To Become an Elitist [Playlogs FE1-5] [currently playing: Thracia 776]

[Interdimensional Observer]

1 hour ago, ping said:

And here is Ares, who goes right from red to blue without the intermediate green step. Very considerate of him.

Heuga: I liked Eldigan too. He scores really high on looks (laughs).

Kaga’s comment: The position he’s in resembles Camus’s from the previous games.
Each person has flaws of their own, and while Eldigan is great as a person, his over-conscientiousness was his flaw. Basically, he’s just too straight-laced. Seeing this, I thought the players might go, “Why don’t we get to recruit him?”, and that’s exactly why Ares was created, especially since Sigurd’s chapter is just foreshadowing for Seliph’s chapter. This might also be the reason behind Ares’s popularity.
There are a lot of fixed events in the first generation that players don’t get a say in, so Seliph’s chapter was also made to dispel those dissatisfactions from the first generation.

Not beating around the bushes.  

[ping]

1 hour ago, RPGuy96 said:

Let me interest you in a game called Berwick Saga, made by one Shouzou Kaga...

Kaga? Never heard of 'em

I should by now be conditioned to expect, every time I think of something that might be a cool FE-related idea, somebody to point at at least one of the Kaga Saga games.

1 hour ago, RPGuy96 said:

I'm reasonably confident that rings don't stack.

Which would be reasonable, since getting +10 to a stat like Str or Def would be seriously OP. But I'm playing a game with a whole arsenal of holy weapons granting a total +30 to their wielder's stats, so I don't necessarily expect there reasonable.

59 minutes ago, Jotari said:

Oh, boy. Don't look at her Forging Bonds to see what they did with her this century. At least most of the rest of her conversations in this game are about saving orphans.

I treasure my ignorance of all things Heroes, I really do.

31 minutes ago, Interdimensional Observer said:

Not beating around the bushes.  

The "Sigurd sets up Seliph's story" angle on Genealogy's story is interesting, although I don't think it works all that well. Kaga seems to have thought that people will be frustrated at Sigurd for making bad choices while the universe conspires against him - but thus far, I'm more bored by Seliph being the golden boy.

His summarisation of Eldigan is spot-on, though.

[Jotari]

4 minutes ago, ping said:

The "Sigurd sets up Seliph's story" angle on Genealogy's story is interesting, although I don't think it works all that well. Kaga seems to have thought that people will be frustrated at Sigurd for making bad choices while the universe conspires against him - but thus far, I'm more bored by Seliph being the golden boy.

His summarisation of Eldigan is spot-on, though.

Let us not forget that we have, like, six interviews with Kaga in the 90s when he explained all of his opinions to us. There's like a 70% chance that most of it was off the cuff bullshit he just spewed because he's a programmer and not a public speaker and didn't know what else to say when pressed for an opinion.

[Shanty Pete's 1st Mate]

11 hours ago, ping said:

(If a Genealogy remake includes an avatar that partakes in the eugenics program, that will be a very questionable game)

...Okay, but like, Dew doesn't necessarily get married. It's a lover system, not a "put-a-ring-on-it" system. They don't have to tie the knot, they just gotta smush.

...I dunno if that makes things better, or worse. I swear it's just about the Bargain skill, officer-

11 hours ago, ping said:

: "Kyaaaaa! You're Lord Seliph! Oh my gosh, oh my gosh, oh my gosh!"

Every time I read this particular scream, I swear, five minutes gets taken off of my life.

11 hours ago, ping said:

(and this second Brave Sword honestly is a pretty good argument for Holyn!Patty).

A shame that Patty doesn't start with the Brave Sword in her inventory, then give it to Seliph via the conversation. That way, players with Chulainn!Patty could let her keep her mouth shut, and keep the Brave Sword in her inventory.

Anyway, lame-ass take, but you could just keep one Brave Sword in the home castle. It's usually the best weapon for Sword users to clear the Arena, so being able to buy it, and sell it back, is invaluable. Especially for units who aren't able to Arena at the very start of the map. That said, in the field, Leif is great with it. Honestly Oifey too, if it ever feels like he's falling behind.

11 hours ago, ping said:

: "You all see my sword, correct? I trust I need not introduce the demon blade. Beware, for Mysteltainn craves the blood of men! Who dares to come forth and slake its thirst?"

I love how Ares is almost trying too hard to be edgy. He's coming across as a goofy, overenthusiastic LARPer.

...Admittedly, he's a touch more lethal than most LARPers. Not all. But most.

11 hours ago, ping said:

Note how one Knight and one Mage decide to move up on the left side of the cliff - quite nice, since it reduces the number of enemies I actually need to fight.

The cliff is actually a neat element, as you can send a smaller squad over on that side to take on just a few of them. Didn't know it would still happen if nobody was up the cliff. Not very clever mode of them.

11 hours ago, ping said:

With that, the enemies are out of Ishtore's Bolting range, so clean-up time it is:

Not very clever mode of them.

11 hours ago, ping said:

: "You... You vermin! How dare you slaughter Liza like that! You'll have no mercy!"

It's a neat detail that Ishtore's battle (and death) quote change depending on whether or not you killed Liza before facing him. He's obviously not much of a character, given how little time he has spent on-screen, but he seems to work decently well for what he's supposed to do.

It's a neat aspect, but I don't know if I've ever seen his "Liza is alive" dialogue. Maybe on the Bolting, but never at his death. Maybe if I brought Silence Julia, just to flex.

15 hours ago, Saint Rubenio said:

The game where two of the characters are childhood friends, and the other is just some rando they barely know that has no story relevance whatsoever. Genius!

The point was, the 3H Lords became friends at the Academy. Sort of. Not really. Their only "bonding" happened in the Prologue, and then the DLC.

12 hours ago, ping said:

: "Heh heh... Oh, nothing. Well, 'cept that I bet Bramsel's right about to..."

Jabarro, you idiot. You just had to keep your mouth shut, and Ares would still be on your side.

Actually, you could've done one better, and let Leailyiea accompany you on your mission. There, now you've got a Cavalier with a legendary weapon, and a quad-target Dancer. Seliph's story ends here.

12 hours ago, ping said:

: "I still doubt that Prince Ishtore or his general were truly wicked people... Must we kill still more like them?"
: "That may be so, but don't forget they still actively served the will of a brutal tyrant. As far as our cause is concerned, there is no doubt. They were the enemy. This is war, Seliph. There's more to it than only fighting the thoroughly evil, or those whom we hate."

Love the fact that this dialogue comes immediately before the opportunity to recruit Tinne. You know, the enemy who is serving the will of a brutal tyrant? Stay golden, jerkass Lewyn.

12 hours ago, ping said:

She'll be able to get through the arena with Wrath abuse, she'll deal good damage because she targets Res, but I don't know how much of an impact she's going to have.

Kid named B Staves upon promotion:

15 hours ago, Saint Rubenio said:

Them and half the cast besides. It's just a really popular style in Jugdral.

True enough. Big hair was big back in the day. Where would Sigurd be, without his pompadour?

12 hours ago, ping said:

Probably to emphasize the diphthong that the name (レイリア - looks like four syllables to me) has. "Laylea" looks more like Lay-Lee than Lay-Lee-Uh to me.

Yeah, "Leilia" is actually the most direct way to transliterate the name. In the same way that ランゴバルト is best written as "Rangobaruto". Rolls off the tongue, really!

I've always assumed the name to be homophonous with "Leila" or "Layla", but perhaps that wasn't the intention? No idea.

12 hours ago, ping said:

Hot Take: Throw out, or rather significantly rework, all of the "attack again" skills, including Pursuit. In every FE game, I think it's a design flaw that a single point of Spd can double a character's damage output (or losing -1 Spd having a character's survivability, although that's a rarer scenario). But the fanbase would probably be revolting even more if such a classic mechanic would be removed or at least nerfed significantly.

Hm... how would it work? A "chance-based" follow-up, that increases with Speed margin? A guaranteed follow-up, but whose damage increases based on the margin? Limiting the ability to follow-up to player phase? There are some neat possibilities there, but personally, I'm a fan of the existing systems.

As for the fanbase being revolting... we already are! I try lighting a candle to mask it.

[BrightBow]

12 hours ago, ping said:

: "Ahhh... Ish... tore..."

Well, as I said last update - Liza is not particularly tanky.

That's why you immediately change classes after hitting level 20.
 

12 hours ago, ping said:

: "I want you to show these rebel pigs just what it is that the Empire can do!"

Just don't do anything stupid, like attacking melee units at 1 range.
 

12 hours ago, ping said:

: "There you are, girlie! How dare you embarrass me like that the other day. It's about time I thanked you properly."
: "Oh? And what exactly're you gonna do about it? I see right through you! The moment Ares is nowhere in sight, you think it's okay to act all tough again, you vile louse! Don't even think about coming any closer. I don't need Ares around to stop you!"
: "Of all the nerve... You little wench! Throw her in the dungeon! You'll have plenty of time to think about what you've done there!"
: "Ahh! No... Ares..."

Considering this scene starts with Leen being all "Yeah, I suppose this is about what I'd expect from you", it feels awkward for her to lose her composure so quickly.
 

12 hours ago, ping said:

: "T-this can't be... Jabarro! How could you know his foul intent, yet let your tongue lie still before me?!"

You were there when Bramsel had his guards assault Leen. Jabarro probably doesn't know anything that you yourself aren't already aware of. Or do you think Bramsel and Jabarro had a personal chat about his revenge phantasies?
 

12 hours ago, ping said:

Bramsel is dangerous if you don't pay attention, but he's also stationary and locked to 1-range.

A very appropriate low level, which is always nice to see.

Well, he has a higher level than Harold at least. So he is only the 2nd weakest boss in this generation.

[ping]

FE4 Chapter 7: Beyond the Desert

Melgen --> Darna

Spoiler

____

So, here we are in a bit of a pincer, which means that we have to split our forces, which makes this part of the fight automatically more interesting than the previous. Now, I announced last time how Fee would be able to kill some butt here. However, two problems - first, because we're facing Sword Cavs, she doesn't actually double with the Horseslayer.

Second, she manages to miss three out of three attacks.

However, because of how squad AI tends to work, things aren't too bad despite that. Only the five (minus one that Ares killed on EP) cavaliers that could attack Fee or Ares used their full movement, so the group is somewhat split up now.

____

As a result, this formation is quite safe, with Jabarro not quite in range to attack anybody.

And it allows Johalvier to be useful. Bravo, I say! He actually manages to kill four Cavs despite having the same hitrate as Fee.

You're welcome for the free propaganda material, Ruben.

__

: "Heh... Welcome to your deaths!"

The following boss kill is not going to be RNG proof, but that's what start-of-turn saves are for. And not only do we get Jabarro's 3000 gold into Patty's pockets...

...we also get a dramatic confrontation.

: "Ares! I've found you, you ungrateful sod! You're not gonna get away with this!"
: "I regret it's come to this, but so be it. Farewell, Jabarro."

: "Ugh... Ares, you dastard..."

____

And there goes Jabarro's crew.

Of course, during all this, Tinni and the Mage trio were facing the other half of our units. So before dealing with Bramsel himself, I'll cover that encounter:

__

Slow start - Oifey doesn't even double...

____

...but like with Jabarro's group (if less extreme), the Mages aren't very good at acting in unison. The selected enemy is Tinni, so not a lot happens on this enemy phase, either.

____

: "Excuse me, but... That pendant of yours..."
: "Huh? It's... It's a memento of my mother..."
: "Really!? Then you're Tinni! Oh, I've finally found you!"
: "Er... Who are you?"
: "Here, maybe this'll clear things up. This pendant of mine's exactly the same as yours, and I've had it my whole life."
: "Y-you're right, but... What are you saying?"
: "See, decades ago, my mother was a warrior figing in Sigurd's liberation army, and after the war she fledto Silesse with her children. When I was little, my mother and my newborn sister disappeared... I was left behind with nothing but this pendant. I only recently learned what really happened. It was King Blume of Alster. He abducted them. He took my family from me. The rumors I've heard all said Mother had died a while ago, but they also said my sister is still alive... That's you, Tinni! I've finally found you, after all these years! I came all this way just to see you again..."
: "I... I never even knew Blume did that to Mother... It makes sense, though... I can't remember much of Mother, but I know I never saw her smile or laugh... You're my brother... Ohhh... Sniff..."
: "I don't suppose you'd like to lay down your arms and join our army, Tinni? We've still got so much to talk about."
: "Mm. Thank you, brother. I never did want to fight..."

Tinni got!

I know we're working on fundamental Fire Emblem logic here, but Tinni really seems to be Nino-in-Cog levels of not being appropriate to be sent into battle. "I never did want to fight..." - "Awesome, that means now you can fight... for us! Against your uncle!" An uncle who admittedly is a complete piece of shit, unlike Lloyd/Linus, but still.

__

Following that, Julia has her first instance of being genuinely crucial to the combat plan, and not just as a healer. The Mage sisters can't wrap around her for a Triangle Attack, and between Julia's high Res and the Nosferatu tome, she isn't threatened by them whatsoever.

: "Taste the howling gale, traitor!"
: "Taste the wrath of thunder, rebel!"
: "Taste raging flames, brigand!"

Although she doesn't do a ton of damage in return, either.

__

: "Nnhg... I must retreat for now..."

____

Unfortunately, the following clean-up doesn't quite work as intended. Leif trying to chip Eriu down to 1 HP was a crapshot, of course - I didn't screenshot the numbers, but I believe using the Slim Sword wouldn't have been enough to chip her down enough for Tinni. And then Tinni doesn't manage to convert Julia's set-up anyway...

__

...which leads to the other two boss kills going to the highest-leveled characters on the team.

Definitely could've played that one out more intelligently - not trying to blame RNG for all this - but I did this part after moving Seliph's group around and I was too lazy to redo the whole turn.

__

The last action before going back to Seliph: Arthur returning to Rivough to make the Paragon Band available to Seliph and, probably, Patty and Fee. ...Very silly, looking at it now, with Blume still alive, but I believe I'll have some way to beat him without Forseti.

____

Honestly, with all remaining Darna enemies being stationary, there isn't too much left to be said about that theatre of the fight.

Patty gets some money, and a kill.

__

Ares can make a "heads will roll" speech.

: "Seliph... At long last, it's you..."
: "Hm? And who would you be?"
: "They call me the Black Knight, Ares... Perhaps you would recognize me better, however, as the son of Eldigan."
: "Huh?! It cannot be... You don't mean the legendary Lord Eldigan of Nordion, do you?!"
: "The very same! I am the son of Eldigan the Lionheart, the man whom your father killed in coldest blood! My noble mother, the Lady Grainne, died wracked with grief and rage at Sigurd! It is high time you knew my family's pain!"
: "That's... I don't understand, Ares. As I understood it, your father and mine were the closest of friends. As tragic as their end was, I don't believe our fathers could ever have begrudged each other."
: "That's impossible... Sigurd was my father's mortal foe! This... This is all I've known my entire life..."
: "Please listen, Ares. Would you consider joining my army? I know we can resolve this misunderstanding, if we just give it some time. I hold the late Lord Eldigan in the utmost respect, just as my own father did. Please, Ares. Please understand this."
: "Seliph... Very well. I suppose I can stay my hand for now. However, be warned. Should I learn that even a single word of your claims is false, your life is forfeit in your father's place. Do I make myself clear, Seliph?"
: "If that happens, then do as you must. Ares... I wish you could know just how ecstatic our fathers would be to know we've met at last! If only we'd met under better circumstances..."

Out of curiosity, I checked the wiki if Ares has any convos with Leaf. Nope. And really, all Ares needs to complete his Astrea cosplay is a Paladin wife with blue hair and awful stats.

More seriously, I think this convo could've done with at least a little reference to Lene/Leylia. She's the one who first gave Ares doubt about the whole "Sigurd and Eldigan were enemies so grim, their enmity will span genearations!!" mindset, after all.

Mo' money!

____

: "What?! Jabarro bungled it, did he? Darna is my city! Mine! Nobody will ever take it from me!"

For the bosskill, Seliph chips and canters away...

__

: "Nngh... No... Darna is mine... All... Mine..."

...so that Patty can get Bramsel's money and his life.

: "So this is Darna... The legendary city..."
: "Long ago, at the peak of the old holy war, Darna was the last bastion of the resistance army... It was the last free land in Jugdral. In battle after battle, the overwhelming might of the Loptyr Empire had devestated the resistance. Ultimately, the last of the resistance soldiers barricated themselves within Darna's walls. Battered and wounded as they were, they were nonetheless determined to fight to the bitter end. But then, suddenly, there was a miracle... From the heavens descended twelve gods, who bestowed upon twelve young heroes miraculous weapons and immense powers. Thus were born the Twelve Crusaders, the heroes who led the resistance to victory."
: "That was the legendary Miracle of Darna, yes?"
: "Yeah, the very same. And even as we speak, Seliph, another miracle is dawning upon us. Just as the resurrection of Loptyr looms on the horizon, so too are the Crusaders themselves arising in our world once more..."
: "...I beg your pardon?"
: "Heh... Don't worry, Seliph. You'll understand soon enough..."

OK, when I said in an earlier update that Seliph had "messianic" vibes, I wasn't aware of this conversation. But since I think I remember who is talking to Seliph here, that seems to be literally the case. Hm. Not sure how to feel about that.

Very considerate to remind us, Mr Kaga. Unfortunately, Lana is two squares short to warp Seliph to Melgen, so it'll have to wait another turn.

At this point, the generic enemy squad arrives at Leonster, so Seliph will take a little detour to, if I understand the mechanic correctly, add some money to everybody's pockets.

I won't finish the chapter in this update, but just to get a few things out of the way...:

____

Seliph grabs the Paragon band and goes through the arena fairly easily, mostly using the Slim Sword, except against Hoepner (the Lance Armour) and Wolfen. Afterwards, he sells the Paragon Band again, as well as Patty's Brave Sword.

: "Leylia! Where are you? Answer me!"
: "Ares..."
: "Oh! Is everything okay, Leylia?"
: "N-no... It's not... But someone from the liberation army rescued me... And I... I know you'd come, Ares..."
: "Leylia, I... I beg your forgivenes... I was a fool! So very, very foolish... I should have heeded your word..."
: "It's okay... After all, you're here now..."
: "I swear to you, I'll never let this happen again..."
: "And I swear I'll try and keep my big mouth to myself from now on! Don't ever leave me again, Ares..."

Honestly, as trite as the whole "rescue your crush, all badass-like" story was, I don't mind Ares and Leylia as characters too much. It helps their case that their gen 1 equivalents were Lewyn and Sylvia.

Ares also goes through the arena while he's here. Mostly with cheap weapons (he buys a Slim Lance and an Iron Sword as cheap, light alternatives), but he whips out Mystletainn against Wolfen because I don't want to reset my way through the arena outside of home castle.

[HP 50% | Str 50% | Mag 10% | Skl 20% | Spd 40% | Lck 30% | Def 20% | Res 20%]
Skills: Dance, Charm
Weapon Level: Swords (C)

And I thought Azura was the first swole dancer in the series. What a fool I was to doubt Kaga. ...I believe I failed to make the joke when Feena joined back in Book 2. So there you go.

That aside, even though Lene can never match Leylia's muscles (best she can do is 35% growth), it's probably still easier to shove Lene through the arena than Leylia, between innate Miracle (so Lene can use other special swords more freely), potentially other useful skills, and generally better bulk, even if Lex isn't her dad.

I can't say how the two's respective advantages weigh against each other, of course. Lene has potential inheritance (in particular the Knight Ring; I'd assume that Seliph would still call dibs on the Leg Ring), so she doesn't even need to go through the arena all that much. Leylia has Charm, obviously an excellent support ability, but we'll see how likely it will be in future chapters to have her actually apply it, between her frailty and the fact that it's a Dancer's job to move adjacent to characters who already acted, and then send them away from herself.

And that is it for now. Unless something drastic will happen, I expect the rest of the map to be more busiwork than anything actually requiring strategising - with the exception of the final boss kill, that is. But mostly, I'll have to run around collecting village rewards, including a Speed Ring (maybe to Leaf? His Spd is a little underwhelming), a Shield Ring (Patty, probably), and the Barrier Blade (which only Leylia can get). Plus, all the characters that haven't gone through the arena yet.

The Team:

	  Lv.	  HP Str Mag Skl Spd Lck Def Res  Funds  XP    Arn
Seliph	  13.70	  50  16   2  18  15  18  13   4  40844  +630  [*]
Leif	  5.45	  32  13   3  12  11  11  10   3  3778   +445  [1]
Shanan	  14.30*  41  19   0  23  23  10  13   4  5000   +230  [1]
Ulster	  12.32	  45  16   2  19  15   8  15   0  29034  +594  [*]

Larcei	  12.66	  46  17   1  21  20  15  13   0  32034  +764  [*]
Patty	  3.64	  32   8   2   6  11  12   5   2  9000   +264  [1]
Johalvier 16.07	  46  17   0  10  16   6  15   3  17500  +340  [*]
Oifey	  19.80*  44  18   9  18  17   8  19   8  21500  +188  [*]

Finn	  24.16	  46  22   0  16  21  18  18   4  18015  +36   [1]
Ares	  11.06	  46  16   6  13  14   8  13   5  16500  +406  [*]
Dermott	  12.50	  42  21   0  16  12  14  13   1  24752  +580  [*]
Nanna	  6.95	  34  11   3   9   9   9   7   3  3932   +395  [1]

Fee	  7.96	  32  12   2  10  17   6   9  13  15402  +281  [1]
Lester	  10.45	  38  15   2   9  13  14  12   0  15863  +449  [*]
Arthur	  14.18	  47   0  18  21  21  19   3   6  34893  +790  [*]
Julia	  10.47	  32   0  20   9  15   7   4  20  23300  +727  [*]

Tinni	  3.00	  33   0  10  11  10   8   2   6  6393   --    [1]
Lana	  10.35	  38   5  13  12  13  13   5   8  683    +435  --
Leylia	  3.10	  24   4   0   1  13   4   1   4  3000   +10   [1]

• ping: "Hm, I'll try a magic-based build for Patty." Patty: "lol, +2 Str +0 Mag, NERD"
• Fee also got another point of Str - her third in five level-ups despite a 25% growth - while only having gained +1 Mag thus far.

 

12 hours ago, Shanty Pete's 1st Mate said:

A shame that Patty doesn't start with the Brave Sword in her inventory, then give it to Seliph via the conversation. That way, players with Chulainn!Patty could let her keep her mouth shut, and keep the Brave Sword in her inventory.

Anyway, lame-ass take, but you could just keep one Brave Sword in the home castle. It's usually the best weapon for Sword users to clear the Arena, so being able to buy it, and sell it back, is invaluable. Especially for units who aren't able to Arena at the very start of the map. That said, in the field, Leif is great with it. Honestly Oifey too, if it ever feels like he's falling behind.

With all the items you get from conversations, Genealogy runs into this situation really often. Ethlyn hiding Gáe Bolg in her saddlebag is the most egregious example (although she at least gives an excuse in the form of that superstition), but we also had Lana giving Julia a Mend staff, which would've been a better staff than Muirne starts with, too.

12 hours ago, Shanty Pete's 1st Mate said:

I love how Ares is almost trying too hard to be edgy. He's coming across as a goofy, overenthusiastic LARPer.

...Admittedly, he's a touch more lethal than most LARPers. Not all. But most.

"Ares, the Black Knight" as a moniker has an energy that isn't too far removed from "ODIN DARK", either.

...If I was in the translator's shoes, I'd totally see if I could smuggle in an "aching blood" somewhere. Even if it's just Mystletainn aching for blood.

12 hours ago, Shanty Pete's 1st Mate said:

Kid named B Staves upon promotion:

True, true. Honestly, I don't think I ever even equipped either of Tinne's parents with staves during gen 1. You get enough staff users that a staff rank honestly felt like an opportunity to grind XP a lot of the time.

12 hours ago, Shanty Pete's 1st Mate said:

Hm... how would it work? A "chance-based" follow-up, that increases with Speed margin? A guaranteed follow-up, but whose damage increases based on the margin? Limiting the ability to follow-up to player phase? There are some neat possibilities there, but personally, I'm a fan of the existing systems.

Weaker follow-ups (half damage? half Atk, to make high-Def, low-Spd units less susceptible?), but you get one follow-up per 4 points of Spd difference.

Honestly, anything that makes Spd such a binary stat, where one point means the world, and everything beyond that is basically as useful as Lck.

11 hours ago, BrightBow said:

Considering this scene starts with Leen being all "Yeah, I suppose this is about what I'd expect from you", it feels awkward for her to lose her composure so quickly.

To her credit, Lene/Leylia acknowledges that when she promises to Ares to not run her mouth again.

 

[Jotari]

48 minutes ago, ping said:

: "Mm. Thank you, brother. I never did want to fight..."

Tinni got!

I know we're working on fundamental Fire Emblem logic here, but Tinni really seems to be Nino-in-Cog levels of not being appropriate to be sent into battle. "I never did want to fight..." - "Awesome, that means now you can fight... for us! Against your uncle!" An uncle who admittedly is a complete piece of shit, unlike Lloyd/Linus, but still.

 

As the world's only Bloom stan, I resent that statement. Tinny says Bloom was nice to her in her final chapter conversation with Arthur (contradicted somewhat by her blaming him for her mother's death in her battle quote with him in the following chapter, which itself is oddly contrasted with her battle quote in this chapter where she actually apologizes to him, I blame the rebels for poisoning her mind against the righteous and noble house Friege).

[Saint Rubenio]

Whoops, two updates!

On 4/2/2024 at 3:23 PM, ping said:

I probably don't need to reiterate that this isn't exactly my favourite character archetype. A few bonus points, I suppose, for cutting her losses and not insist that Shanan is totally into her.

Anyway - I wasn't aware that there's a second Brave Sword available, and this early, too. I don't think I'll keep it on Seliph, though. He has about 70 kills on his Silver Sword at this point, and while the Brave Sword is much more reliable in dishing out that extra damage, there's a few other characters that wouldn't mind grabbing it. Leaf, who is using the inaccurate Silver Blade as his hard-hitting option, or Nanna, who doesn't have any hard-hitting melee sword at all right now, or even Patty after she promotes (and this second Brave Sword honestly is a pretty good argument for Holyn!Patty).

I don't recall if this is a thing with her sub.

...Yeah, seems like it is. Neat.

On 4/2/2024 at 3:23 PM, ping said:

Not everything about that scene is bad. It made me think of the music video for Everlong, so that's what I'm listening to right now.

Yeah, not quite an enemy on the level of Clement, this guy.

On 4/2/2024 at 3:23 PM, ping said:

: "So you're the rebel army... This is where your insurrection ends! So long as I, General Liza, draw breath, you shall never reach Melgen!"

: "Ahhh... Ish... tore..."

Well, as I said last update - Liza is not particularly tanky.

Goodbye, recolor of a decently interesting character despite her two lines in the whole game.

...They really shoulda done more with her, honestly.

On 4/2/2024 at 3:23 PM, ping said:

: "You... You vermin! How dare you slaughter Liza like that! You'll have no mercy!"

It's a neat detail that Ishtore's battle (and death) quote change depending on whether or not you killed Liza before facing him. He's obviously not much of a character, given how little time he has spent on-screen, but he seems to work decently well for what he's supposed to do.

Next turn, Forseti. Adept. Dead Ishtore.

: "Liza... I..."

Yeah that's a pretty neat detail. This alone makes him beat Blume, which means he's officially the most forgettable member of his entire family. (Sorry, Jotari)

On 4/2/2024 at 3:23 PM, ping said:

 

So I know that Ishtore is going to come up again, which could change my opinion on him to the better or worse, but I think that in this short segment, he... works. Lewyn's comment that, no matter how affable Ishtore may have come across, he's still fighting for an utterly despicable cause, is a nice change of pace from the usual Camüh sob story, that war is so cruel because it forces good people to kill each other.

One thing people give Gen 2 Lewyn credit for is that he doesn't mince words. He's... not quite as good at that as Thracia 776's brilliant main advisor, but he's getting there. Certainly beats Malledus.

On 4/2/2024 at 3:23 PM, ping said:

Also *sigh*, but for the very different reason that I'm going to have to remember which witch is which.

: "I want you to show these rebel pigs just what it is that the Empire can do!"
: "Yes, milord. Leave it to us. We will never let you down, milord. The rebels shall be destroyed quickly, cleanly, efficiently and utterly. Excuse us, milord."
: "Hmm! Everything depends on you.

Okay, before it wasn't as poignant, but now it really is the time to make the joke.

On 4/2/2024 at 3:23 PM, ping said:

That entire part is filled with so much dumbassery. Ares for thinking Bramsel wouldn't try anything with Laylea once he was away, Jabarro for not even trying to employ just a tiny wee bit of finesse so as not to end up on the receiving end of the dEmOn bLAdE, Bramsel for being Bramsel and Laylea... eh, Laylea's not really done anything wrong here.

On 4/2/2024 at 3:23 PM, ping said:

[HP 130% | Str 90% | Mag 5% | Skl 20% | Spd 30% | Lck 50% | Def 40% | Res 30%]
Skills: Pursuit, Adept, Vantage
Weapon Level: Swords (*), Lances (C)
Major Hezul blood

And here is Ares, who goes right from red to blue without the intermediate green step. Very considerate of him.

I'm happy to announce that, at this moment, his cousin Dermott actually has better stats - specifically, 7 points more Str (and +8 Lck, lol) and roughly similar numbers otherwise. But of course, Mystletainn makes that announcement moot. Its stat bonuses don't look too exciting at first glance - but because it also grants Ares the Critical skill, the +20 Skl matters a whole lot more than just for the accuracy. In addition to the 32% crit chance, Ares also has a 28% chance to proc Adept, which means that with every swing, Ares basially flips a coin to see if he does any bonus damage.

And, of course, even without a proc, Ares just hits really damn hard. Holy weapons tend to do that, and with a 90% Str growth, he's only going to hit damn harder.

In the final chapter I was basically done with this game's gameplay so I just threw Ares at everything with Shannan's backup and the game played itself. Le that be a testament to how hilarious this guy is.

On 4/2/2024 at 3:23 PM, ping said:

I also have to mention that, as somebody pointed out, Ares's mum must've been an incredible badass in her own right. Eldigan didn't have any skills whatsoever (outside of Mystletainn's Critical), so Ares inherited all three of his skills from her.

She was the continent's greatest warrior. Alas, she was taken by the greates affliction in anime middle ages: Grief.

On 4/2/2024 at 3:51 PM, RPGuy96 said:

Let me interest you in a game called Berwick Saga, made by one Shouzou Kaga...

Yes, let's talk about that...

54 minutes ago, ping said:

I know we're working on fundamental Fire Emblem logic here, but Tinni really seems to be Nino-in-Cog levels of not being appropriate to be sent into battle. "I never did want to fight..." - "Awesome, that means now you can fight... for us! Against your uncle!" An uncle who admittedly is a complete piece of shit, unlike Lloyd/Linus, but still.

Being fair, her mother's Hilda.

54 minutes ago, ping said:

Out of curiosity, I checked the wiki if Ares has any convos with Leaf. Nope. And really, all Ares needs to complete his Astrea cosplay is a Paladin wife with blue hair and awful stats.

Not entirely sure what the reference there is, but Astrea is a name that brings a different image to my mind.

54 minutes ago, ping said:

More seriously, I think this convo could've done with at least a little reference to Lene/Leylia. She's the one who first gave Ares doubt about the whole "Sigurd and Eldigan were enemies so grim, their enmity will span genearations!!" mindset, after all.

But what if dead already?

54 minutes ago, ping said:

: "Nngh... No... Darna is mine... All... Mine..."

Unlike Clement, you will be swiftly forgotten.

54 minutes ago, ping said:

OK, when I said in an earlier update that Seliph had "messianic" vibes, I wasn't aware of this conversation. But since I think I remember who is talking to Seliph here, that seems to be literally the case. Hm. Not sure how to feel about that.

Funny how this is basically the same as Engage's avatar worshipping. Yeah, the game acknowledges it, and that's cool. Doesn't make the protagonist any less of a bore. Except Alear has a few moments where they show a personality - and more were intended, but the executives forced the writers to make them more saccharine because what if otakus can't relate as much. Seliph... Yeaah... He sure is a character!

54 minutes ago, ping said:

Honestly, as trite as the whole "rescue your crush, all badass-like" story was, I don't mind Ares and Leylia as characters too much. It helps their case that their gen 1 equivalents were Lewyn and Sylvia.

They do beat Lewyn and Sylvia's dynamic, that much is true, and without Lene's portrait being an issue, we can safely call this one of the things gen 2 has over gen 1.

We'll get to the other one. When the time comes, you'll have to bear(d) with me.

54 minutes ago, ping said:

I can't say how the two's respective advantages weigh against each other, of course. Lene has potential inheritance (in particular the Knight Ring; I'd assume that Seliph would still call dibs on the Leg Ring), so she doesn't even need to go through the arena all that much. Leylia has Charm, obviously an excellent support ability, but we'll see how likely it will be in future chapters to have her actually apply it, between her frailty and the fact that it's a Dancer's job to move adjacent to characters who already acted, and then send them away from herself.

To be honest, yeah, Lene has her own advantages. It's more that they're close enough, and then the other child of Sylvia is way worse than his respective sub. One's got innate paragon and a unique item you can only get from him. The other needs a horrible pairing that isn't any good for him otherwise just to be able to get paragon - and considering what class and level he joins with, he needs it.

54 minutes ago, ping said:

...If I was in the translator's shoes, I'd totally see if I could smuggle in an "aching blood" somewhere. Even if it's just Mystletainn aching for blood.

I mean, he basically already says that with slightly different wording. Let's not forget, the Odin Dark shtick already is a reference to this. Remember Missiletainn?

1 minute ago, Jotari said:

As the world's only Bloom stan, I resent that statement. Tinny says Bloom was nice to her in her final chapter conversation with Arthur (contradicted somewhat by her blaming him for her mother's death in her battle quote with him in the following chapter, which itself is oddly contrasted with her battle quote in this chapter where she actually apologizes to him, I blame the rebels for poisoning her mind against the righteous and noble house Friege).

I'll give you this, I don't get why she's singling him out in that conversation. I thought it was primarily Hilda that ruined Tailtiu's life?

Edited April 3 by Saint Rubenio

[Jotari]

4 minutes ago, Saint Rubenio said:

 

Yeah that's a pretty neat detail. This alone makes him beat Blume, which means he's officially the most forgettable member of his entire family. (Sorry, Jotari)

>.> ...I hate how close to being right you are

4 minutes ago, Saint Rubenio said:

Funny how this is basically the same as Engage's avatar worshipping. Yeah, the game acknowledges it, and that's cool. Doesn't make the protagonist any less of a bore. Except Alear has a few moments where they show a personality - and more were intended, but the executives forced the writers to make them more saccharine because what if otakus can't relate as much. Seliph... Yeaah... He sure is a character!

 

I like it for what it does for Lewyn's character. In that the whole messianic myth is something artificially arranged by Lewyn to help bring about victory. Unfortunately Seliph just doesn't do anything with it himself. Doesn't embrace it, doesn't reject it, doesn't feel stressed about it, doesn't feel cocky about it. He's such a frustrating character that Seliph. I like how he acts in pretty much every conversation he has, but he's just lacking any kind of cohesion to have a core character or a proper arc leading him to be just so god dang bland. Putting me in the situation where my favourite Fire Emblem narrative has my least favourite protagonist (including all those modern avatars...but not including Itsuki, because no one's more bland than Itsuki).

[Saint Rubenio]

9 minutes ago, Jotari said:

>.> ...I hate how close to being right you are

If it helps, basically the only thing Reptor has going for him is the rad monocle and not being surrounded by more interesting family members. He's less boring but more by context than any merit of his own.

9 minutes ago, Jotari said:

I like it for what it does for Lewyn's character. In that the whole messianic myth is something artificially arranged by Lewyn to help bring about victory. Unfortunately Seliph just doesn't do anything with it himself. Doesn't embrace it, doesn't reject it, doesn't feel stressed about it, doesn't feel cocky about it. He's such a frustrating character that Seliph. I like how he acts in pretty much every conversation he has, but he's just lacking any kind of cohesion to have a core character or a proper arc leading him to be just so god dang bland. Putting me in the situation where my favourite Fire Emblem narrative has my least favourite protagonist (including all those modern avatars...but not including Itsuki, because no one's more bland than Itsuki).

Sometimes stories are more than the sum of their parts. Not that uncommon to have a story you love with a protagonist you just don't jive with.

[ping]

1 hour ago, Jotari said:

As the world's only Bloom stan, I resent that statement. Tinny says Bloom was nice to her in her final chapter conversation with Arthur (contradicted somewhat by her blaming him for her mother's death in her battle quote with him in the following chapter, which itself is oddly contrasted with her battle quote in this chapter where she actually apologizes to him, I blame the rebels for poisoning her mind against the righteous and noble house Friege).

Sorry, but nah.

On 4/2/2024 at 3:23 PM, ping said:

: "Hmph... One would think I could expect more gratitude from someone I raised out of the goodness of my heart after their mother died. Or have you forgotten my many kindnesses?"
: "No, uncle..."
: "Good. Now, get moving. Remember, these rebels are responsible for murdering my dear son, Ishtore, and his true love, Liza! Avenging them is your mission, Tinni!"

This, coming from a parental figure, is not kind. This little dialogue communicates that Blume didn't raise Tinni as a daughter, but as a servant, wielding his "kindness" as a weapon to keep her in place. According to Arthur, Taillte's abduction was ordered by Blume, as well, so he never took her in out of charity to begin with. I maintain my judgement of "piece of shit" for him.

And I don't blame Tinni to be inconsistent in her attitute towards Blume. The girl has been manipulated by him for basically her entire life - it's no wonder that she can't just shake that off.

1 hour ago, Saint Rubenio said:

Yeah that's a pretty neat detail. This alone makes him beat Blume, which means he's officially the most forgettable member of his entire family. (Sorry, Jotari)

Hmmm... if Reptor hadn't worn a monocle, would he still be more memorable than his son?

1 hour ago, Saint Rubenio said:

Certainly beats Malledus.

Ah yes, the guy who I listed as "advisor guy" in my portrait url list because I (a) couldn't remember his name and (b) didn't care enough to look it up.

1 hour ago, Saint Rubenio said:

She was the continent's greatest warrior. Alas, she was taken by the greates affliction in anime middle ages: Grief.

Second-greatest affliction. I think Mild Cough is still the most deadliest disease known to... honestly, not just anime, but most genres of fiction.

1 hour ago, Saint Rubenio said:

Not entirely sure what the reference there is, but Astrea is a name that brings a different image to my mind.

Whoops... I meant "Astria" ( = Astram), but as somebody who occasionally watches competitive StarCraft 2, my mind went to this fellow. I don't recall any threats of decapitation uttered by him, though.

1 hour ago, Saint Rubenio said:

Funny how this is basically the same as Engage's avatar worshipping. Yeah, the game acknowledges it, and that's cool. Doesn't make the protagonist any less of a bore. Except Alear has a few moments where they show a personality - and more were intended, but the executives forced the writers to make them more saccharine because what if otakus can't relate as much. Seliph... Yeaah... He sure is a character!

I remember Alear being a coward near the start of the game... which lasted roughly 30 seconds and I don't remember a second time this came up. Can't have the player insert display actual weaknesses, now can we?

1 hour ago, Saint Rubenio said:

We'll get to the other one. When the time comes, you'll have to bear(d) with me.

I'm sure Hannibal would be called a "bear" in certain communities, too.

1 hour ago, Saint Rubenio said:

I mean, he basically already says that with slightly different wording. Let's not forget, the Odin Dark shtick already is a reference to this. Remember Missiletainn?

I didn't remember. But yes, that is fantastic. Good job, Fates. You did a Good.

(I suppose I wasn't clear enough, but was referring to that same line. I, as a translator, would've absolutely gone for "Mystletainn is aching for blood." there, unless Ares has an even better line somewhere)

55 minutes ago, Jotari said:

I like it for what it does for Lewyn's character. In that the whole messianic myth is something artificially arranged by Lewyn to help bring about victory. Unfortunately Seliph just doesn't do anything with it himself. Doesn't embrace it, doesn't reject it, doesn't feel stressed about it, doesn't feel cocky about it. He's such a frustrating character that Seliph. I like how he acts in pretty much every conversation he has, but he's just lacking any kind of cohesion to have a core character or a proper arc leading him to be just so god dang bland. Putting me in the situation where my favourite Fire Emblem narrative has my least favourite protagonist (including all those modern avatars...but not including Itsuki, because no one's more bland than Itsuki).

Since I just acknowledged a good thing about Fates, I think I'll balance it out by saying that, thus far, I'd still take the non-character that is Seliph over the actively detriment that is Corrin. At least Deirdre didn't pen a letter to Julia that she's secretly the daughter of Deirdre's good friend and non-relative (and Julia's combination of Holy Bloods is, er, divine intervention, stop asking questions already).

Just now, Saint Rubenio said:

If it helps, basically the only thing Reptor has going for him is the rad monocle and not being surrounded by more interesting family members. He's less boring but more by context than any merit of his own.

Ah. That answers my previous question.

[Saint Rubenio]

21 minutes ago, ping said:

Whoops... I meant "Astria" ( = Astram), but as somebody who occasionally watches competitive StarCraft 2, my mind went to this fellow. I don't recall any threats of decapitation uttered by him, though.

For me, it brings the mind to FE fangame Sun God's Wrath. Don't recall if you played that one or read my LP of it, but without delving into detail, suffice to say that game's protagonist, Astrea, indulges in some... strategic decapitation at one point.

22 minutes ago, ping said:

I remember Alear being a coward near the start of the game... which lasted roughly 30 seconds and I don't remember a second time this came up. Can't have the player insert display actual weaknesses, now can we?

It comes up, very subtly, a few other times where corrupted are concerned. Alear's terrified of them. However, it's all very lowkey, and for the most part they're just "protagonistic protagonist." Again, the writers wanted to really push Alear's cowardice and their growing out of it in the story, but the higher-ups said... well, yeah, the bolded part, pretty much. Thanks a fucking lot. Hope they're happy now that Engage is widely regarded as one of the worst stories in FE.

24 minutes ago, ping said:

(I suppose I wasn't clear enough, but was referring to that same line. I, as a translator, would've absolutely gone for "Mystletainn is aching for blood." there, unless Ares has an even better line somewhere)

That's probably the wording a FE4 remake would go with, to be consistent with Owain/Odin. Unless, of course, they too forget, which wouldn't surprise me that much.

24 minutes ago, ping said:

Ah. That answers my previous question.

To be fair, the monocle is a rather major advantage.

[Jotari]

59 minutes ago, ping said:

Sorry, but nah.

This, coming from a parental figure, is not kind. This little dialogue communicates that Blume didn't raise Tinni as a daughter, but as a servant, wielding his "kindness" as a weapon to keep her in place. According to Arthur, Taillte's abduction was ordered by Blume, as well, so he never took her in out of charity to begin with. I maintain my judgement of "piece of shit" for him.

And I don't blame Tinni to be inconsistent in her attitute towards Blume. The girl has been manipulated by him for basically her entire life - it's no wonder that she can't just shake that off.

Cut the dude some slack. He's under a lot of stress. His kingdom is being invaded and his son was just murdered like yesterday (no, seriously, that's Ishtore's one half mention in Thracia that I alluded to earlier, that Bloom is taking his death pretty hard).

29 minutes ago, Saint Rubenio said:

It comes up, very subtly, a few other times where corrupted are concerned. Alear's terrified of them. However, it's all very lowkey, and for the most part they're just "protagonistic protagonist." Again, the writers wanted to really push Alear's cowardice and their growing out of it in the story, but the higher-ups said... well, yeah, the bolded part, pretty much. Thanks a fucking lot. Hope they're happy now that Engage is widely regarded as one of the worst stories in FE.

So many people afraid of AI art and what it means for the future, while ignoring that capitalism has already made our art soulless products of overworked automotons (and we gobble it up nonetheless)

Edited April 3 by Jotari

[BrightBow]

4 hours ago, ping said:

Out of curiosity, I checked the wiki if Ares has any convos with Leaf. Nope. And really, all Ares needs to complete his Astrea cosplay is a Paladin wife with blue hair and awful stats.

Truly the 2nd coming of the iconic trio.
 

4 hours ago, ping said:

To her credit, Lene/Leylia acknowledges that when she promises to Ares to not run her mouth again.

I just mean that it we really need to have this cringe scenario, it would be a nice change of pace if the damsel gets to face it with her head held high.
 

3 hours ago, Saint Rubenio said:

One thing people give Gen 2 Lewyn credit for is that he doesn't mince words. He's... not quite as good at that as Thracia 776's brilliant main advisor, but he's getting there. Certainly beats Malledus.

The constant improvements of the advisor is really nice. I mean, we went from Malledus to Jagen to Levin to August until we finally arrived at nirvana with Eugen.
 

2 hours ago, ping said:

Since I just acknowledged a good thing about Fates, I think I'll balance it out by saying that, thus far, I'd still take the non-character that is Seliph over the actively detriment that is Corrin. At least Deirdre didn't pen a letter to Julia that she's secretly the daughter of Deirdre's good friend and non-relative (and Julia's combination of Holy Bloods is, er, divine intervention, stop asking questions already).

If you actually commit to the incest, I can at least respect it.

[ping]

2 hours ago, Saint Rubenio said:

For me, it brings the mind to FE fangame Sun God's Wrath. Don't recall if you played that one or read my LP of it, but without delving into detail, suffice to say that game's protagonist, Astrea, indulges in some... strategic decapitation at one point.

Ah. No, I'm not familiar.  I think the only FE fangames I played somewhat recently were Project Ember and The Sacred Rubens.

2 hours ago, Saint Rubenio said:

It comes up, very subtly, a few other times where corrupted are concerned. Alear's terrified of them. However, it's all very lowkey, and for the most part they're just "protagonistic protagonist." Again, the writers wanted to really push Alear's cowardice and their growing out of it in the story, but the higher-ups said... well, yeah, the bolded part, pretty much. Thanks a fucking lot. Hope they're happy now that Engage is widely regarded as one of the worst stories in FE.

Now that you mention Alear's fear of the corrupted, I do remember that. I think my impression was more that Alear is especially sensitive to the "corruptedness", not that they are simply more fearful than other characters.

2 hours ago, Jotari said:

Cut the dude some slack. He's under a lot of stress. His kingdom is being invaded and his son was just murdered like yesterday (no, seriously, that's Ishtore's one half mention in Thracia that I alluded to earlier, that Bloom is taking his death pretty hard).

True. If we assume that he had a premonition about the current events, what, 15 years ago, that would explain why he's a bit rattled. Can't blame him for anything, then. 😛 

26 minutes ago, BrightBow said:

Truly the 2nd coming of the iconic trio.

...dangit, Leaf and Nanna are already at 400+ love points. Too late to fully recreate the constellation by hooking him up with Julia.

(which I think is possible? Other than Seliph, she has 0/0 love base/growth with everybody, which makes me think that she might cannot fall in love outside of the Seliph jealousy bug, but I don't think I ever read anything to that effect.)

29 minutes ago, BrightBow said:

I just mean that it we really need to have this cringe scenario, it would be a nice change of pace if the damsel gets to face it with her head held high.

Oh, yes. Full agreement with that. The whole episode is the classic Damsel in Distress scenario played so incredibly straight; even including the "I have you now, my pretty" cliché when Ares is leaving Darna.

31 minutes ago, BrightBow said:

If you actually commit to the incest, I can at least respect it.

Funny you mention this, Johalvier and Larcei are already married by the end of ch.7.

Pretty much to see if I can get Johalvier somewhere with some favouritsm. Since Larcei is filthy rich thanks to innate Paragon, she can make sure that he'll always be able to arena with the Paragon band, and maybe even another ring or two if required. Once Leaf promotes (probably start of next chapter; he's at 10.97 by the end of ch.7), I might even put the Pursuit band on Johalvier instead of Arthur or Tinny.

[Saint Rubenio]

1 hour ago, BrightBow said:

The constant improvements of the advisor is really nice. I mean, we went from Malledus to Jagen to Levin to August until we finally arrived at nirvana with Eugen.

Eugen: The best part of TRS without even being playable.

24 minutes ago, ping said:

Ah. No, I'm not familiar.  I think the only FE fangames I played somewhat recently were Project Ember and The Sacred Rubens.

Fair enough.

24 minutes ago, ping said:

Now that you mention Alear's fear of the corrupted, I do remember that. I think my impression was more that Alear is especially sensitive to the "corruptedness", not that they are simply more fearful than other characters.

Yeah, that's what it ended up becoming after the executive meddling.

25 minutes ago, ping said:

Funny you mention this, Johalvier and Larcei are already married by the end of ch.7.

Pretty much to see if I can get Johalvier somewhere with some favouritsm. Since Larcei is filthy rich thanks to innate Paragon, she can make sure that he'll always be able to arena with the Paragon band, and maybe even another ring or two if required. Once Leaf promotes (probably start of next chapter; he's at 10.97 by the end of ch.7), I might even put the Pursuit band on Johalvier instead of Arthur or Tinny.

Ayyy Johalvier appreciation. Make my guy into a warrior to... still fall behind because lol infantry in FE4, but hey.

[BrightBow]

26 minutes ago, ping said:

(which I think is possible? Other than Seliph, she has 0/0 love base/growth with everybody, which makes me think that she might cannot fall in love outside of the Seliph jealousy bug, but I don't think I ever read anything to that effect.)

Sure, she can. She still gets the same 5 points when adjacent to a male character as everyone else. It just takes really long, starting all the way at 0 and no additional way to boost them.

[Shanty Pete's 1st Mate]

6 hours ago, ping said:

If I was in the translator's shoes, I'd totally see if I could smuggle in an "aching blood" somewhere. Even if it's just Mystletainn aching for blood.

It's like poetry, it rhymes.

6 hours ago, ping said:

With all the items you get from conversations, Genealogy runs into this situation really often. Ethlyn hiding Gáe Bolg in her saddlebag is the most egregious example (although she at least gives an excuse in the form of that superstition), but we also had Lana giving Julia a Mend staff, which would've been a better staff than Muirne starts with, too.

Edain carrying Yewfelle everywhere, to give to Briggid, is another funny one. Actually, uh, when did she pick the weapon up? Did she bring it along when kidnapped by Gandolf? If so, the Verdanites would've taken it from her. But if she left it behind at Castle Jungby, then how'd she get it back?

In gameplay, another case is the Brave Lance. If Quan had the Brave Lance from the start of chapter 2, he'd be an absolute nightmare. From there, it's player's choice: give the weapon to Finn to shore up his protege, or let Quan keep the glory to himself.

6 hours ago, ping said:

Honestly, anything that makes Spd such a binary stat, where one point means the world, and everything beyond that is basically as useful as Lck.

Well, each point makes a big difference, but only situationally. Going from 15 to 16 AS makes a huge difference against 15 AS enemies, but essentially no difference against 8 AS enemies, or 24 AS enemies.

6 hours ago, ping said:

Second, she manages to miss three out of three attacks.

FE4 effective weaponry moment.

Seriously, these weapons suck. And not in an "oh at least they're cheap" way, given that they're equivalent to the Silvers. And since all they give is a guaranteed crit, you can actually outdamage them with a 50-kill Steel weapon (and a bit of luck... er, skill).

6 hours ago, ping said:

Following that, Julia has her first instance of being genuinely crucial to the combat plan, and not just as a healer. The Mage sisters can't wrap around her for a Triangle Attack, and between Julia's high Res and the Nosferatu tome, she isn't threatened by them whatsoever.

Ooh, nice positioning. It'd be a real shame if they suddenly got 3 extra movement apiece. But what are the odds of that ever happening?

6 hours ago, ping said:

: "Huh?! It cannot be... You don't mean the legendary Lord Eldigan of Nordion, do you?!"

It makes sense that this is a surprise for Seliph - who's never met Eldigan - but as a player, his shock is pretty humorous. On the level of "Ash, Misty, and Brock continuously failing to see through Team Rocket's thin disguises".

6 hours ago, ping said:

: "Nngh... No... Darna is mine... All... Mine..."

...so that Patty can get Bramsel's money and his life

Certified Patty Gaming moment.

6 hours ago, ping said:

That aside, even though Lene can never match Leylia's muscles (best she can do is 35% growth), it's probably still easier to shove Lene through the arena than Leylia, between innate Miracle (so Lene can use other special swords more freely), potentially other useful skills, and generally better bulk, even if Lex isn't her dad.

Easier, yes, but also more time-consuming. It took me 100 hours to complete my last playthrough, and I'm pretty sure about 30 of those hours were the Dancers Miracle'ing their way through the Arena. Laylea at least has a shot to get it over quicker, or die trying.

Getting 20 EXP from Dancing with Lex!Lene is stupidly satisfying, though.

5 hours ago, Saint Rubenio said:

She was the continent's greatest warrior. Alas, she was taken by the greates affliction in anime middle ages: Grief.

Also the premier cause of death a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...

6 hours ago, Jotari said:

As the world's only Bloom stan, I resent that statement. Tinny says Bloom was nice to her in her final chapter conversation with Arthur (contradicted somewhat by her blaming him for her mother's death in her battle quote with him in the following chapter, which itself is oddly contrasted with her battle quote in this chapter where she actually apologizes to him, I blame the rebels for poisoning her mind against the righteous and noble house Friege).

"I kidnapped my traitorous sister and incompetent neice and let my wife torture them to build character, AITA?"

1 hour ago, BrightBow said:

Sure, she can. She still gets the same 5 points when adjacent to a male character as everyone else. It just takes really long, starting all the way at 0 and no additional way to boost them.

This always struck me as odd, but actually, it seems to comport with the "Julia replaces Deirdre and Seliph replaces Sigurd" theory. Deirdre falls for Sigurd instantly, so she'd have no need of love bases or growths with any other man. May as well just leave those values at "0" each.

1 hour ago, ping said:

Oh, yes. Full agreement with that. The whole episode is the classic Damsel in Distress scenario played so incredibly straight; even including the "I have you now, my pretty" cliché when Ares is leaving Darna.

The remake should have Laylea, in particular, emphasize her higher Strength growth by giving Bramsel a broken nose before she gets sent to the dungeon.

[Saint Rubenio]

16 minutes ago, Shanty Pete's 1st Mate said:

Also the premier cause of death a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away...

Medically, she's completely healthy. For reasons we can't explain, we're losing her. We don't know why. She has lost the will to live.

 

 

 

 

 

 

So uncivilized.

16 minutes ago, Shanty Pete's 1st Mate said:

The remake should have Laylea, in particular, emphasize her higher Strength growth by giving Bramsel a broken nose before she gets sent to the dungeon.

That's a wonderful idea. I hope Maeda is reading this.

Edited April 3 by Saint Rubenio

[Jotari]

15 hours ago, Shanty Pete's 1st Mate said:

Edain carrying Yewfelle everywhere, to give to Briggid, is another funny one. Actually, uh, when did she pick the weapon up? Did she bring it along when kidnapped by Gandolf? If so, the Verdanites would've taken it from her. But if she left it behind at Castle Jungby, then how'd she get it back?

There is the break between Chapters 1 and 2 where she's staying at Evans and Jungby is just a stone's throw away across the river. The possibility of finding Briggid is the specific reason she doesn't just go home at that point, so it makes sense she'd organize its delivery at that point.

I wonder why Ring wasn't using it out in Isaach though. Was he just not in the right class or something? Is Ring a mage? Cleric? Unpromoted Armoured Knight?

15 hours ago, Shanty Pete's 1st Mate said:

"I kidnapped my traitorous sister and incompetent neice and let my wife torture them to build character, AITA?"

kidnapped! Oh heavens no. He rescued his sister from those evil dastardly rebels. More than Alvis bothered to do.

Edited April 4 by Jotari

[ping]

FE4 Chapter 7: Beyond the Desert

Darna --> Alster

Spoiler

__

First things first, I replayed the last turn of the previous update (yay past me for skipping the autosave in favour of the between-updates save) because I had once again forgotten to pick up the Thief's Sword with Fee. So if there's some stat discrepancies between the last update and this one, it's because Seliph and Ares had to redo their arena runs.

And, as expected, this last part of the map is kinda boring. Mostly running around the map, doing a little bit of arenaing...

...and doing the remaining conversations.

: "Excuse me. You wouldn't happen to be Nanna, would you?"
: "I am. And you are?"
: "Perfect! I've finally found you! I'm your brother, Dermott!"
: "Huh?! What... are you talking about?"
: "I didn't know until just now, either. King Lewyn told me everything. In the war seventeen years ago, I was with the kids who fled to Isaach. But you were born after our mother, Raquesis, went to Leonster instead."
: "You... You're my brother? Then where's Mother now?!"
: "Er... Where's Mother? What exactly are you getting at here, Nanna?"
: "I haven't seen her in so long... When I was around three years old, she left us and traveled alone to Isaach, to try and find you. She never came back. I've waited to see her again for years..."
: "She did? But... but I never saw her!"
: "You... didn't? Then were is she..."
: "The Yied Desert... It's a treacherous place. Very few lone travellers survive it..."
: "...No! Oh, Mother..."

[Lck +1 --> Nanna]

I think this reduces the list of mums that might have died at Belhalla to... Ayra and Sylvia. And because we won't get any information about Sylvia, lemme check the wiki real quick...

Quote

Silvia survived the Battle of Belhalla, but surrendered her infant children Lene and Coirpre to a convent in Dahna before disappearing.

Hm. Only Ayra, then. And Ethlyn, if you count Travant's ambush as part of the overall battle.

While he's here, Leif visits two of the villages, before the Armour squad interrupts that.

: "Blume's got some terrifying warriors on his side. There's Banba, Fotla and Eriu, a trio of powerful sorceress sisters. Then there's Tinni, a young mage... Blume's niece she may be, but that girl's still got a kind heart on her. She's come to our aid and the aid of our neighbor villages time and again... She's nothing like her family..."

[4500 gold -> Leif]

No unique dialogue if you visit the village with Tinni, it seems. At least the wiki doesn't list any.

: "King Blume and his queen, Hilda, have got two children between 'em: Ishtar and Ishtore. Ishtar's ruling over Manster right now, and Ishtore's posted at Fort Melgen, both doing Blume's dirty work. Unlike their folks, they're fine youths. You'll be sure to face 'em sooner or later... Be on your guard, stranger."

[4500 gold -> Leif]

Yeahh, it's pretty clear that you're expected to visit these sooner.

: "Darna is lorded over by Count Bramsel, who's as revolting as they come! If he isn't playing the slimy sycophant to some visiting Grannvale noble or other, he's prancin' around like he's the gods' git to kings! Ugh... The sooner somebody sticks a sword through that pig of a man, the better!"
: "It ain't that simple, though. Standing between you lot and Bramsel is the best mercenary force his money can buy. One of 'em, Ares, is the strongest of 'em all. He's still just a kid, really, but he's frightfully strong, 'cause he's got this magic blade called Mystletainn. From what I heard, the mercenary captain, Jabarro, found Ares as a wee little kid and took him in. The two're real close, I hear. You ain't got much of a chance against Ares. Sorry to rain on your parade like that, kid. Here, take this shield ring as an apology. You oughta be able to get some use out of this."

[4500 gold, Shield Ring --> Patty]

This one... Yeah, I guess you're supposed to visit this one before seizing Melgen, too.

__

After that, it's finally time to get into combat again. Specifically, it's time for Fee to steal some cash.

____

Unfortunately, she isn't particularly accurate (she would've been a good recipient for a Skill Ring, actually - either the one Finn carried to gen2 or the village in ch.6), but she still manages to grab money from everybody except for one Knight.

____

Clean-up's not too much of a problem after that. Really, Julia could've just soloed this part, but as a staffer, she shouldn't have that much trouble staying ahead of the XP curve, anyway.

At Alster, there's a bunch of characters just standing around waiting. And I end up getting spooked by a surprise reinforcement Knight - a single one during all of this, which is really just weird. I was worried for a split second that the three Generals suddenly started moving, which easily could've ended with somebody dying.

: "Everyone, we've only a little further to go. We can do this!"

__

A neat little side effect of seizing Leonster is that Lana can warp Leylia right to the village she has to visit. Before that, though, some deep and thoughtful dialogue.

: "Mister Seliph, right? Nice to meet ya!"
: "Er... Hello. And who are you?"
: "I'm Leylia, the dancer!"
: "You... You're Leylia?"
: "Ohh? Mister Seliph, is this the first time you've ever seen a dancer?"
: "Y-yes, miss..."
: "Hee hee... That's adorable!"

I'm in awe. Such depth.

: "My boyfriend set off to fight in the war, too. I'm not exactly a fighter myself. Not much I can do but wait for people like you to finish it... Oh, I know! Here, this charmed blade'll boost your resistance. Go on. This one's on the house. Be sure to make some nice deep cuts in some Imperials for me, won't you, sweetie?"
: "Thanks, miss! I'll take good care of it. Hey, what's your name anyway?"
: "Me? The name's Anna, and my boyfriend's called Jake. If you see him, be sure to tell him that Anna's worried sick!"
: "Jake...?"

[Barrier Sword, 5000 gold --> Leylia]

One of the weaker Anna portraits of the series, in my opinion. I think she generally looks better with a more smug expression.

I don't think we'll be meeting Jake in this run - I believe he's only there for some secret substitute scenes, starring subs sadly absent from the team.

Still not satisfied with the contents of her purse, Fee grabs the remaining villages:

: "Near the end of the war all those years ago, this entire region was conquered by King Blume, the son of Duke Reptor. His rule's been one tragedy after another... Just when we thought he couldn't get any worse, now he's just letting those child hunts happen! We can't take this anymore..."

[5000 gold -> Fee]

: "Ahh... The liberation army... It's a blessing to know that Prince Leif has finally taken a stand. Lord Quan... Lady Ethlyn... I pray you're both proud of your son... Please, kind knight, accept this speed ring. I'd like you to wear it proudly to your battles."

[Speed Ring, 4500 gold --> Fee]

Obviously, Fee isn't the character most in need of even more Spd, and she'll likely sell the ring to somebody before long, but the village takes her quite close to the important 40k funds benchmark.

And speaking of money, Patty finally arrives at Alster! With Ulster glued to her side, although they still won't even dwelling on each other's minds by the end of the chapter (or maybe they do, but Ulster is mostly thinking of Lana while Patty is fancying Shanan).

__

Darn.

__

Well, I guess Patty can use the XP, too.

__

Tinni does get the second General kill while chipping the third...

__

...who is killed by Larcei for very specific reasons. But before we get to that, Seliph still has some talkin' to do:

: "Lord Seliph! What an honor it is to meet you at last. I'm Leif, the son of King Quan of Leonster."

That's not quite right, is it? When Quan and Ethlyn were killed, Quan's father was explicitly still alive, if in poor health, so Quan should still have been *Prince* of Leonster.

: "The honor is all mine, Prince Leif! I'm glad to see you've made it thus far unharmed."
: "My parents both died in the Battle of Belhalla's prelude... They were felled by a Thracian ambush. My homeland, Leonster, soon found itself in the clutches of an Imperial occupation, and fell under the reign of its Duke Blume. If not for my knight, Finn, I wouldn't be here today. He raised me in hiding in nearby villages, and we awaited the day Leonster would rise again. We though that day had finally come, but then..."
: "...We both took to the battlefield around the same time, did we not? By now practically all of Jugdral knows of King Blume's brutality. I sorely wish my army had made it here sooner and could've properly aided you. You have my deepest apologies, Prince Leif."
: "No, Lord Seliph. I'm the one who should be apologizing. Our failure was squarely my fault. However, this isn't over. I am the son of Quan, a man worthy of being dubbed a Knight of Nova. I refuse to put to shame his legacy, and so I'll live on. I'll fight on, no matter the cost. To that end, Lord Seliph, my comrades and I would like to join your army. I may not have much of an army left, but what I do have is yours. May we serve you well in restoring honor to Grannvale."
: "Thank you, Prince Leif. Often have I heard it said that our fathers were inseparable friends, bound together to the bitter end in both life and death. Not to mention, your mother, Queen Ethlyn, is also my aunt..."

THANK YOU, Seliph.

: "Both of your parents gave their lives to support my father's cause... Prince Leif, you have my deepest, most heartfelt apologies for their sacrifice..."
: "Thank you, but that isn't necessary. I am proud of my parents' sacrifice, and I've the utmost respect for Lord Sigurd. The only hatred I bear is for the true villains, Emperor Arvis and King Travant!"
: "As do I... Prince Leaf, in the name of our late fathers' last wishes, I seek to restore peace and light to all of Jugdral. Please, join me in my cause!"
: "Yes, sir! You have my blade as your own!"

With how adamantly these two don't call each other cousin, I have to wonder if there's some cultural context here. I vaguely remember hearing/reading that a married woman, by traditional Japanese custom, will join her husband's family and not be considered as part of her old family anymore, which is why Ethlyn is worried that it might be unproper for her to ask Quan to help her brother. So, is it by the same logic that Leif and Seliph don't consider themselves to be related, and Ethlyn being Seliph's aunt almost just a curiosity? I believe this is how it worked (at some point in time) in the Roman Empire, so it's not as if that line of thinking was unprecedented.

: "Um... Pardon me, sir..."
: "Hm? And who are you, ma'am?"
: "I am Tinni... Arthur's sister..."
: "Ah, of course. I've been told your story, Tinni."
: "Um... I'm sorry!"
: "You've nothing to apologize for, Tinni. With the likes of King Blume for an uncle, I completely understand. You had no choice."
: "Are... are you forgiving me, sir?"
: "Certainly! There's no question that you're not our enemy, and it would be an honor to have you with us."
: "Wow... You're everything the stories say you are! I wish we could've met sooner..."
: "Heh... Thank you! Listen, Tinni. I know fighting your own family is a painful prospect, so please, don't force yourself if you're at all uncomfortable."
: "Sir..."

To nitpick a little - Seliph is calling Tinni "ma'am" and the older-looking Leylia "miss". I know, Leylia shares her dialogue with Lene, but surely, "miss" would've been more appropriate for Tinni, too?

And - although this isn't "bad writing" or anything - I don't think Seliph quite got the picture when he says that Tinni had no choice. Blume didn't physically *force* Tinni to do his bidding, he used emotional manipulation to make her think she ought to follow his wishes.

Now, speaking of Blume - he has 5000 gold that would look really nice in somebody else's pockets...

Well, darn.

: "Ha! So long as I wield the Book of Mjölnir, what reason would I ever have to fear the likes of you?"

But no fear! With the power of Seliph's own Leadership cancelling (most of) Blume's, Nanna's charm,...

__

...and the Reset button, even odds as bad as these can be overcome!

__

For the actual bosskill, the obvious picks of Oifey and Ares do some work, but our greatest weapon is clearly Larcei!

__

See, this is why she got one of the General kills for another level-up.

__

And with stacking even more hit from her newly-wed husband and from Leylia (who wasn't quite in time to help Fee), she even reaches a pretty reasonable chance to hit.

: "Nngh... How? How could I lose... I've no choice... For now, I must retreat to Connaught..."

That's the power of love! And charm! And leadership!

____

After that, Seliph still has to twiddle his thumbs for a bit, as most remaining characters go through the arena.

Fee sells the Thief Sword to get a full arena run (and with a crit Brave Lance, she needs not worry about clearing it)...

__

...and Patty also manages to cheese her way through. She needed the sleep against Hoepner (Lance Armour) and Wolfen, with the latter being very stubborn about not falling asleep. I'm thankful that emulator speed-up exists.

Finally, Patty drops her money on Leif so that he can get through, too. I have to admit that I didn't try very hard with Nanna (and she only beat the first three opponents) and didn't even bother with Leylia.

Well then, off we go.

: "Excellent work, Seliph. Thanks to you, Alster is finally free from the Empire."
: "I wouldn't get too excited, Lewyn. King Blume yet lives. I assume he fled to Connaught amidst the flurry of Alster's capture."
: "Eh, these sorts of things can't be helped. After all, the war's only just beginning. We're only now starting to carve out our foothold in the Thracian Peninsula."
: "And yet, the citizens are already all so eager to support us! I've seldom seen such joy..."
: "For the first time, they've got hope for a future free from the Empire's abuse. You're the people's last hope, Seliph, but the worst of the war still lies ahead, huh?"
: "Mm. And yet, I've so much incredible talent fighting by my side! With such amazing men and women with me, I know no challenge will be too great!"
: "Yeah... You'll all do just fine, Seliph."

There's really not that much to say about the story here. Fairly generic saving-the-world business. A closing line from Lewyn that has a bit of a double meaning, considering who's talking.

As far as gameplay is concerned, the map was half bad, literally. The beginning was nice (RNG for Shanan notwithstanding) with its multiple little skirmishes - then, Melgen was boring - then, enemies appearing in both Alster and Darna was interesting again - and then the last part of the map was pretty boring again.

The Team:

	  Lv.	  HP Str Mag Skl Spd Lck Def Res  Funds  XP    Arn  W/L
Seliph	  13.70   47  15   3  18  15  18  13   4  45384  +630  [*]  21/0
Leif	  10.97	  38  16   4  14  13  11  13   4  23820  +997  [*]  13/0
Shanan	  15.80*  43  19   0  24  24  10  14   4  25500  +380  [*]  10/0
Ulster	  12.32	  45  16   2  19  15   8  15   0  33034  +594  [*]  6/0

Larcei	  14.88	  49  18   1  22  22  15  13   1  4000   +986  [*]  10/0
Patty	  9.88	  38  12   5   7  15  17   6   3  5278   +888  [*]  5/0
Johalvier 16.07	  46  17   0  10  16   6  15   3  50000  +347  [*]  9/0
Oifey	  19.80*  44  18   9  18  17   9  19   8  25500  +188  [*]  17/2

Finn	  24.60	  46  22   0  16  21  18  18   4  39515  +80   [*]  8/0
Dermott	  12.80	  42  21   0  16  12  14  13   1  28752  +610  [*]  22/1
Nanna	  9.11	  37  11   3   9   9  13   8   4  12432  +611  [4]  2/0
Ares	  11.44	  46  17   4  13  14   6  14   6  20500  +444  [*]  3/0

Fee	  13.03	  38  14   5  12  20   8  12  13  41822  +788  [*]  14/0
Lester	  10.60	  38  15   2   9  13  14  12   0  19863  +464  [*]  13/0
Arthur	  14.18	  47   0  18  21  21  19   3   6  38893  +790  [*]  8/0
Tinni	  6.94	  34   0  12  13  13  10   2   6  27893  +394  [*]  2/0

Julia	  13.45	  35   0  23  10  17   9   4  22  27300  +1025 [*]  8/0
Lana	  12.75	  40   7  13  14  15  15   5   8  4683   +675  --   0/0
Leylia	  4.30	  25   5   0   1  13   4   1   4  12000  +130  [1]  0/0

Dwelling: Seliph<->Lana, Ulster->Lana
Fancy of late: Shanan<->Patty, Leylia<->Ares
Truly in love: Leif<->Nanna
Married: Larcei/Johalvier
N/A: (Finn), (Oifey), Dermott, Arthur, Tinni, Julia, Lester, Fee

 

16 hours ago, Shanty Pete&#x27;s 1st Mate said:

Well, each point makes a big difference, but only situationally. Going from 15 to 16 AS makes a huge difference against 15 AS enemies, but essentially no difference against 8 AS enemies, or 24 AS enemies.

But every situation has this specific breaking point where a character suddenly doubles their damage output (or, in the other direction, halves their durability). You have characters that are insanely dependent on their early Spd growth (BlaBla Bartre; Alan and Bors are examples in BinBla) and characters that really don't give a shit about their Spd growth because they double everything all the time anyway. Speed is a stat that is much more swingy - both in how much its own importance varies and in just how much it can flip a character's combat performance on its head - than any other stat. Sure, a character can have overkill Str, but a lot of time, even that can allow them to swap to a lighter/cheaper/more accurate weapon and still get the kill.

16 hours ago, Shanty Pete&#x27;s 1st Mate said:

Ooh, nice positioning. It'd be a real shame if they suddenly got 3 extra movement apiece. But what are the odds of that ever happening?

That would be amazing. Because surely, they would all drop their Leg Rings, right? Right?!

[Saint Rubenio]

8 minutes ago, ping said:

I think this reduces the list of mums that might have died at Belhalla to... Ayra and Sylvia. And because we won't get any information about Sylvia, lemme check the wiki real quick...

Quote

Silvia survived the Battle of Belhalla, but surrendered her infant children Lene and Coirpre to a convent in Dahna before disappearing.

Hm. Only Ayra, then. And Ethlyn, if you count Travant's ambush as part of the overall battle.

Arvis is sexist.

8 minutes ago, ping said:

: "King Blume and his queen, Hilda, have got two children between 'em: Ishtar and Ishtore. Ishtar's ruling over Manster right now, and Ishtore's posted at Fort Melgen, both doing Blume's dirty work. Unlike their folks, they're fine youths. You'll be sure to face 'em sooner or later... Be on your guard, stranger."

[4500 gold -> Leif]

Yeahh, it's pretty clear that you're expected to visit these sooner.

Fine youths, yes. I'm sure this claim won't be put into question by Ishtar's actions later on.

11 minutes ago, ping said:

: "Lord Seliph! What an honor it is to meet you at last. I'm Leif, the son of King Quan of Leonster."

That's not quite right, is it? When Quan and Ethlyn were killed, Quan's father was explicitly still alive, if in poor health, so Quan should still have been *Prince* of Leonster.

Thracia 776 confirms in its opening scroll that Leif's grandfather died after Quan, too. So no, that's not quite right.

13 minutes ago, ping said:

That's the power of love! And charm! And leadership!

I wish I'd had charm in my run.

22 minutes ago, ping said:

 

As far as gameplay is concerned, the map was half bad, literally. The beginning was nice (RNG for Shanan notwithstanding) with its multiple little skirmishes - then, Melgen was boring - then, enemies appearing in both Alster and Darna was interesting again - and then the last part of the map was pretty boring again.

Not to worry, the next map is way better. I mean, I recall it being about as boring as all of gen 2 gameplay-wise, but the most important character joins the army there.

[Jotari]

44 minutes ago, ping said:

I think this reduces the list of mums that might have died at Belhalla to... Ayra and Sylvia. And because we won't get any information about Sylvia, lemme check the wiki real quick...

Hm. Only Ayra, then. And Ethlyn, if you count Travant's ambush as part of the overall battle.

Thr thing about Sylvia's survival is that they designed Coirpre to look about fourteen for some strange reason. So she and whatever variable husband she had kind of had to survive for at least a bit afterwards.

44 minutes ago, ping said:

Yeahh, it's pretty clear that you're expected to visit these sooner. 

No Cross Knight girlfriend attention to detail here, even though they expect you to not visit at least one village until the end of the map when you can haul Leyla's ass over there.

44 minutes ago, ping said:

A neat little side effect of seizing Leonster is that Lana can warp Leylia right to the village she has to visit. Before that, though, some deep and thoughtful dialogue.

Oh...yeah...or that. Still a stupidly cryptic secret event.

44 minutes ago, ping said:

But every situation has this specific breaking point where a character suddenly doubles their damage output (or, in the other direction, halves their durability). You have characters that are insanely dependent on their early Spd growth (BlaBla Bartre; Alan and Bors are examples in BinBla) and characters that really don't give a shit about their Spd growth because they double everything all the time anyway. Speed is a stat that is much more swingy - both in how much its own importance varies and in just how much it can flip a character's combat performance on its head - than any other stat. Sure, a character can have overkill Str, but a lot of time, even that can allow them to swap to a lighter/cheaper/more accurate weapon and still get the kill.

The thing with speed is that it is binary, when it should be modular (I think that's the right word). Speed essentially has three tiers. "Too much speed, you double everything" "Not enough speed to double anything" "So little speed you get doubled". Logically enemies should come at you with a range of speeds that means it's not three categories, some enemies will double you, you'll double some enemies. But the enemy and player stat lines turn it into all or nothing. Therefore, I suggest speed not be a growable stat. Instead, make it a class based stat like movement. Certain classes will always double other classes and what classes will double or get doubled by what other classes is spread out on a wider scale than the effective three tiers we have now. And, or course, Speed Wings is not a super valuable item like the Boots as it can let a character go beyond the speed confines built into their default class.

44 minutes ago, ping said:

Thracia 776 confirms in its opening scroll that Leif's grandfather died after Quan, too. So no, that's not quite right.

I know it's in the Thracia opening, but...does Leif actually know that? How did word of Quan's demise reach Leinster? Since it was a total party kill on Quan's part the news would have only trickled in once the Empire secured an alliance with Travant. Before then Quan's just MIA and who can say when he died relative to his father? Of course someone does manage to tell Sigurd ad Fanore Castle somehow.

Alternate theory, Leif is insecure and grandson of the king sounds less impressive than son of the king.

 

[ping]

59 minutes ago, Saint Rubenio said:

Fine youths, yes. I'm sure this claim won't be put into question by Ishtar's actions later on.

Listen, if you want to date literal Satan, you have to make some compromises.

1 hour ago, Saint Rubenio said:

Not to worry, the next map is way better. I mean, I recall it being about as boring as all of gen 2 gameplay-wise, but the most important character joins the army there.

Wait, Hannibal only joins in ch.9, and Hawke doesn't exist for me. Or did I miss you being a huge Faval fanboy?

26 minutes ago, Jotari said:

I know it's in the Thracia opening, but...does Leif actually know that? How did word of Quan's demise reach Leinster? Since it was a total party kill on Quan's part the news would have only trickled in once the Empire secured an alliance with Travant. Before then Quan's just MIA and who can say when he died relative to his father? Of course someone does manage to tell Sigurd ad Fanore Castle somehow.

Alternate theory, Leif is insecure and grandson of the king sounds less impressive than son of the king.

The slaughter of Leonster's Lanzenritter was actually observed by the people of Phinora:

On 3/24/2024 at 9:26 AM, ping said:

: "[...]Actually, we've just received word of yet another skirmish in the desert's southern depths. Alas, we find outselves in dangerous times..."
: "In the south, you say... What happened there?"
: "As we understand it, the lance knights of Leonster were on a march north. They were savaged by Thracian dracoknights en route. There were no survivors, it seems."
: "W-what?! You can't be serious!"
: "I'm sorry to say I am. By the sound of it, there was a young girl in the Leonster party. Our hearts all break for the poor dear..."
: "That's that was Ethlyn and Quan... Forgive... forgive me..."

But even if word doesn't reach Leonster and Quan is still considered missing when his father dies - Quan would never be crowned king. I know of the concept of "the king is dead, long live the king" - i.e. the heir becomes king the moment the incumbent dies - but I don't think it works like that in Kagaland. Marthipan is still Prince Marth for all of Book 2, because he never got around to being crowned between books.

[Jotari]

Oh, yeah, one last note on this chapter before we leave it. I am fairly sure that Javarro, Ares's adopted dad, is meant to be localized as Javert, and that I solely have been able to deduce the madness that is Kaga's translated western names. None of the fan translations call him this, nor does the offical localization (because yeah, as obscure as he is he actually has an officially translated name, Lost Lore be weird that way). I say this despite the extra vowel sound placed at the end of the name because Javarro is apparently a name with no proper history and Dumas is already an arena enemy in the game, so it looks like it's working on that Tolstoy logic someone pointed out earlier (sadly there doesn't seem to be a Val Jean in the game, but decades later Fire Emblem would get a Val Jean as a Cipher OC). Usually I'd go to a Wikipedia article and change to Japanese to see if the name has been rendered in katakana that way before, but whomever localized Les Miserables went the extra mile of giving Inspector Javert a kanji name it seems 

15 minutes ago, ping said:

Listen, if you want to date literal Satan, you have to make some compromises.

Wait, Hannibal only joins in ch.9, and Hawke doesn't exist for me. Or did I miss you being a huge Faval fanboy?

The slaughter of Leonster's Lanzenritter was actually observed by the people of Phinora:

But even if word doesn't reach Leonster and Quan is still considered missing when his father dies - Quan would never be crowned king. I know of the concept of "the king is dead, long live the king" - i.e. the heir becomes king the moment the incumbent dies - but I don't think it works like that in Kagaland. Marthipan is still Prince Marth for all of Book 2, because he never got around to being crowned between books.

Related to the above, Fanore is my personal localization of Phinora, so that's what I was referencing in my previous comment, in case that was unclear.

As for Kagaland inheritance rules, I would say that Jugdral is not Archanea...but also that leaves us with a distinct lack of precedent. Do the bad guys believe Ishtar os Queen of Leinster after Bloom dies? They never say, but I don't think they ever explicitly don't say either (in fact I can't recall Ishtar ever being referred to as a princess).

Marth also seemed to be just really attached to that prince title. Like, sure, during Shadow Dragon we have some justification about exile and not having your land and stuff...but then there's a three year gap between Book 1 and Book 2. Is it really that hard to organize a coronation over a span of three years? Give the people an excuse to celebrate, they deserve it after the occupation and winning the war.

Edited April 4 by Jotari