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every stat booster in the game should go to annette
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Nov 16, 2022 15:32
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theshim posted:every stat booster in the game should go to annette This.
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Nov 16, 2022 15:55
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My only problem with Annette is that the art for her S-rank scene is loving horrifying.
Cythereal fucked around with this message at 16:01 on Nov 16, 2022 |
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Nov 16, 2022 15:56
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Cythereal posted:My only problem with Annette is that the art for her S-rank scene is loving horrifying. The choice of an endgame partner is a personal one and shouldn't be solely based on whatever the CG artists were smoking that particular day. As it so happens, I plan on showing all those scenes off, so we'll get to see them in their varying levels of quality. That's something to look forward to way, way, WAY down the line.
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Nov 16, 2022 16:11
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There's a bunch of S-support portraits that look off. I assume they were all rush jobs.
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Nov 16, 2022 16:11
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Cythereal posted:My only problem with Annette is that the art for her S-rank scene is loving horrifying. Isn't that all of them?
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Nov 16, 2022 16:18
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FE16 should've made art for each individual paired ending, not just which character the player wants to marry.
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Nov 16, 2022 16:22
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Delphisage posted:FE16 should've made art for each individual paired ending, not just which character the player wants to marry. the difference between the amount of work required for 'a picture of each character with a pink filter' and 'a picture of two characters for every possible combination of two characters' is so large that i can't really come up with a useful comparison to demonstrate how impractical such a thing would be. it's not like there aren't millions of fans who will draw their favourite characters smooching anyway
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Nov 17, 2022 01:04
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ungulateman posted:the difference between the amount of work required for 'a picture of each character with a pink filter' and 'a picture of two characters for every possible combination of two characters' is so large that i can't really come up with a useful comparison to demonstrate how impractical such a thing would be. So that'd make My Units not only more profitable, but more economical. I hate my favorite franchise.
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Nov 17, 2022 01:42
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It's just normal mode so I think we're fine doing something dumb with the stat boosters. Not sure if I want them all to go to Annette or Dedue though.
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Nov 17, 2022 03:43
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ungulateman posted:the difference between the amount of work required for 'a picture of each character with a pink filter' and 'a picture of two characters for every possible combination of two characters' is so large that i can't really come up with a useful comparison to demonstrate how impractical such a thing would be. An order of magnitude. Say we limit ourselves to just 4 possible endpairs for characters. Say you have 30 total characters. Even with overlap, that's well over doubling or tripling your efforts, depending on how efficiently everyone got paired away. Add a My Unit in, even if they only have 4 selections, if they have even just a male and female that's already 8 more choices. If it's someone who can pair with ANYONE that's 60. It's a lot of additional work.
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Nov 17, 2022 04:20
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Delphisage posted:I hate my favorite franchise. that would explain why you post the way you do 
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Nov 17, 2022 04:33
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Chapter 4: The Goddess's Rite of Rebirth Elementary Deduction  Actually, that's giving this chapter too much credit. More like preschool deduction.  Oh, she's behind us now.  : A Hero's Relic... : Do you know something?: However could I know something? Still, it is heavy on my mind. The stone within the sword... A glow of red... Hm? Oh, it is nothing.I have to wonder if Sothis is really there or we just think she's there. Considering that we never get out of Byleth's head, we'll never know for certain.  "Discretion"? Dimitri, we were all in the same room. Folks are going to know why I'm snooping. Whatever. Might as well get started with this.   : As I see it, our best option is to explore every inch of the monastery. We should also speak to everyone here. Let's plan to compare notes once you've got a lead. Yup, yet another quest where we go around talking to people. Is there any other kind in this monastery?  : I hear you have fought alongside Catherine. I would wager that her power exceeded your expectations. Had you the chance to witness her Relic? Thunderbrand, glowing red... That glow is a sure sign that her blood contains a Crest that harmonizes with that Hero's Relic. : People seem to think that all the Knights of Seiros are equal, but that isn't quite so. There are many distinguishing ranks within the order. For example, there are squires, who are training to become knights, as well as full knights, like myself. Oh, and then we have the holy knights, such as Catherine. Those are the knights that can wield a Hero's Relic.We got a pretty good look at the red glow of the Relics when we had that flashback. Same with Sothis, apparently. Of course, back then, Nemesis and the Ten Heroes/Elites/whatever were on the opposite side of the Church of Seiros. Guess the Church figured it'd be a waste to not repurpose the weapons for their own ends.  By the way, I'm going to let you in on an easy secret regarding lost items. Wherever you find them, that's the location where the people who lost them were standing last month. Remember? Dedue was lurking around Dimitri when he was in the Knight's Hall? Well, you might not remember, but I assure you, it happened.   : Hmm... Setting fire to the stables to distract everyone, to cause a commotion. It is the oldest trick in the book, but I cannot shake the thought that our enemies may attempt it... I will stand guard and watch over the stable...and the knights' horses. They are truly magnificent.They're definitely very hairy, these horses. But there's something else on Ferdinand's mind.  Those of you who are familiar with this game should understand why this quest is of the utmost priority. We've got to find someone to give these tea leaves to ASAP.  Hey Gatekeeper! You like tea?  : The Goddess's Rite of Rebirth is this month, right? The monastery gates will be thrown wide open on that day! I'll be working as a guide. I hope I get to guide some lovely ladies around... Heh heh...Guessing that's a no. Well, no worries.  The game's not blowing smoke about this. It's harder to tell from still shots, but basically every part of Garreg Mach has like a half dozen NPCs walking around.  Annette's gotten to C-rank Authority, so I figure that she deserves to have a really neat Battalion. Look at the AoE on that Gambit. Gonna be fun to show off this one.  Speaking of Annette, some members of the thread suggested that she should be the lucky recipient of our stat boosters. Well, they suggested a number of different things actually, but I thought this was the funniest.  Looking pretty good.   : Professor. I hope you're well. As for me, I had a date with a splendid specimen of a knight. But now he's suddenly not in the mood to see me again. I blame all these rumors of a deathly figure showing up in town. Such an uproar must have, beyond reason, drawn his attention away from me. : Hey, did you hear? A knight wielding a scythe is roaming around town at night. If he's a villain, I'd like to get the measure of him.That sounds pretty rad, actually. Why aren't we investigating the Death Knight instead?  Oh look, there's a potential tea lover.  : The Goddess's Rite of Rebirth is the most significant ritual for the Church of Seiros. Could it be that someone has spread these rumors of an assassination plot merely with the intention to hinder the celebration?Bit of an incurious assumption, but it certainly could be a possibility.  Here, have a gift, you brain-free lad.   And with this, we have officially unlocked tea parties. Why handing someone else a tea set gives us the power to make tea is an interesting logistical question.  I'm going to cut ahead again for this, but I can't wait to show this off.  Tea parties are restricted only to people from our house or folks Byleth has started a support chain with. Moreover, they cost an Activity Point to do. However... Music - Teatime Joy  Your eyes aren't deceiving you. There are sparkles coming off of those cookies. I don't know if you remember Fire Emblem Fates (goodness knows I've tried to block most of it), but there was an, erm...feature in that game where you could have one-on-one time with your party members, for no real reason at all except zooming in uncomfortably close to 3D models while surrounded by soft fuzzy visuals. Awesome.  Well, that feature's made a triumphant return, but they're going to make us work for it. First off, we need to select a tea, which we found the same way we find everything in this monastery: by rooting through barrels and crates or just yoinking them straight off the ground. If we guess right, then the next step becomes a little bit easier.  We didn't guess right. Technically there's a plethora of online guides detailing what everyone likes, but I think it's more entertaining on my part to flail around like an idiot.   Silently watching your partner drink is a vital part of the tea ceremony. But if you think that's awkward, then you won't be prepared for the next part:  Trying to find topics of conversation. And no, you're not allowed to default to video games or shows you've watched.  Naturally, this is timed. Hope you've been paying attention to what these characters are like.   Dimitri doesn't care about the food in the dining hall when there's a delicious hedge right behind him.  Successful topics grant support points, and we have three opportunities to do so. If you're good at tea parties, you can build supports in basically no time at all, and that's why they're worth doing even if you're uncomfortable leering at your students.  Oh yeah, and successfully carrying on a conversation with someone makes showers of light fall down, because of course it does.  But wait! If you get all three prompts correct, there's a bonus round!  I...what? How does any of that correspond to what he just said? I guess I'll sigh?  doink sounds intensify Nope. Probably should have sipped my tea in silence. Like a normal person.  : Thank you for the treat. I had a wonderful time. I would love to do this again, if that is acceptable to you.There's another step after this if you can get a Perfect Teatime, but we'll see that in the next update. I feel a bit weirded out by these, I will admit, but I'd be remiss for not showing these off.  Back to the case, it looks like we've found our first clue.  : It would be terrible if the greenhouse was targeted. The plants in here are incredibly valuable. This place contains the heart of Garreg Mach's 995-year history! So many beautiful flowers... Plants that can save or end lives... They are all my precious children. This game's going to be feeding us a bunch of false leads, but it's pretty easy to tell what's not the real target.  The Greenhouse might not be the mark, but it certainly is a fixture of value. A Miracle Bean is a lesser version of a Goddess Icon, granting a mere +1 Luck instead of +4. Actually, all plant-based boosters are +1, but we can theoretically grow an infinite number of these, so they'll still end up being useful.  I don't have any kind of a plan here. I just throw stuff in that looks nice together. At least until we get flower seeds. Flowers are going to be important.  The dorms are pretty dead this month, except for the usual suspect.  : Um... Hi. Right now is, um... Well, right now's OK I guess. If you, um, want to chat...a little.: Didn't I see you in the dining hall last night?: Hey, I get hungry sometimes. Like anyone else! What? Eating at night is bad for you? There's no way that's true. Wait, really?Between snarfing down cake and only eating after hours, Bernadetta's not doing her health any favors.  In fact, the only other person on this side of the campus is Shamir, right next to the training grounds.  : You spend too much time roaming the monastery. If you're looking for something, try less aimless wandering.: I was thinking about the enemy's objective.: Do you even know who the enemy is? You can't know why without knowing who. It's none of my business anyway. I'm just here to take care of enemies who get too close.By your own logic, how will you know who the enemies are before they get too close to you?  Oh boy, this should be enlightening.  : I bet the enemy's using this assassination nonsense just to sneak in and raid the pantry. What do you think, Professor?: I don't think so.: You don't think so? Then dinner's on you if it turns out I was right!Oh, Raph. Well-meaning, but single-minded.  : Is it true you got caught in the fighting? I'm so thankful you made it out alive. I don't know what we would do if we lost you... : Oh, have you been tasked with guarding the monastery as well? Such a stir over a single letter...but I suppose the archbishop's safety is too important to risk.  : They said that no one from Duscur is to be trusted, especially now. Given the circumstances, I cannot fault them.That's just friggin' rude.   Finding lost items provides a Motivation boost of 50. Same with handing people gifts that they like. Unfortunately, for the time being, gift-giving is a little difficult since we don't have a supplier. That will change.  Well, isn't this a crowd.  : There's been talk of an attempt on Rhea's life. We've been order to help the knights patrol. Could that possibly mean that Rhea isn't beloved by everyone the world over?That's a facetious thing to say, and he knows it. I think he might be enjoying this a bit too much.  : I don't know who to blame for all this commotion, but it's frankly a huge inconvenience. With everyone stuck on guard duty, our study and training time has been drastically reduced.: Some things are more important than that.: Yes, yes, I understand that. But it doesn't change the fact that it's a royal pain. : It seems there were forces opposing the church, beyond Lord Lonato... I never thought such forces could exist in this world.: We only know a small part of this world.: I suppose that may be true... : Yes, this is mine. Thank you for returning it.We picked this up when we were over by the stables. I'm right on the cusp of triggering another support, so every bit helps.  To that end, we know that Marianne is an animal lover, so...  Not quite enough, but we'll be dragging her along again for this month, so hopefully we'll fill out the rest along the way.  Oh no.  : I bought the ingredients for making some sweet treats I can't wait to eats! Huh? Oh! I know it looks like I'm fooling around, but I'm not. I'm preparing for potential battle during my patrol by making sure I have plenty of food I can eat while walking. Smart, huh?: Good thinking.: I know! Once they're ready, I promise to share some with you.Is that a threat?  : So sleepy... Too sleepy... I found an interesting book in the library. Got so caught up reading it I forgot to sleep... Interesting discovery though–the coffins of the Four Saints in the sanctum each have their Crests carved into them. I'll need to find a way down there to get a look.So the Saints are enhrined within the monastery, eh? That's an interesting fact. Could be worth looking into there.  : Even this here kitchen contains previous wares. Wine bottles from centuries past and the like. I hear that stuff is fancy, but not very drinkable. I doubt anyone would go to the trouble of stealing it.That's another investigation note, and another place scratched off the list. Raphael owes me dinner.  : What's the matter? You're running all over creation. Ah... You don't believe Lady Rhea is the real target, do you? Even so, the knights have their orders. We can't abandon our duty to guard Lady Rhea. The Goddess's Rite of Rebirth is an important event for the Church of Seiros. They say it's the day when the goddess will return to walk among us. Not too likely, if you ask me. Uh... Best if you keep that to yourself.Yeah, right now, it's more of a float than a walk.  Why does the Head Chef Challenge exist? The entire point of having limited time is that you have to make optimal choices to best use the time you have, and this is literally just "Pick two people and hope they like it."   : Hmm... This isn't my favorite, but it's rude not to finish what's on my plate. I really don't know what I was expecting.  : Did you encounter any danger? : No, but do not concern yourself for my safety. I am very much stronger than I appear. ...Sure.   I want to emphasize, our main mission is to run around, gather stuff, and come back, and within that, we got a side mission where we had to run around, gather a thing, and come back. If it wasn't for the fact that there's a lot of story and characterization to be found here, I'd say that Exploration Mode was jerking us around. Still though, a group of thieves taking up residence in a tower is something to keep in the back of your mind. Bit of foreshadowing, that.  : Professor, while the investigation is important, don't forget to make time for your training. If we have to battle and cannot win, all will be lost. We don't know who our enemy is, so we must be prepared for anything.  : Did you know that, on the last day of the rite, the monastery's open to the general public? It's kinda fun. It makes the place feel like a festival. : No classes on a festival day! I thought I'd get to spend all day relaxing in the company of some lovely ladies, but now this has happened. Hey, Professor, I know there's talk of an assassination attempt, but do you really think they'll do it on the day of the Rite of Rebirth? I feel like security would be looser some other time. Is there some reason why it has to happen on that day?That SOUNDS like Sylvain isn't being serious, but he's bringing up a very good question. What about this particular festival makes it an ideal time for an infiltration? Let's poke around a bit more and see what we can find.  : Fighting to stop a murdering is my specialness...no, my specialty. I will show my best work! : The monastery holds many treasures. Maybe the enemy is after one of those? Even so, the idea of stealing from the church is just horrible...There's a possibility of that, but just going for treasures seems unlikely.  : Oh. Hey, Professor. I was just reading this letter from my father. Do you know him? He's a pretty big deal in the Empire. He only writes to ask how my training's going, or how many monsters I've killed. Stuff like that.Oy, that's supposed to be a surprise. Put a lid on it.  On the bright side, Spoiler Boy has a new quest for us. We'll be hopping over to the training grounds in just a sec.   : I say treasure, but I do not mean silver and gold and jewels. It mostly contains weapons, artifacts, and the like. Anything that would cause too great a stir should it be stolen? No. The church knows better than to store anything too valuable in such an accessible location.So like I said. Mercedes is a bit off-base with assuming it's treasures they're after.  So then, tourneys! Right after I talk to these two brooding folks.  : You're skilled. Why won't you battle me? Hmph. : Sending an assassin to the monastery, hm? Hopefully it's someone worth crossing blades with.: I hope so too.: It seems we're cut from the same cloth.Dang, it's only four chapters and already they're wearing their gimmicks thin.  So anyway, every month, they'll have a new theme for their tournament, with the chance of cool weapons and accessories if we win. Plus money. Can't go wrong with money. This month's contest is swords, so guess who's doing it. Music - Tempest of Seasons (Rain/Thunder)   This is uh...slightly unbalanced.  There are two preliminaries, a quarterfinal, a semi, and then the final match, all done back to back with damage maintained between. If you're not Felix who can just steamroll other sword fighters, that can build up over time.  Fortunately, the game lets us heal up twice during the tournament to avoid being worn down via attrition. I didn't actually notice this feature in my first playthrough, so I found tournaments more stressful than they should have been.  But this first tourney isn't too bad, and Felix sweeps them with gusto.  A Steel Sword+ is like a regular Steel Sword, but with +2 Mt and 5 extra uses. There's forging in this game, and we can build us some mighty fine weapons with it.  Same as always, it's time for the chapel, then we go upstairs, and yada yada.  : Can you imagine the archbishop being murdered? I prefer not to consider such a gruesome scenario.: Of course not.: Awfully calm, aren't you? I wonder what it takes to rile you up.The eternal question for silent protagonists.  Yes, there are children on the monastery grounds. These are the squires training to become knights. They start so young.  : The goddess's home is in the sky! She lives on a bright and shining star! But in the spring, you can't see that star. That means she can't protect Fódlan. That's why we all celebrate the day when her star returns to the sky! That's the day of the Rite of Rebirth! See, see? I've been studying! I know just about everything!Yeah, I hate to break this to you, kid, but... : About 20 or so years ago there was a big fire in Garreg Mach. On that day, Captain Jeralt went missing. Everyone thought he was dead... It never occurred to me that he might actually have survived. The truly strange part is that, in all those years, he hasn't changed a bit...Faking one's own death to avoid being stuck in service to the Church seems pretty understandable to me.   : In general, students aren't allowed entry. But as you'd expect, that rule just excites their curiosity. Some have even tried sneaking in. Well, at least for this month, that kind of behavior is totally unthinkable. We have a lot more security, what with the Goddess's Rite of Rebirth coming up.Yeah, the tower is a definite no-go, seeing as it's a focal part of the ceremony. Not a chance that someone's going to try sneaking in there.  Suppose we might as well hear some concerns while we're here. Should be amusing.  Dang. That's not even a joke. : I'll let you know if I have any concerns.I like a good pun as much as the next guy, but for pete's sake, Alois, put some effort into it.  Honestly, all of these seem like good qualities, but remember, we're adjusting our answer to the person who's asking the question. : The will to fight for those who can't protect themselves. Leonie's really got this idealized view of mercenaries. Frankly, I'd say the one about managing your finances is the best practical answer.  One of these believers is not like the others.  : I can't stop thinking about Lonato... I'm sorry, Professor. I know this isn't the time, but... I just can't get past it.: Pull yourself together.: Thank you. No matter what happens, I promise you I'll do my part.Oh look, he got past it. : I checked on my brother and sister who were living in Castle Gaspard. Thankfully they're all right. I was worried because they're both so young, but the church in the castle town offered to take them in. That much, at least, is a big relief.Yeah, the political situation in Gaspard must be a bit rough now that the lord's dead and probably most of the local military. I suppose Ashe could inherit, but that still leaves a big question of how he'd be able to run the region while still pursuing his studies.   : Given the circumstances, I requested that he provide me with some candies... Silly of me, really. The timing was improper, and I regret it very much now. Oh, but more importantly, this place is off limits, Professor. It is only open to the public on the day of the Goddess's Rite of Rebirth.Oh, THAT'S what he was going out for. But hold on, what's that last thing you said? : On the day of the rite, the monastery will be open to the public, including the Holy Mausoleum. The Holy Mausoleum is where the tomb of the divine Seiros lies. There she slumbers, eternally. That's...pretty much all that in there. Just an ancient coffin. It's sealed with a powerful magic, to protect against would-be grave robbers.So the Mausoleum will be available on this day when it normally wouldn't be. Finally, an actual lead. But let's check up on a couple of other possibilities first.   We want to pop into the library anyhow because there are a couple of powerful books up here. We are so very, very close.  : There are numerous books in this library that you cannot find anywhere else. But once you are here, you can read them easily enough. I doubt someone would go to the trouble of stealing one. Sometimes Seteth will dispose of books that are deemed inappropriate for the monastery, but that's about it. In a way, I suppose that makes those particular volumes more valuable... Right?I dunno. I looked through these things, and none of the knowledge in them seems especially valuable. Mostly just histories and records. Probably of interest to collectors, but in that case, they could just walk in, snatch the books, and run at any time. : That boy who assists the archbishop... Cyril, I believe? I hear he's originally from a foreign land to the east called Almyra. I know he's still only a child, but I do wonder about his true intentions...Why do the staff at this monastery have to be the worst all the time? Seriously, THIS is what's on the kid's mind.  : Excuse me, Professor? I just wanted to let you know that Lady Rhea is always real concerned with you. She expects great things, I think. Please don't let her down, OK?: Of course not.: I hope you're not just saying that.Which anyone would know if they bothered to actually talk to him. Seriously, cool it, you racist dorks.  Oh well, here's our last bit of evidence.  : Unbelievable. What a terrifying story. However, an assassination attempt on Lady Rhea is doomed to fail. Pardon? You think the goal may be different than simple assassination? Intriguing. I suppose the priceless objects in this room could perhaps draw thieves. However, there's no one but me who could make use of them...I suppose the crest analyzer that's set into the floor would be hard to carry off. Maybe if they sawed in a wide circle.  That would be everything, but we've got a couple of other folks to chat with first.  : You'd best keep your distance. In this nervous state, I might just cut you down.: I dare you to try.: Oh, come on. I'm only kidding!I somehow doubt that you are.  But hey, what's this? : Need something, Professor? I'm on an important mission for Lady Rhea. Until that's done, I can't offer any help. Yup! Starting this chapter, school staff will progressively become available for recruitment as well, though instead of being interested in stats, they're focused on levels. Level 15, in Catherine's case. We'll have a little while before we can get her onboard, short of excessive grinding.  : Hmm... Might you have come looking for me because you were worried about my safety?: The enemy could have other objectives.: I am aware of the possibility. On the day of the ceremony, I am trusting that you will not allow your attention to wander or wane.No guarantees. Now then, back to Dimitri.  Nice! Owl Feathers are actually catch-all gifts. Everyone loves them for some reason.   Moment of truth. Of the choices, it could really only be one thing. : The greenhouse?: Whatever would make you think that? This is no time for games, Professor.Yeah, fine, be a killjoy. : The Holy Mausoleum?: Yes, that is the most likely possibility. We do not know their objective, but there is a good chance that our enemy is planning to target the Holy Mausoleum.Here's the funny thing: you can absolutely blow off this investigation. Just end the Exploration at any time, and the story will continue. If you don't mind missing out on the quest rewards, the only difference is you get a slightly different intro to this month's mission. But you know what, until we can buy gifts en masse, every gift is useful. I wouldn't call this a waste.  We've got 50 points left until the next professor rank, so we might as well close it out.   Each fish is only about 10-30 points, but bait is plentiful. At D+, we get: +1000 Monthly Funds +1 Activity Points Not very exciting. The real fun happens at C rank. But regardless, we've figured out where the intruders will strike and when. The Knights will be busy protecting Rhea during the ceremony, so we're the only ones who can stop them. "If the other houses are also doing guard duty, couldn't we tell them what we're doing?" Shut up. It's all up to us.
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Nov 24, 2022 17:54
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Pretty sure the owl feathers are a reference to Feh, the mobile game's mascot, who is an owl. Also, Alois gets his dad jokes from a dad-a base. (I'll show myself out.)
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Nov 25, 2022 00:10
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Unsure if you're going to mention it but re Catherine recruitment: Support points with Catherine will reduce the level she requires, dropping to 12 at C support, 9 at C+ and 6 and B. With a little work you can get that Catherine B support by this chapter and recruit her for the next mission which is, put mildly, a rather large advantage. Also really good for Catherine herself because she's able to spend more levels in Swordmaster over a lower growth class.
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Nov 25, 2022 00:22
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The tea parties always struck me as such a weird thing to include, especially given what a Vulcan that Byleth tends to be.
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Nov 25, 2022 00:26
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Natural 20 posted:Unsure if you're going to mention it but re Catherine recruitment: Yup, I was going to touch on the relation between supports and recruitment next update when I got Marianne's C support. I'm not going to be aggressively making friends for Normal mode, but it'll be handy when I get into the other difficulties.
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Nov 25, 2022 00:29
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Blastinus posted:Yup, I was going to touch on the relation between supports and recruitment next update when I got Marianne's C support. I'm not going to be aggressively making friends for Normal mode, but it'll be handy when I get into the other difficulties. Cool cool, figured as much, hence the spoiler.
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Nov 25, 2022 00:33
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To be fair, children training to be soldiers is historically accurate. Knights typically started as pages, at the tender age of seven. So feel free to put all the child soldiers you want into your FE fanfiction! People definitely won’t rip you apart for it!
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Nov 25, 2022 04:36
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Natural 20 posted:Unsure if you're going to mention it but re Catherine recruitment:
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Nov 29, 2022 16:56
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Chapter 4: The Goddess's Rite of Rebirth Equestrian Studies  Only two classroom sessions this month, so we better make the most of it. That being said...  Yup. The Chef's Challenge kind of messed us up in that regard. We'll just have to make do with what we're given.  First off, let's keep budding. We're actually just five lessons away from unlocking it, so as long as we get a Perfect...  Nope. : That was good coaching.Yes, but it could have been BETTER.  Similar situation with Felix.  But, being Felix, he actually manages to stick the landing. : It was nothing.Always is.   : A new power that I could use.Felix doesn't actually have the strongest Black Magic repertoire, as we'll see at the end of this update, but with that equipped, he's got a strong chance of obliterating his foes regardless.  So as folks have repeatedly pointed out in the thread, Ashe's Lockpick skill is worlds better when he has mounted movement to chase after locks with. Since we've already filled out his budding talent, we might as well build up some Riding/Flying.  : Oh...sorry.It's a work in progress.   Well, isn't this a serendipitous question. Two guesses about what the right answer is. : Knowing magic will make you a stronger swordsman.: I see. Ingrid also seems to approve, but actually the best answer for her is to tell Felix to shut up and just get back in his seat. Because she's Ingrid.  Absolutely not. Get on the horse, Ashe.  Another saint day, another round of warbling.  But I'll bet you're great at solos.  By a totally bizarre coincidence, Saint Cethleann Day is also Flayn's birthday. Fancy that.  And with our new unlocked feature, we have an alternative to just showering folks in flowers. A weird... uncomfortable alternative. Naturally I'll be doing it anyhow, whether I want to or not.  I can't put my finger on it, but there's something odd about Flayn's character model when seen up close. Maybe it's the fact that her hair is just a couple of drills that appear to be permanently attached to opposite sides of her face.  Unless it's really interesting, I'm not going to bother pointing out which tea characters like. You can probably guess just by how they act. Flayn likes sweet things like candies, so obviously she'll want a sweet tea.  And what does a favorite tea get you? Well, if you screw up once during the conversation phase, you can still get the question at the end. That's it.   What Flayn likes mostly is talking about making friends and having fun. She's kinda stuck at the Monastery, so she makes do with what she has and finds ways to amuse herself.  She's also got a really bad case of square mouth. Tragically uncurable.  Well at least this one has a clearer right answer.  Actually, never mind. I immediately regret everything.   Upon successfully clearing tea time, you have the option to do the usual gifting thing or "observe."  : You look odd today. Are you feeling all right?And by that, of course, they mean leap up on the table and lean right in there. You can also "banter", but that mostly involves just pressing random buttons in order to see random facial expressions.  Entertainment at its finest.  I realize that I should be showing Flayn swaying back and forth, but I think the stills are funnier.  As a reward for our hospitality/voyeurism, both parties get +1 Charm. Can never have too much of that.  : I am a little worried.This is Sky Watch, the third extracurricular activity. Basically just involves hopping on one's flying steed of choice and patrolling the grounds.  Yeah, there's some work to be done.  Im another case of weird timing, Felix got a sword skill that's effective against fliers.  Speak of the devil.  : No, just watching.: Care to train with me? Waving this sword around alone is boring, and I'm tired of crossing swords with worthless opponents. But you seem like a worthy adversary.: You think I'm a worthy adversary?: I don't know for certain, but you seem skilled. I've always been interested in your technique. You learned from the former captain of the Knights of Seiros, and traveled Fódlan fighting as a mercenary. Good sparring partners like you don't grow on trees. : Why are you so focused on becoming stronger?: Why? Hm. I never really thought about that. I learned to thrust a sword before I learned to write my name. Of course, my upbringing wasn't unique. That's how it is for all children in my country. You're no use if you can't swing a sword, however mighty your Crest may be. Faerghus is a land of valor and knighthood, and evidently, all citizens are expected to learn how to fight. It's probably why they're so enthusiastic compared to their contemporaries in other houses. : It was the perfect environment for me. I could live free of stodgy values and virtues. Grow strong so you may live, and live to grow stronger. That's what I was taught.: Do you have any other ambitions?: Why should I? Nothing's as important as the pursuit of strength.: You remind me of myself.: Now I'm intrigued by your fighting style, and by who you really are...What we are is a mercenary. Gotta get stronger to fight harder to get more clients to keep food on the table. Nothing all too mystical about it. : But that's enough idle chatter. Take out your sword. Honestly, Felix's emphasis on getting stronger for strength's sake seems pretty pointless, but I guess that's not too dissimilar from a professional athlete. He wants to be the best of the best, and for that, he has to keep training and competing with others. I suppose that's admirable, but only in the same sense as anyone who works really hard at something. Character-wise, he's still a jerk.  As it turns out, Shamir's training regimen is exactly what this crowd of kiddies needs. Lots of lance and bow lovers in this crowd.  No new skills though. Just a bunch of E+.  But speaking of E+ in bows, I think it's about time we got Felix to focus seriously on his own marksmanship.  I'm going to run out of ways to comment about this.  No, Sylvain isn't nodding off. He's just between animations at the moment.   : I didn't know I could do that...Sylvain could very easily go into the Dark Knight route, mixing mounted combat with black magic. I don't have a plan for him yet though, so let's just see where it goes.  : Looks like I did it!: (praise): Ah, no big deal.Oh, come on. You enjoy excelling and you know it.  Focusing solely on a single skill is a good way to build it up, I'll admit. You get a bonus compared to spreading training out over two skills at once. Let's try that, shall we?  Dedue, eh? Yeah, what is he up to?  : ...Ah. : Did you want something?: Just to look at the flowers.: I see. You can almost hear crickets chirping. But finally... : If you have the time, then please assist me. I am to water the flowers in the greenhouse. Thank you. Only do not water the ones in that corner. : What kind of flowers are those?: They are from Duscur. They require a dry environment. The roots will rot otherwise.: They sound difficult to care for.: That is what makes them worthwhile. ... : I owe you a debt of gratitude. In both the extracurricular activities here at the academy, and on the battlefield... Your presence has been instrumental in the defense of His Highness. You have my sincerest thanks.: I only did what anyone would do.: I see...: ...: Was there something else you wanted?: No, that's all.: Then please, excuse me. He didn't seem to have a hard time with Annette. Maybe Byleth just needs to take more initiative in the conversation.  I'm beginning to think that partnering Ashe and Ingrid together isn't going to accomplish much.   Interesting couple of skills this week. Bolganone is the next tier of fire magic, with half the uses of Fire, 3 more weight, and 5 more might. Not like we're forced to choose though. Remember, you carry all learned spells onto the battlefield, and Mercedes is amassing quite the pile. Hit and Run, meanwhile, is a lance art that adds +20 avoid AND causes the user to take a step back after the fight's over. Good for, well, just what it says on the tin. You can poke a target and step back for someone else to step in and finish the job.  Training battle time. You know the drill.  This is an interesting map for training battles since you're separated into two groups. Fortunately, there's a plentiful number of chokepoints, so the lack of units on either side isn't really a problem.   Plus we're up against soldiers so they're nowhere near as overbearingly quick as the thieves were.  MORE defense? I'm not complaining. It's just getting weird, is all.  Soldiers on this side too. Not a problem in the slightest.  Can't even double a javelin.  Level 10! Very exciting. It's kind of a lousy level, but speed's still fine.  Marianne's a weird choice for a tank, but she's just fast enough that she won't be doubled and she can drain back the damage.  This is a bad example of what I'm talking about. If she HAD been hit, she would have totally drained it back.  Good stuff.  Hmm...well, she's critting better.  Something weird's happening with these guys, by the way. They're all running across the top toward the other group even though the right-side group is closer. I don't understand the impetus behind it, and it's annoying because Dedue and Ingrid can't get experience that way.  Oh well, Byleth gets one instead. That's good enough.  Right on, Mercedes!  And Ashe too, I guess.  Even when he gets jack, he's still getting defense.  Effectiveness bonuses aren't anything to sneeze at. Normally it's x3 to might from effective weapons, but combat arts just make it x2. Regardless, with a Steel Axe, it's probably fatal.  We'll make a Warrior out of her yet.  Okay, softening this guy up for Sylvain...  : I'll prove myself!  Yeah, that works too. Gotta be honest, I wish that everyone would go flying just on basic principle. Having folks just keel over on regular kills is really boring. Maybe crits could launch them off the map instead, just to make them extra special.  Our reward for this fight, aside from money, is this stuff. Not entirely relevant from the get-go, but its use will become apparent.   Ah, here we go. I've been waiting for this.  : ... : Just passing by.: I see. Well, that's why I'm here.: What were you praying for?: Oh, um. Nothing specific. I only call upon the goddess to give thanks, or perhaps to ask for protection. : Do you have a moment to chat?: Um. OK... I'm sensing a pattern this month. : I'm sorry. I don't really know what to say. I'm not very good at talking to people. The truth is, I didn't interact with people too often before I came here.: Why is that?: Oh, um, no particular reason. I'm simply not very good at it. That's just how I am.: Don't worry about it.: Ah! Um. Thank you. I'm sorry. You shouldn't waste your time worrying about me. Please, just ignore me. I, um, have to be going now. Good-bye, Professor! While that seemed less than productive, gaining a support with Marianne will actually make recruiting her a bit easier. The way it works is that for every rank of support with a non-house character, the requirements for recruitment go down. In Marianne's case, we went from needing 10 Magic and C Riding to needing...8 Magic and C Riding. Well, gotta start somewhere. The same principle applies to staff members. If we had a C support with Catherine, her level requirement would go from Level 15 to 12. That's a pretty significant jump.  Imagine my delight.  Yeah, he knows exactly what's happening here.  It does occur to me that we don't have a teacup for ourselves. Maybe the host isn't expected to drink or something.   No surprise from Claude. He's interested in getting to know people, and especially the Professor. Probably so he can manipulate them better? I dunno, he hasn't actually pulled off his supposed schemes.  Not sure if he's joking around or if he's just that shameless though. You could make a reasonable argument for either.  It's kind of a contractual obligation, really.  I hate this mechanic. Needless to say, I flub it again.  Ahhhhh! Square Mouth is spreading!  One last order of business before we close. Dimitri hitting Level 10 means he can try the Intermediate class certifications. With these stat boosts, it seems like it'd be a natural decision to immediately class him in, though the Cavalier class does has a problem: classes don't just provide bonuses to growths, but also penalties, and the Cavalier's penalty can really hurt certain characters. Here's a couple of tables showing where we're at right now:   As you can see, when and where you decide to develop can have a major impact on a character's stat gains. Dimitri's got a solid base speed growth so it wouldn't be an absolute dealbreaker to slot him in, and the gains in other areas might be worth the downside. We also can't dawdle too long in Soldier, even if we want to get the class skill. There's an upgrade to class exp that we can get later, and higher difficulties make enemies harder to kill so people can get more class experience overall, but here on Normal? That's not really an option. Well, there is AN option. We can stick a character out in the middle of an enemy formation with a broken weapon and let them get clobbered for multiple turns, but I'm saying sane options.   Might as well just go for the class and we'll cover Beginner class masteries later. After all, we've got two more routes to do. Extras Felix Hugo Fraldarius - Dimitri's sharp-tongued, antisocial, worst best friend who seems to either treat people with contempt or see them as a worthy adversary. Obsessed with honing his skills and constant training. You could tell him that just about anything would make him stronger and he'd go ahead and do it. Starting Weapon: Swords Personal Skill: Lone Wolf (If no Battalion equipped or if Battalion is at 0 endurance, gain +5 Dmg in combat) Crest: Fraldarius, 40% (+5 Dmg when using a weapon) Skills - Strong (Swords, Bows, Brawling), Weak (Reason, Authority), Budding (Reason, teaches Black Magic Crit +10) Stats - Max and Growths: pre:HP: 26-84 (45%) Str: 10-78 (55%) Lck: 5-55 (40%) Mag: 5-42 (30%) Def: 5-51 (30%) Dex: 6-62 (45%) Res: 3-35 (20%) Spd: 9-77 (55%) Cha: 5-42 (30%) Combat Arts: Sunder (Swords C+), Finesse Blade (Swords A), Heavy Draw (Bows C+), Nimble Combo (Brawling C+) Mystic Blow (Brawling A) Reason: Thunder (D), Thoron (C) Faith: Heal (D), Nosferatu (D+), Recover (C), Restore (B) Analysis: Felix is a physical glass cannon, or at least he's meant to be. Mine is exceeding expectations by a wide margin. Though in all fairness, 30% isn't the worst barrier to growth. He's skilled in a wide variety of weapons, and even if he isn't explicitly strong in lances and axes, the lack of a weakness means he could very well learn those too if he was so inclined. His magic situation is a bit bizarre, I'll admit, but even though it's a very short list, both Thunder and Thoron have crit chances (5 and 10%, respectively), and his budding talent just adds even more on top of it, letting him make up for his limited arsenal with the fact that he'll be multiplying his damage by three a lot. I will say, while on paper, it looks like Felix should never touch a Battalion, there are later game ones that have a damage bonus when leveled that basically leaves his passive attack bonus in the dust while providing defensive boosts besides. Plus that lets him take advantage of Battalion Vantage and potentially get the drop on folks who would otherwise get a free swing at him. The go-to play isn't necessarily to just let Felix be a Lone Wolf forever, but instead to take advantage of his early power boost and then throw him in the command seat later on, which jives pretty well with how his character development is going to go. While Felix likes to aim towards becoming a Swordmaster, He can apply himself to just about any physical-related class imaginable. His only barrier is that he sucks at leading Battalions, but great news! The only class that needs Authority is the Lord class, and that's specially just for the guy in charge, whether or not Felix cares to recognize Dimitri as such. There are hybrid physical classes down the line that can also sling spells around, and he can take good advantage of that. We'll see what that looks like when we get there. Blastinus fucked around with this message at 05:07 on Dec 1, 2022 |
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Dec 1, 2022 04:05
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Blastinus posted:
If you're using a combat art with effective damage, your weapon's Mt is only doubled, rather than tripled. (If your weapon and combat art are effective, it's just tripled.) Not that an effective 22 Mt is anything to sneeze at, though.
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Dec 1, 2022 04:35
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LiefKatano posted:If you're using a combat art with effective damage, your weapon's Mt is only doubled, rather than tripled. (If your weapon and combat art are effective, it's just tripled.) Ah, thank you. My bad on that. I'll make the correction in the update.
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Dec 1, 2022 05:04
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Clearly, the way things are going, Felix wants to end up a tank. I trust you'll do right by him.
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Dec 1, 2022 05:54
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theshim posted:Clearly, the way things are going, Felix wants to end up a tank. I trust you'll do right by him. Are you insinuating that you want me to turn Felix into an armor knight? Because that sounds hilarious and I will do it. Though I think someone else wanted me to go Hero.
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Dec 1, 2022 15:28
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Armorknight Felix would be amazing. So much strength and defense. Besides, being a natural swordmaster eventually means he's gonna be held back in mobility somehow, may as well go all in.
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Dec 1, 2022 16:59
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Weight -3 at Armor C is useful for everyone - especially casters you want able to use high tier magic without getting doubled, or speedy units you want to double with heavy ordnance. Anyone speedy with swords and decent magic become fantastic enemy phase archer repellant later on - usually Manuela ends up doing it in my runs.
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Dec 3, 2022 22:36
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Before I begin today, there's a support I forgot to include last time.: Wow, Ashe. Training again? You're taking this whole knight thing pretty seriously. : If I want to be a great knight, I've got no choice but to put the effort in.: No choice? I think you're making life too difficult. Knights don't have to be perfect. All I'm saying is I've seen some pretty sloppy knights out there.: That's not going to be me. I'm going to be a proud knight—virtuous and gallant!: Virtuous and gallant? Are you kidding me? If you just ride around being virtuous, people will get fed up. They'll boot you out of town.From what I can tell through Google Translate, this is a bit of an oversimplification from the original Japanese. Rather than Sylvain asserting that this is an inevitable result, he's chiding Ashe for thinking that honor and nobility are all that a knight's about, since there are many stories of people shunning knights for being too noble. : It's never wrong to have virtue. Not even if it means being made an outcast.It's the very basic idea, but the English version makes Sylvain seem almost comically cynical.  : Think on this—knights are supposed to protect people and earn their admiration. Isn't that right?: Well, yes. So, what are you saying I should do?: Seize people's hearts!: What do you mean?: You want people to love you? Offer them something they haven't got. Guess what that is? It's you, Ashe. They don't have you! Get out there, buddy. Be valiant. Help people. : Ah, Sylvain! Don't go bothering people! : (off-screen) My name's Sylvain. Let me help you out. Are these going in the warehouse?: Helping out those in need. I guess that's a good start.: (off-screen) No thanks necessary! It's been enough just to be able to talk to you... Well, if you insist, how about we go get some tea? It must be fate that we met like this... I'd like to get to know you.: Great knight, huh? More like a great philanderer. Seems like all he wants to do is flirt with women. There are some supports where Sylvain demonstrates that he has additional traits besides his uncaring attitude and endless flirting. We just have to get there. ---------------------------------- Chapter 4: The Goddess's Rite of Rebirth Assault at the Rite of Rebirth  Time to get to business. As always, the Blue Lions' golden boy has some encouraging words for us before we begin.  : Leave it to me. Professor, Are you in as well? Huh. Is Byleth trying to tell a joke? Maybe these kids really are rubbing off on him. For the record though, it's not a good idea to try a joke with this crowd. They just might take you seriously. : I'm hungry.: Umm... Oh! Well, I'll be sure to whip you up some tasty treats when this is all over!So for our own safety, let's stay focused and serious. : We've narrowed down our objective...kind of. So, let's show everyone that we can carry out our duties better than anyone!: We're counting on you, Professor. : While we are in the Goddess Tower, we are relying on you to secure the locations that are lacking in defense.: May I let you in on something, Professor? My brother can be a bit...callous. He told me that he was concerned about you, and hinted that perhaps you would be better off patrolling a coffin! It's hard to tell sometimes whether Flayn is trolling or just naive. Perhaps a combination of both. : As a professor, you would do well to remember that it is your duty to guide your students down the path of righteousness.: Please excuse us, everyone. We shall see you again after the ceremony has concluded! : All right. Let's stick to the plan, and go hide where we can watch over the entrance to the Holy Mausoleum. If anyone suspicious enters, we'll follow them in and take them down. Got it?Sounds good. For the curious, if you didn't complete Dimitri's quest, the dialogue does differ a bit. If we were lazy posted:
So you see, everything is just fine regardless.  We're not going to actually see us going to the Holy Mausoleum. It's just a loading screen and...  Oh look, intruders.  Our goal is simple: defeat the boss before 25 turns pass. It's a smaller map and it won't take a while to reach the top, but don't be fooled by the seeming simplicity of this map. It certainly looks like it's just a straight line, but there's one rather sizable roadblock in our path.  No, that's not a skeleton with cat ears. It's the Death Knight. All rumors are true. And this guy is just as dreaded as he ought to be, with double digit stats in almost everything and a few incredibly dirty tricks.  Counterattack is the big nasty one. Guaranteed counters from any distance means that we can't cheese him with long-range attacks. Only Gambits won't get us countered, and an AS of 14 means that just about everyone will get doubled if they try to go toe to toe. That being said, we CAN defeat the Death Knight, and there's a reward for us if we do so. We'll want to give it a shot.  By comparison, the actual boss just plain sucks. 1 AS, pathetic defense, and the most basic of dark magic. Getting past the Death Knight is going to be tricky, but once that's accomplished, the "Mysterious Mage" will crumple like tinfoil. And thanks to his Battalion, this guy's actually got a stat in the negatives. Marvelous.  Note the difference in factions here. The mage is aligned with the Western Church while the Death Knight is working for someone called the Flame Emperor. No points for guessing who that is.  Other than that, just a chest on either side, and folks with keys for them. This will be a blitz of a map, which is a nice change of pace from the large hikes we've been doing lately.  Let's go. But carefully now. Don't want to poke the bear too early. : It is as we suspected. The enemy is within.  : I'm on it. Music - Same as usual. When are we getting a new combat theme? Not next chapter, I'll tell you that much. : The enemy is after the casket of Saint Seiros. Do they intend to steal her bones? We must defeat those enemies before they open the casket.: But look closely at the ground... There are contraptions of some sort in place. We'll have to look closely at the enemies' weapons and advance while attacking them from the best positions possible. Dimitri's referring to these floor panels here. There are specific buffs that you gain based on the design of the tiles, but frankly, I'm not going to expect you to memorize them, and I sure as heck won't.  The crucial detail here is that the Death Knight is sitting on a tile that provides +40% evasion, and thanks to an Ability that prevents him from being moved around, we're not getting him off of it. Just another complication to add to the ever-growing stack.   Right, you know the drill. Cheerleaders, assemble!  Big downside to using Stride is that the Seiros Holy Monks are abysmal stat-wise, even at this maximum level. You're sacrificing damage and defense in return for taking off like a shot.  On the other hand, when that means that you can have almost your entire army cover distances like these? It's a very reasonable tradeoff to ask for.  Lotsa mages on this map, and that means that Ingrid's really in her element for this. Combination of speed and resistance means that she can run all over them.  You might think it's dangerous to park so close to the Death Knight, but naw, it's cool.  Cool like this level.  As you might expect, the Cavalier class has a very strong movement of 7 spaces. Even with the speed penalty, raw mobility can solve a number of problems.  No Blaiddyd procs so far, but frankly, they'd be overkill anyway.  Should still be 40% speed, so we'll be able to get speed growths regardless. Eventually.  One more advantage of mounted combat is an ability called Canto. Bsaically, once you use an item, engage in combat, or some other action, you can use your remaining movement to position yourself more favorably. Means that mounted units are going to be excellent at picking off targets and then either retreating to safety or advancing to fill the new gap.  Yup. This is the problem in a nutshell. As I said, we can skip the Death Knight if we don't feel up to challenging him, and as long as we don't loiter right next to him, he won't attack us because...   : That knight looks like he has experience. It would be foolish to challenge him recklessly.Yup. On this difficulty mode, the Death Knight will not advance on us until we engage. Means that we want to gather everyone around and make a giant one-turn push. Otherwise he WILL move, and he's also mounted, so he can cover a lot of ground. That's where things get complicated.   Lot of movement to the left and right. Not everyone's coming to attack us at once, but I'm thankful for these pillar arrangements making for natural chokepoints.  Waving vaguely at one of these enemies gives Dimitri enough Authority to tip over to the next rank.  Model Leader doubles the amount of experience that Battalions gain, which is honestly unnecessary, since as you saw, we're getting max-level Batts already. When they're only level 5 to reach their full potential and they can't evolve or change their form, you're not going to be in a position where you have to grind them up.  Not going to be able to quite finish this archer, so it's a good chance to show Hit and Run.  Like so.  S'alright. Managed to hit one of the most important stats anyhow.  And Annette can hop in for the finish.  Not doing badly. She was struggling at first, but she's really coming along.  We're going to want to have zero interruptions for the main event, so these folks can kindly get lost.   Slight improvements. Gonna need to cover their weak points though, since they cannot thrive on their strong stats alone.  Almost set. Everyone's gathering 'round.  I like the look of Miasma. Very, uh...geometric.  Made a small miscalculation with Annette though.   Not with the matchup here. She can take this guy. Or she would, except...  This doesn't seem fair. Only I should get to do that.  Before we got too far into The Plan, I'd like to show off one particular very interesting interaction.   : You... Was this meeting...preordained?: Hmm? What do you mean?Well, in a more general sense, it means that you're about to get wrecked.  : Squirm for me! I think the game designers realized that it would be way too much work to have someone counterattack at any distance with a melee weapon, so they just summon blue lasers from the heavens instead.  This has been a hands-on demonstration of why you don't fight the Death Knight. At least, not fairly. One time jump later...  So while looking at the Death Knight's stats, you might have noticed his lack of Charm. Between that and his inability to counter Gambits, that'll be our way of whittling him down.  Music - The Verge of Death (Rain/Thunder) The theme song of "Oh, you screwed up now, boyo!" At least until it becomes the regular ol' boss theme and it loses a bit of its menace.  What's getting in the way here is that, like Lord Lonato, the Death Knight has an Ability that's cutting down the power of our Gambits. We're not getting much of anywhere like this.  And as I said, once we lay a hand on him, all bets are off. It's do or die from here on in.   Yeah, these alone aren't going to cut it. Even Felix, our fastest dude and one of the few folks in the army who can't get doubled, can barely land a blow in return.  Fortunately, he does, which allows us to unveil the Death Knight's one other weakness, and it's a dramatic one.  Yup! Because of DK's decision to face us as a cavalry unit, he's given himself an effective weakness. If he'd simply dismounted and chased after us on foot (a thing you can do in this game), he'd have pretty much guaranteed that he'd take at least one of my team with him.  Fine by me, at any rate. He's troublesome enough as it stands.   By the way, Knightkeeler isn't even the strongest way to take advantage of a cavalry weakness. The Death Knight seems scary now, but by the time we're done with this game, we're going to be tap-dancing over this poser.  Anyhow, as a reward for driving him off, we get this interesting trinket. Let's set that aside for the moment and we'll get back to it once we're done kicking rear end.  Incidentally, I apologize if I made it seem as if IntSys was being lazy and just drawing pictures on the floor. There is one terrain feature that's of importance in this map, and that's stairs. Basically difficult terrain for horses and intended as a way to prevent mounted classes from just rushing past ol' DK there. Plus it adds a bit of character to the room.  Meanwhile, Annette's showing this mage what she thinks of his whole "getting healed by his allies" thing.  I see a promotion in her future.   : If they approach from behind, we can attack them from both sides...Real subtle, pal.   I really love the effects on Bolganone. Just a big ol' fiery conflagration.  Maybe I should start training Mercedes in her bow stuff.   Real impressed by that zero damage. Besides, it missed anyway.  Over on the left side, Ashe picks up a bit of experience while chasing down the treasure box.  For great profit, I dare say, albeit with a slight problem. Deadeye is a shot with a range of 3-5 spaces, but with no bonus to Hit. Why is that a problem, you ask? Well, the game has a mechanic where for ranged attacks beyond 2 spaces, the game adds a -20 Hit penalty, up to a maximum of -60 at a distance of 5 or more. That can be compensated by having so much Hit that you can soak the difference, but for the time being, trying to hit at maximum Deadeye range is highly unlikely to work.  So right now, we're basically at the boss. We're just biding our time, trampling priests and waiting for those reinforcements to arrive.  That you have, Ashe. That you have.  Oh here they are. Can never go wrong with more experience.  We can actually buy these at this point in the game, but they're 1000 gold apiece. Always happy to save some cash.  Now here's my reasoning. If we use an Iron Sword, we're going to double this guy, and I want to leave some time for the party to beat up the nerds who just arrived. So I'm going to intentionally tank my speed so I just whack him once and save him for next turn.  If by "any minute", you mean in like 15 more turns.   Oops! Hadn't considered this angle.  Eh, it's fine. Resonant Flames only has 1 use anyway, and they blew it.  Spirit Dust adds +2 to Magic. Not much of a consideration there. Just hand it to whoever's on spellslinging duties so they can do more of that. For this run, it's looking like Mercedes, but she might get some competition.  So anyway, that thing I was planning to do happens like I planned it. Cool.  I'm just happy I didn't roll a lucky crit.  That being done, let's kick around some true believers.  When we see Ingrid's growths, I think you'll realize why it's weird that her strength's overtaking her speed. Much like our Felix situation, Statistics are apparently just suggestions.  I wonder if you guys could rub off your unusual fortune on Ashe a bit.  Right, let's just close this out, shall we?  Wish this could be a Looney Tunes situation where we punch his beak so hard that it turns around backwards. That could be funny.  Yeah, alright. : It's no use! The seal is broken. You can't– Huh? A sword? Yup, that's a sword, all right. Then Genius of the Year here decides he's going to try wielding it all willy-nilly.  You've got an E rank in Swords anyway, ya doofus. You'd just poke your eye out.  Dang, between this and Thunderbrand, it seems like the folks of ancient times had a really tacky sense of style.  Oh right, evil wizard. Probably should have remembered that. Well, what if I just...  Of course! We're in a cutscene! Anything is possible! Glad to see it working in our favor now and then. : Huh... What?! Ah, no wonder we've been bestowed with cutscene powers. We've got one of them Relic thingies.  Pulling a random nonsensical spell out of his rear end, eh? Looks like the mage is catching on.  But it's too late, nerd. Glowy weapons win every time.  Hooray for PG-rated violence. That's the kind of cut that could uh...well, I don't think anyone would have much of an appetite afterwards.   As we take a breather from our cinemagic duel, our attention is drawn to this rather notable feature. Our sword appears to have been fashioned by a donut fancier. Or someone who wanted his sword to have a cup holder. Actually, we'll get the real explanation in due time, but I'm so used to RPG weapons with impractical designs that I didn't actually get this was supposed to be odd the first time I played this game.  : You! Round up any stragglers.: Will do! Congrats to Dimitri on dethroning Felix. Looks like the new horse is really making a difference.   There's actually quite a bit of exposition following this battle, so I'll save it for next time and just leave you with this. Just about every FE game has given the protagonist some kind of personal weapon, designed to help give them a leg up and cement them as the frontman of the army. The Sword of the Creator is no different, and it'll be a mainstay of Byleth's arsenal for the rest of this route, with many more cutscene battles to come. Extras Video - Assault of the Death Knight (and some other guys) A bit of a tense confrontation at first, but the rest is cleanup. So long as you know whether or not it's worth engaging the Death Knight, this chapter can be a breeze.
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Dec 8, 2022 05:25
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Blastinus posted:
So now that we've seen the mission, I can point out this isn't quite correct: if you skip the quest, these reinforcements show up on turn 5 instead of turn 7  Blastinus posted:
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Dec 8, 2022 22:28
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Poor Death Knight. He tries so hard to be a threatening, edgy badass, only for the fanbase to immediately turn him into a joke and mock the developers for not getting that they made a character who can only be reasonably interpreted as a parody.
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Dec 8, 2022 22:34
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Cythereal posted:Poor Death Knight. He tries so hard to be a threatening, edgy badass, only for the fanbase to immediately turn him into a joke and mock the developers for not getting that they made a character who can only be reasonably interpreted as a parody. I think the problem is twofold. 1) His costume design seems like he's putting on a jolly affable grin, not the menacing skeletal face that they were aiming for. 2) As established, all anti-cavalry weapons and attacks slap him right in the Achilles' Heel. And this game's not hurting for options. Once you know what you're aiming for, it becomes child's play to take him down on his appearances. It's obvious they were trying to capture the magic of the Black Knight from Fire Emblem: Path of Radiance, but they really missed the mark on this.
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Dec 8, 2022 22:57
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It's pretty clear they wanted a retread of the Black Knight from PoR, but they also made him have all these goofy "Death... gooood." voice lines and put rewards on him, which incentivizes players to workshop all the ways to turn him into a piñata from day one. The black knight showed up a couple times and was a heavy armor unit so you could run away from him, and was also statted so you'd die if you didn't. Giving this guy a horse means they need a plot contrivance to keep him from just murking your back line, and giving him loot drops means people will go out of their way to clown on him.
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Dec 8, 2022 22:59
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The loot drops really do suggest that they intended for players to beat him. The combo of overpowered stats and abilities at this stage with the weaknesses of both gambits and anti-cavalry almost seem like they exist to get players to start really thinking and examining their arsenal to find those perfect counters. The storytelling then helps to make sure that people take him seriously on their first attempt - and then, between the hamminess and the crippling weaknesses, he travels all the way around to become perfect meme and dunking material. It's a little hard to figure out how much they wanted him respected and how much they accidentally made it really easy to counter him though.
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Dec 9, 2022 03:24
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Why is it surprising to clown on a reckless lone wolf with signposted weaknesses by overwhelming him with numbers and superior tactics? He's an appropriate challenge if you don't just immediately recruit Lysithea and drop Dark Spikes at him or rush Authority ranks across your house because you've been clued in on how powerful each of those options are. Being shackled to that tile makes him a sitting duck for gambits while denying him the benefits of his class. I'm personally quite interested to see how spicy his early encounters can be on Maddening without cheesing him.
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Dec 9, 2022 07:13
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Malah posted:Why is it surprising to clown on a reckless lone wolf with signposted weaknesses by overwhelming him with numbers and superior tactics? He's an appropriate challenge if you don't just immediately recruit Lysithea and drop Dark Spikes at him or rush Authority ranks across your house because you've been clued in on how powerful each of those options are. My first run was blind and I just clowned him by having Petra crit him with the basic axe skill and a steel axe. The dude really wants to be the burger King, but he's just a comic relief character instead. There are just so many ways to run roughshod over him
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Dec 9, 2022 15:12
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He's honestly not THAT different a fight on Maddening. While he does have bigger numbers, and does aggro as soon as someone is in his range, the basic strategy is the same. Gambits and anti-cavalry attacks. You just need to organize your push from outside his range, which granted, does add a LITTLE bit of complexity. What with his danger zone generally being larger than your own movement. So, Stride.
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Dec 10, 2022 21:06
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So the update is just about done for this week. I just need to get onto the next page first. If I can get some folks to post random nonsense for a few, that would be fantastic.
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Dec 14, 2022 23:30
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Random nonsense, as requested.
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Dec 14, 2022 23:31
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Fun fact for those unaware: Sylvain hits on Ashe in the Japanese version of their supports. This, and a lot of bisexual subtext to Sylvain among other characters, was removed in the English localization. Three Hopes, whatever the faults of its writing, course corrects with a rainbow vengeance.
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Dec 14, 2022 23:35
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I think one thing they could have done to fix the Death Knight's character was have a bigger reaction to his defeat. Something more than him going "Woah, neat." And since (let's face it) they aren't going to let us actually kill him here, give him alternate lines for his future appearances referencing the player's previous victories over him.
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Dec 14, 2022 23:40
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