2 main questions I really need answered before the game comes out

[Spectraman]

Hey guys, so I really felt I need to ask these questions and didn't want to wait. 

1. So how hard is "Hard mode" for Echoes going to be? Can anyone compare it to any other FE game modes

2. How should you go about promoting characters? Should you always promote them immediately or wait, because I heard it is not worth it to max out and then promote.

[iavasechui]

cant answer the first question but as for the second. It depends honestly in gaiden definitely promote as early as possible as growths are terrible in that game and the promotion gains are the difference between the base stat for that class and your current total in that stat. So if the base speed for a class is 10 and you have 4 speed you will gain 6 speed but if you have 11 speed when you class change then you will not gain anything in that stat. However growths have been buffed so you might want to take advantage of extra levels. Considering how early you can premote though and the fact that you get more than one promotion on most characters (and more if you get the class dlc) you will likely want to promote as soon as possible to start using the superior class.

[BlizzardWolf95]

1 hour ago, Spectraman said:

So how hard is "Hard mode" for Echoes going to be? Can anyone compare it to any other FE game modes

It's a good difficulty. Not too tough early on, but it ramps up a fair amount towards the middle of Ch4. Comparing it to Eliwood Hard mode wouldn't be too far of a stretch.

1 hour ago, Spectraman said:

How should you go about promoting characters? Should you always promote them immediately or wait, because I heard it is not worth it to max out and then promote.

Since growths are better in Echoes than in Gaiden, going 2-5 levels above promotion time is useful for trying to get the most out of a unit, but gaining exp is pitifully slow at Lv10+, so going above that is pointless.

[SatsumaFSoysoy]

Hard mode isn't as tough as like, Conquest or something, but it's fairly challenging. I'd call it comfortable.

For promotion, definitely promote as early as possible, but ideally without backtracking. You can promote at certain dungeons on the map instead of freely on the world map, so it requires a little bit of planning ahead if you want to maxmimize promotions per visit. If a unit hits level 10, but you're not at a shrine yet, I'd recommend against backtracking to promote.

[Spectraman]

Thanks guys for all the info, it really helped. So do you think you will be fine if you did immediate promotions on hard mode instead of waiting 2-5 levels like the previous comments said?

[Tolvir]

2 hours ago, Spectraman said:

Thanks guys for all the info, it really helped. So do you think you will be fine if you did immediate promotions on hard mode instead of waiting 2-5 levels like the previous comments said?

The way promotions work is as follows. It bumps their stats up to a certain point, so if their stat is above that number, it doesnt get raised. So (and this is hypothetical) if promoting from Cavalier to Paladin raised their speed to 10, but the unit already has a 10-12, then their speed doesnt get raised.

Ultimately, leveling past promotion doesnt do a whole lot. It can potentially, especially if their stats are close to what the promotion will give anyway. So I would recommend looking at unit growth rates, their current stats, and what stats the promotions give to decide.

[KP Joey]

There are some situations where you want to promote ASAP while other situations where it's kind of... eh?

As an example: Gray is a Villager you get at Lv. 5. He will also be your main (potentially only) Mercenary promotion out of the starting villagers, as it's by far his best class. The base stats for Mercenary are as follows:

24 HP, 8 Str, 8 Skl, 10 Spd, 0 Lck, 4 Def, 1 Res

Gray's base stats are as follows:

24 HP, 9 Str, 4 Skl, 4 Spd, 2 Lck, 4 Def, 2 Res

That means that when you decide to promote him to his inevitable Mercenary, if you do it immediately, he will gain 4 skill and 6 speed. This is a situation where you don't want to waste time trying to get level ups, as instant promotion will help Gray become WAY more useful IMMEDIATELY.

If you don't gain much from promoting, you can probably stay in the class a bit. Example exceptions would be things involving spell lists (ex. If you want Faye's Dancer spell ASAP) or if you want to go into a high movement class (ex. Villager -> Cavalier)

Edited May 18, 2017 by KP Joey

[Spectraman]

Okay this definetly broadened how I am going to approch echoes. Thank you guys!