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Well, if you remember from way back when, I had a little thread were I threw out some FE ideas I had. Well, that was a while ago. Those ideas have gone though many, many drafts and revisions, and I'm still settled on very little. So, this thread is a place for to ramble on about my random thoughts second only to get input on them. What can I say, I'm a crowd pleaser.

So, this thread will, for me, be more about concepts for characters and gameplay than plot. The reason there will be inconsistencies is not because I may dream it differently, but because I'm indecisive and will change my mind. This is likely the exact opposite of what actually developers of the games do, but who cares, let's get started!

NOTE: From here down is a 'log' of all my ideas, for the convenience of those who would like to read all the ideas at once.

[spoiler=Unit set 1]

[spoiler=Phern]

-Class: Mercenary (retooled)

-Affinity: Anima

-Age at the start- 18

-Stats:

Initial level- 1

HP- 23 base (80% growth)

Strength- 7 (55%)

Magic- 0 (5%)

Skill- 9 (65%)

Speed- 4 (40%)

Luck- 2 (20%)

Defense- 6 (40%)

Resistance- 5 (45%)

Lance rank- D

Ladies and gentlemen, the 'lord' of this game! Looking at his stat's, it's obvious he's statistically quite different from most other lords, with his ludicrous focus on skill and high strength, defense and resistance, making him quite tanky (akin to a light general in a way). His speed isn't as high as most lords but is still passable, while his magic and luck are garbage. Personality wise, he's also different.

Like Ike, Phern is a mercenary leader. Unlike Ike, Phern's group of mercenaries is small, inexperienced, riddled with internal conflict, and largely self interested. This is no doubt due to Phern himself, affectionately calling his group the Phern's Mercenaries (a group of childhood friends seeking glory and fortune), one of many points of contention. Phern has an unnatural resolve and obsession with money, one time as a child having spent an entire night stabbing a trade ship with a bronze lance until it sunk for a bet, rewarding him with a small pouch of coins.

Unlike other lords, Phern's father is alive and well, a retired soldier who tried to train Phern to be a swordsman but instead the child pursued spear play. The two have never gotten along, and their strained relationship is yet another contention point among the mercenaries. Phern's very ambitious, dedicated to whatever lines his pockets, impatient and apathetic. However, he was always a talented spearman, in the end loyal to his friends despite their arguments and he does have an internal concern for allies and tries to be helpful, in his own short tempered way. He even admits to his own flaws and mistakes, and tries to get better, but usually only when it will help him make money.

Appearance: Phern is a clean faced individual with muddy red hair and green eyes. His armor is of a similar mahogany and is meant to look thrown together. The vambraces, greaves, poleyn and cuirass are stylistically meant to look distinct and are covered with scratches and paint with a slight drip, like he took some old hand-me-downs and painted them to colors he wanted and then wore them out some more. His upper arms are guarded by two oddly shaped metal plates (kind of like a cul-de-sac road) attached to them and his feet are covered by a pair of brown boots, which are the only things he's wearing that look new. Aside from his brown boots and black doublet and pants, his whole suit is a dark muddy red.

[spoiler=Isaac]

-Class: Cavalier

-Affinity: Earth

-Age at start: 20

-Stats:

Initial level- 1

HP- 21 base (75% growth)

Strength- 6 (50%)

Magic- 3 (30%)

Skill- 7 (40%)

Speed- 7 (50%)

Luck- 3 (25%)

Defense- 5 (30%)

Resistance- 2 (20%)

Sword rank- D

Lance rank- E

Isaac is the first cavalier in the game, and fulfills something of a more balanced glass canon roll. He has decent skill and HP, above average speed and strength, rather average defense and for a physical unit impressive magic, allowing him to use magic weapons rather well. However, his luck, while better than Phern's, is still poor, and his resistance isn't great either. Personality wise, he is the most noble of the three mercenaries.

Isaac was the son of a retired soldier (no relation to Phern's father), and while Isaac had many excellent qualities for a knight he ultimately did not become one because his parents and him agreed he was not suited for a knights life. Isaac and his parents have a stark contrast to Phern and his, as the former's encouraged him to follow his own goals and his father taught him sword play because he wanted to learn it. When the three friends who would later become the Phern's Mercenaries were children, Isaac was the one who proposed the idea of becoming traveling mercenaries.

Isaac is chipper and carefree individual, optimistic and often daydreaming. In a parallel to Lowen and Oscar, Isaac has all the knowledge needed to be a good cook, but unlike them lacks skill at it, which had lead to the (often joked about) matter of him tending to burn his culinary pursuits. However, that has never deterred him, and he keeps trying. He is generally relaxed and his dreaming nature leads to him making many introspective quotes. He's certainly the most down to earth member of the mercenaries despite that and is often the one to quell the arguments. However, Isaac is also a stickler. He is constantly getting on the case of the other two mercenaries to be cleaner, kinder, and less barbaric in general, and is the member of the three who consistently demands Phern write an annual letter to his father under threat of him leaving the group.

Isaac attempts to be a friendly and caring person to most everyone but his stern belief in doing the right thing (other than annoying his comrades) has lead to him tending to explode under certain circumstances about traits such as disloyalty, prejudice and harming the innocent, often following with an immediate apology. He is the one of the group who Phern most considers a friend, and will often be the one drawing out the latter's softer side.

Appearance: Isaac has slightly kept black hair and brown eyes. Unlike other early game cavaliers, Isaac is neither green nor red. Rather, his armor is shade of tan and his horse is a dark brown stallion. Cavalier armor in this game is mostly like that of FE7, with Isaac's lacking any distinctive traits other than it's brown color, the gorget being slightly larger and the fact that below it is mail instead of a shirt (slightly ironic Phern has higher defense despite not having visible mail, except it is stated that Phern wears chainmail under his clothes).

[spoiler=Gall]

-Class: Horse Archer

-Affinity: Dark

-Age at start: 17

-Stats:

Initial level- 1

HP- 18 base (70% growth)

Strength- 5 (35%)

Magic- 1 (10%)

Skill- 7 (45%)

Speed- 9 (70%)

Luck- 9 (75%)

Defense- 3 (20%)

Resistance- 3 (35%)

Bow rank- D

Making up for Phern and Isaac's poor luck, Gall has luck that shoots through the roof. Making up for his rather low strength is his insane speed. He can double Phern (if barely) from base and his growths insure he will not be left behind in that stat ever. His skill, while higher that Isaac's, is not as high as Phern's and overall would be considered average, but given his luck and accurate weapon type hitting shouldn't be a problem. He is not suited for direct combat at the start, and his defense and HP are rather poor, though his resistance is surprisingly good, and he is a natural dodging machine. His magic is better than Phern's, but still poor.

Gall is a rather shrewd person and causes much of the strife within the Phern's Mercenaries. This is somewhat understandable though, as he is both an orphan and a runaway who ran from his homeland as a boy, but was taken in by an elder general who took care of him for a short time before allowing him to leave. A street rat with more of a tooth for money than Phern, the two actually met after being caught trying to steal the same loaf of bread. He is a compulsive gambler, and will often make bets on the outcomes of events and will incorporate elements of luck such as coin flips into his daily life. He has developed a sense of honor of sorts with gambling, and insists that it be done fairly, which isn't to harmful given how his high luck stat translates into his character, as he is an incredibly lucky person in the now.

Gall is also notable for being very cold, smug and sarcastic. His inflated ego leads to him often remarking that he should be the leader of the Phern's Mercenaries and his rude, sometimes demeaning remarks often spark outbursts from Isaac and Phern. He is quick tempered and will join in these arguments in a heartbeat, and is a fan on strife in general. Even is his 'angered' states Gall is still largely in control of himself and will continue his snark mannerism regardless of the situation or tone of his voice. He will answer most questions or demands with some dismissive remark and is in a way introverted, spending most free time practicing or gambling over talking with his allies (this is mostly with future units, as he, Phern and Isaac still retain their childhood friendship). He has a well hidden sense of honor, never taking something he doesn't earn (although he has a skewed definition of earn) and sticks around with the Phern's Mercenaries through thick and thin because of his belief in loyalty stemming from his past, and has a genuine care for young people for the same reason.

Appearance: Gall has short, very dark black hair often covered with a red headband and grey-blue eyes. The outfit of a horse archer is a doublet under a shirt reminiscent of Sacean wear but without the cultural details, which is red in Gall's case, and pants which for Gall are dark green, and his horse is light brown.

So, as you can see if you read that, there are a few gameplay changes noticeable right off the bat. The main lord class line is called Mercenary-Hero. As such, the traditional Mercenary-Hero line has been renamed to Swordsman-Vanguard. Nomads sort of return in the form of Horse Archers. And finally, affinities have returned!

And another thing, these are the first units in the game you get. So already we have no Jeigan, no Marth, no Cain and Abel, etcetera.

GAMEPLAY UPDATE 1:

So, here I'm going to mention things which I thought would be good gameplay mechanics to have and explain either how they work or how they'd be different from previous mechanics.

Starting off we have:

[spoiler=Class System]There isn't a lot new to say about the class system here, it very similar to Awakening, which in own right was very similar to just about every other game in the series, barring the second seals. In this game, every character joins as a certain class and has 2 more they reclass into, which applies to the whole first generation, except for Phern, who has special lord privileges which give him 3 other classes.

Another notable notable difference is how classes give skills. In this game, there are no skills learned at level one. Tier 1 classes grant a skill a at level 10, Tier 2 classes grant skills at level 5 and 15 for two total, and special classes (one's with a level cap of 30 and no promotion) give 3 skills, one at level 10, another at level 20, and another at level 30.

Promotion and reclassing are much the same as well. At level 10 or higher, a Master Seal can be used to promote any character in a tier once class to a tier two class. At level 10 or higher of a tier one class, a second seal let's you reclass a character to any tier one class the character can access, while at level 10 or higher of a tier two class a second seal can reclass a character to any class they can access. In a special class, you can reclass to a tier once class once you hit level 10 and to any class once you hit level 20. The split promotion system returns, with every tier one class having 2 tier 2 classes to promote into.

It should be noted that resources are far more limited for the main game here than in Awakening. Master Seals are not commonly available for several chapters, and by the time you get them it's still a fair amount of time before second seals become available at all. Neither are in limitless supply until the post game, the objective being to simulate to higher but more balanced challenge that Awakening lost transitioning from older games in the series.

[spoiler=Mercenary System]Since Phern and his group are mercenaries, you can perform some good old fashioned mercenary work. Face it, in Awakening and Sacred Stones, it's very tempting to grind, but it's boring by a certain point and is there largely nothing besides EXP. Not that EXP isn't great, but the Mercenary System, in essence, is meant to make side missions more interesting.

First thing is Reputability. Renown in Awakening was earned in certain ways and unlocked powerful items, but Reputability reflects the overall performance of your merry band. The more Reputability you have, the higher level jobs you can take on. Reputability is earned by either clearing chapters in the main game or by clearing other mercenary jobs, with better performances granting more Reputability. Every job requires a certain amount of Reputability to take on.

Every side mission from here, and I mean EVERY ONE, has multiple requirements which are used to judge your performance. For example, at one point in the game is a mission to protect 6 merchants in a pass from bandits, keeping them from getting killed as they cross. The more merchants you save, the greater your reward at the end. For example, save 0 merchants, and you straight up fail, game over. Save every merchant, and enjoy 6 stat boosters. Similarly, the side objective is to defeat X/Y/Z bandits. Doing this will net you greater rewards as well. Either one, or both preferably, increase your Reputability gain depending on what level you complete the requirement to.

The Mercenary System cannot be abused though. Each mission can only be completed once for an actual affect. While they can be replayed, this will not actually have any permanent effect. Levels are not kept and rewards are not given. In the after game however, these rules are broken. Levels gained from replaying missions are kept, and reaching requirements once failed nets the reward for them.

These missions should not be confused for paralogues, though they are executed similarly. Rather than have a world map, the game offers lists (which take the form of old scrolls), one for paralogues, new paralogues being added to the list as they are unlocked and one's you complete being marked with a check. The other list is for the Mercenary System, and while you can only read the names of missions you've either completed or can try, you can see how much Reputability is required to play each mission. Gaiden chapters in the style of FE7 also return, which are executed the same. Completing certain requirements grants the ability to play these chapters, but they, like normal chapters, can only be played once.

[spoiler=Other Systems]One notable thing is the changes to stat boosters. Rather than being one and done, stat boosters can be equipped and shuffled. Every tier one class can equip 3 boosters, and every tier 2/special class can equip 5. However, you cannot equip more than 2 of the same booster, and there is a limited number of equippable boosters throughout the game. For example, I can give 2 Seraph Robes to a unit and increase their max HP by 10. I can give boosts to a unit to grant them 2 more move, and then switch that to another unit when I want/need it.

Capping stats can still be reached without a lot of luck and grinding though. A character get's a minimum of one stat every level unless all their stats are capped. In addition, BEXP is returned. Like Reputability, better performances grant more of it. BEXP gives at least 3 stat points unless the character it to close to their caps for that. What this means is that if a character has all but one stat capped, they get +3 in that one stat, unless that would put them over their cap.

[spoiler=Visuals]Not exactly a gameplay thing, but more the aesthetic angle I have in mind. Character designs here lend themselves more to Tellius than other sagas, though FE7 and Magvel influences are far from absent. Portraits in this game are more styled like FE10, though with a higher polygon count since this would be on a more powerful system (the Wii U being what I have in mind). The character designs are meant to be realistic in proportion, and have feet.

Battle's take their angle from FE10 over the rather...disappointing fight presentation in FE13. For one, the camera angles and the perspective the player gets are based off of FE10. Skills and other activations are notified and kept track of in the same little list in the corner as was used in FE10, and classes have separate animations for normal attacks, skill activation, and critical hits. Some notable things are that skills which happen to be critical hits don't get a special animation, it's just the skill animation with another pause to indicate the critical is happening. Also, Adept is represented by the striking twice animation like when using a Brave Weapon (Adept on a brave just runs the striking twice animation to start and then restarts the attack animation cycle, so to speak), and tier one classes simply attack 5 times in a row for Astra. HOWEVER. Every single promoted and special class has it's own, special, personal animation for Astra. Every class has a different motion and design for using the attack, from Phern's Hero class to Great Knights.

GAMEPLAY UPDATE 2:

This update, we will be talking about WEAPONS!

Types: The 8 types from the GBA games return, described in the list below.

[spoiler=Physical]The weapon triangle is the standard lances best swords best axes best lances, and triumphantly each of those 3 weapon types sees the return of reaver weapons to it's arsenal!

Swords: These weapons have the lowest power of physical weapons, but have the highest accuracy of them as well. Looking at conventional weapons (bronze, iron, steel, and silver), swords have 2 less might but 10 more hit than lances.

Lances: The weapon of the main lord Phern, lances are balanced between power and accuracy, and have the most available 1-2 range options, making them some of the most versatile weapons in the game.

Axes: Heavy hitting weapons, they have the highest might but lowest hit of any physical weapons, but rather affordable 1-2 range weapons. Conventional axes have 2 more might but 10 less hit than than their lance counterparts.

Bows: As many player will tell you, bows are not the greatest weapons, but this game aims to make them far more useful. Conventional bows get 1 more might and 5 more hit over lances, making them statistically superior despite their general lack of 1-range abilities. Another thing is that now bows get a weapon triangle advantage at 2+ range, but a weapon triangle disadvantage at 1 range.

[spoiler=Magical]Radiant Dawn's trinity of magic system returns, with anima besting light besting dark besting anima and inside anima there being another loop, but it's a bit...different, as I will cover later.

Light: Typically light has not been seen as a very useful magic type, but as with bows I wanted to change this. So while light magic is still easily the weakest weapon type in terms of might, including swords, it features some pretty crazy critical hit. For example, the basic light tome has 2 might but 15 crit, and that's the basic variety. They also have higher accuracy than even swords.

Anima: Introduced alongside wind, fire, and thunder is a new sub-category (all sub-categories are of the same weapon rank, and some anima isn't a part of one) of anima, Water. Inside anima is a 'magic square,' where thunder beats water, water beats fire, fire beats wind and wind beats thunder. Each type also has different effectivenesses and statistics. Wind is effective against pegasi and is statistically similar to swords. Fire has no effectivenesses normally and is between swords and lances in term of hit and might, but there are many fire tomes with unique effects. Water is statistically similar to lances. Thunder is between lances and axes in terms of might, but features hit more like axes in exchange for having critical and effectiveness against wyverns. Anima is not only the middle ground of magic, but anima tomes have the widest range of effects of all magic types, doing things that previously only physical weapons did.

Dark: Dark has to forms. One form is like axes. The other specializes in unique effects compared to anima's physical-inspired ones. As an example, nosferatu and luna both return, as well as several other new dark tomes having original effects.

Staves: Status staves do not return. While staves are largely just for healing, there are a few rare staves that allow the user to perform very weak magical attacks for self-defense, but cannot be used to attack. Unless one of these staves is equipped or the only weapon available, a staff user will default to whatever other options they have.

Finally, here is just one little thing:

[spoiler=S-ranks]S-rank weapons return, but because training units to fit a multitude of roles and reclassing is available, how do you make them something not frustrating? Well, in this game, once someone reaches enough experience to have an S-rank in a weapon, but already has an S-rank in a different weapon type, they will be given the option to switch there S-rank to whichever S-rank they have which matches a weapon type their class has. What weapon the S-rank is can be switched freely outside of battle at the base. Having an S-rank in a weapon gives a bonus of 1 to final attack (so a minimum of 1 damage is dealt), and 5 to final crit and hit (so a minimum critical and hit rate of 5)

GAMEPLAY UPDATE 3

[spoiler=Non-Human Classes]Since the very first Fire Emblem game on the NES, there have been groups with the ability to change from a human-like form into that of a dragon, and fight with incredible power for a short time. In Path of Radiance, they established the tradition of a group with more bestial transformations, which returned in the sequel and Awakening.

But after Radiant Dawn, the group with a bird transformations disappeared from the series. So, with that, I have long had the thought that if I were to direct a Fire Emblem game, I would return a bird-transforming class. Heck, I even dug around to find a name for it. So with that completed, I present to you the three non-human classes I planned to have:

[spoiler=Manakete]The Manakete are able to use a magical stone called a DragonStone to transform into a dragon. As a dragon they have a constant 1-2 range weapon in Dragon Breath, and statistically are closest to generals of all human classes. They do not have an armor weakness, like Generals, but have the weaknesses of a dragon to thunder magic and wyrm-slaying weapons. They can exceed Generals in both defense and resistance, and have higher raw attack. However, they can be even slower than generals in certain circumstances, and their lack of ability to use various weapons means that they might not deal as much damage or have as many options.

Manaketes do have the most options of their beast and bird counterparts though. Awakening offered a meager 2 dragonstones, while here Manaketes have 6 to chose from. Each of the six (Dragon Stone, Fire Stone, Thunder Stone, Ice Stone, Wind Stone, Dragon Stone+) have advantages and disadvantages. For example, the wind stone counts as Wind anima in the weapon cycle and has the highest speed boost, thunder stone deals the most damage and counts as thunder anima, ice stone counts as water anima and boosts attack/defense the most, and fire stone counts as fire anima with the most skill and luck, so overall is the most accurate. Even the dragon stone+ doesn't beat the elemental stones in their strongest category, instead being a generally useful stone (if less accurate and shorter lasting than a regular dragonstone)

[spoiler=Taguel]Users of the beast stones, taguel can only attack at one range most of the time, and are the most balanced beast class. They have more mobility and speed than a Manakete but not as high as the bird tribe, and are middle of the road in attack and defenses as well, minus low resistance. They only have 3 stones (Beast Stone, Fang Stone, Beast Stone+), with one (Fang Stone) being a killer weapon. Their advantage over other non-humans is similar to that of vanguards, they do everything well enough to be reliable and then some, and unlike birds and dragons don't have very many weaknesses, simply one to beast killing weapons.

[spoiler=Vulceo]Vulceo are this games bird tribe, so to speak, and they can use bird stones to turn into giant birds like Hawk and Raven Laguz. They are statistically like thieves or swordmasters, trading a bit of power for mobility and speed. Being fliers they can cross any terrain but are weak to arrows and wind magic. They feature an impressive 4 stones (Bird Stone, Talon Stone, Hawkeye Stone, Bird Stone+). A bird stone is the basic variety, a talon stone is a brave weapon with more attack but less defense or resistance, a Hawkeye Stone which makes them weaker but more accurate and evasive along with granting a 2-range counter, and Bird Stone+ which is a short lived but all around good weapon.

Now, all this would come with another change as to how stones would work. When a Manakete, Taguel or Vulceo has an appropriate stone, they have an option to use it with the 'Transform' command. Once selected you merely choose the stone they have you want them to use (reminiscent of selecting a weapon) and they will change into their animal form, with the boosts and combat stats of the stone being used. This is all very similar to a normal unit using a weapon except for one major thing: Stones work by turn count, not uses. If a stone has a 17 uses, that means it's good for 17 turns, not 17 attacks. But if a stone users stone runs out they revert back to their weak human form, and will not transform again unless they have another stone and you have them use it. It also means that if they see no combat that turn, the stone wastes a use. Stone uses can be saved by selecting 'Untransform' when ordering a transformed unit, where they revert to their human form.

So there you have it! Just some random ideas I had for a potential FE game! So, please do tell me what you think, and all input is welcome.

Edited by AnonymousSpeed
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Well, you do have some interesting characters here. I'm curious as to what sort of plot you have for them.

...To be honest here, I can't find much to say at this point.

Thanks, and that's fine. I'm really not 100% sure about the plot to be honest, but hey, I'll think of something! I'm just glad someone actually left a comment.

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  • 2 weeks later...

It's interesting to have another spearman as a lord. I've always had a thing for lance-wielding infantry units. The characters and general idea of Phern's Mercenaries being almost self-destructive in a way is a cool idea. Internal conflict is something rarely seen in FE, and even when it is it's nothing major and is solved quickly. Perhaps, and this is purely a suggestion, there could be a split within the group, where a few of the mercenaries get fed up with Phern's leadership and break off, becoming secondary antagonists that could maybe be re-recruited if certain conditions are met.

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25 HP is too high for a lord thats only on lvl 1. Other than that, Phern looks solid

Possibly. However, he's supposed to be tanky instead of fast, like a typical lord (basically all of which fit into either having blue hair, being swordsmen or being rather fast), and Isaac, who isn't supposed to be tanky, and has 22 HP at the same level. I do appreciate the compliment, and the criticism does raise a good point.

EDIT: Having taken this into consideration, I have changed both Phern and Isaac's base HP.

It's interesting to have another spearman as a lord. I've always had a thing for lance-wielding infantry units. The characters and general idea of Phern's Mercenaries being almost self-destructive in a way is a cool idea. Internal conflict is something rarely seen in FE, and even when it is it's nothing major and is solved quickly. Perhaps, and this is purely a suggestion, there could be a split within the group, where a few of the mercenaries get fed up with Phern's leadership and break off, becoming secondary antagonists that could maybe be re-recruited if certain conditions are met.

One of the things I set out with these characters was to offer something unique, for which purpose I wanted to largely forget FE conventions. Phern is neither speedy, blue haired or a swordsmen, which is unlike most other lords. Again, there aren't many archetypes present. This actually dates back to the second or third draft of this were I was only going to give one of each class for some stupid reason, so there was only one cavalier and my aversion to prepromotes discouraged me from putting in a Jeigan because that would then block out a whole class more or less. So even in this, which is around the tenth draft, you only start with one cavalier and have no Jeigan.

One of the main themes and plot points throughout this game is that the army has a very difficult time getting along with each other or anyone else, minus a minimal amount of political people. I have this idea I like where over the course of the game Phern has to learn to be more respectful and start being an actual good leader and person instead of an impatient spearmen who just bosses around childhood friends, which is reflected in his promotion being Mercenary to Hero (one of maybe 4 things intact from the original draft). Of course it would be very gradual and even by the end Phern would still be Phern, but the idea is that he matures a little as he goes through a lot.

That idea actually reminds me a lot of a far earlier draft of this which much more closely resembled FE4, in which Gall would lead some of the more financially-minded members in his own group after the first generation, and they could be recruited again in the second generation. Since then I've removed the FE4-styled generation mechanic and even taken the idea of a generation mechanic into question. It is a nifty idea, which might present some interesting stories for segments like FE10 with it's separate armies. It likely couldn't be a huge segment for gameplay, but it could offer a unique challenge once or twice.

EDIT AND ANNOUNCEMENT: I had a map file saved for a world I had constructed for the game. Unfortunately however, I do not have the ability to open the file, and as such I will not have much plot or world data until then. At the same time, I don't wish to give a lot new character data without giving an idea of where and when things would happen. I may produce a gameplay update either later today or tomorrow.

Edited by AnonymousSpeed
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GAMEPLAY UPDATE 1:

So, here I'm going to mention things which I thought would be good gameplay mechanics to have and explain either how they work or how they'd be different from previous mechanics.

Starting off we have:

[spoiler=Class System]There isn't a lot new to say about the class system here, it very similar to Awakening, which in own right was very similar to just about every other game in the series, barring the second seals. In this game, every character joins as a certain class and has 2 more they reclass into, which applies to the whole first generation, except for Phern, who has special lord privileges which give him 3 other classes.

Another notable notable difference is how classes give skills. In this game, there are no skills learned at level one. Tier 1 classes grant a skill a at level 10, Tier 2 classes grant skills at level 5 and 15 for two total, and special classes (one's with a level cap of 30 and no promotion) give 3 skills, one at level 10, another at level 20, and another at level 30.

Promotion and reclassing are much the same as well. At level 10 or higher, a Master Seal can be used to promote any character in a tier once class to a tier two class. At level 10 or higher of a tier one class, a second seal let's you reclass a character to any tier one class the character can access, while at level 10 or higher of a tier two class a second seal can reclass a character to any class they can access. In a special class, you can reclass to a tier once class once you hit level 10 and to any class once you hit level 20. The split promotion system returns, with every tier one class having 2 tier 2 classes to promote into.

It should be noted that resources are far more limited for the main game here than in Awakening. Master Seals are not commonly available for several chapters, and by the time you get them it's still a fair amount of time before second seals become available at all. Neither are in limitless supply until the post game, the objective being to simulate to higher but more balanced challenge that Awakening lost transitioning from older games in the series.

[spoiler=Mercenary System]Since Phern and his group are mercenaries, you can perform some good old fashioned mercenary work. Face it, in Awakening and Sacred Stones, it's very tempting to grind, but it's boring by a certain point and is there largely nothing besides EXP. Not that EXP isn't great, but the Mercenary System, in essence, is meant to make side missions more interesting.

First thing is Reputability. Renown in Awakening was earned in certain ways and unlocked powerful items, but Reputability reflects the overall performance of your merry band. The more Reputability you have, the higher level jobs you can take on. Reputability is earned by either clearing chapters in the main game or by clearing other mercenary jobs, with better performances granting more Reputability. Every job requires a certain amount of Reputability to take on.

Every side mission from here, and I mean EVERY ONE, has multiple requirements which are used to judge your performance. For example, at one point in the game is a mission to protect 6 merchants in a pass from bandits, keeping them from getting killed as they cross. The more merchants you save, the greater your reward at the end. For example, save 0 merchants, and you straight up fail, game over. Save every merchant, and enjoy 6 stat boosters. Similarly, the side objective is to defeat X/Y/Z bandits. Doing this will net you greater rewards as well. Either one, or both preferably, increase your Reputability gain depending on what level you complete the requirement to.

The Mercenary System cannot be abused though. Each mission can only be completed once for an actual affect. While they can be replayed, this will not actually have any permanent effect. Levels are not kept and rewards are not given. In the after game however, these rules are broken. Levels gained from replaying missions are kept, and reaching requirements once failed nets the reward for them.

These missions should not be confused for Gaiden Chapters, though they are executed similarly. Rather than have a world map, the game offers lists (which take the form of old scrolls), one for Gaiden Chapters, new Gaidens being added to the list as they are unlocked and one's you complete being marked with a check. The other list is for the Mercenary System, and while you can only read the names of missions you've either completed or can try, you can see how much Reputability is required to play each mission.

[spoiler=Other Systems]One notable thing is the changes to stat boosters. Rather than being one and done, stat boosters can be equipped and shuffled. Every tier one class can equip 3 boosters, and every tier 2/special class can equip 5. However, you cannot equip more than 2 of the same booster, and there is a limited number of equippable boosters throughout the game. For example, I can give 2 Seraph Robes to a unit and increase their max HP by 10. I can give boosts to a unit to grant them 2 more move, and then switch that to another unit when I want/need it.

Capping stats can still be reached without a lot of luck and grinding though. A character get's a minimum of one stat every level unless all their stats are capped. In addition, BEXP is returned. Like Reputability, better performances grant more of it. BEXP gives at least 3 stat points unless the character it to close to their caps for that. What this means is that if a character has all but one stat capped, they get +3 in that one stat, unless that would put them over their cap.

[spoiler=Visuals]Not exactly a gameplay thing, but more the aesthetic angle I have in mind. Character designs here lend themselves more to Tellius than other sagas, though FE7 and Magvel influences are far from absent. Portraits in this game are more styled like FE10, though with a higher polygon count since this would be on a more powerful system (the Wii U being what I have in mind).

Battle's take their angle from FE10 over the rather...disappointing fight presentation in FE13. For one, the camera angles and the perspective the player gets are based off of FE10. Skills and other activations are notified and kept track of in the same little list in the corner as was used in FE10, and classes have separate animations for normal attacks, skill activation, and critical hits. Some notable things are that skills which happen to be critical hits don't get a special animation, it's just the skill animation with another pause to indicate the critical is happening. Also, Adept is represented by the striking twice animation like when using a Brave Weapon (Adept on a brave just runs the striking twice animation to start and then restarts the attack animation cycle, so to speak), and tier one classes simply attack 5 times in a row for Astra. HOWEVER. Every single promoted and special class has it's own, special, personal animation for Astra. Every class has a different motion and design for using the attack, from Phern's Hero class to Great Knights.

So there you have it, a few little gameplay ideas and changes I had come up with. All of these are again ideas, and if you have an opinion on them, I'd like to hear it.

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So then.... with that Mercenary System, you'd be leaning FE a little towards an RPG in a way? Correct me if thats the wrong word for it

Isn't FE already and RPG? I think I know what you mean though, and in a way I see that, but they're not actually a focus of the game or needed for the plot in the least.

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Well, don't get me wrong, I really like the idea of it. It was just something that I wasn't expecting. Plus, wouldn't there come a time where you'd eventually run out if mercenary missions?

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Well, don't get me wrong, I really like the idea of it. It was just something that I wasn't expecting. Plus, wouldn't there come a time where you'd eventually run out if mercenary missions?

Well thank you, I enjoy being unexpected!

And yes, there would be. There are only a set number of missions in the game.

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  • 2 weeks later...

UPDATE/EDIT: Very small revisions have been made to previous ideas. In addition, I have added Gameplay Ideas 1 to the opening post, which now will serve as a log of my idea updates. Thanks for reading/commenting!

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  • 4 weeks later...

So, because it's been awhile, I'm here to bring some more stuff. No new characters unfortunately, though I have a fair number of them and the story is getting worked on, I have the idea but not the full 'mapping' so to speak. So this update, we will be talking about WEAPONS!

Types: The 8 types from the GBA games return, described in the list below.

[spoiler=Physical]The weapon triangle is the standard lances best swords best axes best lances, and triumphantly each of those 3 weapon types sees the return of reaver weapons to it's arsenal!

Swords: These weapons have the lowest power of physical weapons, but have the highest accuracy of them as well. Looking at conventional weapons (bronze, iron, steel, and silver), swords have 2 less might but 10 more hit than lances.

Lances: The weapon of the main lord Phern, lances are balanced between power and accuracy, and have the most available 1-2 range options, making them some of the most versatile weapons in the game.

Axes: Heavy hitting weapons, they have the highest might but lowest hit of any physical weapons, but rather affordable 1-2 range weapons. Conventional axes have 2 more might but 10 less hit than than their lance counterparts.

Bows: As many player will tell you, bows are not the greatest weapons, but this game aims to make them far more useful. Conventional bows get 1 more might and 5 more hit over lances, making them statistically superior despite their general lack of 1-range abilities. Another thing is that now bows get a weapon triangle advantage at 2+ range, but a weapon triangle disadvantage at 1 range.

[spoiler=Magical]Radiant Dawn's trinity of magic system returns, with anima besting light besting dark besting anima and inside anima there being another loop, but it's a bit...different, as I will cover later.

Light: Typically light has not been seen as a very useful magic type, but as with bows I wanted to change this. So while light magic is still easily the weakest weapon type in terms of might, including swords, it features some pretty crazy critical hit. For example, the basic light tome has 2 might but 15 crit, and that's the basic variety. They also have higher accuracy than even swords.

Anima: Introduced alongside wind, fire, and thunder is a new sub-category (all sub-categories are of the same weapon rank, and some anima isn't a part of one) of anima, Water. Inside anima is a 'magic square,' where thunder beats water, water beats fire, fire beats wind and wind beats thunder. Each type also has different effectivenesses and statistics. Wind is effective against pegasi and is statistically similar to swords. Fire has no effectivenesses normally and is between swords and lances in term of hit and might, but there are many fire tomes with unique effects. Water is statistically similar to lances. Thunder is between lances and axes in terms of might, but features hit more like axes in exchange for having critical and effectiveness against wyverns. Anima is not only the middle ground of magic, but anima tomes have the widest range of effects of all magic types, doing things that previously only physical weapons did.

Dark: Dark has to forms. One form is like axes. The other specializes in unique effects compared to anima's physical-inspired ones. As an example, nosferatu and luna both return, as well as several other new dark tomes having original effects.

Staves: Status staves do not return. While staves are largely just for healing, there are a few rare staves that allow the user to perform very weak magical attacks for self-defense, but cannot be used to attack. Unless one of these staves is equipped or the only weapon available, a staff user will default to whatever other options they have.

Finally, here is just one little thing:

[spoiler=S-ranks]S-rank weapons return, but because training units to fit a multitude of roles and reclassing is available, how do you make them something not frustrating? Well, in this game, once someone reaches enough experience to have an S-rank in a weapon, but already has an S-rank in a different weapon type, they will be given the option to switch there S-rank to whichever S-rank they have which matches a weapon type their class has. What weapon the S-rank is can be switched freely outside of battle at the base. Having an S-rank in a weapon gives a bonus of 1 to final attack (so a minimum of 1 damage is dealt), and 5 to final crit and hit (so a minimum critical and hit rate of 5)

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  • 1 month later...

Hello people! So, I know it's been a over a month since I updated, but I decided that I might as well try to see if anyone likes the idea I have here, and am now going to post:

Non-human Classes:

Since the very first Fire Emblem game on the NES, there have been groups with the ability to change from a human-like form into that of a dragon, and fight with incredible power for a short time. In Path of Radiance, they established the tradition of a group with more bestial transformations, which returned in the sequel and Awakening.

But after Radiant Dawn, the group with a bird transformations disappeared from the series. So, with that, I have long had the thought that if I were to direct a Fire Emblem game, I would return a bird-transforming class. Heck, I even dug around to find a name for it. So with that completed, I present to you the three non-human classes I planned to have:

[spoiler=Manakete]The Manakete are able to use a magical stone called a DragonStone to transform into a dragon. As a dragon they have a constant 1-2 range weapon in Dragon Breath, and statistically are closest to generals of all human classes. They do not have an armor weakness, like Generals, but have the weaknesses of a dragon to thunder magic and wyrm-slaying weapons. They can exceed Generals in both defense and resistance, and have higher raw attack. However, they can be even slower than generals in certain circumstances, and their lack of ability to use various weapons means that they might not deal as much damage or have as many options.

Manaketes do have the most options of their beast and bird counterparts though. Awakening offered a meager 2 dragonstones, while here Manaketes have 6 to chose from. Each of the six (Dragon Stone, Fire Stone, Thunder Stone, Ice Stone, Wind Stone, Dragon Stone+) have advantages and disadvantages. For example, the wind stone counts as Wind anima in the weapon cycle and has the highest speed boost, thunder stone deals the most damage and counts as thunder anima, ice stone counts as water anima and boosts attack/defense the most, and fire stone counts as fire anima with the most skill and luck, so overall is the most accurate. Even the dragon stone+ doesn't beat the elemental stones in their strongest category, instead being a generally useful stone (if less accurate and shorter lasting than a regular dragonstone)

[spoiler=Taguel]Users of the beast stones, taguel can only attack at one range most of the time, and are the most balanced beast class. They have more mobility and speed than a Manakete but not as high as the bird tribe, and are middle of the road in attack and defenses as well, minus low resistance. They only have 3 stones (Beast Stone, Fang Stone, Beast Stone+), with one (Fang Stone) being a killer weapon. Their advantage over other non-humans is similar to that of vanguards, they do everything well enough to be reliable and then some, and unlike birds and dragons don't have very many weaknesses, simply one to beast killing weapons.

[spoiler=Vulceo]Vulceo are this games bird tribe, so to speak, and they can use bird stones to turn into giant birds like Hawk and Raven Laguz. They are statistically like thieves or swordmasters, trading a bit of power for mobility and speed. Being fliers they can cross any terrain but are weak to arrows and wind magic. They feature an impressive 4 stones (Bird Stone, Talon Stone, Hawkeye Stone, Bird Stone+). A bird stone is the basic variety, a talon stone is a brave weapon with more attack but less defense or resistance, a Hawkeye Stone which makes them weaker but more accurate and evasive along with granting a 2-range counter, and Bird Stone+ which is a short lived but all around good weapon.

Now, all this would come with another change as to how stones would work. When a Manakete, Taguel or Vulceo has an appropriate stone, they have an option to use it with the 'Transform' command. Once selected you merely choose the stone they have you want them to use (reminiscent of selecting a weapon) and they will change into their animal form, with the boosts and combat stats of the stone being used. This is all very similar to a normal unit using a weapon except for one major thing: Stones work by turn count, not uses. If a stone has a 17 uses, that means it's good for 17 turns, not 17 attacks. But if a stone users stone runs out they revert back to their weak human form, and will not transform again unless they have another stone and you have them use it. It also means that if they see no combat that turn, the stone wastes a use. Stone uses can be saved by selecting 'Untransform' when ordering a transformed unit, where they revert to their human form.

Well, that was all I had to say about that, I hope you all enjoyed it, thought it was interesting, and please tell me what you think.

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  • 4 months later...
DISCLAIMER: I know this thread is old, however, I decided to revive it, and made sure this was alright with moderator Balcerzak before posting this.

I was just checking it out, man
Interested so far
When you gonna put up the classes?

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Well, since their seems to be some actual interest in this thread, I think now is a good time to bring it back! So, sort of on request, I bring to you all the classes of the game! Well, part of them. This is a rather large list, but rest assured the rest of the classes will come soon enough.
[spoiler=Mercenary-Hero]
TIER 1:
Mercenary
Move: 5
Weaponry: Lances
Level 10 Skill: Disarm (Skill% chance to remove enemy weapon, preventing counter attack. If attacked an enemy will re-equip their weapon, but if an enemy survives the disarm a thief can steal the de-equipped weapon)
Promotes to: Hero
Phern's starting class and the first step in his signature class line, the Mercenary Class's design and abilities cater to him. It's disarm skill is quite effective if you have a character with the steal skill and gives Phern a chance of preventing a counter attack on the offense of being doubled on the defense, due to his sub-par speed. It's a rather bulky class with good defenses and strength, the highest skill cap of any tier one class, but speed which leaves something to be desired.
TIER 2:
Hero
Move: 6
Weaponry: Lances, Swords
Level 5 Skill: Aether (Skill% chance to use the effects of Sol and Luna in a single strike)
Level 15 Skill: Resolve (When below half health, speed and skill go up 50%)
Members of the hero class wear distinctive white armor (cape included), displaying regallity and, well, heroism. Of all the classes in the game the Hero arguably has the best survivability, due to Aether's large healing powers and Resolve, along with Phern's naturally high defenses. It's skill cap is the highest in the game (tied with Snipers) and it's strength is quite high as well. The Hero class features some lovely defenses, with both defense and resistance being very solid (the later a bit higher than the former), and the speed cap is even decent, though Phern will likely have trouble reaching it until the post game. It even gains the use of sword, starting at rank C (Phern lampshades that he's finally using a sword like his father wanted him to when promoted to this class).

[spoiler=The Lancers]
TIER 1:
Knight
Move: 4
Weakness: Armor
Weaponry: Lances
Level 10 Skill: Defense+3 (Increases Defense Stat by 3)
Promotes to: General, Great Knight
Knights are slow units, but they have quite impressive strength and defense. Their resistance is somewhat poor and their speed is quite low, making them prey for mages, but they have good enough skill to go along with their defenses that against physical units they make excellent walls. Knight armor is similar to that in Tellius games when it comes to style, and while they don't wear armor over their stomach they do wield a shield which is used to block attacks.
Cavalier
Move: 7
Weakness: Beast
Weaponry: Swords, Lances
Level 10 Skill: Disciple (doubles rate at which weapon experience is used)
Promotes to: Great Knight, Paladin
The long standing backbone of any FE starting army, the cavalier returns as a fast, somewhat balanced unit with stats that lean more towards offense. They have fair strength, speed and skill, and while their resistance isn't special their defense isn't bad. Their movement, versatility with weapons, offensive stats and mounts make them solid hit and run units who can survive a counter attack. Cavaliers in this game forgo toilet-like bevors for armor which is symmetric and segmented, mostly covering the upper body.
Soldier
Move: 5
Weaponry: Lances
Level 10 Skill: Determination (Defense and Resistance increase by 2 when standing still)
Promotes to: Paladin, Infantry
The soldier class had a brief playable stint in the Tellius saga, and now returns to impale yet more enemies! The Soldier is a very balanced class, all its stats are average and they wield the most versatile of weapons: Lances. Their armor is lighter than that of generals but they do wield a small buckler, which is used along with a half step to deflect attacks when dodging.
TIER 2:
General
Move: 5
Weakness: Armor
Level 5 Skill: Rally Defense (Increases defense of allies within 3 tiles by 4)
Level 15 Skill: Pavise (Skill% chance to halve damage from swords, lances, axes, bird stones and beast stones)
Weaponry: Lances, Axes
The General is clad from head to toe in an extensive set of Elibe-like armor which puts any real knights to shame and is without equal in defense. It has the highest defense cap in the game as well as a pretty strong resistance cap as well. Their strength is quite high as well, being the third strongest class in the game, and decent skill means they can land almost as many hits as they can take. However, of all tier two classes their speed is the lowest, so without proper defense a General can fall prey to repeated double attacks. Generals gain axes upon promotion from Knights, starting at level D.
Great Knight
Move: 7
Weakness: Armor, Beast
Level 5 Skill: Luna (Skill% chance to half enemy defense/resistance)
Level 15 Skill: Supporter (Increases Dual Guard and Dual Strike chance by 10%)
Weaponry: Lances, Axes, Swords
The Great Knight's armor is not as full as a generals, and in many places cloth and mail cover their horse over plate, but they still have a well armored appearance and shields which are combined with horse movement to deflect missed attacks. Great Knight's don't have the defense cap of Generals but are still quite bulky in that regard, and while their strength is lower comparatively it remains above average. They're also faster, but still not very fast. However, they do have complete control of the weapon triangle (regardless of whether they were promoted from Cavalier or Knight, new weapons start at D rank), but are further limited by low skill and resistance cap, making weapon triangle advantages very important to accuracy and mages their bane, provided they don't rush in and smash through them first.
Paladin
Move: 8
Weakness: Beast
Level 5 Skill: Defender (When paired with another unit, both receive +2 to all stats)
Level 15 Skill: Aegis (Skill% chance to halve damage from magic, bows and dragonstones)
Weaponry: Swords, Lances
The Paladin trades the hearty defensive and shields of classes promoted from knights for more regal looking, lighter armor which accentuates their common roll as noble defenders of king and countrymen, such a gorget and open gorgonet. Paladins have some of the best movement of all classes, and make some of the best classes at rushing in and rushing back out. They feature equal defense and resistance caps, both of which are solid but not to special. Rather, these allow them to take hits back as they dish them out. Their strength is a bit on the low side but their speed and skill are a bit higher. Overall, their stats are very average, with comparatively high resistance. They also have a higher magic cap than the average physical class. When promoted from soldiers, they gain the ability to use swords starting at rank C.
Infantry
Move: 6
Level 5 Skill: Skill+8 (increases skill stat by 8)
Level 15 Skill: Lancefaire (increases strength or magic by 5 when wielding a lance)
Weaponry: Lances
The Infantry may be a foot-based, lance locked class, but are not to be underestimated. They feature very balanced, overall above average stats, even though their skills favor offense. Their strength cap is average, but their speed cap is a bit above such and their skill cap is quite high. They have a good resistance cap which might be lower than the Paladin, but also higher defense (their strength and skill are higher as well). The Infantry wears armor based on the Sentinels from Radiant Dawn, including their massive shields which are used to block attacks with the determination of a loyal soldier.

[spoiler=Swift Swordsmen]
TIER 1:
Myrmidon
Move: 5
Weaponry: Swords
Level 10 Skill: Vantage (strike first when attacked if your health is below half)
Promotes to: Swordmaster, Assassin
Many myrmidons are travelers either seeking to perfect their swordsmanship or to escape something through dedication to the weapon. Either way their survival depends on skill, as they often bear little armor but layers of wrapped cloth, unlike the actual clothes worn by myrmidons in previous installments, and carry their swords in belts rather than sheaths. They're a class with high skill and speed but mediocre strength and paper skin, being unable to take counters but easily able to dodge and double enemies.
Thief
Move: 6
Weaponry: Swords, Knives, Lockpicks
Level 10 Skill: Steal (if your speed and luck are high enough compared to the enemy, you can steal unequipped gear from them)
Promotes to: Assassin, Rogue
A thief is obviously a person who steals for a living, using swords for their light weight. As you see, knives return in a form in this game as weapons largely restricted to the thief class and it's promotions, as do lock picks as tools for said classes. Almost as fast as horsemen, thieves tend to wear light, breathable gear. They're bulkier and faster than swordsmen, but are even weaker and much less skilled. None the less, their steal ability and use of lock picks makes them a useful class to keep around.
TIER 2:
Swordmaster
Move: 6
Level 5 Skill: Astra (Skill/2% chance to strike the enemy five times. The first four hits do half the normal damage rounded up, while the fifth and final slash does normal damage)
Level 15 Skill: Swordfaire (increases strength or magic by 5 when wielding a sword)
Weaponry: Swords
Swordmasters are myrmidons who have ascended to the part of their craft where perfection of the details is most of what is left for them to do, though a true swordmaster never forgets to practice the basics. They trade traditional long robes for very simple though still robe-like garbs, which are more flexible in battle. The swordmaster has the third greatest skill in the game (just behind Snipers and Heroes) and high speed, though comparatively they're a tad slower than normal. They are also stronger than they normally are, featuring mediocre strength instead of low. The paper defenses of the myrmidon may apply to physical weapons, but the swordmaster is more resilient to magic than most physical classes and features higher magic than any other physical class.
Assassin
Move: 6
Level 5 Skill: Lethality (Skill/3% chance to instantly kill any target regardless of anything else)
Level 15 Skill: Acrobatics (All terrain costs 1 movement to cross)
Weaponry: Swords, Bows, knives, lock picks
Asssasins trade the silly spikes of Awakening for the agile garbs of Elibe, though they cover more of the body and usually include a mask over the lower part of the face. The ideal assassin can deal death in a single blow if given time to align an attack, though such is not often possible in battle. The assassin might not have the skill of the swordmaster, but compensate with a much larger arsenal and slightly higher strength. Their resistance is quite low by their defense is alright given their incredible speed, second only to the likes of rogues. When promoted from myrmidon or thief, an assassins bow rank begins at C.
Rogue
Move: 6
Level 5 Skill: Master Thief (Steal command works without fail even on faster/luckier enemies, can open chest and doors without keys)
Level 15 Skill: Pass (can walk through enemies, +1 movement)
Weaponry: Swords, Knives, lock picks
Rogues can use lock picks, but soon lose use for them. They are greatest of thieves, their pockets limited mostly by imagination. The do often have leather armor over them but it's not quite a full body set, revealing more comfortable clothing underneath. Rogues are the fastest class in the entire game, and with the right weapon can double anybody else. Their strength is quite simply poor, and their skill average, but they're quite bulky for their speed, featuring fairly high defense and resistance. While not aficionados at direct combat, their dodging ability, mobility and resilience makes them ideal for rushing across the map to secure treasure or holding a choke point of enemies a bit to strong for generals, but not skilled enough to hit such an accomplished thief.

[spoiler=General Infantry]
TIER 1:
Barbarian
Move: 5
Weaponry: Axes
Level 10 Skill: Rough Step (Can traverse oceans and mountains at half movement)
Promotes to: Berserker, Warrior
As long as their is discrepancy in strength, there are those who would use their power to take from others. These are barbarians, wielders of the axe with good speed, strength and health but poor defenses and low skill. In combat, the barbarian is best suited to striking quick and hard, something there Rough Step can be useful for, letting them cross seas to avoid sections of conflict or take advantage of mountains. Barbarians vary in gear greatly, from a fur scarf and pants to a random assortment of sailor's gear, all depending on where they make their living.
Fighter
Move: 5
Weaponry: Axes
Level 10 Skill: Zeal (Hit and Crit +5)
Promotes to: Warrior, Vanguard
Sturdy axemen, fighters have high strength and health accompanied by solid skill and defense, though at the cost of subpar speed, and their resistance stat generally isn't excellent. None the less, they make solid additions to a budding army, able to rather reliably hit for great damage. Often dedicated to the craft of battle, your typical fighter wear some type of short-sleeved shirt tied to their waist with a leather belt along with leather pads over their chest and shoulder. Unlike previous games, Fighter is now a class available to both genders.
Swordsman
Move: 5
Weaponry: Swords
Level 10 Skill: Patience (Hit and Avoid +10 during enemy phase)
Promotes to: Vanguard, Ranger
The most balanced of warriors, the swordsman largely is without weakness or strength. They do tend to have slightly more strength and low resistance, so mages can be a great answer to these otherwise hearty units. Unprotected though, a Swordsman has the ability to hit mages with great reliability. A common swordsman will protect themselves with plate on their shins and forearms accompanied by chain mail underneath leather armor.
Horse Archer
Move: 7
Weakness: Beast
Weaponry: Bows
Level 10 Skill: Prescience (Hit and Avoid +15 during player phase)
Promotes to: Ranger, Bow Knight
Possibly the champion of hit and run tactics. To fire arrows with high accuracy from above a horse is something which takes much ability, so they are not very common. However, when one does come to the field, they can pelt an enemy with arrows and then retreat back to safety before the enemy knows what hit them. They're fast and rather skilled but lack strength or resilience. To allow for their proficient movement on a horse, a Horse Archer is often wearing very little if any armor beyond some semblance of a doublet, leading to their low defense.
Archer
Weaponry: 5
Weaponry: Bows
Level 10 Skill: Skill +3 (Increases Skill Stat by 3)
Promotes to: Bow Knight, Sniper
Arriving in a garb similar to that of every other game they appear in, an archer is a very solid unit, statistically. They have fine strength and speed along with high skill, and generally have decent bulk as well. Their weapon type, the bow, is arguably the best weapon type available, going by the numbers. However, they cannot counter from one range, which can be a great inhibition. However, keep them out of the line of melee attacks, and you'll find yourself with a deadly ranged asset.
TIER 2:
Berserker
Move: 6
Weaponry: Axes
Level 5 Skill: Wrath (Health Lost/2 is added to critical)
Level 15 Skill: Axefaire (+5 strength or magic when wielding an axe)
Berserkers are a contender for the best glass canon in the game. Their strength is unmatched by any other class, and their speed is quite high. Their skill and health, however, is among the worst in the game, so supports are vital to their ability to hit. Their defense isn't that great either, barely being above certain mages, making them very vulnerable to damage without their mountains of HP. However, if properly supported, a Berserker can be an unstoppable monster, able to smash through almost any unit in a single round. Usually a berserker can be seen in long pants covered in leather pads but no shirt, ensuring their lack of defense.
Warrior
Move: 6
Weaponry: Axes, Bows
Level 5 Skill: Rally Strength (Increases strength of allies within 3 tiles by 4)
Level 15 Skill: Counter (Deals half of the damage received at 1 range back to the enemy)
Warriors are what happens when one dedicates themselves to improving their physical condition. Bearing spiked shoulder pads and a mix of chain mail, leather armor and hanging metal, a warrior is a rough looking fellow who is just as unpleasant to fight as you would assume. Their strength is only exceeded by Berserkers, and they feature far superior skill. Their speed isn't anything to right home about, and their resistance isn't very good, but they have a pretty good defense cap. When promoted from Barbarians, they start at bow rank D, when promoted from fighters, they start at bow rank C.
Vanguard
Move: 6
Weaponry: Axes, Swords
Level 5 Skill: Sol (Skill% chance to heal half the damage dealt by an attack)
Level 15 Skill: Axebreaker (+25 hit and avoid when fighting an opponent wielding an axe)
A vanguard often wears armor very much like that of a Swordsman, but with more metal plate instead of leather and a bearing a shield on their shoulder. Balanced fighters with both an accurate weapon and a powerful weapon, they can adjust to most situations quite well. Their defense is quite nice, but their resistance is still quite low. They have a rather average strength but pretty good speed and skill. Fighters and Swordsmen promoted from this class both start with a C in their new weapon.
Ranger:
Move: 8
Weakness: Beast
Weaponry: Bows, Swords
Level 5 Skill: Rally Skill (increases skill of allies within 3 tiles by 4)
Level 15 Skill: Naturalist (increased terrain bonuses, heal each turn in forests)
Agile horsemen, rangers tend to be adept at living off the land, either from a history of being a nomad or one of moving about as a mercenary. They don't often armor their horse, though they themselves often only wear greaves and a brigadine. They possess an excellent speed cap and a fairly high skill cap, though their strength is just barely below average. While their defense is merely average they have surprisingly good resistance and slightly higher magic cap than other physical classes. Both Horse Archers and Swordsmen promoting to this class start with a C rank in their new weapon.
Bow Knight
Move: 8
Weakness: Beast
Weaponry: Bows, Lances
Level 5 Skill: Adept (Skill% chance to attack twice in one move)
Level 15 Skill: Bowbreaker (+25 hit and avoid when fighting an opponent wielding a bow)
Bow Knights are dedicated archers made only more effective by the horses mobility, and use the height advantage to use lances effectively. Not as fast as Rangers, Bow Knights have more average speed cap, but higher skill. They also have above-average strength, so against faster foes they have quite the advantage, dealing more damage with the one hit they have and being more likely to hit. Their defense is higher, though they have resistance which is a bit lower. They can often be seen fighting in a metal cap with metal Brassarts, Vambraces, greaves, a small bevor and a breastplate over chainmail. These more armored knights gain the ability to use lances starting at rank D regardless of what class they promote from.
Sniper
Move: 6
Weaponry: Bows
Level 5 Skill: Deadeye (half of excess hit is added to crit)
Level 15 Skill: Bowfair (+5 strength or magic when wielding a bow)
Long seen as a bottom of the barrel class, Snipers arrive in what essentially heavier archer gear and a gorget to regain glory as enjoyed in Radiant Dawn. Snipers have the highest skill cap in the game, and with their Skill+3 skill from being an archer they have even higher skill that Heroes. Their strength is surprisingly good, exceeding that of Vanguards or Bow Knights, and they have pretty good speed, also exceeding the aforementioned classes, though they are not as fast as Rangers, but do have higher slightly magic than Rangers. Their above average resistance and passable defense, combined with their ranged focus, makes them death dealers from afar, especially with Longbows, with unmatched arrow blasting ability. Given a safe place to sit or clever placing, they can become unmatched assets for defeating foes or wearing them down.

[spoiler=The Pegasi]
TIER 1:
Pegasus Knight
Move: 7
Weakness: Flying, Beast
Weaponry: Lances
Level 10 Skill: Speed+3 (Increases speed stat by 3)
Promotes to: Falcon Knight, Dark Flier
Pegasi are very hard creatures to care for, even when held in their natural climate, and for some reason just really, really don't like males of any other species. They are among the strangest of creatures, very rarely any color but white. Those who can ride them into battle are rare, but can also be great assets. They ignore terrain, making them quite mobile, are quite speedy and have very nice resistance. However, they are weak to arrows and not very defensive, and also lack high strength. Their armor is as plain as it was in Elibe, plate over the chest and shoulders and metal headband, though they wear pants instead of skirts, as skirts are not effective combat gear.
TIER 2:
Falcon Knight
Move: 8
Weakness: Beast, Flying
Weaponry: Lances, Bows
Level 5 Skill: Rally Speed
Level 15 Skill: Lote's Shield (Negates Weaknesses such as flying or armor)
Falcon Knights still ride pegasi and not massive falcons, but do wear more armor and have cloth covering chain mail draped over their horse and wear larger, more ornamental helmets and armor compared to Pegasus Knights. Falcon Knights are among the fastest classes in the game, and some of the highest resistance as well. In exchange for this and their flight, they have below average defense and skill which is average. However, here Falcon Knights are the first flying unit to wield bows, starting at rank D when promoted.
Dark Flier
Move: 8
Weakness: Beast, Flying, Magic
Weaponry: Lances, Anima, Staff
Level 5 Skill: Rally Move (Increases movement of allies within 3 tiles by 1)
Level 15 Skill: Gale (NOT GALEFORCE. allows the user to strike first if they can double the enemy which attacks them)
Among many of a pegasi's traits is that it's hair and feathers darken depending on the presence of magic use. Thus, when ridden by one dappling in magic, their coat and wings become as night, thus making Dark Fliers one of the most distinctive classes around, even ignoring their distinctive cloak-like garments. Dark Fliers are a very versatile class due to their high movement, weapon types, and healing abilities, but have numerous weaknesses which can be exploited. As they possess average resistance and subpar defense (both below a Falcon Knight) and three weakness types, these units must be carefully placed. Their magic is a bit above their strength and is overall pretty average, leaving them with pretty low strength. Speed and skill for Dark Fliers are above average, but not as high as their Falcon Knight counterparts. When promoted, they gain staff rank D and anima rank D.

[spoiler=The Other Fliers]
TIER 1:
Wyvern Rider
Move: 7
Weakness: Flying, Dragon
Weaponry: Axes
Level 10 Skill: Strength+3 (increases strength stat by 3)
Promotes to: Wyvern Lord, Raven Knight
Wyvern Riders are the heaviest of the three basic flying units, possessing higher strength and defense but lower resistance and speed. This, combined with their use of axes, makes the comparable to more offense-oriented knights. As wyverns occur naturally in more locations than other flying beasts, there is more variety in the armor they wear.
Griffon Rider
Move: 7
Weakness: Flying, Beast
Weaponry: Swords
Level 10 Skill: Confidence (Increases Hit and Avoid by 10 when paired up)
Promotes to: Raven Knight, Griffon Lord
Griffons are the smallest of flying beast, standing a bit wider but shorter in both length and height than a horse. They are the most statistically most balanced of the basic flying units, with a bit higher speed but lower resistance. Griffon Knights traditionally wear a very flashy set of armor over their chest and shoulders, being made of many components and trimmed with gold with visible chainmail.
TIER 2:
Wyvern Lord
Move: 8
Weakness: Dragon, Flying
Weaponry: Axes, Lances
Level 5 Skill: Quick Burn (+20 hit and avoid at the start of battle, bonus decreases by 1 each turn)
Level 15 Skill: Lancebreaker (Hit and avoid +25 when facing a foe wielding a lance)
The heaviest of fliers, Wyvern Lords have defense rivaling that of Great Knights. Their wyverns are often covered with plating on their front while the riders are protected with a rather heavy set of armor, really only leaving the underarms and lower thighs without heavy plating. Their defense rivals great knights and they have high strength, though they are rather slow. Their skill is alright, but they have very low resistance. Their movement is impressive, as with any flier, and their statistics make them like generals with a more offensive orientation, best used to smash enemies and survive physical attacks, though they need be wary of mages. When promoted they gain use of lances at rank D.
Raven Knight
Move: 8
Weakness: Flying
Weaponry: Axes, Swords
Level 5 Skill: Stun (1.5 x Skill% chance to prevent the enemy from moving next turn)
Level 15 Skill: Deliverer (+2 movement when paired up, applies to both units)
Raven Knights ride large, black feathered beasts with somewhat wyvern-like posture. These creatures are actually more like griffons than ravens, but were named for their dark black beak and feathers being similar to the birds. They are indigenous to a very small region and are difficult to ride, though those with experience on either wyverns or griffons are usually able to pick up rather fast. Raven Knights usually don't put much armor on their mounts and they themselves don't have much armor, mostly loose chainmail and some roman-styled leather armor for the abdomen, though it is specified to usually have steel underneath. Raven Knights actually have pretty high skill and good strength, though they don't have defense of either Wyvern or Griffon Lords, and are middle of the three in resistance. Still, they are the most accurate of flying units and can deal fair damage while outspeeding their counterparts, and have the highest movement. They gain a C rank in their new weapon type when promoted to it.
Griffon Lord
Move: 8
Weakness: Flying, Beast
Weaponry: Swords, Lances
Level 5 Skill: Slow Burn (+1 hit and avoid each turn, bonus caps at 15)
Level 15: Skill: Swordbreaker (Hit and avoid +25 when facing a foe wielding a sword)
A Griffon Knight wears even flashier armor than that of Griffon Riders. They add greaves, vambraces and an open burgonet to their armor set, and all of their armor has elaborate golden patterns engraved on it. They cover their chainmail with draped cloth, often with even more patterns on them. Griffon Lords have quite balanced stats, but lean a bit more towards skill. Even then, their skill is merely above average and not high, and their resistance is a bit below average. They gain the ability to use lances starting at rank D.

[spoiler=Mages of all Kinds]
TIER 1:
Mage
Move: 5
Weakness: Magic
Weaponry: Anima
Level 10 Skill: Magic+3 (Increases magic stat by 3)
Promotes to: Sage, Druid
Mages are study Anima magic, the most versatile of magics. Just like the magic they study, mages come with a wide variety of statistics, only sharing in their low strength and defense. They are excellent at taking out knights and wyverns that could normally provide a healthy threat to your physical units, but must be kept guarded due to their low health and defense. Often seen wearing some form of cape over a doublet and belt.
Shaman
Move: 5
Weakness: Magic
Weaponry: Dark
Level 10 Skill: Hex (Reduces avoid and critical avoid of enemies within 3 tiles by 10)
Promotes to: Druid, Dark Rider
Students of dark magic, which gets a bit of a bad rep for its use for more...morally ambiguous goals by more morally ambiguous people. In truth it can be used for good or evil, though tends to bring out the primal nature of those who are not careful with it, which is self-serving and apathetic. Those who remain steadfast suffer no such effect though, and find a tool almost as versatile as anima. Shamans have higher defense, health and magic than other magic units but lower speed. The most armored of mages, they wear thick layers of robes rather than the typical one robe of other classes.
Troubadour/Trobairitz
Move: 6
Weakness: Horse, Magic
Weaponry: Staff
Level 10 Skill: Resistance+3 (Increases resistance stat by 3)
Promotes to: Dark Rider, Valkyrie
Unlike other games, the troubadour is not a a gender locked class. In fact, Troubadour is the male version of the class while the female version is called a Trobairitz, bringing them into line with the original use of the terms. Healers on horses, their most valuable stat is their mobility. They have high resistance and higher defense than you'd think but mediocre magic and skill. Regardless of gender, they tend to be higher on the social ladder than others, and as such often wear fancy clothing in a Medieval to Renaissance transition style.
Priest/Cleric
Move: 5
Weakness: Magic
Weaponry: Staff
Level 10 Skill: Miracle (Survive the first lethal hit taken in a battle if above 1 HP)
Promotes to: Valkyrie, Bishop
Staff wielders, usually though not necessarily with a a clerical connection, they have more magic than troubadours, making their healing more effective even if they have less movement and defense. Their speed and skill is higher as well, which doesn't do much given you'll want to keep them out of combat. Both priests and clerics often wear robes similar to that of Rhys.
Monk
Move: 5
Weakness: Magic
Weaponry: Light
Level 10 Skill: Focus (Increases strength, magic and skill by 2 when standing still)
Promotes to: Bishop, Sage
Wielders of light magic, usually but not necessarily with a connection to some sort of clergy. While dark depends on primal instinct and anima depends on knowledge, light magic draws power from faith and honesty in the user, which is why it is most often associated with clergies. They have high skill and resistance but their magic isn't very high. Monks typically wear robes, as they do in Elibe and Magvel.
TIER 2:
Sage
Move: 6
Weakness: Magic
Weaponry: Light, Anima
Level 5 Skill: Rally Magic (Increases magic stat of allies within 3 tiles by 4)
Level 15 Skill: Tomefaire (Increases strength or magic by 5 when weilding a tome)
Sages have the second highest magic cap in the game and solid stats across the board. Their defense is low, as would be expected of a magical unit, but their speed and skill is a bit above average, and their resistance, while not great, certainly isn't bad. Sages often wear longer and more elaborate capes than mages which are often held more around them, but overall look similar to their anima-wielding precursors. Regardless of what class they promote from, they start with a C in their new magic type.
Druid
Move: 6
Weakness: Magic
Weaponry: Anima, Dark
Level 5 Skill: Vengeance ((Skill+half of health lost)% chance to add half of health lost to damage)
Level 15 Skill: Tomebreaker (Increases hit and avoid by 25 when fighting a foe wielding a tome)
Druids are the heavy hitters of magical classes, dealing impressive damage in one hit and normally not needing much more than that. They have the highest magic cap of all classes and come equipped with the most damaging tomes available. They have above average skill to help land their hits but below average speed, making doubling something they won't be doing to much of. They have surprisingly high defense for a magic unit, in fact, the highest of all magical units, though resistance which is lower than others. A druid wears very thick, heavy robes, usually black or grey with highlights of the units color. Their faces are often obscured by a heavy hood. When promoted from mages, Druids start with a C in dark. When promoted from Shamans, they start with a D in anima.
Dark Rider
Move: 7
Weakness: Magic, Horse
Weaponry: Dark, Staff
Level 5 Skill: Omen (On every turn multiple of 4 receive +2 to all stats except movement, which receives +1)
Level 15 Skill: Lifetaker (when defeating an enemy health 50% of your HP)
Dark Riders may not be as well known of feared as shamans and druids, but have many more stigmas associated with them than either of those classes: Most armies don't employ them in large numbers because of a superstition that they bring about crushing defeat to either side of the battle, regardless of who brings them. They are slow, heavy healers and attackers: Their magic is close to that of a sage and, while they have less skill than a Druid and not much more speed, they do have higher resistance and comparable defense. Their armor looks like actual armor, with scattered leather and metal plates mixed in with various strips of cloth and talismans. Regardless of what class they promote from, they start with a D in their new weapon type.
Valkyrie
Move: 7
Weakness: Magic, Horse
Weaponry: Staff, Anima
Level 5 Skill: Rally Resistance
Level 15 Skill: Support+ (Increases bonuses from dual support and supports)
The Valkyrie is the mages answer to the paladin: It has the highest resistance cap in the game, average magic, access to a very flexible weapon type, gains special benefits when with other units and pretty good defense for a mage, being just shy of a Dark Rider. They also have above average skill and higher speed, letting them double slower, low-res targets that a Dark Rider or Druid would have trouble with, and they have the highest resistance cap in the game. A Valkyrie is very distinct on the battle field for their ornate, with metal armor over the legs and gold-trimmed clothes on the body, topped off with a golden breastplate. They gain a C rank in anima when promoted.
Bishop
Move: 6
Weakness: Magic
Weaponry: Light, Staff
Level 5 Skill: Rally Luck (Increases luck of allies within 3 tiles by 4)
Level 15 Skill: Renewal (Heal 15% of your maximum HP at the start of each player phase)
Bishops have had an interesting change of stats from previous games: They take on a role akin to a magical, healing Swordmaster. Bishops are the fastest of magical units, and while not as fast as Swordmasters or Rogues their speed cap can make them very hard to double. They also have the highest skill of any magical unit, which, when combined with the high crit of light magic, means they have the highest ability to score crits in the game. They have resistance equal to Valkyries but the lowest defense in the game, and their magic is mediocre at best. When promoted from monks, they start with staff rank C. When promoted from from Clerics or Priests, they start with a D in Light.

[spoiler=Special Classes]
Dread Knight
Weaponry: Swords, Anima
Level 10 Skill: Dread (Adjacent opponents lose 20 hit and crit)
Level 20 Skill: Vortex (When unable to counter an enemy attack with equipped weapon, strike with a magic attack equivalent to a tome with 0 might and 90 hit)
Level 30 Skill: Aggressor (+10 attack on player phase, only applies to first attack if striking more than once)
Dread Knights, the successors to Dread Fighters, masters of sword and magic, and a class available to both genders. They are a rare, even legendary type of warrior, wearing dark blue armor which extends to give a dragon or demon like appearance and covers the entirity of the body, from head to two. They are called Dread Knights for a reason: They come from a small country and have effectively warded off invaders for centuries, and have a fearsome reputation the world around. They have some of the greatest statistics in the game: Solid defense and resistance, above average strength, speed and magic, though pretty low skill.
Manakete
Weakness: Dragon (stays after reclassing)
Level 10 Skill: Even Rhythm (Hit and avoid +10 on even numbered turns)
Level 20 Skill: Dragonskin (Skill/2% chance to half damage from any attack)
Level 30 Skill: Dragonsbane (All attacks become effects against dragons)
Mystic Dragon-Human hybrids. Statistics explained previously.
Taguel
Weakness: Beast (stays after reclassing)
Level 10 Skill: Odd Rhythm (Hit and avoid +10 on odd numbered turns)
Level 20 Skill: Hunter (+20 hit)
Level 30 Skill: Beastbane (All attacks become effective against beasts)
Mystic Beast-Human hybrids. Statistics explained previously.
Vulceo
Weakness: Flying (stays after reclassing)
Level 10 Skill: Steady Rhythm (+5 hit and avoid at all times)
Level 20 Skill: Awareness (+20 avoid)
Level 10: Skysbane (All attacks become effective against fliers)
Mystic Bird-Human hybrids. Statistics explained above.

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