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

[Alastor15243]

Just now, Acacia Sgt said:

Speaking of, something I've found odd too is that... Veyle could stop you from recovering the rings in Chapter 11... what happened that she couldn't just magic Lief's Ring back as before?

If I had to run damage control for this game, I'd say that was literally all she had to concern herself with in Chapter 11, meanwhile in this by the time you fight Hyacinth odds are she's fully engaged in combat herself.

[Jotari]

3 minutes ago, Alastor15243 said:

Their targeting line turns black and the super name and how much damage they'll do with it shows up in the top right corner of the screen.

I've noticed the black lines, but nothing on the top right corner. I wonder if that's something Maddening just doesn't tell you (if so, not a fan) or if I'm just an inattentive idiot for not noticing. Knowing exactly how much damage enemies do with attacks like that has been a problem for me.

3 minutes ago, Alastor15243 said:

No, "still" as in "like all other arts in this game"

Ah, gotcha.

1 minute ago, Acacia Sgt said:

Speaking of, something I've found odd too is that... Veyle could stop you from recovering the rings in Chapter 11... what happened that she couldn't just magic Lief's Ring back as before?

Well Zelkov did manage to steal her Draconic Time Crystal...somehow...even though she was on the map actively using it at the time (and probably continued to do so after he became playable on the map and gave it to you, though I didn't end up beating any of the hounds by that point to see what happens).

[Alastor15243]

26 minutes ago, Jotari said:

I've noticed the black lines, but nothing on the top right corner. I wonder if that's something Maddening just doesn't tell you (if so, not a fan) or if I'm just an inattentive idiot for not noticing. Knowing exactly how much damage enemies do with attacks like that has been a problem for me.

I am quite frightened at the idea that Engage might do "usability drops as difficulty" like fucking Radiant Dawn. Please get back to me on this next time you see a black line!

[Acacia Sgt]

25 minutes ago, Jotari said:

Well Zelkov did manage to steal her Draconic Time Crystal...somehow...even though she was on the map actively using it at the time (and probably continued to do so after he became playable on the map and gave it to you, though I didn't end up beating any of the hounds by that point to see what happens).

I think the idea is that it happened while still in the Cathedral, and the Ring snatching is just regular magic. Just like how she levitates them during Chapter 10.

Evem if not, it still happens after you get the crystal back. It's impossible not to see it since once it happens, Leif and Roy are placed on the two Corrupted that spawn blocking the Escape tiles.

[lenticular]

4 hours ago, Alastor15243 said:

Honestly, the saddest part of this game for me is that they set out right out of the gate with a premise full of cheesy nonsense… only to proceed to demonstrate that they could have made something much more.

I honestly wish they'd just picked a lane and stuck to it. I think I would have liked the game more if it had just gone full-on cheesy nonsense the whole time (I mean, I unironically enjoyed TMS#FE after all). And I also would definitely have enjoyed a more serious story. But what we ended up with fell incredibly flat for me precisely because it was neither one thing nor the other. A lot of the more serious moments (especially some of the later ones that I won't go into) felt so ridiculously unearned that I found myself literally facepalming, whereas they could have been quite touching if they had been in a different story.

[Alastor15243]

Engage Day 22: Paralogues

 

Today started great! Clanne made some fantastic crepes, rank S! 2 to Strength, speed, defense and magic, and 1 to res! Wooo! Sucks it can’t stack with tonics, but whatever, I like it!

…I am really, really regretting not giving Framme Celica while I had the chance. I can’t believe it’s Chapter 18 and I still have no means to promote anyone to tome using classes without already having the affinity for them. Maybe Byleth or Corrin can teach it after expansion? Who knows?

…As for which one I should do today…

…Well, this is a damned good meal, maybe I should try for a strong one… Hmmm…

…Well this is embarrassing.

Speed +3 is the exact same SP cost as build +3. And is objectively superior. Because it raises your attack speed with heavy weapons and with light ones. Fuuuuuuuuck. I should’ve put that on Merrin.

Ah well. Alright, I think I’m gonna take a shot at Eirika’s paralogue at long last.

I promoted Framme to Martial Master because that’s her only option, and immediately regretted it when I realized I could give her a weapon rank from an emblem and make her another flying healer as a griffin knight. Oh well, in fairness griffin knights only get C in staves, so I guess she’s better at staffing like this, which is her main thing. Honestly I could probably do better than her but I’m mostly keeping her around for assorted non-gameplay reasons, including but not limited to the fact that I’m using her brother, whom she has an A rank with.

Also, I think that once I get more Emblems, I will put Lucina on Seadall. Seems pretty straightforward. Have one of my dagger users attack the boss at range, have Seadall come in and dance while adjacent to the boss, have my dagger user attack the boss again and start racking up the chain attacks from there.

Alright, I’m prepping for this, and I have to say that it’s kind of a shame that Louis isn’t nearly as useful as he used to be. I’ve been keeping him up to date levelwise, but his inability to double is just getting more and more noticeable. I have three tanks now, him, Yunaka and Merrin. And unfortunately Yunaka and Merrin take way less time to finish enemies off thanks to doubling and having attack that isn’t that much worse (plus Yunaka is pretty damned good about scoring crits). Still, his low res isn’t nearly as much as a problem as I would’ve expected it to be. Mages seem like this game’s answer to tanking in so many ways, but they’re surprisingly underutilized in that regard. Maybe in Maddening? I was certain I would’ve seen more of surge, to be sure.

But yeah, I’m gonna have my three tanks take point here. Yunaka down the middle, Louis to the left, Merrin to the right. Merrin will get poisoned, but that’s fine, I can restore her.

Also, just gotta say, I like this recreation of the final battle map. Especially the giant roots on the sides and the big, creepy abyss below.

Now then, let’s make sure I’ve got all my anti-dragon weapons set up…

…Unfortunately I only seem to have the wrymslayer. Kagetsu will be able to do some serious damage with that though, even if he’ll need some help finishing them off.

Alright, time to get on this.

Begin.

…Okay, so the music at least isn’t starting with Truth, Despair and Hope. But these are medleys, so maybe at least it’ll have that big awesome dramatic finale to the song.

…No. Doesn’t seem to do any part of it. It’s mostly the first map theme and then the final battle… in a really lighthearted manner. Which… disappoints me more than you can fathom. Like, it’s not just not getting my favorite song, it’s getting this. It just feels wrong, like it’s deliberately neutered. I don’t know how to describe it, but I am not remotely a fan.

…Okay, the battle music is way better than the map music, it’s got a way better rhythm to it. But still, small comfort.

…Well that blows! The thieves at the start just ran off to grab the treasure! Damn it, and I probably could’ve killed them both turn one if I realized that. Well, nothing for it but to hustle and see if I can intercept them. And if all else fails, pick which of the treasures I want more and use Astra Storm on whoever took it.

…Shit, wait, Yunaka has pass! And she’s damned near indestructible! I can just have her run through these enemies and see if she can cut the guy off!

Alright, I whipped out the engages on Louis, Yunaka and Merrin and took out the dragons, without ever having to use a slayer weapon. Louis and Yunaka are now heading down to intercept the western thief, and Merrin critted the shit out of the wyrm with Ragnell.

Ragnell is… cool, but different. That signature crescent slash shockwave is absent. Instead, you point it… and the enemy fucking explodes like you cast Final Fantasy Ultima on them. Just a big blue energy explosion.

…Alas, I was just introduced to its tragic, glaring weakness:

…It can be broken by enemies that don’t suck.

…Aaaand I fucked up. I tried to be clever and used override to get through the thief and the healer behind him in order to block off the treasure room and protect the treasure. I thought override would kill the mage behind the thief. The health bar really, really made it look like it, but of course like I said the game doesn’t actually let you check how much damage you do to back units. So while it looked like it would kill, alas, it did not, and then I realized that because I used that steel greatlance to “ensure” the kill, he has no way to counter this guy if he tries to attack him with elwind, and he’ll do 40 damage.

Louis has 46 HP left.

So sadly I have to waste Astra Storm on an enemy with 2 HP to save Louis.

…And the other treasure chest had a seraph robe. Shit, hopefully I can still nab that.

…And a greatlance user smashed Louis back from the door, so the thief opened the other chest, nabbing a second seal. Shit, I sent the big guns to the wrong side!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

…Wait… wha…

 

 

 

 

 

…No.

 

 

 

 

 

…NO!!!!!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

…And…

…And I just lost Merrin.

I underestimated just how powerful the generals in the area were. I didn’t throw her against that many enemies, and only one backup unit was around. I thought she’d be fine. But even with halved damage, even with all of her other myriad defensive buffs… she was just about completely defenseless against them. I was forced to watch her helplessly do 0 damage twice with her silver dagger to these assholes before they took her from her half remaining health to nothing in no time flat.

…Eirika…

…you just murdered one of my friends.

For real.

Like seriously, what the fuck.

…So, this entire paralogue has been a huge fucking mistake so far, all because I wanted to hear if this game used a song it didn’t fucking use.

And now I have to groom someone else to use Ike.

…And Rosado’s never going to find out what cool thing Merrin was going to show him.

…This is pure concentrated pain. Merrin was such a fun character, and she was a perfect fit for Ike. Getting to turn a class that would normally be a fragile speedster into an outright tank was so awesome… but I got careless with my calculations because of how strong Ike made her, despite several previous close calls.

It hurts, lemme tell ya.

It. Hurts.

Needless to say my vengeance is swift. The four enemies who managed to take down Merrin are executed swiftly with the help of Ivy, Seadall, Alcryst and Clanne.

…And when one of the illusory doubles killed an enemy at low health, Alcryst got a depressed “ally got the kill” quote… about his own fucking shadow clones.

…And now Louis and Yunaka are trapped in the western treasure room with a greatlance user, pinned in by the wyvern reinforcements. They pose no threat to Yunaka, but if I can’t get them out of the way by the time Louis’s HP whittles down from that greatlance so he can engage and run the fuck away, he’s a goner. Quality Time is proving surprisingly helpful at slowing his death, but I still have to pray things go well here, or Louis is fucked too. And that’d be a huge loss at this stage.

Thankfully fog and evasion boosts did the trick. Louis is safe and getting healed up as we speak, and now Yunaka can make herself alone in the room with that knight and prep him for Ivy to destroy him.

I have got to restock my tanks’ vulneraries. Just in case.

…I still don’t know how I’m going to replace Merrin.

OH SHIT! EIRIKA CAN DO LETHAL DAMAGE WITH HER SPECIAL AND YUNAKA JUST GOT FROZEN! HOW IS EIRIKA DOING THIS MUCH DAMAGE IN A SINGLE ATTACK WHAT THE SHIT YUNAKA’S DEFENSE ISN’T EVEN THAT BAD!

THINK THINK THINK! DO I HAVE ANY WAY OUT OF THIS!?

…Yes!

Yes I do!

Corrin can save the day! All I have to do is engage (thank goodness I built up another engage gauge) and reduce Eirika’s movement to zero! There aren’t enough enemies left that she has to dodgetank them all, and I can use Louis to take out one of the mages, probably the freeze one, and canto back to safety. I can reduce Eirika to a standstill for multiple turns, which should be time enough to do something.

…I had a really close call with a bolganone mage just barely in Louis’s range, but I managed to salvage it with Hortensia coming in clutch with a 71% freeze.

And Eirika is down.

…I can’t believe I lost one of my big three and came so close to losing another. This…

…I’m gonna have to work out how to recover from this. I genuinely have few ideas at the moment.

And Eirika and Pepsiman just have a cheery conversation like Eirika's minions didn’t just fucking murder one of us.

Honestly, I’m glad I lost someone in one of these so I could see for myself how unbelievably creepy these things become in that light.

Seriously, these shouldn’t be lethal battles. It makes no sense for them to be, storywise. They should be significantly more difficult, but they should be mock battles where deaths aren’t for real. Because why would these Emblems actually kill these people? They’re not taken control of, this is supposed to be a battle to deepen their emotional connections, to prove your worth! And yet now Merrin is dead! As if I didn’t hate Eirika enough!

Oh hey, look! Panette actually has something to say about Merrin’s death! Nice! Pity it isn’t voiced though. It really should be.

…But where the fuck is Timerra?

For that matter, I can’t see a lot of people here. I’d have figured everyone would show up to these maps, but there’s no Timerra, no Fogado, no Bunet, no Pandreo… is it just the people I have the most supports with?

Timerra is currently drowning her sorrows on the lute at the Somniel and is non-responsive…

…Ugh. I’m sorry, I don’t think I can proceed any further with this. I need time to… absorb what’s happened and work out how to fill the Merrin-shaped void in my army… and my heart.

Rest In Peace, Merrin.

Alastor, signing off.

Edited February 14, 2023 by Alastor15243

[Acacia Sgt]

16 minutes ago, Alastor15243 said:

…I am really, really regretting not giving Framme Celica while I had the chance. I can’t believe it’s Chapter 18 and I still have no means to promote anyone to tome using classes without already having the affinity for them. Maybe Byleth or Corrin can teach it after expansion? Who knows?

Want to know already?

Spoiler

Sadly no. Byleth is just Swords and Arts. Corrin just Swords. Despite, you know, the latter's promotion choices. For some reason.

I tell ya, it's deliberate, considering DLC will give FOUR Tome givers.

16 minutes ago, Alastor15243 said:

…And…

…And I just lost Merrin.

I underestimated just how powerful the generals in the area were. I didn’t throw her against that many enemies, and only one backup unit was around. I thought she’d be fine. But even with halved damage, even with all of her other myriad defensive buffs… she was just about completely defenseless against them. I was forced to watch her helplessly do 0 damage twice with her silver dagger to these assholes before they took her from her half remaining health to nothing in no time flat.

Ouch

16 minutes ago, Alastor15243 said:

Seriously, these shouldn’t be lethal battles. It makes no sense for them to be, storywise. They should be significantly more difficult, but they should be mock battles where deaths aren’t for real. Because why would these Emblems actually kill these people? They’re not taken control of, this is supposed to be a battle to deepen their emotional connections, to prove your worth! And yet now Merrin is dead! As if I didn’t hate Eirika enough!

You'd think the "Casual even on Classic" gimmick of Training Skirmishes would be used here too since... yeah.

[Eltosian Kadath]

43 minutes ago, Alastor15243 said:

 

Now then, let’s make sure I’ve got all my anti-dragon weapons set up…

…Unfortunately I only seem to have the wrymslayer. Kagetsu will be able to do some serious damage with that though, even if he’ll need some help finishing them off.

Alright, time to get on this.

I had another thanks to doing some easier paralogues first.

 

44 minutes ago, Alastor15243 said:

 

…No. Doesn’t seem to do any part of it. It’s mostly the first map theme and then the final battle… in a really lighthearted manner. Which… disappoints me more than you can fathom. Like, it’s not just not getting my favorite song, it’s getting this. It just feels wrong, like it’s deliberately neutered. I don’t know how to describe it, but I am not remotely a fan.

I am usually not the kind of person to care about music, but the Sacred Stones paralogue one was particularly underwhelming.

 

47 minutes ago, Alastor15243 said:

 

…And…

…And I just lost Merrin.

I underestimated just how powerful the generals in the area were. I didn’t throw her against that many enemies, and only one backup unit was around. I thought she’d be fine. But even with halved damage, even with all of her other myriad defensive buffs… she was just about completely defenseless against them. I was forced to watch her helplessly do 0 damage twice with her silver dagger to these assholes before they took her from her half remaining health to nothing in no time flat.

Not the dog hero, she is one of the characters I rather like so far...Do you have anyone that can go over to adorable Doggo Knight? Perhaps use Lief to get some knife proficiency and class change someone with a similar enough stat profile over?

 

53 minutes ago, Alastor15243 said:

 

OH SHIT! EIRIKA CAN DO LETHAL DAMAGE WITH HER SPECIAL AND YUNAKA JUST GOT FROZEN! HOW IS EIRIKA DOING THIS MUCH DAMAGE IN A SINGLE ATTACK WHAT THE SHIT YUNAKA’S DEFENSE ISN’T EVEN THAT BAD!

THINK THINK THINK! DO I HAVE ANY WAY OUT OF THIS!?

Yikes, this paralogue is really wrecking you... losing Yunaka too would be brutal (although admittedly Zelkov is an easy replacement for her).

 

54 minutes ago, Alastor15243 said:

 

Corrin can save the day! All I have to do is engage (thank goodness I built up another engage gauge) and reduce Eirika’s movement to zero! There aren’t enough enemies left that she has to dodgetank them all, and I can use Louis to take out one of the mages, probably the freeze one, and canto back to safety. I can reduce Eirika to a standstill for multiple turns, which should be time enough to do something.

Corrin's freezing powers of Dreadful Aura save the day, although I thought you had Corrin on your frozen Yunaka, which has some odd implications to the position she was in when frozen. Maybe you got the first freeze from further range with Corrin's Torrential Roar.

[Alastor15243]

13 minutes ago, Eltosian Kadath said:

Corrin's freezing powers of Dreadful Aura save the day, although I thought you had Corrin on your frozen Yunaka, which has some odd implications to the position she was in when frozen. Maybe you got the first freeze from further range with Corrin's Torrential Roar.

I positioned Yunaka the prior turn so Eirika would wind sword her. Very, very lucky of me that I did.

14 minutes ago, Eltosian Kadath said:

Not the dog hero, she is one of the characters I rather like so far...Do you have anyone that can go over to adorable Doggo Knight? Perhaps use Lief to get some knife proficiency and class change someone with a similar enough stat profile over?

I'm debating having Kagetsu adopt her beloved hound. Though that would weaken my air force as well... maybe someone else would make a good wyvern...

[Jotari]

6 hours ago, Alastor15243 said:

Seriously, these shouldn’t be lethal battles. It makes no sense for them to be, storywise. They should be significantly more difficult, but they should be mock battles where deaths aren’t for real. Because why would these Emblems actually kill these people? They’re not taken control of, this is supposed to be a battle to deepen their emotional connections, to prove your worth! And yet now Merrin is dead! As if I didn’t hate Eirika enough!

On one hand, yes, that would make a lot of sense with the story. On the other hand, the paralogues are some of the toughest maps in the game and going in knowing you have casual mode would kind of trivialize them.  And it's not totally inane in terms of story. They're taking this trial really really seriously. And unlike Fargus or Rami, at least no one is dying on Eirika's side. What might have been nice would be the Valentian style retreat function. Where you can opt out of a map at any time and retain exp (but not progress, because retaining enemies killed is super broken, though maybe chests opened could be retained).

Or just have the Emblems say "Are you really sure you want to do this? I won't hold back, if you aren't prepared, people could die."

[Shanty Pete's 1st Mate]

7 hours ago, Alastor15243 said:

…I am really, really regretting not giving Framme Celica while I had the chance. I can’t believe it’s Chapter 18 and I still have no means to promote anyone to tome using classes without already having the affinity for them. Maybe Byleth or Corrin can teach it after expansion? Who knows?

Byleth should've been an omni-teacher, like Leif. Because teaching weapon and magic proficiencies was literally his job.

7 hours ago, Alastor15243 said:

promoted Framme to Martial Master because that’s her only option, and immediately regretted it when I realized I could give her a weapon rank from an emblem and make her another flying healer as a griffin knight. Oh well, in fairness griffin knights only get C in staves, so I guess she’s better at staffing like this, which is her main thing. Honestly I could probably do better than her but I’m mostly keeping her around for assorted non-gameplay reasons, including but not limited to the fact that I’m using her brother, whom she has an A rank with.

I just did the exact same! I've been teaching Framme "Arts Focus" through Byleth, so I'm optimistic about how she'll do with stuff like Flash-Fire Fist.

7 hours ago, Alastor15243 said:

Also, I think that once I get more Emblems, I will put Lucina on Seadall. Seems pretty straightforward. Have one of my dagger users attack the boss at range, have Seadall come in and dance while adjacent to the boss, have my dagger user attack the boss again and start racking up the chain attacks from there.

Creative use of Lucina. She generally feels like a "good on anybody, great on nobody" kind of Ring. But I have a soft spot for my Chain-Attacking Zelkov.

7 hours ago, Alastor15243 said:

Well that blows! The thieves at the start just ran off to grab the treasure! Damn it, and I probably could’ve killed them both turn one if I realized that. Well, nothing for it but to hustle and see if I can intercept them. And if all else fails, pick which of the treasures I want more and use Astra Storm on whoever took it.

I do respect this game for making Thieves and Bandits serious threats to your treasure this time around. You need a plan to intercept them in time.

7 hours ago, Alastor15243 said:

Ragnell is… cool, but different. That signature crescent slash shockwave is absent. Instead, you point it… and the enemy fucking explodes like you cast Final Fantasy Ultima on them. Just a big blue energy explosion.

Still greater fidelity to the source material than Priam's "just throw the Ragnell LOL". And I don't care what IS says, I am 99% sure that isn't the real Ragnell.

7 hours ago, Alastor15243 said:

And…

…And I just lost Merrin

My condolences. I know how much that sucks, when you're not Turnwheeling. I'll bring her next map, in your Merrin's honor.

7 hours ago, Alastor15243 said:

I had a really close call with a bolganone mage just barely in Louis’s range, but I managed to salvage it with Hortensia coming in clutch with a 71% freeze.

Congrats! The Freeze staff was a huge boon to me in chapter 17. I had Hortensia use it twice on not-her-father, so I wouldn't have to face him and Veyle on the same turn.

7 hours ago, Alastor15243 said:

Seriously, these shouldn’t be lethal battles. It makes no sense for them to be, storywise. They should be significantly more difficult, but they should be mock battles where deaths aren’t for real. Because why would these Emblems actually kill these people? They’re not taken control of, this is supposed to be a battle to deepen their emotional connections, to prove your worth! And yet now Merrin is dead! As if I didn’t hate Eirika enough!

If we're applying logic to these... who is making the Fabrications? We were introduced to them as something that Queen Lumera could make, consciously. So is Alear (unwittingly) creating them with Divine Dragon powers? Or is it a function of "Emblem Energy" in those specific locations? And do they have souls?

7 hours ago, Alastor15243 said:

But where the fuck is Timerra?

For that matter, I can’t see a lot of people here. I’d have figured everyone would show up to these maps, but there’s no Timerra, no Fogado, no Bunet, no Pandreo… is it just the people I have the most supports with?

I don't think it depends on supports, since I sometimes see characters I have no support with in the post-battle map. Seems to be a combination of everyone you brought to the map, everyone who has story-relevant lines, and a random assortment to fill out the rest.

53 minutes ago, Jotari said:

Or just have the Emblems say "Are you really sure you want to do this? I won't hold back, if you aren't prepared, people could die."

Corrin basically says that, when she insists that Alear "come at me as if you were trying to kill me". If either side weren't "giving it their all", perhaps they wouldn't unlock the extra bond levels. I dunno, Emblem magic is made up on the fly as it is.

6 hours ago, Alastor15243 said:

I'm debating having Kagetsu adopt her beloved hound. Though that would weaken my air force as well... maybe someone else would make a good wyvern...

One *option* could be to second seal Zelkov into the class (given a profiency in your choice of melee weapon). I've really liked him, both in battle and out, but I can't recall if you were *using* him or not.

[Acacia Sgt]

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

If we're applying logic to these... who is making the Fabrications? We were introduced to them as something that Queen Lumera could make, consciously. So is Alear (unwittingly) creating them with Divine Dragon powers? Or is it a function of "Emblem Energy" in those specific locations? And do they have souls?

It's the Emblems themselves making them, yes. I'd assume they're just like Lumera's, conjured out of rocks and sticks and stuff.

Edited February 15, 2023 by Acacia Sgt

[Alastor15243]

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

One *option* could be to second seal Zelkov into the class (given a profiency in your choice of melee weapon). I've really liked him, both in battle and out, but I can't recall if you were *using* him or not.

Unfortunately unlike Kagetsu I haven't really touched him since recruiting him. And that was 7 chapters ago. I question how salvageable he'd be.

[Shanty Pete's 1st Mate]

7 minutes ago, Acacia Sgt said:

It's the Emblems themselves making them, yes. I'd assume they're just like Lumera's, conjured out of rocks and sticks and stuff.

Oh, I see. I guess they can just... do that. It's a bit unfortunate that Alear never comments (at least, so far) on facing more Fabrications, after severe discomfort at their first encounter with them. Wonder if that plot thread is getting picked back up...

4 minutes ago, Alastor15243 said:

Unfortunately unlike Kagetsu I haven't really touched him since recruiting him. And that was 7 chapters ago. I question how salvageable he'd be.

Ah, that is something of a pickle. But with a forged dagger, anyone can be good! Which reminds me, is Merrin's inventory back in the Convoy, or was it lost to the aether?

[Acacia Sgt]

1 minute ago, Shanty Pete's 1st Mate said:

Oh, I see. I guess they can just... do that. It's a bit unfortunate that Alear never comments (at least, so far) on facing more Fabrications, after severe discomfort at their first encounter with them. Wonder if that plot thread is getting picked back up...

Alear's aversion is to Corrupted, not Fabrications. They are distinct enough. Did they actually expressed wariness in Chapter 2? I'd think at least after Lumera cleared things up about being different from Corrupted, it was already fine for them.

[Jotari]

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

I do respect this game for making Thieves and Bandits serious threats to your treasure this time around. You need a plan to intercept them in time.

For the Emblem paralogues it is a bit questionable in the logic...not only is Eirika trying to kill our allies, but she's also trying to steal stuff that's just lying around and doesn't give it back. Does that fabrication thief go on to live a full and eventful life with the pilfered Seraph Robe? Or does he just crumble to dust and the Seraph Robe just lies there waiting for someone to pick it up, and Alear is too lazy to send anyone to go looking for it? Coming to think of it, post battle exploration segments make unopened chests lack logical sense too. But I suppose that's always been an acceptable break from reality in any Fire Emblem games where you have chests in an area you gain full control of when the battles done.

 

[Acacia Sgt]

I like the chests are straight up gone in Exploration phase. XD

[Alastor15243]

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

Ah, that is something of a pickle. But with a forged dagger, anyone can be good! Which reminds me, is Merrin's inventory back in the Convoy, or was it lost to the aether?

It's back. As has been the case since at least Awakening I think.

 

6 hours ago, Acacia Sgt said:

I like the chests are straight up gone in Exploration phase. XD

The treasure rooms aren't even accessible post-battle in this map. Invisible walls that say "leave" and all that.

[joevar]

45 minutes ago, Alastor15243 said:

the treasure rooms aren't even accessible post-battle in this map. Invisible walls that say "leave" and all that.

Want to know what else that vanish in post battle exploration? Stairs

Yes, those stairs for reinforcement. Check Solm palace map. Those 4 point of reinforcement in throne room doesnt exist when you walk into the room

 

[Acacia Sgt]

3 hours ago, Alastor15243 said:

The treasure rooms aren't even accessible post-battle in this map. Invisible walls that say "leave" and all that.

Which makes it funnier when you can still look into the room and the chests are still gone.

Actually, just that in general. You're leaving the map... by entering rooms with no other exits. lol

I'd say, how much of the map you can explore can be quite... arbitrary at times.

Edited February 15, 2023 by Acacia Sgt

[Alastor15243]

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

Creative use of Lucina. She generally feels like a "good on anybody, great on nobody" kind of Ring. But I have a soft spot for my Chain-Attacking Zelkov.

Can't take credit for this, it was Jotari's idea. I just initially had reservations but then decided they weren't that big a deal. Though as today's part will reveal, I may have other long-term plans now.

[Alastor15243]

Engage Day 23: Mourning

No battle today. I’m morally certain I won’t have time to get anything completed and edited. Instead, I’m going to take a day aside to work out what the fuck I’ll be doing next time. Learning the lessons from the close calls in that nightmare of a chapter, and spending what little money I have making some purchases that this chapter made me realize are sorely needed.

First off: Merrin’s niche was too good to lose completely. We need a replacement goldfish for her. Someone to take care of her beloved wolf, and take up her blade. And I’ve chosen Kagetsu. His stats are still really good as a wolf rider. As for what weapon type to give him, well, let’s take inventory and give him whatever we’re short on in regards to breaking:

Without the assistance of engaging, and not counting Kagetsu, we’ve got Louis and Rosado as lance users, Rosado as an axe user, and Pepsiman as a sword user. Everyone else just uses daggers, arts or tomes. So, ideally, Kagetsu would want to get either swords or axes, and then whoever I bring in to replace Merrin on the unit roster gets the other, or both. Lessee here…

Goldmary’s the best candidate for a replacement. She’s the highest-level and most recent recruit I have. Now, on the one hand, super tempting to make her a wyvern knight to fill Kagetsu’s niche. On the other hand…

…Brave assist is one hell of a drug, and she’s two levels away from getting that. Actually, for that matter, wouldn’t that make her the perfect candidate for Lucina? Sure, it would make Lucina’s chain attack granting ability redundant, but it would mean she’d be able to do brave chain attacks at 35 to 70% frequency for all nearby allies. Also, doesn’t Lucina have bonuses for backup units, hold on…

…Ah, it boosts All For One’s range. I’m assuming that means it boosts the range at which allies can chain attack for it, not that it boosts the range at which all for one can be performed from 1 to 1-2. But it doesn’t clarify.

Well anyway, sure, I’ll give her a shot as a hero. See if my air force can manage with just Rosado for muscle. That gives me another sword and another lance unless I use a seal to change her, so guess Kagetsu’s, ahem, “getting the axe”.

…Seems he has more talent with swords though. Guess your blue innate starting talents get you better weapon ranks. Is there any way to get those besides being born with them?

…Pity. Merrin looked so much cooler as a wolf knight than Kagetsu does, and it’s clear he’s not using the same wolf.

…Now then… with that established…

…Okay, I agree with what Jotari said, it would be nice if you could use the arena and the ring chamber without going through loading screens. Getting skills on characters in Emblems they don’t regularly use is a bit of a pain.

But yeah, I’ve decided that now that I have Sigurd again… I’m gonna start putting canter on some motherfuckers. It’s 1000 SP, but thankfully doesn’t take that much time with Sigurd to unlock, just the obligatory level 5 to start inheriting at all, so bond fragment costs should be minimal. I’m putting this on a few of my glass cannons I haven’t been able to think of any skills for.

Okay, so, Ivy’s bond conversation with Sigurd. I criticized his voice acting before, and it’s still not amazing, but I do really like the faltering in his voice when he says he knows well “the pain of a grieving child”.

Oh hey, I can also use Sigurd to put hit-boosting skills on Ivy! Yeah, I have actually been noticing some hit issues lately, so that would be nice. So yeah, now Ivy has Canter and Hit+10, both very useful for her. Lessee… who else can get canter…

…Lance power looks like one of the only weapon skills I’d consider using, but it’s ungodly expensive. 1000 for +2 to attack with a single weapon at the cost of -10 avoid? Whyyyyyyyyyy?

Alright, canter is now on Ivy, Clanne and Alcryst, and I also got Clanne +2 speed from getting to level 5 with Lyn.

And fuck it, Hortensia has SP to spare, why not get canter on her too? That way every fragile shooter I have can relocate after an attack. That’ll be super handy.

Alright, the three arena bouts are obviously going to the newbie Goldmary. Let’s see how close we can get her to brave assist, shall we?

…

…I just…

…Goldmary’s first opponent… was Etie.

I just unlocked Goldmary and Etie’s C.

The infamous “potato” support.

I have… seen this on YouTube.

I am so glad I have a chance to properly talk about it.

Looking forward to it.

Amusingly, the remaining two were both against Panette. Seems Panette was really eager to prove herself so she can join the main force and fight for the honor of her fallen friend, but alas, she was defeated twice over.

Now then, let’s see them supports.

Pepsiman and Yunaka’s A.

Ooooh! She’s opening up about her past by the sounds of it!

…And Pepsiman lore cockblocks us, saying Yunaka doesn’t have to tell him because he can see how hard it is for her.

Christ. Okay, that is frustrating. I’ve heard stuff that seems to imply this has a Three-Houses-style post-game S support system, and I think I’m gonna pick her sheerly because I want to know what the fuck her deal is.

Louis and Yunaka’s A.

Yeah, I figured they’d have unlocked this given what they went through last time, two shell-shocked veterans dancing with death.

Louis is apparently sharing how his skill with tea-brewing apparently was a huge factor in getting him appointed to… they don’t explicitly say whether this was him specifically becoming a retainer or just in general a member of the royal guard, but I’m assuming the former. But yeah, apparently they valued domestic duties as well as combat ones.

…I actually do like this. As someone who really enjoys talking to my friends about certain subjects, I relate a lot to Louis in appreciating someone who’s eager to listen.

Goldmary and Panette’s C.

Looks like we’ll be saving the best for last then. Alright, let’s get this out of the way.

Oh, Goldmary can cook?

…And she’s quite arrogant about it, it seems. I wonder if her supports with Bunet are interesting.

Panette completely bulldozes through Goldmary’s pretentious gloating, cheerfully and without comment, and just asks Goldmary if she’s willing to teach her. Real Alfred energy there, I like it.

And in a curiously convenient follow-up to the support we just read, Panette thinks that the fact that she’s a retainer who has no skill in the culinary arts is a mark against her she needs to correct.

And Goldmary eventually agrees, out of respect for Timerra if nothing else.

Now then! On to the main event!

Goldmary and Etie’s C!

Etie monologues to herself about there still being one baked potato left in the kitchen, and Goldmary just steps in front of her and takes it.

Etie takes this… really personally, and Goldmary is her usual ass about it.

Honestly, the chemistry here is pretty great, excellent clash between the tomboy and the alpha bitch. And Goldmary’s delivery on her lines is incredible. Honestly, I recommend looking this up yourself.

That said, minor nitpick, you know, this falls under the list of “how the fuck does this make them fight better together” supports.

Ah yes, and Louis and Sigurd have a bond. Let’s see…

…Not really anything interesting said. I was kinda hoping the words “strong and tough” would be used at some point.

…But now Louis has the fucking brave lance, which is just about the best conceivable weapon for him. Only the Meisterlanze would be better.

…It’s a whole 35 points of accuracy lower than his forged javelin though, that’s unfortunate.

Alright, now before I forget…

…Let’s go shopping.

…Okay, I have elixirs on all three of my major tanks, as well as antitoxins just in case.

…I was wondering why elixirs were so relatively cheap, and it seems they’ve been nerfed from their usual fare. Arguably better than they were in Fates where they were just a single use of 40 HP, but now it’s 3 uses of 30 HP. Alright, noted. That should still be fine for emergencies though.

I also took Merrin’s silver dagger up 3 stages, giving it 6 more attack. It’s pretty damned devastating now.

…Oh, one more thing before I go… I just realized Rosado has more than 2,000 SP. Which means I can slap a pretty devastating skill on him.

Aaaaaand done! Rosado now has speedtaker! Which means if I can find ways to snowball a few initial kills on him each battle, speed will be entirely a non-factor for him!

Okay. I think I’m gonna either tackle a definitively easier paralogue next time, or maybe just proceed with the plot, since I can only get new characters by doing mainline chapters. In this game, after the obligatory villager and Anna paralogues, the rest are just Emblems, not new recruits. I know I’ll be getting Veyle and Mauvier at some point, but beyond that I’m curious how they’ll be tackling new recruits for the rest of the game now that the retainer well has run dry.

Alastor, signing off.

[Acacia Sgt]

34 minutes ago, Alastor15243 said:

…Seems he has more talent with swords though. Guess your blue innate starting talents get you better weapon ranks. Is there any way to get those besides being born with them?

Far as I know, no. Any innate are set and that's all you get.

Also, the better weapon rank only applies to certain classes. Usually those that have a set weapon and the other is variable, and tends to be on the set weapon.

34 minutes ago, Alastor15243 said:

…Okay, I agree with what Jotari said, it would be nice if you could use the arena and the ring chamber without going through loading screens. Getting skills on characters in Emblems they don’t regularly use is a bit of a pain.

I'll admit it has not been much of a hassle to me.

34 minutes ago, Alastor15243 said:

Oh hey, I can also use Sigurd to put hit-boosting skills on Ivy! Yeah, I have actually been noticing some hit issues lately, so that would be nice. So yeah, now Ivy has Canter and Hit+10, both very useful for her. Lessee… who else can get canter…

Told ya. I'll admit I didn't went for Sigurd. I went for Tome Precision (once you get Celica back, naturally) because while its max version only gives 15 Hit, it also gives 15 Avoid. Now that I got Soren, the Avoid isn't that big of a deal anymore. Hit +30 might be more appealing now. Hmm...

34 minutes ago, Alastor15243 said:

…Lance power looks like one of the only weapon skills I’d consider using, but it’s ungodly expensive. 1000 for +2 to attack with a single weapon at the cost of -10 avoid? Whyyyyyyyyyy?

Almost all of those skills have some kind of penalty. Yeah, it's... curious.

34 minutes ago, Alastor15243 said:

That said, minor nitpick, you know, this falls under the list of “how the fuck does this make them fight better together” supports.

Reminds me I still need to get the rest of the supports, heh.

[Alastor15243]

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

Still greater fidelity to the source material than Priam's "just throw the Ragnell LOL". And I don't care what IS says, I am 99% sure that isn't the real Ragnell.

Words could not express my disappointment back in the day when I saw they did that in Awakening.

[Shanty Pete's 1st Mate]

6 hours ago, Alastor15243 said:

It's back. As has been the case since at least Awakening I think.

That is a relief. The DS games also returned the deceased's inventory to the Convoy. Thus letting you "kill" Tiki with the Falchion in her inventory in chater 24, to get 24x while keeping the original Falchion.

13 hours ago, Acacia Sgt said:

Alear's aversion is to Corrupted, not Fabrications. They are distinct enough. Did they actually expressed wariness in Chapter 2? I'd think at least after Lumera cleared things up about being different from Corrupted, it was already fine for them.

They had serious discomfort at seeing the Fabrications created, and then fighting against them. I assumed this was pointing to either something sinister about the magic Lumera used to fabricate them, or to a bad experience Alear had with Fabrications before their slumber. But it sounds like the game's not gonna try to explain it...

2 hours ago, Alastor15243 said:

But yeah, I’ve decided that now that I have Sigurd again… I’m gonna start putting canter on some motherfuckers. It’s 1000 SP, but thankfully doesn’t take that much time with Sigurd to unlock, just the obligatory level 5 to start inheriting at all, so bond fragment costs should be minimal. I’m putting this on a few of my glass cannons I haven’t been able to think of any skills for.

My Great Knight Rosado had just enough SP to get Canter and Momentum. Essentially making him a "mini-Sigurd", while someone else gets to use Sigurd.

2 hours ago, Alastor15243 said:

Oh hey, I can also use Sigurd to put hit-boosting skills on Ivy! Yeah, I have actually been noticing some hit issues lately, so that would be nice. So yeah, now Ivy has Canter and Hit+10, both very useful for her. Lessee… who else can get canter

Getting Hit +10 on Vander pre-Cathedral has essentially saved him from irrelevance in the midgame. It's astonishingly good for how cheaply and early it comes.

2 hours ago, Alastor15243 said:

That said, minor nitpick, you know, this falls under the list of “how the fuck does this make them fight better together” supports.

Real "Matthew x Jaffar" energy, huh.

2 hours ago, Alastor15243 said:

Okay. I think I’m gonna either tackle a definitively easier paralogue next time, or maybe just proceed with the plot, since I can only get new characters by doing mainline chapters. In this game, after the obligatory villager and Anna paralogues, the rest are just Emblems, not new recruits. I know I’ll be getting Veyle and Mauvier at some point, but beyond that I’m curious how they’ll be tackling new recruits for the rest of the game now that the retainer well has run dry.

You just did chapter 17, right? I won't spoil any content, but I found chapter 18 to be one of the shorter story chapters. In case that affects your decision-making at all.

1 hour ago, Acacia Sgt said:

Also, the better weapon rank only applies to certain classes. Usually those that have a set weapon and the other is variable, and tends to be on the set weapon.

I know that Bow-specialist Warriors, like Etie and Alcryst, get B Bows rather than C. And non-specialist Paladins only get A-rank (i.e. Vander has S-Axes, but if he went Lance Paladin, he would be at A-Lances).