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So after watching these two videos, I'm not entirely sure how to feel. On one hand they do make a valid point but on the other I can't help but can't shake this feeling that there's something wrong with the argument presented. I don't know my thoughts are all over the place and I wanted to see what other people think to more coherently organize mine.

This is mainly for data that I'm collecting for a written work I am constructing, but it's also interesting to hear what people think of antagonists that go under the radar and what effect they can have on the plot. Of course there are more than these 4 but I only wanted to focus on these for now. (Good/Decent is together because minor antagonists almost never get enough progression and depth to be anything over decent, but that's all subjective). My thoughts are..... Fernand: Extremely underappreciated, the man had his entire family killed because a peasant insurrection accused him of hording food from them during the drought. He is a product of the conflicted state of the world, and you can honestly say he is yet another victim whos blood is on Rudolph's hands. (Also DLC characterizes him more, a shame it's locked behind DLC though.) Desaix: Comes off as your common power hungry cartoony evil guy, but the more you look into him the more cunning and intelligent he becomes (never mind his ability to somehow know who Alm really is which never gets explained). Behind his Evil appearance is a man who is tired of relying on gods and wants man to be strong based off there own merits. This can be found in exposition with people in the castle/deliverance hideout and with the memory prism starring him and slayde (definitely some missed potential with him). Grieth: Through exposition we learn how big of an impact Grieth has had on Zofia and even as far as Archanea, sad part is it's just greed and nothing more. What a shame.... Slayde: Right at the end he makes an interesting comment about his philosophy about survival and then proceeds to get roasted by clive, they were on to something with him at the end there but definitely missed potential yet again.

Like many people, I"m incredibly excited for Three Houses; seeing as it will be the first home console Fire Emblem in ten years, and for many the first home console FE they've played (for myself it will be my second after Path of Radiance). So that said, of course I have my predictions and hopes for how I want/think the game will be. So I wish to discuss that here in depth, looking at the series up to this point and the possible directions this game may be taking with game play, story, and more. Story and Writing - It's no secret that many people were not happy with the stories presented with Awakening, and especially Fates, and while Echoes was much better by comparison, the story was still pretty standard for Fire Emblem stories go and it was a remake. That said, I feel IS is aware of how fans feel about the recent entree with the story, in particular Fates; with many complaining about the overindulgence of the self-insert character of the avatar, overall poor writing, general focus of the marriage aspect over the story, and quantity over quality when it came to support conversations. That being said, I'm not going to give large story or writing predictions seeing as we don't know much about the game right now. However I do have my own personal feelings on it. Seeing as we actually know the name of the continent, many of the countries and territories, and certain organizations such as the Church of Seiros exercising power over the land, I have a suspicion that it's going be like a traditional FE story, but it will take it to into a bit of a different direction(not to mention the sheer fact we know what the continent is called tells me that the writing will at least have better world building or general writing than Fates). For some reason, I feel the woman that is prominently featured in the trailer may very well be an antagonist of some sort, albeit one were not used to seeing(Think Garon done right, you work with her for a good amount of time and understand/sympathize with her motives, but you soon discover that her way of doing things is not good in the long run). While we do have the older, menacing man with the chain sword later on who very much appears to be an antagonist of sorts, I feel that he'd be similar to Emperor Rudolf, in that he appears to be the bad guy(given he looks like he wouldn't be part of this church), but he actually has different, noble motives. As for the four main characters we do know a little bit about; I personally think Edelgard may be the either the main character, or similar to Lyn in that she serves as the way to introduce us to the story and this world, once again given her prominence in the trailer. As for Byleth, it seems clear that he will possibly be the avatar of this game, though I think he may be more along the lines of Robin, though not as important. I feel he would be an up and coming instructor/scholar, and is assigned to be a teacher to Edelgard at the beginning of the story, and given that he looks much younger than one would think when thinking "teacher", she may be a bit skeptical of you at first, given her line "it's time to measure your worth as an instructor", and throughout the story, Byleth serves as more of an emotional backbone to the three other main characters. As for supports; Byleth will probably be able to support with everyone in the game, so I'm not going to talk much about that, though I do hope that other characters will have fewer, though much higher quality supports. As for quality, if they can be more like Awakening(which in my opinion had some of the best support conversations in the series), I will be happy. Like I said, I don't want to make super bold predictions when it comes to the story, but that's what I personally get when I think about the trailer. Gameplay - Like the story, I don't want to jump to any bold predictions yet, though I do get the sense that they want to combine elements from previous games in the series; most likely/notably Echoes, Awakening, and Tellius, while doing its own thing. Durability is of course back, and the way the game looks, mostly with the maps, evoke the spirit of the Tellius games. That said, seeing as we don't see pair up, it may be safe to assume that IS may be removing pair up to some degree, possibly replacing it with the formation mechanic. In fact, the game invokes a lot of feelings of the classic Fire Emblem games to me aside from the formation mechanic, magic being a separate command, and the fact that it is bringing in elements of Echoes/Gaiden such as command arts. So I feel that the game is going to be a culmination of past elements from across the series, similar to the intention of Awakening and Fates, though it's going to trim the fat of previous games to make a very refined, smooth tactical experience. Casual and Classic mode are likely going to return, though I have a feeling it will include two new options when selecting difficulty; we'll call them Conquest mode and Birthright mode for now. As the names imply, selecting Conquest mode will continuously push you forward in the story(with the exception of areas where your able to run around, like a base, town, or dungeon), and if you decide to skip over side chapters, then you will have no way to play it after, either you do it, or you don't. Birthright mode on the other hand will allow you to grind and do side chapters whenever you like. Of course, the game would have balance changes to accommodate these modes, and this ties into my next prediction. I feel the maps you play and how you play them will be either be dictated by the decisions you make throughout the story, or more likely be dependent on which character you decide to follow, if the story takes that route. So, for example, Edelgard will have maps with more varied objectives and complicated map design, Dimitri would have more varied objectives, yet simpler map design, and Claude would have more simple objectives and simple map design. I get this idea because IS from what we've seen have been trying to make Fire Emblem games have as many ways to play as possible, not just to welcome in new players, but to keep in older fans with the promise that if they want a more hardcore, tactical experience, they can get that. As for out of battle, roaming around would be for areas such as a base area, towns, or dungeons. Thus, of course, you could interact with characters in some form of conversation, objects, and get into potential skirmishes, but why stop there. What if it were possible that certain maps, such as a defense chapter, allowed you to explore these maps a for a few maps before a battle began to find different points of interest, marking them down for tactical use. So, during preparations, you could take that point of interest to possibly add another spot to place a unit, put down a barricade, a long range weapon, or find a wall that can be broken to access a new part of the map. As for things such as support systems, child units, and marriage, once again we don't know much about that so I'm not going to be too bold in those predictions; though I can say that if pair up isn't in the game, I would love it if the support system worked like Path of Radiance, where just having units in the same battle would be enough to build support. Marriage will probably still be in the game, and child units may be included if they are implemented into the story in some regard. Miscellaneous/Other Things I Like - Personally, I really like the art style, as it seems to be combining the expressive, colorful look of Awakening, with the somewhat more down to earth design of Echoes, and I find it to be a huge step up from Fates. The music for the trailer was really good, and the lyrical song for the trailer while different compared to the other songs we've had, I think worked very well for the trailer and sounds good in its own right. I apologize that this post was so long, but I had a lot that I wanted to let out, and this was my way of doing it. I'd love to here everyone else's thoughts and hopes for the game, and what you would most want from the game in terms of both game play and story.

From what I've seen on the forums Alm's character had negative reception on his character for the most part. This includes criticism on his ability to conquer his problems with little to no experience (insert mary sue accusation), his ideal being the perfect and flawless one in a game where both paths were supposed to be of equal importance, and that is personality is just downright boring. With this being said i'm not 100% sure what the majority thinks of Alm so the poll above is for me to gather some more data on the subject before i start pointing fingers. Also this Post does contain major spoilers to the plot of SOV so keep that in mind. As for me personally I very much like Alm and found him very refreshing as a Lord given my negative reception on the last 2, and before the thought plagues you i have played all the previous US released fire emblem games and I know that Alm isn't the best writing wise. So in this post I will be defending him (my first idea for the title was "In defense of Alm" but I didn't want anyone to think that they were wrong for not liking him and that these are just my thoughts). Most of his criticisms I heavily disagree with and I'm going to start with the idea that his whole path is perfect and that Celica was wrong and Alm was right. My main problem with this is that saying Alm ideal is flawless is saying that personally putting your father and your cousin to the sword is not a detriment to his ideal at all. This war not only brought many consequences to the land and citizens, but had many personal consequences on Alm himself as the path he took is the sole reason he had to kill his remaining family (This personally makes me wonder what Berkut's parents are up too and how they would interact with Alm after the conflict of the game ends), When Alm learns the truth of his lineage and who the emperor was who he had just killed he shows a color very similar to Eliwood where he breaks down showing weakness but then is able to pull himself together to do what is needed, putting those feeling away and fulfilling his oath to Mycen he made all the way back in Zofia castle ( If you don't remember Mycen asked Alm if he was ready and that there would be no turning back no matter how painful it would become, to which Alm replied that he was ready, and stayed true to that all this time). This shows strength on his mental fortitude while the tragedy makes him more human, having these together may be cliche, but it is an effective way to make a character relatable and a strong leader/individual. Eliwood for example pulls this off well and it makes an excellent difference between him and Hector, as Hector is the strong one who was not only devastated his fathers death, but that devastation affected for a much longer time, you have to remember that he even for a while cut all ties with Oswin. And while Eliwood was physically weaker his mental fortitude was superior to Hectors. While it's no surprise that Eliwood with that difference pull it off better than Alm does making him in my opinion a great character and one of the best lords, it salvages Alm a ton as well in my opinion especially because of the emphasis Mycen put on him early about tragedies that will happen giving moments the player get to see that will help him move forward. On him being a Mary Sue I have to say that to stay true to the original Alm had to become the leader of the deliverance at that time, but there is one key factor that I feel like a lot of people miss because I find myself very confused that people criticize this part so hard. Clive wants Alm to be leader to raise the soldiers morale because his "lineage" is a spectacle to the men. Clive even says that he will handle all the day to day affairs and that Alm is required to do one thing and one thing only; Lead. This means he just has to point and say charge, and deliver the occasional speech. This part is extremely similar to when Michiah is made leader of the Daein Rebellion army in part 1 of RD and Sothe catches on and isn't a fan of the idea because she is being made a spectacle. What Pelleas and Izuka had planned is almost identical to why Clive made that decision as well, and I baffled that Alm becoming leader of the deliverance is criticized and that the same scene in RD gets not even a bat of the eye. I for one think Clive's plan is very reasonable. Also Celica's plan wasn't a complete flop, Celica's decision and sacrifice is what convinces the earth mother Mila to unseal falchion and let Alm use it, she was planning on holding it forever to protect her brother until Celica showed her that Humans were strong enough to not rely on her and Duma. So Celica is the only reason Alm was able to get the Falchion to destroy Duma. Both were very essential to the conclusion of the game. Criticize the writing all you want as the final act in many parts was a mess, but Neither was right or wrong completely, and neither flawless. I could talk about this stuff for hours and write pages on why I think Alm is not a bad character but I'm starting with this and I would not want the first post to be this long. So tell me your expressions of Alm, and if you disagree with my points please let me know as this topic is a very subjective one.

Hello Summoners! After the new update from yesterday, a new Event Schedule was released! Let's analyse what's coming to Fire Emblem Heroes! Let's start with the summoning Focus Banners: Today (08/10): "Festival in Hoshido" is available right now! Xander, Elincia, Ryoma and Micaiah are ready to celebrate this Summer in style! Lady Luck blessed me with a +Atk Xander, but cursed me with a Def Bane... Oh well... Heroes with Draconic Aura (08/16): This is a interesting banner. There are a lot of heroes with Draconic Aura as Special Skill, but if we limit to only 5* exclusives, we have... a lot of heroes... Alm, Dorcas, Female Kana, Karla and Brave Lyn are the 5* heroes if this skill, so they can appear in this banner. Micaiah & Sothe BHB Banner (08/20): If you din't get Micaiah in the Distant Def Banner, don't worry! She is returning, with Sothe and a 3rd hero! Zelgius and Ike are my choices for the 3rd unit. New Heroes (08/21): New Heroes are coming too, with a new story chapter! We'll have a GHB too, probably related to the banner. Who can be?! Heroes with Healing Skills (08/26): Another surprised! My votes are for only colorless staff units, and only 5* exclusives. I believe we'll have Elise, Genny and Maribell in this banner. All 3 units are really good units. I'm not considering Heroes with Ardent Sacrifice or Reciprocal Aid, because they are considered "HP Transfer" skills. Legendary Hero (08/28): A new red Legendary Hero is coming, with Fjorm, Gunnthrá and Female Grima too! Who will be the next hero? I don't kow. He/she can be related to the New Heroes banner or not... Heroes with Fury (09/06): We enter in September with a new skill banner. If we consider only the 5* exclusive heroes, Chrom, Eldigan and Myrrh are good candidates for the banner. i believe Myrrh is guaranteed to return. New Heroes (09/07): This is it! The banner we are waiting since February. CYL 2 is coming! I am 99,9% sure this is the CYL banner. Why? I am sure IS will not release the CYL banner with both seasonal and legendary heroes banners. in September 7th, both banner are out, and Brave Heroes will be the thing. Also, we will probably have the next version update in this date. And there is another event that made me thing this is the CYL banner: A Voting Gauntlet starting in September 5th. Last year we had a VG with all top 4 male and female heroes from CYL1, so this will probably happens again this year, with a banner with really good units too. With the VG, we'll have a log-in bonus and with it the banner, so we'll have the CYL 2 Feh Channel before September 1st! Yay The GHB will happens some days before the "possible CYL banner". Can, for some reason, get Veronica in this GHB? If we get the CYL 2 VG, Veronica will miss the bonus points from using the unit in battle. Can IS give us Original Veronica before the Brave Heroes Banner?! Very unlikely, but is a possibility. I only analysed the banner, but there are some events and quests too! Well... that's all. Feel free to comment what are your opinions about this schedule. My feathery body is ready for all this events!

Archetypes/tropes/cliches in any form of story telling is nothing new. They are everywhere because humans can only come up with so many ideas thanks to our very limited understanding of reality. It's just something you can't avoid. so My question is what are some character or story tropes/archetypes/cliches that you've seen in various movies, books, games, anime, comics, etc. that annoy you or you just don't like and how you would go about writing one correctly or even subverting or deconstructing the trope. Or heck you could even write one of your favorite archetypes and complain how it's been mistreated in recent years.

I hear people throw around the term "mary sue" far too often when critiquing characters but what exactly is a mary sue. Seriously I feel like this term gets tossed around far too much to the point the meaning of the word has become vague and muddled. It's gotten to a point where I feel certain characters in media are wrongly accused of being a mary sue or at least by my definition of the term. However due to how often this terms gets thrown around and how vague it is another person may define it completely differently. So I ask what's your definition of a mary sue? This video pretty much sums up my thoughts on this subject:

So I'm working on a personal project of mine where I'm recreating this game through FE7. At the moment I'm working on diversifying the cast a bit more through changing classes further extending differences in growth rates, as well as simply removing/combining characters and changing their roles. For example Roshea and Vyland of Hardin's Wolfguard. I can understand wanting 4 units there as 3 is a small number for an "elite guard" but as far as characters go, Vyland basically lacks anything that really represents much of a personality, and he doesn't have anything going for him that shows him as a real character or unit. Meanwhile there is SOME backstory for Roshea as he was in Archanea BS, and as well as having more material on him if you do the research (Though in SD he was equally irrelevant as Vyland.) So I decided to combine the characters into Royland so as to reduce the numbers in the cast as well as trim down Cavalier Emblem. However enough about that project, it's still on the backburner, however it did make me think of an interesting topic of discussion that I'd be interested in the opinions of others. There are probably other characters that overall are redundant to the setting of FE11 even when considering if they had a larger/more significant role in the sequel. So I thought I'd ask others, who in this game either as a unit or for the sake of plot, was a pointless character that the game didn't REALLY need or who's role is shared by another character and could have just been shoved together. Are there characters that should have had a purely support role in the story a la Nyna? I'd love to hear thoughts on this.

What I mean by more "modern" anime trends is stuff like mary-sue esque protagonists, waifu culture, Otaku pandering, fanservice,etc. pretty much all the stuff you would expect to see if you watched some anime from the most recent seasonal chart. I see people complaining about this sort of stuff in fire emblem all the time and have been dwelling on this a while. Now I can't really fully articulate how I truly feel on this subject(I might edit this post later when I can) but I'd like to see what you guys thought of the subject. Edit: I was able to say what I wanted say here in a later post.

So I've been thinking about Camus recently. All of them. We've got a bunch a decent ones, a bunch of not-so-decent ones (I'm not gonna mention any names...but we all know who I'm talking about, amirite?), and then I came to Echoes. I don't really consider Berkut the "Camus" of Echoes because he doesn't have the emotional dilemma the others do, sort of. Rudolf, on the other hand... --Doesn't attack Alm --Doing what he does for a good reason Thoughts?

title says it all. What is the difference between a good support and a bad support? Because I hear all the time how there are so many bad supports character X has or how many good supports character Y has. I was just wondering how you all gauge the quality of a support. Personally a good support has to do one of three things. 1. Explain a character’s backstory and use that backstory in a way to help aid in character development or growth. 2. Use either or both characters’ core traits be it a gimmick, what they like or dislike, hobbies, beliefs, values, etc. to help aid in strengthening their relationship or character development or growth. 3.Use either or both characters’ core traits be it a gimmick, what they like or dislike, hobbies, beliefs, values, etc. in a unique way for whatever purpose be it serious or comedic but the characters must remain consistent with what is established about them through the story or other supports. If a support can do at least one of those things, then I will consider it a good support at the very least. Now that’s not to say a support can’t have all three. I mean the three things I listed do go hand and hand and are at least somewhat interchangeable. So what do you guys think?

Okay so unpopular opinion time! I don't think Peri is a poorly written character. In fact I believe her to be at least decently well written. I mean she's not as deep, complex, or nuanced as say xander, takumi, or laslow but I wouldn't go so far as to say she's a downright awful character in terms of writing. Now to elaborate, what i consider a good character is character I can understand or relate to. I don't necessarily have to like the character or agree with anything they do or say but I have to at least be able to understand why they are the way they are. Now to be fair there are a lot more contributing factors when judging whether or not a character is good like consistency, role in the story, etc. but in my opinion that is what separates a good character from a bad one at least in the most basic sense. In the case of Peri I think she meets that criteria. I mean she does have an understandable reason as to why she acts the way she does. She witnessed her mother's death at the hands of one of her servants at a very young age and because she was so young all the servants just kind of looked the same to her so she didn't really know which one to enact revenge on so she she just started killing all of them. It can be inferred through that she just subconsciously associates her servants with the death of her mother so even when she more or less got over the death she continued to do it because of that reason. It then becomes a habit because her father knew and just never stopped her. In fact in a way he encouraged her behavior by just replacing the servants that were lost. Killing at that point just became a game and something she finds fun. Speaking of her father, we can infer based on what we know from this backstory that he probably never really spent a whole lot of time raising peri which is why she acts so childlike. With Peri, it's important to note that she, mentally speaking, is still a child which is pretty obvious considering her speech pattern, mannerisms, rash judgements, her simplistic worldview, and excessive whining when she doesn't get her way. Again I don't have to agree with Peri's actions, motivations, words, etc. but I at least need to understand them and from what we know about her backstory I do understand why she is the way she is. Now that's not to say there are flaws with the way Peri is written. For one her supports with xander are extremely inconsistent with his character and contradicts a lot of things he stands for. Her support with odin makes little sense and is contradictory with her character. Really the main issue with peri that I can see is that she's inconsistent and her role in the story tends to contradict a lot of what we know about other characters like xander and corrin. However even with all that I can't say she's a terribly written character because again she has a good reason for why she is the she is and with a few exceptions she does remain fairly consistent with what's established about her character. Though those are just my thoughts feel free to disagree.

~Welcome~ Here is a place to discuss: Character Builds, Character usefulness, and Skills. Basically anything about the characters you’d like to discuss

Well, I recently beat this game, and...I really enjoyed it! Wasn't perfect, by any means; for example, the gameplay somehow managed to be even MORE unbalanced than Gaiden itself was...but I still enjoyed myself. And while the plot itself still had a lot of the doofy elements of Gaiden, the writing behind said plot went a long way to helping resolve it. Plus, I liked how much they expanded upon Act 5 (in the original Gaiden, the game just sort of...ended. It felt like the entire Act was written under a deadline). That all said, I also realize that the plot definitely had some loose ends that should have been tied up. So, I've decided it'd be fun, theory crafting ways this can all tie together. So without further adieu... Number 1: If Rudolf Could Beat Up Mila...Why Didn't He Just Beat Up Duma, Too? Why the Overly Convoluted Plan? As far as I know, Mila and Duma are equals. Otherwise, their long war before the Pact wouldn't have ended in a stalemate. So logically speaking, Rudolf could've just taken the BOTH of them out, just with the information available. But, I feel like that can be explained. I don't know the exact timeframe for all of Echoes' events, but... I think think there are two easy explanations. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 1) Maybe beating up Duma WAS Rudolf's original plan...and then Mila messed that up by sealing Falchion. 2) Where Mila's followers were namby-pamby pacifists, Duma's followers were scary dark mage types. If Rudolf went after Duma...it wouldn't have just be "Rudolf vs. Duma". It would've been "Rudolf vs. Duma + The Entirety of the Duma Faithful". Perhaps Rudolf didn't think he could take the both of them at once. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Going by theory No. 1, Rudolf might've decided he wanted to try his luck with Mila, first. Perhaps he feared what Duma would do to his family and kingdom if he failed to take him down. So, instead of marching into a fight he wasn't sure he could win, he picked a fight with Mila first, knowing that she was about as strong as Duma. Then, if he emerged victorious, then he'd know he could beat Duma, too. So Rudolf marches to Mila, does his thing, wins the fight... ... ....... Aaaand then Mila seals the Falchion! Rudolf marches back to Rigel, planning on defeating Duma, and then gets stopped in his tracks when Mila figures out what he intends to do. Because remember; Mila's still selling the mental effects of degeneracy. She's not in her right mind, and she doesn't want Rudolf killing her brother. That's theory No. 1. So going by Theory No. 2, well...let's face it. The Duma Faithful are a HECK of a lot scarier than the Mila Faithful ever were. So scary, in fact, that Rudolf felt that he needed to send Alm away with Mycen, instead of just crushing the cult himself. And that makes sense. Even assuming he could round up the army he needed to fight the Duma Faithful, his army's screwed the moment he himself gets taken down. Falchion is the one thing in their world that can kill Duma. So all the Duma Faithful would need to do is focus all their firepower on Rudolf. Do that, and the entire effort collapses. It wouldn't matter how many men Rudolf had with him. Hence, why Rudolf felt the need to turn to his utterly nonsensical, overly convoluted plan. It's risky as all-get-out, but, well...Alm and Celica are the prophesized saviors. It's not much, but, it's still better than nothing. Do either of those sound like reasonable explanations? Or is there something I'm forgetting about (like, maybe Rudolf beat up Mila many years AFTER sending Alm away? Like I said, not sure on the exact timeframe of everything that happened).

Chrono Trigger is a masterpiece. This podcast explains why!

Exactly what the title says. How do you fellow authors establish the way reality works in the fictional universe(s) you set your stories in? For example, if magic exists, how exactly does it work? What about the mythos, gods, and afterlife of the characters? I try to flesh out the metaphysics of my fanfics as much as possible. For example, here is an excerpt from the chapter I'm currently working on. In this fanfic, which is a crossover between Pokémon and a certain five-book series, a character, who is a mage, tries to explain magic in scientific terms. (In the backstory of the fic, there used to be human mages and wizards in the past of the Pokémon world, but as time passed and technology progressed, magic became a forgotten art.) Later on, he theorizes the differences of the Pokémon world's pantheon and the other world's pantheons, and it goes somewhat like this: In other words, the concept is something similar to the "Towers" concept in the Elder Scrolls series, but in this case, each Legendary Pokémon binds a fragment of metaphysics (which they control) to reality to hold everything together. Another example: When Rayquaza was created, the atmosphere formed. Each Legendary is the "cause", their 'sphere' is the "effect". In the other universe, it's implied that nature came first ("cause"), and the gods came to being because of those aspects of nature ("effect"). As for the afterlife, the other universe already has an Underworld. All we need now is a Pokémon universe equivalent. I've decided that all the bad ones are sent to prisons in the Distortion World, where Giratina (who also guards the DW as a cosmic gateway between realms) monitors them. I haven't decided where all the good guys go. Neutral/good beings also have a choice to stay as ghosts, because ghosts are a thing in Pokémon. So, how do you guys do these sort of thing? Or do writers tend to ignore topics such as these? To the mods: If I posted this in the wrong category, then I deeply apologize. Feel free to move this topic as you see fit.

In this list, I’ve taken it upon myself to rank, in no particular order, 20 of the best, and 10 of the worst voice acting performances/choices for previously voiceless characters making their English voiced debut in Fire Emblem Heroes. Some ground rules for this list: - No characters who have appeared with an English voice in any other game. - Seasonal units do not count. - No voice actor may appear more than once. - A voice simply being “good” or “bad” won’t cut it. There needs to be something about the voice and how it compares to the quality of work the actor is known for. A certain degree of effort, or lack thereof, is required. - If a character from the Tellius games has a different actor than they did back in their original games, they may be included. - This is based on opinion, so you are more than welcome to disagree with me. BEST: 1. Sigurd - Grant George: George’s iconic voice and unique intonations made him the absolute perfect choice for Sigurd. He sounds noble and regal, just like he should. 2. Hector - Patrick Seitz: One of my personal favorites, FE voice director Patrick Seitz nails anything he casts himself into. Hector is no exception. 3. Jeorge - Mick Wingert: This one was a toss-up between Jeorge and Arden, but Jeorge took it due to having more consistency. Clearly Wingert has no problems adapting his incredible range. 4. Michalis - David Vincent: The good ol’ voice of Robin proves he can do more as Michalis. He truly sounds villainous in every line he has, and that’s a good thing for a warrior of his caliber. 5. Cain - Taliesin Jaffe (credited: T. Axelrod): Hearing Jaffe’s energy come out of Cain is a true joy. It reminds me of Owain/Odin, in a way, and that’s never a bad thing. Cain is easily one of my very favorites. 6. Eirika - Kira Buckland: Surpassing her brother in the VA department, Eirika’s voice is widely considered to be one of the very best the game has to offer. Buckland’s voice oozes with kindness and respect, which couldn’t be more fitting for Eirika. 7. Seliph - Christian La Monte: I honestly have no idea who Christian La Monte is, but I cannot deny his skill as a voice actor. Seliph and Roderick’s voices sound like freshly-opened butter, and I must give him the credit he deserves. 8. Julia - Cassandra Lee Morris: Seliph’s younger half-sister also proves to have a respectable voice. She sounds quiet and serene, but clear and with conviction, just as I would expect from the lady who voiced Morgana. 9. Black Knight - Robert Clotworthy: My favorite character in the game has been blessed with divine armor, a holy sword, and a god-like voice. Though I haven’t heard much of Clotworthy’s work, personally, I cannot deny I would be willing to hear more after this exemplary performance. 10. Maria - Wendee Lee: Despite having voiced Lyn three different times, I still hold true to the belief that FE Heroes’ Director Wendee Lee’s best voice is Maria. She captures her pure-hearted innocence and youthful energy so well. 11. Arvis - Xander Mobus: The award for my personal favorite voice in the whole game goes to Mobus’ Arvis. It’s just amazing in every way. Who knew the Smash Bros. Announcer could sound so evil? 12. Klein - Edward Bosco: Speaking of Xander Mobus, his best friend Edward Bosco did a fantastic job as Klein, perfectly capturing his respectful mannerisms and noble characteristics. 13. Hawkeye - Jamieson Price (credited: Taylor Henry): Smooth and serene at one moment, powerful and angry the next, Price’s range is explored entirely through one character as Hawkeye proves the breadth of his personality. 14. Nino - Sarah Blandy: Though the same could be said for Fae and Midori, I adored the childlike, youthful energy found in Blandy’s voice as Nino. It’s no surprise that her “I’ll do my best!” has won the hearts of so many players. 15. Lucius - Michael Sinterniklaas: Capturing a feminine disposition is no easy feat, but Sinterniklaas did so without any problem. I would consider his best role to be Lucius over Takumi and Niles, without a doubt. 16. Ninian - Brianna Knickerbocker: Gentle and caring, just like Sakura. But still different and unique enough to be easily identified with the icy dragon girl. Knickerbocker’s role as Ninian is a treat for the ears. 17. Priscilla - Marcella Lentz-Pope: Contrary to her prior roles as the determined Corrin and Scarlet, Lentz-Pope now finds herself voicing the serene Eturian noble Priscilla. Fortunately, she nails it. 18. Valter - Imari Williams: It’s weird to think that the guy who voiced the gentle Benny in Fates now voices the crazed Moonstone general Valter. Regardless, he does so very well, perfectly capturing his bloodlust and crazed obsession with battle. 19. Lute - Brina Palencia: Moreso than her performance as Ayra, Palencia’s role as Lute was spot-on. She sounds deadpan, confident, and somewhat narcissistic, which fits her character perfectly. 20. Dorcas - Kirk Thornton (uncredited): I am very saddened that Thornton doesn’t get to be properly credited for his fantastic performance as Dorcas. His lines referring the old 2003 commercial are too hilarious to ignore, and his tone in general is exactly as I would expect from the depressed family man. WORST: 1. Lachesis - Cristina Valenzuela: This one is one of my least favorites, personally. While Valenzuela has had many good roles in the FE series, like Athena and Tatiana, her role as Lachesis is definitely not one of them. 2. Karel - Bryce Papenbrook: Despite his fantastic performance as Oscar, Papenbrook has found himself knocked down a peg when it comes to Karel. I wouldn’t fault him on it, though; it was most likely just a bad casting choice. 3. Nephenee - Julie Ann Taylor: I like Taylor’s roles as much as the next guy, but her role as Nephenee could’ve used some work. She lacked her shy presence, and her accent didn’t feel natural. 4. Eliwood - Yuri Lowenthal: He sounds exactly like Marth; there was no discernable difference to me whatsoever. Even Merric sounded more distinct. 5. Lilina - Julie Kwieler: Lilina to me is one of the very worst. Her insanely high-pitched, squeaky voice wouldn’t sound good on anybody, much nonetheless on Hector’s adorable daughter. 6. Ephraim - Greg Chun: Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE Chun’s voice. His performance as Lukas still makes my heart melt. But Ephraim didn’t feel quite right, at least to me. 7. Rebecca - Hunter Mackenzie Austin: This one felt like a loss of potential more than anything else. While not necessarily bad, I do wish she had a little more personality, especially for a girl described as “helpful and bright”. 8. Gwendolyn - Cherami Leigh: Gwendolyn sounds exactly like Caeda, and without any of the personality to go with it. This caused Gwendolyn to become generally forgettable, which should never be said for an FE character that made it into Heroes. 9. Mist - Sarah Williams: After the misery we were put through listening to Mist’s awful voice in the Tellius games, I was hoping for something better. Unfortunately, Williams’ voice for Mist was not a good replacement, making her sound squeaky and too young. 10. Gordin - Max Mittelman: I simply didn’t feel as though Mittelman’s voice was a good fit. It often sounded like an awkward blend of Gray and Kaden, and didn’t quite sit right with me. Well, that’s my list, and the explanations behind them. I worked hard on it, so I’m eager to hear what you all think. Any suggestions or comments are very much appreciated. Thanks for reading! - KoolioKenneth

So I know that branded are the offspring of a beroc and a Laguz. Then what would happen if a branded would had a offspring with a beroc, laguz or another branded? Could the child become a double branded, having two marks on their bodies? A Beroc?, Because the Laguz blood would cancel each other out, or the inverse? Also isn't becoming a branded strange? All that is needed to be considered one is that some one in the family tree needed to be with a Laguz, regardless if it has hundreds of years ago, and be the first born? So potentially anyone could be a branded if they can trace their family history long enough? So what is with the deal when a Laguz gives birth to a branded, they lose the ability to transform? It is like a magical STD? Aren't branded implied to be the future of Tellius? They were naturally resistant to Ashera's judgment,. And Yune hinted at the notion. I could use some assistance in trying to understand fantasy genetics.

Introduction - Radiant Dawn is one of my all-time favorite games in the Fire Emblem series, and it pains me to see that it has not received any sort of representation in Heroes. As such, I came up with my own ideas for what units would be included in a Radiant Dawn-themed banner, Grand Hero Battle, and Tempest Trial. I am open to responses, so please tell me what you think! - KoolioKenneth Summoning Focus - Liberation of Dawn banner (Red Focus: Pelleas, Blue Focus: Micaiah, Green Focus: Kurthnaga, Colorless Focus: Sothe) Grand Hero Battle - Mad King Ashnard (Reward: Ashnard) Tempest Trial - War-Torn Tellius (Reward: Sephiran) Micaiah - “Priestess of Dawn” Blurb - “Founder of the Dawn Brigade, once known as the Silver-Haired Maiden. Quiet and serene, she does not express herself well, but loves her friends and country with all her heart.” Summary - Blue tome infantry appearing in the Liberation of Dawn Summoning Focus. HP - 36 ATK - 32 SPD - 32 DEF - 14 RES - 36 Total BST - 150 Weapon - Rexaura: Blue tome. 14 Mt. DEF +3. Comes with Breath of Life. Grants adjacent allies RES +6 at start of Player Phase. Assist - Branded Sacrifice: Lose 10 HP, but fully heal any injured ally. Micaiah CAN die from this. Special - A-slot - B-slot - Renewal C-slot - SPD/RES Ploy Desired VA - Erika Harlacher Explanation - Micaiah is obviously the highlight unit of the banner, but I admittedly had a bit of trouble designing her. The most difficult part of Micaiah’s potential as a unit in Heroes is whether or not she would be made into a mage unit (like Celica) or be made into a staff unit to highlight the recent buffs that staves got in the latest update. I decided to go with Blue tome so that she wouldn’t share colorless with Sothe in the banner, saving the staff for Sephiran. She wields RD’s most powerful Light Magic, Rexaura (a member of the Aura family) which serves to bridge the gap between Linde and Delthea’s weapons. Micaiah is made with her RD playstyle in mind, working off of her high ATK and SPD alongside extremely low physical frailty. However, I intentionally made her ATK and SPD not quite high enough to be classed alongside other glass cannon blue mages like Linde, Delthea, and Lute, instead relying on her unique C-skill, SPD/RES Ploy, to get her the stat margin she needs. Her other unique skill is her Assist, Branded Sacrifice. It serves as a reference to what made Micaiah so special at the start of RD, in which she could offer her own HP to another party member. This version of the skill is much more powerful, allowing her to run as a healer very well...almost too well. The skill is risky, since it does not have an overflow cap, and will kill Micaiah if the player overuses it. The player must be patient and rely on Renewal to keep her alive. Alternate Weapon - Thani: Staff. 16 Mt. Comes with Wrathful Staff. Ignores bonuses on cavalry/armored units. Sothe - “Daein’s Liberator” Blurb - “A member of the Dawn Brigade who was raised in the slums of Daein by Micaiah. After fighting alongside Ike in the Mad King’s War, he swore to protect Micaiah at all costs.” Summary - Dagger infantry appearing in the Liberation of Dawn Summoning Focus. HP - 36 ATK - 36 SPD - 38 DEF - 20 RES - 20 Total BST - 150 Weapon - Baselard: Dagger. 10 Mt. SPD -2. Strike twice when attacking. Inflict DEF/RES -7. Assist - Swap Special - Whisper: Cooldown count: 4. If unit’s DMG - foe’s HP > 1, automatically leaves one HP remaining. A-slot - Swift Sparrow B-slot - Brigade’s Bearing: Grants Hardy Bearing to this unit and any adjacent ally. C-slot - Desired VA - Kenneth B. Foster Explanation - Sothe effectively serves as Heroes’ first ever wielder of a brave dagger, taking the form of the insanely powerful Baselard weapon from RD. His existence is meant to beat out units like Brave Lyn and Bridelia with the highest offensive BST in the game and restore the overall strength of dagger units. His unique special, Whisper, is taken right out of Radiant Dawn, making it great at whittling down tanky units like Arden. His other unique skill is a B-slot support skill that allows him to forego Desperation and Vantage in exchange for nullifying it against his enemies. When positioned properly, Sothe can be a great support unit in addition to offense. Kurthnaga - “Scion of Dragons” Blurb - “The kind-hearted son of Dheginsea, King of the Dragon nation of Goldoa. He left his home to discover the whereabouts of his lost siblings, eventually joining Micaiah.” Summary - Green dragonstone infantry appearing in the Liberation of Dawn Summoning Focus. HP - 44 ATK - 30 SPD - 20 DEF - 35 RES - 35 Total BST - 164 Weapon - Dark Breath: Green Dragonstone. Grants Close DEF Assist - Special - Dragon Fang A-slot - Fury B-slot - C-slot - Hone Dragons Desired VA - Robbie Daymond Explanation - Kurthnaga serves as the first green dragon unit to enter the game since launch, joining Fae as the only ones in the whole game. His statline grants him the title of highest defensive BST, barely beating out Sheena. When compounded with his weapon, he becomes the ultimate wall to both physical attacks and magic. He also comes with Hone Dragons to accompany Ninian’s Fortify Dragons, completing the set. Pelleas - “Orphaned Prince” Blurb - “The heir-apparent to the throne of Daein on the grounds of being Ashnard’s long-lost son. Timid and gentle, he often feels conflicted about running his country.” Summary - Red tome infantry appearing in the Liberation of Dawn Summoning Focus. HP - 40 ATK - 30 SPD - 36 DEF - 24 RES - 20 Total BST - 150 Weapon - Balberith: Red tome. Mt 14. ATK +3. Grants weapon triangle advantage VS colorless. Assist - Special - Flare: Cooldown count: 4. Reduces enemy RES by 80% and heals half damage. A-slot - Triangle Adept B-slot - Bowbreaker C-slot - Desired VA - Chris Hackney Explanation - Pelleas is one of the most pivotal characters of Micaiah’s story in RD, serving as the symbol of hope for Daein’s people in such a dark time. But in this game, he is here as a red unit for the banner and adds a new niche. At 36 SPD, he is the fastest Red tome user in exchange for middling ATK. However, this is fixed by his weapon, Balberith. Once owned by his former master Izuka, this dark magic tome granted ATK +3 to the wielder’s stats in RD, and similarly does so here. It works similarly to a raven-tome, and comes alongside TA and Bowbreaker, which makes him fantastic for dealing with offensive bow units like Brave Lyn. His final asset comes in the form of his unique skill Flare, which works like Aether as a single hit. Just be careful with using him, as he has rather low DEF and RES, which leaves him vulnerable to overly offensive units. In summary, he is basically a faster, less tank version of Henry. Ashnard - “The Mad King” Blurb - “The tyrant king of Daein who waged all-out war against Crimea and was defeated by Ike. Maniacal, manipulative, and cruel, he believes that strength rules over all.” Summary - Sword flier appearing in the Mad King Ashnard Grand Hero Battle. HP - 54 ATK - 36 SPD - 18 DEF - 36 RES - 18 Total BST - 162 Weapon - Gurgurant: Sword. Mt 16. Special count -1. Nullifies “effective against” bonuses. Assist - Harsh Command Special - Stun: Cooldown count: 4. Identical to Ignis, and inflicts Gravity on the opponent. A-slot - Daein’s Rampage: Grants Quickened Pulse and DMG +10 when special triggers. B-slot - Wrath C-slot - Flier Formation Desired VA - Darin DePaul Explanation - Ashnard fills in the role with a sword that Valter and Michalis did with lance and axe: a violent military leader on a wyvern with a love of combat and conquest. In this vein, Ashnard stands out as a sword-wielder by being built similarly to units like Mia and Ayra who get great benefit out of their specials. This is due to his weapon and unique A-slot skill, which can be deadly when used in tandem. Being a GHB unit, I gave him a skill in every slot to help those who want him for SI. Sephiran - “Begnion’s Minister” Blurb - “The generous and popular Minister of Begnion’s Senate who serves as Sanaki’s consort and mentor. His sudden disappearance threw Begnion into disarray.” Summary - Staff infantry appearing as a reward in the War-Torn Tellius Tempest Trial. HP - 40 ATK - 32 SPD - 22 DEF - 16 RES - 40 Total BST - 150 Weapon - Creiddylad: Staff. Mt. 16. Comes with Wrathful Staff, and allows for the equipping of staff-restricted skills. When attacking, inflicts RES -3 on enemies adjacent to the target. Assist - Goddess Staff: Heals 15 HP to a single ally, and 5 HP to all other allies and self. Special - Corona: Cooldown count: 3. Reduces enemy RES by 80%. Faster version of Glacies. A-slot - Warding Stance B-slot - C-slot - ATK Ploy Desired VA - Johnny Yong Bosch Explanation - Sephiran joins Effie, Mia, and Arden as a unit with a key stat that breaks into the 40’s, sporting the highest natural RES in the game by far. This fits him into a niche with Warding Stance, allowing him to be the ultimate magic tank, along with weakening enemies with ATK Ploy. His weapon and assist are both references to the final chapters to RD, in which he used both as character-unique weapons. Creiddylad also comes with a shrunken-down version of RES Smoke, which gives him some utility on offense, too. But where he really shines is his unique skill Corona, which allows him to activate Glacies at the same time as Iceberg would. Thank you so much for reading! Now, could I have some of your thoughts?

Good evening everyone, my name is Jack Longman and I was wondering if you might be interested in aiding me in a little something. You see, one of the things I do is run a Nintendo site, which I aim to do more Fire Emblem related discussion posts, which is where this noble forest comes into the equation. Provided it is okay, I would like to start a discussion here, for the fans of Fire Emblem to have their say, regarding a topic I wish to discuss before in a week's time, I round up all the answers I have your permission to share and post them as part of a Let's Talk About article that will be posted on Miketendo64. I would share links to previous articles and the site, but that could come across as self promotion, which isn't what I want to do in the slightest and if you don't want me sharing your answer, feel free to say so when responding. As for the matter I wish to discuss, well since this is the year that gave us the Royal siblings Sharena & Alfonse and Rowan & Lianna, the new heroes of Heroes and Warriors, should Intelligent Systems who had a hand in both games, have gone about creating a crossover event that would see characters from each game appear in the other? I'm not saying Rowan and Lianna need to be playable in FE Heroes, but they could have appeared as part of a Tempest Trial event, instead of just a FE Warriors launch event tie-in and nothing more, whereas in Warriors, Alfonse and Sharena could have appeared as characters during a Tempest Trials History Map that not only would give players more levels to play, but an effective cross promotion that not only benefits the games, but the new faces of Fire Emblem Warriors 2017. So without further ado, Let's Talk About...Fire Emblem (The 2017 Character Crossovers that Never Happened)

For those of you that aren't aware, Chain Challenges got changed in a previous patch to now give you HM even if you have cleared them previously. I feel(?) like this wasn't in the patch notes which is why it hasn't been talked about as much as it should, because this gives really good opportunities for those of us with excess stamina to farm feathers with very minimal effort. While the rewards aren't as lucrative as Tempest Trials, they have the advantage of being available 100% of the time and being 100% absent of RNG meaning they will be consistently lower effort than TT which always have a chance of putting you into an infinite loop or something similar. For example, using the following team I can clear CC 1+2 Normal on autobattle: Parenthesis denote stars, as well as non-baseline skills that may be relevant. Merric (4) Azama (4, Renewal 3, Reconcile, Imbue, unarmed) Clarisse (4, Draw Back) Red Lyn (5, Smite, Brash Assault 3, Galeforce) On Autobattle in that deployment order, this team clears the first 7 maps without losing a unit for a total of 89.4 HM. The following 3 maps are cleared without Merric totaling an additional 31.8 HM giving a grand total of ~120 HM for 30 stamina. With 288 potential stamina per day you can run this 9 times with some stamina to spare, which would equate to 1080 HM per day. Not bad if you have nothing else to spend stamina on! Obviously you can get more by actually playing the maps, but that requires more time and effort than some of us who don't really enjoy grinding are willing to put in. But wait person with five posts on their account, even if I had those particular units, I'll cap out on HM with those units after a few days, making this post exceedingly niche. Not exactly! Remember a lot of units in this game have very similar stat spreads, and these are some of the easiest maps in the game against primarily under leveled enemies. This means we can mix and match to produce similar or even identical results with different characters. For example, 4 star Clarisse has very generic archer stats, what happens if we replace her with the following unit: Jeorge (4, Draw Back) As you might guess because otherwise I wouldn't be posting this, he works in an identical fashion. Lyn can be replaced in a similar vein with M!Marth (5+1, Renewal 3, Moonbow, LnD 2, Recipricol Aid) or Alfonse (5, Swap, Growing Wind). From a purely hypothetical perspective, Merric can likely be replaced with F!Robin who has a similar statline, maybe even M!Robin. Azama is a worse example since he's the only healer with such high defense, but Lissa would probably work. That's great but what else can we do with this? Other than max out our Azama and Merric HM I'm presuming that there are much more efficient levels and builds with which to reliably build farming teams. 1+2 are lower on enemy count than any of the other CC's, which does make it easy to run, but also is giving up potential HM on harder levels. That being said, theorycrafting potential levels is not a task for one person. So, with some conditions in place for replications sake, I am perhaps naively hoping others would be willing to share their HM farming setups if they happen across any teams that can mix and match in a similar fashion. In a show of eternal thanks I will copy-paste your work into this post and give you credit which you can use to impress all the girls on SF. Also if you wanted to add that you are replicating another person's team and strategy with specific character swapped in, I will be happy to add that. The more data we have the better. Notes as to things that can screw up the ability for others to replicate your run: 1. TEAM ORDER. This is important enough I might make a separate section about it entirely. When autobattling your team enters each new map based on the order they are in on the team section. If I switch Lyn and Merric in my example section, the autobattle run does not work. 2. Assists. Self explanatory enough, while the AI will always use an assist in the same way, it will change how the map plays out should you have one equipped vers empty. Also it won't be that helpful if you post autobattle teams with Rally Spd/Attack, not many of us have B!Cordelia's to use on inheritance. 3. IV's. For the most part I don't think they matter -that- much, but I put in a 5 star uninherited Karel and one of his stats was low enough that he ended up dying (Or perhaps he simply lacked the self healing of the other reds I used). They are more likely to matter if you have a character with less balanced stats (IE Felicia) vs a character with more balanced stats (IE Clarisse). Don't worry to much about this, if your team only works with a certain stat threshold I'll just make a note of it. 4. Healers and weapons: I assume most successful strategies will have unequipped healers since AI healers are otherwise typically out for blood. Make sure you make a note if you do use a weapon. Also what staff and skill they are using since they're more vulnerable to replication error. An example of the Thread Cred you could obtain for sharing your wisdom with us ignorant masses: Chapters: CC 1+2 (Normal) Team Order and non-base skills: 1. Merric (4) 2. Azama (4, Renewal 3, Reconcile, Imbue, unarmed) 3. Clarisse (4, Draw Back); Jeorge (4, Draw Back) 4.Red Lyn (5, Smite, Brash Assault 3, Galeforce); M!Marth (5+1, Renewal 3, Life and Death 2, Recipricol Aid, Moonbow); Alfonse (5, Swap, Growing Wind) Possible HM: 120 Credits: T-Bone

I feel like Jarod is under credited as the main antagonist of part 1, and when people bring up villains done right in the Fe series I'm surprised that Jarod is never mentioned. This is just my opinion and I'm going off memory here so correct me or tell me if I missed some things or was wrong, but Jarod was not your average staple on plain evil doer villain that so many people categorize him as. From the moment you see him you know he means business by killing his own soldier for letting the DB escape, and by his other actions you can see how bloodthirsty and power hungry he is from the prologue. The player gets see his interactions with his men and higher-ups and such as Numida and Fiona. These things let us really understand his personality and give us a good reason for us to want to DB to succeed making him a more satisfying enemy to defeat. The big parts that separate him from the rest of the pack of basic villains in the second half of part 1, where he gets betrayed by Numida and is left to answer for all of his crimes. Instead of begging for mercy and looking pathetic, he takes it like a man and decides to take his sworn enemy down with him. He gets even better when the Black knight kills his Soldier (I think his name was Alder) and Jarod says to himself "He was a good soldier", and swear vengeance for him. This is by itself makes him so much more than your common villain because it humanizes him and makes him relate-able without making you feel sympathy for him which so many people think is the only way to make a villain good. Lastly he never asked for a sliver of pity throughout all his actions and died a proud soldier, and in his last words he even said "I regret nothing.... because I did it my way". His speech to his men before the endgame was legendary as well and I'll post it for you guys so you can remember, but this is the kind of villain I want to see in FE switch and I would love to see your opinion on this subject. Feel free to correct me or state his faults as much as you desire, just remember that this is my opinion. Tell me if it's yours or not as well. “Listen up, all of you. This is our last chance to die as we've lived. As proud soldiers of the empire. If we survive this fight, imprisonment and a hushed-up execution await us. If we run from this fight, dishonor and pursuit will dog our miserable days. So I say, let's give those Daein curs a fight to remember, and let the glory of our deaths light our way! We've lived as proud soldiers of the empire! Let us die as proud soldiers of the empire! Now GO!” -Jarod's last speech to his army in Part 1, Endgame

Whether it be character potential or story potential. What are some things you feel the Tellius games could have handled better? (minus the blood pact, which has been beaten to death, and I think we can all agree that that should have been handle better) For me it was Elincia in PoR. She should have played a more central role to the story imo, instead of being reduced to the typical damsel in distress. Despite how fantastic her character development was in RD, they could have done a lot more with her in PoR, and not have her be so reliant of Ike for pretty much the whole game.

So I love Fire Emblem as most people here do. I honestly love everything about it. But I know myself to an extent and probably others are getting tired of the exact same format of the turn based rpg with RNG this series is founded on. That got me thinking, there's another strategy rpg out there I love, and it's Valkyria Chronicles. So the idea is we combine them, or rather we make Fire Emblem in the style of Valkyria Chronicles in terms of gameplay and perhaps story. Background information. So I'm assuming most people haven't played Valkyria Chronicles. So the game is similar to Fire Emblem at first glance, it's a turn-based rpg where you move units across the map with units of different classes. This is where the glance ends. What makes Valkyria unique and enjoyable is the ability to free roam whenever you select that unit and perform an action any time, whether it be attack an enemy, heal, or that's really it. The movement is set for each class with a Action Gauge filled with Action Points (AP). Enemies also fire on you (depending on the class) as you move which makes postioning and reaction time key. Another thing is that before an action, the game pauses to an extent, every other unit is paused, but your unit can freely swap between weapons and items while aiming, which is another part of this game, besides healing and repairing terrain, nothing is guaranteed immediately, every attack has a chance to miss and the enemies (and your units) have the chance to dodge attacks. It also has a unique cover system which increases defense when crouching or crawling. Terrain is also interractible with cover being destroyed or rebuilt. Units can die in Valkyria as well, though specific criteria has to be met for them to die (get koed, and then captured by an enemy or are not rescued within 3 turns) with specific criteria there for if your lord dies or you turn out or other objectives are not met which will cause game overs. Also basically you have x amount of Command points a turn, which one CP equals one movement for a unit, 2 if it's a tank (don't think this would be incorporated into Fire Emblem unless a Manakete or something), and then your lord/leader can give various commands to all allies or specific ones, like all units gain defense at the cost of 2 cp or heal this one unit for one cp. There is also battle commands like Sniper support, which could be incorporated as well, also this commands are limited to 1 of each type per turn (so you can do all defense up but then no specific defense up). So basically Valkyria Chronicles is very similar to Fire Emblem but with a unique twist that makes it its own thing. So how do I think this would work? Well I feel like enemy counterattacking as you move would not be incorporated, however I feel like positioning units in the style of the Action Gauge would work well, though once a unit acts they shouldn't be able to do anything else, with the exception of specific skills, which Valkyria has under potentials, which are class skills learned by leveling up and in units performance in battle, they learn their own specific potential, which can be extremely good or something out of the garbage bin (looking at you Humanitarian). A example would be Pegasus Knights with Galeforce (which would reset their movement to max and give them another action, but limited to once per turn). This brings me to the next point, classes. So Valyria Chronicles 1 only has 5 classes, but that's fine since they serve different roles due to the different setting. But using Fire Emblem's classes we can have Knights be the tanks or possibly specifically be the anti-beast unit but have terrible aim against other enemies, beast units could be very powerful units that resist all normal means of attack, but could be nerfed by their weakness to knights or if there is CP in this game (which I hope not as every unit should be able to move) they would cost more CP, next have Pegasus Knights be high moving but low damage classes (still weak to bows), Bows basically serving as snipers, clerics and dancers could serve the support role like the engineer in Valkyria, being the best at healing allies and giving slight buffs to allies and possibly terrain reconstruction, mages could serve as a middle ground between foot soldier and archers, able to attack at medium range to close range but having similar defenses to the archer, units such as Cavalier would have less movement then pegasus knights, but more firepower and longetivity, with Mercenaries being very similar but on foot (so lower movement) but the ability to going into buildings or other tight areas like Forests. In which terrain could very well affect accuracy and damage like Valkyria, But I feel like the chance of you missing would work well in combat given Fire Emblem is a series based on RNG. A thing I like about Valkyria is that all units of a class level up at the same time meaning all Mages will go from 1-2 at the same time, this is done through the training grounds with BEXP given as map cleared rewards (alongside gold, which can go into "buying" researching weapons from the armory) of which it should vary based on turn count, units defeated, units lost/koed, and other objectives completed (but make it balanced so scouts aren't the only class worth using due to base rushing). The lord would be very crucial on the battlefield if they were able to passively buff allies or do other things (arrow volley perhaps, catapult support?) at the cost of their turn, making it high risk or high reward with a depth of strategy (also could have dancers do the buffing orders while the lord gives combat orders). We could also see more detail in the world like in castles or in towns. Story wise mix-in Fire Emblem with the bit of depth we have in Valkyria Chronicles, as the plot basically is WW2 Fire Emblem with quite a few changes. Also possibly linking this all together is the fact that Laura Bailey, the former voice of Lucina, and who basically defines Lucina's voice in the hearts of many, also voiced a major character in Valkyria Chronicles 1, and also voiced any lines said by that character in any other games that character appears in So I basically made this to share my idea. I think it could work and would be refreshing, but what's your opinions? Do you think it could be a major redesign for the franchise if they did do this or is it a bad idea changing Fire Emblem and basically taking everything unique about another games series? (It would be a nice crossover game at least, Emblem Chronicles)

So, since the game's been out for a few months now, I figure it's a good time to try to get a discussion rolling on what people thought of the secret boss on the 10th floor of the Thabes Labyrinth. Personally, I think it retroactively added a lot to Awakening. It made Grima feel a lot less like a villain and more like a sort of omnipresent evil that was biding it's time for the right moment to strike. Explaining how Risen were created also added a bit to their lore, making them feel like a sort of trapped plague that was suddenly unleashed on the world to me. That's just my two cents though. What did you all think?