Together RPG - Fire Emblem - 2/01-4/01

[MrPopo]

Here's a nice math problem for all of you fine folks: Hypothetically speaking, if I were to play Monsho no Nazo on the SFC, but with a propensity to be unwilling to allow any allies to die in combat, how long would it take before I broke something in frustration. Additionally, would that time be before or after finishing the game? (In this case, both chapters.)

I also have Fire Emblem Gaiden, but--.

Well, given that the weapon triangle doesn't yet exist in that game and I think you still need your healers to be attacked for them to gain exp I give it roughly five maps.

[PartridgeSenpai]

Hopping between Path of Radiance and Awakening, it's kinda easy to forget which mechanics are in which game. I'm always trying to position units adjacent to each other for buffs in PoR, and at the same time I always think cavalry can move after they do an action in Awakening Xp

[ElkinFencer10]

So I never actually got around to playing any of the three SFC games like I said I was going to, but my life will be TOTALLY dedicated to both versions of Fates from today until I finish them.

[MrPopo]

Guess who just got his copy of Fates and a Fates 3DS XL.

[Jmustang1968]

I snagged my CE today, and I really want that 3DS, but couldnt justify the purchase.

[PartridgeSenpai]

Day 5: Starting to run seriously low on weapons in Path of Radiance. Really starting to regret taking all of those world-map shops in Awakening for granted. Pray we find a shop, and also possibly some money, soon.

Also, what's the deal with Fates? Is it like Pokemon, where you can trade guys between the two versions? Was it originally one game which they split into two? Is it actually two different games? Seemed way too weird to me to jump in :/

[MrPopo]

So Fates branches at the start of map 6 (with the first five being super short) where you choose one of two paths. This leads to two separate storylines and sets of characters (or three with the DLC coming out next month). Birthright is closer to Awakening with the world map (including encounters for grinding) while Conquest is mostly just doing map by map. You do still have a between mission screen that includes being able to buy basic weapons, as well as the ability to do side maps in both paths.

[MrPopo]

Fates has two main mechanics that separates it from earlier games. The first is a modified version of the pair up system from Awakening. In Awakening you could pair up units to give the lead unit a stat boost and the partner would sometimes join in an attack or block all damage based upon their compatibility. This has been changed to two distinct systems. The first is defensive pair up, which has you combine two units into one like in Awakening. Once two units are paired up defensively you'll notice a shield gauge. This will fill up when the lead unit attacks or is attacked, and when it's full the support unit will block the next attack. There's also certain circumstances where the supporting unit will block an offensive partner (more on that in a second); I'm not yet sure if it's every time or not.

Which brings me to offensive supports. There you have two units who are adjacent, and in that case if one unit is involved in combat the partner will attack along with. So now you have to trade off whether you want to go offense or defense.

The other major change is the removal of weapon durability. Instead, in addition to the traditional differences between weapon tiers (more damage, differences in hit rates) there are additional differentiators. Bronze weapons cannot crit or trigger skills, iron weapons are generic, steel weapons give you a lower effective speed for determining if you double attack or not (not sure if that means it's easier for enemies to double you or not), and silver weapons reduce your strength and skill by two after you use them (those stats recover by 1 every turn). So now you need to carefully weigh if the higher damage of a weapon is worth the downsides. I'm not sure yet how I feel about this system, as right now I'm only really able to use iron weapons, so I haven't yet had to make sacrifices between one or another (iron being essentially a strict upgrade over bronze, though bronze does have a slightly higher chance to hit).

[PartridgeSenpai]

Fates has two main mechanics that separates it from earlier games. The first is a modified version of the pair up system from Awakening. In Awakening you could pair up units to give the lead unit a stat boost and the partner would sometimes join in an attack or block all damage based upon their compatibility. This has been changed to two distinct systems. The first is defensive pair up, which has you combine two units into one like in Awakening. Once two units are paired up defensively you'll notice a shield gauge. This will fill up when the lead unit attacks or is attacked, and when it's full the support unit will block the next attack. There's also certain circumstances where the supporting unit will block an offensive partner (more on that in a second); I'm not yet sure if it's every time or not.

Which brings me to offensive supports. There you have two units who are adjacent, and in that case if one unit is involved in combat the partner will attack along with. So now you have to trade off whether you want to go offense or defense.

The other major change is the removal of weapon durability. Instead, in addition to the traditional differences between weapon tiers (more damage, differences in hit rates) there are additional differentiators. Bronze weapons cannot crit or trigger skills, iron weapons are generic, steel weapons give you a lower effective speed for determining if you double attack or not (not sure if that means it's easier for enemies to double you or not), and silver weapons reduce your strength and skill by two after you use them (those stats recover by 1 every turn). So now you need to carefully weigh if the higher damage of a weapon is worth the downsides. I'm not sure yet how I feel about this system, as right now I'm only really able to use iron weapons, so I haven't yet had to make sacrifices between one or another (iron being essentially a strict upgrade over bronze, though bronze does have a slightly higher chance to hit).

Isn't that exactly what different weapon teirs have always done, other than bronze not being able to crit? It was always that higher weapon qualities had higher attack but lower chances to hit and lower speeds. It sounds more like they just got rid of weapon durability, which is a very strange thing, being that mircomanaging your best weapons and overall weapons cache has been a big part of the series for quite a while O.o

I'm not sure how I feel about the changed pairing system as well. I really liked how you got an incentive to get units' support statistics up so you just had a higher chance of double attacks or completely negating damage if they were adjacent or paired. Just having a bar that fills seems to be making the game harder, but more easy to plan around, so I guess it isn't all bad.

It sounds interesting though. I'm a sucker for FE games, so I'll probably end up buying the limited edition eventually, because I'd rather have everything in one cartridge/box than all apart.

[MrPopo]

Higher tier weapons didn't necessarily have a lower speed; it depended on the weapon speed mechanics per game. Some games increased the weight (which may or may not decrease attack speed depending on if the game lets you negate weight to some degree). But outside of a couple of breakpoint situations you ALWAYS wanted to use the best weapon; that's no longer the case.