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[also]

So I finished this game; Hard, permadeath, ~70 hours (lots of resets so everyone could survive), main story + some paralogues.

First of all, this game sucks as a strategy RPG, It's just way too random; random level ups, random fights (hit/miss, skill activation...) and random reinforcements out of nowhere. I really wish I had chosen Casual mode so that I wouldn't have had to reset so much to keep everyone alive.
The main story is way too long and I feel the game should have ended halfway through. The only memorable moments are

Spoiler

when you have to ''decide'' Emm's fate and when Lucina wants to kill you. The later was heavily telegraphed but I enjoyed the scene because of the sunset.

.
The only thing this game does well is characters and support conversations. If it weren't for them, I probably would have never finished the game. And even then a lot of the female characters have awful designs. I only noticed this after I checked the models in the model viewer, because before I didn't pay much attention to the combat animations and only envisioned the characters as their 2D portraits represented them. ''Here, put on armor but don't forget to leave your thighs exposed so that otakus can droll over you and we sell more copies. I mean, it's not like you wanted protection on the battlefield or anything.'' Also, whoever designed and approved Nowi should be locked up. Her upper body design is bad enough but her skirt or whatever is just... it's like she's all wrapped up and ready to be sent to a pedophile's house. I would have never used her if I knew that's how she looked like.

After all the raving about this game I expected much more but in the end it's just a very poor SRPG with nice character development. The only other FE game I played was Sacred Stones and I remember enjoying it way more, mainly due to the story being better.

 

[Megidolaon]

And I think his GAF name is Neoriceisgood.

Oh thanks so much for telling me! He's got some great stuff there.

 

[Terra_Ex]

Has any of the dlc ever gone on sale in the US (beyond the launch window of the game where some of the packs were discounted) and if so is it likely to happen in europe. Interested in picking some more things up but it's getting hard to justify at these prices.

 

[Oxx]

I still have £11 of eshop money left after AC. I suppose there's a couple more dlc packs in my future.

 

[Chrom]

Has any of the dlc ever gone on sale in the US (beyond the launch window of the game where some of the packs were discounted) and if so is it likely to happen in europe. Interested in picking some more things up but it's getting hard to justify at these prices.

No. Summer Scramble had also gone at a reduced price when it initially released in Japan for a short while, though. I wouldn't expect Europe to be much different overall.

 

[Branduil]

This soundtrack is so good.

 

[ScraftyDevil]

This soundtrack is so good.

I know, right?

 

[ohlawd]

So I finished this game; Hard, permadeath, ~70 hours (lots of resets so everyone could survive), main story + some paralogues.

First of all, this game sucks as a strategy RPG, It's just way too random; random level ups, random fights (hit/miss, skill activation...) and random reinforcements out of nowhere. I really wish I had chosen Casual mode so that I wouldn't have had to reset so much to keep everyone alive.

LOL.

Remind me to never take you seriously. Ever.

 

[katkombat]

So I finished this game; Hard, permadeath, ~70 hours (lots of resets so everyone could survive), main story + some paralogues.

First of all, this game sucks as a strategy RPG, It's just way too random; random level ups, random fights (hit/miss, skill activation...) and random reinforcements out of nowhere. I really wish I had chosen Casual mode so that I wouldn't have had to reset so much to keep everyone alive.
The main story is way too long and I feel the game should have ended halfway through. The only memorable moments are

Spoiler

when you have to ''decide'' Emm's fate and when Lucina wants to kill you. The later was heavily telegraphed but I enjoyed the scene because of the sunset.

.
The only thing this game does well is characters and support conversations

lol wat r u smokin man

 

[BuckRobotron]

Nice to see that Cynthia avatar. I've come to like that character after ignoring her previously (Sumia being dead in my second game kind of got in the way there too...lol). Sumia has also been flourishing in this latest game.

Hard/casual is still a bit too easy, one can generally rapidly punch through boards letting a few characters only temporarily retreat. Playing it without a dedicated save file (only updated in-battle bookmarks) adds a little challenge. When I do a fifth game it will be back to the just-right hard/classic. But one of the older game saves will have to be overwritten...guess it will be my sloppy overlong first normal/classic run.

 

[Gaming Truth]

Nice to see that Cynthia avatar. I've come to like that character after ignoring her previously (Sumia being dead in my second game kind of got in the way there too...lol). Sumia has also been flourishing in this latest game.

I'm missing Cynthia in my new playthrough because I didn't know Sumia was so picky about who she'd git with (sorry Ricken; at least you got with Tharja last time)

 

[also]

LOL.

Remind me to never take you seriously. Ever.

lol wat r u smokin man

Wow, some great counter arguments here.

 

[ohlawd]

Wow, some great counter arguments here.

Complaining about the RNG and general randomness in a strategy game; you're funny.

It's okay, I know the 'R' in RNG stands for rainbow.

 

[also]

Complaining about the RNG and general randomness in a strategy game; you're funny.

It's okay, I know the 'R' in RNG stands for rainbow.

Yeah, sorry for actually wanting some strategy in a SRPG instead of crossing my fingers that my attack, which has 98% hit chance, won't miss or that I don't get 3 single +1 level ups in a row.
Not that I'm an expert but I seriously doubt all the other games from the genre are as random as FE.

 

[Soulhouf]

Yeah, sorry for actually wanting some strategy in a SRPG instead of crossing my fingers that my attack, which has 98% hit chance, won't miss or that I don't get 3 single +1 level ups in a row.
Not that I'm an expert but I seriously doubt all the other games from the genre are as random as FE.

Fire Emblem is not a straight strategy game. It's a Role Playing Strategy game.
It's true in FE it can be brutal sometimes but RNG is a part of the RPG genre.

 

[Starwolf_UK]

Not that I'm an expert but I seriously doubt all the other games from the genre are as random as FE.

Its odd to say but [other in the genre] if they are less random they are certainly less predictable. I'd like to see someone off the top of their head work out exactly the damage that would occur in say in Super Robot Taisen, not a "of the order of...", an exact number.

 

[Branduil]

Yeah, sorry for actually wanting some strategy in a SRPG instead of crossing my fingers that my attack, which has 98% hit chance, won't miss or that I don't get 3 single +1 level ups in a row.
Not that I'm an expert but I seriously doubt all the other games from the genre are as random as FE.

I almost never see 98% chance attacks miss, which is what you would expect.

 

[CorvoSol]

I don't think I have ever seen a 98% chance miss, especially not in Normal/Casual.


Now, you want to talk about where the RNG fucks you over constantly, fucking Super Robot Wars W, I can have a 70% chance and miss and the enemy mooks will land 13% chance hits ALL THE TIME.

 

[Anteo]

Yeah, sorry for actually wanting some strategy in a SRPG instead of crossing my fingers that my attack, which has 98% hit chance, won't miss or that I don't get 3 single +1 level ups in a row.
Not that I'm an expert but I seriously doubt all the other games from the genre are as random as FE.

You do know that for hit chances, the RNG rolls twice and the average is used right?

Edit: 98% is actually 99.94%

 

[NeonZ]

Yeah, sorry for actually wanting some strategy in a SRPG instead of crossing my fingers that my attack, which has 98% hit chance, won't miss or that I don't get 3 single +1 level ups in a row.
Not that I'm an expert but I seriously doubt all the other games from the genre are as random as FE.

Growth rates are random chances, but each character has their own set of growths, which, through many level ups, means they'll generally grow in some specific directions, even if there'll be some variation.

Hit and miss chances are part of risk and reward. And, the way they're rolled, high hit chances are even higher than they seem. But, really, this game is easy enough that, outside of lunatic, once you understand the game's systems, you shouldn't be forced to really "bet" at any point, if you don't want to use that as part of your main strategy. Even if there's a chance that your character will miss, you can prepare yourself for that (rescue staffs, for example, or just not sending a character that can get themselves killed in the counter attack). Only once you start playing Lunatic you'll really need to make "bets" to advance.

And the player is always warned about reinforcements in this game (outside of some extra chapters), so they aren't really "random" either.

 

[Anteo]

Growth rates are random chances, but each character has their own set of growths, which, through many level ups, means they'll generally grow in some specific directions, even if there'll be some variation.

Hit and miss chances are part of risk and reward. And, the way they're rolled, high hit chances are even higher than they seem. But, really, this game is easy enough that, outside of lunatic, once you understand the game's systems, you shouldn't be forced to "bet" like that at any point, if you don't want to use that as part of your main strategy.

And the player is always warned about reinforcements in this game (outside of some extra chapters), so they aren't really "random" either.

To be fair, ocasionally you get some weird stats in some chars, in my grinding lunatic run, Kellam got 18 Res before promoting.

 

[ffdgh]

Err not always that boat map and ch

Spoiler

25

don't give a warning.

 

[NeonZ]

Err not always that boat map and ch

Spoiler

25

don't give a warning.

In the boat map, the dialogue before the chapter says that there'll be reinforcements if they aren't fast enough. And, even then, the first reinforcements appear out of range of any ships. Also, the player starts at the center of the map, so it's very easy to put up a defense if they want to avoid any surprise attacks from reinforcements. That was what I did in my first playthrough.

In chapter 25, there's a warning from Naga about how they need to be quick because Grimma's servants will continue fighting without a break.

There's nothing in the main game similar to say,

Spoiler

Walhart

's bonus chapter, where more Risen just appear out of nowhere, right in the middle of the map(and not out of the usual stairs and fortress either), after a point.

 

[Branduil]

There are reinforcements in the boat map?

 

[Moonlight]

Yeah, sorry for actually wanting some strategy in a SRPG instead of crossing my fingers that my attack, which has 98% hit chance, won't miss or that I don't get 3 single +1 level ups in a row.
Not that I'm an expert but I seriously doubt all the other games from the genre are as random as FE.

I'm sorry to tell you this, but almost every single SRPG has those percentages you like to complain about. Some games are more oblique about it than others.

 

[Anteo]

There are reinforcements in the boat map?

Pegasus Knights. Lost of them. It's only a problem for your mages, they can get in and kill them pretty fast.

 

[dakkumauji]

Happy Birthday Stahl! You go best cavalier in the game! (Even though he's a sniper right now)

 

[Lafiel]

Just hit Chapter 10 (Hard/Classic). Story appears to be picking up and the game continues to be addictive and exhilarating as hell to play. My avatar is kicking so much ass right now, she can literally destroy half the map in the past few battles I've had! so anyway what characters should I use the two master seals on, I have on me right now? already used one on my avatar for the record.

Happy Birthday Stahl! You go best cavalier in the game! (Even though he's a sniper right now)

Stahl has already died in my playthrough, and I couldn't be bothered restarting.;p

 

[Gvaz]

Hard isn't really hard, it's just a little challenging.

 

[demidar]

Lol you want bullshit chance-based strategy you play XCOM on Classic. Fucking mutons man, critting from across the map with 25% chance and a 10% chance to crit. Still an excellent game, the strategy comes from probability management.

 

[Kincaido]

you havnt lived until you get hit and die by a 1% critical.

 

[Dresden]

I'd complain about the lackluster map design or the precedence of stat-building over actual strategy rather than, well, RNG.

 

[Sotha Sil]

I'd complain about the lackluster map design or the precedence of stat-building over actual strategy rather than, well, RNG.

This would be my main complaint. RNG comes with the territory.

 

[Jintor]

fields

fields

more fields

a few forests

more fields

 

[Sotha Sil]

Hey, let's check out this free DLC, takes place in another world, got to be diff- NOPE, FIELDS!

 

[Kincaido]

game needs some fog and more protect x missions with a shit load of more reinforcements. reinforcements are gdlk

 

[Oxx]

I'd complain about the lackluster map design or the precedence of stat-building over actual strategy rather than, well, RNG.

Pretty much.

 

[Dresden]

That just reminds me that out of all the DLC I've bought the only thing I've played is Summer Scramble.

Gotta get to the others... someday.

 

[demidar]

I feel maps should be designed such that players can easily attribute a personality to them (as a biproduct of being unique), like the Manor of Lost Souls.

 

[also]

You do know that for hit chances, the RNG rolls twice and the average is used right?

Edit: 98% is actually 99.94%

Well that only makes missing even worse.

I almost never see 98% chance attacks miss, which is what you would expect.

Right, so you would assume that attack will hit and plan accordingly.

Growth rates are random chances, but each character has their own set of growths, which, through many level ups, means they'll generally grow in some specific directions, even if there'll be some variation.

Hit and miss chances are part of risk and reward. And, the way they're rolled, high hit chances are even higher than they seem. But, really, this game is easy enough that, outside of lunatic, once you understand the game's systems, you shouldn't be forced to really "bet" at any point, if you don't want to use that as part of your main strategy. Even if there's a chance that your character will miss, you can prepare yourself for that (rescue staffs, for example, or just not sending a character that can get themselves killed in the counter attack). Only once you start playing Lunatic you'll really need to make "bets" to advance.

And the player is always warned about reinforcements in this game (outside of some extra chapters), so they aren't really "random" either.

Random level ups are stupid no matter what way you slice it because all they do is potentially increase the grind if you are unlucky. Each character should have had some stats with fixed growth + random ones, e.g., magic users always get +1 MAG but can also get +1 STR.

You can't always have a backup plan and sometimes you simply have to bet. For example, in chapter

Spoiler

21 you have to rush forward or else you will get hit by the mages with insane range. You rely on your units to be able to quickly dispatch the enemies

. And I'm sure everyone makes ''bets'' or do you mean to tell me that you have a backup plan for every 1% critical hit from the enemy?

You aren't warned about reinforcements in chapter

Spoiler

24

, where they appear right in the middle of the map. And even when you are warned, you don't know where they will come from, when, how many and (usually) what class they will be.

I'm sorry to tell you this, but almost every single SRPG has those percentages you like to complain about. Some games are more oblique about it than others.

It's the permadeath due to bad luck that bothers me. In hindsight I really should have went with Casual but I chose Classic because I don't remember having this sort of problems in Sacred Stones and I kept everyone alive there too.

 

[peaceiscloser]

This is one of those weird times where I wish there was ANOTHER continent on this planet -- just so we could have a new group of people experiencing this game for the first time lol

 

[Lafiel]

This is one of those weird times where I wish there was ANOTHER continent on this planet -- just so we could have a new group of people experiencing this game for the first time lol

What about the existing countries that haven't experienced this game yet?

 

[demidar]

Well that only makes missing even worse.


Right, so you would assume that attack will hit and plan accordingly.


Random level ups are stupid no matter what way you slice it because all they do is potentially increase the grind if you are unlucky. Each character should have had some stats with fixed growth + random ones, e.g., magic users always get +1 MAG but can also get +1 STR.

You can't always have a backup plan and sometimes you simply have to bet. For example, in chapter

Spoiler

21 you have to rush forward or else you will get hit by the mages with insane range. You rely on your units to be able to quickly dispatch the enemies

. And I'm sure everyone makes ''bets'' or do you mean to tell me that you have a backup plan for every 1% critical hit from the enemy?

You aren't warned about reinforcements in chapter

Spoiler

24

, where they appear right in the middle of the map. And even when you are warned, you don't know where they will come from, when, how many and (usually) what class they will be.


It's the permadeath due to bad luck that bothers me. In hindsight I really should have went with Casual but I chose Classic because I don't remember having this sort of problems in Sacred Stones and I kept everyone alive there too.

I ALWAYS have a backup plan, even if there's a 1% chance of failure. The chance based battles are there to add non-determinism to the strategy, which is also another form of strategy.

 

[Sotha Sil]

I ALWAYS have a backup plan, even if there's a 1% chance of failure. The chance based battles are there to add non-determinism to the strategy, which is also another form of strategy.

Pretty much what I was going to say. Of course there are times where a 95% hit can make or break a whole strategy, and you have to restart the whole map if it misses, but well... that's X-COM Fire Emblem, baby!

 

[Jintor]

I want to see Jake Solomon Gentleman Adventurer do a LP of Fire Emblem

 

[also]

I ALWAYS have a backup plan, even if there's a 1% chance of failure. The chance based battles are there to add non-determinism to the strategy, which is also another form of strategy.

Really, so you have a backup plan even if all your 90%+ hit attacks are going to miss and all the able enemies will critical you? You also have a backup plan for non announced reinforcements? Well congrats then, you are a much better player than I am. I am serious
I learnt my lesson and in the future I'll be sure to stick to normal or hard + casual. It was always the narrative and/or characters that pushed me forward anyway, not the combat.

Pretty much what I was going to say. Of course there are times where a 95% hit can make or break a whole strategy, and you have to restart the whole map if it misses, but well... that's X-COM Fire Emblem, baby!

So what you saying is that you don't always have a backup plan and instead rely on bets (with a high probability of success)?

 

[Sotha Sil]

I want to see Jake Solomon Gentleman Adventurer do a LP of Fire Emblem

Lunatic/Ironman. Shortest LP ever!

(Well, may be longer that your XCOM LP, defector )

So what you saying is that you don't always have a backup plan and instead rely on bets (with a high probability of success)?

When you screw up, it happens, yes. Happens a lot more in Lunatic mode, too. As I said, it's part of the Fire Emblem tradition. I even think it adds a lot of charm and suspense to the game. We've all seen a desperate situation turn around thanks to an unlikely assist; I like it. But I can see your point.

 

[Jintor]

I actually have two more missions including a terror mission involving chrysallids recorded. I just never got around to uploading them..

 

[Sotha Sil]

I actually have two more missions including a terror mission involving chrysallids recorded. I just never got around to uploading them..

Terror missions and chrysallids, sounds like fun!

 

[demidar]

Really, so you have a backup plan even if all your 90%+ hit attacks are going to miss and all the able enemies will critical you? You also have a backup plan for non announced reinforcements? Well congrats then, you are a much better player than I am. I am serious
I learnt my lesson and in the future I'll be sure to stick to normal or hard + casual. It was always the narrative and/or characters that pushed me forward anyway, not the combat.

It's honestly not that hard to cover them, to a reasonable degree. If you got 6 units that have a 90% chance to hit then all I need is one mobile unit to cover them all if one of them misses. If more of them miss and I can't survive the incoming attack then I'll rescue pull a unit from somewhere else and have them fight. If a guy takes a critical hit and is near death, there will always be a healer on hand or I can just duck him/her behind another unit. I read up on enemy skills and stats to make sure there's no chance of a death even in the worst case scenario when I fight.

That's why I love hardcore/classic mode, it forces me to think about my actions lest my team gets wiped out. Same thing with XCOM, it forces me to find out all my valid choices and make it out alive, how else are you going to kill 9 Chryssalids spawning on top of you because of a glitch? Through exceptional strategy, no savescumming allowed.

Fire Emblem is harder than XCOM though.