I'm halfway through Path of Radiance. Is there anything I should know for Radiant Dawn? (Should I break the "blind" run and look at character guides?)

[swoon]

I'm about halfway through Path of Radiance on Hard mode (international) and have begun mentally prepping myself for Radiant Dawn, probably Normal mode.

 

Is there anything I should know for this game? I'm aware it has quite the reputation for being among the most difficult, and a striking critique I hear about it is it's infamously unbalanced cast - although I don't know how overblown or true this sentiment is.

 

Is it even worth doing a pure blind run of this game or is it perfectly justifiable to look up the optimal characters and chapter guides? I somewhat broke the blind rule for my Binding Blade run after finding out it does that multiple endings shtick and even did it for pinpointing the stronger characters - although this proved unnecessary as there are obviously no Hard mode bonuses on Normal mode and my ending cast was still mostly waifu > meta.

 

Games I've beaten: Awakening (Lunatic; but I also lowmanned), Fates (All paths; Normal), Echoes (Hard), Three Houses (All Routes; Hard), Blazing Blade (Normal), Binding Blade (Normal)

Edited September 14, 2023 by swoon

[lenticular]

If you like going into games knowing nothing about them, then it's absolutely 100% viable to do so in Radiant Dawn. There certainly are a few things that you can optimise if you know about them in advance, but they're mostly fairly minor. You aren't going to make the game ridiculously hard for yourself or miss a big ending just by not knowing stuff.

But at the same time, if you prefer to know about stuff in advance, I also don't think you're going to ruin the game for yourself either in terms of story or in terms of challenge. So, ultimately, it's up to you. Play the way you prefer to play.

If you do want to look stuff up, here are a few basic details that are probably relevant.

Spoiler

• It's possible to transfer data from Path of Radiance to Radiant Dawn (or at least, it's potentially possible; whether you can actually do so will depend on the exact setup you're using to play the games). Doing so can give a few bonuses to your characters. There's a good explanation of the mechanics on Serenes Forest.
• Contrary to what I said above, there is some missable stuff with weird requirements... but it's only available from your second playthrough onwards. So you don't actually need to know about it for your first time through. But if you decide you want to play a second time, it's worth looking some of it up.
• The character imbalance is real. Want to recruit a tier 1/level 9 character one chapter, and a tier 3/level 20 character only two chapters later? Now you can! Though it's not as bad as it sounds, since character availability is also weird, which balances things out somewhat. It is still pretty bad, though. But that said, it's generally pretty obvious who is good and who is not, there aren't really any traps you can fall into with character selection, and pretty much all characters are usable if you really want to (though some will definitely take more effort than others).
• There is one character recruitment (Stefan) that you will probably miss if you don't know it in advance or look it up. You're not missing out on that much if you don't get him, but if you like to obsessively recruit everyone, then you should definitely look it up.

 

[swoon]

43 minutes ago, lenticular said:

If you like going into games knowing nothing about them, then it's absolutely 100% viable to do so in Radiant Dawn. There certainly are a few things that you can optimise if you know about them in advance, but they're mostly fairly minor. You aren't going to make the game ridiculously hard for yourself or miss a big ending just by not knowing stuff.

But at the same time, if you prefer to know about stuff in advance, I also don't think you're going to ruin the game for yourself either in terms of story or in terms of challenge. So, ultimately, it's up to you. Play the way you prefer to play.

If you do want to look stuff up, here are a few basic details that are probably relevant.

So on Normal mode it's not this super demanding unforgiving installment that can softlock you for playing "wrong"?

 

43 minutes ago, lenticular said:

  Hide contents

• The character imbalance is real. Want to recruit a tier 1/level 9 character one chapter, and a tier 3/level 20 character only two chapters later? Now you can! Though it's not as bad as it sounds, since character availability is also weird, which balances things out somewhat. It is still pretty bad, though. But that said, it's generally pretty obvious who is good and who is not, there aren't really any traps you can fall into with character selection, and pretty much all characters are usable if you really want to (though some will definitely take more effort than others).

Forgive me for asking but, in what ways can you tell if a unit is bad? One sentiment I heard is looking at their bases; as it'll tell you "all you need to know". Or something

[lenticular]

11 minutes ago, swoon said:

So on Normal mode it's not this super demanding unforgiving installment that can softlock you for playing "wrong"?

Definitely not. I can't think of any way you could softlock yourself in RD. It might be possible, but I can't think of any way. One of the things that it's actually very good at is giving you a steady stream of new battle-ready units.

13 minutes ago, swoon said:

Forgive me for asking but, in what ways can you tell if a unit is bad? One sentiment I heard is looking at their bases; as it'll tell you "all you need to know". Or something

Look at the bases, or look at the level, or just see how they perform in battle. If they're lower level than the rest of your army and are only doing 3 damage on every hit against even the weakest enemies, then they're bad.

[Jotari]

Radiant Dawn normal mode is perfectly fine to do blind. The cast imbalance, while not inaccurate, doesn't usually give the full context. The multiple army splits means you will be using all of it's incredibly huge cast regardless of who is good and who is bad. And if you're really struggling, the game provides mid chapter battle saves. The only specific advice I'll give now is that you should A support Soren and Ike in Path of Radiance if you want to view a scene in Radiant Dawn that is otherwise unavailable...course you could just look it up on youtube.

1 hour ago, swoon said:

So on Normal mode it's not this super demanding unforgiving installment that can softlock you for playing "wrong"?

 

Forgive me for asking but, in what ways can you tell if a unit is bad? One sentiment I heard is looking at their bases; as it'll tell you "all you need to know". Or something

Because the level cap is so high in Radiant Dawn, if you dump a tonne of exp into any specific unit they will end up okay. The bad units are really bad because their bases are really bad. In other words, you won't shoot yourself in the foot by investing in any bad units. The bad units are bad from the get go.

Edited September 14, 2023 by Jotari

[Shadow Mir]

Radiant Dawn has some doozies of chapters. For example, a level where your only usable unit is a mage. Also of note, availability is really wonky.

[Shanty Pete's 1st Mate]

It's totally fine to play this game blind, at least on Easy (JP Normal) or Normal (JP Hard) modes. I would just say, not to start on Hard (JP Maniac) mode.

Radiant Dawn is different from a lot of games, in that the army you're controlling isn't always the same. As a result, once you get a certain character, you can't count on being able to use them in every subsequent chapter. Sometimes, this makes "project" units mire difficult to raise up. That said, the game almost always gives you one or more overpowered units for a given time in the game. As a result, even if an "investment unit" turns out bad, it won't be a softlock. Because you've still got other, stronger units to use. Don't be afraid of making use of the higher-leveled units in your army.

If there's anything I would suggest "looking up", it's the hidden item locations. While most games have them just in the Desert map, RD is different, with a majority of maps having some hidden treasure. Many are just Coins, but others are super-valuable and important tools that can make a difference. Your thieves are best at finding them (but it's not 100%), but otherwise, just know that better Biorhythm will improve your odds, too.

[vercio]

15 hours ago, swoon said:

Is it even worth doing a pure blind run of this game or is it perfectly justifiable to look up the optimal characters and chapter guides? I somewhat broke the blind rule for my Binding Blade run after finding out it does that multiple endings shtick and even did it for pinpointing the stronger characters - although this proved unnecessary as there are obviously no Hard mode bonuses on Normal mode and my ending cast was still mostly waifu > meta.

Go blind first. It's going to be hard, then you'll see what you missed. The only thing I would suggest is to just look out for the Forest's Hidden Treasure Map guide which will help you in getting items that can ease your life, especially if you go completely blind. In my very first run I went blind without it and missing some of those items really can help in certain chapters throughout your run.

 

15 hours ago, swoon said:

Is there anything I should know for this game? I'm aware it has quite the reputation for being among the most difficult, and a striking critique I hear about it is it's infamously unbalanced cast - although I don't know how overblown or true this sentiment is.

 

Just consider that, yes, the unbalance is real but you can compensate with some EXP exploits like some skills and bEXP, which you're already familiar with since you're playing PoR. So you can always use your favorites, provided the availability for that given chapter. Do not spoil yourself with some info with that, as you'll lose most of the first time fun. 

 

Also, be aware of the ledge mechanic which is there and that can ruin your playthrough. Go with the flow and you'll be okay.

[lenticular]

13 hours ago, Jotari said:

The only specific advice I'll give now is that you should A support Soren and Ike in Path of Radiance if you want to view a scene in Radiant Dawn that is otherwise unavailable

Doesn't that also require being on a second (or subsequent) play through of RD? Or am I misremembering? Though I suppose that it is possibly relevant to the OP if they decide they want to play RD multiple times but PoR only once.

[Jotari]

3 hours ago, lenticular said:

Doesn't that also require being on a second (or subsequent) play through of RD? Or am I misremembering? Though I suppose that it is possibly relevant to the OP if they decide they want to play RD multiple times but PoR only once.

I don't think so. There is certainly second play through content, but I can't see any reason they'd put that conversation in that category. There's nothing particularly revealing about it.

[Xander]

Radiant Dawn has a reputation for being among the most difficult? I'm gonna have to stop you there. This game is literally impossible to be "soft locked" (especially on Normal Mode if you're considering that) on unless you are literally the worst player in the world, considering you have multiple Godlike Laguz Kings and Gems handed to you in the final part of the game. If anything, the difficulty is in the learning curve on Hard Mode as your experience is halved and the weapon triangle is axed.

[Shadow Mir]

On 9/14/2023 at 3:45 PM, vercio said:

Also, be aware of the ledge mechanic which is there and that can ruin your playthrough. Go with the flow and you'll be okay.

Of course, it can be used to their advantage. 

29 minutes ago, Xander said:

Radiant Dawn has a reputation for being among the most difficult? I'm gonna have to stop you there. This game is literally impossible to be "soft locked" (especially on Normal Mode if you're considering that) on unless you are literally the worst player in the world, considering you have multiple Godlike Laguz Kings and Gems handed to you in the final part of the game. If anything, the difficulty is in the learning curve on Hard Mode as your experience is halved and the weapon triangle is axed.

To be fair, Radiant Dawn does have some dickish chapters. Like 1-9, for example, as without spoilers, your sole unit is a mage... in a game where mages are at their worst. Or worse, 3-6.

[Jotari]

3 hours ago, Xander said:

Radiant Dawn has a reputation for being among the most difficult? I'm gonna have to stop you there. This game is literally impossible to be "soft locked" (especially on Normal Mode if you're considering that) on unless you are literally the worst player in the world, considering you have multiple Godlike Laguz Kings and Gems handed to you in the final part of the game. If anything, the difficulty is in the learning curve on Hard Mode as your experience is halved and the weapon triangle is axed.

Impossible to soft lock and easy aren't really the same thing.

[Original Alear]

I'm amazed ppl are saying radiant dawn is one of the hardest. It's pretty much the only FE I've beaten on the hardest difficulty except maybe FE4 and 5 (which don't really have a hard difficulty). I think hector hard mode is tougher than radiant dawn hard mode. And the last time I was playing it, I was having some trouble on the protect the pope chapter of FE8 on hard mode (though for the rest of that game it was easier than RD). One of the easiest things is that you can just use the resources you're given on almost any chapter and make it through fine. I do think that playing blind could make it a little more difficult just because of

 

part 3 dawn brigade chapters. Especially if you're kind of messing around and lose Zihark and Jill after using them a lot or something.

Edited September 16, 2023 by Original Alear

[Jotari]

52 minutes ago, Original Alear said:

I'm amazed ppl are saying radiant dawn is one of the hardest. It's pretty much the only FE I've beaten on the hardest difficulty except maybe FE4 and 5 (which don't really have a hard difficulty). I think hector hard mode is tougher than radiant dawn hard mode. And the last time I was playing it, I was having some trouble on the protect the pope chapter of FE8 on hard mode (though for the rest of that game it was easier than RD). One of the easiest things is that you can just use the resources you're given on almost any chapter and make it through fine. I do think that playing blind could make it a little more difficult just because of

  Hide contents

part 3 dawn brigade chapters. Especially if you're kind of messing around and lose Zihark and Jill after using them a lot or something.

Only part of Hector Hard mode I remember being particularly challenging was Genesis. Screw that chapter in particular.

[Shadow Mir]

17 minutes ago, Jotari said:

Only part of Hector Hard mode I remember being particularly challenging was Genesis. Screw that chapter in particular.

Not even Battle Before Dawn? Wow. I see a ton of complaints on that one HHM wise.

[Jotari]

35 minutes ago, Shadow Mir said:

Not even Battle Before Dawn? Wow. I see a ton of complaints on that one HHM wise.

Fog of war is never fun, but you should have an army by that point strong enough to deal with the enemies, so long as Jaffar's AI doesn't get himself killed, but the chances of that happening aren't really that high. Most failure will probably result into forgetting what Ursula's range is and accidentally putting a squishy character too near her.

[Shadow Mir]

9 hours ago, Jotari said:

Fog of war is never fun, but you should have an army by that point strong enough to deal with the enemies, so long as Jaffar's AI doesn't get himself killed, but the chances of that happening aren't really that high. Most failure will probably result into forgetting what Ursula's range is and accidentally putting a squishy character too near her.

It ain't my units I'm concerned about there. It's Zephiel. He's super fragile. Oh, and the fact you start super far away from him.

Edited September 16, 2023 by Shadow Mir

[Jotari]

1 hour ago, Shadow Mir said:

It ain't my units I'm concerned about there. It's Zephiel. He's super fragile. Oh, and the fact you start super far away from him.

No, getting to Zephiel in time isn't much of an issue. Sure you start far away, but Jaffar is going to agro the enemies.

[Original Alear]

I haven't even beaten hector hard mode. I don't think I've even started it.

[swoon]

On 9/15/2023 at 3:32 PM, Xander said:

Radiant Dawn has a reputation for being among the most difficult? I'm gonna have to stop you there. This game is literally impossible to be "soft locked" (especially on Normal Mode if you're considering that) on unless you are literally the worst player in the world, considering you have multiple Godlike Laguz Kings and Gems handed to you in the final part of the game. If anything, the difficulty is in the learning curve on Hard Mode as your experience is halved and the weapon triangle is axed.

Listen bud. It's the reputation I've seen it garner on Reddit, GameFAQs, damn near everywhere I see Fire Emblem discussed. You cannot blame me (someone who has YET to play it) for being wary of it. Gosh damn dude.

[swoon]

On 9/15/2023 at 8:38 PM, Original Alear said:

I'm amazed ppl are saying radiant dawn is one of the hardest. It's pretty much the only FE I've beaten on the hardest difficulty except maybe FE4 and 5 (which don't really have a hard difficulty). I think hector hard mode is tougher than radiant dawn hard mode. And the last time I was playing it, I was having some trouble on the protect the pope chapter of FE8 on hard mode (though for the rest of that game it was easier than RD). One of the easiest things is that you can just use the resources you're given on almost any chapter and make it through fine. I do think that playing blind could make it a little more difficult just because of

  Reveal hidden contents

part 3 dawn brigade chapters. Especially if you're kind of messing around and lose Zihark and Jill after using them a lot or something.

Again, can't blame me for thinking that when I know nothing about it and that's just the popular opinion of it. Idek if this added anything of note to the convo

[Eltosian Kadath]

10 minutes ago, swoon said:

Listen bud. It's the reputation I've seen it garner on Reddit, GameFAQs, damn near everywhere I see Fire Emblem discussed. You cannot blame me (someone who has YET to play it) for being wary of it. Gosh damn dude.

It is a bit deceptive, as it got its hard reputation thanks to the difficulty setting getting mistranslated. The original Path of Radiance cut out Maniac mode and added an Easy mode just for the English release, but when they released Radiant Dawn they didn't change the difficulty at all, but used the naming scheme of Path of Radiance,  so Japanese Normal got labeled Easy in English, Japanese Hard got labeled Normal in English, and Japanese Maniac got labeled Hard in English.

[Vicious Sal]

1 hour ago, Eltosian Kadath said:

It is a bit deceptive, as it got its hard reputation thanks to the difficulty setting getting mistranslated. The original Path of Radiance cut out Maniac mode and added an Easy mode just for the English release, but when they released Radiant Dawn they didn't change the difficulty at all, but used the naming scheme of Path of Radiance,  so Japanese Normal got labeled Easy in English, Japanese Hard got labeled Normal in English, and Japanese Maniac got labeled Hard in English.

https://youtu.be/FYng3E6kCd4?si=nHerqKzymNmI0VDa

 

Not actually a mistranslation! 😉

[Eltosian Kadath]

22 minutes ago, Vicious Sal said:

https://youtu.be/FYng3E6kCd4?si=nHerqKzymNmI0VDa

 

Not actually a mistranslation! 😉

The video does skip over the obvious reason that it might be mistranslated, that they tried to standardize the naming of the difficulty from Path of Radiance, the same way they standardized the names of characters, and didn't account for the ways Path of Radiance changed the difficulties in the international release, which is reinforced by them failing to account for it in the the data transfer features. Plus, a lot of the international changes were just standardizing Path of Radiance mechanics in Radiant Dawn...