Did your opinion on 3H characters change over time?

[MessengerIris]

I didn’t really follow pre-release information so what I knew going in was limited to just the lords. Most of my change in opinion happened after I saw the supports and story roles. 

Black Eagles (least favorite house): 

Went up: Ferdinand, Dorothea

Went down: Bernadetta, Lindhart, Caspar, Petra, Hubert, Edelgard, Jeritza 

Edelgard: I thought she was going to be my favorite female lead yet. Now, she is probably the worst lord in the series for me (barring avatars). Alas, such a tumultuous relationship with her - her writing was just everywhere between the routes. In retrospect, I enjoyed her tragic villain portrayal in AM the most, despite how “evil” she is supposed to be. In combination with her controversial reception, both from the detractors and the fans, just the mention of her puts me off. 

Blue Lions (favorite house) 

Went up: Dimitri, Felix, Sylvain, Ashe, Mercedes, Annette, Ingrid, Gilbert 

Went down: Dedue

I had low hopes for this house. Only reason I even picked it first was because I loved lance users. Surprisingly turned out to be my favorite. None of the characters really “went down” to be honest, it came down to availability more than anything.  

Dimitri: Favorite lord in the series. Found his trauma to be the most relatable (sense of loss and guilt). Even if his “redemption” is abrupt, I liked how he doesn’t really ever try to justify and excuse himself to be righteous or good. 

Golden Deer (meh) 

Went up: Marianne, Hilda, Lorenz 

Went down: Claude, Lysithea

No opinion before or after: Leonie, Ignatz, Raphael [This house had a lot of duds for me] 

Claude: Such a pity, a bunch of wasted potential. Thought he would be the most engaging lord - felt like the greatest “scheme” he pulled on me was pulling the wool over my eyes before release. His route wasn’t bad; but his story engagement was minimal. His strongest trait, before and after TS, was his personality; but take that away and I don’t know much about him. I really wish IS either scraped Claude or made him have his own struggles, rather than shoehorn him into Church 2.0. 

Church (meh. They just weren’t around a lot during the part 1 story.) 

Went up: Rhea, Alois, Seteth, Hanneman 

Went down: Flayn

No opinion before or after: Catherine, Shamir, Manuela, Cyril, Jeralt 

Rock bottom: Byleth [garbage tier. There was nothing good about this character. Only reason they existed was to pander to the player. Actively hurt the story growth of all the lords by taking away the spotlight that should’ve been rightfully theirs, and replacing it with someone whose story presence is worse than a cardboard box.] 

Rhea: Surprisingly deep. Probably one of the best written and consistent characters in the series. I’m not going to say she was justified or excuse her actions, but I found her growth and reflection to be very meaningful. She was a deeply flawed person. Towards the end, she saw the error in her ways and owned up to it (whether that be revamping the church or sacrificial death), rather than giving excuse after excuse to Seteth. 

Edited April 12, 2020 by MessengerIris

[Etrurian emperor]

I guess I'll do a bit more lengthy one

Beagles

Spoiler

Edelgard: Before launch I was already quite certain I would like her. She exceeded those expectations but basically being a new Arvis and by having rather enlightened goals. Half a year after launch that didn't change. 
Hubert: Hubert was a character that I knew couldn't do wrong. Either he would be a great villain or a character who looks and act villainous without being one. I like both types of character so there was little that could go wrong, and indeed nothing did go wrong. Half a year after launch that didn't change. 
Dorothea: Before launch I thought I would dislike Dorothea. Her Jojo hat looked off and the first thing I saw of her was roasting Ferdinant who at that point came off as quite the nice guy. I thought she'd be like Hana, irredeemable scummy to characters that did nothing to deserve it. As it turned out she's one of the kindest and empathetic characters in the game, which makes me like her a lot. Half a year after launch that has not changed. 
Petra: Before launch I was neutral about her, when the game came out I was neutral about her and half a year later I'm still neutral about her. 
Bernie: She was somewhat promising before launch but a somewhat problematic character when I actually saw her in action. She's rather hindered by the game considering her antics hilarious while at the same time establishing the cause for her trauma is inherently unfunny. 
Ferdinant von Aegir: He was something of a blank to me before launch. After launch I liked but not loved him. Half a year later I still like but not love Ferdinant von Aegir. 
Caspar and Linhardt: Generally positive before, after and half a year after launch but neither has ever blown me away. 

Blions

Spoiler

Dimitri: I was as unimpressed as everyone when Dimitri was first revealed and then I got as impressed as everyone else when his post timeskip design was revealed. I'm not as romantically in love with him as everyone else seems to be but I really liked Dimitri and half a year later I still really like him. 
Dedue: I always liked him but never had strong feelings for him. Half a year later strong feelings still have to develop. 
Ashe: Ashe immediately caught my attention. He seemed like an interesting cross between Azelle and Gordin. While Ashe didn't turn out as interesting as Azelle and was more wholesome instead he turned out to be so successful at being wholesome that I quite like him. This liking has endured for half a year and is unlikely to vanish. 
Annette: ''Hey she's kinda cute'' was my first reaction and I didn't really have any other. My first reaction was positive but I didn't take much of an interest. After launch she turned out to be cute as a button and so I quite liked her. Over half a year my liking increased. I found her pre timeskip design a bit too babyish at first but it grew on me. Her war design remains infinitely better though. 
Mercedes: I thought she'd be a very easy winner for ''best girl'' when I first heard of her. After launch it turned out she didn't really click with me and the chipmunk voice wasn't helping. I spend a time not liking her but after half a year I'd say Mercie reached the status of okay.
Felix: Tsunderes and me don't match so I didn't expect to like him. After launch I did somewhat appreciate him but he's not a character I outright like. Half a year later he's a character I more respect then like, but ultimately appreciate. 
Ingrid: She didn't catch my eye before launch and not after launch. Half a year later my main opinion about Ingrid is that her lack of strength gets on my nerves a lot. 
Sylvain: Before launch I thought Sylvain would just be your amusing skirt chasers. My expectations were positive but not that high. Turned out he was quite interesting but a lot less likable then I thought he'd be. My main opinion on Sylvain is that I like him as a character while at the same time finding him very unlikable as a person. Half a year later that's still the case. 

 

Golden Deer

Spoiler

 

Claude: Claude promised to be fabulous before launch, turned out to be fabulous after launch and half a year later he's still fabulous. Being the most distinct lord definitely helped him stand out from an early stage. Ironically his lack of personal involvement and flaws does make him stand out the least once the game came out but he's still a thoroughly likable and interesting fellow who's fabulous to boot. 
Lorentz: Like everyone else I dismissed him as a loser before launch. After launch he quickly proved me wrong and I started to like him quite a bit. Due to his somewhat off putting design he's not my favorite but consider me won over to the glory of Lorentz Helman Gloucester. He's just not one of my favorites and half a year later he still isn't. 
Ignatz: Ignatz was a blank to me before launch. After launch he quickly grew on me. Precious son, must protect, etcetera etcetera. If it goes for Ashe it goes for him too. I really like Ignatz. He's sensitive, nuanced and relateable. Half a year later my liking only grew, but mostly out of pity. Very few others seem to like Ignatz and because that's more then a bit unfair I like him all the more in response. 
Rapheal: I had low expectations for Rapheal even if he's hot. He came across as a gimmick character and that was what he turned out to be after launch. He definitely has his good bits. He's a VERY kind person whenever he stops talking about food which actually makes it more frustrating that he rarely does. Over half a year I definitely remember ''food food food training food training food food'' far more than I do his good points. 
Hilda! Hilda!: She struck me as a new Serra so I was bound to like her. She turned out to give her own lazy, girly spin on the archtype which made me like her all the more. She's one of my favorite females and half a year later she remained one of my favorite females. 
Marianne: Before launch her design instantly turned me off. I'm not a fan of those bags under her eyes. After launch it got worse when it turned out she belongs to an archetype I hate. A character that keeps talking how worthless they are, rarely talk about anything else and double down on how useless they are tend to get on my nerve a lot. Half a year later she still gets on my nerves. She's just not a character that's very suited for me. 
Lysithea: I instantly recognized her as a Ricken before launch, which implied I might like but never love her. Its a decent but not very interesting archetype. After launch my impression got a bit worse because she turned out to be a bully. Her Ignatz support really left a soar taste in my mouth. I did recognize the good bit like her interesting backstory and good non Ignatz supports, and I instantly fell in love with that long, looong spell list of hers. Half a year later I find her good traits more important than her bad ones but I don't entirely leave her off the hook for her bullying. 
Leonie: Before launch I didn't expect much. She didn't seem very interesting and I didn't like her design. It got a little worse after seeing her Byleth support where she's quite the scumbag. Half a year later I'm more open to the supports where she's nicer and less abrasive. I find her bad Byleth support more of an oddity rather than representative of her character. She still doesn't excite me too much though. She's okay. 

Others:
Rhea: Rhea was very unexciting to me before launch. She's the pope so of course she's evil and/or crazy. After launch I enjoyed her motherly personality and I definitely enjoyed her going completely insane. Half a year after launch I place her on the same tier as the lord trio
Seteth: I was cautiously sceptic of Seteth because his archetype is one that can quickly go wrong. But when it turned out Seteth mostly said completely reasonable things and is everyone's helpful dad he quickly became best boy. Half a year later Seteth remains best boy. 
Flayn: I was neutral on her before launch, after launch and half a year later I remain neutral on her. The fish memes amuse me though.
Shamir: Didn't have strong negative or positive opinions before launch, not after launch and half a year later I still don't. 
Alois: Pure boi who needs to be protected. I thought I'd enjoy his bumbling daddy persona before launch and was entirely correct in that. Half a year later I still like him.
Catherine: I thought she was hot when her design got first revealed. All in all she never clicked with me. For some reason she comes across as a jerk to me. She's not even that much of a jerk, but that's just how she comes across. Half a year later I still think she's a bit of a jerk. 
Hanneman: I assumed I would like him before launch but I expected him to merely be a good Izuka sort of character. Then it turned out he's one of the most nuanced characters in the game and a very kind dad to the students. He's one of my favorites and half a year after launch he's still that. 
Manuella: Her design never clicked with me but I enjoy the drunken antics. Half a year later I still enjoy the drunken antics. 

 

Slitherers and extras

Spoiler

Death Knight: Before launch he seemed a little basic. After launch it quickly became apparent that he was a failed character. IS clearly had a lot of ideas planned for him but time and budget likely conspired to ensure none of that came to pass. He was very lame. He's got more developed in the DLC and while I don't enjoy him I at least think he's a character that works now
The slitherers: Before launch I was skeptical. After launch it quickly became clear they were team Garon tier villains who have no competence and no traits aside from being evil. They are the weak link in Three Houses' writing. 

 

[Gregster101]

10 minutes ago, Etrurian emperor said:

I guess I'll do a bit more lengthy one

Beagles

  Reveal hidden contents

Edelgard: Before launch I was already quite certain I would like her. She exceeded those expectations but basically being a new Arvis and by having rather enlightened goals. Half a year after launch that didn't change. 
Hubert: Hubert was a character that I knew couldn't do wrong. Either he would be a great villain or a character who looks and act villainous without being one. I like both types of character so there was little that could go wrong, and indeed nothing did go wrong. Half a year after launch that didn't change. 
Dorothea: Before launch I thought I would dislike Dorothea. Her Jojo hat looked off and the first thing I saw of her was roasting Ferdinant who at that point came off as quite the nice guy. I thought she'd be like Hana, irredeemable scummy to characters that did nothing to deserve it. As it turned out she's one of the kindest and empathetic characters in the game, which makes me like her a lot. Half a year after launch that has not changed. 
Petra: Before launch I was neutral about her, when the game came out I was neutral about her and half a year later I'm still neutral about her. 
Bernie: She was somewhat promising before launch but a somewhat problematic character when I actually saw her in action. She's rather hindered by the game considering her antics hilarious while at the same time establishing the cause for her trauma is inherently unfunny. 
Ferdinant von Aegir: He was something of a blank to me before launch. After launch I liked but not loved him. Half a year later I still like but not love Ferdinant von Aegir. 
Caspar and Linhardt: Generally positive before, after and half a year after launch but neither has ever blown me away. 

Blions

  Reveal hidden contents

Dimitri: I was as unimpressed as everyone when Dimitri was first revealed and then I got as impressed as everyone else when his post timeskip design was revealed. I'm not as romantically in love with him as everyone else seems to be but I really liked Dimitri and half a year later I still really like him. 
Dedue: I always liked him but never had strong feelings for him. Half a year later strong feelings still have to develop. 
Ashe: Ashe immediately caught my attention. He seemed like an interesting cross between Azelle and Gordin. While Ashe didn't turn out as interesting as Azelle and was more wholesome instead he turned out to be so successful at being wholesome that I quite like him. This liking has endured for half a year and is unlikely to vanish. 
Annette: ''Hey she's kinda cute'' was my first reaction and I didn't really have any other. My first reaction was positive but I didn't take much of an interest. After launch she turned out to be cute as a button and so I quite liked her. Over half a year my liking increased. I found her pre timeskip design a bit too babyish at first but it grew on me. Her war design remains infinitely better though. 
Mercedes: I thought she'd be a very easy winner for ''best girl'' when I first heard of her. After launch it turned out she didn't really click with me and the chipmunk voice wasn't helping. I spend a time not liking her but after half a year I'd say Mercie reached the status of okay.
Felix: Tsunderes and me don't match so I didn't expect to like him. After launch I did somewhat appreciate him but he's not a character I outright like. Half a year later he's a character I more respect then like, but ultimately appreciate. 
Ingrid: She didn't catch my eye before launch and not after launch. Half a year later my main opinion about Ingrid is that her lack of strength gets on my nerves a lot. 
Sylvain: Before launch I thought Sylvain would just be your amusing skirt chasers. My expectations were positive but not that high. Turned out he was quite interesting but a lot less likable then I thought he'd be. My main opinion on Sylvain is that I like him as a character while at the same time finding him very unlikable as a person. Half a year later that's still the case. 

 

Golden Deer

  Reveal hidden contents

 

Claude: Claude promised to be fabulous before launch, turned out to be fabulous after launch and half a year later he's still fabulous. Being the most distinct lord definitely helped him stand out from an early stage. Ironically his lack of personal involvement and flaws does make him stand out the least once the game came out but he's still a thoroughly likable and interesting fellow who's fabulous to boot. 
Lorentz: Like everyone else I dismissed him as a loser before launch. After launch he quickly proved me wrong and I started to like him quite a bit. Due to his somewhat off putting design he's not my favorite but consider me won over to the glory of Lorentz Helman Gloucester. He's just not one of my favorites and half a year later he still isn't. 
Ignatz: Ignatz was a blank to me before launch. After launch he quickly grew on me. Precious son, must protect, etcetera etcetera. If it goes for Ashe it goes for him too. I really like Ignatz. He's sensitive, nuanced and relateable. Half a year later my liking only grew, but mostly out of pity. Very few others seem to like Ignatz and because that's more then a bit unfair I like him all the more in response. 
Rapheal: I had low expectations for Rapheal even if he's hot. He came across as a gimmick character and that was what he turned out to be after launch. He definitely has his good bits. He's a VERY kind person whenever he stops talking about food which actually makes it more frustrating that he rarely does. Over half a year I definitely remember ''food food food training food training food food'' far more than I do his good points. 
Hilda! Hilda!: She struck me as a new Serra so I was bound to like her. She turned out to give her own lazy, girly spin on the archtype which made me like her all the more. She's one of my favorite females and half a year later she remained one of my favorite females. 
Marianne: Before launch her design instantly turned me off. I'm not a fan of those bags under her eyes. After launch it got worse when it turned out she belongs to an archetype I hate. A character that keeps talking how worthless they are, rarely talk about anything else and double down on how useless they are tend to get on my nerve a lot. Half a year later she still gets on my nerves. She's just not a character that's very suited for me. 
Lysithea: I instantly recognized her as a Ricken before launch, which implied I might like but never love her. Its a decent but not very interesting archetype. After launch my impression got a bit worse because she turned out to be a bully. Her Ignatz support really left a soar taste in my mouth. I did recognize the good bit like her interesting backstory and good non Ignatz supports, and I instantly fell in love with that long, looong spell list of hers. Half a year later I find her good traits more important than her bad ones but I don't entirely leave her off the hook for her bullying. 
Leonie: Before launch I didn't expect much. She didn't seem very interesting and I didn't like her design. It got a little worse after seeing her Byleth support where she's quite the scumbag. Half a year later I'm more open to the supports where she's nicer and less abrasive. I find her bad Byleth support more of an oddity rather than representative of her character. She still doesn't excite me too much though. She's okay. 

Others:
Rhea: Rhea was very unexciting to me before launch. She's the pope so of course she's evil and/or crazy. After launch I enjoyed her motherly personality and I definitely enjoyed her going completely insane. Half a year after launch I place her on the same tier as the lord trio
Seteth: I was cautiously sceptic of Seteth because his archetype is one that can quickly go wrong. But when it turned out Seteth mostly said completely reasonable things and is everyone's helpful dad he quickly became best boy. Half a year later Seteth remains best boy. 
Flayn: I was neutral on her before launch, after launch and half a year later I remain neutral on her. The fish memes amuse me though.
Shamir: Didn't have strong negative or positive opinions before launch, not after launch and half a year later I still don't. 
Alois: Pure boi who needs to be protected. I thought I'd enjoy his bumbling daddy persona before launch and was entirely correct in that. Half a year later I still like him.
Catherine: I thought she was hot when her design got first revealed. All in all she never clicked with me. For some reason she comes across as a jerk to me. She's not even that much of a jerk, but that's just how she comes across. Half a year later I still think she's a bit of a jerk. 
Hanneman: I assumed I would like him before launch but I expected him to merely be a good Izuka sort of character. Then it turned out he's one of the most nuanced characters in the game and a very kind dad to the students. He's one of my favorites and half a year after launch he's still that. 
Manuella: Her design never clicked with me but I enjoy the drunken antics. Half a year later I still enjoy the drunken antics. 

 

Slitherers and extras

  Hide contents

Death Knight: Before launch he seemed a little basic. After launch it quickly became apparent that he was a failed character. IS clearly had a lot of ideas planned for him but time and budget likely conspired to ensure none of that came to pass. He was very lame. He's got more developed in the DLC and while I don't enjoy him I at least think he's a character that works now
The slitherers: Before launch I was skeptical. After launch it quickly became clear they were team Garon tier villains who have no competence and no traits aside from being evil. They are the weak link in Three Houses' writing. 

 

You forgot Gilbert 😛

Who would you say is worse overall? Garon and his crew or Those Who Slither In The Dark?

[Etrurian emperor]

2 minutes ago, Gregster101 said:

You forgot Gilbert

That probably says plenty. 

4 minutes ago, Gregster101 said:

Who would you say is worse overall? Garon and his crew or Those Who Slither In The Dark?

I won't go into detail since that's off topic but Team Garon is worse. 

[Gregster101]

Just now, Etrurian emperor said:

That probably says plenty. 

I won't go into detail since that's off topic but Team Garon is worse. 

Fair enough 😛

[darkblade2814]

39 minutes ago, Etrurian emperor said:

I guess I'll do a bit more lengthy one

Beagles

  Hide contents

Edelgard: Before launch I was already quite certain I would like her. She exceeded those expectations but basically being a new Arvis and by having rather enlightened goals. Half a year after launch that didn't change. 
Hubert: Hubert was a character that I knew couldn't do wrong. Either he would be a great villain or a character who looks and act villainous without being one. I like both types of character so there was little that could go wrong, and indeed nothing did go wrong. Half a year after launch that didn't change. 
Dorothea: Before launch I thought I would dislike Dorothea. Her Jojo hat looked off and the first thing I saw of her was roasting Ferdinant who at that point came off as quite the nice guy. I thought she'd be like Hana, irredeemable scummy to characters that did nothing to deserve it. As it turned out she's one of the kindest and empathetic characters in the game, which makes me like her a lot. Half a year after launch that has not changed. 
Petra: Before launch I was neutral about her, when the game came out I was neutral about her and half a year later I'm still neutral about her. 
Bernie: She was somewhat promising before launch but a somewhat problematic character when I actually saw her in action. She's rather hindered by the game considering her antics hilarious while at the same time establishing the cause for her trauma is inherently unfunny. 
Ferdinant von Aegir: He was something of a blank to me before launch. After launch I liked but not loved him. Half a year later I still like but not love Ferdinant von Aegir. 
Caspar and Linhardt: Generally positive before, after and half a year after launch but neither has ever blown me away. 

Blions

  Hide contents

Dimitri: I was as unimpressed as everyone when Dimitri was first revealed and then I got as impressed as everyone else when his post timeskip design was revealed. I'm not as romantically in love with him as everyone else seems to be but I really liked Dimitri and half a year later I still really like him. 
Dedue: I always liked him but never had strong feelings for him. Half a year later strong feelings still have to develop. 
Ashe: Ashe immediately caught my attention. He seemed like an interesting cross between Azelle and Gordin. While Ashe didn't turn out as interesting as Azelle and was more wholesome instead he turned out to be so successful at being wholesome that I quite like him. This liking has endured for half a year and is unlikely to vanish. 
Annette: ''Hey she's kinda cute'' was my first reaction and I didn't really have any other. My first reaction was positive but I didn't take much of an interest. After launch she turned out to be cute as a button and so I quite liked her. Over half a year my liking increased. I found her pre timeskip design a bit too babyish at first but it grew on me. Her war design remains infinitely better though. 
Mercedes: I thought she'd be a very easy winner for ''best girl'' when I first heard of her. After launch it turned out she didn't really click with me and the chipmunk voice wasn't helping. I spend a time not liking her but after half a year I'd say Mercie reached the status of okay.
Felix: Tsunderes and me don't match so I didn't expect to like him. After launch I did somewhat appreciate him but he's not a character I outright like. Half a year later he's a character I more respect then like, but ultimately appreciate. 
Ingrid: She didn't catch my eye before launch and not after launch. Half a year later my main opinion about Ingrid is that her lack of strength gets on my nerves a lot. 
Sylvain: Before launch I thought Sylvain would just be your amusing skirt chasers. My expectations were positive but not that high. Turned out he was quite interesting but a lot less likable then I thought he'd be. My main opinion on Sylvain is that I like him as a character while at the same time finding him very unlikable as a person. Half a year later that's still the case. 

 

Golden Deer

  Hide contents

 

Claude: Claude promised to be fabulous before launch, turned out to be fabulous after launch and half a year later he's still fabulous. Being the most distinct lord definitely helped him stand out from an early stage. Ironically his lack of personal involvement and flaws does make him stand out the least once the game came out but he's still a thoroughly likable and interesting fellow who's fabulous to boot. 
Lorentz: Like everyone else I dismissed him as a loser before launch. After launch he quickly proved me wrong and I started to like him quite a bit. Due to his somewhat off putting design he's not my favorite but consider me won over to the glory of Lorentz Helman Gloucester. He's just not one of my favorites and half a year later he still isn't. 
Ignatz: Ignatz was a blank to me before launch. After launch he quickly grew on me. Precious son, must protect, etcetera etcetera. If it goes for Ashe it goes for him too. I really like Ignatz. He's sensitive, nuanced and relateable. Half a year later my liking only grew, but mostly out of pity. Very few others seem to like Ignatz and because that's more then a bit unfair I like him all the more in response. 
Rapheal: I had low expectations for Rapheal even if he's hot. He came across as a gimmick character and that was what he turned out to be after launch. He definitely has his good bits. He's a VERY kind person whenever he stops talking about food which actually makes it more frustrating that he rarely does. Over half a year I definitely remember ''food food food training food training food food'' far more than I do his good points. 
Hilda! Hilda!: She struck me as a new Serra so I was bound to like her. She turned out to give her own lazy, girly spin on the archtype which made me like her all the more. She's one of my favorite females and half a year later she remained one of my favorite females. 
Marianne: Before launch her design instantly turned me off. I'm not a fan of those bags under her eyes. After launch it got worse when it turned out she belongs to an archetype I hate. A character that keeps talking how worthless they are, rarely talk about anything else and double down on how useless they are tend to get on my nerve a lot. Half a year later she still gets on my nerves. She's just not a character that's very suited for me. 
Lysithea: I instantly recognized her as a Ricken before launch, which implied I might like but never love her. Its a decent but not very interesting archetype. After launch my impression got a bit worse because she turned out to be a bully. Her Ignatz support really left a soar taste in my mouth. I did recognize the good bit like her interesting backstory and good non Ignatz supports, and I instantly fell in love with that long, looong spell list of hers. Half a year later I find her good traits more important than her bad ones but I don't entirely leave her off the hook for her bullying. 
Leonie: Before launch I didn't expect much. She didn't seem very interesting and I didn't like her design. It got a little worse after seeing her Byleth support where she's quite the scumbag. Half a year later I'm more open to the supports where she's nicer and less abrasive. I find her bad Byleth support more of an oddity rather than representative of her character. She still doesn't excite me too much though. She's okay. 

Others:
Rhea: Rhea was very unexciting to me before launch. She's the pope so of course she's evil and/or crazy. After launch I enjoyed her motherly personality and I definitely enjoyed her going completely insane. Half a year after launch I place her on the same tier as the lord trio
Seteth: I was cautiously sceptic of Seteth because his archetype is one that can quickly go wrong. But when it turned out Seteth mostly said completely reasonable things and is everyone's helpful dad he quickly became best boy. Half a year later Seteth remains best boy. 
Flayn: I was neutral on her before launch, after launch and half a year later I remain neutral on her. The fish memes amuse me though.
Shamir: Didn't have strong negative or positive opinions before launch, not after launch and half a year later I still don't. 
Alois: Pure boi who needs to be protected. I thought I'd enjoy his bumbling daddy persona before launch and was entirely correct in that. Half a year later I still like him.
Catherine: I thought she was hot when her design got first revealed. All in all she never clicked with me. For some reason she comes across as a jerk to me. She's not even that much of a jerk, but that's just how she comes across. Half a year later I still think she's a bit of a jerk. 
Hanneman: I assumed I would like him before launch but I expected him to merely be a good Izuka sort of character. Then it turned out he's one of the most nuanced characters in the game and a very kind dad to the students. He's one of my favorites and half a year after launch he's still that. 
Manuella: Her design never clicked with me but I enjoy the drunken antics. Half a year later I still enjoy the drunken antics. 

 

Slitherers and extras

  Reveal hidden contents

Death Knight: Before launch he seemed a little basic. After launch it quickly became apparent that he was a failed character. IS clearly had a lot of ideas planned for him but time and budget likely conspired to ensure none of that came to pass. He was very lame. He's got more developed in the DLC and while I don't enjoy him I at least think he's a character that works now
The slitherers: Before launch I was skeptical. After launch it quickly became clear they were team Garon tier villains who have no competence and no traits aside from being evil. They are the weak link in Three Houses' writing. 

 

and the Ashen Wolves? they are tied with the golden deer to mas as best houses

[Trollingwood]

Paid zero attention to the pre-launch news/marketing so I had no idea what to expect going in. Not listing everyone, just whatever comes to mind as notable.

My opinion of Edelgard continued to improve as I went through the routes, now she's my favorite hero in video games. Never expected her to make this big an impression on me. Honestly the game seems kinda biased in her favor but I ain't complaining lol.

As I progressed, I also developed a great appreciation for the depth of Dimitri's character, although I disagree with him about a lot of things. Tied with Edelgard as the two most interesting, well-written characters in the game.

I like Claude and I think he's more interesting and complex than people typically give him credit for, but overall it still feels like there's wasted potential.

Started out liking Rhea but as I learned more, I began to really dislike her.

Disliked Catherine at first but now I genuinely like her and I think she's an underrated character overall. Definitely not just a zealot like I hear a lot of Edelgard fans say.

Was indifferent to Alois at first, but he really endeared himself to me. Same with Cyril, the kid gets too much hate, his supports with Lysithea and Shamir are both adorable. I also grew to like Gilbert and greatly enjoyed rekindling his relationship with Annette.

Bernie was annoying at first but I grew to like her a lot. There's something hilariously over-the-top inspirational about her CF character arc where the traumatized hikikomori gets out of her room and changes the world.

Thought Sylvain was a douche but that sort of first impression was clearly the point - in the end I grew to like him a lot.

Dedue seemed boring at first but he quickly grew on me. His C support with Shamir is comedy gold.

[SSbardock84]

Just with my progress of playing the game. In Black Eagles Edelgard was pretty much my favorite starting off and I only grew to liking her more. Blue Lions my favorite was Felix by far alongside Sylvain and Ingrid. I enjoyed Dimitri too of course. But once the timeskip came around Dimitri by far became my favorite character in the route, overall becoming my third favorite right behind Felix. Imo Dimitri is the best written Fire Emblem character, absolutely love him. Then in the Golden Deer route I moderately liked several characters and loved Claude and Hilda. After timeskip, I only grew to love both of them more. Absolutely love Claude's final class too, best of the lords for sure. As for Silver Snow, that didn't really change anything. But Ig Silver Snow and Verdant Wind really made me hate Byleth. There were certain aspects of Claude that really bothered me too.

[lenticular]

For the most part, my opinion of Three Houses characters has only gone up over time. As I've played more, had a chance to use everyone, seen more support conversations, heard other people's perspectives, and so on, I've managed to find more things to like about almost everyone. Whether it's a likable personality, an important role in the plot, an interesting character arc, good character design, good voice acting, being a strong unit in combat... or anything else, I'm mostly able to focus on the things I like about a character and ignore some of their more negative traits. I've especially found that characters who I had a strong negative initial reaction to like Lorenz, Sylvain, and Raphael have definitely grown on me a whole lot after I gave them a chance.

I think there are three characters where this isn't true. First is Anna, who I was fairly indifferent to when she was an NPC, but now holds the dubious distinction as being my least favourite recruitable unit by a long way. Playable units are held to an entirely different standard, and she completely fails to meet those standards. And it's not as if I can grow to like her more as I get to know her, because there's basically nothing there to get to know.

The other two are Byleth and Edelgard, who have some commonalities. More than anyone else, these two have maor character revelations part-way through the game that fundamentally altered how I saw them. For Edelgard, it's not so much that my opinion of her went down as that it shifted sideways. Before the revelation, I found her fairly likeable and moderately interesting. Afterwards -- and with Crimson Flower as my first route -- I didn't find her at all likeable, but did find her to be an extremely compelling character. I'm also extremely impressed with everyone involved in creating the character -- writers, translators, actor, director, artists, everyone. They've clearly created a character who is sufficiently deep, nuanced and interesting that she can mean many different things to different people and be interpreted in many different ways.

Byleth, on the other hand, started pretty low and only went lower. I'm not a fan of avatar style characters or silent protagonists to begin with, but I was willing to give them a chance and try to keep an open mind. Sadly, all the things I dislike about avatars and silent protagonists ended up being there. The super-duper specialness, the being beloved by everyone for no apparent reason, the inclusion in central points in the plot and inability to provide any sort of emotional reaction to them. Everything is there. Byleth just doesn't work for me at all.

To finish on a more positive note again, the three characters who have raised the most in my evaluation are Flayn, Mercedes and Seteth. All three of them, I started out not liking at all, but have grown to be be among my favourites. Flayn manages to straddle the line bevween wisdom and naivete wonderfully well, is a delight in doing so, and has some wonderfully funny moments. Mercedes has a sugary-sweet exterior, but is actually tough as nails and has a surprisingly sharp and insightful wit. Seteth is strong, wise, supportive, fiercely loyal to his allies, and has consistently great supports. I love all three of them.

[Etrurian emperor]

14 hours ago, darkblade2814 said:

and the Ashen Wolves? they are tied with the golden deer to mas as best houses

They haven't really been out long enough for time to significantly change my opinion. I thought I'd like them all except Hapi and I did end up liking them all. I didn't expect to like Hapi but did since she's so savage.

[darkblade2814]

2 hours ago, Etrurian emperor said:

They haven't really been out long enough for time to significantly change my opinion. I thought I'd like them all except Hapi and I did end up liking them all. I didn't expect to like Hapi but did since she's so savage.

yeah, she does help to balance Post-character development Dimitri

[Troykv]

Heh... I don't have complete perspective of everyone, but I still give it a try.

Black Eagles

Spoiler

Edelgard: I was expecting to like her, no doubt; what I didn't expect was to actually love her, that is a rare accomplishment, even for Fire Emblem characters, her character is amazing, I love her writing, and she is one of the coolest and more refreshing ideas for a character in Fire Emblem; the only other main character to ever done something like this before was... well, you can imagine. My second favorite lord, and probably a member of my Top 10 characters.

Hubert: Gives some very strange vibes early on, but I ended up liking him in the end, not much else to say; I find funny how there is this girl in Chapter 1 that finds Hubie so handsome xD.

Ferdinand Von Aegir: Before release I was seriously confusing him and Sylvain all the time, similar character designs and the only remarkable aspect of them was so generic FE stuff that it became kind of indistinguible. After release I noticed Ferdinand was actually a MAN, a deserved all my respect, he's kind of a meme, but a true man nevertheless.

Linhardt: My opinion of sleepy boy it's pretty much the same as it originally was, though I now noticed how amusing and creepy he can be at times.

Caspar: My opinion of punchy boy it's for the most part the same as it originally was, though I want to remark the shonen mentality of Caspar actually ended up doing more for him than just getting him into trouble, so that was nice.

Dorothea: She always looked like a gem, she is truly a goddess' gift don't you think?, I was mostly stunned by her physique, and her funny hat. So reading about her was mostly a lot of cute and awesome surprises, she is cool big sis, but even she has issues... But regardless, I really like her.

Bernadetta: My first impression: She is cute and awkward, she probably will have tons of amusing supports, some more annoying than others xD. I was for the most part neutral about her, though leading to positive because her design was so cute xD. I ended up liking her, but I'm not even completely sure why.

Petra: I found her quite stunning to, not as pretty as Dorothea, but quite to, overall my opinion didn't change that much, but I got to see how she is a good-hearted as she is good-looking hahaha.

 

Blue Lions

Spoiler

Dimitri: My opinions of Dimitri are weird as heck... I'm only completely sure I kinda dislike him in the pre-release cycle because his design looked dumb, and greasy, and unappealing, and kind of ugly; I mean, he's pretty, but his hair didn't really sell his handsomeness. I started to get more fond of him after release and knowing about all his stuff... but damn is hard for me to actually like this guy because I have a very particular image in my mind every time I try to think about Dimitri.

Dedue: Loyal Black Friend that looks like he would die, a classic; I was completely neutral to the guy, being darker making him stand out, but my opinion of him didn't really change, I just got context xD.

Ashe: Good boys are always my best friend's favorite, so I was eventually going to have a soft spot for him. I don't remember changing my opinion about him really, because I didn't really have an opinion about him pre-release xD.

Felix: I was expecting an edgy edgelord, I actually like edgy designs, so I was interested on him; after release, and learning how his edge isn't actually edgelord, and more like tsundere, I understand better why he had this demeaner; I'm not sure if it's appropiate for him, but hell, I like how this guy doesn't buy the BS of others; this guy has balls and it's probably the most reliable friend you can ever have that isn't a brainless bot.

Sylvain: I originally confused him with Ferdinand, when I got to learn more about him I learned his backstory was related to the Crest System, and that was kind of cool and made me feel bad for the guy... I also knew about the other side of the story, but never thought much about it... Until like a month later, after I realized how mess up it's Sylvain way of thinking and treating women made me dismiss him as an self-centred asshole that enjoys the suffering of others because of his self-pity, specially the suffering of women that aren't named Ingrid.

Mercedes: She looks like a big sis, but more in the cute motherly-side compared with Dorothea's cool big sis style; so I knew I was going to have a very neutral opinion about her :P. I guess that reminds true... though I realized something about her that made her quite interested... well, two things to be more precise... So I guess I kind of like her now.

Annette: CUTE, I knew this bubbly girly girl was going to be something I was going to pay some attention, and after knowing about her I think I can say she is my favorite of the Lions.

Ingrid: She looked.... unremarkable, she was pretty, sure, but, you know, knightly knights was the only thing I remember about her prior to the release, oh, and she liking food xD... So, anything extra was a cool addition, her support with Ashe was the first I read and I since that moment I was sure I actually liked Ingrid xD.

Golden Deer

Spoiler

Claude: Oh Claude... you're such a weird case of a character playing with expectation... because my imagination power was going low, I didn't really have any particular expectation about Claude, but it's kind of funny how the game how the game doesn't do much with anything of him... but anyway, he still has his backstory and motivations. Also despite his rough beginnings, he ends up being a bro... Kyoudai. So yeah... I think my opinion improved overall?

Lorenz: This guy was so ugly that he became a meme... It made me think in one of Jojolion's character, I don't remember his name right now. I didn't exactly like him but I found him amusing xD. Lorenz didn't changed that much in my head, I just realized that unlike Sylvain he's an asshole, but something that believes a bit too much in the crap he was teached as a child, which is amusing but also a bit sad xD.

Raphael: My opinion of his character didn't really changed, but learning about his positive posture in life is endearing.

Ignatz: For the most part applies the same as with Ashe.

Hilda: She was Serra in my mind, whe I learned she would use Axe I found it HILARIOUS, it was like the case with Lissa using Axes... But anyway, I like her more overall, I can symphatize with her perspective in life, and I like overall his interactions, the cute and the fun ones :p

Lysithea: This gurl was such a mystery when it was first known about, I remember this guy ThaniBomb throwing hints about this mysterious white-haired girl that we saw in gameplay, but never actually got to properly understand the deal Thani was talking about until release... She was special, so I quite quickly took attention of her, and ended up really liking her... Weird perspective I believe xD.

Leonie: Her design made me think in that chick from Persona 4... I really wanted to have a female that was good at punching stuff hahaha... Oh well, I don't remember more about how I felt about Leonie prior to release, so I don't know it my opinion improved xDU.

Marianne: I think my opinion didn't really change that much. But knowing her future self made me feel warmer.

I'll do the rest later.

[Icelerate]

1 hour ago, Troykv said:

Edelgard: I was expecting to like her, no doubt; what I didn't expect was to actually love her, that is a rare accomplishment, even for Fire Emblem characters, her character is amazing, I love her writing, and she is one of the coolest and more refreshing ideas for a character in Fire Emblem; the only other main character to ever done something like this before was... well, you can imagine. My second favorite lord, and probably a member of my Top 10 characters.

 

Why keep it to the imagination XD? Are you afraid to name that character?  

[vanguard333]

I haven't completed the game yet, but I have to say that my opinion overall is that most of the characters so far have surprised me in a good way. I was hoping for the best with the character writing, but part of me was prepared for the worst. Thankfully, even the characters that by all accounts could not have been written well, ended up being written well. 

For the Black Eagles, Hubert was the biggest surprise. I expected him to be just a cold retainer & shadowy-schemer character; a Gharnef on the player's side. Yet he really surprised me with the amount of hidden depths to his character. 

For the Golden Deer, Lorenz would be the biggest surprise. I found him really obnoxious at first, but I think it was late into part 1, after seeing plenty of his B-Supports with different characters, that I began to like his character. 

[FoxyGrandpa]

My first impressions aside, my thoughts on most characters has been mostly consistent. The only character who became slightly weaker to me was Byleth, though its not for the reasons you'd expect.

For the most part, I thought their character as a player avatar was done well. Most of the praise the other students give them doesn't happen until the midway point in part one after you rescue Flayn & win the battle of the Eagle and Lion. And unlike New Mystery of the Emblem, the praise is contextualized well, as they are an authority figure, not some random bodyguard. I also really like how they complement the main character, letting them be more expressive.

However, their endings Verdant Wind & Silver Snow suck imo. In Blue Lions, them ascending the throne as Archbishop made sense and seemed like a natural progression of their character while not taking away the spotlight from the main lord. The ending in Crimson Flower is also serviceable. However, the endings where they become the new leader of Fodlan feels like its done more for pandering. I also thought their story arch in the second half of Verdant Wind was mediocre & was where the self-insert praise got out of hand.

[Etrurian emperor]

18 minutes ago, FoxyGrandpa said:

However, their endings Verdant Wind & Silver Snow suck imo. In Blue Lions, them ascending the throne as Archbishop made sense and seemed like a natural progression of their character while not taking away the spotlight from the main lord. The ending in Crimson Flower is also serviceable. However, the endings where they become the new leader of Fodlan feels like its done more for pandering. I also thought their story arch in the second half of Verdant Wind was mediocre & was where the self-insert praise got out of hand.

Byleth taking over the church instead of Fodlan works for Azure Moon because Dimitri takes the throne. Likewise Edelgard is in pretty firm charge of Fodlan at the end of Crimson Flower so there's no throne for byleth to sit on. 

But Verdant Wind doesn't really have that since Claude doesn't become king of Fodlan and for his character it wouldn't entirely makes sense if he would be. With both Dimitri and Edelgard being dead there's not really anyone else left that can take the throne. I don't really view it as avatar worship because Byleth doesn't become king on his own merit but more or less gets installed by Claude. With Claude being mildly opposed to the church it makes more sense for him to crown Byleth king instead of arch bishop. 

[FoxyGrandpa]

1 hour ago, Etrurian emperor said:

Byleth taking over the church instead of Fodlan works for Azure Moon because Dimitri takes the throne. Likewise Edelgard is in pretty firm charge of Fodlan at the end of Crimson Flower so there's no throne for byleth to sit on. 

But Verdant Wind doesn't really have that since Claude doesn't become king of Fodlan and for his character it wouldn't entirely makes sense if he would be. With both Dimitri and Edelgard being dead there's not really anyone else left that can take the throne. I don't really view it as avatar worship because Byleth doesn't become king on his own merit but more or less gets installed by Claude. With Claude being mildly opposed to the church it makes more sense for him to crown Byleth king instead of arch bishop. 

Fair points. Narratively, in Silver Snow, there was no House Leader, so it made sense that Byleth becomes the king of Fodlan. Verdant Wind is a bit more iffy, but Claude did want unity via friendship & understanding, not conquest, so that ending probably is better for his character than if he just ruled both nations.

My issue stems from Byleth being characterized as a mentor rather than a leader. Though, thinking about it more, I believe the game tries to turn him into a symbol that the army rallies behind in Verdant Wind and Silver Snow. Despite this, I don't think was executed the best, especially in Verdant Wind where Claude steals the show in most of the campaign, making him appear to be the ideal ruler of both Fodlan & Almyra.

[Book Bro]

Mostly everyone hit right where I was expecting to. Exceptions being:

Dorothea: I hated her hat, I assumed she'd be the worst fanservicey character in the game. Turns out she's one of the most well developed and interesting characters.

Claude: I was really excited to see why he was hyped up as a schemer, maybe he would betray the other lords, maybe he would use the war to his advantage. But he really doesn't do... much scheming. I still like him but significantly less than I was expecting to.

Ignatz: totally disinterested in him because of his silly hair, but I ended up liking him a fair bit.

Lorenz: he's actually deeper than I expected. I thought he'd be an insufferable/memey character, but his role within the Alliance makes his story pretty interesting, and he has some great supports.

Ingrid: I love her pre skip design and her backstory is pretty interesting, but she turned out to be a bit underwhelming. I don't dislike her, I'm just indifferent to her, but I was hoping to really like her.

Cyril: not sure what I was expecting, but his unique status and background among the cast had potential to make him a better character than he is.

Hanneman and Manuela: I didn't expect to like them as much as I do. Manuela seemed fanservicey and Hanneman seemed boring, but they're both so lovable and have great supports with the students.

Catherine: I expected to love her, but she's pretty rude and narrow minded in pretty much every support of hers I've seen.

Rhea: I wasn't sure what her character would be, but what we got wasn't what I imagined at all. She's unlike any other character in the series and very interesting to discuss.

The villains: once we got a glimpse of them in the E3 trailer, I was expecting a lot more out of them than what we got. It's a shame their part in the plot isn't explored/dealt with more fully.