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

ping · January 12

FE3 Book 2 Chapter 7: Scarlet Swordsman

Spoiler

However the ancient temple, built to worship Naga, was wrecked by constant warring and has now become a thieves' hideout. "They're escaping with the temple's valuable treasures. We mustn't let them take them away. We must recover them!!"

"So that WE can take them away, which is a very different thing."

"We mustn't attract the attention of the soldiers guarding Chiasmir Bridge. We don't stand a chance of winning, so don't approach at all costs."
"Also it seems there's a travelling child dancer who's lost her way in the forests. We must rescue her before she gets ambushed by the thieves!"

After the troops received their orders, they surrounded The Fane of Raman. THe flame of a new battle was about to ignite.

(yeah, there's three separate quotes in this opening sequence)

: "Huff, huff... Please... Help... Those thieves... are going to..."
: "....."
: "Why... Why... Aren't you saying anything? Oh, could it be!? You are... one of them? I understand... You can do as you please! If you must kill, then kill me!!"
: "Miss... Follow me. The Altean army is approaching from the south of this forest. I will take you to them..."
: "Huh, why are you helping me? Aren't you a thief as well?"
: "I was until now. But, I've changed my mind."
: "Why...?"
: "Within the Altean army there is somebody I want to see, that's all..."
: "Huh... But, in reality it's because I'm cute, right? But, that's alright. My name is Phina. I'm a dancer from Warren. Just seeing me dance will raise peoples' spirits. I'll show you as well. Oh, that's right. I was following a performing company, but I lost my way in the forests. And then I was ambushed by thieves... But this is great. Even though you look frightful, you're really a gentle guy. However, you appearance is... Your face isn't too bad, but your fashion sense is so and so. Also there's that hair. Does anybody have hair like that these days...?"
: "Enough! Have you finished yet!? Anyway, just don't leave my side. We'll head through the passageway towards the west and make our escape. If you don't want to die, then be quiet!!"
: "Ah... Ye-yes. I'm sorry..."

Apparently, Phina was so popular that they turned her into two characters in Binding Blade.

Enemy variety: The map.

It's not so much a fight and more of a duck hunt. All thieves that drop some piece of treasure, which is 6 out of the 15 (not counting the boss), will run towards the bridge instead of fight, so you have to make sure to catch them before they get out of range.

However, Navarre completely destroys them - he doubles and takes very little damage in return, so all this crit did was save a Killing Edge use. So even though the two thieves closest to the bridge carry loot, it's not a problem at all to intercept them all. Much easier than FE12, where I believe Nabarl might not even double on H1, but I might be wrong about that.

In any case - this map feels different than previous ones, which is good, but it's really not very challenging. Like on the previous map, reinforcements provide a bit more of a challenge, but even those don't actually feel as pressuring here.

__

Astram and his squad are obviously very strong. 31 Atk will two-shot everything, and 13 AS will double a lot, but even the generic heroes don't mess around. Two or three of them wouldn't be too bad, but eight at once will fuck you up pretty bad.

Of course, the game is pretty vocal that you're not supposed to fight them at all. They will only aggro if you go inside a rectangle that goes one tile below the three forts and two tiles to the right of the single one. Marth will have to move through the forest a little bit as a result, but it's not too bad.

Our new recruits:

[HP 90% | St 50% | Skl 40% | Spd 50% | Lck 60% | WLv 30% | Def 20%]

Navarre lost one point of Lck between books. Gasp! But really, I think he's the most improved character we've gotten since the Whitewings: +4 Str and +5 Spd are rather incredible gains. Overall, he seems to be easily the best of the three Mercs, after Ogma at least had higher base stats over him in Book 1. He can honestly hang with Palla and Catria as far as stats go, although it should be noted that they didn't gain as much XP as I assume would be "efficient". Still, excellent character, with not much investment needed as he's only two levels from promotion.

[HP 40% | Str 60% | Skl 70% | Spd 80% | Lck 70% | WLv 80% | Def 20%]

Funny low bases outside of her Spd/Lck, funny high growths. Dancer/10.

I think her ability to use a Rapier has been seen as indication that she's nobility of some sort, although I daresay that "fighting with a Rapier has some dancer-like quality" works just as well as an explanation. I'll admit that I'm biased against the "special guy can use special sword because he's so especially special" trope, though.

[HP 60% | Str 10% | Skl 30% | Spd 20% | Lck 40% | WLv 70% | Def 10%]

Honestly, considering how low his growths are overall, Wendell's stat increase is looking pretty good, too, most notably +2 Str and +4 HP. I wouldn't say he stands out any more than he did in Book 1, since the powerlevel in general is higher than it was, but it's still nice to get a staff user with 5 Mag for free. Yuliya isn't even quite there yet herself.

General strategy: The Pegasi fly up and grab some kills, since I don't plan on using Nabarl long-term and Thieves are worth a whopping 40 XP, while everybody else marches along the road until they (or at least Marth) gets pushed into the forest by Astram's danger zone.

__

Navarre still grabs 5 kills, but Caeda comes out of the chapter with the most XP gained.

But wait, what's that?!

__

Gasp!

The FireDrgn spawns if you move close-ish to the cave at the western edge of the map. Can be a nasty surprise, since it's an ambush spawn, but 20 Atk doesn't one-shot too many characters.

__

Although base Linde would've been one of them.

Honestly, Linde gaining +1 HP some time between her recruitment and the previous map is turning out to be far more impactful than one would think. The kill goes to Cecille, who can avoid a counter using a Silver Lance.

Reinforcements on this map are three Knights plus one Mage spawning from the forts. Warren can easily dispose of the latter immediately when they spawn, while the Knights are taken down by a group effort.

Oh, I also need to mention that somebody learned to read, which will hopefully result in less disappointment for everybody. Base accuracy in FE3 is actually 2xSkl, so the SecretBook is genuinely a really good stat booster.

__

The boss is very weak. I even forgot to take a screenshot of his stats, but 4 Def should tell you all you need. He's getting one-rounded by Sheeda with an Iron Lance here, who admittedly makes him look even more pathetic thanks to the Pegasus Knight class's base Res.

:: "Stealing what rightfully belongs to us thieves. To think there could be such people in this world... You lot are monsters!"

: "Murderer."

There is comedy in his laconic death quote. I propose to change it to "Rude." to maybe increase the effect further.

____

With a dance from Phina, Marth is able to seize one turn later, which will be t.6. On that same turn, there's still a little XP to be had. (Note: Three hurrays for Libra. Hurray! Hurray! Hurray!)

This kill wasn't planned, but is certainly welcome...

____

...especially because the kill that was planned still comes to pass on another Hero. Caeda might be carrying a few Starshards here.

And Jubelo not, unfortunately. Oh well, he had more success last map.

: "Your highness, we've finally got rid of the thieves, but the temple has been completely wrecked by them and there's nothing left there."
: "Really, even the Fane of Raman has been reduced to ruins? This is a frightful age we're in."
: "Yes, I bet even the Guardian God Naga is furious. It's as if we're headed towards the ruin of this world."

...honestly, I know that Wendell brought up Armageddon after the last fight, but Jagen still seems to overreact a little here. What's a little graverobbing between friends?

: "Jagen, you know of the tales of Naga? Can you tell me what you know of them?"
: "Yes, but I only know a little... This occured almost a thousand years ago. Back then there were no kingdoms in this continent, and people lived separately in small villages. At that time there existed frightful monsters, which would occasionally attack humans. At one stage, only around 10,000 humans remained and mankind was nearing extinction. It was said that the surviving humans prayed to the deities for help. The deities answered their wishes and sent a gigantic warrior to the earth. The warrior held in his right hand a sword of light. In his left hand was a shield encrusted with five jewels. After many violent battles, the monsters were defeated and the warrior returned to the heavens... That warrior was the Guardian God Naga, who was worshipped in this very temple."

: "You highness, you should know that line from the first chapter of the Raman Bible."
: "Hmm, I have heard that before. The tales of Naga..."
: "Your highness, we must cross Chiasmir Bridge next. If we don't hurry, the enemy will gain full control of it and we won't be able to cross."
: "Hmm, that's true. That bridge could become very dangerous. Okay, tell all the troups that we're going to break across Chiasmir Bridge, and make sure that nobody falls behind!"

You can basically hear the gears in Kaga's brain turning in that last half-sentence. Although I guess it'll take two games until he has his eureka.

Also, I have to say that this is an instance where a third character could actually improve the flow of the dialogue. The change of topic to Chiasmir Bridge is very abrupt and à propos de rien, so I think it would help if there was a third character that would interrupt the mythology lesson to bring urgent news.

Not that Kris does that in FE12. They just "No, not really" when asked if they know anything about Naga, and "Yes sir!" to close the dialogue. What a great addition to the game.

(That said, this is the point where they're allowed to don a pope hat, so not all is bad)

The Team:

	Lv. 	   HP Str Skl Spd Lck WLv Def Res  +XP
Marth	8.59	   27   9  10  11  11   9   8   0  --
Arran	*/6.60	   22   8   9  11   4  10  10   6  +84
Sirius	*/8.30	   28  13  12  16   2  14  12   6  +42
Cecille	10.94	   21  10   8  15   9  12   8   1  +60

Matthis	9.25	   24  10   9   9   2  11   9   1  +47	(+5 Skl)
Palla	12.49	   26  10  13  16   9  12   9   6  +10
Catria	11.02	   27  10  13  17   9  14  12   6  +160
Caeda	9.22	   21   9  11  19  16  14   9   6  +355

Ogma	8.64	   26   8  14  15   5   9   9   0  --
Navarre	10.00	   25  10  17  17   8  12   8   1  +200
Julian	9.06	   22  10   9  16   9   8   7   0  --
Warren	11.88	   29  11   9   9   2   9   5   1  +128

Wendell	*/7.59	   26   5   5  13   4  10   5   6  +59	(base)
Jubelo	9.06	   21   7   6   8  11  12   3   3  +64
Linde	6.90	   21   3   7  10  10   9   2   4  +42
Yuliya	7.54	   17   4   6   7  14  10   2   5  +48

Phina	1.50	   16   1   2  10   8   1   2   0  +50	(base)

Despite missing out on the previous map, Catria is getting out of control. +2 Str and +2 Def in the two levels she got this map.
Like Matthis, Warren also got a +Spd level, likely thanks to Libra. Very nice.

8 hours ago, Jotari said:

I bet it was a nice surprise for those Old Mystery lovers to play New Mystery where the game gives you big warning about those reinforcements only for the first wave to be Norne and Frey, characters the first wave of players probably didn't expect to be in the game at all.

Honestly, one of the more well-integrated added/returning characters in New Mystery. Certainly better than the random villages the Axe Bros were shoved into. I always appreciate when there's a warning just before you're hit with ambush reinforcements, and it's a nice touch to have that warning come from allies who are specifically rushing towards you to warn you from them.

Edited January 12 by ping

Saint Rubenio · January 12

10 hours ago, ping said:

Rickard - ~~good~~ ol' "them funny gays" trope. I didn't mention it, but Book 2 even plays goofy music when he's recruited, so it's not a wild assumption to make that Rickard hitting on Julian is supposed to be a funni.

Oh, Christ.

1 hour ago, ping said:

Honestly, one of the more well-integrated added/returning characters in New Mystery. Certainly better than the random villages the Axe Bros were shoved into. I always appreciate when there's a warning just before you're hit with ambush reinforcements, and it's a nice touch to have that warning come from allies who are specifically rushing towards you to warn you from them.

Yeah, if there was one case of New Mystery-exclusive characters where I could see someone believing they were there originally if they didn't know better, it's them.

1 hour ago, ping said:

Apparently, Phina was so popular that they turned her into two characters in Binding Blade.

Divided the two sides of her character between the two, too. One for the whole "ditzy dancer" shtick, and the other for the "endless exposition" part.

1 hour ago, ping said:

However, Navarre completely destroys them - he doubles and takes very little damage in return, so all this crit did was save a Killing Edge use. So even though the two thieves closest to the bridge carry loot, it's not a problem at all to intercept them all. Much easier than FE12, where I believe Nabarl might not even double on H1, but I might be wrong about that.

Yeah he already needs crits to get stuff done on H1. Higher? Don't even bother, he dies miserably against any thief that bothers attacking him.

1 hour ago, ping said:

__

Astram and his squad are obviously very strong. 31 Atk will two-shot everything, and 13 AS will double a lot, but even the generic heroes don't mess around. Two or three of them wouldn't be too bad, but eight at once will fuck you up pretty bad.

At least here he almost looks the part. His stats don't look nearly as lame with universal 20 caps, and his pals are decidedly weaker than him.

1 hour ago, ping said:

[HP 40% | Str 60% | Skl 70% | Spd 80% | Lck 70% | WLv 80% | Def 20%]

Funny low bases outside of her Spd/Lck, funny high growths. Dancer/10.

I think her ability to use a Rapier has been seen as indication that she's nobility of some sort, although I daresay that "fighting with a Rapier has some dancer-like quality" works just as well as an explanation. I'll admit that I'm biased against the "special guy can use special sword because he's so especially special" trope, though.

Kaga went on record saying it was meant to imply as much lol

1 hour ago, ping said:

[HP 60% | Str 10% | Skl 30% | Spd 20% | Lck 40% | WLv 70% | Def 10%]

Honestly, considering how low his growths are overall, Wendell's stat increase is looking pretty good, too, most notably +2 Str and +4 HP. I wouldn't say he stands out any more than he did in Book 1, since the powerlevel in general is higher than it was, but it's still nice to get a staff user with 5 Mag for free. Yuliya isn't even quite there yet herself.

He benefits so much from Etzel not being born yet.

1 hour ago, ping said:

: "Murderer."

There is comedy in his laconic death quote. I propose to change it to "Rude." to maybe increase the effect further.

A small meme in some parts. Definitely has more personality than his less fanslationy FE12 death quote.

1 hour ago, ping said:

(That said, this is the point where they're allowed to don a pope hat, so not all is bad)

None of Kris's flaws are enough to overshadow this.

BrightBow · January 12

1 hour ago, ping said:

: "Huh, why are you helping me? Aren't you a thief as well?"
: "I was until now. But, I've changed my mind."

You would think that someone who supposedly has quite the reputation could find some better paying clients.

Granted, I can see that Nabarl wouldn't work for Lang, considering that guy is really big on that whole "hurting women and children" thing.

Although Nabarl had no problems hunting down Feena, just like Lena. He only changed his mind when Feena acted the same as Shiida did and invited Nabarl to kill her. So maybe this kind of phrase just works like some kind of magic spell on the guy, rather than the change of heart being the result of a genuine moral conviction.

I mean, that whole "I won't harm a women but I will happily aid those who will" stick just doesn't feel very convincing.

Edited January 12 by BrightBow

ping · January 12

23 minutes ago, Saint Rubenio said:

Divided the two sides of her character between the two, too. One for the whole "ditzy dancer" shtick, and the other for the "endless exposition" part.

...Three characters! (I was actually thinking of Clarine, since her shtick with Rutger is 1:1 lifted from Feena and Nabarl. Their support even has the "you'd be handsome if you dressed more nicely" part)

25 minutes ago, Saint Rubenio said:

Kaga went on record saying it was meant to imply as much lol

I shouldn't be surprised :lol: It's not like Kaga was a stranger to the whole "special blood" idea.

29 minutes ago, BrightBow said:

You would think that someone who supposedly has quite the reputation could find some better paying clients.

Granted, I can see that Nabarl wouldn't work for Lang, considering that guy is really big on that whole "hurting women and children" thing.

Although Nabarl had no problems hunting down Feena, just like Lena. He only changed his mind when Feena acted the same as Shiida did and invited Nabarl to kill her. So maybe this kind of phrase just works like some kind of magic spell on the guy, rather than the change of heart being the result of a genuine moral conviction.

I mean, that whole "I won't harm a women but I will happily aid those who will" stick just doesn't feel very convincing.

You could maybe fill out the gaps in this chapter's background and assume that the plundering of the temple was promising to be highly lucrative, which is why they could get Nabarl to join them.

The interaction with Feena could've been more consistent with his "no hurt the girl" moral dogma if she had gone, "I won't go back to the bandits, stay back, I have a knife" - close enough to Sheeda's gambit in FE1.

Saint Rubenio · January 12

10 minutes ago, ping said:

I shouldn't be surprised It's not like Kaga was a stranger to the whole "special blood" idea.

No stranger? He loves it. It makes his filthy traditional monarchist peepee positively ecstatic. I swear there's like 30 "special blood" moments between the two Vestarias.

ping · January 12

7 minutes ago, Saint Rubenio said:

No stranger? He loves it. It makes his filthy traditional monarchist peepee positively ecstatic. I swear there's like 30 "special blood" moments between the two Vestarias.

And there's a certain upcoming game in which I hear the lineage of some people in a crusade plays an important role, and all the nobles are, in a very concrete sense, superior to the peasant rabble.

Edited January 12 by ping

BrightBow · January 12

1 minute ago, ping said:

And there's a certain upcoming game in which I hear the lineage of some people in a crusade plays an important role, and all the nobles are, in a very concrete sense, superior to the peasant rabble.

And then in the next game, those same superior nobles all lose to some villager with a throwing axe.

11 minutes ago, Saint Rubenio said:

No stranger? He loves it. It makes his filthy traditional monarchist peepee positively ecstatic. I swear there's like 30 "special blood" moments between the two Vestarias.

That many?

The circlet maidens are all udagaal descendants, but besides that?

Only thing I can think of is the bearer of Emmung or Sylvanister needing to be granted a blessing by the Meledian royal family to be used. But considering Zech could pass the Sylvanister to Zade, it doesn't necessarily seem to be an ability tied to a specific bloodline.
I'm also still not convinced that Athol didn't make up the entire thing as an excuse to kiss Zade.

And who knows if any of that Margulite stuff is really in the blood? Siegfried for his part most certainly doesn't seem like he is succumbing to his demonic heritage anytime soon.
So far it seems to be more of a Nazgul thing. People selling their souls to the evil overlord in exchange for power and immortality. Just like how Lagniel also gained a demonic form.

Saint Rubenio · January 12

8 minutes ago, BrightBow said:

That many?

The circlet maidens are all udagaal descendants, but besides that?

Only thing I can think of is the bearer of Emmung or Sylvanister needing to be granted a blessing by the Meledian royal family to be used. But considering Zech could pass the Sylvanister to Zade, it doesn't necessarily seem to be an ability tied to a specific bloodline.
I'm also still not convinced that Athol didn't make up the entire thing as an excuse to kiss Zade.

And who knows if any of that Margulite stuff is really in the blood? Siegfried for his part most certainly doesn't seem like he is succumbing to his demonic heritage anytime soon.
So far it seems to be more of a Nazgul thing. People selling their souls to the evil overlord in exchange for power and immortality. Just like how Lagniel also gained a demonic form.

30's an exaggeration, of course, but I'd say you're underselling it just a tad. There's all the circle maiden stuff and the super forced royal blessing thing, which are two of the biggest offenders, but then there's the Sphire royal line getting multiple superpowers (on top of their circlet maiden superpowers), there's the attempt at absolving just about every single monarch, leading noble, etc. from fault by blaming corrupt advisors instead, there's the solution to every country's problem being to put a Good Young King in the place of the Bad Old King (even when the Good Young King's proven to be inexperienced, stupid, irresponsible or all the above)... And that's not getting into the more low-key stuff like all the "peasant was secretly royalty all along wow so cool" character arcs.

Obviously the game doesn't consist of 400 pages of the words "royalty good" repeated over and over, but there's a very prevalent "royalty good" aura to the entire duology. And really, all of Kaga's work (still feel that the conclusion to all the shit with Volcens being "let's just put Good Handsome King on the throne instead and it'll be perfect" is beyond underwhelming), but it's more overt in the two Vestarias.

Emperor Hardin · January 13

15 hours ago, ping said:

~~Well, so did Matthis~~

Not surprising, honestly. With reinforcements spawning turn after turn after turn, there's always the issue that you can't fight one wave without allowing the next one to attack a (probably weakened) character on enemy phase, and chances are that your healer can't heal without also getting in range (or spend a precious Physic charge, if you even got it on the previous map). It's easy to get worn down in this situation. Heck, I seized quickly just to avoid the headache of rotating the frontliners against the reinforcements properly with only a single healer (who, btw, did eat one Javelin, so she had to be really careful, too) around to restore them.

I should play this map again.

I feel tanks like Sirius, Palla and Draug would help alot in dealing with the reinforcements, especially if they have a good position.

15 hours ago, ping said:

I think you could make a point for some of the FE1 characters, too:

Matthis - his recruitment has him basically say, "eh, I suck, so I'm going to die anyway", and the "fall in love with a thief" may or may not be intended to make him look clueless.

Rickard - ~~good~~ ol' "them funny gays" trope. I didn't mention it, but Book 2 even plays goofy music when he's recruited, so it's not a wild assumption to make that Rickard hitting on Julian is supposed to be a funni.

Roger - changes sides because Sheeda's non-commital (and entirely disingenuous) flirting.

Dolph and Mishelan - I mean, look at their portraits, and their stats considering their joining time.

Fair point, but I feel Samto is the first whom is actually an intentional pure joke stat-wise if you know what I mean?

15 hours ago, ping said:

Damned if they don't, damned if they do, really. With a Silver Lance, Linde could just chip him down at her leasure. Lang at least has the attack power to one-shot base Linde (20 HP | 2 Def), so it's possible that you don't even have that option.

Yeah, I feel the Javelin makes Lang a little more dangerous than other General bosses even with the speed losses. Its fitting given his plot importance, I suppose?

ping · January 13

FE3 Book 2 Chapter 8: Soulful Bridge

Spoiler

...to escape.

However, after easily reaching the central islet, the Altean army was attacked by a new foe. "Archanea's army is approaching from the north. If this continues we'll become surrounded." There's no way to go! Can Marth and the others safely overcome this danger?

__

: "Mmm, I had to break through the enemy to get here. But, they have already secured the northern bridge now."
: "It doesn't matter. We'll crush them."
: "No, that's not possible. Hardin is being protected by a mysterious power. We can't touch him. Basically, if we fight now we can't hope to win. You should head towards the north western fort and escape by ship to the Khadein desert."
: "Your highness, the mercenaries towards the south are beginning to move out. This truly isn't the time to fight. We should do what Cain says, and escape to the Khadein desert. Afterwards, we can formulate a new plan..."
: "Really...? Even though it's regrettable, that's our only choice... Troops, we will march to the north western fort!"

Maybe I should leave Ruben some room to gush, but this is a good map. Like the previous one, it feels different - although obviously also different from the big Thief hunt. Instead of a bunch of weak enemies running away from you, this one has a small number of tough opponents that you have to punch your way through.

And because this fine gentleman starts moving on turn 6, there's also pressure on you to punch good fast.

This part works really well as escalating pressure on the player: First, reinforcements arrive from the forts in the south - not very tough, but in a constant stream. Then, the first enemies that will become an issue if you don't move fast enough are Astram and his crew, who this time will join Hardin's assault. And if you then still aren't getting Marth's butt to the throne, Hardin himself will arrive and start murdering.

__

I'm trying to remember - do the Generals move in FE12, too? When you move into their range, they do, yes, but I think they don't start the fight aggressive. Or maybe I'm once again exposing myself as a scrub because I'm thinking of some lower difficulty.

But anyway, they move here, with the exception of the one dropping a Manual, which does make the map more interesting. With the narrow bridge, you're not really in danger of being overwhelmed, but of course you need to make sure that you can kill them quickly, probably with magic or Armourslayers (which are buyable in the Armoury. Kaga is a merciful god, when he remembers to be).

This chapter's "boss" is Jeorge, but he can be recruited by Gordin. But for heartless players, he politely drops both his Starshard and the Parthia if you just go murderhobo.

__

Of course, between all the tough enemies, there's still two wimpy Thieves, which Cecille and Warren quickly dispose of. They're both loaded with Starshards, although Cecille still manages to limit herself to a HP/Skl/Lck/WLv level.

With Feena's help, Marth can reach the village on turn 2. By the way, the "village in the opposite direction" actually works better here than usual - it's not that far off, for starters; we finally have Feena to accelerate this kind of detour; and moving Marth fast is part of the challenge, so it feels less pointless than on other maps.

: "Oh, Prince Marth. It's been a while since we met. There seems to be some commotion outside. What's going on?"
: "Ah, Bantu! I didn't expect to meet you here. How is Tiki?"
: "That child isnt with me anymore. Gotoh took her back to the Ice Dragon Shrine."
: "Ice Dragon Shrine? What kind of place is it? I've never heard of it."
: "It's located in the northern icelands. However no normal person can reach there. Besides the hero Anri, no human has ever visited it."
: "Anri!? Then, could that place be the "Realm of the Gods" as described in the legends of Anri?"
: "I've said all that I can say. If you want to learn more, you'll have to ask Gotoh."

"Aw, but he's a prick. And constantly trying to sell me Enefties, whatever those are."

: "Actually, could you listen to a request of mine? My precious Firestone was stolen by thieves. If youo can recover it for me, I will help you as best as I can. Thank you, Prince Marth."

One FireStn? Ha! We have two! (although Warren still carries the second one)

__

For a good while, I try to dance around the range of the Sniper next Jeorge - only to figure out that he doesn't move. Maybe (probably) on turn 6, once everybody else charges at you, but let's not get ahead of ourselves.

__

A start! Arran would really appreciate any point of Spd he can get, but I'll never complain about a Str/Def level.

____

Since the General with the Manual doesn't move, Catria and Sheeda (both armed with Armourslayers) come to him. As long as you get to him before turn 6, you can attack him without stepping into Hardin's range. Catria's crit makes Sheeda's presence unnessecary, so she rejoins the main group.

Reinforcements are three Knights and a Mage every turn, although the Knights start very far back.

And this is when I realise that the Sniper doesn't move and I didn't need to be nearly as careful as I was. Whoops.

__

But although Gordin was just one tile short to recruit Jeorge here, the overall timing works out pretty well. This way, we get some more dialogue (plus, Marth himself wasn't quite in range of the throne, either):

: "Hahaha... Prince Marth, it's been a while."
: "Hardin... Why did you attack my country? Why did you do it? Even now I am still in disbelief. Have you really changed?"
: "Your highness, I am the Emperor of Archanea, ruler of this world. I cannot allow those who oppose me to go unpunished. And that includes you, Prince Marth... This disgusting world must be destroyed... Everything in it is a mistake. Rebels, this game is over. You will all die here. Troops, charge! Slay the traitors without remorse!"

__

And so they do. Or try, I guess. Except for Jeorge. That would've been a nasty surprise.

No, Marth can't recruit him.

: "Mister Jeorge! Please wait a second!"
: "Huh? ...Gordin? Long time no see. You appear stronger, but has your archery improved?"
: "Yes, right now... I am recognised as the finest archer of Altea. It was all thanks to you, Mister Jeorge, that I could become this strong."
: "So? Did you come all the way here so that you could duel with me?"
: "Wh-what? Of course not! This might sound silly but... Can you come along with us again?"
: "....."
: "Please! Mister Jeorge!!"
: "I already swore an oath to Nyna, but I can't stand Hardin. He used his might to threaten other countries, and executed anybody who opposed him without question. Archanea's army right now is just a bunch of paid savages with no dignity of a knight. I will draw my bow against my own country, to bring back to Kingdom of Archanea of old. Gordin, I hope you can pass on my thoughts to Prince Marth."
: "Thank you, Mister Jeorge!!"

Can't help but point out that Sheeda would've managed more convincing recruitment speech than "Pweease? Pwetty pweeeeeease?"

[HP 60% | Str 20% | Skl 10% | Spd 20% | Lck 10% | WLv 50% | Def 10%]

So, here he is, after the blue paint is applied. His growth rates are just as bad as they were in Book 1, but he got a few significant base stat boosts, specifically +3 Str and more than enough WLv to use Parthia at base. I dunno, I can't think of yet another way of saying "stronger, but so is everybody else, so he feels pretty similar to Book 1". Good filler, especially if you're not training up a bow user - right now, his combat is comparable to Warren's (less Str, more Spd), except that he can also swap to the Parthia if needed.

That reminds me... Aren't I forgetting somebody?

[HP 60% | Str 30% | Skl 60% | Spd 60% | Lck 50% | WLv 60% | Def 20%]

I do! Cain is back! And as you can see, he even did a tiny amount of work this map - countering the two Paladins on the first enemy phase of the fight.

Growth-wise, the only change is a reduced WLv growth (from 90 to 60%), but obviously, Cain is quite the different character, now that he joins roughly one third into the game.

He still seems fairly good, though. Offensively, he's very similar to Matthis (note that we're talking a Matthis after 3 Str and 2 Spd procs) and [26 HP | 10 Def] is very respectable as far as defensive bases go. I'm not going to use him since we already have a lot of horses on our team (Cecille, Matthis, Arran, Sirius), but he looks like a good pick, especially if you didn't invest in any Cavs from Ch.1.

__

Well, after that, there's only some XP grabbing left to do. Not a whole lot, I probably could've positioned myself better, but I don't feel too bad about the clear, even though the overall XP gain isn't quite as high as last map.

Very disappointed in ~~my maths abilities~~ Matthis's insistence on not gaining a level after I made sure he was carrying all the Starshards he'd ever want.

: "But, everybody is still fighting. I can't just leave them."
: "Don't worry. They will all escape safely. We will all meet up at Khadein. Well, your highness, please get onboard the ship!"

...yeah, Kaga is definitely cooking up Thracia escape maps as he's writing this dialogue.

The Team:

	Lv. 	   HP Str Skl Spd Lck WLv Def Res  +XP
Marth	8.59	   27   9  10  11  11   9   8   0  --
Arran	*/7.45	   23   9   9  11   4  10  11   6  +85
Sirius	*/8.50	   28  13  12  16   2  14  12   6  +20
Matthis	9.99	   24  10   9   9   2  11   9   1  +74

Cecille	11.76	   22  10   9  15  10  13   8   1  +82
Cain	9.14	   26  10   8   9   4   8  10   0  +14	(base)
Caeda	9.67	   21   9  11  19  16  14   9   6  +45
Catria	11.92	   27  10  13  17   9  14  12   6  +90

Julian	9.06	   22  10   9  16   9   8   7   0  --
Warren	13.10	   30  12  10  11   2  10   6   1  +122
Jeorge	*/5.00	   27  10  11  13   4  15  10   3  --	(base)
Gordin	7.78	   22   7   7   6   5   8   8   0  --

Bantu	3.10	   18   2   3   4   1   2   3   1  +10	(base)
Wendell	*/8.18	   26   5   5  13   4  11   5   6  +59
Jubelo	10.06	   22   8   6   9  11  12   4   3  +100
Linde	7.45	   21   4   7  11  10  10   3   5  +55

Yuliya	8.24	   17   5   6   8  14  10   3   5  +70
Phina	2.20	   16   1   3  11   9   2   2   0  +70

Unfortunately, Wendell got a Starshard-less first level-up and gained only a point of WLv.
Second map in a row where Marth didn't gain any XP. Like in the DS games, it really doesn't help him that he has to grab all the villages (although the previous map, that was not the problem).
It's not as impressive as when Darros did it, since he's been making use of Libra very consistenly, but Warren's Spd is coming along very nicely.

12 hours ago, Emperor Hardin said:

I should play this map again.

I feel tanks like Sirius, Palla and Draug would help alot in dealing with the reinforcements, especially if they have a good position.

I think it's very helpful if you have enough potential tanks to rotate them a bit, and probably a few Vulns to pass around. Part of the problem is that two of the enemy spawns (a Jav Soldier and an Archer) have 2-range, so you generally can't have your healer heal whoever is currently choking the point.

12 hours ago, Emperor Hardin said:

Fair point, but I feel Samto is the first whom is actually an intentional pure joke stat-wise if you know what I mean?

Kind of. Samto might be the first character who combines a funny recruitment with deliberately bad stats. You could count Matthis, but he isn't really worse than Biraku and (FE1!)Roshe. Rickard is weaker than Julian, but that doesn't really matter for a thief (and it isn't connected to the recruitment convo). Mishelan has funny bad stats and a funny portrait, but doesn't have any opportunity to have a funny conversation with anybody. Roger has the funny recruitment, but his stats are actually a slight upgrade to DOGA's bases.

Saint Rubenio · January 13

10 minutes ago, ping said:

Maybe I should leave Ruben some room to gush, but this is a good map. Like the previous one, it feels different - although obviously also different from the big Thief hunt. Instead of a bunch of weak enemies running away from you, this one has a small number of tough opponents that you have to punch your way through.

There it is. Book 2's best map... In FE12, at least. We'll see here!

11 minutes ago, ping said:

__

I'm trying to remember - do the Generals move in FE12, too? When you move into their range, they do, yes, but I think they don't start the fight aggressive. Or maybe I'm once again exposing myself as a scrub because I'm thinking of some lower difficulty.

I believe in FE12 Hardin does not move, but the generals do.

11 minutes ago, ping said:

With Feena's help, Marth can reach the village on turn 2. By the way, the "village in the opposite direction" actually works better here than usual - it's not that far off, for starters; we finally have Feena to accelerate this kind of detour; and moving Marth fast is part of the challenge, so it feels less pointless than on other maps.

This is just such a good map. And in this version it's actually worth getting the guy!

12 minutes ago, ping said:

Have you really changed?"

Gee Marth, I don't know. Look into his eyes and tell me yourself.

13 minutes ago, ping said:

No, Marth can't recruit him.

Huh, interesting.

14 minutes ago, ping said:

Can't help but point out that Sheeda would've managed more convincing recruitment speech than "Pweease? Pwetty pweeeeeease?"

This is also the only time in the entire game that Gordin gets any dialogue at all, right?

...No wonder they made Marth able to do this in FE12. There's absolutely zero indication that you can do this lol

15 minutes ago, ping said:

[HP 60% | Str 20% | Skl 10% | Spd 20% | Lck 10% | WLv 50% | Def 10%]

So, here he is, after the blue paint is applied. His growth rates are just as bad as they were in Book 1, but he got a few significant base stat boosts, specifically +3 Str and more than enough WLv to use Parthia at base. I dunno, I can't think of yet another way of saying "stronger, but so is everybody else, so he feels pretty similar to Book 1". Good filler, especially if you're not training up a bow user - right now, his combat is comparable to Warren's (less Str, more Spd), except that he can also swap to the Parthia if needed.

That reminds me... Aren't I forgetting somebody?

[HP 60% | Str 30% | Skl 60% | Spd 60% | Lck 50% | WLv 60% | Def 20%]

I do! Cain is back! And as you can see, he even did a tiny amount of work this map - countering the two Paladins on the first enemy phase of the fight.

Growth-wise, the only change is a reduced WLv growth (from 90 to 60%), but obviously, Cain is quite the different character, now that he joins roughly one third into the game.

He still seems fairly good, though. Offensively, he's very similar to Matthis (note that we're talking a Matthis after 3 Str and 2 Spd procs) and [26 HP | 10 Def] is very respectable as far as defensive bases go. I'm not going to use him since we already have a lot of horses on our team (Cecille, Matthis, Arran, Sirius), but he looks like a good pick, especially if you didn't invest in any Cavs from Ch.1.

Cool dudes. Too bad Frey isn't in this.

15 minutes ago, ping said:

: "But, everybody is still fighting. I can't just leave them."
: "Don't worry. They will all escape safely. We will all meet up at Khadein. Well, your highness, please get onboard the ship!"

...yeah, Kaga is definitely cooking up Thracia escape maps as he's writing this dialogue.

I mean, this basically is the prototype to a Thracia escape map.

...Also, this is one of the moments where I kinda agree that the Kris insert is kinda lame? It takes away from the army for Jagen to go "no problem, Kris is with them they'll make sure everyone gets out safely." But people also rather overblow how much emphasis is put on the army here. I mean, look at that line. Jagen basically just handwaves the possibility of someone falling behind and that's it.

BrightBow · January 14

3 hours ago, Saint Rubenio said:

...No wonder they made Marth able to do this in FE12. There's absolutely zero indication that you can do this lol

Except the house right South of the fortress.

"It seems the relationship between two archers should be good."

Also Gordon's Book 1 ending, I suppose.

Jotari · January 14

7 hours ago, Saint Rubenio said:

This is also the only time in the entire game that Gordin gets any dialogue at all, right?

...No wonder they made Marth able to do this in FE12. There's absolutely zero indication that you can do this lol

I genuinely missed Jeorge (and as a result Astram) in my one and only Old Mystery playthrough. And I'd played New Mystery first. I just thought making Jeorge and Astram playable was a choice of the remake.

ping · January 14

FE3 Book 2 Chapter 9: Sorceror Sactuary

Spoiler

He then waited for the rest of his troops to catch up.

The magic city, Khadein, is a sanctuary for mages. Many prospering mages go there to undergo vigorous training. The basis of Sorcery relies on sealing nature's hidden power into tomes and staves, and freely using those to harness great power. Hundreds of years ago, a sage created an academy here, and taught his life's teachings to people. However, originally designed to bring happiness to people, magic was used in conflicts, and was bought and sold in masses. The sage was disappointed, and disappeared without a trace.

"That sage's name...? Albert Einstein."

Oh.

But right now, those who can wield tomes and staves are limited to a few high bishops. But even they can only use weak Fire and Heal magic. Powerful magic like Aura cannot be created without the power of Spheres. Also, those who can wield such powerful magic are limited in number. This was chosen to be by the will of its creator. Magic city Khadein... A proud and almighty Sanctuary of Sorcery.

I'm suspecting an inaccuracy in the translation here - we have direct evidence that Bishops can absolutely use advanced magic such as Swarm and Physic, so I wouldn't be surprised if the Japanese intro only says that very few High Bishops can create these advanced spells.

: "Hello generic bishop, I make spell that murders people."
: "Hello Cat-oh, I use spell to murder people."
: "YOU FUCKING WHAT MATE"

: "Minerva. If you wait in this village, you should be able to meet Marth. Although I don't like that boy, he is indeed of heroic calibre. You should aid him."
: "Brother, what are you going to do next? If possible, you should come with us..."
: "I don't plan on doing that. I just want to find Maria, and bring her back to Macedon."
: "Brother, you've changed... Or should I say, you've changed to how you used to be. So you truly were under the control of Gharnef's dark magic."
: "No, it wasn't that. Wanting to destroy that prideful Archanea, and allow Macedon to become the conqueror of this world, was my own idea. I originally planned to ally with Dolhr to destroy Archanea, and later join forces with Grust's Camus to defeat Dolhr. But father didn't agree with me, and finally he sent me away."

Yeah, good luck trying to make Camüh do anything even remotely intelligent.

: "So that's why you killed father? You idiot... Didn't you know that it was a trap set by Gharnef? Father was indeed very strict towards you. However that was because he loved you. Why didn't you understand?"
: That's enough, Minerva. I'm not stupid. When I was struck by your lance, I was just outside death's door. Later, when I found consciousness, in front of me I saw a crying Maria, praying to the deities. She saved me, by selflessly and tirelessly taking care of me, even though her face was completely in tears. I don't believe in deities, but at that time she turly looked like an angel. The way I treated Maria, and yet she still cried for me... Minerva, I must go. I must rescue Maria. That is the only thing I can do to repent!"
: "Michalis..."

Plot twist: Contrary to Misheil's delirious visions, Maria's reaction to his supposed death was more like, "Too bad, but he really had it coming" and she went on with her life.

Anyway, although I don't particularly like that Michalis is brought back for this redemption arc, I can appreciate that Kaga doesn't try playing the "he was controlled by Gharnef!!1!" card here. I almost always hate it when a villain gets that kind of excuse in a sequel. Give them proper motives and maybe even a sympathetic backstory, but let assholes be assholes, ffs.

: "Jagen, everybody appears to be safe. That's great to see."
: "But, your highness, what should we do next?"
: "Hmmm... I want to return to Altea, but if we don't defeat Hardin we won't be able to save it. What on earth should we do...?"
: "Please wait a second. I just received some news. .... What!? Your highness, there's trouble. Khadein's mage army has launched an attack at us. It seems Khadein has allied with the Empire."
: "Huh!? Even Khadein views us as enemies? What is Merric doing...?"
: "Your highness, we've got to do something. Even though we'll probably have to make some sacrifices, we should charge straight for the temple. If we don't hurry up, Archanea's pursuit squad will appear from behind and prevent us from moving."
: "I understand. There's no choice. Troops, charge into Khadein Temple, but try to avoid needless battles if possible!"

As if.

This is another scene where a third character would help its flow. Here, New Mystery actually uses Kris in such a fashion: Marth and Kris ponder over their next moves (while Kris is being aggressively boring as usual) and Jagen interrupts them with the news of Khadein's attack.

The map! It's another pretty good one, and probably one of the best desert maps in the series. Interestingly, the map is a bit different from Book 1: The village wasn't there before, and the designers took the opportunity to have the player start on that little island instead of the larger landmass south of it, and to simply cut off a few tile rows at the bottom. It's to the map's benefit, since it's one less 1-tile choke that you have to move your entire (non-flying) roster through.

What this map does better than Gaiden or the upcoming second desert map is that it's not just one big rectangle of sand slowing everything down. There's enough flat terrain that even some horsies can be of use at the start of the map, although they certainly take a while to get to the boss, if you want them to. And like in Book 1, you have your tools to deal with the map. Three flyers, two of them OP, and even if you didn't invest in Yubello, you'll always have Linde as an unimpeded hard-hitter against the Dracoknights in particular.

The boss hits hard, but is incredibly frail physically. Kinda similar to the boss of Pales, Akaneia in Book 1. He's flanked by two Swarm bishops, so you do have to be careful when you send in your boss killer.

The Wyverns are nothing we haven't seen before. Strong, bulky, but with very pronounced weaknesses.

____

Step one: Get two heavily starsharded levels on Catria and Sheeda.

Step two: Repeat double-effectiveness Angelic Robe shenanigans from Book 1. There may or may not be more efficient recipients for this, but this is clearly the correct use of the item.

____

Astria and his gang spawn on turn 7 on this map, immediately chasing after you. It's early enough that you have to worry about it, but it gives you enough room to be methodical about pulling enemy Dracos and Mages in small groups.

__

Eyy, one relevant stat proc! Just as many as he got during all of Book 1.

Two Thieves do get dangerously close to Minerva's village. But it turns out that if you move Marth his full movement every turn and add some Feena help on turn 1, he'll get there just barely in time, even if you don't have any flyers block the Thieves.

__

And after a while, all enemies between us and the boss are dead.

It's difficult to describe this in a highly dramatic fashion, since you do just repeat the steps (1) pull enemies (2) kill enemies a few times until you're done, but it does work well as a map in practice. To no small because it only took me around 25 maps (plus the... 7? I played previous to all this) to figure out that you can in fact check enemy ranges, or at least movement ranges - without that, I'd probably be a lot more annoyed by all those enemies with better movement than almost all of my own units.

__

Since she's quite bulky on the magic side and can tank a Swarm plus an attack from the boss, Catria removes the two Swarm Bishops from the picture.

: "You dare trespass this temple, unforgivable! Earth, punish them! Bolganone!"

Meanwhile, Minerva:

: "Huh!? Princess Minerva, what are you doing here?"
: "My brother... Michalis rescued me."
: "Really? That's great. When I heard that you were taken by Prince Michalis, I was very worried. But he actually saved you. I wonder what he's thinking."
: "Michalis's life was saved by Maria. Maria is a gentle child, unlike me... Even a man like him could be moved by Maria's gentle heart."
: "But, you also hoped for that, and that's why you didn't finish him off, right?"
: "Oh. ....."
: "I understand. The bond between siblings cannot be torn so easily. Princess Minerva, please look up. You don't need to worry about Macedon. I already left some trusted people to begin its reconstruction. I hope that you can fight together with us, like in the past. To crush Hardin's ambitions, I wish to borrow Macedon's and your strength."

To be honest, I always misread this part of the Macedonian Royal drama. Because Misheil saw Maria "praying to the gods", I read that as some mythical vision of his, not that Maria simply used her perfectly sciency magical healing staff.

[HP 40% | Str 30% | Skl 50% | Spd 40% | Lck 40% | WLv 70% | Def 20%]

Minerva prods some serious buttock. 13 Str is tied with Catria and Siriüh for highest on the team; 15 Spd is obviously perfectly good (even as Catria and Caeda both hit 20 during this fight), and 16 Def is just straight the best we have. Compared to Book 1, she gained [+4 Str | +3 Spd | +4 Def], plust some points in the less important stats, which is remarkable even against the general powercreep of Book 2.

Note to myself: It seems that Hidden treasure can only be found if there's room in the character's inventory for it. I had Julian stumble around that area for several turns, doubting my ability to read maps for a bit, but luckily had the brillian idea of having Linde take one of his weapons off him. Important information come the worse desert map.

__

: "Arlen... Is what we're doing really okay...?"

Boss kill: Well, as Yodel is so physically frail, it's only fair to let Yubello (...and Yumina for a Heal and some extra hit/avoid) face off against him. It takes two turns for Yubello to take the kill...

...during which Astria's squad arrives. A nice touch is that Astria is the furthest away between them, so a slower player will be harrassed first by the less dangerous (and recruitable) members of the group.

As you can see, they do get on your case a little bit; in particular if you don't rescue Marth over. Like on the previous map, the big threat feels pretty well-timed.

____

Aaand some XP collected. The sand slowing down movement obviously works both ways, so not everybody was able to get a safe(-ish; no dead Julian, luckily) attack in, but that seems decent enough.

: "Your highness, there's something strange about the temple's situation."
: "Hmm, you're right, something's definitely going on. Let's go, Jagen. I'm worried about Merric."

Short and sweet. It's not like there's much additional info between the start of the map and now, so I appreciate that.

The Team:


	Lv. 	   HP Str Skl Spd Lck WLv Def Res  +XP
Marth	8.59	   27   9  10  11  11   9   8   0  --
Matthis	11.40	   25  11  11  11   2  11   9   1  +141	(+5 Skl)
Cecille	12.41	   23  11  10  16  11  14   8   1  +65
Minerva	*/8.10	   25  13   9  15   7  14  16   0  +10	(base)

Palla	13.74	   27  11  14  17   9  13  10   7  +125
Catria	14.29	   30  13  16  20  10  15  14   6  +237
Caeda	11.32	   23   9  13  20  17  15  10   6  +155
Warren	13.20	   30  12  10  11   2  10   6   1  +10

Julian	9.06	   22  10   9  16   9   8   7   0  --
Rickard	3.09	   18   6   3   9   1   6   3   0  --
Banutu	4.17	   25   2   4   5   1   2   3   1  +117	(+7 HP)
Wendell	8.67	   26   5   5  13   4  11   5   6  +49

Jubelo	13.49	   23  11   6  10  12  14   6   3  +343
Linde	7.71	   21   4   7  11  10  10   3   5  +26
Yuliya	9.82	   17   6   6   9  14  11   3   5  +158
Phina	3.20	   17   1   4  12  10   2   3   0  +100

Another map with zero XP for Marth. I should probably try to change that in the future.
And here I thought Catria was overpowered in New Mystery.
As far as stat boosters go, we have access to one Speedwing, one Manual, and one Secret Book, all of which increase their respective stat by +5. My ideas:
- +5 Skl for Banutu. Dude's never been the most reliable, at least offensively.
- Save the +5 Spd for Sheema. She'll need any help she can get, honestly.
- Honestly, I see no immediate need to use the Manual. Even Warren is pretty close to Parthia already, so I think I'll keep that one around for now. We'll need a staffer with 20 WLv for the Again staff, so it might be smart to hold on for it in case Yuliya's growth won't be agreeable.

17 hours ago, Saint Rubenio said:

Gee Marth, I don't know. Look into his eyes and tell me yourself.

Honestly, the complete lack of subtlety that Gharnef cast Dire Charm on Hardin is a bit disappointing. I suppose there was ambiguity about the nature of Hardin's sudden ruthlessness as long as he was off-screen, but you can see immediately after his appearance that there's some witchcraft involved.

17 hours ago, Saint Rubenio said:

...Also, this is one of the moments where I kinda agree that the Kris insert is kinda lame? It takes away from the army for Jagen to go "no problem, Kris is with them they'll make sure everyone gets out safely." But people also rather overblow how much emphasis is put on the army here. I mean, look at that line. Jagen basically just handwaves the possibility of someone falling behind and that's it.

Tbh, I still think Kris is kinda lame, pope hat notwithstanding. Maybe they would work as a minor character, as somebody for the sillier characters to bounce off of but... Taking this guy/gal with the charisma of ten bricks with a raw potato on top and declare him to be Mar-Mar's emotional crutch, both center and cornerstone of the world, everybody's best friend - that just doesn't work, in my opinion.

Saint Rubenio · January 14

43 minutes ago, ping said:

I'm suspecting an inaccuracy in the translation here - we have direct evidence that Bishops can absolutely use advanced magic such as Swarm and Physic, so I wouldn't be surprised if the Japanese intro only says that very few High Bishops can create these advanced spells.

: "Hello generic bishop, I make spell that murders people."
: "Hello Gotoh-oh, I use spell to murder people."
: "YOU FUCKING WHAT MATE"

Yeah that's probably it. Makes very little sense to say that when mages are a generic enemy type.

44 minutes ago, ping said:

Anyway, although I don't particularly like that Michalis is brought back for this redemption arc, I can appreciate that Kaga doesn't try playing the "he was controlled by Gharnef!!1!" card here. I almost always hate it when a villain gets that kind of excuse in a sequel. Give them proper motives and maybe even a sympathetic backstory, but let assholes be assholes, ffs.

I agree. ~~Let's not kid ourselves though, if Michalis was a woman he would've stampeded to the mind control with extreme prejudice~~

46 minutes ago, ping said:

Eyy, one relevant stat proc! Just as many as he got during all of Book 1.

Off to a great start. This is his game - enjoy it while it lasts.

47 minutes ago, ping said:

: "My brother... Michalis rescued me."
: "Really? That's great.

I see he's just as blasé about Michalis being suddenly alive and on Minerva's side as in 12.

48 minutes ago, ping said:

[HP 40% | Str 30% | Skl 50% | Spd 40% | Lck 40% | WLv 70% | Def 20%]

Minerva prods some serious buttock. 13 Str is tied with Catria and Siriüh for highest on the team; 15 Spd is obviously perfectly good (even as Catria and Caeda both hit 20 during this fight), and 16 Def is just straight the best we have. Compared to Book 1, she gained [+4 Str | +3 Spd | +4 Def], plust some points in the less important stats, which is remarkable even against the general powercreep of Book 2.

Let's not forget, in the world of 20 universal caps, Minerva is 80% of the way to maximum defense. She's straight up the tankiest unit in the game. And the rest of his bases, too. This game treated fliers well.

49 minutes ago, ping said:

: "Arlen... Is what we're doing really okay...?"

I do wonder why Wendell cares so much about the perpetrator of this whole disaster that he can recruit him, but he doesn't give a crap about this other dude. Fuck him, he can die for all the popeman cares.

50 minutes ago, ping said:

+5 Skl for Banutu. Dude's never been the most reliable, at least offensively.

Save the +5 Spd for Sheema. She'll need any help she can get, honestly.

Honestly, I see no immediate need to use the Manual. Even Warren is pretty close to Parthia already, so I think I'll keep that one around for now. We'll need a staffer with 20 WLv for the Again staff, so it might be smart to hold on for it in case Yuliya's growth won't be agreeable.

Sounds agreeable.

50 minutes ago, ping said:

Honestly, the complete lack of subtlety that Gharnef cast Dire Charm on Hardin is a bit disappointing. I suppose there was ambiguity about the nature of Hardin's sudden ruthlessness as long as he was off-screen, but you can see immediately after his appearance that there's some witchcraft involved.

He really should've at least kept his eyes normal. The glare would be ominous enough without the crimson eyes.

51 minutes ago, ping said:

Tbh, I still think Kris is kinda lame, pope hat notwithstanding. Maybe they would work as a minor character, as somebody for the sillier characters to bounce off of but... Taking this guy/gal with the charisma of ten bricks with a raw potato on top and declare him to be Mar-Mar's emotional crutch, both center and cornerstone of the world, everybody's best friend - that just doesn't work, in my opinion.

Oh don't get me wrong, I'm no super fan. I just disagree that they instantly, irreparably obliterate the story of this game.

...Then again, that might be because I honestly don't think book 2 is all that either way. Might go as far as to call it one of the most boring, nothing stories in FE.

ping · January 14

5 minutes ago, Saint Rubenio said:

I do wonder why Wendell cares so much about the perpetrator of this whole disaster that he can recruit him, but he doesn't give a crap about this other dude. Fuck him, he can die for all the popeman cares.

I was going to say, "Arlen has an cool anime boy portrait", but Yodel really wouldn't have looked out of place as a playable character, either. I guess when Jagen talks about "making sacrifices" in the opening dialogue, that's what he means. They're attacking us, we have no idea what the heck is going on, we need to fight our way through; the loss of innocent life is lamentable, but acceptable for the Greater Good. ~~Oh god, Jagen is American~~

11 minutes ago, Saint Rubenio said:

...Then again, that might be because I honestly don't think book 2 is all that either way. Might go as far as to call it one of the most boring, nothing stories in FE.

I don't know if I'm being unfair, but "FE1 with some extra window dressing" doesn't seem too far off to describe it. Book 2 literally revives the two main antagonists from FE1 / Book 1; you have to liberate Akaneia again, you have to liberate Altea again... You do things in a different order and with changed details, and of course the upcoming Anri's Way segment doesn't have an FE1 equivalent, but a lot of the basic ideas are still there. ~~Abducted girls, for example~~

Honestly, the existence of Book 1 is odd, if you think about it like that, since it only makes that "same but different" nature of Book 2 only more apparent.

(And can I say that I prefer BinBla over Book 2 as an Akaneia derivative? Well, I have to say that, as a militant FE6 apologetist, but I really think that FE6 manages to be more deliberate with when it follows and when it breaks with precedent. Like with Perceval who is the Camüest of Camüses until he suddenly isn't; or how Idoun is built up to be this scary Medeus 2.0 until she's revealed to be just a girl who has been Kaga'ed.)

Saint Rubenio · January 14

3 minutes ago, ping said:

I was going to say, "Arlen has an cool anime boy portrait", but Yodel really wouldn't have looked out of place as a playable character, either. I guess when Jagen talks about "making sacrifices" in the opening dialogue, that's what he means. They're attacking us, we have no idea what the heck is going on, we need to fight our way through; the loss of innocent life is lamentable, but acceptable for the Greater Good. ~~Oh god, Jagen is American~~

#JusticeForYodel

~~I did consider throwing him in my bossman hack and make a predictable Yodel/Yodel joke, but I already had a rep for FE12 even if he wasn't really from book 2 lol~~

4 minutes ago, ping said:

I don't know if I'm being unfair, but "FE1 with some extra window dressing" doesn't seem too far off to describe it. Book 2 literally revives the two main antagonists from FE1 / Book 1; you have to liberate Akaneia again, you have to liberate Altea again... You do things in a different order and with changed details, and of course the upcoming Anri's Way segment doesn't have an FE1 equivalent, but a lot of the basic ideas are still there. ~~Abducted girls, for example~~

The Anri's Way segment is really the main thing that truly differentiates book 2 from 1. And it does so via exposition dumps crammed into the middle section of the game so it can spend the rest of the game being "fight with the bossman of the week." And it only happens because this piece of shit who can teleport decided to waste all of the world's precious time "testingr" Marth, even though he himself had said that Marth had restored his faith in humanity in the last war. Classy.

4 minutes ago, ping said:

(And can I say that I prefer BinBla over Book 2 as an Akaneia derivative? Well, I have to say that, as a militant FE6 apologetist, but I really think that FE6 manages to be more deliberate with when it follows and when it breaks with precedent. Like with Perceval who is the Camüest of Camüses until he suddenly isn't; or how Idoun is built up to be this scary Medeus 2.0 until she's revealed to be just a girl who has been Kaga'ed.)

FE6 certainly has its issues, like how it loves to pretend Roy is extremely boring and hides away his more interesting sides in horrible-to-obtain supports, the very clunky Jahn reveals and its belief that Merlinus is a character that deserves to have all of the screentime from start to finish.

But yeah, I'd definitely rank it above the two original Archanea games. It tries to do some interesting stuff from time to time, such as the things you mention and others like having the human monarch be the mastermind rather than the puppet, or the entire Western Isles arc which I'm really fond of; the villains are way, WAY better, and the worldbuilding is a lot better paced and distributed.

BrightBow · January 14

4 hours ago, ping said:

: That's enough, Minerva. I'm not stupid. When I was struck by your lance, I was just outside death's door. Later, when I found consciousness, in front of me I saw a crying Maria, praying to the deities. She saved me, by selflessly and tirelessly taking care of me, even though her face was completely in tears. I don't believe in deities, but at that time she turly looked like an angel. The way I treated Maria, and yet she still cried for me... Minerva, I must go. I must rescue Maria. That is the only thing I can do to repent!"

So did Maria hide his body the entire time or what?

4 hours ago, ping said:

What this map does better than Gaiden or the upcoming second desert map is that it's not just one big rectangle of sand slowing everything down. There's enough flat terrain that even some horsies can be of use at the start of the map, although they certainly take a while to get to the boss, if you want them to. And like in Book 1, you have your tools to deal with the map. Three flyers, two of them OP, and even if you didn't invest in Yubello, you'll always have Linde as an unimpeded hard-hitter against the Dracoknights in particular.

It feels like a bit like a trap that by this point the game already gives you 2 Dragon Whips. That 6 Res most certainly makes a lot of difference against those scrubby level 1 mages with Thunder.

4 hours ago, ping said:

Step two: Repeat double-effectiveness Angelic Robe shenanigans from Book 1. There may or may not be more efficient recipients for this, but this is clearly the correct use of the item.

Wonderful.
Just keep in mind that you want Marth to end up with more than 32 HP.

4 hours ago, ping said:

: "Michalis's life was saved by Maria. Maria is a gentle child, unlike me... Even a man like him could be moved by Maria's gentle heart."

Wasn't quite enough to be swayed before he used her as a hostage, it seems. Or killed her father, for that matter.

4 hours ago, ping said:

: "But, you also hoped for that, and that's why you didn't finish him off, right?"
: "Oh. ....."
: "I understand. The bond between siblings cannot be torn so easily.

I'm sure that's not for lack of trying. No one dies in book 1.

Not that I mind it that much in this case. They brought them back for the sequel because they wanted to do more with those characters.
Who knows, maybe some of that stuff would have been done in Book 1 if they had the time to overhaul it so that it's narrative style is closer to Book 2.

4 hours ago, ping said:

: "I understand. The bond between siblings cannot be torn so easily. Princess Minerva, please look up. You don't need to worry about Macedon. I already left some trusted people to begin its reconstruction. I hope that you can fight together with us, like in the past. To crush Hardin's ambitions, I wish to borrow Macedon's and your strength."

Man, even in this barebone script they find the time to point out that Marth doesn't just leave the countries he overthrows to the wolves.
Meanwhile the only thing Awakening thought the player needed to know is that Ferox was going to rob Plegia blind.
Of course the rest of the game leaves no ambiguity about the fact that Chrom didn't do jackshit to prevent Plegia from descending into chaos. It's just never lingered on because Chrom doesn't care.
While the same is not true for Valm, with that precedent set it's quite a reach to expect Chrom to suddenly handle things different then before.

4 hours ago, ping said:

...during which Astria's squad arrives. A nice touch is that Astria is the furthest away between them, so a slower player will be harrassed first by the less dangerous (and recruitable) members of the group.

I like that he suddenly has Snipers among his group. Really shows that they know how strong the Pegasus siblings are this time around.
But thanks to the terrain, it's also easy to just flank them and kill Astram at the last turn for the Mercurius.

4 hours ago, ping said:

Tbh, I still think Kris is kinda lame, pope hat notwithstanding. Maybe they would work as a minor character, as somebody for the sillier characters to bounce off of but... Taking this guy/gal with the charisma of ten bricks with a raw potato on top and declare him to be Mar-Mar's emotional crutch, both center and cornerstone of the world, everybody's best friend - that just doesn't work, in my opinion.

And also, Kris is basically the person that Hardin claims he was in Book 1. That he was guy who kept Marth alive and did all the hard work. That he is the true hero while Marth got all the credit solely because of his bloodline.

Kris existence is giving merit to all of Hardin's complaints about Marth. And while there is a lot of potential in such a parallel, the game has no self-awareness about that fact whatsoever.

3 hours ago, Saint Rubenio said:

I agree. ~~Let's not kid ourselves though, if Michalis was a woman he would've stampeded to the mind control with extreme prejudice~~

Yeah em, objection.

Mind control of female characters in Kaga games was almost never used to excuse a character's actions in the past. Queen Syvil is literally the first case that ever happened.
It's always a matter of either a playable character becoming temporarily hostile or in some cases like Delthea or Ravinia, we already know well in advance that they are not themselves and not responsible for their actions.

Frankly, I think even considering Queen Syvil an exception to this is a stretch, since so far we've never came to blows with her. Her villainy has so far been purely an off-screen affair.

Using mind control to conveniently remove all the baggage of a card-carrying (and virtually naked) villainess just as they are joining the heroes is very much an IS maneuver.

Edited January 14 by BrightBow

Saint Rubenio · January 14

17 minutes ago, BrightBow said:

Yeah em, objection.

Mind control of female characters in Kaga games was almost never used to excuse a character's actions in the past. Queen Syvil is literally the first case that ever happened.
It's always a matter of either a playable character becoming temporarily hostile or in some cases like Delthea or Ravinia, we already know well in advance that they are not themselves and not responsible for their actions.

Frankly, I think even considering Queen Syvil an exception to this is a stretch, since so far we've never came to blows with her. Her villainy has so far been purely an off-screen affair.

Using mind control to conveniently remove all the baggage of a card-carrying (and virtually naked) villainess just as they are joining the heroes is very much an IS maneuver.

Haha, fair enough. You're correct. We haven't even gotten more than one cutscene per game for Syvil anyway. It's anyone's guess what she's going to be like when we actually get to her. By all probability she'll have some kind of evil advisor that's behind everything, because imagine the royalty being bad.

BrightBow · January 14

3 minutes ago, Saint Rubenio said:

Haha, fair enough. You're correct. We haven't even gotten more than one cutscene per game for Syvil anyway. It's anyone's guess what she's going to be like when we actually get to her. By all probability she'll have some kind of evil advisor that's behind everything, because imagine the royalty being bad.

An evil advisor is likely not involved here.
Now how this all fits together is not clear yet, and I can't pretend I managed to really keep track of all that Spirian royal family drama.
But VS2 leaves it completely unambiguous that Syvil has no control over her actions. Grevandel said that her body was stolen by her supposedly dead brother. And according to Emilia "Her heart remains pure and good".

Might need the Ghostbusters for this one. Or maybe Luigi.

Saint Rubenio · January 14

31 minutes ago, BrightBow said:

An evil advisor is likely not involved here.
Now how this all fits together is not clear yet, and I can't pretend I managed to really keep track of all that Spirian royal family drama.
But VS2 leaves it completely unambiguous that Syvil has no control over her actions. Grevandel said that her body was stolen by her supposedly dead brother. And according to Emilia "Her heart remains pure and good".

Might need the Ghostbusters for this one. Or maybe Luigi.

Nah, nah. Clearly what the plot's headed towards is Karajan becoming the Savior of Sphire. He is, after all, the greatest mage to have ever lived. He'll use a water spray on Syvil.

BrightBow · January 14

1 minute ago, Saint Rubenio said:

Nah, nah. Clearly what the plot's headed towards is Karajan becoming the Savior of Sphire. He is, after all, the greatest mage to have ever lived. He'll use a water spray on Syvil.

He needs to save that one for Theodel, though.

Saint Rubenio · January 14

7 minutes ago, BrightBow said:

He needs to save that one for Theodel, though.

What he needs for Theodel is a law firm.

...A law firm called Smith & Wesson. ~~I shamelessly stole that joke from a 20 year old Indiana Jones game~~

Jotari · January 14

6 hours ago, ping said:

FE3 Book 2 Chapter 9: Sorceror Sactuary

Hide contents

He then waited for the rest of his troops to catch up.

The magic city, Khadein, is a sanctuary for mages. Many prospering mages go there to undergo vigorous training. The basis of Sorcery relies on sealing nature's hidden power into tomes and staves, and freely using those to harness great power. Hundreds of years ago, a sage created an academy here, and taught his life's teachings to people. However, originally designed to bring happiness to people, magic was used in conflicts, and was bought and sold in masses. The sage was disappointed, and disappeared without a trace.

"That sage's name...? Albert Einstein."

Oh.

But right now, those who can wield tomes and staves are limited to a few high bishops. But even they can only use weak Fire and Heal magic. Powerful magic like Aura cannot be created without the power of Spheres. Also, those who can wield such powerful magic are limited in number. This was chosen to be by the will of its creator. Magic city Khadein... A proud and almighty Sanctuary of Sorcery.

This narrative opening is in contradiction with the perfect clear timeline and some later comments made by Xane. They both say Gotoh specifically created Khadein after meeting Anri, but this "mysterious sage totally not Gotoh maybe" created Kahdein hundreds of years ago. So how old is Kahdein? Is it fifty years old or five hundred? Something the characters in universe will easily know but is obscured to us. Is it somehow both? Did Gotoh find it twice?

6 hours ago, ping said:

Tbh, I still think Kris is kinda lame, pope hat notwithstanding. Maybe they would work as a minor character, as somebody for the sillier characters to bounce off of but... Taking this guy/gal with the charisma of ten bricks with a raw potato on top and declare him to be Mar-Mar's emotional crutch, both center and cornerstone of the world, everybody's best friend - that just doesn't work, in my opinion.

Yeah but that's standard fair for Avatars. People seem to treat it as uniquely sinful when it happens to Kris. At least Kris has the good sense to be awkward and humble about the universal acclaim.

6 hours ago, ping said:

I'm suspecting an inaccuracy in the translation here - we have direct evidence that Bishops can absolutely use advanced magic such as Swarm and Physic, so I wouldn't be surprised if the Japanese intro only says that very few High Bishops can create these advanced spells.

Unless Swarm and Physic aren't that amazing and it solely means the likes of Aura, Excalibur and Imhullu.

6 hours ago, ping said:

The map! It's another pretty good one, and probably one of the best desert maps in the series. Interestingly, the map is a bit different from Book 1: The village wasn't there before, and the designers took the opportunity to have the player start on that little island instead of the larger landmass south of it, and to simply cut off a few tile rows at the bottom. It's to the map's benefit, since it's one less 1-tile choke that you have to move your entire (non-flying) roster through.

Nevertheless this map still annoys the hell out of me. A sit starts the grand trend of Book 2 reusing Book 1 maps. I was okay with the bride last time even before I learned it wasn't actually I'm Book 1. There it makes perfect sense, Marth is coming from the south so he crosses the choke point in reverse to the previous game. But here we have the exact same map. Why is Marth's approach to Kahdein the same as last time when he's coming from another direction? Just do what Sacred Stones did with Castle Renvall and shift the chapter over a few tiled to give a completely different feel.

6 hours ago, ping said:
and now, so I appreciate that.

The Team:
	Lv. 	   HP Str Skl Spd Lck WLv Def Res  +XP
Marth	8.59	   27   9  10  11  11   9   8   0  --
Matthis	11.40	   25  11  11  11   2  11   9   1  +141	(+5 Skl)
Cecille	12.41	   23  11  10  16  11  14   8   1  +65
Minerva	*/8.10	   25  13   9  15   7  14  16   0  +10	(base)

Palla	13.74	   27  11  14  17   9  13  10   7  +125
Catria	14.29	   30  13  16  20  10  15  14   6  +237
Caeda	11.32	   23   9  13  20  17  15  10   6  +155
Warren	13.20	   30  12  10  11   2  10   6   1  +10

Julian	9.06	   22  10   9  16   9   8   7   0  --
Rickard	3.09	   18   6   3   9   1   6   3   0  --
Banutu	4.17	   25   2   4   5   1   2   3   1  +117	(+7 HP)
Wendell	8.67	   26   5   5  13   4  11   5   6  +49

Jubelo	13.49	   23  11   6  10  12  14   6   3  +343
Linde	7.71	   21   4   7  11  10  10   3   5  +26
Yuliya	9.82	   17   6   6   9  14  11   3   5  +158
Phina	3.20	   17   1   4  12  10   2   3   0  +100
Another map with zero XP for Marth. I should probably try to change that in the future.

And here I thought Catria was overpowered in New Mystery.

As far as stat boosters go, we have access to one Speedwing, one Manual, and one Secret Book, all of which increase their respective stat by +5. My ideas:

+5 Skl for Banutu. Dude's never been the most reliable, at least offensively.

Save the +5 Spd for Sheema. She'll need any help she can get, honestly.

Honestly, I see no immediate need to use the Manual. Even Warren is pretty close to Parthia already, so I think I'll keep that one around for now. We'll need a staffer with 20 WLv for the Again staff, so it might be smart to hold on for it in case Yuliya's growth won't be agreeable.

I can't delete this quote. Spoilers in quotes really confuse mobile Sernes.

5 hours ago, Saint Rubenio said:

Let's not forget, in the world of 20 universal caps, Minerva is 80% of the way to maximum defense. She's straight up the tankiest unit in the game. And the rest of his bases, too. This game treated fliers well.

I knew it! Minerva is a man!

5 hours ago, Saint Rubenio said:

I do wonder why Wendell cares so much about the perpetrator of this whole disaster that he can recruit him, but he doesn't give a crap about this other dude. Fuck him, he can die for all the popeman cares.

I have already expressed my interest in this character and questioning of who he is earlier. Never considered Wendell's position on the matter though. Also, may we reassert great portrait.

5 hours ago, Saint Rubenio said:

...Then again, that might be because I honestly don't think book 2 is all that either way. Might go as far as to call it one of the most boring, nothing stories in FE.

You mean reviving every major antagonist (shut up Jiol you weren't major) from the last story, making the main antagonist brainwashed and having Marth do all the same things again only with 160% more exposition dumping makes for a bad story!

2 hours ago, BrightBow said:

Man, even in this barebone script they find the time to point out that Marth doesn't just leave the countries he overthrows to the wolves.

Meanwhile the only thing Awakening thought the player needed to know is that Ferox was going to rob Plegia blind.
Of course the rest of the game leaves no ambiguity about the fact that Chrom didn't do jackshit to prevent Plegia from descending into chaos. It's just never lingered on because Chrom doesn't care.
While the same is not true for Valm, with that precedent set it's quite a reach to expect Chrom to suddenly handle things different then before.

Well at least Say'ri exists and has a vested interest in keeping Valm stable. I think we could assume her playable appearance in the last arc is for the sake of gameplay and that she didn't abandon to continent. Though, even then, Valm would be a massive cavern of wolves to deal with if it had the barest ounce of realism thrown into it. Walhart was like Alexander the Great, his death would result in absolute chaos as everyone tries to reassert independence and sovereignty and use the whole affair to settle old scores.

2 hours ago, BrightBow said:

Yeah em, objection.

Mind control of female characters in Kaga games was almost never used to excuse a character's actions in the past. Queen Syvil is literally the first case that ever happened.
It's always a matter of either a playable character becoming temporarily hostile or in some cases like Delthea or Ravinia, we already know well in advance that they are not themselves and not responsible for their actions.

Frankly, I think even considering Queen Syvil an exception to this is a stretch, since so far we've never came to blows with her. Her villainy has so far been purely an off-screen affair.

Using mind control to conveniently remove all the baggage of a card-carrying (and virtually naked) villainess just as they are joining the heroes is very much an IS maneuver.

Mind control females, but male Hardin it's fine to do that with. And don't anyone try to tell me it was more nuanced than that and Hardin's insecurities were played on. That only works for actual characters with actual screentime. It was just plain mind control.

Saint Rubenio · January 14

7 minutes ago, Jotari said:

I knew it! Minerva is a man!

...Oh dear.

I can't believe Kaga did the first trans character in Fire Emblem. I'm so proud of him.

7 minutes ago, Jotari said:

I have already expressed my interest in this character and questioning of who he is earlier. Never considered Wendell's position on the matter though. Also, may we reassert great portrait.

I recall having a discussion about it but I didn't remember if it was here or in another thread. But yeah, I don't remember anyone bringing up Wendell. Does he just not like the guy? Did he get where he is through nepotism? Was he a Gharnef apologist? We may never know...

We may indeed reassert. It was so cool they didn't even reuse it for anyone else, despite Yodel being far less relevant than a plethora of bossmen with reused portraits.

8 minutes ago, Jotari said:

You mean reviving every major antagonist (shut up Jiol you weren't major) from the last story, making the main antagonist brainwashed and having Marth do all the same things again only with 160% more exposition dumping makes for a bad story!

Crazy, I know. Next I'll tell you Merlinus is a crap character.

8 minutes ago, Jotari said:

Mind control females, but male Hardin it's fine to do that with. And don't anyone try to tell me it was more nuanced than that and Hardin's insecurities were played on. That only works for actual characters with actual screentime. It was just plain mind control.

Yeah... I want to like Hardin, in concept he's great! A great ally of many battles - literally, since he was in the first game - turns out to be the big bad in the sequel? That's a nice concept. Alas...

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

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