If you want to talk about anything past chapter 10, all I ask is to leave a Spoiler Warning for those still completing the game. Overall, I had a great time and was also very happy with how much gameplay was in this game. Definitely could have been some better balance between the tactical gameplay and getting to know the characters. For the ones I did get to learn more about I thought they were fun and the Ally Notebook was lowkey a favorite part of the game for me.
The criticism about skirmishes is basically point-to-point with how I felt after my first playthrough and trying to do them more in my second. The level scaling for them being completely uncontrollable and having the entire map rush you down from the start had these feel more like a survival mode than a way to catch up with units suffering from the small deployment counts. Even ended up facing enemies many levels above the advertised map level too (a level 20 with silver weapon in a level 15 skirmish). I'm determined to level up my Vander though. Other than that and the Tempest Trial rewards being lackluster, I think this game was really phenomenal. And maybe the SP gain rate being quite low. And the class change UI being wonky. I loved the characters and music most of all. Looking forward to when Panette is added into Fire Emblem Heroes. Framme too if she doesn't get staff demoted and cursed forever.
I also beat Engage yesterday! I liked the game a ton. Rip to my clear file though that I accidentally saved over when doing a second playthrough. RIP, funnily enough, I also did this with my first Three Houses file. Really gotta focus on those slots.
glad to know that i wasn’t just “bad” when it came to engage’s skirmishes. having so many enemy units all at once was so overwhelming and made me think i wasn’t ready. when it comes to the “training” offered by the kingdoms tho, those were cool as you get bonus exp at the end and there’s no permadeath even on classic
I find it humorous that we both finished this game at the same time. It is always awesome to hear other people's different team compositions. I agree with a lot of things that you said regarding skirmishes and the Emblem's paralogues. Let's await and see what the next DLC has in store, especially that extended story part. I really want to see the queen Azura brought in as a DLC Emblem.
While the game isn't perfect, and I had a ton of fun with it, and the story is a bit goofy but I love Shonen and magical girl anime so that's fine by me. MVP was 100% Alcryst, boy was a critical monster and a dodge tank rolled into one, but honourable mention to Hortensia who honestly surprised me because despite her low-ish base magic she was still a solid healer, plus being a flier with access to S rank staffs was a big plus
If you ever do try Panette I recommend giving her a killer axe with Fates engravement, Vantage and Ike. She would clear half a map by herself on Hard with 100% crit at 70% hp. Making her a Paladin with it's 45 dex cap vs Berserker's 23 dex cap made her have 100% hit and crit quite often
Also just finished last night. This game really did feel like a sequel to Fates as well as a celebration of the franchise. Some of my standout units included Jean, who I decided to keep as a healer and promote into High Priest because of his godly magic and res, as well as Ivy who, after forging an S-rank Olwen bond ring, became my Dire Thunder queen. I would also be remiss not to include Diamant, who might be one of the strongest lords in the series, as well as Alcryst for the reasons you mentioned EDIT: BRO HOW COULD I FORGET ABOUT ANNA, I RECLASSED HER INTO A WYVERN KNIGHT AND GAVE HER A SUPED UP NOATUN AND SHE HAD OVER 200 HIT BY THE FINAL MAP WHICH JUST ISN'T RIGHT BUT I LOVE IT
SPOILER for after Chapter 11 One of my favorite memories going Maddening first playthrough cause I'm a masochist, is the goddamn whiplash I got playing Lucina and Lyn's paralogues back to back. I haven't played Blazing Blade so I'm not sure how accurate the map is, but going from "Fair but difficult test of your skills against Lucina and a few tough promoted in Arena Ferox" to "Sacaen Horse Simulator with Bow Knights that are just fast enough to double your sturdy units and not get doubled that quickly gang up on you if you don't create chokepoints." I think this was the first time I played the chapter where the boss was a mere afterthought compared to the the cluster of horrible enemy units present at a given time. And may God save you if you didn't take out the enemies guarding the tents before Lyn uses Astra Storm.
I did exactly the same. Compared to Luncinas, Lyns is pure hell. The only way I could beat it is by rushing to wipe out as many of the tent dudes as possible. Otherwise it would just be overwhelming. Tbf it felt so good when I eventually beat it. Maddening is both a horrible and wonderful experience and I truly hate and love myself for doing it
About Berserkers: I don't know about other units if you reclass them, but I'm using Panette and she can get pretty ridiculous. She was strong at base, but after giving her Ike and refining a killer axe she can hit 100% crit with over 50 atk and 70 hp. About the paralogues: They are some of the best maps in the game for me, and some things on them are just hilarious. Spending over two hours on Byleth's paralogue to protect all crystals only to get a vulnerary and a talisman as reward was a moment in fire emblem alright.
Yes, indeed. Panette is one of the best unit imo. She will function regardless in whatever difficulty. Give her killer axe, engrave it with whatever (I prefer lyn for better hit) and she'll perform absolutely well
People keep talking about how Ike’s paralogue was so difficult and now I’m wondering if I’m just remembering my run better than it was because Lucian’s and Ike’s paralogues were the easiest in my mind
So many great gameplay changes but I think my favorite is rewarding players for class diversity. Feels the furthest from Flier Emblem I’ve played; although fliers are still really strong other classes have their own valuable strengths. Emblems especially have fun class bonuses, especially dragons and coverts.
Spoiler warning for a character you get during chapter 13 Pannette is mad underrated, i gave her an engraved killer axe and wrath and she was getting 100% crits on people. If you stack vantage on her and give her roy for hold out then shes an absolute force of nature
mild SPOILERS: the entire game has subtle notes of past fire emblems, and past alear chapter was there for awakening's time travel, fighting veyle right before you acquire is awakening/fates final mission and the following mission to that is part 2 of the fates final mission
I can't help but feel like the scaling of the skirmishes was an overfix from the "it's too easy to grind for exp" complaint that past world map Fire Emblem games kept on getting.
Really quick, let’s talk about growths You said Boucheron and Clanne has atrocious strength and magic? The former has a 20% growth in strength and the latter has a 10% growth in magic, and both of these are without class modifiers. What’s even funnier is that Anna has a 50% growth in magic, the highest growth in the game, but she starts as an axe fighter, and has only _15%_ in strength.
The other comment is correct. Unfortunately, growth rates I don't think have ever been visible in-game. They are datamined and you basically have to search them up online. Units have their own growth rates and you add that to the class growth rates to end up with the total. Jean's personal skill doubles the class growth rates which is why he can potentially become very strong over other units.
I under estiated Framme and Yunaka at first. My Framme also turned into a monster out of nowhere and my Yunaka became invincible once I paired her with Corrin and spammed that cloud terrain so she protected everyone and would always crit. (Plus eliminate negative environment hazards of course.) I paired Alear with the Three Houses Emblem and just tanked entire armies with Fallen Star. Really helped take the pressure off in Skirmishes early game to mid. Ike paired well with Diamant and even more once he got Sol. Plus liked his character more than Louis so just ended up that way. Saw some people say Clanne has great physical attack growth so I'm planning to reclass him to a warrior or similar in my next playthrough. Curious what other growth rates I'm missing out on so I'll check everyone out too. And finally, Ivy with Celica was fun popping in and out along with Canter just one shotting everything
Anna is great as a magic class since she has the highest base mag growth in the game with high speed and dex to boot. On maddening she’s a little tougher to set up but otherwise sage or high priest makes her hilarious
Spoiler I think the ending is kind of sad. It feels like this will be their last fire emblem of this kind. (War/dragons/magic) When they mention the foundation of emblems, it feels like the multiverse in marvel. Idk what their direction is for the franchise. But yea, when they revealed the fire emblem, it was the best.
oooh! oooh! ENDGAME SPOILERS WARNING! I can explain the Zero Emblem! I can explain Sombron's whole bit, it's freaking amazing. Okay, _so._ Sombron. As we know, he was banished from another world as the last survivor of the Fell Dragon war. That world had its own set of Emblems. The game doesn't tell us this, but it's _implied_ that the 12 Dark Emblems Sombron summons are from his own world, maybe. So what's up with the Zero Emblem, then? Well, it's a _thirteenth_ Emblem. Like Alear. It's also known as the Emblem of Foundations, and its invocation is "Burn us, Emblem of Foundations!" Burn us… like how Sombron's formative event that started his path to villainy, the first major act he committed after losing the Zero Emblem, was burning an entire village to the ground, killing everyone in it. Additionally, Sombron's actions thousands of years ago laid the _Foundation_ for the plot of Engage. Additionally, during that really cheesy scene where we see Alear summon all 13 Emblems, they notably also have to summon _themselves_ due to Sombron weakening the connection to their world. Additionally, we know that Emblems are embodiments of the legends of heroes (or, in the case of Sombron's world, villains) of other worlds. Because Sombron was banished from his homeworld, he became the villain of a world different to his own. Thousands of years ago, when Sombron tried time and time again to resummon the Zero Emblem using the invocation, he failed. This time, however, after everything he did over the course of Engage's story, he succeeded… after a fashion. Nobody else sees anything, and when we see from his perspective, the Emblem's presence is coming from behind his own eyes… Where am I going with all of this? The Zero Emblem, the Emblem of Foundations, _is_ Lord Sombron. He succeeded in summoning the Emblem at the end of the game because he'd come to embody that Emblem's legend, so by speaking its invocation, he _became_ the Emblem rather than summoned it. Effectively, he summoned himself, like how Alear summons themselves in that scene at the start of the final battle. At the very end, Sombron Engages with _himself,_ and disappears. Engaging is the fusion of Emblem and ringbearer into one being. Two become one… and one becomes Zero. Sombron is not dead. To use a video game analogy, he's more like a player with a playermodel pointer that's a null reference. Sombron exists, metaphysically, but he isn't anywhere. He has no form, no location, nothing. His fate is _worse_ than death, because at least people who die in Engage get to go to the setting's canon afterlife. The Zero Emblem's title is both a reference to the causal loop of its origin… and a prophecy as to its eventual fate.
other random stuff to address (more endgame spoilers!) The time travel was actually foreshadowed _wayyyy_ at the beginning of the game, in the form of the Draconic Time Crystal you've had all along after you stole it from Veyle. Notice anything about its appearance? It's the same red to blue gradient as Zephia's eyes, and it has a tassel hanging off of it just like the ones on her headdress. Zephia's motivation for her villainy is _also_ foreshadowed. It's easy to notice that lategame, when you start casually owning the Four Hounds and easily stealing all their Emblem Rings, her punishments for them seem kind of toothless for such a scary villain. Especially considering the Elusian commander she casually murders in cold blood for failing her a single time, back in chapter like, 4. The fact that she refuses to dispose of them for their repeated failures is an early indication that she truly does see them as family, and isn't just putting on an act like Griss thinks she is. Re: Alear's arts crit animation, you might recognize it as the same attack Lumera fires at Veyle to make her flee, right before she dies. That's a neat callback, if you ask me. Also, last thing: Sombron's whole sob story may be intended by him to try to demotivate Alear from fighting him, but it serves another purpose. The rest of Engage's villains are abuse victims, and many of its playable units, including Céline, Alfred, Yunaka, Ivy, Hortensia, Veyle, and Alear themselves (you'll notice that four of these characters also have antagonistic roles at some point in the story), are also victims of abuse or other trauma. You may have noticed that Marnie, Griss, Hortensia, Veyle, and even Zephia all ended up on the villains' team because an abuser rescued them from a traumatic situation or prior abuser. And most of these characters are, themselves, abusers, most notably Evil!Veyle and Zephia. Heck, even that slimy, pathetic Elusian commander from chapter 4 is on the villains' side entirely because he's stuck under Zephia's boot. The difference between Engage's heroes and villains isn't whether or not they're good people; it's who they found in their most vulnerable moment who saved them from a prior abuser or traumatic experience. The exception, the _one_ exception, the only person whose villainy and abusive tendencies didn't come from a prior abuser, is Lord Sombron himself. Lord Sombron's backstory is not revealed before the final chapter in part because it _is_ part of the final boss. The final boss isn't just Sombron, the evil dragon who caused massive amounts of death and the horrible father who abused Veyle and Alear and led Zephia on. The final boss is also the uncomfortable truth that sometimes, mere bad circumstances can create an abuser. The final boss is _the start of the cycle of abuse itself._
I agree with the skirmishes, it's a bit too much when all the enemies bum rush you, would be a lot better and easier if they remained in place or only move when within attack range
I did a dark map on destinea cathedral and was fighting like 12 units in the lower choke point and like another 7 at the north end of the building, it was overwhelming and decided to take the L, the xp and leave
@@xscy5627 I know what you mean. What I did was turn one of my other units into a general (lapis), but vander if he is tanky enough can work and used all three armoured units to hold the bottom enemy units down while all my other units took care of the top. It was still tough but doable with that strait
Spoiler "I don't feel like berserker is very good in this game" Seeing as you didn't use Panette, that checks out. She has been an absolute monster in my playthrough paired with Ike.
I'm mostly referring to S-Rank Axes did nothing for me until the very end of the game and I did not find a lot of opportunities to use Smash+. If I had gone Warrior I definitely would have abused the Longbow for more chain attacks. This is not taking into account growth rates though, so that can change things
Honestly she is good due to her bases and her personal. Berserker is not that good of a class. The class skill goes mostly unused. And it is axe locked so it gets curb stomped by heavy sword man maps.
I disliked how class changing means nothing now, I dislike the balance scaling with emblems was awful very reminiscent of tales of zestirias fusion mechanic a game that almost killed its franchise which I fear for fire emblem as well. I very much hated the nerfs to bonds, bond conversations, and the sheer crap ton of narcissistic characters leaving very few worthwhile female romance partners, when I do a female playthrough at least I know male romance are great. The lack of objective diversity is absolutely awful, just 'kill' the team rocket member that'll be blasting off again. The removal of uses across the board for weapons was awful, javelins can literally carry you through the first 17 chapters with little to no effort. On the topic of emblems way too many sword users not enough magic users. Things I liked was Veyle and Yunaka their English VAs HEAVILY carry this game for me. Revival stones on bosses where a great idea and i hope it becomes a mainstay very reminiscent of Break Bars in Fate/Grand Order. I absolutely loved Yunaka, Veyle, Chloe, Ivy, Hortensia, the twins,diamant, Alfred, celine, a certain horrible singer, baby anna, and Vander. I absolutely loved thieves being useful finally. While I'm not a fan of the fusion mechanic killing difficulty turning fire emblem even more into a babies game, I absolutely loved interacting with each of them especially Ike who's games are extremely expensive and hard to find. I'm only on chapter 18 so I'm sure I have a long way to go and hopefully the story makes up for them nuking the difficulty so far into the ground this might as well be a pokemon game. Definitely one of the worst entries of the franchise so far but hopefully the story makes up for it.
I recommend playing on maddening if you think emblems trivialise the game. Also arguably there should be more sword user emblems as that is basically a requirement to being a lord in fe.
Spoiler It’s funny as most takes see the engage mechanic as mostly well balanced. Especially when if you are at ch18 the game doesn’t exactly let you have them all for the whole game. Not sure how they nuke the difficulty when for most of the game you not only don’t have them but don’t even Halle enough for everyone until basically the end. Also not in agreement about one of the worst entrees. That’s a bit of weird one.
