Fire Emblem

[The-Mage-King]

So wait...I have to buy a DLC to unlock the harder difficulties? Or did I misunderstand that?

I hope not. I'm firmly in the camp that I'll pay for a DLC if it's actual extra content...however simply adding in things that could have easily been in the original game and charging extra for them? No, you won't get a cent from me for that.

Purely extra content.

All difficulties that I know of are in the game itself. The DLC just adds extra maps, items, and units.

[huttj509]

Purely extra content.

All difficulties that I know of are in the game itself. The DLC just adds extra maps, items, and units.

Some of those DLC maps might be crafted as particularly difficult, separately from the difficulty chosen at start of play.

So you have general game difficulty, then you might have DLC "challenge maps."

[Zevox]

I'm starting to really hate bronze weapons. With them around now the game forces me to use them whenever I reclass a character into a class that uses weapons they've never used before, because they're the only E-rank weapons (besides glass ones, but those only get 3 uses). And they're such crap that even if I have good stats on the character, they're doing piddling damage for a few levels until they rank up their weapon stat. I suddenly miss the days of iron weapons being the weakest in the game...

[Yana]

I still miss the halcyon days of arena grinding. Having a good source of gold and practically infinite xp makes things go so much more smoothly. That being said, Lucina and Morgan make for an unstoppable fighting force, much like their parents did. Alas, I never did find someone to marry Sumina off to. I seem to have benched practically all of the male characters with the exception of Chrom (married my Avatar), Stahl (married Sully) and the first male mage (who married the female dark mage).

[Mando Knight]

So you have general game difficulty, then you might have DLC "challenge maps."

Like The Strongest One's Name, like I mentioned before... you get to see all those crazy enemy skills from Lunatic+... even on easier difficulties.

What crazy skills, you ask? Well, imagine if those skills you hate seeing on the enemy were always on. Luna+, Pavise+, Aegis+, Vantage+... and Hawkeye (which makes the user's attacks always hit), meaning your dodgier fellows suddenly get faced with lots of unavoidable pain.

The sample enemy from the screenshot of the map on Serenesforest has his low stats as 50+, and carrying Luna+, Aegis+, Hawkeye, Counter, and Dragonskin. Also the Helswath axe, if I'm reading things right (18 might, irrelevant accuracy because of Hawkeye, 1~2 range, 10 crit).

[Todasmile]

Like The Strongest One's Name, like I mentioned before... you get to see all those crazy enemy skills from Lunatic+... even on easier difficulties.

What crazy skills, you ask? Well, imagine if those skills you hate seeing on the enemy were always on. Luna+, Pavise+, Aegis+, Vantage+... and Hawkeye (which makes the user's attacks always hit), meaning your dodgier fellows suddenly get faced with lots of unavoidable pain.

The sample enemy from the screenshot of the map on Serenesforest has his low stats as 50+, and carrying Luna+, Aegis+, Hawkeye, Counter, and Dragonskin. Also the Helswath axe, if I'm reading things right (18 might, irrelevant accuracy because of Hawkeye, 1~2 range, 10 crit).

And suddenly the game actually requires strategy. And checking out what skills the enemies are packing. Because if you send your dodgy swordsman with no defense against good ol' hawkeye...

[Raistlin1040]

So, when you reclass, how does that affect skills? I have Morgan as a Mercenary at the moment, with B-rank swords. If I reclass her to, say, Myrmidon, will her B-rank stay or jump back down to E? What about if I make her a cleric and then go back to Mercenary or change to another sword-using class?

[Mando Knight]

So, when you reclass, how does that affect skills? I have Morgan as a Mercenary at the moment, with B-rank swords. If I reclass her to, say, Myrmidon, will her B-rank stay or jump back down to E? What about if I make her a cleric and then go back to Mercenary or change to another sword-using class?

You hold on to your stats and skills... though weapon proficiencies are disabled if they're incompatible with the current class (like Shadow Dragon, though, the weapon proficiency experience stays put, waiting for you to switch back to a class that can use the proficiency). Unlike Shadow Dragon, though, all class weapon proficiencies have base values of E-rank, rather than an adjusted value for the class (Swordmasters in SD have a base Sword skill of C, for example). This makes the Cavalier level 1 skill (Discipline, x2 weapon experience gain) invaluable for characters jumping classes with very different weapon proficiencies.

[Zevox]

So, I think I may have overdone it by making my Avatar's asset stat speed. She has capped that stat as a Pegasus Knight (27) at level 11 (effective level 22, since she did 11 in Tactician first). Yeah, that's kind of crazy. She has more speed than some of my characters have health, and definitely more than anyone has in any other single stat that isn't health.

Actually, I should probably stop using her for a while, since her class change makes her level deceptive compared to most of the rest of the teams'. I keep thinking I need to keep everyone about the same, but neglect to remember to add 11 when thinking of her.

[Todasmile]

Has anyone ever seen a Swordmaster Support Block another Swordmaster's Astra?

It's AWESOME.

[Nerocite]

Finally got my copy. Loving it so far, can't wait to get to the Spotpass guys.

[huttj509]

Experience...how is it calculated?

Is it based on character's class level with a modifier for base/advanced class? Total level? Enemy level?

I seem to see some enemies just give loads of xp, while others give a piddling amount to the same character.

[Suichimo]

Experience...how is it calculated?

Is it based on character's class level with a modifier for base/advanced class? Total level? Enemy level?

I seem to see some enemies just give loads of xp, while others give a piddling amount to the same character.

Yeah, I don't know what the xp formula for this game is but FE8 has a couple of different ones and I imagine they're probably close.

Damage in FE8: = [31 + (enemy's Level + enemy's Class bonus A) - (Level + Class bonus A)] / Class power

Kill in FE8: = [(enemy's Level x enemy's Class power) + enemy's Class bonus B] - { [(Level x Class power) + Class bonus B] / Mode coefficient }

= [Experience from doing damage + (Experience from defeating (base) + 20 + Boss bonus + Thief bonus, take as 0 if negative)] x Silencer bonus


Here is FE13's calculation page at Serene's, its just a work in progress though: http://serenesforest.net/fe13/calculation.html

[Mando Knight]

Actually, the Experience rate is something that's tweaked in basically every game... I'd look more towards New Mystery's XP chart due to it being the next-most recent title.

[Geno9999]

Experience...how is it calculated?

Is it based on character's class level with a modifier for base/advanced class? Total level? Enemy level?

I seem to see some enemies just give loads of xp, while others give a piddling amount to the same character.

Yeah, experience tends to be that the Higher Leveled the opponent (promotion counts as an extra 20 or 15 levels,) the experience you gain from attacking/killing them, with bosses providing an Experience bonus to those that dealt the killing blow. So a level 1 Bandit will not give you the same amount of experience as a level 20 Bandit, and a level 1 Beserker (Promoted version of a Bandit) would give more experience than a lvl 1 Bandit. However, as Mando said above, the exact formula varies game by game.

In fact, up until Genealogy of the Holy War, the Exp gain was a flat rate dependent purely on the killed opponent's class, not their level. So a level 1 Bandit would give the same amount of Exp as a level 20 Bandit. Jagen (the First Paladin you get (don't use him, just give his Silver Lance to Shiida)) would gain the same amount of Exp for killing a bandit as Shiida would. This one of those early installment weirdness one might get from playing the first three games, especially if you are more familiar with the later games. Also, another interesting quirk about early games: Weapon lvl grew like any of the other stats; randomly and dependent on the character's growth rate in Weapon lvl.

[tonberrian]

As an estimate, you get 30 exp for killing an appropriately leveled enemy, and about 10 for hitting him. Support attackers get about 5 exp for hitting an opponent, or 10 if they have the finishing blow. Staves are weird and have their own formulas per staff, which is apparently dependent on difficulty level, seeing as how Zevox and I have had different numbers.

The phrase "appropriately leveled" deserves some clarification. Without class changing, it's your level. Promoted units count as level + 20. Whenever you use a Second Seal, however, a certain number of levels are stored for the purposes of experience gain - (level - 1)/2, with promoted units counting for (level + 20) again. The number of these stored levels is capped - a limit as to how much is added to your level for determining how much experience you gain. Having a lower cap is good, because it means there's a limit to how much you are penalized for class changing. I forget what the numbers are, but the cap increases with higher difficulties.

Thieves, Assassins, and Tricksters give out more experience than other units - roughly 1.5 times as much, I think, but I'm probably wrong. Entombed do as well, but that's because Entombed count as a promoted class, while appearing on maps with a level equal to the unpromoted units, or the promoted units +20.

[huttj509]

As an estimate, you get 30 exp for killing an appropriately leveled enemy, and about 10 for hitting him. Support attackers get about 5 exp for hitting an opponent, or 10 if they have the finishing blow. Staves are weird and have their own formulas per staff, which is apparently dependent on difficulty level, seeing as how Zevox and I have had different numbers.

The phrase "appropriately leveled" deserves some clarification. Without class changing, it's your level. Promoted units count as level + 20. Whenever you use a Second Seal, however, a certain number of levels are stored for the purposes of experience gain - (level - 1)/2, with promoted units counting for (level + 20) again. The number of these stored levels is capped - a limit as to how much is added to your level for determining how much experience you gain. Having a lower cap is good, because it means there's a limit to how much you are penalized for class changing. I forget what the numbers are, but the cap increases with higher difficulties.

Thieves, Assassins, and Tricksters give out more experience than other units - roughly 1.5 times as much, I think, but I'm probably wrong. Entombed do as well, but that's because Entombed count as a promoted class, while appearing on maps with a level equal to the unpromoted units, or the promoted units +20.

The entombed were the ones that tended to really jump out at me.

30 xp, 30 xp, 30 xp, full leve....WHAT?

Good to know they count as promoted.

[Hydranova]

So, for those that can explain it, what are the advantages of second seals in Awakening? Do you retain your stats and skills from before utilizing them?

[Zevox]

So, for those that can explain it, what are the advantages of second seals in Awakening? Do you retain your stats and skills from before utilizing them?

Eeyup. Basically, they work like promoting (including the minimum level 10 to use), except instead of changing to a higher-tier class, you can change to another equal-tier class (or a lower-tier one, if you're in a promoted class at the time). Your stats will change based on the class you're changing from and the one you're changing into - for instance, when I changed one of my Pegasus Knights into a Mercenary, she gained strength and defense but lost a point of speed and a lot of resistance - but those changes aren't huge except when the two classes differ a lot in how potent that stat typically is. Though I'd assume that changing from a promoted class to a base one would result in large losses, but they'd be made up by the levels gained in the new class, since you start from level 1 again (or made up just by promoting back to that class again).

Skills are always retained once learned as well, and each character can equip five at a time. It'll take at least two class changes (promotions or second seal changes) to get that many, though, since each class yields only two skills (at level 1 and 10 in base classes, level 5 and 15 in promoted ones, level 1 and 15 in unique ones like Villager and Manakete).

[A Rainy Knight]

Woo! Finished the game today on Normal Casual. I think I'll get started on another playthrough right away, but I'll give Hard Casual a shot this time - after having my fun with reclassing and grinding supports and family-building, the game got a bit disappointingly easy, so I could probably use more of a challenge.

[Zevox]

Grrr, chapter 11 is giving me headaches. Between enemy reinforcements that get to act on the turn they show up, a boss with absurd speed and a magic weapon who moves, and just general bad luck (Chrom, why you fail to dodge axe attack that had only a one-in-three shot of hitting?!), I've restarted it around a half-dozen times now. It's almost making me wish I'd gone with casual mode. Or maybe normal difficulty.

[huttj509]

Woo! Finished the game today on Normal Casual. I think I'll get started on another playthrough right away, but I'll give Hard Casual a shot this time - after having my fun with reclassing and grinding supports and family-building, the game got a bit disappointingly easy, so I could probably use more of a challenge.

I know the feeling.

Spoiler

Show

Kijelle with parents as Sully and Donnel (cute couple, BTW). Had aptitude for better stat gains, then Astra, Luna, Sol, Weapon Saver, and got Galeforce for when stat gains weren't needed.

Currently a freaking invincible falcon knight for burly mobile staff access. While kicking much %#$ with a Brave Lance.

Wonder if it'll be quite as burly on Hard.

[A Rainy Knight]

So, I just figured out how to call the Spotpass teams to the map. I haven't done much with them yet, but they seem like they'd make for a good way to get some training done on the harder difficulties when there aren't any skirmishes around and you don't feel like shelling out for a Reeking Box.

[Deme]

Hey, anyone have a good or fun suggestion for a non-Chrom pairing for a female MU? I really can't make heads or tails of what's a good idea for a pairing, and am sort of stalled.

[Goldfly]

Donnel comes to mind- Aptitude is just that powerful of a skill. The male children, as well. Their higher base stats can make for an extremely powerful Morgan. Lon'qu has high Speed and Skill, so he could be helpful as well.

[Zevox]

Hey, anyone have a good or fun suggestion for a non-Chrom pairing for a female MU? I really can't make heads or tails of what's a good idea for a pairing, and am sort of stalled.

I've gone with Stahl. While not the most interesting character in the game, he's nice enough, and my Pegasus Knight Avatar and him complement each other wonderfully. Regardless of which is on point, they become a truly monstrous force when paired up, as each shores up the other's weak points tremendously.

Don't know how that's going to work when child characters start showing up, but eh, I'm not trying to heavily optimize that anyway.

[Todasmile]

Donnel comes to mind- Aptitude is just that powerful of a skill. The male children, as well. Their higher base stats can make for an extremely powerful Morgan. Lon'qu has high Speed and Skill, so he could be helpful as well.

The male child of Donnel makes for a perfect blend of Donnel and Male Child.

[Fiery Diamond]

Hard difficulty is WAY too difficult... I'm only to Ch4 and the only good unit I have is my avatar. I think I'll restart on Normal. Of course, I found anything other than Easy too hard on SD and preferred Easy on RD (though Normal was all right.) Only game I ever found Hard to be acceptable was PoR.

[Zevox]

So, Serenes Forest tells me it's possible for Chrom to marry Olivia. But how can that be?

Spoiler

Show

She joins at the start of the chapter he marries at the end of. There's no way for him to get even a C support with her before the game automatically marries him to the girl he has the highest support with, and according to that same site, if he has no support of at least C rank with one of the girls he can marry, he just marries a generic peasant. So, that seems to add up to it being mechanically impossible for Chrom and Olivia to marry.

So, yeah, I am confused.

[A Rainy Knight]

So, Serenes Forest tells me it's possible for Chrom to marry Olivia. But how can that be?

Spoiler

Show

She joins at the start of the chapter he marries at the end of. There's no way for him to get even a C support with her before the game automatically marries him to the girl he has the highest support with, and according to that same site, if he has no support of at least C rank with one of the girls he can marry, he just marries a generic peasant. So, that seems to add up to it being mechanically impossible for Chrom and Olivia to marry.

So, yeah, I am confused.

The points towards a support level, even if that level isn't achieved, count. He just needs to be closer to her C support than to anyone else's.