Social Corrin Social - Still Fire Emblem Social

[Astellius]

Well, how goes the weapon forging for everyone? Who are you prioritizing? The first one to receive the upgrade treatment for me was Tiki. Check her out!

Spoiler

Her defenses are truly pretty crazy at this point. An archer needs an attack stat of 58 just to finally do any damage at all! Swordies need 52 Atk in order to finally breakthrough.

It's also a little funny, but she's up to 6 merges now, and I still haven't given her Quick Riposte 3. But merges > minor upgrade in skill.

I'm not sure who's next for me, perhaps Fir or Catria. Maybe Summer Tiki?

Also, how goes the summoning on the Legendary Banner? Getting the units you guys want? I lucked out and magically pulled a Bridal Cordelia with my free pull--she was the character I wanted the most! I also got a Spring Camilla, who was probably my second most wanted. Now I'd like Ayra, but a Celica who isn't -Atk would be nice too.

After getting my pity rate all the way up to 5%, I dropped some money on the Halloween banner and rolled both a H!Sakura and H!Nowi. They're both minus attack though, which is a huge shame. While I understand why we can't all be guaranteed optimal IVs, I do really wish there was a way to at least neutralize them.

The longer I play this game, the looser and looser my wallet feels. I'm worried I'm slowly tumbling down a slippery slope. I only ever spend a little bit maybe once a month, but it adds up. I don't have a real problem, but I think I'm going to have to commit to going back to F2P for good.

I like being F2P, it feels like more of an accomplishment when I hit goals for myself. It's great that everything in the game is quite capable of being done by F2P players. While I sometimes miss out on characters I'd like, it's much easier to just let it go if there's no money involved.

As for neutralizing bad natures, the new forging system helps with that, at least for some characters, as do the Sacred Seals.

OK everyone, I need some help to make a decision.
My current Deirdre is +HP/-Speed. It sounds bad on paper, but she gets the job done. I just recently summoned a Deirdre with +Attack/-Res IVs...
My question is, should I make the new Deirdre my new one or should I give Speed Ploy to Arvis or Lute?
I run a Furynewal set, if that helps.

I'd say the +Atk/-Res one is the better nature, I would probably go with that one. Her Res would be 35 with Fury, which should be sufficient to trigger Spd Ploy most of the time. She would appreciate the boosts of that nature to both her Atk and Spd. She actually has deceptively good speed, thanks to Spd Ploy. With a speed neutral nature and Fury, she can double enemies with 31 Spd if they're hit with her ploy. A -Spd nature sort of puts her in the terminally slow category.

But of course Spd Ploy is a great skill to hand out...

I am annoyed by the Power Creep too. I don't want to use the whole child units thing as an excuse... these units are clearly powerful and it hurts.

Agreed, there's no good reason for them to have extra BST. Now it's pretty much every banner that has characters with boosted stats and terribly good kits.

Spoiler

i upgraded every current hoshidan unit to 5*! now it’s time to build the ones that haven’t been yet, starting with hinata:

Spoiler

also, once again if any of you would like to be friends on heroes, here’s my fc!:

Spoiler

Nice! Your Hoshidan army is coming along well! I don't see Hinata builds all that often. And I'll probably try to send a friend request tomorrow, if you're not already in my list, and there's room.

 

[Deleted member]

I'd say the +Atk/-Res one is the better nature, I would probably go with that one. Her Res would be 35 with Fury, which should be sufficient to trigger Spd Ploy most of the time. She would appreciate the boosts of that nature to both her Atk and Spd. She actually has deceptively good speed, thanks to Spd Ploy. With a speed neutral nature and Fury, she can double enemies with 31 Spd if they're hit with her ploy. A -Spd nature sort of puts her in the terminally slow category.

But of course Spd Ploy is a great skill to hand out...

I think I'll use her then. Her Res will be 35 with Fury, the same Res as my neutral Julia and she just decimates Reinhardt.
I do have another Deirdre with worse IVs... she'll be sac'd to Arvis. It will be fine because Deirdre won't be able to remember this happening.

 

[ZephyrZ]

I like being F2P, it feels like more of an accomplishment when I hit goals for myself. It's great that everything in the game is quite capable of being done by F2P players. While I sometimes miss out on characters I'd like, it's much easier to just let it go if there's no money involved.

Yeah, I really appreciate a challenge and paying to win kind of kills the point of that. I'm really not happier being a paid player then back when I was a true F2P. It's not like the money I've paid has taken out the challenge for me, though - I'm no super whale who has to get merges on everything and I don't really pull for meta units, just characters I like. Most of my MVPs are characters I've gained entirely for free, and I generally pick my favorite units over the meta.

I really wouldn't recommend ever spending money on this game to anyone. Once you start, it's very hard to stop, and I definitely don't feel happier now that I've payed a little. I usually have great impulse control and I pride myself in being a cautious spender, but those impulsive urges I'm usually so good at fighting have been way stronger ever since I dropped my first 20$ on this game, even though I didn't even get anything to show for it.

Next time the urge to buy orbs gets too strong though, I think I'll put down the game and do something else. Grinding for orbs during those times somehow just makes the temptation even worse.

 

[Deleted member]

Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that I got something very... powerful yesterday. Three words: Magic is everything.

There was a problem fetching the tweet

I have a +Attack/-HP Reinhardt currently, but this is the most optimal IV spread for him: +Attack/-Speed.

Yeah, I really appreciate a challenge and paying to win kind of kills the point of that. I'm really not happier being a paid player then back when I was a true F2P. It's not like the money I've paid has taken out the challenge for me, though - I'm no super whale who has to get merges on everything and I don't really pull for meta units, just characters I like. Most of my MVPs are characters I've gained entirely for free, and I generally pick my favorite units over the meta.

I really wouldn't recommend ever spending money on this game to anyone. Once you start, it's very hard to stop, and I definitely don't feel happier now that I've payed a little. I usually have great impulse control and I pride myself in being a cautious spender, but those impulsive urges I'm usually so good at fighting have been way stronger ever since I dropped my first 20$ on this game, even though I didn't even get anything to show for it.

Next time the urge to buy orbs gets too strong though, I think I'll put down the game and do something else. Grinding for orbs during those times somehow just makes the temptation even worse.

Honestly, spending money makes getting bad pulls hurt much more. Sometimes you get your money's worth, sometimes you don't.
I was expecting to get a lot of 5 stars, like back to back 5 stars, but I only managed to get 3 so far. Once I get the Orbs from the quests in December, I'll pull one more time and hope for the best... just anything that isn't Camilla or Xander.

The impulse is always there. You just need to fight it and resist it. If you do, you'll save a lot of cash. I can afford to whale for my favorite units, but that doesn't mean I like doing it or want to do it.

 

[Armagon]

Well, how goes the weapon forging for everyone? Who are you prioritizing?

Gonna go for upgrading Michalis' Hauteclere and giving it the Wo Dao effect. After that, i'll upgrade Sophia's Fenrir+ to have a +2 Speed effect, to help her low speed.

That said, i lack the materials to do this by a lot. Upgrading Hauteclere requires 200 Divine Dew, of which i have zero. I also need the 50 Stones to upgrade Fenrir+. I only have 15. Maybe i'm doing something wrong but it feels that, like with upgrading Sacred Seals, Weapon Forging just takes too much time. That said, you were able to forge your Tiki's Lightning Breath fairly quickly, so i'm fairly confident it's just me who's doing something wrong but right now, i feel that, especially for Michalis, getting the materials to upgrade weapons will take too long.

 

[Nah]

Several months ago I dropped a fair bit of money on this game. I think it was pretty much worth it, but I told myself that after that I wasn't going to spend another cent on the game until they put Nah in. Fortunately I haven't spent any more money on Heroes since then, though I think part of what has helped me resist/not feel the temptation is that I've had some luck with my summoning sessions. Like yesterday on the Legendary banner I was sniping the green orbs (as it turns out, the green units are the only ones I have any interest in getting on this banner lol) and in the ~30 orbs I had saved up at that point, I got a Deirdre. And that's kind of been the case for the majority of banners I've bothered to summon on for more than the free summon, netting me stuff like Mia, Elincia, and PA Azura. Don't always get the best IVs or the best SI fodder, and I wouldn't be surprised if the CYL banner doesn't slip me the BH Ike I'd like to have, but I really don't have the right to complain at this point lol.

/ramble

Well, how goes the weapon forging for everyone? Who are you prioritizing?

The buff to the dragon breaths seems cool, hitting the weaker of the opponent's defensive stats if they're an archer or mage (or healer), though it's probably more useful on Lightning Breath than the others. Will probably start with those, maybe Silver Dagger+ (that seems to get some nice stuff too). Would do Priscilla's staves, but for some reason it won't let me.

 

[Metallinatus]

I like being F2P, it feels like more of an accomplishment when I hit goals for myself.

Would you say the pay to win system gives you a sense of PRIDE and ACCOMPLISHMENT?

Honestly, spending money makes getting bad pulls hurt much more.

That's why I thankfully haven't wasted my money in this game for the past few months and won't be doing that anytime soon, I recommend everybody to try this too.

But is the power creep thing a surprise to anyone? It was just a matter of time, it's a p2w gacha game. IS is being nice enough to keep creating new ways to power up more the old units, but the game is destined to keep getting characters each time more op. Obviously, I don't like it either, but it was all too predictable.

And btw, the Divide Dew looks tasty as hell.... makes me want it. And the new "no damage" animation is sooo satisfying to see. Nice little touches.

 

[ZephyrZ]

But is the power creep thing a surprise to anyone? It was just a matter of time, it's a p2w gacha game. IS is being nice enough to keep creating new ways to power up more the old units, but the game is destined to keep getting characters each time more op. Obviously, I don't like it either, but it was all too predictable.

I'm not surprised by the powercreep, just disappointed. I'm okay with skillcreep because of inheritance and the weapons forge, but I'm very upset about inflated BSTs. It's also picking up the pace - the powercreep was there, but it feels like it's ramped up especially badly ever since Ayra and Sigurd dropped. My guess was that the CYL was a massive success and they wanted to replicate that.

At least we aren't seeing the overabundance of uninhiritable skills like I thought we'd get after the Genealogy update, so that's a relief. I really do want them to knock it off with the trainee stats on everybody though.

 

[Armagon]

But is the power creep thing a surprise to anyone? It was just a matter of time, it's a p2w gacha game.

No it ain't. I haven't spent a single penny of this game and i've never felt the need to.

 

[Armagon]

Double post

 

[Metallinatus]

No it ain't. I haven't spent a single penny of this game and i've never felt the need to.

You can't have power creep in a gacha game, the equivalent to loot boxes, without it being pay to win....
You pay you get more chances at getting a better unit, you don't pay you have less chances. There are some units dominating the arena, there has always been. Pay to win.

 

[Armagon]

You can't have power creep in a gacha game, the equivalent to loot boxes, without it being pay to win....
You pay you get more chances at getting a better unit, you don't pay you have less chances. There are some units dominating the arena, there has always been. Pay to win.

Good sir, i was able to get my Reinhardt without paying. I know people who have reached Tier 20 in the Arena and have stayed there without paying. Yes, there are some units dominating the meta right now, but with the right strategy and builds, you can easily overcome them. There's also the fact that Heroes is extremely generous with Orbs right now. When's the last time we had an Orb drought? Then, you have some of the best units in the game like Black Knight being handed out literally for free, you just have to earn them.

No, this game ain't pay to win. When the F2P community can get by just fine, it's not pay to win. And the F2P community is easily the majority when it comes to the community in Heroes.

 

[ZephyrZ]

There's no denying that it's way easier to win of you whale hard and get +10 on all your units though. It's possible to stay competitive as a free player, thanks to hero feathers, but good units are still a powerful incentive for some people.

 

[Astellius]

I just did a few more summons on the Legendary Hero banner, and got the last character I was really hoping for:

Spoiler

She even has an optimal nature! +Atk/-Res. Glad she came home, after Eldigan originally spooked her on her banner. So that's three characters: Cordelia, Camilla, and Ayra. Hope things are going well for others!

Gonna go for upgrading Michalis' Hauteclere and giving it the Wo Dao effect. After that, i'll upgrade Sophia's Fenrir+ to have a +2 Speed effect, to help her low speed.

That said, i lack the materials to do this by a lot. Upgrading Hauteclere requires 200 Divine Dew, of which i have zero. I also need the 50 Stones to upgrade Fenrir+. I only have 15. Maybe i'm doing something wrong but it feels that, like with upgrading Sacred Seals, Weapon Forging just takes too much time. That said, you were able to forge your Tiki's Lightning Breath fairly quickly, so i'm fairly confident it's just me who's doing something wrong but right now, i feel that, especially for Michalis, getting the materials to upgrade weapons will take too long.

I'm glad the Hauteclere got an upgrade, that'll be pretty nice for Michalis and Minerva. As for the materials, you get the Divine Dew from upgrading regular weapons, so it'll be awhile before anyone has enough to upgrade a legendary weapon. With the stones, I got enough from doing the Weapon Refinery quests, so you're not doing anything wrong, I just went through the quests really quickly. I have too much spare time right now lol. But the quests will be up for a long time, so there's plenty of time.

Several months ago I dropped a fair bit of money on this game. I think it was pretty much worth it, but I told myself that after that I wasn't going to spend another cent on the game until they put Nah in. Fortunately I haven't spent any more money on Heroes since then, though I think part of what has helped me resist/not feel the temptation is that I've had some luck with my summoning sessions. Like yesterday on the Legendary banner I was sniping the green orbs (as it turns out, the green units are the only ones I have any interest in getting on this banner lol) and in the ~30 orbs I had saved up at that point, I got a Deirdre. And that's kind of been the case for the majority of banners I've bothered to summon on for more than the free summon, netting me stuff like Mia, Elincia, and PA Azura. Don't always get the best IVs or the best SI fodder, and I wouldn't be surprised if the CYL banner doesn't slip me the BH Ike I'd like to have, but I really don't have the right to complain at this point lol.

/ramble


The buff to the dragon breaths seems cool, hitting the weaker of the opponent's defensive stats if they're an archer or mage (or healer), though it's probably more useful on Lightning Breath than the others. Will probably start with those, maybe Silver Dagger+ (that seems to get some nice stuff too). Would do Priscilla's staves, but for some reason it won't let me.

Yeah, that's a good approach. As for upgrading Priscilla's staves, you need to have her learn the + version that they added first. So she'd need to learn Panic+, and then she can have the Dazzling or Wrathful Staff effect added in the Refinery.

Would you say the pay to win system gives you a sense of PRIDE and ACCOMPLISHMENT?

I don't quite understand the question, and, as others have pointed out, this isn't a really a game that falls in the P2W category.

 

[Armagon]

As for the materials, you get the Divine Dew from upgrading regular weapons, so it'll be awhile before anyone has enough to upgrade a legendary weapon.

How much Divine Dew can be earned at a time?

 

[ZephyrZ]

How much Divine Dew can be earned at a time?

1 stone = 1 dew. So if you upgrade a weapon that takes 50 stones, you get 50 dew.

I don't quite understand the question, and, as others have pointed out, this isn't a really a game that falls in the P2W category.

It's a meme mocking EA's shady micro-transactions in Star Wars Battlefront II.
Basically they made it incredibly hard to unlock characters ingame without paying extra for loot boxes and justified it by saying they wanted players to feel "pride and accomplishment".

 

[Metallinatus]

^This

You know what is also extremely hard to unlock without paying a ton? Reinhardt with good IVs, Ryouma with good IVs, Hector with good IVs, those characters exist since forever and I surely have been able to get any of those. And the "it's not p2w because I got [insert character] for free" excuse can be used for any gacha game or game with loot boxes ever, as long as the game offers you free ways to unlock random characters like FEH. See? I could get whatever is the highest possible prize in SWB2 in my first free loot box opening and instant call it not a p2w game, it's a flawed excuse.
And even if you are luck enough to get any good unit, how many of your good units are +10? Now compare that number to the amount that the wales must have. And how many of you have tapped into whale territory in the arena and have been able to stand your ground there without paying a dime? Come on, FEH is a fun game either way, but it is definitely p2w.

 

[Armagon]

^This

You know what is also extremely hard to unlock without paying a ton? Reinhardt with good IVs, Ryouma with good IVs, Hector with good IVs, those characters exist since forever and I surely have been able to get any of those. And the "it's not p2w because I got [insert character] for free" excuse can be used for any gacha game or game with loot boxes ever, as long as the game offers you free ways to unlock random characters like FEH. See? I could get whatever is the highest possible prize in SWB2 in my first free loot box opening and instant call it not a p2w game, it's a flawed excuse.
And even if you are luck enough to get any good unit, how many of your good units are +10? Now compare that number to the amount that the wales must have. And how many of you have tapped into whale territory in the arena and have been able to stand your ground there without paying a dime? Come on, FEH is a fun game either way, but it is definitely p2w.

You. Don't. Need. +10. Units. To. Win.
You. Don't. Need. Perfect IVs. To Win.

Once again, the right build with the right strategy wins the day. I've seen plenty of people who have gotten good units with bad IVs and were able to find workarounds thanks to proper Skill Inheritance. With Weapon Refinery, countering bad IVs is even easier.

 

[Metallinatus]

You. Don't. Need. +10. Units. To. Win.
You. Don't. Need. Perfect IVs. To Win.

Once again, the right build with the right strategy wins the day. I've seen plenty of people who have gotten good units with bad IVs and were able to find workarounds thanks to proper Skill Inheritance. With Weapon Refinery, countering bad IVs is even easier.

How many +10 units have you beaten with regular lv. 40 units? That's like saying you don't need 5* units to win, it's a lie. With the units you have you stand at equal ground to people with units like yours, you don't stand at equal ground with people who have units better than you. I can stay at tier 5 sending 3* units to battle and saying I don't need 5 or 4* all day, it doesn't make it true.
Why is everybody even complaining about inflated BST if +10 units which surely has much higher stats than a regular lv. 40 are not necessary? You underestimate merged units. A lot.

 

[Armagon]

How many +10 units have you beaten with regular lv. 40 units?

>Implying it's impossible to beat +10 units with regular Lv.40 units.

I haven't fought many +10 units. Probably because they are rare from my experience and that could just be because i've only gone on the Advanced Arena twice. But, i have beaten them, albiet, it was challenging.

That's like saying you don't need 5* units to win, it's a lie.

All those "Infernal difficulty maps cleared with only 3* units" videos say hi.

Why is everybody even complaining about inflated BST if +10 units which surely has much higher stats than a regular lv. 40 are not necessary?

Because there isn't a reason for inflated BST to exist other than a way for IS to make money off of powercreep.

I can stay at tier 5 sending 3* units to battle and saying I don't need 5 or 4* all day, it doesn't make it true.

>Tier 5
So beginner tier?

I've been staying comfortably at Tier 16, occasionally going to Tier 17, and my only merged unit is Black Knight. Due to his free nature, he can only be a +1 merge.

You underestimate merged units.

I'm not. I'm saying you don't need them to win. If you did, the F2P community would be a lot smaller than it is now.

 

[Astellius]

It's a meme mocking EA's shady micro-transactions in Star Wars Battlefront II.
Basically they made it incredibly hard to unlock characters ingame without paying extra for loot boxes and justified it by saying they wanted players to feel "pride and accomplishment".

Thanks! I thought I was missing something there.

You know what is also extremely hard to unlock without paying a ton? Reinhardt with good IVs, Ryouma with good IVs, Hector with good IVs, those characters exist since forever and I surely have been able to get any of those. And the "it's not p2w because I got [insert character] for free" excuse can be used for any gacha game or game with loot boxes ever, as long as the game offers you free ways to unlock random characters like FEH. See? I could get whatever is the highest possible prize in SWB2 in my first free loot box opening and instant call it not a p2w game, it's a flawed excuse.
And even if you are luck enough to get any good unit, how many of your good units are +10? Now compare that number to the amount that the wales must have. And how many of you have tapped into whale territory in the arena and have been able to stand your ground there without paying a dime? Come on, FEH is a fun game either way, but it is definitely p2w.

Oof, this is getting to be a bit much. First, generally, P2W games require you to throw down money in order to be competitive or unlock content. Paying for VIP status, buying exclusive and/or top upgrades or top tier items, etc., makes a game P2W, since the only way to really advance in the game is by buying that stuff. The good content is behind a paywall.

In contrast, FEH doesn't require you to buy anything in order for you to be able to complete everything on every difficulty the game has to offer. You don't need optimal natures, you definitely don't need +10 characters, and there's no paywall blocking off good content. Sure, you're not going to be able to compete with whales for the #1 spot in the Arena simply because you don't have enough merges to score high enough, but that's a pretty insignificant thing, and I'm pulling in close to the same amount of rewards despite not paying. I'm currently ranked 3,891 in T20 in the Arena, so I'm not in a position radically different from whales.

How many +10 units have you beaten with regular lv. 40 units? That's like saying you don't need 5* units to win, it's a lie. With the units you have you stand at equal ground to people with units like yours, you don't stand at equal ground with people who have units better than you. I can stay at tier 5 sending 3* units to battle and saying I don't need 5 or 4* all day, it doesn't make it true.
Why is everybody even complaining about inflated BST if +10 units which surely has much higher stats than a regular lv. 40 are not necessary? You underestimate merged units. A lot.

Plenty. I face them all the time. Here's the sort of things I regularly face in the Arena (in the 700-712 point range):

Spoiler

This enemy team has 2 5*+10 units. How'd the battle turn out?

Victory!

Strategy, both on the battlefield and how you build your characters & teams, is exceptionally important, and it's always going to be more important than merges. In Arena Assault, I regularly field some of my 4* characters, such as Nino, Mae, Michalis, Gunter, Titania, Ursula, and Nowi, depending on the situation. The Cecilia I used in pictures above is actually a 4*+10!

So, while, as a F2P player, I'm probably not going to be able to build a heavily merged Eirika w/Distant Counter (like the one above), it's not necessary or especially significant. Some of the best units in the game are free (e.g., BK, a CYL of your choice, Camus, Cecilia), and others are easy to summon (e.g., Tiki, Cherche, Nino). The game is quite good to us F2P players.

 

[ZephyrZ]

Where the line gets blurry, however, would be Arena Assault. Basically only super whales can stay in the very highest tiers. Settling for less isn't really so bad, but this game has some pay-to-win.

It's true that most goals are usually acheivable for free players, but they're also far easier for payed ones. I'd say this game is on a fuzzy border in that regard.

 

[Astellius]

Where the line gets blurry, however, would be Arena Assault. Basically only super whales can stay in the very highest tiers. Settling for less isn't really so bad, but this game has some pay-to-win.

It's true that most goals are usually acheivable for free players, but they're also far easier for payed ones. I'd say this game is on a fuzzy border in that regard.

Honestly, I find the regular Arena is usually more competitive than AA, since people fight hard to stay in T20. Right now, I'm ranked 2,711 in AA with a score of 4,926, so I'm ranked higher than I am in the Arena. But yeah, you're not going to get in the 1-1,000 bracket without significant whaling, and I'm sure I'll be knocked out of the 1k-3k bracket by Monday. That said, the difference in rewards between the brackets is pretty minimal, so, in my view, it's inconsequential. The difference between what I'm pulling in a week and what someone who's dumped over $10k, what, 8 Refining Stones, 8 Sacred Coins, and 2k feathers? That's a pretty trivial difference.

Now, obviously you can buy your way to the top of the weekly rankings, but you're not really missing out on anything if you don't drop any money into the game, and other rankings (like TT), the only way to score high is just to put a lot of time playing the mode. So that's why I don't consider it P2W; paying isn't a requirement for winning. Plus, many of the upgrades (Sacred Seals, now Weapon refinement) can't be bought.

Compare FEH with something like Game of War or Wartune, where you'll need to buy VIP status in order to get instant upgrades, and you'll need to dump money in order to get resources and the best items in the game. Paying is all but required if you want to accomplish anything or achieve a decent level, and the gap between paying players and F2P is huge.

 

[Deleted member]

>Implying it's impossible to beat +10 units with regular Lv.40 units.

I haven't fought many +10 units. Probably because they are rare from my experience and that could just be because i've only gone on the Advanced Arena twice. But, i have beaten them, albiet, it was challenging.

I do Advanced Arena and I haven't really encountered many teams with +10 merged units. I can recall a time where one guy +10 merged a Jaigen and sacrificed Hector and Berkut, but you can get through them with proper team building and skills.
Female Robin is actually a very good example for free-to-play players. She can easily counter Rein and Brave Lyn with either her Wolf tome or a Raven tome while having Triangle Adept and Bowbreaker; I run this set on her and she's extremely reliable and can manage to stand her ground against +10 Reins and Lyns.

Oof, this is getting to be a bit much. First, generally, P2W games require you to throw down money in order to be competitive or unlock content. Paying for VIP status, buying exclusive and/or top upgrades or top tier items, etc., makes a game P2W, since the only way to really advance in the game is by buying that stuff. The good content is behind a paywall.

In contrast, FEH doesn't require you to buy anything in order for you to be able to complete everything on every difficulty the game has to offer. You don't need optimal natures, you definitely don't need +10 characters, and there's no paywall blocking off good content. Sure, you're not going to be able to compete with whales for the #1 spot in the Arena simply because you don't have enough merges to score high enough, but that's a pretty insignificant thing, and I'm pulling in close to the same amount of rewards despite not paying. I'm currently ranked 3,891 in T20 in the Arena, so I'm not in a position radically different from whales.

I don't think FE Heroes is an example of P2W either. When I think of games like that, I think of EA games that give you the best stuff by locking it behind loot boxes. Battlefront 2 was criticized because a lot of the good gear and characters were locked behind a paywall.

I don't feel like FE Heroes is a P2W game, as the game's challenges are beatable and doable with 3 star and 4 star F2P units. When I spent money on the game, I never think of it as trying to win but rather getting the units that I like/appeal to me the most. I still don't like the power creep, but I feel like I'm fine with the units I have at the moment. Nintendo is also rather generous with F2P Orbs and they don't force you to buy them to succeed.
As for Arena, well... honestly I have units like Reinhardt on my team and he carries me through. As long as you have a unit like that and a Rein/Lyn counter, you're fine. My team is usually Rein, female Robin, a bonus unit, and whatever unit I feel like.

 

[ZephyrZ]

The official trailer for the Fates kids is out.

Looks like Rhajat is going to debut on a separate banner, although it seems like they learned their lesson this time an announced it beforehand. I do wonder why they made that decision, though. Maybe banners that didn't feature new characters weren't making enough?

 

[Astellius]

Glad they announced it beforehand, but it would've been nice if they put one of the swordies on the separate banner, so there's not two reds on the same banner. Seigbert is going to spook all of the Soleils away.

 

[ZephyrZ]

Glad they announced it beforehand, but it would've been nice if they put one of the swordies on the separate banner, so there's not two reds on the same banner. Seigbert is going to spook all of the Soleils away.

I'm not worried about Soleil because I'm not pulling for the Fates kids anyway she's probably going to drop down to 4-star. Siegbert is the one who really suffers from this....although Soleil will still probably be the one everyone complains about.

 

[Deleted member]

The official trailer for the Fates kids is out.

Looks like Rhajat is going to debut on a separate banner, although it seems like they learned their lesson this time an announced it beforehand. I do wonder why they made that decision, though. Maybe banners that didn't feature new characters weren't making enough?

I'm glad they did that because:
1. We aren't left in the dark like with Ayra.
2. It means there isn't another Tempest Trial, and I never look forward to those nowadays.

To be honest here, if Rhajat wasn't on that banner I doubt many people would pull from it.

 

[LordTakeo]

Only thing I'm kinda happy about, is that we likely will get Soleil dropping to 4*.
The 38/35 spread is insane with Firesweep S.

 

[Astellius]

I'm not worried about Soleil because I'm not pulling for the Fates kids anyway she's probably going to drop down to 4-star. Siegbert is the one who really suffers from this....although Soleil will still probably be the one everyone complains about.

Soleil is one of the more popular children, and I like her, so I do hope she is dropped down to a 4*. Her kit isn't anything special, except for the new Firesweep Sword, so I think there's a good chance she'll drop down.

I'm glad they did that because:
1. We aren't left in the dark like with Ayra.
2. It means there isn't another Tempest Trial, and I never look forward to those nowadays.

To be honest here, if Rhajat wasn't on that banner I doubt many people would pull from it.

I actually think it's a well-designed banner, one of better ones they've produced in recent times. First, it's a Voting Gauntlet banner, so there's that. Second, there are some quite popular characters on there and a lot of skills that are especially desirable in light of recent banners. So newer players may be tempted to put money in. Faye is still the only source of the Firesweep Bow, which is great on a Bridal Cordelia from the Legendary Heroes banner. Tharja is popular and is the only source of the Rauorblade tome, which would be really good on Halloween Nowi. Priscilla is a popular healer, plus she just got a huge upgrade with the release of Book II. Furthermore, Tharja is one of the most popular characters in the series, so putting her and her anagram, Rhajat, in the same banner seems like a good way to appeal to her fans.

 

[Deleted member]

I actually think it's a well-designed banner, one of better ones they've produced in recent times. First, it's a Voting Gauntlet banner, so there's that. Second, there are some quite popular characters on there and a lot of skills that are especially desirable in light of recent banners. So newer players may be tempted to put money in. Faye is still the only source of the Firesweep Bow, which is great on a Bridal Cordelia from the Legendary Heroes banner. Tharja is popular and is the only source of the Rauorblade tome, which would be really good on Halloween Nowi. Priscilla is a popular healer, plus she just got a huge upgrade with the release of Book II. Furthermore, Tharja is one of the most popular characters in the series, so putting her and her anagram, Rhajat, in the same banner seems like a good way to appeal to her fans.

Fair point there. There is some good skill inheritance fodder for sure and I wouldn't blame people for pulling for Tharja; investing into unit and making them a 5 star for a skill is something I don't like doing and Blade tomes are excellent for Katarina and Hallo Nowi.
However, one could argue why pull for Tharja and Priscilla when they are summonable at 4 stars? But they do have their fans.

I personally am not tempted to pull on this banner because I don't desperately need a Blade tome for my Katarina or Nowi and I don't need Firesweep Bow for Takumi.

On a side note, I think Rhajat will be a unit people will find to be trash for her stats alone, but I think she has potential. Her stats are comparable to PA!Inigo and he's an amazing check to Rein and Lyn... I think Rhajat will be in a similar category. I would give her the Gronnraven, Triangle Adept, Bowbreaker set with Distant Defense Sacred Seal. I did check if a neutral Rhajat could check +10 merged +10 Rein and Lyn and Rhajat was able to survive and KO both of them.

 

[Erureido]

The next contestants for the Voting Gauntlet have been revealed:

The theme is "Enduring Love." On the left hand side, we have Rhajat, Faye, Priscilla,and Tharja, and on the right hand side, we have Dorcas, Catria, Katarina, and Sigurd.

I'm probably not going to go all out on this Gauntlet because there's not that many characters here I really care for except for Catria. Yeah, I'm going Team Catria.

 

[Deleted member]

The next contestants for the Voting Gauntlet have been revealed:

The theme is "Enduring Love." On the left hand side, we have Rhajat, Faye, Priscilla,and Tharja, and on the right hand side, we have Dorcas, Catria, Katarina, and Sigurd.

I'm probably not going to go all out on this Gauntlet because there's not that many characters here I really care for except for Catria. Yeah, I'm going Team Catria.

I'm going for team Katarina first, and then Sigurd or Catria and then finally Tharja.
I'm not going all-out for the Gauntlet either. I'll participate and I especially want those bonuses. I want more Feathers.

 

[Astellius]

I'll probably go with Team Catria, although I'm tempted to go with Rhajat, since she graciously decided to join me with my free summon. We'll see how it goes!

 

[ZephyrZ]

I don't really care for this gauntlet that much, so I'll probably give being a feather mercenary a whirl.

Rhajat isn't that popular compared to Tharja, but she's got both better art and shiny toy syndrome on her side her, so she'll probably do better then expected. Of course, we all know how popular the real Tharja is, so it's hard to tell who'll win out of those two, especially if their votes get divided.Sigurd McPowercreep will probably have a strong backing of hardcore fans himself, and Dorcas has the power of memes behind him.

I think I'll jump behind Team Faye's banner at the start, because I know she's not all that popular, even if Rhajat isn't all that well liked herself. She's also a character I have a 5*, so that'll be nice.

 

[DarkAuraful]

I'll probably squad up with the Team Catria fam too. Only character I like I guess. I don't care for everyone else, but going to get as many feathers as always and usual.

 

[Armagon]

I'll join up with Team Katarina once again. Will i actually contribute though? That's the real question because i've honestly lost a lot of interest in Voting Gauntlets. If she loses, i'll probably jump to Team Faye since i'm one of the 10 people who actually likes her.

In other news, i've been playing Xenoblade Chronicles 2 since launch and it is my favorite game of this year. I've currently logged in about 24 hours into the game and i expect to add many more hours to that total. Here are my thoughts of the game so far (maybe mild spoilers here)

Spoiler: Xenoblade 2 thoughts

Positives:

• The story is much better than the first game. Xenoblade 1 had a great story but it started out slow and it didn't get good until after the Ether Mine and Prison Island (the first time) was when it really started to become good. Meanwhile, Xenoblade 2's story got good in just one chapter and it's stayed good. One of the biggest advantages in Xenoblade 2's story is that everyone in the party is relevant. In Xenoblade 1, the party members had varying degrees of relevancy, with Riki being basically non-existent in the plot. Of course, i just started Ch.4 so this could change but for now, let's just say that the first 20-or so hours of Xenoblade 2 are better than the first 20-or so hours of Xenoblade 1.
• The combat is much better than in Xenoblade 1 because it's more strategic and also really satisfying to pull off.
• Rex is a really good protagonist. Never does he ever feel generic imo. Same goes for Pyra.
• Actually, that goes for all the party members.
• The voice acting, while not as good as the voice acting in Xenoblade 1, is still very good. Much better than what they sounded like in the trailers.
• The Heart-to-Hearts are fully voiced. Nuff said.
• Actually, i'm gonna add on to that. Heart-to-Hearts in this game seem to involve most or all of the party members and i love that. Was this the case in X as well? I know in 1, it was just between two party members.
• I'm actually surprised some people are having issues with the navigation because i feel this is the best one yet. Not once did i ever feel lost during a sidequest.
• The Blade system, even if it's random, works well so far.
• The world is beautiful. Uraya is right up there with night-time Satorl Marsh and night-time Sylvalum for most beautiful Xenoblade locations.
• The towns feel very much alive to the point that i don't really miss the NPC/town Affinity Chart
• Xenoblade 2's music>>>Xenoblade 1's music>>>>>>>>Xenoblade X's music.

Negatives

• When Skip Traveling to another Titan, the game takes a few seconds to catch up so you end up spawning in an area with unfinished textures and stuff for like two-four seconds.
• Why is X the Skip Travel menu and not the main menu? This is more of a personal nitpick because Xenoblade Chronicles 3D's main menu button was X and 2 is just messing with my muscle memory
• The Skip Travel menu defaults to Argentum instead of whatever Titan you're on.
• Rare Core Crystals spawn Common Blades more often than Rare Blades and that shouldn't happen.
• The SP cost to level up Arts starts to get high after just one level up. It doesn't appear that leveling up Arts is as important as it was in 1 but c'mon.
• Not being able to see what aggro type the enemies are.
• Whenever a Blade unlocks a new part of their Affinity Chart, you have to actually go into their Affinity Chart to activate whatever it is they got. Instead of the game automatically unlocking it when you complete the requirements. This can very easily be fixed.
• Changing targets during battle feels awkward and outside of battle, you just can't. At least i haven't been able to.
• I know i said the voice acting is good. And it is. Except for when Rex just can't scream. His screams just sound forced.

If i had to rate the game right now, it'd be a 8.7/10. This rating is expected to go up the more i play though. I mean, this game is already my Game of the Year.

On a side note, does anyone know the name of the battle theme that plays when you fight other, non-story important Drivers? It's so good and i haven't been able to find it yet.

 

[Deleted member]

I'm starting off with team Katarina because she's cute and I've read her story... she seems like a very interesting character. If she's knocked out, I'll join Sigurd, Catria, or Tharja.
I don't care too much about the Voting Gauntlets. I still throw my flags during the bonus hours just to get a higher score for more Feathers.

BTW, I just beat Path of Radiance today. I have to say, the game was solid throughout and it's easily my favorite Fire Emblem game. I loved the characters, the story, and the gameplay is always good.

 

[Tino]

I’m definitely going for Team Catria for this next gauntlet because I like her (not as much as Palla though). I was going for Priscilla since I voted for her on that last gauntlet she was in for that same reason but this time, I’m all in for the Cat. Don’t know who I’m gonna go for if she gets the axe from the first round.

 

[ZephyrZ]

I just saw it pointed out that there is no disclaimer stating that the new Heroes might be avaible at different appearance rates....but there is one for the Rhajat banner. RIP dreams of Firesweep Sword fodder at 4*.

In other news, i've been playing Xenoblade Chronicles 2 since launch and it is my favorite game of this year. I've currently logged in about 24 hours into the game and i expect to add many more hours to that total. Here are my thoughts of the game so far (maybe mild spoilers here)

Spoiler: Xenoblade 2 thoughts

Positives:

• The story is much better than the first game. Xenoblade 1 had a great story but it started out slow and it didn't get good until after the Ether Mine and Prison Island (the first time) was when it really started to become good. Meanwhile, Xenoblade 2's story got good in just one chapter and it's stayed good. One of the biggest advantages in Xenoblade 2's story is that everyone in the party is relevant. In Xenoblade 1, the party members had varying degrees of relevancy, with Riki being basically non-existent in the plot. Of course, i just started Ch.4 so this could change but for now, let's just say that the first 20-or so hours of Xenoblade 2 are better than the first 20-or so hours of Xenoblade 1.
• The combat is much better than in Xenoblade 1 because it's more strategic and also really satisfying to pull off.
• Rex is a really good protagonist. Never does he ever feel generic imo. Same goes for Pyra.
• Actually, that goes for all the party members.
• The voice acting, while not as good as the voice acting in Xenoblade 1, is still very good. Much better than what they sounded like in the trailers.
• The Heart-to-Hearts are fully voiced. Nuff said.
• Actually, i'm gonna add on to that. Heart-to-Hearts in this game seem to involve most or all of the party members and i love that. Was this the case in X as well? I know in 1, it was just between two party members.
• I'm actually surprised some people are having issues with the navigation because i feel this is the best one yet. Not once did i ever feel lost during a sidequest.
• The Blade system, even if it's random, works well so far.
• The world is beautiful. Uraya is right up there with night-time Satorl Marsh and night-time Sylvalum for most beautiful Xenoblade locations.
• The towns feel very much alive to the point that i don't really miss the NPC/town Affinity Chart
• Xenoblade 2's music>>>Xenoblade 1's music>>>>>>>>Xenoblade X's music.

Negatives

• When Skip Traveling to another Titan, the game takes a few seconds to catch up so you end up spawning in an area with unfinished textures and stuff for like two-four seconds.
• Why is X the Skip Travel menu and not the main menu? This is more of a personal nitpick because Xenoblade Chronicles 3D's main menu button was X and 2 is just messing with my muscle memory
• The Skip Travel menu defaults to Argentum instead of whatever Titan you're on.
• Rare Core Crystals spawn Common Blades more often than Rare Blades and that shouldn't happen.
• The SP cost to level up Arts starts to get high after just one level up. It doesn't appear that leveling up Arts is as important as it was in 1 but c'mon.
• Not being able to see what aggro type the enemies are.
• Whenever a Blade unlocks a new part of their Affinity Chart, you have to actually go into their Affinity Chart to activate whatever it is they got. Instead of the game automatically unlocking it when you complete the requirements. This can very easily be fixed.
• Changing targets during battle feels awkward and outside of battle, you just can't. At least i haven't been able to.
• I know i said the voice acting is good. And it is. Except for when Rex just can't scream. His screams just sound forced.

If i had to rate the game right now, it'd be a 8.7/10. This rating is expected to go up the more i play though. I mean, this game is already my Game of the Year.

On a side note, does anyone know the name of the battle theme that plays when you fight other, non-story important Drivers? It's so good and i haven't been able to find it yet.

I placed an online order for that game the other day after watching Gamexplain's review. I'm cautiously optimistic about that improved combat system. I doubt I'll prefer it to good ol' turn-based combat, but it's still really nice to hear that it's more engaging then before. Still though, Xenoblade isn't a game you play for the combat, it's one you play to explore the world, so I'm looking forward to when it shows up in the mail (which is sadly estimated to not be until the 12th).

I believe heart-to-hearts were between just the player and the character in Xenoblade X and were pretty forgettable. That game also had Affinity Missions though, which were fantastic.