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[Fire Emblem] Awakening is a Critical Hit!
Xenogears of Bore
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
FIRE EMBLEM: AWAKENING
RELEASE INFO
JAPAN: April 19, 2012
US: February 04, 2013
EUROPE: April 19, 2013 (They do get a bad ass Fire Emblem 3DS XL bundle to go along with the one year anniversary of the Japanese launch)
PLOT SYNOPSIS
Chrom, young price of the Halidom of Ylisse and his merry troop of anime tropes are joined by an amnesiac tactician created by you and they go around writing wrongs, killing zombies and evil warlords and having time travel shenanigans with their days of future past children!
WHAT IS FIRE EMBLEM?
A magic Macguffin shield thing that shows up in a bunch of the games. Oh, you didn't mean that. It's the original fantasy based Tactical/Strategy Role Playing Game. You command units on a grid and you and the computer take turns slashing/smashing/shooting/burning the fuck out of each other. This game has an unusual twist though that few other games in the series hold to; when your characters die in battle they either die for good or if they are story related but not Chrom or your Avatar, become horribly injured and unable to battle and are sent to the back lines.
COMBAT
The combat itself is simple enough. Your character comes equipped with one or more of five main weapon types: Swords, Axes, Lances, Bows, Magic (there are also items you can use but besides healing potions there aren't that many common ones) and the more you use the item the better your proficiency gets, meaning you can use better weapons of that type. Proficiency goes from E to A in this game. If you change to a class (more on this later) with a new weapon type you'll have to start leveling it from E again, but any previous leveling you did with that character will still be there even if you can't use that weapon right now.
The actual combat is determined by your stats (more on this later) and a very simple weapon triangle for the direct weapons. The more Might (MT) a weapon has, the more damage it does.
Swords: Beat Axes, lose to Lances. Generally high accuracy with medium damage. A very common weapon type used by many advanced and unpromoted units.
Axes: Beat Lances, lose to Swords. Generally lower accuracy with higher damage. Fairly uncommon in this game. Some axes are able to be thrown and well as used in direct combat.
Lances: Beat Swords, lose to Axes. Generally medium accuracy and medium to high damage. Another fairly common weapon. Some lances are able to be thrown.
Each of these weapon types also have some crazy variants, including one weapon of each type that runs off of the magic stat and defends off of the Resistance stat.
Indirect weapons work differently. If the unit you are attacking cannot do indirect damage and you attack from range then they can only dodge and not fight back. Same holds true though if someone attacks you and you only have an indirect weapon. In this game, that means bows.
Bows: Ranged physical damage. Very high accuracy, fairly low damage. Flying units without any special skills take THREE TIMES normal weapon damage from Arrows.
Magic: Uses the magic stat and hits against the opponents weapon Resistance stat. Divided into Tomes (attack magic) and Staffs (support magic) Tomes and Staffs each have their own proficiency slot. Tomes come in Four flavors. Wind is high accuracy, low damage but does triple damage against flying units. Fire is medium damage, high accuracy, Thunder magic is low accuracy, high damage. Dark magic is also low accuracy, high damage but is special in that while it still uses the Tomes proficiency slot only Dark Mages, sorcerers, and spotpass/dlc characters with the right skill can use them! Staffs heal and do other support effects like boost resistance for a few turns or teleport units to safety.
WEAPON USAGE: Each weapon comes with a max level of usage. Each use, hit or miss, subtracts one from this total. If the total reaches zero the weapon becomes unusable and disappears.
CLASSES
Each character, both player and ai belongs to a class. Classes determine your base stats, your maximum stats, which weapons you can use and which skills you can learn.
this page has a picture of all the classes and a brief description
Some classes are male or female only.
Males: Villagers, Barbarians, Fighters, Berserkers, Warriors, Demon Fighters
Females: Pegasus Knights, Falcon Knights, Dark Fliers, Troubadours, Valkyries, Brides
Skills are learned at level 1 and 10 for pre-promoted units, 5 and 15 for promoted units (Villager, Dancer, Manakete, Taguel count as promoted in this case)
LEVELING: Each successful hit gives you experience. So does every use of a staff. Killing a unit gives much more experience. Every one hundred points of experience you earn gives you a new level. Each time you level up you gain stat points determined by the stat growth rate of each individual character. Each stat gets a random chance of going up as long as the number rolled is less than the characters growth rate. Since you can reclass infinitely and fight as many times as you want you really shouldn't worry about a bad level up, you can always get those points back.
CLASS CHANGING: After a unit has leveled enough they can use certain items to either change classes to one of their other available pre-premoted class or advance to their promoted status. Second Seals are used for pre-promoted shuffling while Master Seals promote your unit. The items are consumed upon use and you must be at least level 10 to use it. Note: A promoted unit that uses a Second Seal at level 10 can change to any of their available classes, promoted or unpromoted.
While this is a chart of how class progression works.
STATS
HIT POINTS: Are your hit points. C'mon, you've played a game with Hit points in it before. A numerical representation of how much damage you can hit.
STRENGTH: This is the stat used for determining how much damage non magical weapons do. An incredibly useful stat.
SKILL: Used in both the formulas for hitting an enemy and for critical hitting an enemy. Also the primary stat for skill activation and used in the calculation for a Dual Strike. An incredibly useful stat.
SPEED: Used in the formula for dodging a hit and the formula for getting an extra hit on an enemy. AN INCREDIBLY USEFUL STAT.
DEFENSE: Used in the formula for how much damage you take from physical weapons and for intercepting a physical attack from Dual Guard. An incredibly useful stat.
MAGIC: Used in the formula for how much damage magical weapons and staffs do. An incredibly useful stat.
RESISTANCE: Used in the formula for how much damage you take from magical strikes and for intercepting a magical attack from Dual Guard. An incredibly useful stat.
LUCK: Used in the formula for a Critical hit and avoiding damage. Also used by some potent skills. An incredibly Useful stat.
DAMAGE FORMULAS:
COMBAT:
COMBAT FORECAST: (The box that appears before you confirm an attack)
WEAPON RANK BONUS:
WEAPON TRIANGLE BONUS: Based on Weapon Proficiency. Swords>Axes>Lances>Swords
WEAPON RANK PROGRESSION:
Note 1: Characters gain 2 Weapon Experience for each battle (or staff usage).
Note 2: Weapon Experience is gained even if no damage is done or the attacks all miss.
Note 3: The maximum Weapon Rank for characters is A.
SUPPORTS:
To raise a support relationship, two characters must first be compatible with each other. If characters are compatible, they can earn support points via these methods:
Fight and damage an enemy (affects all adjacent allies and the character's pair up partner). This is the best way to raise supports.
Pair up and trigger an event tile (random chance).
Converse in the Barracks (random chance).
Use a "Seed of Trust" item when paired up.
When enough support points have been earned, a support conversation between the two characters can be viewed outside of battle, which increases the support relationship by one level. The support levels start from "C", then progress to "B", "A" and finally "S". Each character can have any number of support relationships up to "A", but only one "S" support level with an opposite gender character (except the character's siblings or children). SUPER OBVIOUS SPOILER HERE:
Support Bonuses:
That is the total of all adjacent support ranks between two characters so an S rank couple needs a C rank support or better next to them to achieve maximum rank (or a few adjacent A or B rankers)
DUAL SYSTEM
A new mechanic to Fire Emblem: Awakening. Units adjacent to one another (or paired up, which takes priority) can sometimes perform either a Dual Strike, an extra hit on offense or a Dual Guard in which they throw themselves at your unit preventing all damage from that attack.
The formula for this activation is as follows.
Dual Strike rate = (Lead & Support Unit's combined Skill / 4) + Support bonus + Skill bonus [%] (if any)
Dual Guard rate = (Lead & Support Unit's combined Def or Res / 4) + Support bonus + Skill bonus [%] (if any)
Skill bonus: 10 if the Lead or Support unit has the Dual Guard+ Skill
PAIR UP
Two units Voltron into one. Form Fire Emblem Blazing Sword. They take only one action, but any successful hit raises support and the attacking unit gains significant stat increases based on the class and support level of the unit they are paired up with. The paired up unit also gets a small amount of experience on a successful hit or kill of a unit. This page here has the whole skinny on it including the class table.
RELEASE INFO
JAPAN: April 19, 2012
US: February 04, 2013
EUROPE: April 19, 2013 (They do get a bad ass Fire Emblem 3DS XL bundle to go along with the one year anniversary of the Japanese launch)
PLOT SYNOPSIS
Chrom, young price of the Halidom of Ylisse and his merry troop of anime tropes are joined by an amnesiac tactician created by you and they go around writing wrongs, killing zombies and evil warlords and having time travel shenanigans with their days of future past children!
WHAT IS FIRE EMBLEM?
A magic Macguffin shield thing that shows up in a bunch of the games. Oh, you didn't mean that. It's the original fantasy based Tactical/Strategy Role Playing Game. You command units on a grid and you and the computer take turns slashing/smashing/shooting/burning the fuck out of each other. This game has an unusual twist though that few other games in the series hold to; when your characters die in battle they either die for good or if they are story related but not Chrom or your Avatar, become horribly injured and unable to battle and are sent to the back lines.
COMBAT
The combat itself is simple enough. Your character comes equipped with one or more of five main weapon types: Swords, Axes, Lances, Bows, Magic (there are also items you can use but besides healing potions there aren't that many common ones) and the more you use the item the better your proficiency gets, meaning you can use better weapons of that type. Proficiency goes from E to A in this game. If you change to a class (more on this later) with a new weapon type you'll have to start leveling it from E again, but any previous leveling you did with that character will still be there even if you can't use that weapon right now.
The actual combat is determined by your stats (more on this later) and a very simple weapon triangle for the direct weapons. The more Might (MT) a weapon has, the more damage it does.
Swords: Beat Axes, lose to Lances. Generally high accuracy with medium damage. A very common weapon type used by many advanced and unpromoted units.
Axes: Beat Lances, lose to Swords. Generally lower accuracy with higher damage. Fairly uncommon in this game. Some axes are able to be thrown and well as used in direct combat.
Lances: Beat Swords, lose to Axes. Generally medium accuracy and medium to high damage. Another fairly common weapon. Some lances are able to be thrown.
Each of these weapon types also have some crazy variants, including one weapon of each type that runs off of the magic stat and defends off of the Resistance stat.
Indirect weapons work differently. If the unit you are attacking cannot do indirect damage and you attack from range then they can only dodge and not fight back. Same holds true though if someone attacks you and you only have an indirect weapon. In this game, that means bows.
Bows: Ranged physical damage. Very high accuracy, fairly low damage. Flying units without any special skills take THREE TIMES normal weapon damage from Arrows.
Magic: Uses the magic stat and hits against the opponents weapon Resistance stat. Divided into Tomes (attack magic) and Staffs (support magic) Tomes and Staffs each have their own proficiency slot. Tomes come in Four flavors. Wind is high accuracy, low damage but does triple damage against flying units. Fire is medium damage, high accuracy, Thunder magic is low accuracy, high damage. Dark magic is also low accuracy, high damage but is special in that while it still uses the Tomes proficiency slot only Dark Mages, sorcerers, and spotpass/dlc characters with the right skill can use them! Staffs heal and do other support effects like boost resistance for a few turns or teleport units to safety.
WEAPON USAGE: Each weapon comes with a max level of usage. Each use, hit or miss, subtracts one from this total. If the total reaches zero the weapon becomes unusable and disappears.
CLASSES
Each character, both player and ai belongs to a class. Classes determine your base stats, your maximum stats, which weapons you can use and which skills you can learn.
this page has a picture of all the classes and a brief description
Some classes are male or female only.
Males: Villagers, Barbarians, Fighters, Berserkers, Warriors, Demon Fighters
Females: Pegasus Knights, Falcon Knights, Dark Fliers, Troubadours, Valkyries, Brides
Skills are learned at level 1 and 10 for pre-promoted units, 5 and 15 for promoted units (Villager, Dancer, Manakete, Taguel count as promoted in this case)
LEVELING: Each successful hit gives you experience. So does every use of a staff. Killing a unit gives much more experience. Every one hundred points of experience you earn gives you a new level. Each time you level up you gain stat points determined by the stat growth rate of each individual character. Each stat gets a random chance of going up as long as the number rolled is less than the characters growth rate. Since you can reclass infinitely and fight as many times as you want you really shouldn't worry about a bad level up, you can always get those points back.
CLASS CHANGING: After a unit has leveled enough they can use certain items to either change classes to one of their other available pre-premoted class or advance to their promoted status. Second Seals are used for pre-promoted shuffling while Master Seals promote your unit. The items are consumed upon use and you must be at least level 10 to use it. Note: A promoted unit that uses a Second Seal at level 10 can change to any of their available classes, promoted or unpromoted.
While this is a chart of how class progression works.
STATS
HIT POINTS: Are your hit points. C'mon, you've played a game with Hit points in it before. A numerical representation of how much damage you can hit.
STRENGTH: This is the stat used for determining how much damage non magical weapons do. An incredibly useful stat.
SKILL: Used in both the formulas for hitting an enemy and for critical hitting an enemy. Also the primary stat for skill activation and used in the calculation for a Dual Strike. An incredibly useful stat.
SPEED: Used in the formula for dodging a hit and the formula for getting an extra hit on an enemy. AN INCREDIBLY USEFUL STAT.
DEFENSE: Used in the formula for how much damage you take from physical weapons and for intercepting a physical attack from Dual Guard. An incredibly useful stat.
MAGIC: Used in the formula for how much damage magical weapons and staffs do. An incredibly useful stat.
RESISTANCE: Used in the formula for how much damage you take from magical strikes and for intercepting a magical attack from Dual Guard. An incredibly useful stat.
LUCK: Used in the formula for a Critical hit and avoiding damage. Also used by some potent skills. An incredibly Useful stat.
DAMAGE FORMULAS:
COMBAT:
Attack = Strength or Magic + Weapon's Might + Weapon Rank bonus Hit rate = Weapon's Hit rate + [(Skill x 3 + Luck) / 2] + Weapon Rank bonus Critical = Weapon's Critical + (Skill / 2) Avoid = (Speed x 3 + Luck) / 2 Rating = Strength + Magic + Skill + Speed + Luck + Defence + Resistance Double attack = (Speed - Enemy's Speed) >= 5
COMBAT FORECAST: (The box that appears before you confirm an attack)
Property Calculation Attack (damage) = Attack + Weapon triangle bonus - Enemy's (Defence or Resistance + Terrain bonus) Hit rate = Hit rate + Weapon triangle bonus + Support bonus - Enemy's (Avoid + Terrain bonus + Support bonus) [%] Critical rate = Critical + Support bonus - Enemy's (Luck + Support bonus) [%]
WEAPON RANK BONUS:
Type C Rank bonus B Rank bonus A Rank bonus Sword Attack +1 Attack +2 Attack +3 Lance Attack +1 Attack +1, Hit rate +5 Attack +2, Hit rate +5 Bow Attack +1 Attack +1, Hit rate +5 Attack +2, Hit rate +5 Tome Attack +1 Attack +1, Hit rate +5 Attack +2, Hit rate +5 Axe Hit rate +5 Hit rate +10 Attack +1, Hit rate +10 Staff Recovery +1 Recovery +2 Recovery +3
WEAPON TRIANGLE BONUS: Based on Weapon Proficiency. Swords>Axes>Lances>Swords
Weapon Rank Weapon triangle advantage Weapon triangle disadvantage E or D Hit rate +5 Hit rate -5 C Hit rate +10 Hit rate -10 B Hit rate +10, Attack +1 Hit rate -10, Attack -1 A Hit rate +15, Attack +1 Hit rate -15, Attack -1
WEAPON RANK PROGRESSION:
Weapon Rank Required WEx Total WEx - to E 1 1 E to D 30 31 D to C 40 71 C to B 50 121 B to A 60 181
Note 1: Characters gain 2 Weapon Experience for each battle (or staff usage).
Note 2: Weapon Experience is gained even if no damage is done or the attacks all miss.
Note 3: The maximum Weapon Rank for characters is A.
SUPPORTS:
To raise a support relationship, two characters must first be compatible with each other. If characters are compatible, they can earn support points via these methods:
Fight and damage an enemy (affects all adjacent allies and the character's pair up partner). This is the best way to raise supports.
Pair up and trigger an event tile (random chance).
Converse in the Barracks (random chance).
Use a "Seed of Trust" item when paired up.
When enough support points have been earned, a support conversation between the two characters can be viewed outside of battle, which increases the support relationship by one level. The support levels start from "C", then progress to "B", "A" and finally "S". Each character can have any number of support relationships up to "A", but only one "S" support level with an opposite gender character (except the character's siblings or children). SUPER OBVIOUS SPOILER HERE:
[S RANK RELATIONSHIPS LEAD TO CHILDREN[
Support Bonuses:
Support rank 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Hit rate+ 10 10 10 10 15 15 15 15 20 20 20 20 Avoid+ 0 10 10 10 10 15 15 15 15 20 20 20 Critical+ 0 0 0 10 10 10 10 15 15 15 15 20 Critical Avoid+ 0 0 10 10 10 10 15 15 15 15 20 20
That is the total of all adjacent support ranks between two characters so an S rank couple needs a C rank support or better next to them to achieve maximum rank (or a few adjacent A or B rankers)
DUAL SYSTEM
A new mechanic to Fire Emblem: Awakening. Units adjacent to one another (or paired up, which takes priority) can sometimes perform either a Dual Strike, an extra hit on offense or a Dual Guard in which they throw themselves at your unit preventing all damage from that attack.
The formula for this activation is as follows.
Dual Strike rate = (Lead & Support Unit's combined Skill / 4) + Support bonus + Skill bonus [%] (if any)
Dual Guard rate = (Lead & Support Unit's combined Def or Res / 4) + Support bonus + Skill bonus [%] (if any)
Skill bonus: 10 if the Lead or Support unit has the Dual Guard+ Skill
Support Lv. Dual Strike rate [%] - (Lead & Support unit's combined Skill / 4) + 20 C (Lead & Support unit's combined Skill / 4) + 30 B (Lead & Support unit's combined Skill / 4) + 40 A (Lead & Support unit's combined Skill / 4) + 50 S (Lead & Support unit's combined Skill / 4) + 60
Support Lv. Dual Guard rate [%] - (Lead & Support unit's combined Def or Res / 4) C (Lead & Support unit's combined Def or Res / 4) + 2 B (Lead & Support unit's combined Def or Res / 4) + 5 A (Lead & Support unit's combined Def or Res / 4) + 7 S (Lead & Support unit's combined Def or Res / 4) + 10
PAIR UP
Two units Voltron into one. Form Fire Emblem Blazing Sword. They take only one action, but any successful hit raises support and the attacking unit gains significant stat increases based on the class and support level of the unit they are paired up with. The paired up unit also gets a small amount of experience on a successful hit or kill of a unit. This page here has the whole skinny on it including the class table.
3DS CODE: 3093-7068-3576
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DLC SYNOPSIS AND REVIEW
SEASON ONE
CHAMPIONS PACK
Cost: 6 Dollars, 2.50 for each.
Champions of Yore 1
REWARD : Marth
DIFFICULTY: *
SYNOPSIS: Small map with two villages. Chrom+6 other units of your choosing and three green AI allies versus the red army of ladies from the first few Fire Emblem games. Real easy. Used to be free/will be free for a few weeks when it comes out in Europe.
REVIEW: It's good for extremely low level units to level and its free, but that's about where it ends. The Marth you get from it isn't even as good as the one from the Spotpass roster. Would not buy for 2.50 but then again, I got it for free.
Champions of Yore 2
REWARD : Roy
DIFFICULTY: *
SYNOPSIS: Slightly larger map with two open villages and a castle. Chrom+6 other units of your choosing and three green AI allies versus the red army of men from the middle part of the Fire Emblem series. A good map for leveling up units who have already had a bit of experience and for the two open villages of easy stuff, by the time you have promoted units you should be beyond this one.
REVIEW: Not really worth purchasing on its own but if you got/can get the Champions pack at the reduced cost of 4.00 then this map is ok. Decent for leveling but it's got nothing on some of the later maps. The two easy to reach villages though has some early game random farming potential, though I did use this map a ton when first starting out.
Champions of Yore 3
REWARD : Michaiah, All Stats +2 scroll
DIFFICULTY: **
SYNOPSIS: Same map from CoY2 but at night. Chrom and 11 units of your choosing versus everyone from CoY1 and 2. Enemies range from about 10-15 unpremoted. The first map that is even slightly challenging as they have you surrounded.
REVIEW: Now they finally released a map worth buying. Micaiah has a very awesome and rare skill at her disposal and All Stats+2 is a great early game skill in all difficulties.
OVERALL: The weakest pack overall. If you got it for 4 dollars? You probably did alright though as it's only an extra 1.50 to get the Roy map when all you really wanted was CoY. Skip the pack unless you are a completionist and if you really want Stats +2 just get CoY3.
GOLDEN PACK
The Golden Gaffe
REWARD : Up to 76,000 gold.
DIFFICULTY: *
SYNOPSIS: You pick ten of your best/greediest men and women to fight back against a bunch of wealthy Risen who only want to escape, which is done by running off the bottom of the screen. The easier ones have less gold, none of them will attack you but they will still get their counter attack. Some of them are pretty strong for a weak party but even killing just the low level easy ones will get you 10-20k with no risk in about two minutes.
REVIEW: Feels like cheating. Practically is. You can get money by much slower means, despoiling spotpass characters over and over. Or you can buy this map and have the resources to literally by anything you ever wanted. Both completely unnecessary yet totally vital. I love this map yet hate what it represents.
EXPonential Growth
REWARD : Experience
DIFFICULTY: **
SYNOPSIS: You pick six units and fight monsters. For early level units killing even the weakest opponents will give you 90-100 exp, and the stronger ones also work well though they have skills like counter and miracle to make them a bit harder to kill. Eventually replaced in usefulness by a later map, this is nonetheless good training grounds for early to mid game characters, though it is a bit slow and frustrating.
REVIEW: Handy but not as much so as the other two. One thing I will say in its defense is that the bit of story that goes along with it is HILARIOUS like the rest of the pack.
Infinite Regalia
REWARD : LEGENDARY WEAPONS, Eldigan, Silver Card
DIFFICULTY: ****
SYNOPSIS: You Pick twelve units and fight Risen heroes of yore with awesome weapons and too much time while trying to open three chests with LEGENDARY WEAPONS in them before four sneaky thieves do it and run away with the goods. Defeat the boss to end the map (The boss is in the middle of the level while the chests are north of him so don't fight him on the way)
REVIEW: A really fun map that you'll want to repeat over and over again for the treasures. Unlike every map before it this one is a decent challenge for an end game party and the one time only rewards are also pretty awesome without even going into the three random legendary weapons (which you can get in the regular game by luck or on purpose)
OVERALL: A good pack. EXPonential Growth isn't the best but I did play the hell out of it before I found better opportunities for leveling. The story parts on all three are surprisingly funny. Worth buying if you want to pump up your units.
LOST BLOODLINES PACK
Lost Bloodlines 1
REWARD : Leif
DIFFICULTY: **
SYNOPSIS: Chrom and eleven others team up with King Marth and his nine boyos to beat the dastardly thirty strong red army led by Seliph on a big wide open map with two villages and two castles (It's in fact the prologue map to Genealogy and quite small for that game!) most of your opponents are high level prepremotes with a few low level promoted units mixed in.
REVIEW: A fun map and an exciting preview of what is to come. Leif is ok.
Lost Bloodlines 2
REWARD : Alm, Dread Scroll
DIFFICULTY: **
SYNOPSIS: Chrom and eleven others do the reverse of what they did in LB1; yes there is a pattern here. You join the other side. This one is slightly harder and has better rewards though, including the best male class in the game.
REVIEW: Fun map that you will redo over and over again for that scroll. Dread Fighter is a class with a level cap of 30 that learns a great ability and has access to the three best weapon types in the game, Axes, Swords, Books with great stat caps. Plus they are basically teleporting ninjas.
Lost Bloodlines 3
REWARD : Seliph, Paragon Scroll
DIFFICULTY: ***
SYNOPSIS: Chrom and 14 others fight 50 units from the other two armies on the same map. Units range from 15 prepremoted to 5 premoted. The best leveling map in the game combined with the leveling skill. A higher level unit near max level cap can usually solo it with Chrom and gain a whole bunch of levels and weapon exp.
REVIEW: Totally worth it. Fun map, huge swarm of goons, great reward in the paragon skill which doubles your exp.
OVERALL: One of the best packs overall. The fights are fun, the rewards on the second two are second to none. I wholeheartedly endorse this pack without reservation.
SMASH PACK
Smash Brethren 1
REWARD : Elincia
DIFFICULTY: ***
SYNOPSIS: Chrom and nine other party members join with Roy and his boys to fight Ike and his crew which rolls twenty deep. All are premoted between 3-10. If this map looks familiar to you its the final map from FE 7!
REVIEW: Fun map with awesome music. The reward is ok and like LB1 it is a sign of things to come.
Smash Brethren 2
REWARD : Eirika, Wedding Bouquet
DIFFICULTY: ***
SYNOPSIS: Chrom and 11 others join with Elincia and nine of her AI soldiers from Tellius to fight 30 soldiers from FE 6-8 on the same map as before with the locked doors and all the rest. They are all promoted units between about 3-10.
REVIEW: The best female class is the reward here. Eirika deserves her revenge, and we, we deserve to die to the strange but handy combination of Bow, Staff, Spear and two useful skills. Not quite as good as the dread pirate roberts class but still really good. Also wouldn't be My Waifu Emblem without Brides.
Smash Brethren 3
REWARD : Lyn, Iote Shield.
DIFFICULTY: ****
SYNOPSIS: Chrom and 14 others fight...you know the drill; 50 units from FE 6-10, all between 3-10 premoted on the awesome final map of FE 7, now with the proper music to boot!.
REVIEW: Fun, hard map with an awesome reward (the scroll halves damage taken to flying units by arrows and wind magic.) Worth playing over and over again and a decent challenge for all but the most over leveled parties.
OVERALL: Great Pack, pretty much on the same level as LB. Gives a new class and a good skill on a fun map. This one is a bit more challenging.
ROGUES PACK
Rogues and Redeemers 1
REWARD : Ephraim
DIFFICULTY: ****
SYNOPSIS: Chrom and nine others team up with the heroes of light (a bunch of lords, princes, and some loser named Sothe) against the attacking heroes of darkness (30 villains from FE games) on the awesome 8th map from Path of Radiance! The enemies are premoted and strong with good skills and weapons you yourself would use! Plan ahead, use chokepoints, and let your allies take the hits for you!
REVIEW: Fun map! Great challenge for even end game parties. You cannot just set it on auto and forget it. Ephraim is a level 20 Great Knight with awesome skills.
Rogues and Redeemers 2
REWARD : Celica
DIFFICULTY: ****
SYNOPSIS: Another mirror map, You team up with ten bad guys and try to storm the fort held by 30 premoted bad ass heroes. A much harder proposition and a great challenge.
REVIEW: Fun and hard! If that's what you're looking for, get this map. Celica is a level 20 Sage with good skills.
Rogues and Redeemers 3
REWARD : Ike, LIMIT BREAK SCROLL
DIFFICULTY: ***** (FIVE STARS, and yes it is hard!!!)
SYNOPSIS: I bet you can sense what is coming here. Chrom and 19 duders versus 50 bad asses and heroes on the same map. All enemies are MAX LEVEL with great skills and weapons. You thankfully hold the fort. Some groups tend to hide away unless provoked and there are great chokepoints so it isn't impossible. Will give even overleveled teams like mine a run for the money.
REVIEW: I love this map. Sure it gives the best skill in the game but who cares about that. This map is fun as hell! Bring healing! Consider forging for hit! Check if they have counter or breaker skills! Watch out for Vengeance!
OVERALL: Do you like a challenge? Do you want a great skill (that'll become downright necessary in the even harder final maps of Season 2? Buy at least R&R 3. I recommend them all because I love the map but 3 is a must own.
SEASON TWO
OVERVIEW: The second season features a wide variety of maps that vary quite a bit more than the standard Hubba style maps that dominated season one. For the maps that allow new conversation paths follow this link to see who can talk with whom.
Here is the list of all the new conversations you can have on these maps!
CHALLENGE PACK
Cost: 6.50 Dollars, 300 for each.
Death's Embrace
REWARD : Est (Beat the boss before he flees)
DIFFICULTY: *****
SYNOPSIS: Map where all enemies and allies who end the turn in the spike filled middle of the map are reduced to 1 hp! Most enemy units have skills that take advantage of this situation (miracle, vantage, counter, vengeance) so you need to carefully plan your moves.
REVIEW: Fun map and easily the most difficult of the challenge pack.
Five-Anna Firefight
REWARD : Catria (Have all five Anna's survive!)
DIFFICULTY: *****
SYNOPSIS: Things heat up in this volcano map. 5 fairly weak Annas that need to be protected against a horde of mainly flying units. The reenforcements are something to be watched out for and as stated in the pre map dialogue Rescue Staffs will not work!
REVIEW: Another interesting map that can get a bit frantic near the end, though with the right party of fliers you can make short work of it. More straightforward than the first one.
Roster Rescue
REWARD : Palla (Defeat all enemies!)
DIFFICULTY: *****
SYNOPSIS: A tricky map with rotating walls and a new amazing type of Risen that you'll have to see to believe. Quite an interesting epilogue to this one.
REVIEW: Fun but frustrating map that's a lot like a certain paralogue on steroids...
OVERALL: A good pack. Death's Embrace is a standout and while the other two have interesting story bits (and a bit of fan service for Anna fans) they don't quite have the interesting mechanic of the first one.
SCRAMBLE PACK
Cost: 6.50 Dollars, 300 for each.
Harvest Scramble
REWARD : CONVERSATIONS, oh and a Master Seal.
DIFFICULTY: *
SYNOPSIS: The first of the easy as all heck maps that focus on fun character interactions and shiny interaction points. A party fresh to the outland portal should be able to beat this map!
REVIEW: The conversations and story bits are the highlight of this map and well, the entire pack. Big treat for fans.
Summer Scramble
REWARD : CONVERSATIONS, FANSERVICE, and Seeds of Trust x3
DIFFICULTY: **
SYNOPSIS: The first of the easy as all heck maps that focus on fun character interactions and shiny interaction points, oh and bathing suits. The four first generation characters who won a Japanese fan ranking poll get special scenes (Chrom and Gaius for men, Cordelia and Tharja for women) and it is quite a treat. A party fresh to the outland portal should be able to beat this map, though it is a bit harder than Harvest! Bring Sorcerers.
REVIEW: Fan service plus 3x seeds of trust and tons of shiny spots? Great for support leveling.
Hot-Springs Scramble
REWARD : CONVERSATIONS, Fanservice and Seeds of Trust x3.
DIFFICULTY: **
SYNOPSIS: Same thing as Summer Scramble only with the second generation. Bring Owain, Inigo, Lucina and Severa for new scenes, also Swordmasters get a new uniform.
REVIEW: You get the drill. Not as fan servicey as Summer Scramble but the second gen tends to have funnier conversations.
OVERALL: If you like the characters, get this pack. If you are starting fresh with the game but think you'll like the characters or starting a new game on a new difficulty you can use these maps for easy breezy leveling while having fun. These came way too late for the first run through for most Japanese and American gamers. If you're European though you got this pack at basically the perfect time for abusing its easy conversation leveling via the multitude of shiny points.
FUTURE PAST PACK
Cost: 6.50 Dollars, 300 for each.
The Future Past 1
REWARD : Story
DIFFICULTY: ****
SYNOPSIS: A what-if story of the future generation if they had never been forced to go back in time to join with Chrom. This map features Cynthia, Kjelle, Noire and Nah, weapon less and trapped by Risen guards in a four corner prison. Rescue Staffs do not work on this map. Park the parents of the children next to the kids to have conversations with them.
REVIEW: First part of an incredible trilogy of maps with a ton of story. This one despite being rated four stars is actually harder than the final map of this pack because of how the kids are walled off and can be easily killed by any of the units not locked in the room with them.
The Future Past 2
REWARD : Story
DIFFICULTY: ****
SYNOPSIS: A continuation of the story from the first part. This map features Brady, Yarne, Inigo and Owain on a large outdoor map separated by broken and unbroken bridges and a vast army of highly mobile enemies. Speed is of the essence. Park the parents of the children next to the kids to have conversations with them.
REVIEW: More story and a difficult map that's made quite a bit easier by having a highly mobile aerial force. It's a lot like Five-Anna Firefight in that aspect. The tease at the end is especially powerful.
The Future Past 3
REWARD : Story
DIFFICULTY: *****
SYNOPSIS: The finale of the tripe to the future that could have been. Basically a harder version of the final regular story map. Lucina, Gerome, Severa and Laurent are the focus of this map.
REVIEW: By far the best piece of DLC in the entire game. Features a ten minute long epilogue. The beginning part of this brought me to tears and the ending nearly did as well.
OVERALL: Despite giving no tangible rewards at all this is the best DLC pack by far. It's like a second ending to the regular game.
Apotheosis
Cost: 2.50 dollars
REWARD : Katarina card (Supreme Emblem if you beat the even harder version of the map started by beating the first wave of foes in two turns)
DIFFICULTY: INSANE
SYNOPSIS: Ever wonder why you kept leveling up all your units to their stat caps and got them all their best abilities? Ever force two parents to have a kid even though you didn't like their support conversations or the kids eventual hair color? Did you then raise those kids with even more care and consideration? This is why you did it. Five Rounds versus the toughest enemies in the game, with stats beyond your wildest imagination and skills you couldn't even dream to possess.
REVIEW: The ultimate FE challenge and a satisfying ending to use all those perks you got from buying the min/max maps from season 1.
What is with all the scary numbers in the OP?
For the curious. Don't freak out. Just know that the better your stats get, the more damage you'll do, the less you'll take, and the more often cool things will happen.
Why didn't you mention the difficulty selection, including casual mode, in the first post?
GOOD QUESTION. This game (and the one before it actually, though it never came out west) has casual mode which turns permanent death off. Great for complete beginners, but it really ruins the balance of the game. The computer is hell bent on killing your weakest units...which really doesn't matter if their death means anything. Hard on Casual is easier than Normal with Permadeath. It's great for blowing through the game though.
Does this game have any Streetpass/Spotpass features?
YES. Spotpass allows you to download classic teams to fight or recruit or to buy items from. Streetpass allows you to fight your friends team, and any non FE streetpass you get generates a random team for you to fight.
Where are these Spotpass characters?
In the menu under the wireless section.
Why can't I download any DLC?
The Outrealm Gate doesn't open until you've cleared the first four tutorial maps.
What are the best skills?
Galeforce, Ignis, Counter, Vengeance, The Breaker skills, The various Rally Skills, Aether, Armsthrift, Astra, Pavise. But really? Galeforce. Most skills are at least semi useful. http://serenesforest.net/fe13/skills.html has the full skinny.
How do children inherit skills?
They gain the last equipped skill of each parent for free.
Galeforce is BROKEN! How do I get the most out of it?
Seven kids and Spotpass Jaffar can have it, as can every spotpass female and any lady who has the Dark Flier Class. Here's a spoilerish post by @Wassermelone to give you the details.
Nowi, Sully, and Tharja cannot take the Pegasus classes, and have female children, so pairing them with the above 3 will be necessary for the maximum number of Galeforce users.
Sumia and Cordelia will pass down PK to their kids.
Female Avatar, Olivia, Lissa, and Maribelle can pass Galeforce down to their male children if they have it in their final skill slot upon recruiting the kid.
Lucina will gain access to Pegasus Knight as long as Sully is not her mother.
Cherche, Panne and Miriel neither have access to PK and have male children. So these 3 kids CANNOT get Galeforce.
Who is best?
That is all.
Currently playing: GW2 and TSW
Morgan is the best.
(Unless it's boy Morgan.)
Why I fear the ocean.
Not particularly informative about the other Fire Emblems, though. Though I guess Awakening is the shiny new hotness.
Until Shin Megami Tensei x Fire Emblem is released and if it doesn't suck.
It's not "insane" at all, you just need to be careful at first, never leave him in range of enemy units and only use him to finish off near-dead enemies.
Leave him at home on Lunatic, it's not worth the effort unless you're grinding.
Buy a few of those caskets that summon Risen and bring them to the Prologue map. Pair Donny up with Chrom or Frederick. One or two trips will get him to 15. Second Seal him over to Mercenary.
Bam, done, he's now the strongest dude in your army, and will stay that way for a long time.
Was going to put my history of FE post in the third post but it got lost to the ravages of time.
Class dismissed
If you're playing on Normal, it honestly doesn't matter because Normal is really easy.
Ricken Laurent has the highest magic modifier, but frankly it's a bit of a dud pairing for Laurent himself. I'd go with Lon'qu Laurent, which leaves him capable and passes a whole lot of speed to Morgan.
I'm doing it because it's fun, difficulty level be damned.
That's actually sort of what I was considering. High speed mages are so much fun to use. Thanks for the input.
Am I doing it wrong? I might just let it play out as it does on my next play through. I get the feeling the point is tension about losing characters you care about, and not frustration at having to restart again.
And by many, I mean three.
Casual/Newcomer; reset when someone dies; not reset when someone dies.
The first 10 levels are basically a tutorial.
There's nothing 'basic' about it. They just are a tutorial.
XBL: GamingFreak5514
PSN: GamingFreak1234
Character A: Hi, character B! How are you on this fine day?
Character B: Oh, you know, <insert character trait>.
Character A: Let me tell you about my <insert character interest>.
Character B: Fascinating. Uh, ok. Well, bye!
Support level increased!
When the S rank conversation rolls, they're apparently bonded with each other enough for matrimony. What a bunch of hooey! I'd rather have personal motivations, like political intrigue, past hardships, quest for glory or just plain old revenge. Anything than this poor excuse of self-fulfillment.
Awakening has had some of the best support convos in a FE game and the only ones that feel generic are the S-rank convos for most characters and the father/child ones.
Edit: Oh wait...unless you mean the ones they get when they step on the sparkly shit?
That might have just been a manpower issue.
S ranks tend to be fairly formulaic, granted.
Yeah, definitely
What a great game when it gets going though
Er, what? Supports are anything but generic, I'd even say they're the best in the series, which is pretty damn impressive considering how many there are in this game.
the more one-note characters definitely get boring after a little, but it's a lot better than the previous entries I can remember. Maybe a bit more lighthearted, yeah, but there's depth in there for everyone I've used regularly. Although I tend to bench the early-game cast ASAP, I think they're some of the worst offenders (Miriel!)
To expect anything more than that considering the large cast and the already huge partner system is rather outlandish and selfish, honestly.
XBL: GamingFreak5514
PSN: GamingFreak1234
Why I fear the ocean.
Miriel and Frederick perfectly toes the line between very sweet and very funny
It's one of my favorites