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Dedues total growths are rear end, but a poo poo ton of strength and defense is really all he needs to go ape on dudes with knuckle sandwiches
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Sep 19, 2022 22:11
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Delphisage posted:In a game centered around a player proxy, failing to court the player is a death sentence. I wouldn't call Byleth a player proxy, honestly. A silent protagonist, yes, but one with a fair amount of agency. And their entire character development is them opening up and expressing their feelings more often. Heck, some cases, you aren't even given more than one dialogue option. Makes me think that Byleth would be stronger just being entirely independent of player input, but they're basically already there.
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Sep 19, 2022 22:16
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Delphisage posted:In a game centered around a player proxy, failing to court the player is a death sentence. The bigger problem is Jeralt doesn't have supports for her to annoy him in.
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Sep 19, 2022 22:17
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Hell, most of the characters (Sylvain being an obvious exception) don't flirt with Byleth outside of the special scenes you have to specifically select in order to see.MarmaladeSkies posted:I always pick Dedue. He’s one of my favorite characters. I mean yeah, his Speed kinda strangles his attacking ability (it can be mediated by cramming stat enhancers down his throat, but you can say the same about anyone), but from a characterization standpoint… He's one of my favorite characters in the entire game. I like to run him on a horse, he's never going to be fast anyway and he can make marvelous use of the bulk and mobility.
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Sep 19, 2022 22:20
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Blastinus posted:Makes me think that Byleth would be stronger just being entirely independent of player input, but they're basically already there. Ryushikaze posted:The bigger problem is Jeralt doesn't have supports for her to annoy him in. I agree with both these points. I think Byleth getting actual lines in 3 Hopes being pretty universally well received is evidence enough of that. And yeah, that's the weird thing about Leonie's execution. You see her hanging around the monastery with Jeralt, and I'm pretty sure he even gets some lines regarding her on the Golden Deer path, so they clearly didn't mean for their relationship to come across as it does in the memes.
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Sep 19, 2022 22:22
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Blastinus posted:I wouldn't call Byleth a player proxy, honestly. If they're the character that most of the audience projects onto in fanfiction, then they are.
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Sep 19, 2022 22:25
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Byleth holds a lot of similarities to Link from Zelda in this game. They are their own characters but definitely intended to be a personal conduit into the game for the player, so the silent protagonist/dialogue options set up makes sense in that way to me.
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Sep 19, 2022 23:08
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Delphisage posted:If they're the character that most of the audience projects onto in fanfiction, then they are. Please don't bring your libido vessel poo poo into this thread.
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Sep 19, 2022 23:08
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Cythereal posted:Please don't bring your libido vessel poo poo into this thread. First, please don't bring drama from another thread into this one. Second, I'm not. We're discussing why the wider fandom doesn't like Leonie, and I'm trying to keep my reasoning simple for the sake of a spoiler ban. Delphisage fucked around with this message at 23:18 on Sep 19, 2022 |
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Sep 19, 2022 23:15
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Byleth is certainly presented as a blank slate so that a player can project onto them and I think broadly they're successful in that aim. But Byleth does retain some agency. In some ways I think that ends up being more problematic because of things we'll see later in the game. With Leonie's support, the B support with Byleth is a support that timed a single month earlier would be excellent, but the context of when it unlocks is awful. If I had the chance to rewrite, I'd have the B support show up a time locked support and have a B+ support where the B support unlocks now. Love her though, my absolute favourite character in this game and second overall in Fire Emblem. I don't really want her recruited right now though, because I don't think she's a very good fit for the Lions. I'm actually hoping that Golden Deer ends up Maddening because of just how absolutely disgusting she is on that mode. Natural 20 fucked around with this message at 23:20 on Sep 19, 2022 |
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Sep 19, 2022 23:18
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I feel we should only recruit extra units that have supports with Dimitri and Dedue.
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Sep 19, 2022 23:20
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Delphisage posted:If they're the character that most of the audience projects onto in fanfiction, then they are. I think that you'll find that the main character tends to be the focal part of a lot of fanfiction. Like, this is just a crazy thought. But more to the point, for this LP, I don't care about what fanfiction says. This is a flat interpretation of the text itself, and whatever the fans have latched onto for characters' personalities or whatever memes are going around are entirely irrelevant to the discussion.
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Sep 19, 2022 23:22
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Pull-up, thread! Pull up!
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Sep 19, 2022 23:25
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Yeah, I think it's probably best to just talk about basically anything else other than fanfics. And to that end, poll's over. Here are the results: Our lucky winners are Dedue, Mercedes, and Felix, with Annette falling just short. After this chapter's battle, the next chapter will be all hands on deck, so the rest of the Lions will have plenty of time to catch up.
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Sep 19, 2022 23:30
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Blastinus posted:Yeah, I think it's probably best to just talk about basically anything else other than fanfics. And to that end, poll's over. Here are the results: Aw, but I love talking about my fanfics! More relevantly, good luck getting Mercedes some experience. She kinda chugs early game in my own experience.
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Sep 19, 2022 23:33
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Delphisage posted:I feel we should only recruit extra units that have supports with Dimitri and Dedue. I mean, if we recruit characters that the three route exclusives have supports with that's: Dimitri - Raphael, Marianne, Alois, Catherine, Hapi Dedue - Shamir Gilbert - Hanneman, Manuela, Alois, Catherine And if we want to recruit students for joint paralogues that adds Caspar and Dorothea.
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Sep 19, 2022 23:38
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MarmaladeSkies posted:Aw, but I love talking about my fanfics! It'll mostly depend on how quick we are to recruit any other healers. If we're neglecting Sylvain, Mercedes is pretty much the best mage the Blue Lions have unless Ingrid goes magical. Melomane Mallet posted:And if we want to recruit students for joint paralogues that adds Caspar and Dorothea. Caspar, yes. Dorothea, no. Delphisage fucked around with this message at 23:44 on Sep 19, 2022 |
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Sep 19, 2022 23:39
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Melomane Mallet posted:I mean, if we recruit characters that the three route exclusives have supports with that's: Alois, Catherine, Shamir, Manuela, and Hanneman are all zero effort, though.
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Sep 19, 2022 23:42
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Just wanted to let you folks know, I'm planning on doing extra content for the stuff I don't see in the regular run. So I appreciate it, but kindly stop offering advice on how to proceed. Thanks. Next update is going to be a couple of days, probably. I'm aiming at around Wednesday, time willing. Blastinus fucked around with this message at 00:05 on Sep 20, 2022 |
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Sep 20, 2022 00:03
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i am glad that Dedue is confirmed as winning in this poll on Deduesday happy Deduesday everyone
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Sep 20, 2022 16:16
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Cythereal posted:Alois, Catherine, Shamir, Manuela, and Hanneman are all zero effort, though. Hapi is also zero effort (but costs real-life money), though her Dimitri supports are just piling on suffering. Raphael and Marianne are a pain though; chasing down training in useless skills or burning up gifts or meal time.
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Sep 21, 2022 01:11
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Chapter 1: Three Houses Growing, Catching, and Eating Food So, we've had a whole bunch of talking lately, but I hope you folks are ready for a fight. Next update. After more talking.  Every month, the church will offer a certain amount of discretionary funding. Not exactly a lot to work with, but there are alternative, significantly more efficient fundraising methods we'll explore later.  Now remember, the fight with the bandits happened on the 20th and we arrived at Garreg Mach on the 23rd. The events of the preceding updates have been happening in fairly close succession.  That being settled though, the days are going to go by a lot faster. Our next notable event only occurs on Saturday, the 26th, when someone pulls us aside for a little chat. Music - The Crest of Flames   : (says something, apparently betraying ignorance about scientific principles) : You don’t know about Crests? Well, allow me to tell you everything-–absolutely everything–-about them. Is your calendar clear? This will take a while.And he means a while. : Crests are a fascinating topic, but before one can dive deeply into said topic, one must first understand what Crests are. They are power incarnate. They are said to have been bestowed upon humans by the goddess countless ages ago. They exist within the flesh, and are passed down through bloodlines. Those who carry crests may excel at magic, display exceptional strength, or any number of boons. Each Crest has its own power, the nature of which is beyond mortal understanding. For now.For once, this isn't overblown. Crests have multiple ingame benefits and Crest bearers are frequently some of the best units in the game. : And you believe I have a Crest?: I suspect as much, yes. But we won’t know for sure unless I look into the matter. As I said, Crests are passed down through the blood. However, just because someone carries a Crest does not necessarily mean their descendants will inherit it as well. Only a scarce few descendants of a Crest’s bloodline end up inheriting that Crest’s power. Perhaps one of your ancestors bore a Crest, and you just happened to inherit it. That is how a Crest usually presents itself, after all.: Do what you can to find out.: Yes, of course. I'll get to the bottom of it straight away.In a sense, Crests are like the gift of wizardry in the Harry Potter series, manifesting themselves often to people of no power and sometimes eluding those born to powerful wizards. And just like the Harry Potter universe, people without Crests are considered...not contemptible by society, per se, but definitely inferior and unworthy to rule. We'll see how that shakes out. : Now then, please go ahead and hold out your arm over this device here.  : A pattern I’ve never seen before...Is it possible an as-yet undiscovered Crest has been detected? To think there are still Crests out there that even I am unaware of! How thrilling!The name of Byleth's Crest will remain a mystery for some time, but only if you aren't paying attention to the track that's currently playing. : Ahem... Pardon my unrestrained jubilation. I have much to consider. You may leave now. I have more research to do in regard to this Crest. Yes, so very much more research. But for now, your work here is done. : What in the world? Oh, I see… It may be connected to that, but to a greater degree than usual…: ...Guy really loves his Crests.  The very next day, the game has some bad news for us.  Yup, we have no choice. Just when I thought I was out, they bring me right back in. Music - Life at Garreg Mach Monastery  : (I thought I heard a girl's voice...but I must have been imagining things.)Considering everything that's happened, I think you could stand to be a bit more credulous.  In our room, we can interact with our Journal to change the outfit we're wearing as well as altering the appearance of anyone in our command.  For the time being, our only option for Exploration is to make Byleth wear a Dancer class outfit (spoilers I guess. This game has the Dancer class in it). I'll be sticking with the default "War" attire for now, but if you folks want Byleth to be donning the Dancer duds, then let me know.  There are multiple Bulletin Boards scattered all around the campus, and we can use those to teleport over to people offering quests. Especially handy for repeat playthroughs when you don't want to go tromping around the entire monastery.  But I want to get as much content as I can, so tromp I must.   : Commoner students also reside on the first floor, while the second is primarily for students of noble birth. As a rule, we try to avoid discrimination based on social status here. But the nobility can be quite insistent when it comes to matters of propriety. Speaking of, it would be best for you to avoid improper conduct. I expect you to set a good example for the students.For the time being, we can't actually see the students' quarters since the upper floors aren't available and all the bottom rooms are shut. That will change. Also, don't worry about me jumping around a lot for this Exploration. We've seen most of the areas that are open right now and I'll highlight the areas that are new.   : Enjoy the thrill of anticipation while it lasts. Soon you'll wish you had chosen to lead our house instead. : If you continue to insist on distracting me, I will have no choice but to get rid of you. Joking, of course. (laughs)Yeah, no love from the Black Eagles. Let's see what Caspar's up to.   : I kinda thought he was gonna be the new professor assigned to our class. After that teacher ran away during our outdoor training, I figured Jeritza was a natural replacement. I was surprised when you were suddenly appointed professor instead. I don't think I could hold my own against Jeritza in battle. I could probably take you though.: Not a chance: You really think so? With enough training, I'm sure I'll beat you someday!Whatever you say, kid. What about Jeritza actually?   : If you have no business here, leave.Honestly not sure what I was expecting. Swinging on over to the classrooms...   : The eagle, that refers to the twin-headed eagle on the Adrestian Empire's coat of arms. And black is the traditional color of the Empire's armor, hence, "Black Eagles."Okay, but why the red banners?   : That's where I met Annie! That's what I call Annette. Oh, I guess Lorenz was at the school of magic too? But Annie was always just so nice to me, even though I was older. She's my best friend in the world.That's no joke. She and Annette are with one another a lot of the time. I also love that Lorenz is kinda thrown in there as a sidenote. Story of Lorenz's life, really.   : Loog, the King of Lions, wore brilliantly blue garments. His chivalric exploits are recorded in multiple legends. The library holds various historical accounts regarding him and the Blue Lions. If you find time, you should read them. They're filled with insights.The library is going to be its own update all to itself. It's a massive lore dump and I'd rather have the time to explain it all, but yes, Blue Team is Blue because its founder was Blue. Da boo dee, da boo da.   : I knew that before the first day of class. Those people are simply exhausting.And by people, I imagine she's talking about Hubert and Ferdinand. The former's the type to do it out of rudeness and the latter out of obliviousness.   : This is the Golden Deer House. You're in charge of a different house, right? Too bad we won't see more of each other. I'm happy to learn from you, if the opportunity comes up!Who couldn't remember Ignatz. He's the guy who...has glasses?  : Our house is that of the Golden Deer. Do you know the significance of that name, Professor? Golden Deer are sacred creatures said to have protected Leicester since time immemorial. All three of the houses have a meaning behind their name. You should feel free to ask around, if that sort of knowledge interests you.Way ahead of you, buddy.   Now on to some new content. We're going to see a lot of the Dining Hall in the days to come, especially because students love to hang out here. Especially this guy.   : I am hopeful to have learnings from you too. As forever, I will do my best trying!It's odd how much everyone wants to learn from us specifically. Makes me wonder about Manuela and Hanneman's teaching methods. I don't question Jeritza. He probably just says a few words and then leaves.   : Well, I call you that, but I am afraid that I am not a student here myself...: That's a shame.: Should the opportunity arise, I would love to become a student and begin my studies in earnest. The monastery is kind enough to provide a sanctuary for my brother and I. He's the only family I have.Well, being on the road with your family isn't too bad. A mercenary is basically just a homeless person with a sword. Anyhow, quests!  This game has fishing in it. What are fish good for? Well, all kinds of things. But before we figure that out, we should swing back around to the dorms for some more conversations.   : We could try to pick up beautiful girls... Or not. I'm kidding! Don't look at me like that.Beautiful girls, huh? Female Byleth Path posted:
We haven't even had a fight yet and he's already tried to hit on our counterpart three times.  We're going back to the Dining Hall once we get Flayn's fish, so might's well catch this along the way. Also, settle down, Leonie, we'll get to you shortly. First, let's have a chat with Bernadetta here.   Or try to, at any rate. Some of these folks are going to be harder to chat with than others. To whit, if we attempt to talk to her through her door:  : I don't like to come out unless I really have to. Hope you're OK with that, Professor!Not an issue with me. I'm not teaching the Black Eagles this time around.   : It may have been only for a short time, but I learned from the absolute best.The game will go into detail on this in their support, but Byleth wasn't actually with Jeralt when Leonie apprenticed under him, meaning they have no history together. I feel like this is a wasted opportunity because it would flesh out Byleth's childhood a bit and also give him and Leonie common ground.   : I'm not gonna lie, I'm a bit concerned about facing an elite mercenary like you. Maybe take it easy on us, what do you say? : Oh, Professor! Have you adjusted to life at the academy yet? Me, I'm still not used to it. I'm not one for all this studying and training.They can both pretend like they're not suited for fighting, but Claude and Hilda are going to be tough opponents during the battle. On harder difficulties, the two of them will end you. Fortunately, on Maddening, they'll be on OUR side.   : I trust that you will carefully study the strengths and weaknesses of each of your students, that you may provide effective guidance. Regardless of the results, this battle will be a great learning experience. Even so... What is the point of competition if the aim isn't to win?He can act magnanimous about the whole thing, but Dimitri wants to prove himself as much as anyone else here.  Dimitri, as the house leader, will also run us through some basics of Exploration, but I prefer explaining by example. What do you think of that, Dedue?  : His Highness has said that he trusts you, and I have no cause for doubt. But if you mistreat him in any way, I will take action.Great.  Last quest of this month, so let's talk about some facilities.   The two ones we're concerned with for today are here at the south side of the campus: the Greenhouse and the Fishing Pond.   : I could just forget all about my assignment...: That's not a good idea.: Yeah...  : If you're looking for the greenhouse, it's right there. See it? Looks like a greenhouse? That's it.I swear the kid isn't always like this.   : There are so many rare flowers I'd never seen back home. And herbs I never even knew existed!: You seem well-informed on the subject.: My adoptive father is the real expert. He taught me everything I know about herbs, including how to tell them apart and how to make medicines. You should try looking around the greenhouse sometime, if the mood strikes you. Maybe something will catch your eye!Oh, trust me, I will be coming by the Greenhouse VERY often. Why, you ask? Because you can grow stat boosters. I don't think I need to say much more, do I?   Gardening is pretty simple. You plant your seeds and then provide a plant stimulant to cultivate them.  Or...we would if our Professor Level was higher than E rank. What's Professor Level? It's another skill bar that you can increase by doing Professor things. Let me show you.  Right after Dedue hands us some more seeds. Don't mind that "Renown" thing. That's a concern for way later.  Our first source of Professor Experience is the Fishing Pond.   : ......So, fishing.  Like most minigames of this nature, getting the kind of fish you want involves choosing the right bait. Or in this case, the ONLY bait.   You have three chances to decide on a fish, which you can tell based on the color of the shadow that appears. Then the battle begins. Music - Battle on the Waterfront  This may look like a rhythm game, but there's no rhythm, just a closing circle with random speed.  Get the circle on the purple ring exactly, and you've scored a critical hit and do extra damage. You can decrease the fish's "health" with imperfect timing, but it does more damage to Byleth in the process. Also, you can only get certain fish if you get a perfect combo.   I'm not so lucky here, but fortunately, for the sake of THIS fishing quest, you don't have to be.  As mentioned in the quest description, this fish is somehow needed for a ceremony to the Saint Cethleann. Must have been really fond of fish, this saint.  This may not seem like a significant amount of Professor Experience, but unlike other facilities at Garreg Mach, fishing doesn't count against your number of Activity Points. What are Activity Points? Let's go back to the Dining Hall and find out.   : If you're a teacher here, you'd better watch your step. If anything were to happen to those kids... Well, suffice to say that it could harm the reputation of the Church of Seiros, which we've spent almost a millennium establishing.Yup, our reputation is definitely our first concern.  We'll want to actually save up our bait. There are events that can get significantly more valuable fish or several fish in one go. That's where the real experience gains can be had.  : I was hoping to spar with you. : I can't right now, but let's fight soon. I look forward to beating you.Felix is easy to read. Just challenge him to a fight and he's your friend forever.   : Why can't the dining hall stay open all the time? I need to keep eating if I want to get stronger!If you grow any more, you're going to need to buy a new shirt.  Anyway, Activity Points. You see that icon above the Dining Staff's head? That means that participating in their activity will take 1 Activity Point. As an E Rank Professor, we only have the 1, designed for just this very purpose.  Sharing a Meal will invite two characters to hang out with Byleth, bringing them closer together with Byleth and each other. And wouldn't you know it, we have two perfect party members for this very task. Music - Words to Believe In   In addition to their generic quotes for enjoying or disliking food you put in front of them, many characters will have quotes for eating together with folks they particularly like or dislike. It's going to be quite a chore, but I'll try to mix in as many possible combinations as I can.  Motivation is another feature you should just keep in the back of your mind for now. This game has way too much stuff in it.  But in the meantime, bonding with our students has brought us over the threshold for leveling up. We are now an E+ Professor, with the following new fancy privileges: 2 Activity Points per Exploration 2000 Gold per Month Gonna definitely enjoy both of those. Note that ranking up doesn't apply these bonuses retroactively. We're all out of Activity Points for this Exploration. Music? - School Bell  That's it for all the sidequests, but we're not quite done yet. A few more conversations for the road.   : Assisting with the education of young nobles is also a part of our sacred duty.This game doesn't really question the church having its own standing army. Like I said, it's basically a nation unto itself.   : You haven't seen a man with hair the same color as mine, a scowling face, and a generally gloomy demeanour...have you?: Looking for someone?: Well, yes. It's a bit difficult to explain... Please just let me know if you do see him, OK?Oh boy, that self-pitying deadbeat. Won't that be fun. Couple more NPC's in this corridor here. Mostly just for worldbuilding.  : I hear a member of House Hresvelg, the ruling family of the Empire, has entered the Officers Academy for the first time in ages. It is said that the Adrestian Empire's very founding was aided by none other than Saint Seiros. That is why the Crest of Seiros is on the Imperial flag. In recent years, a rift has developed between the Empire and the church... Let us hope that this will be a good opportunity for both parties to reforge their close relationship of years past. : There are two types of Crests. Major Crests manifest their power most effectively, while Minor Crests are slightly weaker. It is said that the closer a person's blood relation is to various saints and Heroes, the higher their chance of bearing a major Crest. Of course, there are also examples of Major Crests manifesting in children whose parents bear no Crest whatsoever. The exact nature of how and why Crests are inherited is still a mystery.There were soldiers in red fighting alongside Seiros in our dream. That would have been the early Empire, less than a hundred years old at that point and already capable of amassing that kind of fighting force. Guess you develop pretty quickly when you have the Goddess on your side.  There's also a Gatekeeper conversation that I missed on my Male Byleth playthrough, so I had to catch it on the side. Should have saved at the start of the Exploration.  : Greetings, Professor! Nothing to report! By the by, have you ever regretted a decision and wished you could go back and undo it? It's too bad there's no lesson for how to turn back the ol' clock, huh? But I suppose a bad decision isn't worth all that fuss anyhow!The Fire Emblem playerbase. myself included, isn't well-known for just accepting their mistakes and moving on. In fact, resetting an entire map whenever a unit dies is so common that even Intelligent Systems developers themselves have acknowledged that they do it. Not to worry though, The game will have an answer in the next chapter for players who can't live with regrets.   : It's absolutely loaded with valuable information. I only wish I wasn't burdened with the necessity of sleep, so I could spend all my hours there.: You like reading?: In a manner, yes. But it's more that I want to learn as much as I possibly can.A trait that she's VERY good at. But a word of caution from Rhea:   : I hope that you will do your best to form lasting bonds with your flock. Oh, and I look forward to witnessing your prowess in the mock battle.All eyes are on us, basically. Losing is not an option. It literally isn't. We'll get a game over if we do.   : Seteth, Hanneman, Manuela, Jeritza, and many of the knights... None of them were around 20 years ago.  : I've aged at least three times as much as he has! Why am I talking about this? Oh, right, it was because I just overheard Tomas remarking on the subject. The leader of a legendary group of knights, returned. People are bound to be talking about the ol' captain!20 years ago, eh? Byleth's age is meant to be an unknown, but we would have to have been born close to when Jeralt was working at the monastery. Funny that we don't remember any of that. Then again, how much do you remember from before you were 4 or 5?   : Don't you worry though! Should you get injured, I will care for you all through your recuperation. I will see to you oh-so very, very, personally.Someone seems pretty confident she'll win. Boy, is she in for a rude awakening.  : My research is proceeding slower than I would like. Your Crest is something of a challenge. Frustrating. Yet, also, quite intriguing. I was wondering if I might get a sample of your flesh. A couple square inches would do. No? Perhaps some blood? A couple of drops on the device are all I need.We can, in fact, interact with the Crest Analyzer again after hearing that suggestion. : (It's some kind of experimental apparatus...I might as well assist by providing a blood sample...): Oh, thank you, Professor. Those few drops of blood are invaluable to my research! Oh, so much more to learn!Way I figure it, if we don't offer it ourselves, we're going to need to constantly watch our back for Hanneman creeping up from behind with a knife.   : The library contains countless documents about the teaching and history of the church. I encourage you to make good use of them.Yeah, no, this is going to take way too much work.  There's a Mock Battle in three days, and we have no time for reading. Maybe another time. Blastinus fucked around with this message at 02:04 on Sep 23, 2022 |
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Sep 23, 2022 01:58
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Blastinus posted:Oh, trust me, I will be coming by the Greenhouse VERY often. Why, you ask? Because you can grow stat boosters. One of these days I should really look up exactly how the greenhouse works...
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Sep 23, 2022 02:52
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I think you might be missing a line from talking to Dorothea.
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Sep 23, 2022 03:37
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Cattail Prophet posted:I think you might be missing a line from talking to Dorothea. Nope. I just rechecked my recording to be sure. When I talked to her, she really just hopped right to that topic. Most characters have different snatches of dialogue for if you're in their house or not, and in Dorothea's case, they're entirely different instead of just a slight variation. Here's her Black Eagles dialogue for comparison. quote:
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Sep 23, 2022 03:45
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Blastinus posted:A mercenary is basically just a homeless person with a sword. So very, very true. So it’s weird that Leonie actually wants to be one. I think Jeralt might have given her the wrong idea about what killing people for money is like.
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Sep 23, 2022 03:49
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MarmaladeSkies posted:So very, very true. So it’s weird that Leonie actually wants to be one. I think Jeralt might have given her the wrong idea about what killing people for money is like. It's the foremost profession for anyone who wants to be an anime protagonist. 
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Sep 23, 2022 06:10
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My theory, just based on the fact that this is an Officers Academy, is that Leonie isn't here so much to be a mercenary, but instead to gain the necessary leadership and organizational skills to become the leader of her own mercenary faction. Kind of like earning an MBA, but for mercs. She'll tape up her degree to the side of her saddle. That way everyone will know that she's got the qualifications for the position she's in.
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Sep 23, 2022 12:59
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That is very literally what Leonie is out to do. Her goal is to become a mercenary officer worth of joining Jeralt and that requires a lot more savvy than just hitting man with pointy end. Spoilers for Three Hopes: Jeralt of course, refuses this, saying that her goal should be to be a better mercenary captain than he is, which is a nice development.
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Sep 23, 2022 13:11
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Chapter 1: Three Houses Rivalry of the Houses  Wednesday. 30th Day of the Great Tree Moon. Time for the Blue Lions to show their mettle.   As fate would have it, Ferdinand is one of the folks participating in today's festivities.  These flowers will dull the pain of the rear end-whooping he's about to receive.   We're basically just going out to a random bit of greenery outside the Monastery for this one. In later chapters, we'll be traveling ridiculously far from the campus, but always getting there in a day. Maybe we're really zoomed in and Fodlan is actually just the size of Rhode Island.   : I'm looking forward to it.: Excellent. I have high expectations for your command. That said, I've no doubt it will take everything we've got to pull a victory. Our opponents are mighty, that much is certain, but I'm positive we can win.Having played this on Maddening, he's not blowing smoke about this. The Mock Battle is ridiculous compared to the Prologue map. I can't wait to show it off when we do the Maddening run.  : Nice try, Claude, but I do not intent to let slip our strategies. Especially when we are up against such strong opponents as you two.: Well now! Kind words from his kingliness. If that's the case, we'd better come up with some clever schemes so as not to disappoint. Right, Princess?: Right. No matter the tactics you devise, we will destroy you. The best you can hope for is to learn a thing or two.: Haha, there's nothing wrong with a friendly rivalry, but let's not get carried away. A rash attitude could be your undoing, after all.: Hmm... Perhaps your time would be better spent preparing instead of worrying about the competition's mindset.: Hey, now! If you two are getting this fired up before the battle even starts...it'll make it that much easier for my class to sweep up a win. So please, carry on.: A good point, Claude. I apologize–that wasn't my intention. At any rate, let's vow to make this a productive battle, shall we?: I don't intend to lose.: Oh? In that case, I won't hold back.In an alternative universe where Byleth did intend to lose, everyone fights using nerf bats.  : While I am pleased that you are taking the initiative to acquaint yourself with the students, I'm afraid it's about time for the faculty strategy meeting.: Ah, how time flies! In that case, I'll see you later.: I look forward to assessing your abilities. I hope you don't disappoint.Oddly we don't get to see the results of the faculty meeting, despite being part of the faculty. I assume they mostly just sit around drinking tea and pretending to look busy.  Regardless, welcome to battle prep! We'll be seeing a lot of this wheel here and this song in particular: Music - As Swift As Wind An ironic name since battle prep can often take longer than the battle itself. You've got to organize everyone's gear, rearrange everyone's position, make sure that you've purchased all the items you need, maybe change some people's classes or abilities, and of course, select the right units.  For the sake of this mock battle, we're limited to Byleth, Dimitri, and 3/7 of the rest of the team. A hard choice, so I decided not to make it and just leave it up to the thread. Our lucky winners are:  Dedue, Dimitri's loyal retainer, rocking an iron axe and not much speed. He'll be trying to take all the hits so that no one else has to. At this difficulty, most attacks will just be bouncing off his abs, unless it's magic.  Mercedes is the white magic specialist of the Blue Lions, with a special twist where she...doesn't actually know any offensive magic, just a single healing spell. We'll be mostly using her to top everyone else's health off and occasionally shoot someone with hilariously weak arrows.  Rounding the team off is Felix, who brings his generous offensive stats to the table, but getting hit in the face makes him sad. Fortunately, his ability to dodge attacks is going to be second to none, so he won't be in a lot of danger this chapter.  On the subject of the map itself, this is supposed to be a three-way battle between the houses, but that's a dirty lie. Both the Black Eagles and the Golden Deer are gunning for us and us alone, which is fine. Just means more experience for us.  Let this mock battle commence. : It is about time for the battle to begin. Our victory depends on your leadership. Do not let us down. Don't worry. We've got this. Music - Fodlan Winds (Rain/Thunder)  : Incidentally, I'll be overseeing this mock battle. So listen well if you want to win.The house that doesn't lose wins. Thanks, dad.  First thing's first, we're going to have Lorenz bearing down on us shortly, so let's get Dedue into position.  That little flash is the activation of Dedue's personal skill, Staunch Shield. Any time he Waits on his turn instead of attacking, he gains +4 Def until his next turn, upping his possible defense to 12 before he's even gained a level yet. They REALLY would like you to make him a tank.  : Me?! But I'm not ready!: Are you making light of our new professor? If you drop your guard, you're going to get hurt...There's a reason why, despite Lorenz's claims to nobility, he's not the guy in charge. But if you thought the Golden Deer were being reckless, check out this next move:  : You got it, Edie. Leave it to me.: Ferdinand. Hubert. If the enemy comes, stop them.: Leave it to us, although I could do this on my own.: Heh. Clearly not, or Her Highness would not ask me to watch your back.Sending a mage forward as your advance unit. That's an ambitious strategy, to be sure. Let's see if it works out for her.   It's a solid hit, I'll give her that. Thunder can actually be dangerous for some of our units that lack Luck because, as is tradition, Thunder provides a bonus to crit chance. Just 5% this time, but that still opens the door to an unlucky 1% roll dropping right on your head.  Lorenz, meanwhile, has a predictable time with Dedue. That bowl cut is doing psychic damage to me any time I have to stare at it, but ingame, he's fresh out of luck.  As for Ignatz, the poor stupid lad meandered into murder range and will be promptly pummeled for his carelessness. Nonlethally, of course.  Trying to find a means for Mercedes to contribute is difficult in her early levels, on account of the fact that most white magic users would have something that could actually make use of their magic stat instead of their noodly arms. Though the fact that Ignatz, an ACTUAL archer, is barely surpassing the friggin' healer is funny to me.   You've pretty much got to funnel kills into her by weakening enemies to near-death, like so. I like this frame in particular because it looks like Lorenz is going "Not the face!" I feel like he'd do that.  Mercedes will, like all archers, graciously hit him in the crown jewels instead.  Hit the showers, you dork.   I feel like we're just bullying Ignatz though. Kid didn't even fire off a shot. Note that the Mystery Crest activated on this hit. As that one NPC mentioned, Crests can manifest either as Major or Minor, with a higher chance of activating if they're Major. The Mystery Crest has two effects, either of which can activate and sometimes both at once: Restore HP equal to 30% of damage Add +5 to Damage and prevent enemy from getting their own attack off You shouldn't rely on Crests as part of your strategy, but when they do activate, they can make a huge difference.  Conveniently, Felix demonstrates his own on the next attack. The Major Crest of Fraldarius has a 40% chance of adding +5 Dmg to an attack, and Felix does a LOT of attacking, which means you'll be seeing it all the time. It's part of what makes him so strong.  And thanks to his speed, he's also really good at avoiding attacks. Even so, that was kind of a fluke.  I'd hope so. You've already lost two of your units.  Honestly, I joke about the Black Eagles sending forward a mage, but Dorothea is really strong with her magic. Even on this difficulty, the resistance of the Blue Lions is so questionable across the board that it's dangerous to approach her.  I suppose I should explain how magic works in this game. Unlike previous games in the series where you had to purchase magic tomes, anyone who's unlocked spells and is in a class that uses magic will get a set amount of uses at the start of every battle. Saves a lot of gold on buying tomes, but also means that there's no way to replenish uses mid-combat unless you're using an online feature In addition, similar to Fire Emblem Echoes, every character has their own spells that they learn, meaning that while everyone can be a spellcaster, some are significantly better than others.  Like weapons, healing magic has Might (8 in the case of Heal), which you then add to the user's Magic/3. Not a lot, but it definitely helps. Heal normally would have 10 uses, but the Commoner/Noble class specifies that you can use "some" magic, which is the game's way of saying that magic uses are chopped in half for this class. We'll want to get out of Commoner/Noble as quickly as we can.  The game would very much like Mercedes to be a healer primarily, thanks to her personal skill Live to Serve, which heals her for the exact same amount that she heals to others. This can be very useful for her, since she can be closer to the front lines and not worry as much about taking hits. In addition, her Minor Crest of Lamine has a 10% chance to save one use of healing magic, helping her to stretch out her supplies.  As you can see from the battle prediction, enemies are subject to the same magic scarcity problems we have. Not that we'll be fighting Commoners in the future though, so trying to run them out of uses means taking a lot of hits in return.  Once more with feeling.  That takes care of the advance troops. Now we need to pick a house to approach.  : Victory is in sight, Black Eagles. Do not let up! Going to the right side means that we activate every single stationary unit on the map. It'll take a while for the Golden Deer to get to us, but we still have four units remaining from the Eagles. It's entirely possible for them to catch up while you're still busy, and that can become a bit messy.  Meanwhile, Hubert's going to demonstrate an interesting wrinkle to this game, and that's the fact that some characters who get offensive magic get Dark Magic, not Black Magic.  An entirely different spell list, many spells of which have additional detrimental effects on their victims. Not Miasma Delta though. That's just damage. Looks fancy though. Don't ask about the Greek symbols. They're just kinda there to make the spells seem fancier.  Ooh boy, baddies closing in, and Felix is way out of position. I could have REALLY planned this better. For example, thanks to Felix's bow proficiency, you can have Ashe toss him his bow temporarily for this fight. That's the strategy I use in the video.   Let's just drop this nerd before he can be a problem. I mentioned that having Dimitri use Weapon Arts is a risk, and that's because he carries the Minor Crest of Blaiddyd, which can double the damage of a Weapon Art (that is, after all calculations, so that 23 would become 46!!) in return for it eating TWICE the amount of Durability. Put another way: Tempest Lance costs 5 durability to activate and 1 on the hit itself, so that instead amounts to 10 + 1 is 11 uses for a single hit. On an Iron Lance that has a maximum of 30. As we'll see in the story, Dimitri has a tendency to break things by accident.  Dimitri getting stronger is very much a guarantee.  Not much we can do offensively while half our team is out in the weeds. Let's just form a line and hope for the best.  : Very well. I accept your challenge. With you as my opponent, I won't hold anything back.: I would expect no less! If you pay attention to characters with long hair, you'll notice that it's often treated as a single object, kind of like a cape.  There's enough physics work on it so that it moves fairly naturally. You only really notice there's any kind of an issue if you're really staring at it.  No damage again, but Dedue isn't exactly offering any returns either. His other specialties are lances and fist weapons, and those have significantly better hit rates. It's not a bad idea to swap him from axes as a result.  Felix secures the KO on Edelgard, but she has a battle quote for fighting Byleth if the two of them clash. : There can be no victory unless I defeat you. So be it!Technically on Classic mode, she can score a victory by taking out Dimitri instead, but oh well.  I'll say you have! Felix's growths tend towards Strength and Speed, but everything else is more of a toss-up. Anything that takes the glass out of glass cannon is fine by me.  She's not incorrect. Of the three lords you can face during the mock battle, I'd say that I'm most comfortable fighting Edelgard. The roaming death ball that's bearing down on us doesn't seem very inviting. Female Byleth Path posted:
  Before Claude and Co. gets here, let's wish Ferdinand a happy birthday in true mercenary fashion.  I suppose this is justice for making the birthday boy sad.  Same strategy as before. Everyone jump into hiding and cover your groin.  : Claude, please. This is no time for idle banter. Your defenses are wide open.: That didn't get to him, huh? What a shame. I'll find a better way to ruffle him up next time. Cool backflip? But that at least keeps the kingdom's treasury secure. For five seconds.  That's even worse than an arrow somehow.  I should mention, by the way, that the formula for magic evasion is different than that for physical evasion. Most crucially, it doesn't include terrain.  Hide in a bush all you like. It won't help.  Right, let's get started on dismantling these fools. Priority one is Claude himself.  Thanks to Dimitri backing Dedue up, he's able to get the hit rate he needs to pull out the win. Like with Edelgard, he also has a quote for fighting Byleth. : Coming up with brilliant schemes, I can handle. No problem. But I'm not much for fighting. Go easy on me!: ...: You know that was a joke, right? Jeez, not so much as a smile... Any Speed at all on Dedue is phenomenal, I say. Keep that coming.  Don't worry, you won't be warming the bench for long.  Especially when Felix keeps nabbing these undeserved dodges.  : Hey! You didn't compliment me like that when my class won last year!I love this line! Hanneman and Manuela have a rivalry of their own going on that's funny whenever they snipe at one another.  Our first promotion item already? Well, can't say no to that.  And we demonstrate the other power of the Mystery Crest. Between the low activation rate and the fact that you have multiple effects, Byleth can be really hard to predict.  Yeah, kinda.  Nothing left but Manuela, demonstrating Nosferatu, the most basic white magic spell. Most of our healers would be starting with this spell so as to give them a decent means of contributing when there's no healing to be done. Guess Mercedes is the exception. As shown, Nosferatu is a draining spell, returning 50% of damage done. It compensates by also being super weak and having a weight of 8. Not going to be doubling with this any time soon.  Taking advantage of the fact that Manuela can't actually kill any of our units, I have Mercedes slowly grind her way to her first level. It takes her last use of Heal, but finally...  I'll take it. She's going to be getting rid of the bow the instant she gets any kind of magic, but if she keeps getting strength, maybe she can cancel out the weight of her spells.   And Dimitri with the finish.  I suppose charm is a kind of strength. : All right, that's that! The winner of this mock battle is... The Blue Lion House!: This victory is the result of everyone's hard work. Thank you, my friends. You did well. But one did more well than the rest. Really amazing evasion this time around, Felix.  When Motivation becomes relevant, that will be useful to know.   : I'm invited?: Of course. Why wouldn't you be?: Come now, Professor! We can't very well celebrate without the key to our victory present.: He's right! He really is! We were only able to win because we had your help, Professor! : Felix! You really ought to stop picking fights with His Highness.: Don't worry, Ingrid. I encourage all to speak freely. And I must agree that the professor's tactics were truly extraordinary. I have much to learn.We'll see that title of "boar" thrown around a lot from Felix, and it's hard to tell what he's going for at first. That's something that has to stew a little bit before it pays off. : Oh, sure, but today was exhausting, I'm so hungry I can barely stand...: To be honest, so am I. Let's head to the dining hall. Together. You don't appear to be leaving.  : Is that so...: Hm. Well, I understand how difficult it can be to accept joy sometimes. I'm sorry for prying.No matter which house he picks, it feels a lot like his students are the first friends that Byleth has ever had. Given my own life experiences, it's easy to examine his personality and backstory and conclude that he's a socially-stunted homeschooled kid, whether or not that was the vibe that Intelligent Systems was going for. : I know we only just met, so this may be difficult for you, but... I'd love nothing more than to share our happiness with you. Joy can be so fleeting, after all. We're all in this together...so I hope you will consent. Absolutely. There'll be more battles ahead, but for the time being, we've scored a good victory, and that's something to be happy for. Extras Video - The Mock Battle My first take for the Blue Lions wasn't as clean as I'd liked, so this is a composite of a 2nd take for Male Byleth and my Female Byleth run. Levels going forward are still based on the 1st take, so don't worry if characters get levels that don't match the update. Oh, you might notice in the video that everyone has their own ready quote when they're first selected in combat. These actually change when they get to half health, and then when they're at critical HP. Keep an ear out for them.
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Sep 25, 2022 02:53
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Blastinus posted:Most of our healers would be starting with this spell so as to give them a decent means of contributing when there's no healing to be done. Guess Mercedes is the exception. This is due to a strange quirk of Mercedes. Every single character in the game, even the likes of Raphael and Dedue, learns Nosferatu at D+ Faith. The other two houses' default healer characters start the game with D+ Faith. Mercedes, for whatever reason, starts out a bit behind her peers at only D Faith.
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Sep 25, 2022 03:10
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quote:Maybe we're really zoomed in and Fodlan is actually just the size of Rhode Island. I believe in an interview one of the devs said Fodlan is 2/3rds the size of Europe. My personal headcanon is that when we travel outside the Monastery, say to fight bandits half a continent away, everyone is warped out by dedicated priests of Seiros. Magic solves a lot of problems. Also causes a lot, but who’s counting?
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Sep 25, 2022 08:59
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Cythereal posted:This is due to a strange quirk of Mercedes. Every single character in the game, even the likes of Raphael and Dedue, learns Nosferatu at D+ Faith. The other two houses' default healer characters start the game with D+ Faith. Mercedes, for whatever reason, starts out a bit behind her peers at only D Faith. Which is kind of hilarious given that she's easily the most pious person in the cast.
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Sep 25, 2022 22:04
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FoolyCharged posted:Which is kind of hilarious given that she's easily the most pious person in the cast. I like to think it's the difference between being faithful because that's how you are and choosing to be faithful because it's what you truly believe.
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Sep 26, 2022 00:08
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I confess, I let Mercedes keep the bow and trained her in it in my latest attempt to play this game, and the option of having her up front with the rest of the pack going has been really nice! Especially when there's no healing needed to be done and I can use her to plink a couple extra points of damage off so another person can grab a kill without having to waste spell slots.
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Sep 28, 2022 02:45
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BoxofWoe posted:I confess, I let Mercedes keep the bow and trained her in it in my latest attempt to play this game, and the option of having her up front with the rest of the pack going has been really nice! Especially when there's no healing needed to be done and I can use her to plink a couple extra points of damage off so another person can grab a kill without having to waste spell slots. Nothing bad about that. This game's freeform enough that making Mercedes a front-line bow user won't be an issue. I don't consider my build ideas to be set in stone right now, and if you folks have any goofy ideas for what you'd like me to do with characters, then I'd be happy to hear it. Incidentally, I'm currently behind a bit on the update. Probably won't get posted until tomorrow. In the meantime, if I could get some assistance with moving onto the next page, that would be appreciated.
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Sep 28, 2022 18:59
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Goofy ideas? Sure. Please train Annette in axe murder.
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Sep 28, 2022 19:10
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MarmaladeSkies posted:Goofy ideas? Sure. Please train Annette in axe murder. That sounds pretty stupid. I'll give it a shot.
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Sep 28, 2022 19:49
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Gonna put in a request for the ol' Vantage-Wrath combo. Stack it with Battalion Wrath if you can. Felix is a decent choice for this. Then have that person solo a map. MarquiseMindfang fucked around with this message at 19:55 on Sep 28, 2022 |
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Sep 28, 2022 19:52
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If you elect to pick up Catherine, I'd be interested to see how far you can take her as a fist fighter down the brigand/warrior line.
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Sep 28, 2022 19:54
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