Shanty Pete's 1st Mate

I'd be a little disappointed by such a move, as it would essentially kibosh the notion of an original Smash entry for the new system. Still, I could see it working as a business move. Definitely a fan of your ideas for new characters, including the "ascended" bit. Octoling and Shadow are obvious (but enticing) echo picks, while Shantae would be a welcome original fighter.

At the very least, legendary weapons should function like this. You get, say, five swings of an uber-buff sword... and then it "reverts" to an Iron Sword, until the next map. This lets you keep the power, without worrying too much aboit the frailty. After all, a weapon that breaks after just 20 uses is hardly impressive. I actually think it'd be really cool if a future game did gambits in place of personal skills. Have one character with built-in Blessing, and another with Resonant White Magic. New support gambits, too, like one that grants "Stealth" to a target ally. I'd throw some offensive gambits into the mix, personally - a fire mage with Resonant Flames, or an Archer with Poison Arrows. They could be a great balancing mechanic, too - maybe the Est, with disappointing base stats, has exclusive access to Dance of the Goddess. For my part, I felt that gambits were generally the most interesting aspect of battalions - far moreso than the stat boosts they provide. ...If not always the most important aspect. What can I say, I gotta have my gambits! You mean to say, you're partial to picking particular perks upon promotion?

If Micaiah is a Time Lord, then why can't she just regenerate whenever she is killed? ...Kidding. Obviously, Thani is the one good aspect to her combat, so I'm not especially eager to take it away. At the same time - thematically speaking - Micaiah isn't so much a fighter. She's more a healer, and an inspiring figurehead. I think a tome with a self-healing effect would synergize with this portrayal. ...She should also actually have Authority, but, okay game. I imagine that the manner of speech in the secluded village of Arcadia would likewise diverge from the "common tongue" of Elibe. Then again, Sophia talks relatively "normal", so who knows? FE as a series is reluctant to portray different languages (not like that's unique for the genre), with the most variation in Elibe being that Sacaeans have some unique sayings. Probably, but my memories of "The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe" have forever been maimed by viewing that steaming pile of shit, "Epic Movie". I genuinely can't remember which details are authentic. It does have Restore by default. But I agree, a 1:1 transfer is totally insufficient. Especially for a unit whose HP is as pathetic as Micaiah. Something like 1:5, with HP loss rounded up, would be acceptable. Would be nice if it gave more than 10 EXP, but Tellius shafting Healers' EXP gains is par for the course. Oh gods, you just made the map look twice as big! With clones of every unit. It's CQ15 all over again, for the first time. Alas, if only the previous game had a number of... locations... where the player could receive consumable items to bring to the next map. Seriously, FE7 had the right idea here. Give the player a Torch in the Village, and lock the Foggy paralogue behind making that particular visit. What if you Wanted to seize the Shrine of Seals in 30 turns? But Bern said: WYVERNSPAM. Shiva will wait patiently for his revenge, but only for 25 turns. After that, he will begin his assault.

Close, but not quite. Dark is totally immune to Psychic, rather than just resistant. I do think it could work as a great starter trio despite this. You could give the Psychic type Muracle Eye, to make up for their shortcoming. And Game Freak seems to acknowledge the potency, as those are the secondary types given to the Kalos starter evolutions.

: "Help, help, I'm being repressed! Now you see the violence inherent in the system!" And Speed, don't forget Speed! Without Resolve, or else being insanely blessed, Micaiah isn't doubling Armors. Conversely, what about a tome with built-in Renewal? This would let Micaiah "Sacrifice", even if just for 2 or 3 HP, every single turn. Thus making her more effective at her signature gimmick. And hey, 10 exp is 10 exp. No, because I'm not 1000 years old. If I'd been relatively secluded for several centuries, then found myself talking to hyper-zoomers, I'd probably come across as archaic at best. Anyway, I enjoy this turn of phrase. Like how Aslan calls the Pevensies "Sons of Adam and Daughters of Eve". Except, Athos isn't trying to win my soul. The remainder of the critique against Athos, though, is solid. He makes the three Lords flit about Bern because it "builds character". Which leads to Ninian's recapture, and subsequent death. Had he visited the Shrine of Seals immediately, Athos and crew probably could've acquired all the Legendary Weapons before Nergal was back to full power. Which only happened because Nergal had dismissed Jaffar prematurely. God, the amount of idiot-ball-holding that happened in this game... Sorry, I was only counting games that exist in a still-playable state. Honestly, I could imagine an August recolor as a one-time boss later in the game. That'd be pretty funny, especially if nobody comments on the obvious resemblance.

FYI, it's this guy. IMO Thani is great on Micaiah, mainly because she, uh, doesn't really have any combat otherwise. Its Rapier effectiveness, while useful, kinda comes from nowhere thematically. : "Queen? I thought we were an autonomous collective!" Azelle!Faval woulda been so good here. He was just born into the wrong campaign... What a mess of perspective. The "leaves" in Jugdrali villages always threw me off, simultaneously lookong like foreground and background. But now the tree trunk is cutting into Leif's shoulder? Side note, but Thracia's portraits are some of the most... uncanny... for me to revisit. They're a clear improvement from FE4, and honestly much closer to GBAFE. But at the same time, definitely different from what would follow. Less colorful, more grounded... not my cup of tea. But arguably, the best portraits up until the Tellius games. The "no Crusader Scrolls?" experience. I do appreciate August's design, at the very least. A bald (but not clean-shaven) grumpy old man? Not something we see much anymore. Even our older Jagens, like Gunther, Meißen, and Vander have more of a "Grandpa" vibe. ...Or "Daddy", if that's what you're into. Not so for August, who is that "borderline-racist uncle whom your parents reluctantly invite to family gatherings, only for him to break into the liquor cabinet and become uncomfortably handsy with the in-laws". ...Huh, apparently I have a lot to say about that one screenshot.

Begging for biorhythm? Demanding dismounting? Pining for pair-up? Seeing elevation make a comeback would be really cool. It enables some really interesting, dynamic map design. Creates a neat asymmetry between the two sides at battle. What else? Uh... I guess combat arts count, since I don't think Engage had them? Both Echoes and 3H had cool ways of handling them, and they made the game more player-phase focused. I'm keen on seeing more of them.

Well technically, they've just announced that they're going to announce it. Also, the tweet says that they won't formally unveil the system in the June Direct. Maybe it'll be in October, like the Switch was 8 years ago? Who knows! Thanks for letting us know, regardless.

I'm in the weird spot of agreeing that "Lance Lord Eliwood" would be better for FE7, while also thinking that Eliwood using the Rapier - like his future son, Roy - is pretty neat, actually. I'm also left wondering how they'd handle Holy Weapons. Would Lance Eliwood now get Maltet, from Ilia? And if so, would Lyn switch over to the Durandal? Speaking of which, FE7 really feels like the game where "Lord Prf must have anti-Armor and anti-Cavalry!" is solidified. Sure, it makes sense for Eliwood's Rapier to have it, given the weapon's history. But why the Wolf Beil? Why the Mani Katti? These could've been given different effects - say, making Wolf Beil a ranged axe, while giving the Mani Katti reaver effectiveness. If they were gonna mess with Murdock, they could've at least changed to his real name: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar! Oh boy, I can't wait until we get to recruit a character by cutting down a specific bamboo stalk, and discovering them hidden inside! What, and she didn't even double? I don't think the "rolling down a cliff" happens until Tellius. Eat rock!

For the record, I don't think Overgrow/Blaze/Torrent are bad abilities. Just overdone on the starters, in particular. It's at a point where fans are saying "I wonder what their secondary typings and hidden abilities are gonna be?", because their primary typings and abilities are taken for granted. It feels like we've come to accept scraps from GAME FREAK. That said, as for new abilities on the already-existing starters? Well, they have their hidden abilities, most of which are good. But we could add a few more, I reckon... That's all for now, but I might come back to add more abilities later on!

Then we're definitely moving beyond "rebalance" patch territory. Which, if that's what you wanna do, then fine I guess. It's just not what you originally advertised. IMO both Wyvern Lord and Paladin make strong cases for the Swift Strikes user. Paladin has Lancefaire, and access to grounded battalions, whereas Wyvern Lord has flying mobility. Either one can be preferable, situationally speaking. Alright, fair enough. For the record, I like you're proposed changes to Emperor, and think the nerfs to Wyvern Lord would effectively nerf Edelgard (which I do not oppose). That said, I think a balance patch should not neglect to look at the "stepping stone" classes. Is Wyvern Rider too strong? Could High Lord use some extra help? How about the DLC classes, which you've not touched on? That's an extra direction to look into. ...These ones were all good points. I made my argument in haste. I still personally think of Archer mastery as the best overall in the game - even if others reasonably disagree. My "longshot" idea would be, move Hit +20 up to Sniper instead (in addition to Hunter's Volley), while equippable Bowrange +1 comes from Archer mastery. That way, the skill can still be obtained in its vanilla form - it just takes more effort, both to certify and master. But Archer keeping it? Hardly the end of the world to me. Again, it just seems more like a "flavor change" than a "balance change". I never met anyone legitimately saying "oh gee, Bow Knight would be so much better if it required C Swords rather than C Lances". The class requiring Lances doesn't hurt it. And I don't personally buy the proposed "Assassin-to-Bow Knight pipeline", because generally speaking, I'm not putting my Bow specialists into Assassin (a class with no Bowfaire nor Bowrange skill) to begin with. It was always a "Sword specialist who trained Bows on the side" class. So, I can understand the sentiment you're putting out there. And I definitely understand - at least hypothetically - the desire for split prowesses on certain units. I won't deny that I've done so in the past, and they worked... fine. But at this point, I think I'm just so "min-max-pilled" that the notion is unappealing, on its face. Like, Axe Prowess, Lancebreaker, Hit +20, Death Blow, and Strength +2 can all go together into the same attack. If I sub in Lance Prowess for one of them, then my unit's performance, when using an Axe, becomes strictly worse. It becomes better when using a Lance, sure, but why would I use a Lance on an Axe build? If it's for something like Swift Strikes or Vengeance, then I'm better served running a Lance-build, to give the combat art as strong a performance as possible. That's not to say I'll never train in two weapon types. I did so on Fortress Knight Raphael, learning both Lances and Axes. But I swapped the "build" between chapters. For chapter 13, for instance, the Lance build made the most sense. But in later maps, without so many Swordies, I'd run Axes instead. This meant swapping out skills, inventory, and combat arts between maps. ...Yes, I've wasted far too much of my life on combat prep screens. Yeah, that would be a big improvement. Woe be to those units who have a Reason bane, yet learn interesting spells! Their life is but suffering. Interesting. See, even if Hit +20 is never the best mastery skill on a given unit, I almost always see it as a "top 3 mastery". Like, for a physical PP attacker, I'll run "Death Blow, Strength +2, Hit +20". On a physical tank, it's "HP +5, Def +2, Hit +20". It's theoretically equally useful on magical builds, but in practice, very few Mages enjoy being put through the no-spells Archer class. Are the skills you put above it the three Blows? Death, Fiendish, and Darting?

: "Listen: strange women, lying in ponds, distributing axes, is no basis for a system of government. Supreme executive power derives from a mandate of the masses, not some farcical aquatic ceremony!" So... why didn't Raydrik just stick around with the hostages? He could've forced the surrender then and there. Of course, "main antagonist carries the idiot ball through the earlygame" is hardly unique to this title. Yeah, you just have to swap the letter placement around! IMO the case to use it on "not-Leif" is "HP functions as a Fatigue cap, and Leif can't be Fatigued, so an HP boost is more beneficial on someone not named Leif." Not saying I agree with the argument, but it's something to consider. What's funny is, you could tell me he's "Leif's Uncle", and I'd believe you 100%. Same hair color, and the right apparent age. "Vole-nah-rare-ee"? What's that? Sounds like some Archanean nonsense that has NO PLACE in Jugdral! Anyway, I may or may not be around as much for this thread, because I didn't beat T776 - T776 beat me. Twice. I still recall most of my second playthrough, though, so I might have a thing or two to say. Not nearly as much as for the last game, though. Best of luck, regardless.

Okay, I did not know. Hm... maybe let the Beginner class and Commoner/Noble be mastered, but not the Intermediate class? That way, they don't have to go back to the really pathetic classes, but can still choose to go back to Intermediate for a while. I disagree. If you think Swift Strikes is overpowered, my recommendation would be to increase its cost, or reduce its stat modifiers. I would not link it to the already-good Paladin class. Moreover, this points to one of the risks of rebalancing - the "war of attrition" effect. "Oh, I've buffed class Y, so now class X, which was balanced in the base game, is inferior. I must buff class X!" This approach will just create more work and more headaches, IMO. I suggest keeping buffs more limited (Dark and Holy Knight don't need both Lancefaire and 8 move - one or the other, please), so you don't need a continually-escalating series of "counter-buffs". Yeah, Assassin. I don't really care about whether or not the class suits him aesthetically. And hey, isn't there an option in the base game to let units use their "default" appearance in battle, regardless of appearance? Lance Crit +10 is better on Great Lord IMO because it synergizes with Lancefaire. When Dimitri is equipping a Lance, Swordfaire is doing nothing for him. When he has a Sword equipped, Lancefaire does him no good. At least one of the skills is a waste, at any given time. Strong seconding this. Like, say I want a unit specializing in both Swords and Lances. I've gotta put Lance Prowess and Sword Prowess on them. Swordbreaker and Axebreaker would be great, too, for the Hit/Avo rates. Definitely want Sword Crit +10 and Lance Crit +10 if I can hit S-rank. Great, so now I have room left over for... negative one skills? Wonderful. If I specialize in just Lances, I can run Lance Prowess, Swordbreaker, and Lance Crit +10, while still having space for two more skills. Say, Death Blow and Strength +2. That's a way better performance than I could ever get in a "dual wielding" build. Thanks! And definitely appreciate the higher Authority (maybe join with a better battalion as well?). I'm a fan of Gilbert, but in the base game, he has plenty of problems. It's your mod, you can do what you want... but IMO, this is a really poor paradigm for a rebalancing effort. Which units and classes go up - and which go down - should not be based on your personal affinity for them. But rather, on their general utility for any given player. If you don't think Emperor should be buffed further, I suggest making a gameplay-based argument for why it's "good enough already", with your proposed limited changes. TBH I do agree, in a rebalancing sense, that Edelgard doesn't need to be any stronger. She's already arguably the best unit in the game. That said, her strength and reputation certainly do not come from her personal classes, but rather, in spite of them. Honestly a fan of most of these. One potential point of disagreement is Hit +20, which I think is the best skill in the game. Literally every combat unit - physical, magical, player-phase, enemy-phase - enjoys it. I'd suggest pulling it back, if possible to Hit +10. Maybe Hit +15, so it's halfway to Uncanny Blow. If that's not possible, maybe instead do Bow Range +1 as an equippable skill? That'll be good on anyone still using Bows, and "stacks" somewhat with the Bow classes. But the lowered Hit rates at long-range will prevent it from being OP. TBH I'm not a fan of sex-segregated classes in 3H to begin with. So I don't see this adding much in terms of balance. Changing Hero into anything but a "Swords and Axes" class, too, would really clash with its established flavor in the series. Yes, that's the problem. That's why it's almost always superior to Holy Knight. I'm suggesting a way in which both classes can retain their "vanilla" functionality, while still giving players a reason (heh) to use one over the other. Then what's a unit who trains in Bows and Lances to do? It seems like you're taking realistic options away, moreso than adding them. I was actually fine with this one, since they're so limited in uses. Like, if a unit only gets two Agnea's Arrows per map, then it makes sense for each one to be a "nuke", so to speak. Not to mention, it's a reward for training high in Reason, so it should be better than earlier-learned spells. Likewise with Meteor, but in my case, because it makes Hanneman better. Haha. Speaking of units who need to get better, maybe Manuela could get a little love? Make Trickster not suck anymore (6 move, full spell uses), mayhaps?

It's really great to hear that Fire Emblem is a series that you can enjoy without the ability to see. If you have the time, I'd be totally game to hear what sort of process you go through to complete any given chapter. And hey - now any playthrough you do is technically a blind playthrough! ...Sorry, bad joke. In any case, welcome to the Forest!

I wanna start by saying that, on principle, I'm a fan of rebalance theorycrafting. I like the conceppt of this thread, and think it was cool that you made it. Now, what are my thoughts on these particular proposals? Well... Please no. Paladin is already a very solid class. It's the first accessible class with 8 move, and actually has the highest physical damage output with Lances of any class. Just let it keep those two traits. It doesn't need Swift Strikes, which IMO should remain character-specific. This one is really good. War Master would still have its advantages, but finally, there's a reason to remain in Warrior. Also, finally something vaguely good for female Axe infantry. I don't believe the "freeze" condition exists in this game. Maybe it could have a movement-reducing debuff, like Banshee, instead? This one doesn't seem great for balance. Felix hardly needs a further-boosted chance to increase his physical damage, for instance. And the sucky commoners, like Ashe and Raphael, are gonna get left in the dust. Hm... what if instead, most Crests also have a negative effect, like Blaiddyd? Maybe Annette's Crest of Dominic saves a spell use, but also decreases damage by 5. Or Claude's Crest of Riegan restores HP, but costs an extra weapon use. In that light, I'd be fine with boosting activation rates. So the Crests feel like more of a presence, although not strictly a positive or negative one. God, just let women use Lances. Bernadetta, in particular, is one of a mere two units in the game to have a Sword bane. Please don't take away one of the things making her unique. Bernie is already pretty good! What's the point of this? It just removes the reward to the player of heading for S+ in their weapon of choice. After "Weapon Crit +10" at S'rank, there's no motive to go any further. IMO keep Astra vanilla, except remove the "*0.30" damage modifier. Let each hit do normal damage. Broken? Maybe. But it costs a lot of uses, and it's on an otherwise-bad class. Then it's not a viable path for Paladins. This isn't a rebalance, it's a flavor change. IMO Lance Crit +10 would be way better. It would synthesize with his Battalion Wrath/Vantage setup, and his innate Lance specialty. If Dimitri wants Swordfaire, he has plenty of other options. Yes, please! Admittedly, this one is mostly flavor - it wouldn't make Emperor worth using - but it would be pretty fun. It doesn't need Swordfaire. Dancer is already a really good class, and its combat doesn't matter. The Charm skill would be a cool benefit, if not strictly necessary. If you really want to improve Dancer... maybe Stealth? Just become less likely to get hit. ...So it's not a viable option for Hubert or Hapi anymore. Lovely... My take between the two? Give Holy Knight a slight edge in Magic. That way, it's doing more damage with White Magic and combat arts, while being slightly more effective at support spells. Meanwhile, Dark Knight will retain a damage advantage with Reason, thanks to its Faires. Okay, Mortal Savant getting Keen Intuition - and solid stat modifiers - is actually very cool. The kind of boost this class needs. I dunno, I think the rates are... fine. Especially when you get the statues and Knowledge Gem online. Maybe reduce the requirements a smidge: say, from 20/60/100/150/200 (vanilla), to 20/50/80/120/150 (proposed). As for faculty members, I agree that having them start at 0 class mastery sucks. But giving them all out the gate might be OP. What if they started halfway? So, like, Gilbert would join with 10 in Noble, 25 in Fighter, and 40 in Armor Knight. You still need to "earn your masteries", it's just lower-effort. Speaking of Gilbert... he sucks. Especially in chapter 13, where you can't control his loadout whatsoever. If nothing else, give the man a good inventory: Silver Lance, Tomohawk, and Silver Shield. Ooh, I like the mastery skill. Although I'd pprefer the Dark Seal requirement remain. Let the Dark Merchant sell more of them. Also Heartseeker is pretty trash on a magic (read - ranged) class. Anyway, these are my big thoughts. A few things I liked, but a few more I'm not a fan of. Thanks again for making this thread, and getting me back into the 3H mood.