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  We're a week behind on instruction, so let's pick up the pace, shall we?   Felix and Ashe, you should already know we're doing axes and flying. Nothing dramatic there, but we're on the cusp of greatness.  Cyril's got a slower start on learning Flying, but he's also got a strength in it so he won't have difficulty catching up.  Especially not when the game's feeding him Perfect results.   : Yeah! I'm doin' it!Gonna need to watch your back, Ashe. He's a'coming for you.  As for Annette, we're working on her Authority. Gotta keep unlocking those Rallies.   Really? We're trying to learn warfare here. Whatever, let's just give the obvious answer.  : Try asking someone who's known him for a long time. : I see.Or you could feed him some weeds and wildflowers. Apparently he's a-okay with that.  Well, if you insist. I'm still going to make you a Dark Mage, whether you like it or not.   I figure when it comes to Catherine, she'd have a massive foaming mug of beer instead of a cup of tea.  No such luck, I'm afraid. She seems to enjoy it, at least.   I think that I should have discussed hair dye tips. Rookie mistake.  See you in a few days.   : Ugh... : We have a rocky road ahead... : You are giving me a headache... In any case, I have managed to finish the work. I don't think that this alone will get Felix into a suit of armor anytime this century. Better focus on that too.  Meanwhile, Ingrid's happened upon a truly powerful tool in her arsenal. Alert Stance is a Wait command like Dedue's personal ability and in this case, it provides +15 Avoid. That's on top of the avoid she's getting as a Peg Knight. Kinda crazy.  Now I don't normally do this, but as I said, someone's got to show off Dark Mage. This is the only use for the Dark Seal that we get from the Death Knight, and you'd think that it'd be better as a result. Heartseeker just inflicts -20 Avoid on enemies you fight at point-blank range, and that's generally not where you want to be fighting as a mage.  Sylvain's profile is going to be the end of this update, and as we'll see, he's a bit of a Renaissance Man when he's not goofing off.  Not as many supports as you might have assumed from doing a whole battle map, but we've got them anyhow. Doing them piecemeal is fine with me.   : Oh, yes. I know it like the hilt of my sword. : With so many valiant knights appearing in this story, I couldn't help but wonder which was your favorite. I really like this one—the one in the middle. The knight who stands in defense of the duke.: Such a wonderful knight—one of my favorites as well.: That makes sense. He's so noble and virtuous. In fact, he kind of reminds me of you.: I...thank you. You remind me of him as well. You are honest, as is he.: Ah, no... I'm nowhere near as great. Maybe someday.I wonder if the knights of legend have pin-up calendars, the way folks are gushing over them. : Maybe if we work hard together, we can both become knights as glorious as the one in this story! : Huh?: Ashe. The legends are exactly that—legends. They're not indicative of real life. The cards we are dealt are what they are. We can work with what we have, but we can't change what's in our hand.: What's that supposed to mean?: I long to serve His Highness as a knight—the sort of knight that legends are written about. But I was born bearing a Crest, and with that comes responsibility. Whether I like it or not, I am the "last hope" of House Galatea. I am the only one who can carry on the family bloodline and restore our lost fortune. To do that means setting aside my own dreams and ambitions.: You still have the right to pursue your dreams.It's easy to say that, but if you've been raised on the idea that you have to support the family, it's hard to see breaking away as anything but a massive betrayal. : Ashe... I must ask something of you.: Yes, of course. Anything.: My dream...is aligned with your own. Please, for both of us, promise to see yours through.: That doesn't seem fair.: I'll never be able to see my dream through. Doing so would mean...terrible misfortune for others. So...I am bound by honor not to follow through on my own dream. But...I can help you achieve yours.: Come on, this isn't like you at all. That's a bit of a downer. Let's do something a bit more fun.   : Good work with your training today, Ingrid. Here's something to wipe up the sweat.: Whoa, Mercedes? Hi? Hello. How long have you been, um— Thank you!: You're very welcome! I've been here since you started.: That long? Huh. Well, my apologies for not having noticed you. I get so caught up in training, you know. But why are you here? I can't imagine it was too terribly interesting watching me.: I disagree. I just couldn't help but admire your training technique. I have to say, you were very impressive. I'm nowhere near as graceful as you.: Graceful? I wouldn't say that, but thank you. : Goodness! Me? How so?: You're always so put together—you hold yourself with such poise and have such a keen eye for fashion. I mean, even the handkerchief you handed me smells like...lavender, is it? It's just lovely.: That perfume is a favorite of mine. I'm so glad you like it.: Even the fact that you thought to put perfume on your handkerchief is delightfully foreign to me. I'd never have thought of that.: I'll gladly share some with you. You're welcome to come visit my room whenever you'd like. We can have tea and chat! How does that sound?: Ah, that sounds really nice, yes. Sipping tea and having a chat—it's unlike me, but it sounds lovely. : Oh, no need to trouble yourself and rearrange things for me.: It's no trouble at all! You'll never know if you're the type who enjoys chatting over tea if you never try.: Hehe! All right, then!Ingrid and Mercedes only have a C and B support, and due to that, they also don't have a paired ending. Kind of a shame, because they've got chemistry together, more than a number of the explicitly romantic supports.  Next on the agenda, I'm actually hopping back into Exploration this week, because I need to get Byleth up to speed. Time's a wasting.  You're entirely at the whim of the RNG on whether these training sessions will pay off. Frustrating as heck.  Oh, also this.  : At the same time, you look like someone who was born to fight. I bet we'd get along. I'm also good-looking and born to fight, heh! Need any help with your class?As compelling an argument as any. : Feel free to call on me when a fight's brewing. Thunderbrand and I will be there when you need us. Seeing as Felix is going in other, weirder directions, it'll be nice to have a more traditional Swordmaster on speed dial.  So Catherine's pretty darn great, on account of the fact that she gets leveled up using Swordmaster growths. That means 60% Str and 75% Spd. Best part: unlike prepromotes in other games, she's on a level par with everyone else, so no reduced exp gains.  Plus, hey, free Hero's Relic. Combine that with Swordfaire (+5 Damage with swords) and Sword Crit +10, and she comes straight out of the box with just about everything sword-related you could ask for. Her personal ability is like Felix's, only taken in a different direction. If she isn't running a Battalion, she takes -5 Damage. Swordmasters are fairly squishy, so that's a welcome bonus.  Here's Felix for comparison. Garreg Mach staff members are meant to be fill-ins for if characters of the same role don't turn out, but you know what, no rule says we can't run them both at once.  Use my remaining free time to get everyone's motivation back up, and it's time for training to resume.  Don't stare at me like that. It was the thread's idea.  One thing you can do during tutoring is you can peek ahead and see what the requirements are for class certifications and whether your students have met it. As we can see, Sylvain has a lot of work left to do and only...16 more chapters left to do it in.  Yeah, I think we can make it in that timeframe.  So alright, I lied when I said that Catherine had it all. What she does not have is skill proficiencies, aside from swords and fists. She's a Swordmaster and that's where she'd like to stay.  Well, I say nuts to that. Felix is going towards the Hero/Knight classes so someone has to show off Assassin. It's only a C rank to get Bows, so how long would THAT take?  Okay, slightly daunting, but she starts with an A in Swords so it's not like she has anything else to worry about.  I guess there's a joke here, but I already made it. Sylvain can do anything.  And here we go with some more of the B-ranks.  : You fight like a mercenary, not a knight. You hunger for victory, pure and simple. You may not be aware of it yourself, but I see it.: Should I take that as a compliment?: Indeed. Knights ought to have some hunger. I've always thought so. They depend too much on their swords. Only when they're wrested away do knights consider their hands and feet as weapons. That's not how it was for warriors of old. They weren't limited by their tools.I know some games where your kick is deadlier than your weapons. Hey there, Dark Messiah of Might and Magic. : Victory is what matters, not the method of achieving it. That's the attitude to adopt. I detect that in your style. It is plain to see.: That doesn't seem like praise...: You may take it however you like. I believe the difference between us lies within that hunger. But where does it come from? From the start, I was aiming to win, yet I couldn't defeat you. Then I remembered something you said before...: About your aspirations?: Indeed. : So, tell me. What was the reason? Why were you driven to become so strong?: To survive.: That's a mercenary's answer, to be sure. So that is the source of your hunger. I suppose I must find my own.: I'll help you.: Ah, if we're to get along, I think not. I'll be content if you continue to train with me. Like I said before, it's just about putting dinner on the table. You don't need much more reason than that. Next, Ashe.  : Thief?: You know, the book thief we encountered in town. I went after him, and I did manage to catch up, but...: He escaped?: Oh, no, I captured him easily. I'm pretty quick on my feet, you know! But I decided not to make him pay for the book. My pockets were pretty empty after that incident, if you want to know the truth. : He said he thought it would fetch a good price, and that he really needed the money. He had a sick kid, and couldn't pay for medicine.: He didn't look old enough to have children.: Maybe you're right. But if he really did have a sick child, that would be a matter of life and death. A little money is nothing compared to that. I'd rather believe a lie than risk someone's life if I'm wrong.That's the exact kind of mindset that grifters take advantage of, but go on. : And to be completely honest, there was a time when I wasn't so different from him.: You were a thief?: It was a long time ago, and I've put all that behind me now, but yes. I was. My parents died of illness, so I had to provide for my little brother and sister. : So I turned to thieving. From people on the streets. From shops. Even from soldiers. I knew it was wrong, but seeing my brother and sister's smiling faces made me too happy to stop.: I can't imagine what that must have been like.: I really regret that part of my life. I was stupid. But shortly after I turned nine, I crept into a local noble's mansion, aiming to steal whatever I could get my hands on. The noble had all sorts of valuables, but what really caught my eye was a book with a fancy cover. That book was Loog and the Maiden of Wind. The knight in the illustrations was so impressive, I just couldn't tear my eyes away.: You stole it because you liked the cover?: Well, that was part of it. But certain books are also really valuable, you know. : And that noble was none other than Lonato. But Lonato was incredibly kind. Without asking any questions, he gave me the book—and money too. When I told him I couldn't read, he invited me into his mansion, along with my brother and sister. He taught me how to read, personally. So with the thief I caught in town, I was trying to do the same thing. To be like Lonato. I want to make up for the bad things I've done. To leave this world better than I found it. That's why, even if it wasn't easy on my pockets, I'm proud to say I helped him.: Are you sure you did the right thing?: I know what you're trying to say. My contribution probably won't change much. And it's not like I have the money to help everyone who's suffering from poverty. Even so—I can't bear to stand by and do nothing. What else could I have done, Professor?I'm generally with Ashe on this one. Folks asking for money might just be scamming, but whatever. It's not going to break the bank to give some cash. Call me naive too, I guess. Well, if that's everyone, I'd say we can--  Dangit. : You're always nosing around places, aren't ya, Professor? Can be real hard to find ya sometimes!: Is something the matter?: Well, yeah, I wouldn't have been running all over the place looking for you if stuff was normal. Do you remember how Lady Rhea asked you to come to the office this evening? Well, she told me that I should come to let ya know that today's a bad day for doing that, and you should go and see her tomorrow instead. That's pretty much everything I needed to say, I think... Oh! Except to ask you if you've seen Seteth around anywhere.: I haven't, sorry. : Want to look for him together?: No, it's all right, thanks. But if ya see him, then please find me, and tell me where ya saw him, OK? Because then I'll know where he is and I can tell him. I'll be in the stables if ya need me. Gotta put out the fodder before it's the next kid's shift. Don't want her thinking I left my work for her to do.So Rhea frequently uses kids for groundskeeping work? : Oh! But if I'm not in the stables, and ya need to find me, I'll be at the forest up north 'cause there's a buncha logs lying around up there. I figure I oughta chop 'em up or else someone might trip on a log, or we might run out of firewood. And if I chop, then it'll save other people time. If it looks like I'm done there, then the corridors need to be sweeped, so if ya see Seteth and ya need to find me, then I might be there...: Can I help you with anything?: Nope. This is my job. I'm not giving it to anyone else, because it's mine and I'm gonna do it. : I don't know why, but Lady Rhea sure does seem to like ya. She's always worried about what ya might be doing or not doing...: Is that so?: Oh yeah. Not that's it's any of my business. Anyways, Lady Rhea asked me to do some jobs, so I'm doing 'em all. Even some she didn't ask for, but I know need doing, so I'm doing 'em. End of story. And remember, if you see Seteth around, come find me and tell me where you saw him, yeah?: Seems like it'll be tough to find you... : I don't wanna waste your time, Professor, so if ya see Seteth, how about ya tell him I was looking for him and then tell him all the places I'll be. Then he can spend his time looking for me instead of you. Yeah! That sounds like a good plan. A real good plan. Let's do that! See ya later, Professor. Well, at least he's getting exercise. Extras  Sylvain Jose Gautier - Laid-back womanizer with a massive well of bitterness hiding behind his clownish exterior. Is a jerk, but has a few surprisingly valid opinions. Doesn't mean I like him, but hey, at least he's not all bad. Starting Weapon: Lances Personal Skill: Philanderer (If female ally is adjacent, take 2 less damage and deal 2 more) Crest: Gautier, Minor (40%, add +5 damage to Combat Arts) Skills - Strong (Lances, Axes, Riding), Weak (Bows), Budding (Reason, teaches Black Magic Avo +20) Stats - Max and Growths: pre:HP: 27-98 (55%) Str: 9-65 (45%) Lck: 6-49 (35%) Mag: 5-42 (30%) Def: 6-56 (40%) Dex: 5-48 (35%) Res: 2-38 (25%) Spd: 8-70 (50%) Cha: 7-57 (40%) Combat Arts: Monster Piercer (Lances C+), Swift Strikes (Lances A), Spike (Axes C+), Lightning Axe (Axes A) Reason: Fire (D), Bolganone (C), Sagittae (B), Ragnarok (A) Faith: Heal (D), Nosferatu (D+), Physic (C), Seraphim (B) Analysis: It's honestly just ludicrous to list off the many talents that Sylvain has. With a fleshed-out spell list, very strong combat arts and potential for both physical and magical performance, it feels like he's got just about everything he could possibly need to succeed. His growths are a bit coin-flippy, but class growths will help for that, and he admittedly is weak in Authority, but otherwise, if you need a mounted front-liner or a spellcaster/backup healer, you can put him down either path. Or heck, as I showed with Dark Knight, you can eventually put him into a class that does both at once. The icing on the cake though, and the thing we'll be seeing in future playthroughs, is that Sylvain is, bar none, the easiest character to recruit in the entire game. The reason why is easy to guess, but if you don't know, I guarantee it'll be hilarious when we get there. Regardless, that means that on harder difficulties, you can have a bonus party member almost right out of the gate, and that makes a gigantic difference since Maddening especially doesn't hold its punches. Just that fact alone elevates him several points in my estimation.
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Mar 5, 2023 16:21
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Another big thing you can do with Sylvain is play on the fact that he's the only Lion with an axe strength besides Dedue. Dedue is strongly slanted towards brawler or armor knight, and has a weakness in flying where Sylvain doesn't. Wyvern lords are infamously good in Houses, and Sylvain is the most natural fit for the job among the Blue Lions, barring maybe Ingrid. Personally? I like running him as a Warmaster with a pair of aura knuckles in the pocket to prey on high-def low-res enemies.
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Mar 6, 2023 01:37
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Ah good ol’ Sylvain. Helped me so much on my first play through (Black Eagles). Mostly cause the BE need more frontline fighters cause the house has 3 mages and an archer. (Also I think Bernie and Ferdinand are the only ones with a riding strength? So also a plus?)
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Mar 6, 2023 23:39
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Cythereal posted:Another big thing you can do with Sylvain is play on the fact that he's the only Lion with an axe strength besides Dedue. Dedue is strongly slanted towards brawler or armor knight, and has a weakness in flying where Sylvain doesn't. Wyvern lords are infamously good in Houses, and Sylvain is the most natural fit for the job among the Blue Lions, barring maybe Ingrid. Ashe and Annette also have strengths in axes. Sylvain is the best suited to Wyvern Flyer but Ashe is a good fit for it too if you ignore the game pushing him towards bows. And having flier movement makes him very suited to his natural lockpicking.
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Mar 7, 2023 22:54
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So, long story short, I haven't been really enjoying the workload that this game requires for the amount of entertainment value that it provides. FE: Three Houses is a longwinded game, far too much for its own good, and a lot of it is super, SUPER boring. It's competent writing, certainly, but the characters don't have enough to them to be compelling, while also having far too sympathetic motives for their quirks to be enjoyable without being a massive jerk. So...faced with the possibility of having to go through several more walls of text that I have to take 100% seriously, I reckon that it's best to just close this thread and move on to something that I can actually enjoy. Sorry to anyone who was following along.
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Mar 15, 2023 18:16
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