Change to Merge Units coming in February

[DefyingFates]

I've seen this mentioned off-hand in other threads but never in-depth so I thought this was worth posting. I hope you agree!

Anyway: not only have IS acknowledged the IV mechanic (and named them Assets and Flaws), from February onwards all units who have been merged at least once will lose their Flaws. If a unit had neutral IVs they'll instead get an extra point in three stats based on its existing stat allocation (I hope someone can explain this better than me). So, what do you think?

I hate that this requires you to have at least two copies of a unit to utilise, so any 5* exclusive units are screwed unless you're a whale, doubly so if they're seasonals, but it's certainly something to compensate for getting screwed over and a reason to merge spare copies of units you have instead of foddering them. For example, I got spooked by a -Atk/+Spd Laegjarn in the recent Voting Gauntlet banner, but I didn't know whether to fodder her for Red Duel Flying or merge my existing Laegjarn (-Spd/+Res) into her since I'd already invested Skills into the latter. Now I can go ahead with the merge and won't even have to worry about the -Atk...but again I was just lucky to have two copies of her. All my other 5*s with bad IVs are still as inconvenienced as ever.

Also, maybe this means we'll finally get to see Assets/ Flaws in-game? FEHKeeper and other IV trackers are already gonna have trouble with the IV fixes ruining their algorithms...

[Mercakete]

23 minutes ago, DefyingFates said:

If a unit had neutral IVs they'll instead get an extra point in three stats based on its existing stat allocation

Ahhh, I see! I didn't see anything about that so I was worried that neutral characters were getting the short end of the stick, here. I'm glad they get bonuses, too. :) Okay. My one concern is resolved!

Personally, I like the change, but then again, I tend to merge units when possible anyway.

[Punished Dayni]

I mean, it's nice that it covers for superbanes.

Still means I need a Chrissa merge and trying to get her is a nightmare with the legendary banner getting me all but her and Chrom being on the winter banner.

Hopefully it'll be easier to get units like her some other way some day. It really feels like seasonal units are going to come to a point where that has to happen imo.

[Mackc2]

I look forward to this change, I have a few +1 5* exclusives with shit nature's (such as my -atk +res helpful chrom) who would really appreciate their bane being fixed 

[Thinks Their Own Way]

I'm happy that my Micaiah won't be - Attack in away, and my Sigurd, Reinhardt and Ephraim won't be - Defense in away. 

[Michelaar]

I don't think 5* exclusives have it that bad. 1 merge isn't too much to ask.

[Shiki]

57 minutes ago, Michelaar said:

1 merge isn't too much to ask.

Getting 2 copies of that one specific 5* isn't that likely and pitybreakers have yet to disappear. Gacha is still hell in FEH. RIP rezzy btw. you did not deserve that fate.
Tbf I was expecting this kind of change at +10 merges so having it at +1 is much more attainable.

I guess it's a nice change for whales? While banes are less likely to matter for them they still have to hunt for boons so the odds are now 1/5. The thing is this has some repercussions on builds that rely on HP thresholds (e.g. Brazen or Desperation) since taking an HP bane was actually beneficial for them and that's gone entirely gone. I guess super banes don't matter either since they also get deleted from a merge?

But it shouldn't change that much for F2P players. Unless you are saving a lot banes will still screw you over.

EDIT:
That being said it makes finding a good 3*-4* to merge much easier.

 

Edited December 29, 2018 by Magus of Memery

[Michelaar]

11 minutes ago, Magus of Memery said:

Getting 2 copies of that one specific 5* isn't that likely and pitybreakers have yet to disappear. Gacha is still hell in FEH. RIP rezzy btw. you did not deserve that fate.
Tbf I was expecting this kind of change at +10 merges so having it at +1 is much more attainable.

I guess it's a nice change for whales? While banes are less likely to matter for them they still have to hunt for boons so the odds are now 1/5. The thing is this has some repercussions on builds that rely on HP thresholds (e.g. Brazen or Desperation) since taking an HP bane was actually beneficial for them and that's gone entirely gone. I guess super banes don't matter either since they also get deleted from a merge?

But it shouldn't change that much for F2P players. Unless you are saving a lot banes will still screw you over.

EDIT:
That being said it makes finding a good 3*-4* to merge much easier.

 

The average new heroes banner is 3 weeks. The average seasonal banner is a month. Pitybreakers won't and shouldn't ever disappear but even with them if you're devoted to a character it shouldn't be too difficult getting more than one copy of a hero. This is coming from someone who does not spend money.

[Mackc2]

Also it's nice if you get a unit with a bad bane but a good boon, it won't matter what the second copy of that unit is, it also helps make pity breakers of units you already have a bit less of a sting since now you can just merge the new one in regardless of nature to fix their bane

[EricaofRenais]

This makes me very happy, because I did some merges that I should not have so this will fix a couple of my units.  My -def,+atk Fjorm is the one that this will be a godsend for.

[Stroud]

I also like this, but maybe its just because of what I have.
My Deirdre is +5 and all of them I pulled had a Bane I don't wanted or a Boon I don't need... She profits from that. xD

[Azuris]

I am really really happy with that change.

Now merged units will only have 6 different IVs, so unless you really want that neutral one, it will be much easier to get the one you like. It helps with 3-4* units but will really shine with 5* exclusives you want to merge, because with bad luck one could end up with 11 copies without the right one and who would want to continue to summon for that.

Also hard to get units like seasonal or legendary heroes I really want to use, will be safe form really bad IVs with just one merge.

On top of that units, that depend on all their stats, that may have been hard to pick a bane for, will really enjoy getting rid of it. (My F Grima is so happy right now)

[bottlegnomes]

4 hours ago, DefyingFates said:

If a unit had neutral IVs they'll instead get an extra point in three stats based on its existing stat allocation (I hope someone can explain this better than me). So, what do you think?

I don't think this has been mentioned yet, so here goes. From what it appears, the unit will get +1 to each of their highest three stats at base. So instead of the normal +1 to the two highest stats with the first merge, it'll be +2 to the two highest and +1 to the third, with the second merge picking up at +1 to the third and fourth highest.

As I mentioned in the general topic, I'm a little retroactively miffed about some merge decisions I've made, i.e. +def/-res Laev over +atk/-spd, neutral Fjorm over +spd/-def, +spd/-res H!Myrrh over +atk/-res, all of those +atk/-def Reinhardts, but in all, I like the change and I like that it's so comparatively lenient. It's not good in all cases, and min-maxed units will either not notice or suffer slightly (no more ardent sacrifice desperation, brazen, or vantage for some people), but MoR characters without an easy dump stat like Libra and Fjorm, and kind of Roy, will greatly appreciate it.

[Florete]

I think it's a nice middle ground of getting something players have wanted for a while (fixing bad natures) and having something monetarily valuable for the game (pulling a 2nd 5* copy is more valuable now).

What I hoped for was an irreversible method with some in-game cost to neutralize natures. Instead they give us a way to eliminate flaws altogether. I'll take it.

[XRay]

It is a good change over all, but I hope they will release more stat manipulating skills like Life and Death. It would also be great if they can tweak Fortress skills to have -Spd instead of -Atk to help tanks reach lower Spd.

[Jave]

So if I'm reading this right, once you merge a 5*, the only stat that matters is the asset?

[Florete]

10 minutes ago, Jave said:

So if I'm reading this right, once you merge a 5*, the only stat that matters is the asset?

Yes. Pretty sure it applies to any rarity, though, as long as you get the +1.

[Jingle Jangle]

If I"m reading this correctly, the change to merged units will also give 4+ to superbanes? If that's the case a lot of characters I use frequently would love that.

[LordFrigid]

I finally got around to actually reading all of the latest announcements, and this one seems interesting. I’m liking the fact that some of my units will get a -4 flaw erased, but tbh most of my high-merge units aren’t affected much by their flaw, at least as far as I’ve noticed.

The big bonus will be if I ever manage to pull an additional copy of some of my no-merge units. In particular, -Atk Legendary Heroes (Tiki, Eirika, and now Marth) seem to like me, for some reason. Getting rid of that will be nice.

[daisy jane]

i would say... i think i would have liked it to have an item (like consumable or something) that you can remove the bane should you want it to - vs. it just going away. 

@LordFrigid - i did think about my -atk Tiki. LOL she'll be neutral now haha

Edited December 29, 2018 by daisy jane

[Roflolxp54]

It's a great update since if you already intend to merge the unit, only the Asset matters - IV hunting becomes much more simpler!

The only units who get screwed in this update are OG Alfonse, OG Sharena, and Anna since they can't get merged at all.

For neutral IVs, it's based on the stat gain from the first merge, with the 1 remaining stat point seemingly going into the stat that is next on the merge priority. Like with the Eir example, those 3 stat points are allocated into HP and Spd due to them being the first stats being raised normally on first merge, followed by the remaining point going into Atk due to Atk being the next stat to be raised via merging.

Aside from the Askr Trio, the update does kind of mess with Infantry Pulse setups since HP Flaws get fixed.

Edited December 29, 2018 by Roflolxp54

[Fire Emblem Fan]

I'm very happy with this change. It'll make IV hunting so much easier.

[Landmaster]

It'll make my -Atk, +Spd S!Tana at least be able to put a dent in things now~ Just need to get a 2nd Summer Elise to fix her, too~

[Silverly]

I can’t complain about this change. It pretty much does away with banes... I mean flaws (yeah I don’t really like the new term). Though, I will say that unless someone is very unlucky, the second copy just might be better than the crummy first one they might have pulled so they just replace the old one and get a boost in something meh like Res or HP. Still, it’s helpful and incredibly handy as now it emphasizes boons rather than avoiding banes.

[Nowi's Husband]

Nowi about to get +4 Res and Witch Nowi +3 HP, very excited for this update.  I'll try to +1 anyone who is low rarity instead of leaving them unmerged now since the first merge gain is substantial.  Also neutral freebie units aren't missing out anymore, they get a buff too.