and battle. That sure as hell explains why it goes so hard on the map.

Rosado’s more worked up about us making Hortensia sad, and not the more concrete thing of allegedly killing Hortensia’s sister.

Ahhh, incoming thief. Got it. Alright, gotta take care of that with minimum necessary force to keep my options open.

Unfortunately Goldmary is really tough for men to hit thanks to her personal skill, so I had to have Diamant engage and use the unmissable Quadruple Hit to ensure she dies and doesn’t do anything terrifying next turn.

…Okay, so thankfully the retainers don’t die when you kill them.

…Okay, so all three of this Elusian trio have droppable items, and two of them didn’t die for real when I killed them. I now suspect I’m being outrageously paranoid thinking that killing Hortensia in this situation will kill her off for real.

This cavalier has a 19% hit and 3% crit rate on Yunaka, and though I’ve decided not to be so paranoid as to assume I have to clear this without beating Hortensia… yeah, I’m using Lodestar Rush on this fucker.

I screwed up and accidentally left Louis in range of the siege tome, which mean the mage stopped running towards us to attack us directly. Damn it, hopefully getting out of the way will reverse it.

…Yep, he’s down. Now Yunaka’s gonna stand on a pillar and try to bait in this battalion with her insane avoid.

Oh fuck. I got frozen, and for a second I thought I was fucked, because I thought that might have entirely negated her evasion.

It thankfully does not. This axe armor still has 0 hit on her. Oh thank goodness. But next turn miiiight get messy.

…Okay I seriously need to get Yunaka some luck boosts. Holy shit, everyone has a terrifyingly existent crit rate on her.

AND HORTENSIA CAN MOVE NOW.

…Okay, okay, so, let’s see…

Hortensia isn’t a mystical unit, so she can’t cut through Yunaka’s avoid like butter. But she does have a mulligan skill I don’t fully comprehend the success rate of, and a crit rate on her. I don’t like those odds.

So looks like it’s time to see if people have been telling me the truth about how awesome Micaiah is.

…HOLY FUCK YOU GUYS WEREN’T KIDDING!

I just had Yunaka, Alcryst and Céline all blitz on some of Hortensia’s minions, and then Clanne engaged and rewarped them all to safety in one fell swoop!

…Unfortunately Hortensia then freezes Pepsiman, forcing me to confront her with scattered forces. Christ, I hope this isn’t ugly.

And now we tell Hortensia that Ivy’s alive.

And ironically, since we didn’t take Ivy prisoner, we can’t prove we didn’t kill her. That’s… actually a pretty interesting case of being kindhearted biting you in the ass.

My life flashed before my eyes. Lúin is fucking terrifying. Especially the whole anti-dragon part. If Hortensia got a crit, it would’ve been game over. Let’s see what we can do now.

…Really not much. I don’t see any way to kill her before she can attack again. Thankfully, we do have one option remaining: using a second rewarp charge with Clanne to get everyone out to the other side, and rally everyone together for one devastating turn.

…And yeah, I’m going with that option.

But first, let’s do as much damage to her as we can with this free turn. It’ll make next turn easier.

Hortensia: You took my sister from me! I’ll never forgive you!

Yunaka using Lodestar Rush: Forgive me.

PFFFFFFFFFFF

Shit, forgot to use Roy’s!

…Oh.

Oh no.

Hortensia froze Alcryst. Who’s in her attack range now.

Thankfully, I can just barely save him with my first use of obstruct! Awesome! Alright, time to get Louis onto an engage tile so we can wreck this girl next turn.

And Louis unlocks immunity to freeze!

Yeah, that suddenly sounds more worthwhile!

Yunaka finishes her off.

Unfortunately, this appears to not be one of those games where you get the uses on an item restored when you take it from an enemy who used some of it. I only have one use left of this freeze staff. Highly unfortunate, but at least I got the thing at all.

The chests had an elfire and a dracoshield. The elfire is probably going to Clanne, but I’m not sure who to give the dracoshield to just yet. Probably Yunaka though.

So canter doesn’t work on breaking walls, probably because it uses the command “destroy” rather than “attack”.

…Oh shit, the music got even more intense!

Alright, so, Hyacinth is not fucking around. He’s got a scary bow attack that makes me really glad I didn’t deploy Chloé.

Thankfully, again, the game tells me exactly how much damage I have to worry about. And in most cases it’s not much damage at all.

…Speaking of exact words on descriptions, I notice that the game explicitly specifies that weapon advantage breaks are the only ones that armored units are immune to. Hmmmm… which means that Hyacinth’s Lyn attack can break him. Assuming it isn’t like other attacks and thus can break even if it does no damage. Cuz I don’t think Louis can be hurt by this thing.

Alright, I gave Yunaka the dracoshield. Her defense is surprisingly good for a thief, it’s entirely workable. So I’m gonna work with it.

Alright, we’ve got Corrupted Morion charging us, and a healer is chain-guarding.

Okay, so Pepsiman has a pretty good line that I think would have worked better if it were shorter.

Pepsiman: King Morion. You said you wanted to duel when we made it back to the castle… Remember? I wish we could have crossed swords as friends.

It should’ve ended there. He goes on, which I think lessens the impact:

Pepsiman: But now… we must face each other as enemies.

That was already implied by the circumstances. No need to say it.

…Honestly… the fact that Morion is twitching and lolling his head in his idle animation almost identically to an Awakening entombed should make me laugh. Especially given the entombed are mostly associated in my mind with that goofy grinding map, EXPonential Growth. But it doesn’t. It’s actually kind of unsettling seeing someone who used to be alive and friendly and human now twitching and flopping like some badly-stringed marionette.

Diamant: Was I a good son? I should have asked you that sooner.

That’s yet another line that I think would’ve hit harder if it ended the conversation.

Okay, he’s down. Unfortunately I kind of messed up my own path forward by using Roy’s special to mass-attack the enemies and break the chain guard, setting the hallway on fire.

Time to see how much that complicates things now that Morion’s dead.

…Curious. Apparently the downside to the shielding art is that it doesn’t have a brave effect. Good to know. More importantly, holy shit I forgot Hyacinth can make four more of himself.

Marth says “We don’t know what they’re capable of”, and yeah, you got that right. Their nature is not properly explained. They say they have 5 mov, but the game only highlights the square they’re on in blue and the squares immediately around them in red. The game just says they can make chain attacks with him.

Plus side, flames only last a turn, so they’re no longer in my way.

I am very, very grateful that I learned beforehand that specials can’t crit. Now that he’s wasted it after I made sure nobody would die, I can more safely approach him so that everyone can fight him.

Wounded Anna: I refuse to cry!

Like so much about this version of Anna, I can’t tell whether I love or hate this line.

Alright, Anna hand axed the healer, so no more chain guard, plus a free chain attack set up against Corrupted Morion at the very outset! Now to bring in Diamant for similar reasons. Quadruple hit!

I poisoned him with a short knife, and then finished the first bar off with Alfred. Thanks to the double chain attacks I’ve got stacked, Alfred’s pathetic damage output was enough.

As for the second health bar, Louis took a huge chunk out of it with his javelin. Now I’m poised to have both Clanne and Alcryst take 3-range potshots heavily augmented by double chain attacks. Honestly, it’s a shame that backup only shines when killing bosses, but holy shit do they shine then.

Alright, now let’s have Alcryst get the kill (or more likely Anna or Diamant’s chain attacks before it).

Nope! Alcryst managed it! One of the chain attacks missed!

…And now Hyacinth has completely changed his attitude. Right, what they said about him changing radically since Sombron came back.

You know, from the regular well-adjusted person who already thought bringing Sombron back was a good idea.

But yeah, anyway, stage clear!

Hyacinth begs for mercy, but we’re having none of it. However, hood girl shows up again! Alright, time to pay attention for signs that this is Veyle.

Oh shit. Lord Sombron has freaky dragon feet! That’s kinda cool.

But yeah, looks like Sombron’s gonna be all evil for the sake of it and eat Hyacinth.

“Only sovereign blood will quell my hunger. You understand.”

There’s still sovereign blood among us though! Unless you literally need the royal ceremony to happen for Diamant to be declared king now that his father’s dead. Does he literally need specifically the king of Elusia?

…Lyn’s ring just dropped. Either Hyacinth took it off as one last act of defiance against Sombron… or Sombron spat it out because it’s no good inside of him.

Hortensia: AH! FATHER!

I wish I could show you this line, because it is a terrible read. Comically so.

Okay, so hood girl doesn’t have those weirdly defined lips on her model, just in that cutscene. So the fact that Veyle doesn’t have them on her model doesn’t disprove the Veyle theory. Neither one does on their model, so there’s no difference there.

…And I say this literally exactly before Hortensia lunges at hood girl and unmasks her as Veyle.

Looks like I was right all this time! Not that it was hard to guess.

And she’s Sombron’s daughter, which pretty much confirms the follow-up theory that she’s related to Pepsiman.

It’s curious that she doesn’t have any red in her hair though. Just in her eyes.

Pepsiman: How could you deceive us like this?

Veyle: Deceive you? We’ve never even spoken before.

ALTERNATE PERSONALITY! ALTERNATE PERSONALITY! HOLY SHIT I AM ON A ROLL WITH MY PREDICTIONS! Not that this game’s very good at making them hard to guess, but still!

Ooh! Zephia’s a mage dragon! That explains the pointy ears!

…

…

…

…

Has anyone seen Jello Apocalypse’s Fire Emblem video? Where he describes the big bad’s four generals as “The Fun Crazy One, the Boring One, the One that Dies Offscreen, and the Noble one”?

The two middle ones aren’t a perfect fit, but just from their opening lines it becomes plain that the other two are literally in those positions in the lineup. Fun Crazy One on the far left, Noble One on the far right.

What the fuck.

…Veyle… Veyle just stole our draconic time crystal while we were distracted, and used it to steal all of our Emblem Rings.

…That is…

…That is the first intelligent in-story use of the rewind system’s time manipulation basis that the entire series has ever seen, and it was done by the fucking enemy.

BRA FUCKING VO VEYLE.

But also I seriously hope we don’t lose them for long. That’s fucking terrifying.

Also, I have to ask: uh… does this mean the crystal’s always had the power to stop fucking time?

Veyle: Amazing you didn’t notice. You must not be very bright.

Oh christ, if only she said that to Byleth I think she might have become my favorite character. Pepsiman hasn’t really established himself as the titanic dumbass that Corrin and Byleth were.

…Okay, this cutscene, watching Sombron corrupt the Emblems one by one, is actually making my stomach sink. Which is probably a point in the writing’s favor, in fairness.

DOES THIS MEAN I GET TO SEE WHAT CORRUPTION DOES TO ROY?

…I don’t think his hair color changes at all, hilariously enough.

…A dark version of the series main theme is playing right now.

Okay that’s brilliant.

…We’re in… a super dark place.

PLEASE TELL ME THIS IS WHEN PEPSIMAN FINALLY TURNS INTO A DRAGON TO SAVE THE DAY.

…Did… did she just give the Emblems to random fucking corrupted?

No, Veyle, you were being so clever!

Also, I’m assuming we also can’t rewind right now. I wonder if this is part of what makes the chapter so infamous?

WELL NOT FOR ME, FUCKERS!

Oh wow, Emblem powers have evil names when on the enemy units. “Rise Above” becomes “Sink Below”. It’s also weaker, I notice, but also obviously can be used indefinitely.

…I wonder how the game’s gonna convey how Veyle has the time crystal. I hope it doesn’t mean that she actually rewinds time to undo my successes.

Also, it looks like I can’t change who I have deployed.

…This is… this looks like it’s gonna be a challenge.

But I’m not tackling it today. A bit too late for that. I’ll deal with it tomorrow.

I’m honestly really looking forward to seeing how this map works.

Alastor, signing off.

[Acacia Sgt]

1 hour ago, Alastor15243 said:

…I really hope this game allows for the occasion to talk to Clanne, Framme and Vander after the “big reveal” I’m expecting that Pepsiman isn’t Dragon Jesus, but Dragon Antichrist. Like Sanaki talks to her holy guard when she realizes she might not actually be the apostle. Not that I expect it to be brilliantly written, but I really hope they at least have the presence of mind to try. Because that is a big deal with their dynamics. Hell, if this were Three Houses, and I can’t believe I’m saying something nice about Three Houses’ support system, but if it were Three Houses they’d probably lock their A support until this reveal happens and require you to do the C and B supports before that point so it makes sense. So Three Houses could totally accommodate this story arc.

Well, one thing is sure, you won't see any late-game revelation even in their A supports, since they aren't locked to the storyline. Still...

1 hour ago, Alastor15243 said:

…Okay, I’m half disappointed, half relieved that he actually answers the question and gives a mostly-reasonable response. Louis is probably my favorite character in the game gameplaywise, and it would be a damned shame if I had to live with him being some kind of deranged creeper, even if it were funny.

Still, they do point out it’s still a little creepy, and Pepsiman really sells the awkwardness of trying to explain this to him.

Louis kinda reminds me of Azama. Except “kinda socially oblivious” instead of “comically unrepentant asshole”.

Well, localization did made a tweak to him.

1 hour ago, Alastor15243 said:

Louis: Show animals love, and they become fond of you. That’s why I’ll keep petting this little one.

…He’s standing in front of a chicken.

Oh man, Louis, never change.

He really needs to open his eyes more often.

1 hour ago, Alastor15243 said:

Oooh, Hortensia again! Maybe we’ll be getting Lucina!

Oh shit, Hortensia’s got out-of-date news regarding Ivy. She doesn’t even know if she survived the initial castle siege!

That’s… curious.

Guess there weren't survivors to send message back... or that could confirm Ivy's survival. At least for the castle siege they might've truly routed the entire force?

1 hour ago, Alastor15243 said:

So, Hyacinth accuses them of murdering Ivy, Hortensia buys it, and we completely ignore the comment, of course. Jesus I hate this sort of forced miscommunication bullshit.

Ah, tell me about it.

1 hour ago, Alastor15243 said:

…Okay, so all three of this Elusian trio have droppable items, and two of them didn’t die for real when I killed them. I now suspect I’m being outrageously paranoid thinking that killing Hortensia in this situation will kill her off for real.

Considering the way this game goes... this is certainly common that "0HP means dead" is even less of a thing here than in past FE's.

1 hour ago, Alastor15243 said:

Alright, so, Hyacinth is not fucking around. He’s got a scary bow attack that makes me really glad I didn’t deploy Chloé.

Alright, we’ve got Corrupted Morion charging us, and a healer is chain-guarding.

Admittedly, I just waited for them to come to me, so I could use the Healing Tile and the Magic Artillery.

1 hour ago, Alastor15243 said:

“Only sovereign blood will quell my hunger. You understand.”

There’s still sovereign blood among us though! Unless you literally need the royal ceremony to happen for Diamant to be declared king now that his father’s dead. Does he literally need specifically the king of Elusia?

Yes, hence why they refer to sovereign in specific, not just royal blood.

1 hour ago, Alastor15243 said:

Pepsiman: How could you deceive us like this?

Veyle: Deceive you? We’ve never even spoken before.

ALTERNATE PERSONALITY! ALTERNATE PERSONALITY! HOLY SHIT I AM ON A ROLL WITH MY PREDICTIONS! Not that this game’s very good at making them hard to guess, but still!

Yeah, not hard to guess.

1 hour ago, Alastor15243 said:

Ooh! Zephia’s a mage dragon! That explains the pointy ears!

Has anyone seen Jello Apocalypse’s Fire Emblem video? Where he describes the big bad’s four generals as “The Fun Crazy One, the Boring One, the One that Dies Offscreen, and the Noble one”?

The two middle ones aren’t a perfect fit, but just from their opening lines it becomes plain that the other two are literally in those positions in the lineup. Fun Crazy One on the far left, Noble One on the far right.

I've also seen them compared to the Nohrian siblings... and I've done that comparison too. Just with Camilla instead of Xander in charge.

1 hour ago, Alastor15243 said:

What the fuck.

…Veyle… Veyle just stole our draconic time crystal while we were distracted, and used it to steal all of our Emblem Rings.

…That is…

…That is the first intelligent in-story use of the rewind system’s time manipulation basis that the entire series has ever seen, and it was done by the fucking enemy.

BRA FUCKING VO VEYLE.

But also I seriously hope we don’t lose them for long. That’s fucking terrifying.

Also, I have to ask: uh… does this mean the crystal’s always had the power to stop fucking time?

Veyle: Amazing you didn’t notice. You must not be very bright.

Oh christ, if only she said that to Byleth I think she might have become my favorite character. Pepsiman hasn’t really established himself as the titanic dumbass that Corrin and Byleth were.

I'd say, it's only really marred by her taking the Time Crystal... somehow. As it stands, it comes out of nowhere.

Still, it doesn't change the fact the Time Crystal is still very underutilized, so... not much of an upgrade from Mila's Turnwheel or Divine Pulse.

1 hour ago, Alastor15243 said:

…Okay, this cutscene, watching Sombron corrupt the Emblems one by one, is actually making my stomach sink. Which is probably a point in the writing’s favor, in fairness.

DOES THIS MEAN I GET TO SEE WHAT CORRUPTION DOES TO ROY?

…I don’t think his hair color changes at all, hilariously enough.

…A dark version of the series main theme is playing right now.

Okay that’s brilliant.

…We’re in… a super dark place.

PLEASE TELL ME THIS IS WHEN PEPSIMAN FINALLY TURNS INTO A DRAGON TO SAVE THE DAY.

Yeah, I'll be honest... I don't like this part. In fact, I loathe it. To me, it's the one blemish on an otherwise perfect game. It's the Blood Pact or Curse of Valla of Engage to me. And that's all I'll say on the matter because I know I'm in the super SUPER minority.

1 hour ago, Alastor15243 said:

…Did… did she just give the Emblems to random fucking corrupted?

No, Veyle, you were being so clever!

You don't need to worry about that... really.

1 hour ago, Alastor15243 said:

…I wonder how the game’s gonna convey how Veyle has the time crystal. I hope it doesn’t mean that she actually rewinds time to undo my successes.

I mean, considering she can call upon ZA WARUDO... the fact Alear even got away says Veyle is going through Plot-Induced Stupidity (TM) so you can still have a game. So... don't expect it... really.

[Shanty Pete's 1st Mate]

1 hour ago, Alastor15243 said:

Unfortunately her first arena opponents are Vander and Louis. Needless to say, she loses both. But then then she fights Boucheron, who’s equipped with a greataxe I don’t recall ever giving him. In fact come to think of it, I’m pretty sure it was steel. Well I guess that’s to keep you from cheesing these fights by unequipping every other conceivable opponent.

Yeah, the game is willing to give your own units weapons they don't actually have, when you fight against them in the Arena. I fought against a Vander who wielded a Tomahawk, despite never giving him one. Similarly, it seems like your Arena opponent will never have a forged or engraved weapon.

1 hour ago, Alastor15243 said:

As Shanty Pete’s 1^st Mate said… yes, these two-line bond conversations are indeed way better than what Radiant Dawn did, as weird as that is to realize. In fairness though, you only need to write 12 of these, maybe a few more for DLC, for each character, as opposed to Radiant Dawn needing you to essentially write (Radiant Dawn’s massive cast) x (Radiant Dawn’s massive cast minus one) of these.

Technically in RD it's only half that value, since "Edward x Nolan" is the same thing as "Nolan x Edward". But even then, I won't deny that RD has a good deal more support pairings than there are Unit-Emblem Bonds in Engage.

1 hour ago, Alastor15243 said:

Hell, if this were Three Houses, and I can’t believe I’m saying something nice about Three Houses’ support system, but if it were Three Houses they’d probably lock their A support until this reveal happens and require you to do the C and B supports before that point so it makes sense. So Three Houses could totally accommodate this story arc.

Time-gated supports are one of those divisive topics, but I appreciated them in both Echoes and 3H. It enabled the supports to reference story beats and changed situations, rather than being their own thing divorced from the main campaign. If there was any flaw, it was not enough back-gating, enabling the player to still get obviously Academy-timed supports during the post-skip.

1 hour ago, Alastor15243 said:

Louis kinda reminds me of Azama. Except “kinda socially oblivious” instead of “comically unrepentant asshole”.

The brown hair, and eyes wide shut, definitely helps that comparison. I expected him to be like Kellam, but instead, he's among the least-forgotten characters by the fandom.

1 hour ago, Alastor15243 said:

Okay I seriously need to get Yunaka some luck boosts. Holy shit, everyone has a terrifyingly existent crit rate on her.

The Short Knife gives a Dodge boost, and can be relatively cheaply forged to overcome its Might issues.

1 hour ago, Alastor15243 said:

So, as I was spoiled, King Morion is not just dead, but Corrupted. I wonder if the verb would be capitalized too?

I don't think that King Morion is one of the Corrupted, since he doesn't have one of those zombie headcrabs on him. I'd be curious if anyone tried using Seraphim on him, whether it would deal effective damage.

1 hour ago, Alastor15243 said:

Diamant: Was I a good son? I should have asked you that sooner.

 

That’s yet another line that I think would’ve hit harder if it ended the conversation

I made Alcryst get the final blow on his father. It was goddamn heartbreaking. I'm glad to see that the art of boss conversations has not been forsaken this time around.

1 hour ago, Alastor15243 said:

But yeah, looks like Sombron’s gonna be all evil for the sake of it and eat Hyacinth.

"I can't believe Leopards would eat my face!", said King Hyacinth of the Leopards-Eating-People's-Faces party.

Seriously, I am genuinely curious how King Hyacinth thought this might end well for him. If it were a dissident cleric, or an Elfire-tossing anarchist, I could see them reviving the being that promises to eat their despised authority figure. But when you're the authority figure yourself, you're acting directly counter to your self-interest. Maybe a later plot point will show that he was externally compelled to do this or something, I dunno.

1 hour ago, Alastor15243 said:

“Only sovereign blood will quell my hunger. You understand.”

 

There’s still sovereign blood among us though! Unless you literally need the royal ceremony to happen for Diamant to be declared king now that his father’s dead. Does he literally need specifically the king of Elusia?

Was really hoping Hyacinth would pull a desperate "Well, technically, with Morion dead, Diamant is the sovereign of Brodia! Eat him instead! And maybe Alcryst, as an after-dinner snack!"

1 hour ago, Alastor15243 said:

Veyle: Deceive you? We’ve never even spoken before.

 

ALTERNATE PERSONALITY! ALTERNATE PERSONALITY! HOLY SHIT I AM ON A ROLL WITH MY PREDICTIONS! Not that this game’s very good at making them hard to guess, but still!

For a little while, I thought there were gonna be "two Veyles", much like the two Robins in Awakening. But the bandage being there disproved that theory.

Also, it bugged me that Alear never commented on Veyle's shackles when bandaging her leg. I'm not sure if they were supposed to indicate that Veyle had been held captive, but escaped... or if they're a totally normal part of character design in this world.

1 hour ago, Alastor15243 said:

DOES THIS MEAN I GET TO SEE WHAT CORRUPTION DOES TO ROY?

 

…I don’t think his hair color changes at all, hilariously enough

It's a shame, really. A blue-haired Roy would've been absolutely cursèd.

1 hour ago, Alastor15243 said:

Has anyone seen Jello Apocalypse’s Fire Emblem video? Where he describes the big bad’s four generals as “The Fun Crazy One, the Boring One, the One that Dies Offscreen, and the Noble one”?

 

The two middle ones aren’t a perfect fit, but just from their opening lines it becomes plain that the other two are literally in those positions in the lineup. Fun Crazy One on the far left, Noble One on the far right.

Ah, that was a fun video. Although I think "the Noble One" and "the Boring One" are the same, this time around.

And yes, I do want to romance the Old Man.

[Eltosian Kadath]

2 hours ago, Alastor15243 said:

 

 

…Okay, I’m half disappointed, half relieved that he actually answers the question and gives a mostly-reasonable response. Louis is probably my favorite character in the game gameplaywise, and it would be a damned shame if I had to live with him being some kind of deranged creeper, even if it were funny.

Funny you should say that as there is what I suspect is an unreliable rumor that localization changed him from deranged creeper to well meaning odd ball. Now I haven't seen any of the side-by-sides for this, and a vast majority of those complaining about "localization changes" are mostly complaining about the change to romances with underage characters being tones down into more of a close friendship in the international version, with all of the other side-by-sides I have seen being overblown complaints about making things into more comprehensible English, in what I suspect is an attempt to rile up the crowd of normies, so take that with a grain of salt.

 

2 hours ago, Alastor15243 said:

 

 

Also, it looks like I can’t change who I have deployed.

 

…This is… this looks like it’s gonna be a challenge.

 

But I’m not tackling it today. A bit too late for that. I’ll deal with it tomorrow.

 

I’m honestly really looking forward to seeing how this map works.

 

Alastor, signing off.

I rather like the next map, so I hope you end up having fun with it.

 

51 minutes ago, Shanty Pete's 1st Mate said:

 

Also, it bugged me that Alear never commented on Veyle's shackles when bandaging her leg. I'm not sure if they were supposed to indicate that Veyle had been held captive, but escaped... or if they're a totally normal part of character design in this world.

It felt like such an elephant in the room for that whole scene. Why would he have nothing to say about the chains on her leg...

[Etrurian emperor]

2 hours ago, Shanty Pete's 1st Mate said:

I made Alcryst get the final blow on his father. It was goddamn heartbreaking. I'm glad to see that the art of boss conversations has not been forsaken this time around.

I really liked the conversations the Brodian princes had with their dad, especially Alcryst where he reveals he's got a lot of steel and heart hidden under that void of dignity. I think the conversations kinda seem as if they come straight from another game entirely since the rest of Engage's writing is so tame and goofy. Its just a shame Citrinne didn't get a conversation too since he's her uncle. 

2 hours ago, Shanty Pete's 1st Mate said:

Also, it bugged me that Alear never commented on Veyle's shackles when bandaging her leg. I'm not sure if they were supposed to indicate that Veyle had been held captive, but escaped... or if they're a totally normal part of character design in this world.

I think its mostly a kind of icky fanserice because narratively the shackles and the collar don't make any sense. 

Spoiler

We see her real self interact with the hounds and its clear they're not holding her prisoner. Instead they falsely pretend to be her friends. Except for Marni who's just a brat to her. 

 

2 hours ago, Shanty Pete's 1st Mate said:

"I can't believe Leopards would eat my face!", said King Hyacinth of the Leopards-Eating-People's-Faces party.

Seriously, I am genuinely curious how King Hyacinth thought this might end well for him. If it were a dissident cleric, or an Elfire-tossing anarchist, I could see them reviving the being that promises to eat their despised authority figure. But when you're the authority figure yourself, you're acting directly counter to your self-interest. Maybe a later plot point will show that he was externally compelled to do this or something, I dunno.

Idiot kings somehow not believing that the ''dragon eating people's faces party''  won't eat their faces are a proud Fire Emblem tradition. 

Same with Ludwig of Grust who somehow thinks Medeus won't destroy him too, or Gangrel who thinks Grima won't kill him, or all those Jugdralians making deals with the lopt cult. 

I think its somewhat implied he's to some degree brainwashed and not thinking clearly anymore.

Edited February 4, 2023 by Etrurian emperor

[Alastor15243]

9 minutes ago, Etrurian emperor said:

I think its somewhat implied he's to some degree brainwashed and not thinking clearly anymore.

Yes but they imply that happened after he summoned Sombron. Which makes me question his mental stability to begin with.

[Jotari]

Juat don't expect good writing from Haycinth. He's one of the laziest plot devices in the game...yet I can't help but like him. Guess the fisty cuffs mage outfit and evil Lyn Stand just does something for me.

[Acacia Sgt]

27 minutes ago, Etrurian emperor said:

Same with Ludwig of Grust who somehow thinks Medeus won't destroy him too, or Gangrel who thinks Grima won't kill him, or all those Jugdralians making deals with the lopt cult. 

To be fair with Ludwig, Medeus doesn't want the eradication of mankind (before his second revival, at least). Even as far as royals went, the only ones he wanted dead were either because they were a threat to him (Altea's), or choose to defy him (Archanea's). So kowtowing to the dragon supremacist wasn't actually that bad of an idea. Cowardly, but not stupid. Now Michalis, on the other hand, it might've not have been too smart for him. Since if Medeus plans to revive the Dohlr Empire... well, Macedon was founded from Dohlr territory, so unlike Ludwig at least ensuring he could have Grust survive as a tributary to Dohlr, Medeus might've wanted to reincorporate Macedon into Dohlr, effectively stripping Michalis of his royal title. So he was getting the short end of the stick there.

Edited February 5, 2023 by Acacia Sgt

[Alastor15243]

2 minutes ago, Acacia Sgt said:

Now Michalis, on the other hand, it might've not have been too smart for him. Since if Medeus plans to revive the Dohlr Empire... well, Macedon was founded from Dohlr territory, so unlike Ludwig at least ensuring he could have Grust survive as a tributary to Dohlr, Medeus might've wanted to reincorporate Macedon into Dohlr, effectively stripping Michalis of his royal title. So he was getting the short end of the stick there.

This further embiggens my since-the-start-of-the-marathon headcanon that he's a deranged dragon fetishist.

[Acacia Sgt]

All those years riding a dragon leave their mark.

[Etrurian emperor]

16 minutes ago, Acacia Sgt said:

Now Michalis, on the other hand, it might've not have been too smart for him. Since if Medeus plans to revive the Dohlr Empire... well, Macedon was founded from Dohlr territory, so unlike Ludwig at least ensuring he could have Grust survive as a tributary to Dohlr, Medeus might've wanted to reincorporate Macedon into Dohlr, effectively stripping Michalis of his royal title. So he was getting the short end of the stick there.

Michelis is even dumber than that since his whole evil plan is challenging Medeus for world supremacy...right after helping Medeus eliminate anyone who could possibly stop him. He has a token line about maybe inviting Camus to join him but if Camus wasn't going to do the right for for Marth and Nyna he's certainly not going to do it for an incompetent tyrant. 

19 minutes ago, Acacia Sgt said:

To be fair with Ludwig, Medeus doesn't want the eradication of mankind (before his second revival, at least). Even as far as royals went, the only ones he wanted dead were either because they were a threat to him (Altea's), or choose to defy him (Archanea's). So kowtowing to the dragon supremacist wasn't actually that bad of an idea. Cowardly, but not stupid.

Perhaps not dead but certainly subjugated. Given how he hates humans its unlikely Medeus is going to rule fairly over them. 

[Acacia Sgt]

2 minutes ago, Etrurian emperor said:

Michelis is even dumber than that since his whole evil plan is challenging Medeus for world supremacy...right after helping Medeus eliminate anyone who could possibly stop him. He has a token line about maybe inviting Camus to join him but if Camus wasn't going to do the right for for Marth and Nyna he's certainly not going to do it for an incompetent tyrant. 

True. The only thing I can think of is that, Macedon being right there, it'd be the first to come under attack if they defied Medeus. But yes, if they had all banded together, the War of Shadows wouldn't have lasted that long, as you wouldn't have Gra's betrayal, King Cornelius would've had a chance to use Falchion against Medeus, etc. Granted, there's still Gharnef and his anticts...

2 minutes ago, Etrurian emperor said:

Perhaps not dead but certainly subjugated. Given how he hates humans its unlikely Medeus is going to rule fairly over them. 

As much Medeus hates them, he still keeps a sizeable human population in Dohlr. Aside from revenge, he cares more in bringing back the Golden Age of yore, and he's pragmatic to know there are just not enough dragons left at the moment. So perhaps some culling of the human population is in order, but he'd likely want to have collaborators to keep the rest in check... which is where the likes of Ludwig would come in. As for Ludwig... well, we know he didn't mind being subjugated if he could keep himself and his children alive. He valued his survival and perhaps was just smart enough to realize Medeus did not, in fact, had genocide in mind. Hoping he'd be among those spared if he kowtowed.

[Jotari]

1 hour ago, Acacia Sgt said:

To be fair with Ludwig, Medeus doesn't want the eradication of mankind (before his second revival, at least). Even as far as royals went, the only ones he wanted dead were either because they were a threat to him (Altea's), or choose to defy him (Archanea's). So kowtowing to the dragon supremacist wasn't actually that bad of an idea. Cowardly, but not stupid. Now Michalis, on the other hand, it might've not have been too smart for him. Since if Medeus plans to revive the Dohlr Empire... well, Macedon was founded from Dohlr territory, so unlike Ludwig at least ensuring he could have Grust survive as a tributary to Dohlr, Medeus might've wanted to reincorporate Macedon into Dohlr, effectively stripping Michalis of his royal title. So he was getting the short end of the stick there.

Ludwig's children were also being held hostage which is a pretty decent reason to capitulate (whether they had been kidnapped initially or he willingly handed them over when Medeus first threatened him is, I think, unknown...and kind of hugely important for his characterization). I actually think, to some extent, Medeus is a bit overblown in universe. He's a big scary dragon, but he doesn't do anything the humans don't already do to each other (up to and including slavery). He also kind of washes away the sins of his collaborators as a plot point. I think a more realistic scenario beyond the propganda (or, I guess basic 90s writing) is that Grust and Macedon themselves were expansionist empires and Medeus was just a powerful ally for them in a relationship of relative equals. Like, Grust's largest army on the continent and Macedon's elite air force didn't come out of nowhere. They'd raised those armies for a reason and no doubt intended to use them whether Medeus cam on the scene or not.

Edited February 5, 2023 by Jotari

[Acacia Sgt]

8 minutes ago, Jotari said:

Ludwig's children were also being held hostage which is a pretty decent reason to capitulate (whether they had been kidnapped initially or he willingly handed them over when Medeus first threatened him is, I think, unknown...and kind of hugely important for his characterization).

Found it. From Mystery Chapter One house convo:

The deceased King Grunia had two children:
Princess Yumina and Prince Yubello, twins of 13 to 14 years of age.
The King was scared of Garnef, so he sent the two to Khadein.
I heard they were held as hostages and locked inside a dark room.
When they were finally rescued by Wendel, they were on the brink of death.
The bishop immediately took them to a monastery in Khadein to care for them.

New Mystery verison:

The late King Grust had two children. Princess Yumina and Prince Yubello. They're still young. Maybe thirteen, or fourteen; cute little twins, both of them. In the last war, Gharnef, the Dark Pontifex, kidnapped the twins to blackmail the king. They were taken to Khadein, the city of magic, and locked away in a pitch-black room. At great personal risk, Pontifex Wendell saved them. He took them to a monastery to protect them.

Edited February 5, 2023 by Acacia Sgt

[Jotari]

26 minutes ago, Acacia Sgt said:

Found it. From Mystery Chapter One house convo:

The deceased King Grunia had two children:
Princess Yumina and Prince Yubello, twins of 13 to 14 years of age.
The King was scared of Garnef, so he sent the two to Khadein.
I heard they were held as hostages and locked inside a dark room.
When they were finally rescued by Wendel, they were on the brink of death.
The bishop immediately took them to a monastery in Khadein to care for them.

New Mystery verison:

The late King Grust had two children. Princess Yumina and Prince Yubello. They're still young. Maybe thirteen, or fourteen; cute little twins, both of them. In the last war, Gharnef, the Dark Pontifex, kidnapped the twins to blackmail the king. They were taken to Khadein, the city of magic, and locked away in a pitch-black room. At great personal risk, Pontifex Wendell saved them. He took them to a monastery to protect them.

Huh. Sounds like it's both, depending on the version (or possible it's a translation thing). In the original he freely gave away his children out of cowardice, in the remake they were kidnapped from him.

The Grust royals are, along with Hardin having a personalities, one of the things I most wish they'd reference in Shadow Dragon. It's kind of huge for Grust's whole situation in the war. Thinking on it now, I wonder why Gharnef kept them in a dark room in Khadein and didn't just lock them up with Elice in Thabes.

[Acacia Sgt]

3 minutes ago, Jotari said:

Huh. Sounds like it's both, depending on the version (or possible it's a translation thing). In the original he freely gave away his children out of cowardice, in the remake they were kidnapped from him.

The Grust royals are, along with Hardin having a personalities, one of the things I most wish they'd reference in Shadow Dragon. It's kind of huge for Grust's whole situation in the war. Thinking on it now, I wonder why Gharnef kept them in a dark room in Khadein and didn't just lock them up with Elice in Thabes.

I wonder, was Elice really kept at Thabes all this time, or was only relocated when Gharnef lost Khadein? Perhaps he had all three in Khadein, then since Elice was the only one important to him, he only took her and fled, leaving the prince and princess behind. Wendell then took them to the monastery, before they all departed to Altea.

But yes, Shadow Dragon should've kept the Book 2 nods and add more, but I guess it is a remake of the original, not Book 1. Still...

[Jotari]

34 minutes ago, Acacia Sgt said:

I wonder, was Elice really kept at Thabes all this time, or was only relocated when Gharnef lost Khadein? Perhaps he had all three in Khadein, then since Elice was the only one important to him, he only took her and fled, leaving the prince and princess behind. Wendell then took them to the monastery, before they all departed to Altea.

But yes, Shadow Dragon should've kept the Book 2 nods and add more, but I guess it is a remake of the original, not Book 1. Still...

It's not just Shadow Dragon. The actual book 1 should have had that content too! Maybe even more so. Old Mystery came out, what, 1994 or something? Like only a handful of years after the original. I'm sure more than a few people were board playing the same story again they had experienced just a few years ago. In fact, I expect a lot of players probably jumped straight to book 2 on release. And maybe they were expecting that so they didnt want anything new from book 1 to be important. But by retconning this infromation they did make book 1 stuff important, they just didn't show it in book 1 -_-

[Alastor15243]

Engage Day 13: Chapter 11

Alright.

Here we go.

Welcome to hell.

Needless to say I am simultaneously excited and terrified someone is going to die. Emotionally I’m kind of conflicted. It’s a cool story beat, but it deserves a better story to beat. And also, gameplaywise… I have a feeling we’re not getting these Emblems back for a while, and that’s sad, because the Emblems are probably the most fun aspect of the gameplay. I hope we get some new toys to play with soon. My guess is we’re going to retreat to the final kingdom to get our hands on theirs, and then slowly regain the old ones. Perhaps via these Emblem paralogues I’ve heard people talking about.

But christ am I going to miss Sigurd-Louis-chan-san-sama-senpai-san-sama-san-chan-san-sempai-chan. And I am definitely going to miss Micaiah-Clanne. Speaking of… that reminds me about some things I needed to check on…

…Okay, so the game does let you re-assign bond rings to the people who lost their Emblems. Which pretty heavily indicates that even if we kill the Corrupted who got them… we’re not magically getting them back. I wonder how they’re gonna explain that.

Also, HUGEASS FUCKING ZOMBIE DRAGONS ON THE MAP.

They’re pretty blatantly there to keep us from trying to do anything but escape in this chapter. And I like that. I like actually having insurmountable odds to run away from. Very few maps genuinely do this in Fire Emblem. There’s always the optional side-objective of just completely trouncing them instead of running away, and maps that do that bug me. It cheapens the urgency and aesthetics of the whole “running for your life” thing when you know it’s entirely realistic to win.

The thing I am most fucking terrified of is the Micaiah-Corrupted who has a freeze staff and range augmentation. Actually, the furthest back tile, which someone has to be on, presents no method I can see aside from using rewarp to get out of that freeze staff’s range on turn one. So I’m going to promote Alfred too. Alfred’s honestly my worst unit at the moment, so I’m not too worried about crippling his long-term potential if early promotion turns out to be unwise.

…And as I hunt to give him new weapons, I can’t help but notice that my engravings are still apparently active and valid. That’s handy as hell, but I wasn’t expecting it. Glad I made them while I had the chance!

…Unfortunately I actually have several spots in the back row I can’t realistically evacuate people out of freeze range from. So I’ll have Clanne occupy one of them just in case so he can at least rewarp himself out.

…Honestly, if that guy uses freeze on turn one, or at least moves to use it, I think a lot of my allies are fucked. But there’s precious little I can do about that, so I’m just gonna put restore staves on my-

…Clanne can’t use staves anymore.

Framme is my only healer.

…That realization hits so fucking hard.

…Okay, vulneraries for everyone.

Alright, so my back spots are reserved for units who can realistically escape freeze, or people I least mind dying horrible, undignified deaths, depending on how much this map decides it wants to fuck around.

And damn it does it hurt when the game fucks around and I find out.

Main thing is I’m making sure that Framme has both restore and rewarp. That way in an emergency she can get somebody out of there and then hopefully warp herself out later.

…And with that, I think I’ve reached the point where delaying accomplishes nothing but freaking me out.

Let’s do this.

…Yep, as suspected, Veyle teleported the ring away before we could take it. This… could get very, very ugly. Especially since that corrupted was so fucking strong.

…

…

…

…

…

WHY DIDN’T I USE TONICS ON EVERYONE!?

Damn it, damn it, damn it, damn it! And I had just convinced myself I’d done all I could do! That’s gonna reinforce my prep-screen paralysis even further, but there’s jack shit I can do about it now, so I’ve just gotta do my best and hope for the best.

GOD DAMN IT! I CAN’T BELIEVE THAT FREEZE STAFF IS ACTUALLY BEING USED LIKE THIS!

Okay, thankfully only Alcryst got hit, so technically I can restore him and get him to safety, then rewarp with Framme and everyone will be in the clear. The problem… is that there’s no valid position to do this from without Framme being in range of one of the fucking dragons stampeding through the woods.

…No, wait, it’s the cavalier holding Sigurd. Okay, does that mean I have a chance?

…No, holy shit, I can’t fucking let Sigurd’s brave lance get Framme. She’d be fucked the next turn. How…

…Restore… is ranged.

RESTORE IS RANGED!

YES! THANK YOU!

…Okay, but I still have to deal with this Sigurd fucker. Either I run away and let him come to us with a ridersbane and a brave lance (dangerous), or charge into him while he’s on a forest tile and covered by the Micaiah-Corrupted’s freeze staff (EXTREMELY dangerous). I think I’m gonna just check to make sure he can’t one-round anyone and then proceed and hope for the best once he’s outrun his support.

…Okay so he can’t one-shot Alfred with ridersbane. Which means I just have to worry about him using his brave lance against my most fragile unit.

Which would be Celine.

…Thankfully I managed to shield her, but the fucker still managed to retreat back into freeze staff protection. I had Diamant run in to finish him off after he fought Anna, and I’m gonna have to restore him next turn unless he gets lucky with a dodge.

…Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

There’s no way to restore Diamant and get him back out of staff range. He has to stay behind and fend off these guys on his own for several turns until freeze wears off.

DAMN IT!

Okay, thankfully the dragons don’t seem to be advancing. Which means he should be fine just handling a couple of enemies for three turns. And he’s the one I had stock up on extra vulneraries for everyone, so he’s fine for healing. Good. Alright, let’s keep moving then. Diamant will have to catch up.

AND THE HOUNDS SHOW UP.

OH THANK GOODNESS! PEPSIMAN DESPAIRS THAT THERE ARE TOO MANY OF THEM!

AND THE MUSIC STOPS!

AND YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS!

IVY COMES IN!

AND ZELKOV SOMEHOW FUCKING MANAGED TO STEAL THE TIME CRYSTAL BACK FROM VEYLE!?

AND WE HAVE TWO RINGS NOW!

LYN AND LUCINA WOOOOOOOOO!

…Okay maybe this isn’t the best time to say this, what with her saving our ass and everything, but… I’ve never really been a fan of Lyn’s voice. It’s absolutely nothing like I imagined her voice as a child. Honestly, the way I imagined her voice was closer to Lucina’s than what we got. But I guess I’m gonna have to deal with that, because it’s been pretty thoroughly cemented.

Okay, Lucina’s was pretty funny. She does that “hands on one shin” cute pose she’s done in a lot of media, and then it’s a zoom in on her eyes which suddenly choose violence, and it zooms out and she’s got her sword.

…And it’s pretty thematically cute how we get Lucina after we lose Marth, given that, as they allude to, she took up his name for a while.

…Okay, so I just checked, and the game doesn’t let you rewind to before you had the time crystal. I see! Makes sense, and I was very, very curious about that.

Yunaka scores a double crit to kill a lance fighter, which is awesome.

For some reason the staff guy isn’t using his staff. He’s prioritizing chain guards. I’m using this as an opportunity to have Diamant run the fuck away.

I let a thief get on a forest, so I had to use both my specials to secure a kill on him.

…Okay, I’m very close to the end, but the hounds are getting very close to me. I doubt I have more than-

…Wait…

…Only Pepsiman needs to escape? I’m noticing nobody else can do it.

…Well that… drastically simplifies things.

…I’ll be honest, I was hoping this was going to be an “Everyone needs to escape” map. But in fairness I guess that makes that terrifying freeze staff more reasonable.

So Diamant is far more ready to forgive Ivy than Alcryst is, for two big reasons:

1: She helped them find their father in the first place

2: She too is a child grieving the loss of a father.

He pretty effectively points this stuff out to get Alcryst to stop lashing out at her, and I like the way he phrases it too.

I notice that Alfred has been in these conversations, but not Céline. Either the game’s shafting her as a main character, or as soon as this Brodia-centric arc is over, Alcryst will fade into the background too, leaving only Diamant as a main character representative from Brodia.

Incidentally, I should probably talk about the music from this map.

It’s my least favorite of the “sad map themes” in the series. Both Don’t Speak Her Name and Thorn In You are significantly more memorable and emotional. That said, I don’t hate it. It does its job decently enough. It’s just not something I think I’d ever listen to on its own.

But as if in self-defense, the game immediately reminds me of something I do like about the soundtrack. Its use of evolving music. They incredibly effectively segue from a tragic to a hopeful and dramatic version of the same song in this cutscene where they retreat and rally their courage.

Woo! We got new items at the shop! Perfect timing! Great time to do it, right when we’ve been without it for a map!

But I think I’m gonna check that stuff out tomorrow. For now, I’m coming to the end of my time. I’ll work out how we’ll be moving forward next time.

So, what did I think of the map?

Pretty damned intense. I can only imagine how terrifying it is on Maddening. But the fact that they expect you to do most of it without rewinds is something I absolutely adore about it. Because it demonstrates confidence that they aren’t necessary for the game to be fair, even on Maddening. Honestly, part of me really wants to start playing this game on Maddening too, but I’m worried that’ll cheapen my impression of the blind ironman Hard mode difficulty and make my blind ironman less fun. I’m gonna have to come up with something though, because I wanna give this game’s difficulty a totally fair assessment for the ranking.

Well, I’m sure I’ll come up with something.

Alastor, signing off!