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On August 02 2019 14:31 Cricketer12 wrote:+ Show Spoiler +Halfway through the deer route and I feel comfortable to share some thoughts on the game. This is not the Fire Emblem I was expecting when I think of Fire Emblem, nor was this the Fire Emblem I wanted. I prefer the classic FE style. That being said this is a good game, and I do enjoy playing it. Game play wise I think the immense flexibility provided should provide for interesting challenges for lunatic and the rumored infernal difficulties to come. I think there is going to be a lot of experimentation done to determine what is the most efficient way to spend the first half of the game in preparation for the 2nd half. I do wonder how unforgiving it will be compared to Conquest Lunatic in that sense.
Personally I really really really don't like the Monastery. I'm not the type of player to enjoy sidequests and grinding etc, which is precisely what the school is all about. Story missions end up being few and far between. Actual game play takes a backseat, which is so backwards for FE. That being said, I think there is a lot to be found with the paralogue maps. Every single paralogue map is more difficult than the story missions from what I have seen, and a lot of them have interesting objectives and map design that provide far more interesting a challenge than the story itself. I dislike having to find that in the paralogues, but happy that it is here.
Storywise...it's ok. The avatar is still really weak and cliche storywise, and I am not a fan by any means. Robin Corrin Kris Mark Byleth...none of them have had a truly positive impact on the story. I read through all the spoilers and seen the cutscenes. I do like Dimitri, especially post timeskip. I think what they have done with him isn't really like anything we have seen from FE lords. Edelgard may be my least favorite lord in the series, but I hate Dany Targ so. Claude ended up being far more generic than I had anticipated, but failed to have the same brilliance and subtle nuance I found in Eliwood, who I thought to be Claude's closest counterpart at first.
It's a fun game, and a great time sink, but it's not my favorite FE. Not sure if it's even in the top 5 for me.
I will say as a final point, I appreciate the risks IS took in this game, but I don't like the direction I think this implies they will be taken the series in moving forward, especially given the glowing praise the game receives from so very many people, veterans and newcomers alike. Hmm I like Edelgard a lot, though I started with her route so I'm probably biased. I'm guessing she comes out looking far less justified in the other routes.
I actually like the protagonist a great deal in this game, I think it avoids some of the pitfalls of previous player avatars. Yes, they get praised overmuch, but it's for deserved actions. You have a lot of interactions with the students, showing why they come to trust and cherish you. They can clearly see how much stronger they are relative to the other classes. You clearly have strong story importance but the main lord still is the main driver of the plot (at least for Edelgard). And it's not like Corrin where you somehow become a strategic military god despite being a pacifist shut in for most of your life. You're known as the Ashen Demon from your mercenary days already, and your cheat code time rewind means you have an unfair tactical advantage.
I think the story is light years ahead of the past few games, and at least as good as my personal favorites (GBA FE6-8). Though I might have weird taste because I wasn't a big fan of PoR / RD and those usually get praised a lot.
Speaking of paralogues, I'm not sure how I feel about paralogues sometimes requiring out of house student recruitment. It's kind of a neat hidden feature but it feels bad missing on story content. It makes me want to recruit based on additional missions rather than just how I feel about chars
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On August 02 2019 22:58 TheYango wrote:
They still failed to fix the fundamental problem with paralogues from Awakening/Fates which is that they disrupt the difficulty curve through the game. Certain paralogues like Sylvain's are unreasonably rewarding on top of already provinding a bunch of additional XP.
Yeah it's really silly. If you can beat the paralogues, you wouldn't need to play them in the first place which really puts their relevance and existence into question.
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On August 03 2019 00:30 EchelonTee wrote:Show nested quote +On August 02 2019 14:31 Cricketer12 wrote:+ Show Spoiler +Halfway through the deer route and I feel comfortable to share some thoughts on the game. This is not the Fire Emblem I was expecting when I think of Fire Emblem, nor was this the Fire Emblem I wanted. I prefer the classic FE style. That being said this is a good game, and I do enjoy playing it. Game play wise I think the immense flexibility provided should provide for interesting challenges for lunatic and the rumored infernal difficulties to come. I think there is going to be a lot of experimentation done to determine what is the most efficient way to spend the first half of the game in preparation for the 2nd half. I do wonder how unforgiving it will be compared to Conquest Lunatic in that sense.
Personally I really really really don't like the Monastery. I'm not the type of player to enjoy sidequests and grinding etc, which is precisely what the school is all about. Story missions end up being few and far between. Actual game play takes a backseat, which is so backwards for FE. That being said, I think there is a lot to be found with the paralogue maps. Every single paralogue map is more difficult than the story missions from what I have seen, and a lot of them have interesting objectives and map design that provide far more interesting a challenge than the story itself. I dislike having to find that in the paralogues, but happy that it is here.
Storywise...it's ok. The avatar is still really weak and cliche storywise, and I am not a fan by any means. Robin Corrin Kris Mark Byleth...none of them have had a truly positive impact on the story. I read through all the spoilers and seen the cutscenes. I do like Dimitri, especially post timeskip. I think what they have done with him isn't really like anything we have seen from FE lords. Edelgard may be my least favorite lord in the series, but I hate Dany Targ so. Claude ended up being far more generic than I had anticipated, but failed to have the same brilliance and subtle nuance I found in Eliwood, who I thought to be Claude's closest counterpart at first.
It's a fun game, and a great time sink, but it's not my favorite FE. Not sure if it's even in the top 5 for me.
I will say as a final point, I appreciate the risks IS took in this game, but I don't like the direction I think this implies they will be taken the series in moving forward, especially given the glowing praise the game receives from so very many people, veterans and newcomers alike. Hmm I like Edelgard a lot, though I started with her route so I'm probably biased. I'm guessing she comes out looking far less justified in the other routes. I actually like the protagonist a great deal in this game, I think it avoids some of the pitfalls of previous player avatars. Yes, they get praised overmuch, but it's for deserved actions. You have a lot of interactions with the students, showing why they come to trust and cherish you. They can clearly see how much stronger they are relative to the other classes. You clearly have strong story importance but the main lord still is the main driver of the plot (at least for Edelgard). And it's not like Corrin where you somehow become a strategic military god despite being a pacifist shut in for most of your life. You're known as the Ashen Demon from your mercenary days already, and your cheat code time rewind means you have an unfair tactical advantage. I think the story is light years ahead of the past few games, and at least as good as my personal favorites (GBA FE6-8). Though I might have weird taste because I wasn't a big fan of PoR / RD and those usually get praised a lot. Speaking of paralogues, I'm not sure how I feel about paralogues sometimes requiring out of house student recruitment. It's kind of a neat hidden feature but it feels bad missing on story content. It makes me want to recruit based on additional missions rather than just how I feel about chars
+ Show Spoiler +True, you aren't a military god, you a literal one. Once merged with Sothis you are literally the God of Fodlan. If the purpose of the avatar is to put you in the story, Byleth fails. How am I supposed to relate to someone who is both the mother and son of Seiros/Rhea.A vessel for the Goddess who eventually gives you her power. That's not relatable at all.
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+ Show Spoiler +Well, player inserts often have some sort of fantastical power, as a power fantasy of sorts. This is especially a problem in FE player avatars ofc. I don't think being relatable is required to enjoy a characer's role, tho I admit when you lay it out like that it's a bit absurd. That said I still quite enjoy the role you fit as a professor; but then again, I really like the monastery sections so it's a difference of opinion here. Also I've only done the one route, so maybe the character breaks down more on greater examination
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For what it's worth about the paralogues: I think that's supposed to be a hint of sorts at how beneficial it is to recruit people away from their faction (especially on some routes + Show Spoiler +sniping Rhea's faculty makes the last few chapters of Black Eagle much easier Flayn/Seteth/Catherine/maybe Cyril on Black Eagles, though I might be misremembering Cyril
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Hell, never-mind these auxiliary mechanics, IS has been using the same core stat system for 30 years and still really hasn't fixed the system to not make funneling XP into 1-2 juggernauts the trivial optimum resource distribution, or the fact that 2-3 of your 8 core attributes are functionally worthless and are almost irrelevant to determining a unit's capabilities.
I really don't understand why they moved away from the Tellius stat calculations, or at worst, the FE12 one. The reduced benefit to hit/avoid from stats has done nothing but make Skill/Dex worse when it was already a weak stat. FE12 somewhat dealt with this by giving you more crit if your Skill was high enough.
Meanwhile Speed is still Speed and is a huge offense bonus
And I'm not even sure what Luck does in Three Houses beyond Crit Avoid. It definitely doesn't give an Avoid boost
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TBH I think Skill and Luck are kind of awkward stats for IS to work with in general because in order to make the Hit/Crit Avoid provided by those stats meaningful, you have to necessarily make it that units with bad Skl/Luck have bad hit/crit avoid. Bad hitrates and low % enemy crits are two of the things that casual players hate the most, so making these stats irrelevant is the easiest way to make people less frustrated with a game.
I personally wouldn't be opposed to just removing the Hit/Avoid/Crit/Crit Avoid granted by Skill/Speed/Luck and just shifting hit/crit modifiers into other existing mechanics (supports, terrain, intrinsic weapon properties, forging, skills, etc.).
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On August 03 2019 09:10 TheYango wrote:
TBH I think Skill and Luck are kind of awkward stats for IS to work with in general because in order to make the Hit/Crit Avoid provided by those stats meaningful, you have to necessarily make it that units with bad Skl/Luck have bad hit/crit avoid. Bad hitrates and low % enemy crits are two of the things that casual players hate the most, so making these stats irrelevant is the easiest way to make people less frustrated with a game.
I personally wouldn't be opposed to just removing the Hit/Avoid/Crit/Crit Avoid granted by Skill/Speed/Luck and just shifting hit/crit modifiers into other existing mechanics (supports, terrain, intrinsic weapon properties, forging, skills, etc.).
So would you just remove those stats? Also thoughts on no weapon triangle for the 2nd game in a row.
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Insofar as the weapon triangle has been irrelevant far more often than it's been relevant, I have no opinion for or against the inclusion of the weapon triangle. So long as weapon/class diversity can be maintained one way or another (e.g. relative Mt/Wt differences, combat arts, access to magic and/or effective weaponry, etc.), the weapon triangle isn't really a necessary or beneficial mechanic to have in the game.
The way Echoes does it feels forced because a lot of the reason you tend not to double-up on weapon types is the diminishing returns imposed by the feasibility of forging multiple powerful weapons (e.g. it becomes progressively more expensive to forge Killer Bows, Ridersbanes, and Silver Swords the more you try to make because you have to start from progressively weaker base weapons), but there seem to be enough distinguishing elements in 3H for this to not be a problem.
On August 03 2019 09:32 Cricketer12 wrote:
So would you just remove those stats?
More or less, yes. You don't have to get rid of variable hitrates entirely like in FEH, but having hitrates/critrates determined only by controllable factors rather than uncontrollable ones retains the relevant gameplay elements while getting rid of two usually-irrelevant stats.
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I will say crits in general feel a lot less bad in 3H because of the Divine Pulse rewind mechanic. Crit is less "I randomly lost my lord" and more "that unit 1HKO'd my lord, better try something else." It definitely makes the game easier and more forgiving (and too many pulses are provided in the end game; I got up to 12 in my Hard NG+) but some of the missions are clearly built to take advantage of it. It also helps with some of the surprise reinforcement stuff that is trivial when you know about it but crippling when you don't.
Also, most of the enemies have really shit crit rates. You only really need to worry about the NPCs with sacred relics, I felt like, and a few of the monsters.
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I agree I like Divine Pulse when my lord gets crit by a walking statue with 2% crit, but it's way too abundant. I'm super tempted to use it when I make minor positioning errors, instead of getting punished by them. Then again I am that guy who semi save scums certifications. I guess you just need self control.
I do like the fact that I can use it to check out all the unique dialogue between characters. Like having Felix attack Dimitri, Dimitri completely wrecks Felix, and I can rewind safe and sound.
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Netherlands45349 Posts
Raphael is too pure for this world of misery
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On August 04 2019 08:39 Kipsate wrote:
Raphael is too pure for this world of misery
Raph is great. Ignatz and Ashe are as well. Do yourself a favor and turn ignatz into an assassin and turn on animations. It's fucking hilarious
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Just finished my 2nd playthrough on Dimitri route:
General story:
+ Show Spoiler +
So this story was pretty tragic, but ended decently. I would rate it better than Golden Deer story in terms of character development and how it tied off the route. You don't learn a lot about what Claude goes through on his route, but this route is definitely good enough to stand on its own.
The one big thing I disliked was the final boss. I knew it was going to be Edelgard the entire time, but she became a demon out of no where. I know it was hinted at in terms of her using the crests power and this is what she had become, but still seemed random that she never wielded this power until the very end.
Nothing was mentioned about Rhea in the Imperial Capitol in this route. You get there, knowing she is around, yet never find her. I realize in Golden Deer you get more info about this, but seemed weird you don't even get a footnote regarding it at the end. I know there are some credit dialogue that mentions her afterwards, but felt weird.
I also am glad Dimitri ended up how he did. I felt he was well written and his story was pretty tragic. Glad he was able to get back on his feet in the end.
Also, lol at being able to marry Sothis.
Characters:
+ Show Spoiler +
S tier: Dimitri, Catherine - These 2 basically solo missions. Dimitri in his unique class stomps almost everything thrown at him except late game magic. Catherine I put towards Falcoknight and she just is so good. She is probably one of the most broken characters in this game.
A tier: Byleth, Mercedes, Ashe, Leonie, Ingrid - All of these were solid combat/support units for the entire game. Byleth I went with Holy Knight this time around and while not as offensively powerful with lance/sword, made up for it with enough magic to handle a wide variety of situations. I recruited Leonie from Golden Deer, and her/Ashe just Bow knight it through the end game. That class is just so strong. Mercedes as a Gremory is pretty good too. 50+ magic for offense, and physic/fortify for healing the entire map is pretty spot on. Ingrid was weak at first, but ended up okay. Having almost 50 res for throwing her at late game mages was nice, but not as good as Catherine in str/def.
B tier: Annette, Felix, Flayn, Sylvain - Felix early game was really good, but just completely fell off mid game due to bad levels. Ended up with almost 20 less str than Catherine sadly, so he just didn't justify doing enough damage for front line stuff. Annette had good magic, but not enough speed, so could only use her player phase even vs other mages. Flayn was dancer/white magic support, nothing special there. Sylvain was mediocre, went Dark Knight with him and he was similar to Annette in that his speed suffered, so could only sufficiently use him on player phase.
I recruited a lot more people for story stuff in the monastery, but didn't use any of them. Dedue and Gilbert both were armor people, and I still can't get around using them because they are just so slow. I will definitely try one on the next route with Black Eagles, might recruit Hilda to use her, but the lack of speed + res is so tough when late game mages can do 60+ damage at decent AS.
Overall was good, looking forward to Black Eagle playthrough soon.
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Catherine is really, really good.
Though personally, my hot take is that Claude is easily the best unit in the game.
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Edelgard is very strong too isn't she?
In the three way battle (eagle vs lions?) I just sent her alone into the middle to take out the balista and keep it and she pretty much soloed and killed all who dared to attack her
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Sometimes random skills seem to activate (similar to Sol or Adept). The skills don't actually appear in the character info page. I can't seem to find any documentation in game as to why this happens, what is going on?
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Those are probably a crest procing. You can view their descriptions by going to a character's stat page, clicking details (x, I think...), and moving to the upper left corner, just above the exp bar. (The small circle above the 50 exp remaining to level up Byleth, in this image.)
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On August 05 2019 17:29 TheYango wrote:
Catherine is really, really good.
Though personally, my hot take is that Claude is easily the best unit in the game.
Gonna do Deers on my next run. Which class did you use?
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On August 05 2019 17:29 TheYango wrote:
Catherine is really, really good.
Though personally, my hot take is that Claude is easily the best unit in the game.
My point of Catherine being so overpowered is that she is available to everyone.
On August 06 2019 01:52 Terranasaur wrote:Show nested quote +On August 05 2019 17:29 TheYango wrote:
Catherine is really, really good.
Though personally, my hot take is that Claude is easily the best unit in the game. Gonna do Deers on my next run. Which class did you use?
On my playthrough I went straight to wyvern rider/lord -> his unique class.
He was top 3 for units in my playthrough.
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EPT
