New Year Seasonal Heroes Datamined [Spoilers]

[Yexin]

less than 0% interest in anna (and OCs in general), but lethe is pretty cool, i'll try to get her

Edited December 25, 2019 by Yexin

[Etrurian emperor]

Its cute that Alfonse and Sharena are now a duo Hero. Still they deserved something a bit more interesting than just a Japanese robe alt. 

[XRay]

1 hour ago, Anacybele said:

I would think males can sell just as much if they're just as popular or more popular though. But it also doesn't help that IS often gives the males worse skill sets, making them less desirable by default.

Popularity does not always translate into sales. You also need to factor in what the spending habits of your target market. For example, if people like Edelgard spends more money as a group than people who like Dimitri as a group and even if Dimitri is more popular, it makes more sense to sell more Edelgard alts than Dimitri alts to earn more money.

6 minutes ago, Etrurian emperor said:

Its cute that Alfonse and Sharena are now a duo Hero. Still they deserved something a bit more interesting than just a Japanese robe alt. 

That is like saying Christmas Special Heroes deserve something more interesting than just Santa outfits. New Years in Asia is the equivalent of Christmas in the West, and traditional clothing is what the Japanese wear as part of that celebration.

[NSSKG151]

AHHHHH!!! This isn't a joke right, is this really happening, are we starting off 2020 with an Anna alt, with good art at that? I have been waiting three years for an Anna alt that could be summoned and merged. Time to kiss my orb stash goodbye because I doubt I will have any orbs left once I'm done since I am going to summon enough copies to +10 her no matter what. Can't wait for next week to come!

[Thane]

12 minutes ago, Etrurian emperor said:

Still they deserved something a bit more interesting than just a Japanese robe alt. 

Thems the fighting words, my dude! Kimonos and yukatas are great. Let's just hope they don't pull another towel banner.

[Etrurian emperor]

11 minutes ago, XRay said:

That is like saying Christmas Special Heroes deserve something more interesting than just Santa outfits

Well frequently that's the case too. 

[Ice Dragon]

3 hours ago, Anacybele said:

But it also doesn't help that IS often gives the males worse skill sets, making them less desirable by default.

Seven of the 10 units with Distant Counter are male. Caineghis has one of the absolute best default skill sets among more recent units, and Tibarn, Perceval, and Osian come extremely close. Surtr is still broken in half. So are Legendary Alm and Legendary Leif. Kaden continues to be one of the best general-use (doesn't require Ally Support) support units in the game and is now joined by Legendary Eliwood. All 4 of the game's Duo units (including Alfonse) have a male lead unit.

[SuperNova125]

Only interested in Alfonse as I am so far I have gotten all Duo heroes so far by luck so I hope that we can have first summon tickets like last year so that I can pull for him. Free Eir looks interesting. 

Also when is the Winter banner ending? I mean will the Winter banner last through the new TTs so that I can continue for Sothis?

Edited December 25, 2019 by SuperNova125

[Ice Dragon]

1 hour ago, Etrurian emperor said:

Its cute that Alfonse and Sharena are now a duo Hero. Still they deserved something a bit more interesting than just a Japanese robe alt. 

 

1 hour ago, XRay said:

That is like saying Christmas Special Heroes deserve something more interesting than just Santa outfits. New Years in Asia is the equivalent of Christmas in the West, and traditional clothing is what the Japanese wear as part of that celebration.

Not even close. Hatsumoude (the first shrine visit of the year) is as synonymous to New Year's in Japan as fireworks are to the Fourth of July in the States. And for people not in the States, that's probably more synonymous than Santa himself (not just Santa outfits) is to Christmas.

[Usana]

@Anacybele Part of the reason Selkie is probably here is that I am pretty sure Foxes/Kitsunes are linked to New Years in Japan. I am not an expert but kitsune masks seem to be popular around then and I seem to recall reading something about a Fox Festival around the time of New Years. In addition didn't our fox mask accessory in game come around New Years? Of course that is a solid argument to throw out Kaden as well instead of Lethe. Which since Kaden is one of my favs would have been alright by me.  However, I bet we would get complaints about the number of Fates alts on the banner then.

[Othin]

Free Eir will save me about 200 orbs in a few months for not needing Spring Palla as my red dagger flier, so that's nice.

Not sure whether I'll free pull blue or red, probably not spending any orbs beyond that.

Edit: Okay, I was frustrated that they made Selkie blue again rather than finally making a colorless beast cav and it turns out I'd misread her icon and she is colorless. Definitely going for her then.

Edited December 25, 2019 by Othin

[DefyingFates]

Anna got an alt! I'm...honestly still a bit surprised by that. Her and Alfonse+Sharena's arts look adorable! Lethe too, and it's pretty sad yet hilarious that Eir looks uncomfortable even when celebrating xD Like everyone else here, I'm mostly excited for the free Spd Tactic (FINALLY), though I'd like to keep at least one Eir to use, since I like her. And Swift Sparrow as a Sacred Seal, the Tactics Drill didn't lie! If Christmas hadn't depleted my Orbs I may have been tempted to pull for someone here...

This was what I was hoping to get today, not Celica, and FEH provided and then some. Happy Holidays, y'alls!

Also, Anna getting an alt means Eirika's that much more likely to win CYL, which makes me happy 🙂

P.S. I'm assuming Distant Ward is a standalone skill like Distant Counter? It's a very interesting take on Counter skills. I assume this can be inherited to both 1- and 2-range units given the description. Close Ward is absolutely going to be locked to a Mythic or something; it'd cover far too many weapon types for IS to let us have it any way that doesn't involve heavy whaling.

Edit: Just checked Gamepress and DW is locked to melee units. I wonder if Close Ward will be locked to ranged units then?

Edited December 25, 2019 by DefyingFates

[Anacybele]

3 hours ago, Ice Dragon said:

Seven of the 10 units with Distant Counter are male. Caineghis has one of the absolute best default skill sets among more recent units, and Tibarn, Perceval, and Osian come extremely close. Surtr is still broken in half. So are Legendary Alm and Legendary Leif. Kaden continues to be one of the best general-use (doesn't require Ally Support) support units in the game and is now joined by Legendary Eliwood. All 4 of the game's Duo units (including Alfonse) have a male lead unit.

Did you read my post? I did say OFTEN. Not ALWAYS.

3 hours ago, Usana said:

@Anacybele Part of the reason Selkie is probably here is that I am pretty sure Foxes/Kitsunes are linked to New Years in Japan. I am not an expert but kitsune masks seem to be popular around then and I seem to recall reading something about a Fox Festival around the time of New Years. In addition didn't our fox mask accessory in game come around New Years? Of course that is a solid argument to throw out Kaden as well instead of Lethe. Which since Kaden is one of my favs would have been alright by me.  However, I bet we would get complaints about the number of Fates alts on the banner then.

Well, if that's true, there being a link of some kind between foxes/kitsunes and New Year's, then that's fair enough.

[Etrurian emperor]

5 hours ago, Thane said:

Thems the fighting words, my dude! Kimonos and yukatas are great. Let's just hope they don't pull another towel banner.

I dunno. I wouldn't say no to a Claude alt dressed in just a towel. 

[Othin]

17 minutes ago, DefyingFates said:

Anna got an alt! I'm...honestly still a bit surprised by that. Her and Alfonse+Sharena's arts look adorable! Lethe too, and it's pretty sad yet hilarious that Eir looks uncomfortable even when celebrating xD Like everyone else here, I'm mostly excited for the free Spd Tactic (FINALLY), though I'd like to keep at least one Eir to use, since I like her. And Swift Sparrow as a Sacred Seal, the Tactics Drill didn't lie! If Christmas hadn't depleted my Orbs I may have been tempted to pull for someone here...

This was what I was hoping to get today, not Celica, and FEH provided and then some. Happy Holidays, y'alls!

Also, Anna getting an alt means Eirika's that much more likely to win CYL, which makes me happy 🙂

P.S. I'm assuming Distant Ward is a standalone skill like Distant Counter? It's a very interesting take on Counter skills. I assume this can be inherited to both 1- and 2-range units given the description. Close Ward is absolutely going to be locked to a Mythic or something; it'd cover far too many weapon types for IS to let us have it any way that doesn't involve heavy whaling.

Edit: Just checked Gamepress and DW is locked to melee units. I wonder if Close Ward will be locked to ranged units then?

Close Ward will most likely be ranged-locked and give Atk/Def+5. It's broader, but Close Counter is also a much weaker skill than Distant Counter, so I don't think Close Ward will be a stronger overall skill.

An Anna alt is certainly one of the biggest remaining things to check off from CYL3. The other big one is regular Jill - hopefully she'll be on the upcoming New Heroes banner. (And arguably Lif, who will probably not be released before CYL4 starts but could be released during it.)

One other relevant factor for Eirika's odds is that her existing alt count isn't standing out so much anymore. A Brave alt would be her fourth non-seasonal version - a year ago, only Lucina had that many, but now Ephraim and Celica do as well.

[Gregster101]

Just now, Othin said:

Close Ward will most likely be ranged-locked and give Atk/Def+5. It's broader, but Close Counter is also a much weaker skill than Distant Counter, so I don't think Close Ward will be a stronger overall skill.

An Anna alt is certainly one of the biggest remaining things to check off from CYL3. The other big one is regular Jill - hopefully she'll be on the upcoming New Heroes banner. (And arguably Lif, who will probably not be released before CYL4 starts but could be released during it.)

One other relevant factor for Eirika's odds is that her existing alt count isn't standing out so much anymore. A Brave alt would be her fourth non-seasonal version - a year ago, only Lucina had that many, but now Ephraim and Celica do as well.

God I hope now that Anna finally has an alt, we get Jill on the New Heroes banner in January, cuz I really don't want to sit through another year waiting for her at this point X(

[DefyingFates]

22 minutes ago, Othin said:

Close Ward will most likely be ranged-locked and give Atk/Def+5.

That's what I'm thinking too.

22 minutes ago, Othin said:

It's broader, but Close Counter is also a much weaker skill than Distant Counter, so I don't think Close Ward will be a stronger overall skill.

I hope that means it's easier to get! I have a few units who'd like that~

22 minutes ago, Othin said:

One other relevant factor for Eirika's odds is that her existing alt count isn't standing out so much anymore. A Brave alt would be her fourth non-seasonal version - a year ago, only Lucina had that many, but now Ephraim and Celica do as well.

Yep! That makes me happy. She's also the last GBA Lord left to win CYL and has as many alts as Marth, so I think she has the same "right" to win as him. Fingers crossed!

Edited December 25, 2019 by DefyingFates

[Rinco]

Distant Ward doesn't give the ability to counter dagger or bows, so I guess Close Ward wouldn't let the units counter dragons, only working against sword/lance/axe/beasts.

[Othin]

It seems like Duo Heroes are showing up on roughly the same pattern as Tempest Trials: one per seasonal banner, and any months without a seasonal banner get a New Heroes one.

I like Duo Heroes on seasonal banners but not on New Heroes banners, so I hope I'm right about that.

[SuperNova125]

57 minutes ago, Othin said:

It seems like Duo Heroes are showing up on roughly the same pattern as Tempest Trials: one per seasonal banner, and any months without a seasonal banner get a New Heroes one.

I like Duo Heroes on seasonal banners but not on New Heroes banners, so I hope I'm right about that.

The pattern I have noticed so far is one per month, Ephraim came on a new heroes banner since his month had no seasonal banners. 

[EricaofRenais]

Nice art all around.  I might pull a bit for the duo unit, but otherwise I am happy with the free Eir.

[Othin]

16 minutes ago, SuperNova125 said:

The pattern I have noticed so far is one per month, Ephraim came on a new heroes banner since his month had no seasonal banners. 

That's what my initial thought was, but New Year's throws a wrench into that, unless this is the January slot and there's no more Duo Heroes until February.

The pattern I outlined basically works out to "one per month, plus New Year's as an extra" which is the same as how TTs work. Including the tendency to line up with seasonals when possible.

[Mercakete]

HECK. I did NOT expect to need my orbs again so soon! I WANT THAT ALFONSE/SHARENA DUO UNIT. Looking forward to the seasonal Eir, too. I wonder what Lethe and Selkie will look like... I don't really care about Anna, though.

Edit: Okay, I at least saw their art in the form of the images in those stats that Alexmender posted on page 1. I think I need all of them. Also, I NEED that Alfonse and Sharena! SO. BADLY. They're SO FRIGGIN CUTE!!! DEFINATELY prioritizing blue!!! ❤️ 

Edit: Aaaand I just noticed that Alfonse is the only dude here. Well, if it took me this long to realize it, then I guess I like their selection overall. The art is so spiffy~

Edited December 25, 2019 by Mercakete

[XRay]

3 hours ago, Anacybele said:

Did you read my post? I did say OFTEN. Not ALWAYS.

 

I think males and females are about equal now. There are more female units overall, but there are comparable numbers of the strongest males and the strongest females.

Dancers/Singers are completely dominated by females: Azura: Vallite Songstress is the best Dancer/Singer, with second best being Peony, and Plumeria and Triandra will probably be up there too. The next best would probably be Festival in Hoshido Micaiah.

Other support units are dominated by males though. The three best non Dancer/Singer supports who are female are Velouria, Brave Heroes Lucina, and Aversa. Hector: Marqui of Ostia rivals Velouria outside of Aether Raids. M!Corrin, Kaden, Eliwood: Blazing Knight, and Mordecai rivals BH!Lucina and Aversa in stat manipulation. A Monstrous Harvest Hector is your only option as a mobile Bolt Tower. Desert Mercenaries Ephraim might be the only viable blue option for an infantry Galeforce team since that extra movement is crucial. Darkness Within Berkut is the only option for getting his Player Phase allies into Desperation range without needing his allies to get into combat.

The best mages are back to being dominated by females, but you do see some male representation with Hubert (best Counter-Vantage red mage), Reinhardt (best Brave mage cavalry), and A Special Soiree Reinhardt (best Brave mage flier).

Archers on the other hand are dominated by males. The best archer in the game is A Sketchy Summer Takumi. The best cavalry archers are Claude and Leif. There is only male armor archers right now. Alm: Saint King is the best infantry archer, only maybe rivalled by Igrene (red Ophelia) and Lucina: Glorious Archer (long reach).

The strongest beasts are all male: Keaton, Tibarn, Naesala, Yarne, and Caineghis.

While females have the highest Atk/Spd amongst swords, the ones with the best Atk/Spd stat distribution are not the strongest sword units in my opinion; if you want to bring a Desperation nuke or Firesweep-Hit and Run, Blade mages and Firesweep archers are a far better option than melee sword units. Laevatein and Altina are great Counter-Vantage units, but Ares is not that far behind either. With how limited Heavy Blade/Flashing Blade Sacred Seals are, I would argue BH!Roy is the best red Galeforcer when you take a more holistic view and look at all your team composition for Aether Raids.

For lances, the best Galeforcers are all male. Cordelia is beaten by Hot Springs Ryoma. Peri and Summer's Arrival Cordelia are beaten by Sirius, Perceval, and Dimitri. DM!Ephraim is the probably the only viable infantry lance option as mentioned above.

For axes, the best Galeforcers are also all male. Summer's Arrival Innes is the best flying axe Galeforcer. Bridal Bloom Marth and Hares at the Fare Alfonse are your only axe cavalry option. Raven still reigns supreme in the infantry department; Edelgard is second because she requires Heavy Blade Sacred Seal and she is a horrible Wings of Mercy beacon.

I am less familiar with Enemy Phase units, but BH!Ike is probably the best super tank out there. Sharena and Laegjarn are good with countering enemy buffs, but they are no BH!Ike. Fjorm is the only one I can think of who can rival BH!Ike since she is the only mergeable frequent bonus unit and she has really good Res.

Edited December 25, 2019 by XRay

[daisy jane]

9 hours ago, NSSKG151 said:

AHHHHH!!! This isn't a joke right, is this really happening, are we starting off 2020 with an Anna alt, with good art at that? I have been waiting three years for an Anna alt that could be summoned and merged. Time to kiss my orb stash goodbye because I doubt I will have any orbs left once I'm done since I am going to summon enough copies to +10 her no matter what. Can't wait for next week to come!

 

i thought of you right away. 
you tag me on how you are doing. (and hopefully you will still have enough orbs for other fun stuff!)