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Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia |OT|

ys45

Member
So I Started this last week and played a bunch over the weekend I'm at chapter 4 now.
Honestly, I prefer this game to Fates but damn the RNG in this one is weird.

I don't really reload for the lvl up but the number of time I am getting one stat when leveling my characters is ridiculous .
I also made the mistake to change Faye as a pegasus knight and was stuck with Silque as a cleric (she's lvl 11and still has not gained any magic besides warp).

good thing one of the free dlc is a pitchfork, I changed Faye back to villager and went Cleric .

I realize that this is the kind of game I could make a mistake or could miss something important so any tips I should know for chapter 4 ?
 
Are you standing on a village or dungeon spot, by any chance? If you are, you can just keep entering and exiting the village/dungeon to pass days until the enemy moves, so it doesn't ambush you. I had that happen to me once, and that's what I did.

Have you tried selecting "Wait" on the world map until the enemy squad moves?

I was standing on a village, but I didn't realize you could enter/re-enter to make the enemy move. The "Wait" function didn't do anything!

Fortunately, I was able to win a few minutes after making my initial complaint (mostly due to luck). Thank god for the Turnwheel!

edit: Does Clair ever get good? How do I make her good?
 
I was standing on a village, but I didn't realize you could enter/re-enter to make the enemy move. The "Wait" function didn't do anything!

Fortunately, I was able to win a few minutes after making my initial complaint (mostly due to luck). Thank god for the Turnwheel!

Hmm, that's strange. "Wait" should do the same thing as moving/entering. Maybe the RNG wasn't in your favour? Either way, glad you got past : )
 

GenG3000

Member
edit: Does Clair ever get good? How do I make her good?

My Clair is a lvl 10 Falcon Knight and the only thing he is missing is skill. She has to rely on hit-augmenting arts to hit speedy enemies.

I want nethergranate but I don't know if these spawn somewhere. Only got one.
 
Clair is OK. Thankfully Falcon Knight makes her automatically good against most Terrors.

I was playing favourites and used the Pitchfork when she was Level 20 Falcon Knight to make her go from Villager back to Falcon Knight.

Her growths sucked though, so I used Mila's Turnwheel to rig her level ups to boost Skill and/or Defence. (Get her to 99 exp, enter a battle, level up. If the level up sucks, rewind and finish the battle without leveling.)
 

Sciz

Member
Clair has a ridiculous 75 speed growth, and as such pairs well with a Rhomphaia for one-shotting everything with Dragonhaze.
 
Clair is OK. Thankfully Falcon Knight makes her automatically good against most Terrors.

I was playing favourites and used the Pitchfork when she was Level 20 Falcon Knight to make her go from Villager back to Falcon Knight.

Her growths sucked though, so I used Mila's Turnwheel to rig her level ups to boost Skill and/or Defence. (Get her to 99 exp, enter a battle, level up. If the level up sucks, rewind and finish the battle without leveling.)


Interesting--I hadn't considered using the Turnwheel to exploit the level-up. But will rewinding change any other outcomes? I haven't had time to test this yet.
 

PsionBolt

Member
Interesting--I hadn't considered using the Turnwheel to exploit the level-up. But will rewinding change any other outcomes? I haven't had time to test this yet.

Rewinding with the Turnwheel does advance the RNG for everything else. You can attack, miss twice, turnwheel, make the same attack, and crit twice, if lady luck looks your way. The only thing that uses a separate, turnwheel-proof RNG is leveling up.

I don't think you can get empty level ups until late in the game, at least.

You can get empty levels without anything capped, if that's what you mean. I got an empty level for Alm of all people in my second playthrough, when he was still a Fighter.
 
Clair has a ridiculous 75 speed growth, and as such pairs well with a Rhomphaia for one-shotting everything with Dragonhaze.

Yeah but that requires giving up your only Ridersbane, which is a terrible idea until like Act 5, at which point the game is basically over anyway.
 

Sciz

Member
Yeah but that requires giving up your only Ridersbane, which is a terrible idea until like Act 5, at which point the game is basically over anyway.

Eh.

Intrinsic anti-cavalry damage is nice, but enemy riders don't typically have enough offense or defense for me to particularly care about them unless something's gone terribly wrong and they have a path to my squishies. I converted it on my second run through the game and found much more value in being able to use Dragonhaze to reach out and delete people I don't like.

Maybe if bow knights were more common.
 
Eh.

Intrinsic anti-cavalry damage is nice, but enemy riders don't typically have enough offense or defense for me to particularly care about them unless something's gone terribly wrong and they have a path to my squishies. I converted it on my second run through the game and found much more value in being able to use Dragonhaze to reach out and delete people I don't like.

Maybe if bow knights were more common.

Clair isn't killing shit on enemy phase with Rhomphaia without being extremely strength blessed.
 

jholmes

Member
What the fuck does 62 per cent accuracy mean to everyone else here

Remembering why I always get fed up with these games
 
What the fuck does 62 per cent accuracy mean to everyone else here

Remembering why I always get fed up with these games
Hit percentages are calculated differently in this game, in a way that makes it easier for you to miss attacks compared to other games in the series. 62% is not a reliable hit percentage in any Fire Emblem though, you shouldn't be banking on hitting those.
 

Erheller

Member
What the fuck does 62 per cent accuracy mean to everyone else here

Remembering why I always get fed up with these games

That you're going to miss 40% of the time, which means there's a VERY good chance it's going to miss and you should have a plan for when it misses. Most modern Fire Emblem games use two random numbers to determine whether an attack hits - the bottom line is that hit rates above 50% are more likely to hit and hit rates below 50% are less likely to hit. In your 62% example, you'd actually have around a 75% chance to hit in most Western releases (mind you, this is still an awful hit percentage and you should NOT be counting on hitting those). Echoes uses only one random number, which means that the hit rate you see is actually a true hit rate.

If participating in the XCOM OT's taught me anything, it's that people have a very bad understanding of statistics. Fire Emblem players don't usually complain about RNG because the system cheats in their favor unless they're playing FE1-5 or Echoes.
Pedant note: Fates uses a slightly modified 2RN system
 

Sciz

Member
Clair isn't killing shit on enemy phase with Rhomphaia without being extremely strength blessed.

Probably not! She's also got 30 HP growth and 25 DEF growth and falls over in a stiff breeze if anything ever manages to get a hit in on her, which is why she's best with an extremely bursty weapon art and shouldn't ever be taking damage in the first place.
 
What the fuck does 62 per cent accuracy mean to everyone else here

Remembering why I always get fed up with these games

It means, assuming 1RN, that you miss 38% of the time, with Fates' system you miss 33.5% of the time, and with 2RN you miss 28.5% of the time.

Or in other words, complaining about 62% hits missing is like calling bullshit on a top MLB player actually getting a hit.
 

Rutger

Banned
What the fuck does 62 per cent accuracy mean to everyone else here

Remembering why I always get fed up with these games

It means I better have a backup plan or it's not worth trying.

Unless of course, I really want a faster win, but it's on me if it doesn't work out.
 

woopWOOP

Member
Is there any way to make Est useful in this game? That triangle attack is neat, but I need all three sisters to fly in position and whenever there's two enemies in range of Est she gets wiped out during the enemy phase.
I guess there's grinding, but that's so boring and slowwww.

Maybe I should just Pitchfork her into a healer, lol. But in that case would she learn any advanced spells at all?
 

CazTGG

Member
Yeah but that requires giving up your only Ridersbane, which is a terrible idea until like Act 5, at which point the game is basically over anyway.

You could always smith yourself up a Ridersbane.

Is there any way to make Est useful in this game? That triangle attack is neat, but I need all three sisters to fly in position and whenever there's two enemies in range of Est she gets wiped out during the enemy phase.
I guess there's grinding, but that's so boring and slowwww.

Maybe I should just Pitchfork her into a healer, lol. But in that case would she learn any advanced spells at all?

Est has high growth rates but low starting stats, much like she did in the first game. Feed her some easy kills and she'll do just fine after a few levels.
 

jholmes

Member
Hit percentages are calculated differently in this game, in a way that makes it easier for you to miss attacks compared to other games in the series. 62% is not a reliable hit percentage in any Fire Emblem though, you shouldn't be banking on hitting those.

That you're going to miss 40% of the time, which means there's a VERY good chance it's going to miss and you should have a plan for when it misses. Most modern Fire Emblem games use two random numbers to determine whether an attack hits - the bottom line is that hit rates above 50% are more likely to hit and hit rates below 50% are less likely to hit. In your 62% example, you'd actually have around a 75% chance to hit in most Western releases (mind you, this is still an awful hit percentage and you should NOT be counting on hitting those). Echoes uses only one random number, which means that the hit rate you see is actually a true hit rate.

It means, assuming 1RN, that you miss 38% of the time, with Fates' system you miss 33.5% of the time, and with 2RN you miss 28.5% of the time.

Or in other words, complaining about 62% hits missing is like calling bullshit on a top MLB player actually getting a hit.

I was asking this because archers were raining hell on me without a single miss with a 62 per cent rate, not because I was missing at 62. No, I miss at 92.
 
I was asking this because archers were raining hell on me without a single miss with a 62 per cent rate, not because I was missing at 62. No, I miss at 92.
It happens. If your units can't withstand archer attacks, keep them out of range. Echoes is particularly brutal when it comes to archers.
 
I was asking this because archers were raining hell on me without a single miss with a 62 per cent rate, not because I was missing at 62. No, I miss at 92.

ok, then enemy archers hitting several 62s in a row is like Mike Trout going on a cold streak, it happens
 

tinypixels

Neo Member
Just wondering, but did you guys upgrade the shadow sword you got. To a brave sword?
The shadow sword is great, but getting there is always a chance that you will get inflict damage towards yourself.
 

Busaiku

Member
Kliff died against
Duma, and I went and attacked with Alm to see how many more times I had for nullification, but it turned out that was the killing blow
.
Can I still revive him?
 

spiritfox

Member
You could always smith yourself up a Ridersbane.



Est has high growth rates but low starting stats, much like she did in the first game. Feed her some easy kills and she'll do just fine after a few levels.

Except that growths were buffed this game, but Est didn't get as big a boost as the rest so her growths aren't that amazing anymore.
 

ChrisD

Member
End of Act 4, start of 5, this game got dark, man.

Rinea.
:(
Not very fleshed out a character at all, but an event both saddening and creepy.
 

GenG3000

Member
By the way, to whom does
Furia Harbor
make reference to? I can only think about
the pegasus rider Fury, from Genealogy of Holy-War?
 
End of Act 4, start of 5, this game got dark, man.

Rinea.
:(
Not very fleshed out a character at all, but an event both saddening and creepy.

I know, right?

I wanted that character to be way more involved in the story. Heck, I was totally expecting a sidequest where you rescue them and learn more about Rigel or something.

By the way, to whom does
Furia Harbor
make reference to? I can only think about
the pegasus rider Fury, from Genealogy of Holy-War?

This is just my gut feeling, but I am 90% sure it's meant to be a reference to...

Ferox, the warrior nation from Awakening. In the Japanese version, Ferox is Feria, which is literally one letter away from Furia. 2000 years later, it would be easy for Furia to become Feria. They are also in the same area and Furia was a warrior figure, right?
 

Golnei

Member
End of Act 4, start of 5, this game got dark, man.

Rinea.
:(
Not very fleshed out a character at all, but an event both saddening and creepy.

Any potential tragedy is undercut by how flat a character she was. The scene with Berkut imagining a reunion with her as he dies only cemented how much of a nonentity she was as anything other than an extension of him. That general idea could have worked much better if we'd gotten some sense of a personality outside of her relationship; or if they'd conveyed disgust, despair or anger in her final moments at what he had done to her - ending on that 'ascension to heaven' scene, even if imaginary, cheapens things. It almost feels like the narrative is holding back from portraying the full consequences of his actions so that Alm could have a reason to be sad over his death.
 
Is Celica secretly an ancestor of Corrin.

Might be the other way round. The First Dragons could be the ancestors of the Divine Dragons.

Anyway, having gone through her story in the Japanese version and English, I don't really think she's THAT bad.

Yeah, she's naive, but given her circumstances, there wasn't much she could do since Mila kind of screwed everyone and Duma's gone insane. The one thing she could've done is actually confide with her allies, but she was always the type to keep things to herself. Guess it comes from her upbringing.
 
Finished the main game last week and building up my characters for the post game stuff. Anyways Alm's Voice Actor (Kyle McCarley who also voices 9S in Nier: Automata) is amazing. The scenes in particular when he gets emotional are really something.
 

Ulong

Member
I wanted to check, is everyone available throughout and the game and into the postgame? I've been pumping a character (Celica) quite a bit with the stat wells. The flash forward segments
tease her dying quite a bit, but this is just a fake out like with chrom "dying" in awakening right?
 
I wanted to check, is everyone available throughout and the game and into the postgame? I've been pumping a character (Celica) quite a bit with the stat wells. The flash forward segments
tease her dying quite a bit, but this is just a fake out like with chrom "dying" in awakening right?

You're fine.
 
I wanted to check, is everyone available throughout and the game and into the postgame? I've been pumping a character (Celica) quite a bit with the stat wells. The flash forward segments
tease her dying quite a bit, but this is just a fake out like with chrom "dying" in awakening right?
The only character you can truly miss out on is either
Sonia or Deen depending on which character you decide to fight instead of the other
.
 

Kevinroc

Member
Finished the main campaign very late into the night. As is typical for me in Fire Emblem games, I went through the campaign not losing a single unit, and then lost several during my rush to the boss.
 

ryushe

Member
Just finished it and man, what a fantastic game.

The story, while predictable, was fantastically told. The characters (save for a very small handful) were all pretty much amazing, with Alm and Berkut as the games standouts and both the voice work and music are on another tier. Seriously, this is easily some of the best work done on the 3DS and then some.

That said, there are a few things from holding this game back from being the de facto Fire Emblem experience, namely the games map design/objectives. While not abysmal, most of the maps are just too large and uninteresting to navigate (looking at you swamp/desert maps). Also, most of the support conversations suck.

That said, this is still probably my favorite Fire Emblem to date and has some things I hope they bring into future titles (Dungeons, skills, archers that don't suck, etc.). While it doesn't have that "newness" that Awakening had when it came out, or the "mechanics" Fates had, IMO, this is the best package the series has had to date.

Question; does the Fire Emblem DLC ever go on sale? I bought all the DLC for Awakening and Fates, but I don't remember if they were ever on sale or not.

That said, I hate that the season pass is so expensive and I don't wanna support it, but man, I really did enjoy this game. :/
 
I'm not terribly far, but this is my favorite Fire Emblem game on 3DS. I actually prefer the more focused, stripped down gameplay and feature set as compared to Fates and Awakening. The Turnwheel is a godsend, also.

edit: Forging seems pretty expensive relative to how many Silver Marks you actually find throughout the game. What are the recommended weapons to focus on?
 
Question; does the Fire Emblem DLC ever go on sale? I bought all the DLC for Awakening and Fates, but I don't remember if they were ever on sale or not.

That said, I hate that the season pass is so expensive and I don't wanna support it, but man, I really did enjoy this game. :/

It has been on sale on rare occasions, at least in Europe. It even applied to the the story paths for Fates, so you got a double saving.

Sadly, I already had all the DLC by the time the sale(s) came. (I think there was at least 2.)

edit: Forging seems pretty expensive relative to how many Silver Marks you actually find throughout the game. What are the recommended weapons to focus on?

It's only expensive early on. Silver Marks aren't too hard to get; it's Gold Marks where you have to be REALLY picky.

Anyway, I would just recommend your favourite/most-used weapons and/or Alm's Royal Sword. You don't even need to forge to beat the game, so don't worry too much about it.
 

Vamphuntr

Member
I like the production values but the balance is pretty poor. Once enemies starts teleporting classic mode is more frustrating than fun even with the turnwheel.
 

ChrisD

Member
Just finished the game. The final boss music doesn't quite live up to id Purpose in my eyes, but was phenomenal nonetheless. The map itself was okay. Infinite spawns are never FUN (not a spoiler, dw, by the end of the game nearly every darn map had a spawner!), but it made for a good finale being in a more confined area. Rather than the... Rather enormous map size of every other battle.

The
new title screen makes me d'awww <3

Game is such a great example of "a greater sum than its own parts." I really enjoyed my 43 hours of playtime in Hard/Classic. I can name a flaw in pretty much every facet of the game, but it was still something I would easily suggest others to play. Because I feel it deserves your time, and that you'll probably enjoy it.

Not sure how much my time will be after doing whatever extra content comes after Duma...

I want to replay other FE games now, but it will be awfully hard going back right away to the massive item lists, multiple weapons, breakable weapons (in most), and no Mila's Turnwheel. So I guess I'll have to put off playing any other games in the series for the one being. Let this version of FE fade away from my current "how the game is" mindset.
 

Ulong

Member
How are Est's stat growths? She just joined my party and is trash compared to her sisters. She is also significantly lower level than her sisters though. Is she likely to catch up or maybe pass them if I spend the effort to level her?
 

ChrisD

Member
How are Est's stat growths? She just joined my party and is trash compared to her sisters. She is also significantly lower level than her sisters though. Is she likely to catch up or maybe pass them if I spend the effort to level her?

I gave up on her. The thought of getting her to Level 12 to promote did not seem fun. It sucked not being able to Triangle Attack but three times in the whole game, but I wasn't going to bring all three sisters into dungeons, anyways. Someone just posted earlier in the thread that she didn't get as big a stat growth boost as other characters coming from Gaiden, so if that was her schtick in the original and it's what made her good.. She's less good now.
 
Est still has good growths. Heck, they were better than Alm and Celica's back in Gaiden. Now they're comparable.

Gaiden
Alm: 50 HP | 35 Str | 40 Skl | 30 Spd | 20 Lck | 30 Def
Celica: 30 HP | 25 Str | 40 Skl | 30 Spd | 40 Lck | 20 Def
Est: 30 HP | 40 Str | 50 Skl | 30 Spd | 50 Lck | 50 Def

Echoes
Alm: 60 HP | 50 Str | 55 Skl | 45 Spd | 35 Lck | 50 Def
Celica: 50 HP | 60 Str | 50 Skl | 50 Spd | 45 Lck | 35 Def
Est: 35 HP | 55 Str | 50 Skl | 40 Spd | 55 Lck | 50 Def

Shame she joins so late though!
 
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