expansion pass Given the early release of Wave 2, when do you think Waves 3 and 4 will release?

[Azz]

6 minutes ago, SureStrike said:

Ngl I was kind of bummed to wake up without an announcement this morning 😅 but I don't think that it means we won't still get wave 3 this week, since I think wave 2 only released on a Wednesday because of the direct. Looking at the DLC for three houses, its wave 3 released on a Friday. Does anyone know if the 3h DLC was announced beforehand or if it was shadow dropped (with the exception of Ashen Wolves ofc)? I can't remember.  It could give us insight on to whether we'll know in advance or if wave 3 is just gonna drop one day. 

As far as I'm aware, besides Wave 4, all DLC for TH was just dropped, with an announcement being made on the twt account at some point early in the day, but its very unceremonious for the most part. At most, it's announced a couple of hours before its made available I think.

[SureStrike]

8 minutes ago, Azz said:

As far as I'm aware, besides Wave 4, all DLC for TH was just dropped, with an announcement being made on the twt account at some point early in the day, but its very unceremonious for the most part. At most, it's announced a couple of hours before its made available I think.

very good to know, thank you so much! i'm holding out hope we still get wave 3 this week then 🙂

[DefyingFates]

5 minutes ago, Azz said:

As far as I'm aware, besides Wave 4, all DLC for TH was just dropped, with an announcement being made on the twt account at some point early in the day, but its very unceremonious for the most part. At most, it's announced a couple of hours before its made available I think.

That's how I remember it too @SureStrike. One thing worth mentioning is that not only was Cindered Shadows announced almost a full month ahead of time (Jan 16th with a release on Feb 13th), that month was spent with a bunch of teasers and interviews about the new characters and classes - so pretty much a repeat of the news drops for the base game. For reference, the newest post of Page 5 of SF's "DLC" tagged posts is the CS reveal and the news continues until halfway through Page 2. Granted a bunch of that info was explaining who from the base cast was showing up, that CS was a separate mode and how that changed stuff and so on (if the Divine Paralogues are any indication I assume the Fell Xenologue will be an extension of the base map) so Engage may not need as much of a detailed news cycle, but it does give me pause when I used to think all four Waves may be out pre-Zelda.

Of course the Wave 4 news could start dropping as soon as Wave 3 does because there's no technical stuff that needs explaining, so there's some copium there at least.

4 minutes ago, SureStrike said:

very good to know, thank you so much! i'm holding out hope we still get wave 3 this week then

Here's hoping! And hey, if we do it'd all but confirm Wave 4 will show up quickly too!

[SureStrike]

24 minutes ago, DefyingFates said:

One thing worth mentioning is that not only was Cindered Shadows announced almost a full month ahead of time (Jan 16th with a release on Feb 13th), that month was spent with a bunch of teasers and interviews about the new characters and classes - so pretty much a repeat of the news drops for the base game.

I didn't even think about that, but now that you've pointed it out it would make a lot of sense for them to mimic the info drops before engage's release for the story DLC. I definitely expect them to make twitter posts for the 5 new characters and the new classes and will want time to hype it up since it's a whole new story. Chrom + Robin and Veronica already got twitter posts so that also gives credence to the idea that wave 3 will be dropped pretty unceremoniously. Although those posts were very vague and not detailed like the rest of the emblems, so it's possible they'll want more info about them posted to twitter before they release. Idk, we'll see.

Maybe it's misplaced, but remembering the twitter posts and promotion of of Cindered Shadows gives me hope that we'll have wave 4 by mid April since they'll need time to drop the twitter posts for the five new characters leading up to Fell Xenologue's release. My guess would be between the release of the new Bayonetta game on March 17th and about a week or two before the release of Advance Wars on April 21st since that seems to be an open period where Nintendo won't be distracting from any other games. Friday, April 7th, maybe? and then along with that, I would expect wave 3 this week or next week to appropriately space out the wave 3 and 4 releases.

Of course, this could all be wrong and they could be waiting until after ToTK and we're waiting until June or even July, but I personally doubt that considering it seems 90% done since we already got a mini trailer and it's fully voiced acted in English. Plus, engage already has dropped pretty far on the sales chart and doesn't seem to have the longevity and fanbase that 3h did. It would make sense to capture the attention of engage players while it's fresh and new, rather than waiting a while. 

Edited March 1, 2023 by SureStrike
Added "April" before "21st" for clarity

[DefyingFates]

3 minutes ago, SureStrike said:

Although those posts were very vague and not detailed like the rest of the emblems, so it's possible they'll want more info about them posted to twitter before they release.

Yeah, even the Wave 2 Emblems got a few clips each, but they were posted immediately after the Direct, so it's possible Wave 3 will also be announced a day or two in advance with Chrom/Robin and Veronica shown off then. With all this speculation it's easy to forget (at least for me) that Wave 2 was also stealth dropped!

5 minutes ago, SureStrike said:

My guess would be between the release of the new Bayonetta game on March 17th and about a week or two before the release of Advance Wars on the 21st since that seems to be an open period where Nintendo won't be distracting from any other games.

Ah, I feel bad for admitting this but I'd forgotten how excited people were for Advance Wars. Of course that doesn't mean Nintendo will capitalize on that, but those are two key windows of opportunity you've highlighted, thanks for that! (AW is releasing on April 21st, for those wondering.) And of course any time after that will go to Zelda so... yeah, if Wave 4 doesn't come by then we're waiting for until late Spring/ Summer.

10 minutes ago, SureStrike said:

Plus, engage already has dropped pretty far on the sales chart and doesn't seem to have the longevity and fanbase that 3h did.

That makes me sad, but if it gives IS incentive to release the DLC early (without rushing it or crunching, of course) then that'll at least be a silver lining. Thanks for pointing this out too! I guess you're really looking forward to Waves 3 and 4 too?

[SureStrike]

2 minutes ago, DefyingFates said:

I guess you're really looking forward to Waves 3 and 4 too?

Yes I am haha! Sorry if I'm going a bit overboard with my analysis of release dates and such, I am just beyond excited for the next two waves since I've already beaten engage and loved every aspect of it. I just can't wait for more and as weird as it sounds speculating about release dates and such helps tide me over for the next wave. I just find it fun 🙂

[DefyingFates]

16 minutes ago, SureStrike said:

Yes I am haha! Sorry if I'm going a bit overboard with my analysis of release dates and such, I am just beyond excited for the next two waves

I don't know about anyone else but you're in good company with me - just look at how many threads I've created in this subforum! I'm glad you love Engage too, and I agree: speculating about release dates is a great coping mechanism for impatience! Let's just hope we don't need to do so for too long 😛

P.S. I just noticed you're a new member, you really do love Engage! Welcome to Serenes Forest!

Edited March 1, 2023 by DefyingFates

[KoriCongo]

Wave 3 drops on March 8th

[Viberum]

Cool! I was one week off but I’m still happy lol.

This makes me think Wave 4 will release in early April now lol.

and then maybe a new game announcement in june (copium)

[DefyingFates]

6 hours ago, KoriCongo said:

Wave 3 drops on March 8th

Thanks for this, Congo! Instead of getting the DLC on the third week after Wave 2 we got an announcement instead. I can accept that~

6 hours ago, Viberum said:

Cool! I was one week off but I’m still happy lol.

This makes me think Wave 4 will release in early April now lol.

Same here, on both counts! One Wave per month doesn't sound too bad - let's just hope that is when we get Wave 4 and Nintendo/ IS doesn't mess with us again. Your schedule still works, @SureStrike!

[Azz]

Seems like the DLC releases on the 2nd Wednesday of each month. So it will probably be the 12th of April when we get Wave 4, hopefully

[DefyingFates]

10 minutes ago, Azz said:

Seems like the DLC releases on the 2nd Wednesday of each month. So it will probably be the 12th of April when we get Wave 4, hopefully

I guess the weird thing about February having 28 days exactly is that it makes it harder to pinpoint exactly what pattern IS is using (I know IS and patterns don't go well together, but still) since it's just as likely that they want to release something on the 8th of each month (or 7th since April 8th is a Saturday) or even the first Wednesday of the first full week of the month.

That said, releasing on April 12th would give them 5 weeks to finish off Fell Xenologue compared to the 4 weeks for Wave 3 and 2.5 weeks for Wave 2 so that would make sense too. I've got my fingers crossed for April 5th, but the 12th is probably a safer bet - assuming Nintendo doesn't want to start advertising Advance Wars or something, which would entice them to get Wave 4 out sooner.

Thank you for the observation! It's really nice to get a solid date to think about, even if it's speculation 🙂

[Use the Falchion]

So next week for Wave 3...that feels right. April 5 or 7 or so for Wave 4 also would feel about right. Hopefully early on the 7th, as I have that day off from work and it'd be nice to spend that day playing the new content. April 12 would also be fine, but I'd only have a weekend to play the game, and a short one at that due to social obligations. 

 

Also, as a side question, do we know if the new DLC will work more like Fates, where it's a side-story that's completed on its own and we can recruit the characters in any run after a certain point afterwards, or is it more like Engages' DLC Emblems where we need to beat the level to recruit the characters?

I'll still probably try to delay Playthrough 3 (aka the Romance Alfred Playthrough) until then, although depending on the rumors of the story and recruitable characters, I may want to save that for Playthrough 4...

 

On 3/2/2023 at 8:06 PM, Viberum said:

and then maybe a new game announcement in june (copium)

Genealogy remake, launching with the Switch 2, coming this holiday season??? (Also Copium...) (Although I do have a crackpot theory that sometime after the Switch's successor launches, IntSys will release a remaster/port of Three Houses and Three Hopes combined, with extra content for Three Hopes. Either that, or a third Fodlan game that answers questions that Three Hopes never did.)

[DefyingFates]

4 hours ago, Use the Falchion said:

April 12 would also be fine, but I'd only have a weekend to play the game, and a short one at that due to social obligations.

If Fell Xenologue has a similar length to Cindered Shadows, that would probably be enough to get through everything anyway. Of course I've got my fingers crossed for April 5th or 7th too~

4 hours ago, Use the Falchion said:

Also, as a side question, do we know if the new DLC will work more like Fates, where it's a side-story that's completed on its own and we can recruit the characters in any run after a certain point afterwards, or is it more like Engages' DLC Emblems where we need to beat the level to recruit the characters?

Considering Engage has a postgame, I assume the DLC story will work like the DLC Paralogues: added to the main campaign.

4 hours ago, Use the Falchion said:

Either that, or a third Fodlan game that answers questions that Three Hopes never did.

While more answers would be great, I'd feel incredibly sorry for Engage seemingly being abandoned for a return to Fodlan! That said, I wonder if Engage is also likely to get a spinoff/ sequel. After all, Koei Tecmo has proven time and again that shifting between art styles and mechanics is no obstacle for them.

[Use the Falchion]

19 hours ago, DefyingFates said:

Considering Engage has a postgame, I assume the DLC story will work like the DLC Paralogues: added to the main campaign.

Good point!

 

19 hours ago, DefyingFates said:

That said, I wonder if Engage is also likely to get a spinoff/ sequel.

I can certainly see the appeal, and I'd love for the Emblem mechanic to come back in some way, shape, or form, but I'm not sure I'd want to see it in a sequel to Engage. I'd rather see something like this in a TMS sequel proper* than Engage 2. Engage feels like a farewell to the 3DS-era of Fire Emblem to me, completing a trilogy with Awakening and Fates in terms of story-type, colorfulness (and cheesiness/charm) of characters, and overall tone and aesthetic.** An Engage 2 would feel like a bit too much, at least for me.

I think right now Fire Emblem can have a pretty clear 3-5 year path ahead, with it looking similar to Pokemon*** if they so desire. IntSys could easily alternate between a new release, a spin-off (preferably but not limited to Warriors), and a remake pretty much every year to keep content fresh and to keep Heroes alive.

2023: Engage (with a potential for Genealogy depending on whether or not the rumors are true and/or they want to launch the game with the rumored Next Gen Switch.)

2024: Genealogy Remake (similar to the above case), or a remaster/rerelease of Three Houses/Hopes for the Next Gen Switch

2025: Genealogy Warriors (or TMS 2 with a ten-year anniversary, or a new spin-off altogether.) 

2026: New Original game. 

2027: Warriors 2 (& a ten-year anniversary edition)

2028: FE 6 and potentially 7 remake. (I'd be the 25th anniversary of the first FE game released in the West. I'm sure they'll do something. Then again, look at how they treated Genealogy...)

 

 

*Despite my own ideas for TMS 2 using FE characters more like Personas (and character foils for the non-FE cast), I do think that using the characters like Emblems would actually be a better step for the series overall, so long as they're willing to step outside of just the Lords of each game. Maybe the MC can only use the Lords, and for each other character, they'd have to recruit the Emblems of said archetype they express in order to gain the same abilities? For example, the MC can use Sigurd while his lancer would need to find Seth or someone like that to be able to use Calvary abilities? (...okay, not the best example, but you get the idea...)

**As a random side-thought, if Engage ever decides to add more DLC, I think Children Units would be good. They can even just do a Promise Ring situation as something that gives powers akin to a Pact Ring, but you don't want the implications of a Wedding Ring. Multiple alternate worlds exist in the game, and more are confirmed by the DLC snippets. I don't think it'd be that hard to say, "hey I'm your future kid from an alternate timeline" and come up with a reason for them to be here. Or not. But 'd certainly love a surprise fifth wave of DLC with at least Eliwood, Alm, and Azura...

***Pokemon really should be on a 3-4 year cycle with a larger team, alternating between mainline games, a major spin-off (they can switch between Let's Go and Legends if they need more time for one or the other), and a remake. During the Major Spin-off years, they can build in a minor spin-off like Mystery Dungeon remakes or Conquest 2 or something else. But The Pokemon Company doesn't want to expand despite desperately needing to do so, and it's going to hurt them until they do. 

[DefyingFates]

3 hours ago, Use the Falchion said:

and it's going to hurt them until they do.

Considering Pokemon keeps breaking sales records, I doubt it, unfortunately.

3 hours ago, Use the Falchion said:

I think Children Units would be good. They can even just do a Promise Ring situation as something that gives powers akin to a Pact Ring, but you don't want the implications of a Wedding Ring. Multiple alternate worlds exist in the game, and more are confirmed by the DLC snippets. I don't think it'd be that hard to say, "hey I'm your future kid from an alternate timeline" and come up with a reason for them to be here.

You know, while calling them children may be a bit much (unless it's only for Alear), I think a way to get new units based on the current cast has some potential. And hey, if Alear does have an heir or child, that gives us another Dragon to play around with!

3 hours ago, Use the Falchion said:

Engage feels like a farewell to the 3DS-era of Fire Emblem to me, completing a trilogy with Awakening and Fates in terms of story-type, colorfulness (and cheesiness/charm) of characters, and overall tone and aesthetic.

This is how it felt to me too, so now that you've said it out loud I get your reluctance for a sequel. Maybe if it took a few years to come out it'd feel better? Then again, it doesn't look like Engage captured as much interest as Three Houses and the only people extolling its virtues are those who were already into FE so that may not be a big enough market to warrant a spin-off/ sequel in the first place. Hmm...

3 hours ago, Use the Falchion said:

But 'd certainly love a surprise fifth wave of DLC with at least Eliwood, Alm, and Azura...

Or even a second Pass altogether! I'd love to see Lyon in Engage!

[Azz]

I have a feeling the Fell Xenologues will act like the Divine Paralogues and will be a separate world map where you will use your characters from your main file rather than it being a Fates/Cindered Shadows sitch where you are given however many pre-built characters to use. 

[DefyingFates]

1 hour ago, Azz said:

I have a feeling the Fell Xenologues will act like the Divine Paralogues and will be a separate world map where you will use your characters from your main file rather than it being a Fates/Cindered Shadows sitch where you are given however many pre-built characters to use. 

This is what I'm thinking too. Maybe Fell Xenologues will be on another mass of islands that's connected to both the DP ones and the main continent? So sort of like a triangle.

[Naoshi]

It drops on Tuesday March 7th for those on West side. I'm guessing it drops on 12am JST time.

[DefyingFates]

1 hour ago, Naoshi said:

It drops on Tuesday March 7th for those on West side. I'm guessing it drops on 12am JST time.

So Nintendo America did remember the DLC! Just... after both the JP and EU accounts.

Speaking of, the DLC is releasing on the 8th according to the latter, when "12am JST" would suggest the 7th for Europe too. Does anyone know what time the eShop updates in each region please, or do games go up on an individual basis?

(Also, what time zone is Nintendo USA based in, PST?)

Edited March 5, 2023 by DefyingFates