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For all the flak Fates gets, I do like when they go for the little touches, like Leo's inside-out collar. It's only for this one scene, yet they went ahead and made a full second model of Leo just for a single comedy moment. That said, I will echo Tae's complaint about the Boon/Bane being in fancy code words instead of outright telling you what stat is affected. Some make sense, like Unlucky for the Luck Bane and Sturdy for the Defense Boon, but how am I supposed to know that Calm is the Resistance Boon and that Dull is the Magic Bane right off the bat?
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Feb 13, 2017 00:28
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ajkalan posted:I'm a fan of Garon's ashen-gray, sunken-eyed, obviously evil portrait. It's the silly two-color beard that pulls it together.
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Feb 14, 2017 02:22
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Hidingo Kojimba posted:So the royal adviser's name is Iago huh? Subtle. Also, Garon's happy portrait is the best. 
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Feb 14, 2017 23:21
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LordHippoman posted:I don't know why this sticks with me, but for some reason Saizo saying "MY NAME IS SAIZO" is a fully voiced line, and something about the VA's inflection on it makes it sound like he's working a tech support phone line and he's really grouchy.
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Feb 15, 2017 03:11
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Tae posted:A new twist in Fates is monopoly on S weapon ranks. Usually, only one class across both Hoshido and Nohr can have an S rank in a weapon. Curiously, Servants are the holders of S rank for staves, so they solidify as the healing class. Unfortunately since Hidden Weapons are mostly physical, weaker strength characters like Elise may not want to promote to a Maid with her sky-high MAG but pathetic STR.
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Feb 15, 2017 22:57
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EponymousMrYar posted:I dunno, there's only one person who could have that beard in the last blurry flashback.
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Feb 16, 2017 03:39
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Ozdhaka posted:Yeah, and that lack of a deft hand on the writing team meant I was struggling to not just hit Start and just go ignore the story altogether. I had a hard time slogging through the plots of the three paths as well as other associated bits, but we'll get to them when we get to them. If anything, Fates is a lesson on what happens when too many people are focused on doing the same job and don't step back to see the bigger picture before it's too late. Tae posted:While those two were yapping away, Kaze was busy cleaning up the surrounding enemies. He loves speed and only speed, so get used to seeing these type of gains.
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Feb 16, 2017 23:39
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Emperordaein posted:So if you put any kind of thought into this, the barrier kind of has horrifying implications about potential control of the populace, the nobility's obsession with order and maintaining a regime, and all that jazz. In the hands of a good writer, this could lead to a fantastic dichotomy between the two nations. Think Ultima VII: Part 2, and how it explored the evil that can come with devoting one's self to pure order and pure chaos. This would be a great angle to take for the story, right? But alas, that's not what we got. And to think Conquest is the path with allegedly the most cut content from the original outline. I can only imagine what was cut from Birthright's original outline.
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Feb 17, 2017 05:17
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The best way to explain some of the plot beats in Fates is that the writing process feels like the ending of a plot thread was written first, then the process of reaching that ending was written. Take what just happened, for instance. The plot thread has been structured to end on "Mikoto dies shielding her child from the shrapnel of an exploding magical sword after being reunited for the first time in years." and then went about writing how the story gets there (all of chapter 4 and the lead-in to this chapter). Except, anyone who has written even a short story will tell you that is not how you write story progression. Mikoto was only just introduced to us as a character in the last chapter, let alone as Corrin's biological mother. And now she's dead, because the plot thread's ending has already been written and that is where the story must go. Had this happened as say, the conclusion to the first act, it would not be as bad as it is. We would have had time to know Mikoto and perhaps learn more about what happened to Corrin in the past. But this chapter is essentially part 5 of the game's prologue, and now this important named character that we just met has died. We have had almost no time to get to know Mikoto and now the player is expected to feel sad that this person is dead because of her selfless sacrifice to protect her child. The problem is that Mikoto's death comes off as pointless and leaves the player confused as to what is going on, thus undermining her death's impact greatly.
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Feb 18, 2017 05:23
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chiasaur11 posted:And, as is often the case in Fates, Awakening is around to play Gallant.
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Feb 18, 2017 06:21
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Tae posted:
I mention this because you can still buy them like normal items, despite being unable to sell them. Because...  ?
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Feb 18, 2017 21:17
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MightyPretenders posted:Because there's a way to get three Dragonstone users at once, but only two of them have a stone by default.
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Feb 18, 2017 21:50
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I do find it funny that for the big dramatic shot of the siblings, only three of them (Leo, Xander, and Ryoma) decided to strike a cool pose. Sakura is her usual timid self looking away from the camera, while the rest are doing their best "deer in headlights" face, especially Hinoka and Takumi.
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Feb 19, 2017 02:54
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Tae posted:
And you know what? With the help of reclassing and Fates' support system, Takumi can get even more overpowered.
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Feb 19, 2017 20:59
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Rigged Death Trap posted:So fire emblems insistence on having dragons has come full circle.
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Feb 19, 2017 22:05
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mandatory lesbian posted:Hoshido is the bad guys and Nohr is uh Purple People Eaters, anyone?
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Feb 19, 2017 23:15
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Cythereal posted:Huh? Why? Anything that has grogs raging has my interest.
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Feb 20, 2017 02:27
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My Castle is a nice experiment in Fates. Having all shops and resources in one big hub area is a neat idea and saves time on having to send some people off to do supply runs like in older games. My one complaint overall is that the gems and food stuffs are random based on your route of choice, and I don't think there is a way to tell what ones your castle will have until you reach this first intermission. It would be nice to know what I'm getting ahead of time since I find that some weapon types are much more useful than others, and can plan accordingly. The multiplayer battling is okay, but I do wish it was less of a slog to gain Battle Points since the rewards for doing those are just as useful as the ones you get for Visit Points. Like, want a free Wrymslayer? Go grind out 1150 BP. I only mention this because you always get VP regardless of what you do in another player's castle, whereas you have to choose to battle someone else to gain BP, and sometimes they are specced for serious competitive fights rather than simple casual battles/easy seizes. And it is easy for someone to put "EASY SEIZE!!" in their castle's name, only to be outright lying and have an overpowered team of defenders that will crush you.
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Feb 20, 2017 04:22
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Lunethex posted:Why is this a thing A future character's personal skill is specifically relegated to My Castle battles. As in, the character might as well not have a personal skill at all.
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Feb 21, 2017 05:36
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Yeah, Hana and Subaki are weird units. Hana at least has some elements of a normal myrmidon unit but with terrifyingly low HP and defense growths. Subaki, on the other hand? He doesn't know what he wants to do outside of giving you a pegasus right off the bat like games past have done. I guess the joke is that even though he claims to be perfect, Subaki is in fact not perfect when it comes to growths? 
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Feb 22, 2017 02:49
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And now we have our Christmas Cavaliers together again finally! Except they're ninjas this time. Speaking of the actual cavalier, yes Silas is drat good. A good mounted class plus a decent reclass option in Mercenary, how can you go wrong with him? Oh right, his join time in Revelation isn't all that great, even if he's the best/second best person you get on that stage. Orochi...oof. Her speed growth is by far one of the lowest in the game (only Gunter and one other Conquest character have a lower speed growth), and I have yet to have an Orochi with more than 18 speed total (including promotion bonuses). She'd be a nice magical nuke, but she's so slow and brittle that I find that it's better to train someone else over her.
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Feb 22, 2017 21:28
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The one trap with Mozu is that she's not Donny. They may have similar backgrounds (simple country folk from a farming town that start off using lances), but while Donny turns into a beast after some levels and a reclass, Mozu is going to need a little time thanks to Aptitude being rebalanced. At least Villager can promote...into either a garbage class (Merchant) or a decent but not too hot class (Master of Arms). Still, her reclass option is Archer, aka one of the best classes in the game, so Mozu definitely works as a backup bow user on Birthright. On Conquest, however.... 
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Feb 23, 2017 02:50
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Since his replacement just showed up, dump Subaki. Give the robe to Sakura so she can last a bit longer.
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Feb 24, 2017 03:40
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While Hinoka is a good Pegasus Knight (way better than Subaki, though that's not hard to do), I've also found her to be a drat good Spear Fighter as well. Which would be very useful except Hinoka then runs into competition with another Hoshidan unit for that role. Also, the Guard Naginata is probably one of the better naginata weapons, if only for that ludicrous +5 Def/Res. Hinoka can hold her own very well, even if she never gets a fancy weapon like her brothers do. Which brings to light how underwhelming her two retainers are. Setsuna, while her characterization is hilarious, is probably the worst bow user Birthright offers. Even taking Takumi out of the equation, all other people with bow access will be better than her (note: I've never explored Orochi as an Apothecary, so she could be as bad as Setsuna) due to Setsuna's stats being so lopsided. Sure, she'll be readily doubling opponents, but...that's about it. At least she can be helpful in the castle shops offering discounts towards buying or forging bows. And then there's Azama, who absolutely wants to be in a physical class instead of a magical one. Like, I sort of can see why as the Great Master class offers a big strength bonus on promotion, but it really is not worth the trouble and Sakura or Felicia are way better healer options. Oddly enough, he'd probably make a good Oni Savage choice with that base growth distribution.
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Feb 25, 2017 04:02
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blizzardvizard posted:I haven't played Birthright, but Hayato seems pretty good to me? Bases are alright for a level 1, good growths, joins early enough, and if his Personal activates on a double, that's a hefty +6 damage. But I'm pretty sure I've read a lot of bad reviews about him, what am I missing here?
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Feb 25, 2017 22:22
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The important thing with Raider weapons is that their unique clothing stripping ability triggers whenever the RNG straight up feels like doing it. Sometimes it's the first blow, sometimes it happens when you land a critical hit or trigger and connect with an offensive skill, sometimes it doesn't even happen at all. On the other hand, +3 to effective speed in combat is by far the biggest appeal of the Raider weapons, as those who have low speed growths or get speed screwed by the RNG benefit from the added boost. The Raider Yumi is a perfect tool for training up an Archer Mozu so she doesn't have to suffer through the letdown of Brass weapons, for instance. Or anyone else who you want to learn a new weapon type either through reclass or promotion, for that matter.
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Feb 26, 2017 04:42
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ApplesandOranges posted:Raider weapons trigger when you have a weapon advantage (so in the case of Raider Katanas, against a bow- or axe- wielding opponent). ohmygorgon posted:I'm almost positive that is not true. The Raider Weapons stripping ability activates whenever you have the weapon triangle advantage. A unit's armor can break apart and get torn up as they take damage, but that is totally independent from the Raider Weapons, which remove everything as soon as they hit.
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Feb 26, 2017 05:20
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ApplesandOranges posted:Can't remember off the top of my head, but I think the clothing strip only triggers when you initiate the attack.
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Feb 26, 2017 05:32
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Yay, Oboro's here! Welcome to probably one of the best units not just on Birthright, but from Fates overall. A fun character with interesting personality and an excellent unit to throw at enemies. Admittedly, she gets the most out of her personal skill on the Birthright path, but that's probably her biggest letdown, everything else about her is worth the investment. Probably my biggest gripe about Oboro has nothing to do with her as a unit in combat, but more a dumb thing with how the Accessory Shop works. She's someone who's into fashion, yet only gives a discount for one accessory category (hats). You'd think she'd give a discount to all accessories, but nope, just the one category. As for Hinata, I get that he's supposed to be along the lines of a dumb meathead dudebro (we'll get to that in his supports), but he's probably the weirdest Samurai in the game. Hana wants to be an extreme hit-and-run Samurai, Ryoma is death incarnate out of the box (spoilers), and the fourth Samurai we'll get to later. But Hinata? He wants to be more akin to a Fighter or a Knight or even his reclass option Oni Savage: a big wall of HP and Defense that tanks hits and dishes out hefty damage. Of course, by this point you have raised Rinkah enough that she can do that job on top of just getting Oboro who does the job just as well, which makes Hinata rather superfluous. Still, can't say no to someone who can tank a hit and keep going, even if there are better people for the job.
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Feb 27, 2017 04:16
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CptWedgie posted:On a side note, it's kinda funny how everyone's so convinced that Zola's eccentric act couldn't possibly be how the real Izana acts... and then they meet him, and that's EXACTLY how he behaves. I mean, "Oh, ancient gods... What's up?" indeed.
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Feb 27, 2017 23:10
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Slight corrections on the two weapons we just picked up: Setsuna's Yumi gives a -4 Skill/Def/Res debuff, and the Pine Branch also has 10 Crit and -10 Avoid.
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Feb 28, 2017 02:10
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There are a few reasons why you'd want to take Takumi out of the Archer class, and all of them are for skills that make him even more of an one-man walking apocalypse. First off, two of his Friendship supports reward him with Samurai, which allows him access to Vantage and Astra. Vantage alone is worth the effort because Takumi can effectively counter people first and wreck them before they get a chance to attack. And Astra is the same as it was in Awakening: "5 hits at reduced damage", meaning Takumi can deliver the pain in even larger doses. The other is from one of the Spear Fighter promotions, Rend Heaven (Basara, level 5). This skill allows you to add half of an enemy's listed Strength or Magic stat (depends on what weapon you use, e.g., a magic weapon applies the enemy's magic stat) to your attack as added damage, much like how Dragon Fang works. I say "listed" because if an enemy has been debuffed/has other stat reductions, Rend Heaven will use that reduced stat number instead of the unmodified stat number for the calculations. Did we also mention the Dual weapon for bows is a yumi? Because it is. Takumi's one painfully glaring stat flaw (his Resistance) is now a relative non-issue thanks to flipping the weapon triangle around. Takumi can effectively solo nearly everything in the game with only the bare minimum of loadouts, and the few that survive will be left as easy pickings for the rest of the team. The only other real issue with Takumi is his lackluster personal skill. In order to work properly, it means keeping him underleveled or overleveling the rest of the team to take advantage of it, which is not worth it in the long run.
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Mar 1, 2017 04:41
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blizzardvizard posted:Corrin, you dumb poo poo, kill Zola already
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Mar 2, 2017 03:11
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Tae posted:
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Mar 4, 2017 02:44
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Camel Pimp posted:It is pretty annoying that avatarsexuals in this game cannot support with anyone just the main character, with one exception.
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Mar 4, 2017 05:26
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An interesting thing to note about Garon here is that he uses the General axe animations for his unique Nohrian King class. Except they didn't tweak them to account for Garon not holding a giant shield in his non-weapon hand, so he's always holding his left hand up in the air when idle. On the other hand, it's a good thing Garon has the Dragon Skin ability and that Bolverk gives +20 Critical Dodge because that abysmal 4 Luck would mean that a few good critical hits would roast Garon quickly.
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Mar 5, 2017 00:31
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Wallet Inspector posted:Yeah, Kaden's problem is that his stat distribution and his class don't match up at all. High Res for a mage killer, but he can't attack at 2 range so he's strictly worse at it than the ninjas and servants. He has skills that make him effective against horse units, but poor defense reduces his effectiveness against them compared with using Oboro or a unit who joins shortly with a Beastkiller. His Conquest equivalent is much better IMO because that units bases and growths match up much better with an anti-cavalry class.
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Mar 6, 2017 03:18
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ajkalan posted:Yep, that looks like every attempt I made at using Rinkah beyond the intro chapters. She and the RNG aren't on good terms.
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Mar 8, 2017 02:28
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Ah, Ryoma. I have rather interesting experiences using him and his 65% Skill growth. In that said growth rarely triggers for me. Case in point, note the 18 Skill he has now; I managed to get him up to level 15 in one run (mostly for Logbook purposes), and he only managed to get 3 points of Skill during that time. True, Raijinto can pretty much deadlift even a bad Ryoma into being viable, but...man, Ryoma has been weird for me as a unit. But yes, the more important question on hand: how the gently caress did Ryoma fit all his hair into a typical General's suit of armor?
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Mar 8, 2017 06:16
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| # ¿ Apr 27, 2024 13:51 |
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Tae posted:Horse Spirit-D rank, 4 mt, 70 hit, +3 SKL/SPD/DEF/RES Krumbsthumbs posted:The Great Club looks interesting, but you'd need a unit with a staggeringly high skill stat to use it effectively. I'm not sure any Birthright ax users fit that bill.
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Mar 8, 2017 22:47
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