Sir Gerwald of Vallora Posted February 11, 2020 Share Posted February 11, 2020 (edited) I finally scraped together the money and the time to pick up the game everyone is raving about. I suppose I'll share my thoughts here. Update 1: Decided to join Golden Deer. I was always leaning towards Blur Lions of Black Eagles, so I decided to do the oposite in hopes that I'll get a more unique experience. Update 2: Grade A soundtrack. One of the better I've listened too. Update 3: The combat animations are great, although, I do miss the map sprites. Update 4: I like the monastery, its a nice new thing to break up the monotny between chapters. Update 5: I like the storytelling for every month with the Medieval style paintings. The armor is more historical too. Also, forgot to mention this, but in that prologue, Seiros was a bad*ss. Edited February 12, 2020 by Sir Wolfram of Vallora Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dragoncat Posted February 11, 2020 Share Posted February 11, 2020 (edited) The final boss in GD is the most unique imo. Then you can go BL or BE next. It's recommended to do all three. Edited February 11, 2020 by Dragoncat Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Gerwald of Vallora Posted February 11, 2020 Author Share Posted February 11, 2020 I intend on eventually doing every route at least once. I can tend to be a bit of a completionist when it comes to storylines. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gregster101 Posted February 11, 2020 Share Posted February 11, 2020 Ayy, Golden Deer! Good choice! I'd say after Golden Deer, you should do Blue Lions next. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sentinel07 Posted February 11, 2020 Share Posted February 11, 2020 Good choice. Golden Deer is my favorite of the routes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shanni20 Posted February 11, 2020 Share Posted February 11, 2020 Blue Lions is prob the best first route but GD is fine, I think that it's the best overall. I'm not the biggest 3h fan but that's just because I'm not really jRPG guy. Anyway, good luck and have fun with the game! I believe DLC drops tonight if you care about that as well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anacybele Posted February 11, 2020 Share Posted February 11, 2020 (edited) Claude is the best lord imo, so Golden Deer is a good choice! 😄 Warning though, the final boss is a super pain in the ass and I think he's the most bullshit thing in the game by far. But I recommend Blue Lions after you're finished with the GD, as I think it has an even better story and a much easier final boss. It also has the glorious Sylvain. :3 Edited February 11, 2020 by Anacybele Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Gerwald of Vallora Posted February 11, 2020 Author Share Posted February 11, 2020 Thanks for all the recommendations, I'll keep these in mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shadow Mir Posted February 11, 2020 Share Posted February 11, 2020 I would recommend dropping Raphael and Lorenz and using students recruited from the other houses instead - they're that bad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sentinel07 Posted February 11, 2020 Share Posted February 11, 2020 16 minutes ago, Shadow Mir said: I would recommend dropping Raphael and Lorenz and using students recruited from the other houses instead - they're that bad. I would disagree on Raphael. He makes an excellent tank and there aren't many options for those since Dedue can't be recruited. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandokarla Posted February 11, 2020 Share Posted February 11, 2020 22 minutes ago, Shadow Mir said: I would recommend dropping Raphael and Lorenz and using students recruited from the other houses instead - they're that bad. Also hard disagree on Lorenz. Use him as a mage and he pulls his weight. I also just tend to recommend sticking to your house students for your first playthrough of each route anyway, they were designed with that in mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shadow Mir Posted February 11, 2020 Share Posted February 11, 2020 (edited) 19 minutes ago, Sentinel07 said: I would disagree on Raphael. He makes an excellent tank and there aren't many options for those since Dedue can't be recruited. I dunno - I found Ingrid to be a better tank, because she wasn't getting doubled by everything and their grandma, which Raphael was. 14 minutes ago, Mandokarla said: Also hard disagree on Lorenz. Use him as a mage and he pulls his weight. I also just tend to recommend sticking to your house students for your first playthrough of each route anyway, they were designed with that in mind. Sure. If by "pulls his weight", you mean "is still hopelessly outclassed by the other mages", that is. Also, I hard disagree on sticking to your house students. Especially when certain students are just plain bad. Edited February 11, 2020 by Shadow Mir Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandokarla Posted February 11, 2020 Share Posted February 11, 2020 Just now, Shadow Mir said: I dunno - I found a newly-recruited Ingrid to be a better tank, because she wasn't getting doubled by everything and their grandma, which Raphael was. Sure. If by "pulls his weight", you mean "is still hopelessly outclassed by the other mages", that is. His spell list gives him solid nuking potential, his relic is absurdly good and can be passed around, he has a decent white magic spell list (no physic isn't good, but recover and ward are strong in their niche), and he can frontline better than every other mage in the game. He's versatile, and one of the better recruitable Dark Knight candidates. Let's compare him to the other mages: Dorothea has the best spell list in the game when it comes to options, but she doesn't hit as hard as Lysithea and is almost as frail. She has range over Lorenz, but the difference between her magic growth and Lorenz's is I think 5%, which is inconsequential, and his spells generally have higher base might. Her real competition is Marianne, not Lorenz, because of the similarity in their spell lists. Lysithea is, while overrated, still an exceptional mage when it comes to damage output, and access to long-range Warp makes her extremely useful. She dies to a stiff breeze though, which means you have to be more careful with her than with Lorenz. She's better, but she's also in the same house anyway so it's not like you have to pick and choose. Annete gets Excalibur, but her spell list is really unimpressive otherwise, and her white magic isn't that much more impressive. She serves her role in BL, but isn't a character you get excited to recruit unless you like her personality a lot (which is fine, she's adorable). Not worth trading for. Hubert is CF locked, so isn't relevant to this discussion. Marianne is samehouse, and is generally a healer/dancer despite having solid offensive spells. Not really competition. She's cuter though, best girl don't "@" me. Mercedes is just a generally fantastic unit, and the undisputed best healer in the game. She has some of the same nuking spells that Lorenz does, and her relic really helps bolster her survivability (not frontline though). She might be worth trading in, but she performs a different role. Don't teach Sylvain magic, his budding talent is useless. Hanneman and Manuela just kinda exist. Both have their roles and both are usable, but neither are top tier. Manuela is more of a utility bot than a healer, and Hanneman can hit hard...once. Flayn's offensive spell list is decent, but neither super hard hitting or long range. She's there for fortify + rescue and that's about it. I don't think I missed any mages that matter. Lorenz does his job and fills his niche well--he's also a pretty well-written character to boot. He pulls his weight. Most of the mages that outclass him, vague as those terms are, already exist within his own house. If you wanted to compare his overal unit performance as a whole versus the entire rest of the cast, this would be a different question. But when it comes to specifically mages, Lorenz can do his job. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zapp Branniglenn Posted February 12, 2020 Share Posted February 12, 2020 (edited) Every unit in Three Houses is unconditionally useable unless the OP neglected to mention his first playthrough would be on Maddening. Even then, I wouldn't tell him what units to use unless he asked for such advice. Part of enjoying a new fire emblem is discovering for yourself what works. Edited February 12, 2020 by Glennstavos Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AxelVDP Posted February 12, 2020 Share Posted February 12, 2020 6 minutes ago, Shadow Mir said: I dunno - I found a newly-recruited Ingrid to be a better tank, because she wasn't getting doubled by everything and their grandma, which Raphael was. Sure. If by "pulls his weight", you mean "is still hopelessly outclassed by the other mages", that is. Also, I hard disagree on sticking to your house students. you got 1 thing right: Raphael is a shit tank but surprise: you don't have to use him as such! (or you can still try if you so wish, but he won't be amazing) please, for the love of god, stop spreading misinformation and factually wrong stuff WHEN YOU HAVE NOT EVEN PLAYED THE GAME!!!!!!!! I know you're probably ignoring me at this point, so this is more of a warning to the OP do not let other dictate how to play your game (especially by someone who talks with 0 experience whatsoever!). 3 houses is on the easier side of FE games. every unit can work decently, especially in lower difficulties. Lorenz is actually a decent unit if playing golden deer (he's arguably not that good if you use him on other houses, but mostly because you loose him for a few chapters), and this has been proven with both numbers and theory by countless other posters, myself included. OP, I hope you have fun with the game, do not feel discouraged to try things YOU want to try, the game fully supports such playstyles, as seen by the sheer number of customization options possible in the game... the game is literally designed to be explored as you please (which is one of the reasons why the game is on the easier side) even on the hardest difficulty (maddening) I'd argue you could still use units in roles they are clearly unfit for and still be able to beat the game, you just need appropriate knowledge of the game's mechanics and how to abuse them Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shadow Mir Posted February 12, 2020 Share Posted February 12, 2020 (edited) 5 minutes ago, AxelVDP said: please, for the love of god, stop spreading misinformation and factually wrong stuff WHEN YOU HAVE NOT EVEN PLAYED THE GAME!!!!!!!! I know you're probably ignoring me at this point, so this is more of a warning to the OP Bold: Cute assumption there. Too bad for you that you're wrong. Dead wrong. Edited February 12, 2020 by Shadow Mir Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AxelVDP Posted February 12, 2020 Share Posted February 12, 2020 1 minute ago, Shadow Mir said: Bold: Cute assumption there. Too bad for you that you're wrong. Dead wrong. Sorry, should have written "finished the game". Does not change any of my other points tho. Feel free to address them instead of arguing semantics. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shadow Mir Posted February 12, 2020 Share Posted February 12, 2020 (edited) 13 minutes ago, AxelVDP said: Sorry, should have written "finished the game". Does not change any of my other points tho. Feel free to address them instead of arguing semantics. FYI, I did finish the game. That enough humble pie for you to eat? Edited February 12, 2020 by Shadow Mir Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Gerwald of Vallora Posted February 12, 2020 Author Share Posted February 12, 2020 Thanks for the recommendations. I've already decided to recruit a bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shadow Mir Posted February 12, 2020 Share Posted February 12, 2020 2 hours ago, Mandokarla said: His spell list gives him solid nuking potential, his relic is absurdly good and can be passed around, he has a decent white magic spell list (no physic isn't good, but recover and ward are strong in their niche), and he can frontline better than every other mage in the game. He's versatile, and one of the better recruitable Dark Knight candidates. Let's compare him to the other mages: Dorothea has the best spell list in the game when it comes to options, but she doesn't hit as hard as Lysithea and is almost as frail. She has range over Lorenz, but the difference between her magic growth and Lorenz's is I think 5%, which is inconsequential, and his spells generally have higher base might. Her real competition is Marianne, not Lorenz, because of the similarity in their spell lists. Lysithea is, while overrated, still an exceptional mage when it comes to damage output, and access to long-range Warp makes her extremely useful. She dies to a stiff breeze though, which means you have to be more careful with her than with Lorenz. She's better, but she's also in the same house anyway so it's not like you have to pick and choose. Annete gets Excalibur, but her spell list is really unimpressive otherwise, and her white magic isn't that much more impressive. She serves her role in BL, but isn't a character you get excited to recruit unless you like her personality a lot (which is fine, she's adorable). Not worth trading for. Hubert is CF locked, so isn't relevant to this discussion. Marianne is samehouse, and is generally a healer/dancer despite having solid offensive spells. Not really competition. She's cuter though, best girl don't "@" me. Mercedes is just a generally fantastic unit, and the undisputed best healer in the game. She has some of the same nuking spells that Lorenz does, and her relic really helps bolster her survivability (not frontline though). She might be worth trading in, but she performs a different role. Don't teach Sylvain magic, his budding talent is useless. Hanneman and Manuela just kinda exist. Both have their roles and both are usable, but neither are top tier. Manuela is more of a utility bot than a healer, and Hanneman can hit hard...once. Flayn's offensive spell list is decent, but neither super hard hitting or long range. She's there for fortify + rescue and that's about it. I don't think I missed any mages that matter. Lorenz does his job and fills his niche well--he's also a pretty well-written character to boot. He pulls his weight. Most of the mages that outclass him, vague as those terms are, already exist within his own house. If you wanted to compare his overal unit performance as a whole versus the entire rest of the cast, this would be a different question. But when it comes to specifically mages, Lorenz can do his job. The problem with Lorenz, as I see it, is that he has no real utility spells, meaning he's merely a power pick - and he doesn't even have that to his name. His being locked out of the best magic class imo doesn't help his already flimsy case. 2 hours ago, Glennstavos said: Every unit in Three Houses is unconditionally useable unless the OP neglected to mention his first playthrough would be on Maddening. Even then, I wouldn't tell him what units to use unless he asked for such advice. Part of enjoying a new fire emblem is discovering for yourself what works. Even so, some units require you to jump through more hoops than others before they become good - like Raphael. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zapp Branniglenn Posted February 12, 2020 Share Posted February 12, 2020 21 minutes ago, Shadow Mir said: Even so, some units require you to jump through more hoops than others before they become good - like Raphael. The only hoops you need to jump through for a unit like him are select unit > attack. I cannot begin to guess what you mean by this, and I kind of don't care about the opinions of somebody who has to actively insist he has played the game before. 2 hours ago, Shadow Mir said: FYI, I did finish the game. That enough humble pie for you to eat? Show us a screenshot of your roster on the final map. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandokarla Posted February 12, 2020 Share Posted February 12, 2020 30 minutes ago, Shadow Mir said: The problem with Lorenz, as I see it, is that he has no real utility spells, meaning he's merely a power pick - and he doesn't even have that to his name. His being locked out of the best magic class imo doesn't help his already flimsy case. Even so, some units require you to jump through more hoops than others before they become good - like Raphael. On Hard, Lorenz has the power to oneshot a lot of units with his strong nuke spells from range, which is value. He also provides access to his relic. On Maddening, pretty much nobody not named Ingrid, Petra, or Leonie doubles, so massive chip damage is also valuable. Recover becomes more useful as HP pools grow, and Ward has (albeit niche) defensive utility. No investment required. I don't like Raph either, but if you put him through grappler (like you should to begin with) you gain access to a melee Hunter's Volley, but with more damage at the cost of that range. So Raph can become essentially a delete button lategame. His high hp and gauntlets built in brave effect is also valuable on Maddening, where doubling normally is rare. He's also naturally inclined towards gauntlets, so it's easy. There aren't really a lot of hoops to jump through here. Most characters have 1 or 2 really easy lines of progression that don't require a lot of micromanagement. It's only the tangential/memey shit that requires a lot of hoops (like my Mortal Savant Marianne I'm building--lots of fun on Hard, probably entirely useless on Maddening). I'm not sure what you define as jumping through hoops here. It's okay to say you find certain characters boring, but saying they're bad full-stop just isn't true. The only unit that might deserve that is like, Cyril, because his investment/reward ratio is still lower than most students, and might be less than certain faculty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shadow Mir Posted February 12, 2020 Share Posted February 12, 2020 (edited) 1 hour ago, Glennstavos said: The only hoops you need to jump through for a unit like him are select unit > attack. I cannot begin to guess what you mean by this, and I kind of don't care about the opinions of somebody who has to actively insist he has played the game before. Show us a screenshot of your roster on the final map. Not sure if serious. His stats are shit in damn near every parameter, which is a Very Bad Thing, in case you forgot. And why should I have to post a screenshot, which I don't know how to do (and even if I did, I can't do anyway because I'm staying the night at someone else's house)? 1 hour ago, Mandokarla said: On Hard, Lorenz has the power to oneshot a lot of units with his strong nuke spells from range, which is value. He also provides access to his relic. On Maddening, pretty much nobody not named Ingrid, Petra, or Leonie doubles, so massive chip damage is also valuable. Recover becomes more useful as HP pools grow, and Ward has (albeit niche) defensive utility. No investment required. I don't like Raph either, but if you put him through grappler (like you should to begin with) you gain access to a melee Hunter's Volley, but with more damage at the cost of that range. So Raph can become essentially a delete button lategame. His high hp and gauntlets built in brave effect is also valuable on Maddening, where doubling normally is rare. He's also naturally inclined towards gauntlets, so it's easy. There aren't really a lot of hoops to jump through here. Most characters have 1 or 2 really easy lines of progression that don't require a lot of micromanagement. It's only the tangential/memey shit that requires a lot of hoops (like my Mortal Savant Marianne I'm building--lots of fun on Hard, probably entirely useless on Maddening). I'm not sure what you define as jumping through hoops here. It's okay to say you find certain characters boring, but saying they're bad full-stop just isn't true. The only unit that might deserve that is like, Cyril, because his investment/reward ratio is still lower than most students, and might be less than certain faculty. I'd say the investment-reward ratio for Raphael is rather low as well, as his only good stats are HP and Strength. I would have to jump through a boatload of mental hoops to justify someone who has poor stats everywhere else... Especially since far as I'm concerned, if he needs to be babysat until advanced classes, there is only one logical conclusion - that he's a shit unit. Edited February 12, 2020 by Shadow Mir Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sid Starkiller Posted February 12, 2020 Share Posted February 12, 2020 10 minutes ago, Shadow Mir said: And why should I have to post a screenshot, which I don't know how to do (and even if I did, I can't do anyway because I'm staying the night at someone else's house)? Save a screenshot on your Switch, post directly to Facebook, download from Facebook onto other device. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mandokarla Posted February 12, 2020 Share Posted February 12, 2020 2 hours ago, Shadow Mir said: Not sure if serious. His stats are shit in damn near every parameter, which is a Very Bad Thing, in case you forgot. And why should I have to post a screenshot, which I don't know how to do (and even if I did, I can't do anyway because I'm staying the night at someone else's house)? I'd say the investment-reward ratio for Raphael is rather low as well, as his only good stats are HP and Strength. I would have to jump through a boatload of mental hoops to justify someone who has poor stats everywhere else... Especially since far as I'm concerned, if he needs to be babysat until advanced classes, there is only one logical conclusion - that he's a shit unit. Any stats Raph is lagging in, that he actually needs, will be patched up by class bases as the game goes on. His growths aren't great, but 45% defense isn't terrible when a high base growth in this game tops out at around 60% for non-hp stats. He will be your main early game tank on all difficulties, because recruiting other students takes a few chapters. If Maddening can be beaten in 0% growths by abusing class bases, Raph can get by on any difficulty without needing to cross class into 8 different things to function. He requires no more investment than any other starting student, and doesn't really require babying either. His stat deficiencies don't really matter. He enters a bit of a power trough in the midgame, but everyone else is doing fine enough at that point for that to not matter. He can hit Warmaster a few chapters after the timeskip without much issue, even on Maddening. I guess the point of all of this is that you're making a mountain out of a molehill. The biggest criticism of his kit is that his personal skill is literally worthless, but he can contribute a great deal without babying. What non-lord unit would you say doesn't need babysitting until advanced classes? Or, even better, give me another example of a unit that needs babying to get "good" in your eyes? Not Cyril, that one's too easy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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