What we know of Engage's mechanics so far.

[Keikyushi]

5 hours ago, Cysx said:

although I'm not quite so sure of why some are round and others are square

My initial feeling is that square are for throwback maps related to Emblems, while circle are for normal chapters. However, I can't really find any proof for that. The fort shape doesn't match any past map that I know.

I want to say square might be for paralogues in general, but the ship is heading to where I presume to be the 3 Lord's place, which should be a paralogue, but it's circle

Edited December 11, 2022 by kienquocsi

[DefyingFates]

47 minutes ago, kienquocsi said:

I want to say square might be for paralogues in general, but the ship is heading to where I presume to be the 3 Lord's place, which should be a paralogue, but it's circle

Only Tiki is said to be unlocked via Paralogue, so maybe the 3H Lords are acquired through something that's considered a main story chapter (maybe a Xenologue) to introduce the concept of Emblem Bracelets?

[Cysx]

6 hours ago, tipperthescales said:

which gives +3HP (and MaxHP), +2 presumably Str, +2 Def, +2 Res, +4 Spd, and whatever amount of Dex and Lck to increase Hit by 7 and Avo by 9.

Really need to check out the Korean article too. Either way, those differences (-1 HP, -1 Def, presumably +1 Dex) seem to completely fall in line with what you'd expect out of class growths for Sword Fighter vs whatever her sword using mounted class is.

As for skill colors, I think this kinda strengthens the idea that color could be simply signifying if it can target allies (green), enemies (orange), or both (purple). We'll probably know soon enough though.

6 hours ago, tipperthescales said:

I can't really see why enemies and player units would share the gem icons (color notwithstanding) yet somehow have different properties. After all isn't reviving when HP is depleted essentially refilling the life meter again (well, dependent on if the gem restores 100% HP)?

Sorry, wasn't saying they have differing properties between the player and the enemy. Rather that they're not lifebars for either side. That being said, the red one could still be that really.

Resurrection is definitely the worst effect possible to base this theory on exactly because of what you said, but I don't think the color should be ignored is the thing. A purple gem has also been brought up earlier by Aggro Incarnate, guess I should really search for that now.

Edited December 11, 2022 by Cysx

[DefyingFates]

Anyone want to bet what tomorrow's reveal will be? Roy, some other character(s) or another deep dive into mechanics (i.e. classes)?

[Mysterique Sign]

I think it'll be a character. Either someone from Brodia, or the Somniel characters

[Keikyushi]

Ok, finally have time to do this. Here are the summary of the Somniel video, translated by Satsuma

You can watch the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvDtxW7JPVA

- There are Armory, Vendor and Blacksmith. The number of buyable items will be limited at first, but will expand with game progression

- Emblem Area: The place to interact with Emblems:

• Skill Inheritance: Use SP to buy skills from Emblems
• Spoiler

  

  Here are Marth's available skill at (presumably) bond 10

  • Perceptive: +15 Avo. Further increase if speed is higher (does not stack with Marth's Perceptive)
  • Avo +10
  • Swordplay - Flashing lv 1: +10 Avo, -10 Crit (worse than Avo +10, what's the point of this?)
  • Break Defense
  • Avo +15
  • Swordplay - Flashing lv 2
  • Unyielding
  • Swordplay - Flashing lv 3
  • Avo +20

   

• Create and Merge Bond Rings: Use Bond Fragment to get for bond rings (rings of other characters from past game), and use them to strengthen main Emblem rings OR equip to characters? Similar rings can be merged to be stronger, giving more stats (for example, 2 C rank Ogma rings (+1 Str) can be merge to become a B rank Ogma ring (+1 Str and Skl)
• Spoiler

  

  Marth's UI in the "Create Bond Ring" option. The first line is "Number of refinement", the second line is "Obtained bond rings"

   

• Polish Rings: To "improve your relationship" with Emblems (unknown if that means increasing bond)
• Power Up Engage Weapon: Unknown details at the moment

- Training Area:

• Normal training: Choose a character to fight with a random ally. The chosen character gets exp if they win. Limited amount of times
• Special training: Choose a character to fight with an Emblem to immediately increase bond level if they win. Unlimited amount of times, but cost bond fragment

- Cottage of Trials: Play several maps in a row to get reward. Interestingly, the enemies are Fabrication. Rewards show in the video are Def Crystal, Spd Crystal, Res Crystal, Avo Crystal, Crit Crystal, Skl Crystal, used to strengthen Engage Weapons

- Can build map and upload for other players to try (looks more like Aether Raid than normal map). Limit one per Nintendo Account. You get rewards by winning (unclear if that means attack other people's map, or successfully defend your map)

- Can talk to allies who stand at various places in the base

- Cafeteria:

• Use ingredients to let a character cook and invite 2 allies to eat together.
• There are optional "Illusory ingredients" that presumably increase the chance of success. 
• Seems like each characters has their specialty dishes (which increase their chance of successfully making it?), and of course favorite and disliked dishes.
• Increase bond with invited allies, while give stat boosts to all allies based on the dish.
• Each dish will be rated, with D rank giving the exact amount of stats said beforehand. Unknown if higher ranks give more stats, or if there are lower ranks that give penalty instead.
• EDIT: At A rank, Alear gets additional stat boost

- Can pick up items on the ground to give to allies, increasing bond

- The Farm: The video says "Something good may happen if you bring in lots of animal". Unknown what that means at the moment. By interacting with animals, you can get stuff like "Illusory Vegetable", which is used in cooking.

- There's a pet called "Sora" (which I think is based on Somniel's JP name "Soranel". Maybe his name will be localized as "Somni" Localized name confirmed to be Sommie). You can feed, pet and dress him up. After petting, a bond meter increase, and Sora gives Bond Fragment (used to get bond rings)

- Accessory Shop: Buy clothes and accessory for allies. Unknown if they can wear it in battle, but most likely not

- Physical Exercise Area: Complete mini games for temporary stat boost

- FISHING MINIGAME!!!: Fish give Bond Fragment and something else (for example, One-horned trout gives "Fish Paste". Unknown what that does). There's a record of how many times have you caught a type of fish, and the biggest size you've caught.

- Fortune Telling (manned by Seadall apparently): Details unknown. Character spoiler:

Spoiler

Merrin's result says she's thinking about "Jeanne". Unknown if that will be a playable character

- A shooting minigame where you ride on a wyvern and shoot at targets on the sky

- Amiibo Spot: Scanning Amiibo gives items. Scanning Fire Emblem Amiibo presumably gives you ticket to exchange for outfit from past characters and past songs

- My Room: Can Rest, "View Memory" or Change difficulty here. Resting moves up the time a bit (unknown if time works like a limit on your activites, or just for cosmetic). Sometimes a character might wake you up (unknown if we gain bond with them from that)

- Notice Board:

• Investing in Countries: using gold to invest. If a country's level increase, you will receive reward. High level increase rare enemy spawn (giving more exp and gold when defeated) and the amount of materials (like cooking ingredients and forging materials) found when exploring
• Achievement: gives Bond Fragment when complete

 

If anything is unclear or I miss something, please tell me

Edited December 26, 2022 by kienquocsi

[Keikyushi]

1 hour ago, DefyingFates said:

Anyone want to bet what tomorrow's reveal will be? Roy, some other character(s) or another deep dive into mechanics (i.e. classes)?

I really hope they will say something about the class system soon, since that's one of my most favorite mechanics of Fire Emblem, and the unorthodox classes of Engage so far is driving me nuts to figure out. That being said, I won't get my hope up for the mechanics tweet tomorrow. Maybe something minor that all old players should have known already again.

If they don't reveal Roy tomorrow, it will likely be two random retainers, then we will get Roy on Tuesday

[tipperthescales]

7 hours ago, Cysx said:

A purple gem has also been brought up earlier by Aggro Incarnate, guess I should really search for that now.

Did Aggro say where they saw it?

 

11 hours ago, DefyingFates said:

Only Tiki is said to be unlocked via Paralogue, so maybe the 3H Lords are acquired through something that's considered a main story chapter (maybe a Xenologue) to introduce the concept of Emblem Bracelets?

Actually the Japanese website's DLC page clarifies the conditions for the Leaders and Tiki:

Spoiler

紋章士エーデルガルト／ディミトリ／クロード
Emblem Edelgard/Dimitri/Claude

ソラネルの「見晴らしの丘」でイベントを見ると仲間になります。
They join the party after viewing the event at Somniel's 'Lookout Hill'.

===

紋章士チキ
Emblem Tiki

追加される「神竜の章」のマップをクリアすると仲間になります。
Tiki will join once the additional Divine Paralogue map is cleared.

Update - I should have just checked the English DLC page, oops:

Quote

《Additional Emblems》
・Emblem Bracelet for Edelgard/Dimitri/Claude will be added (three Emblems that dwell in one bracelet).
　When a unit wears the Emblem Bracelet, they will receive stat boosts (including a 20% increase in earned EXP). 
Note: You will receive the bracelet immediately after viewing the event on Lookout Ridge in the Somniel.

・Emblem bracelet for Tiki will be added.
　A unit wearing the bracelet will have improved stat growth when leveling up. 
Note: Bracelet becomes available after clearing the newly added Divine Paralogue map.

 

Edited December 11, 2022 by tipperthescales

[Cysx]

24 minutes ago, tipperthescales said:

Did Aggro say where they saw it?

Unfortunately, no. And I'm not finding it either.

[DefyingFates]

6 hours ago, kienquocsi said:

Maybe something minor that all old players should have known already again.

To be fair, that could be a blessing in disguise~

One thing I forgot to ask for was info on Supports. We know they're back (even without the leaks), but I wonder if the Emblem conversations we've been seeing are also supports or one-offs where they advise the Elyosians. Also, do Eirika and Ephraim get separate support pools, or do they each have fewer supports than the other Emblems (e.g. 2 each instead of 4 like the others, if that's how many the others get)?

[Vexal]

12 hours ago, DefyingFates said:

Only Tiki is said to be unlocked via Paralogue, so maybe the 3H Lords are acquired through something that's considered a main story chapter (maybe a Xenologue) to introduce the concept of Emblem Bracelets?

the eShop page just said to view an event on Somniel. No chapter was specified and I don't recall any characters were in the event cutscene for the 3H Bracelet weren't ones we'd be starting the game with, so it's likely available when we get access to Somniel

EDIT: Furthermore, the 3H Bracelet gives you a 20% exp boost while equipped, this definitely feels like something they'd want you to start the game with

Edited December 11, 2022 by Vexal

[DefyingFates]

40 minutes ago, Vexal said:

the eShop page just said to view an event on Somniel. No chapter was specified and I don't recall any characters were in the event cutscene for the 3H Bracelet weren't ones we'd be starting the game with, so it's likely available when we get access to Somniel

I think I saw another reward being available in Chapter 5, so if I had to guess that may be when we go there for the first time, with the first five chapters being a tutorial set in Lythos.

...so another parallel with Fates. Huh.

[Vexal]

1 hour ago, DefyingFates said:

I think I saw another reward being available in Chapter 5, so if I had to guess that may be when we go there for the first time, with the first five chapters being a tutorial set in Lythos.

...so another parallel with Fates. Huh.

Wasn't this also around how long the tutorial was in Awakening? I remember not being able to freely do pair up stuff until around that much progress was made, unless you altered your settings in regards to tutorials anyways

[DefyingFates]

1 minute ago, Vexal said:

Wasn't this also around how long the tutorial was in Awakening? I remember not being able to freely do pair up stuff until around that much progress was made, unless you altered your settings in regards to tutorials anyways

Good point! I was just comparing Somniel to when you got access to My Castle which was admittedly earlier than that, but it was only after the route split that you could actually do stuff in there IIRC. You know, it really is curious how this seems to be a spiritual successor to Awakening and Fates more than anything else. I know the character designs are as cartoony as Fates', but I really hope the story is on par with 3H (or even Awakening's) and not the mess that was that game's.

[BravuraLevi]

41 minutes ago, Vexal said:

Wasn't this also around how long the tutorial was in Awakening? I remember not being able to freely do pair up stuff until around that much progress was made, unless you altered your settings in regards to tutorials anyways

Pair-up was unlocked at Chapter 3. The world map also opened around that time. It's possible that the tutorials go on longer though- Lyn mode was a like a whole 10 chapters which were(in normal mode) largely tutorials. 

[Cysx]

Roy: Emblem of Binding

• Equipment: Lancereaver, Wyrmslayer, Binding Blade(?)
  • Synchro Skills: ??? : If you're at >30% HP when the battle starts, killing hits will leave you at 1 HP instead.
  • Engage Skills: Transcendence: Raises your level by 5. Can breach the level cap. Dragon characters get 6 levels instead.
  • Engage Attack: Blazing Lion(?): attack enemies three spaces in a row (+3 more spaces in the row in front of that for Dragons), and sets the terrain on fire afterwards in a 3x3 square right in front of you(similar to Corrin's EA). This fire "hinders movement" afterwards (either by inflicting damage as per tradition or straight up denying movement, I don't know).
    
    Added to the second main post

Edited December 12, 2022 by Cysx

[DefyingFates]

1 hour ago, Cysx said:

Roy: Emblem of Binding

• Equipment: Lancereaver, Wyrmslayer, Binding Blade(?)
  • Synchro Skills: ??? : At <30% HP, will leave you at 1 HP whenever you're hit and should die.
  • Engage Skills: Transcendence: Raises your level by 5. Can breach the level cap. Dragon characters get 6 levels instead.
  • Engage Attack: Blazing Lion(?): attack enemies three spaces in a row and(+3 more spaces in the row in front of that for Dragons), and sets the terrain on fire afterwards in a 3x3 square right in fron of you(similar to Corrin's EA). This fire "hinders movement" afterwards (either by inflicting damage as per tradition or straight up denying movement, I don't know).
    
    Added to the second main post

Thank you, Cysx! I guess we're going in release date order for the remaining Emblems then, since that's also the order they were listed on the JP site!

[tipperthescales]

8 minutes ago, DefyingFates said:

Thank you, Cysx! I guess we're going in release date order for the remaining Emblems then, since that's also the order they were listed on the JP site!

Actually, aren't Eirika (and Ephraim) next on the Topics page? (Not that I'm complaining I think everyone wants to know their mechanics the most)

[DefyingFates]

11 minutes ago, tipperthescales said:

(Not that I'm complaining I think everyone wants to know their mechanics the most)

That makes me very happy if so, but I guess the twin-switching is pretty intriguing :3

11 minutes ago, tipperthescales said:

Actually, aren't Eirika (and Ephraim) next on the Topics page?

Yep! All the remaining Emblems were listed in the release order of their home games, and since we got Roy today I imagine the following reveals will also be in that order - unlike the Engaging with Emblems trailer and subsequent coverage that put Lyn after the Avatars. That's what I meant, sorry if it wasn't clear!

EDIT 2: Scratch that, I just remembered that Leif is listed after those two despite releasing earlier. My bad! At least that misordering is a greater hint that that's the order we'll get information in? Either that or IS forgot what FE5 is, which isn't a good sign for the rumored FE4 remake 😛

Edit: Now that I think about it, if Leif really can give you whatever weapon best suits your circumstances, maybe Eirika and Ephraim really will have three weapons each? I know a lot of you said that too, but I was still a bit skeptical, sorry about that. If we're going off of FE8 and not Heroes, it'd make up for them only having one weapon-type access each. The pair probably won't need an Axereaver since you could just switch to Eirika, but I wonder if they'll get another Lancereaver just so they have an answer for each part of the original weapon triangle... I'm getting a little excited again despite myself. Oh dear.

P.S. What class does Corrin have in Fates that lets her use daggers?

Edited December 12, 2022 by DefyingFates

[Keikyushi]

- Combat stats calculation:

• Hit = Weapon hit + Dex * 2 + Lck / 2
• Avo = Spd * 2 + Lck / 2
• Crit = Dex / 2

- Some weapon stats:

Spoiler

• Iron Sword: 5 Mt, 90 Hit, 0 Crit
• Iron Lance: 7 Mt, 85 Hit, 0 Crit
• Iron Axe: 9 Mt, 80 Hit, 0 Crit
• Iron Bow: 6 Mt, 90 Hit, 0 Crit
• Fire: 5 Mt, 95 Hit, 0 Crit
• Iron-Body Art: 3 Mt, 90 Hit, 0 Crit
• Javelin: 6 Mt, 80 Hit, 0 Crit, 9 Weight
• Elfire: 11 Mt, 90 Hit, 0 Crit
• Marth's Rapier: 7 Mt, 95 Hit, 0 Crit, +20 Avo
• Sigurd's Ridersbane: 10 Mt, 75 Hit, 0 Crit

A more comprehensive weapon list can be seen here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1Ic4UjGH84aCN9-TWKJpeVwbYy4QngGHPw8pueuHtQ9k/edit?usp=sharing

- Characters has 1 personal skill, 1 class skill (persumably got at lv 5 promoted class) and 2 equippable skills (bought from Emblem using SP)

- Chain Guard: can only used by Qi Adept units with full HP. When activated, the Qi Adept unit lose 20% max HP, but the protected unit does not take any damage

- Class Changing:

• Use Master Seal to promote a lv 10+ unit from a Base class to a Promoted class
• Use Second Seal to change a unit's class to a different class at the same or lower tier
• Each character has a "Weapon Aptitude" needed to change class. They can inherit a lacking weapon aptitude from Emblems
  • For example: Vander naturally has Axe aptitude, so he can only class change to Axe Fighter, Berserker, Axe Armor, (Axe) General, Axe Knight (all of these classes can only use Axe)

Spoiler

• Seems like character has a "Natural Talent", which is indicated by a blue weapon icon and can raise the corresponding weapon rank by 1 level
  • For example, (Sword+Lance) Hero usually has C rank Lance, but if Louis (who has Natural Talent in Lance) becomes a Hero, he will have B rank Lance instead

- Weapons can be forged using gold and other materials. Upgrading to another weapon (for example, Iron Sword -> Steel Sword) seems to be possible too

• Iron Sword +1: +2 Might
• Iron Sword +2: +5 Hit

- Emblems can be used to modify stats of a weapon. Each Emblem can be used for 1 weapon only at a time

• Lyn: -3 Might, -2 Weight, +40 Hit, +20 Crit
• Lucina: -1 Might, -1 Weight, +30 Hit, +30 Avoid

- When initiating attack using a heavy weapon (like Blades, Greatlance,...), user is forced to attack last, but it will trigger Smash, which pushes foe back 1 tile. If they hit a wall or another unit (i.e the tile they are supposed to go to is occupied), they will be Broken. Heavy weapons cannot double.

Edited December 26, 2022 by kienquocsi

[Armchair General]

Going by this, there's also an Sword Fighter/backup in addition to the other two Fighters that were already listed.

 

I think that all three of the Fighter sub-types are there as an trainee class that'll branch off into the semi-promoted classes that have been popping up in the recent tweets.

[Keikyushi]

1 hour ago, Armchair General said:

I think that all three of the Fighter sub-types are there as an trainee class that'll branch off into the semi-promoted classes that have been popping up in the recent tweets.

I think they are your normal 1st tier infantry class - Fighter, Soldier and Myrmidon - but renamed maybe to signify the weapon triangle

[Coreyographed]

28 minutes ago, kienquocsi said:

I think they are your normal 1st tier infantry class - Fighter, Soldier and Myrmidon - but renamed maybe to signify the weapon triangle

I think you're probably right since I believe in one of the previews Chloe is simply called Lance Flier

[Cysx]

SOMNIEL

• Mock battles : You can pick one of your units to fight a random member of your army, or one of your emblems. The former grants exp and can only be done a limited amount of times, while the latter grants bond levels with the selected emblem and can be attempted as many times as you want, but costs Bond Fragments.

Edited December 14, 2022 by Cysx

[Safy]

Okay, but the real question about the most important mechanic: do we already know what hair colour each Emblem gives?

This is the number one factor for pairing them with units, surely.