Nintendo Fire Emblem: Awakening

[Mitsuki]

Anyone got this game for the 3DS yet? Or planning on it at least? Apparently it hasn't hit the stores (or Amazon) yet since it came out yesterday - at least, not around here anyway. Some shipping problems or something. Of course, there's the digital copies via eShop, but I'd rather get the physical copy. I haven't played a Fire Emblem game since Path of Radiance on Gamecube back in 2005. Really stoked for this!

 

[Espurr]

Same here Mits. I've had problems pre-ordering it at the GameStops near here too but I've been told it's because Nintendo of America didn't make enough copies thus far to keep up with the demand. I ended up pre-ordering it via amazon. I can wait a bit longer for a physical copy as well. I'm not too peeved about the delay though provided it doesn't take any longer than 2 weeks for NoA to ship out more copies.

 

[ribbit]

we had a total of 8 copies in the store today lol. I got one of them. I played the demo a few weeks ago and it was pretty good so I picked it up on my lunch break today. Only ever played the first Fire Emblem released in America on the GBA a few years ago but ended up losing too many characters and gave up. I've always been interested in the games, though, since they play similar to Shining Force, one of my favorite childhood games.

 

[Mitsuki]

Hmm, I wonder if it's out around here now. I know it was stated there will be more available either 6th or 8th.

Anyway, I'm deciding whether I should play as a female or male character. What you choose will actually have a bit of effect as far as storyline goes, as well as stats, etc. It ties in with the whole 'Marriage System' implemented in the game, almost like eugenics program. It's neat and interesting.

 

[Mitsuki]

@Draklor @Chanteru - how's the game coming along for you guys? Are you doing Normal, Hard, or Expert?

@Terramorphous - Got the game yet?

This is currently my 3rd time starting over. Furthest I've got was the end of Chapter 4 (that map was hard), and doing Hard mode. I'm now re-doing Chapter 3, and making sure level them up properly. Trying not to use Frederick too much, since he'll kill everyone with one hit. I'll have him do a cheap shot when the enemies HP are close to zero, that way he can gain a bit of EXP at least. I can't wait until a more powerful White Mage comes along. Lissa's a pain to use.

I definitely advice not using Vulnerary on Chapter 1 and 2. Save it for Chapter 3 or 4. Currently only Lissa and Chrom carries those (though I guess you can trade with other characters), and the shop doesn't open until you finish Chapter 3 I think. I'm on Chapter 3 now and Lissa's Healing Staff is at 19 (turns), so this will be a bit challenging. If her staff breaks, I'm screwed.

Anyway, any useful tips or strategies, let's hear them.

 

[ribbit]

I was told early on to not use Frederick since he's really overpowered but he doesn't stay that way, so you end up wasting exp on him. I'm playing on Normal Casual since I'm bad at FE games. I never had a problem with Lissa, though, just have to keep her out of the way and heal when necessary, pair her up with someone if necessary so she doesn't get hurt. Pairing up is a nice way to get support conversations enabled plus it works better than having them stand next to each other.

 

[Espurr]

Nope but my copy was shipped off yesterday so I should have it here by Tuesday hopefully. I'll probably start on Normal and just work my way up like I usually do though.

Yes it is wise not to use Frederick much in the beginning. You can use him as meatshield however(unequip a weapon and send him out in an effort to draw the enemy towards him), rescue a unit, kill a non-boss unit if you desperately need the kill during that turn, or just send him out to take out a Thief who is trying to get some treasure. Otherwise you shouldn't be using him for any other reason until your characters start getting closer towards promoting. As for if he's worth using however I am not sure yet as characters like him(the first pre-promoted character you get) in the previous games have varied from bad to great.

As for just general tips I'd say:

1. Stick to no more than 10 units not including Chrom and your Avatar as both are mandatory.(I think in the case of your avatar) Due to the limited experience in the game, unless there's an Arena in this game, you can't afford to level every character up.

2. Unless you're really low on Heal staff uses heal your allies even if they've only lost 1HP every turn. That way no matter what your Cleric/Priest should get some experience.

3. For the first few chapters focus on leveling up Chrom until he gets around level 10 then you can focus on your other units. The higher his level, assuming he gets decent stats, the harder it is for him to be killed.

That's all I can think of at the moment.

 

[ribbit]

Side quests, random battles with risen, and DLC that can be repeated are some of the few ways you can level up aside from story battles. EXP really isn't that much of a problem from what I've seen so far.

 

[Master Cat]

Ohh, you can re-do the DLC? I didn't think to try that, lol. I guess I could use that for leveling up purposes.

I'm currently playing the game on Normal/Casual Mode since this is my first time playing a Fire Emblem game and I sorta suck at tactical RPGs, lol. I've had to restart some battles because I felt like I lost too many characters. Imagine if I played on Hard Mode or Classic Mode... xD; Anyhow, I'm at Chapter 12 at the moment and I'm loving the story so far. The character support system is pretty neat as well.

I'm wondering when is it a good time to upgrade a character's class using the Second Seal and Master Seal? And is one preferred over the other? I feel like such a newbie, sorry. I've only upgraded Lissa so far into a Troubadour (the horse-mounted healer type) because I wanted to increase her movement across the field. But I wanted to hold off on using my other seals just in case they will be more valuable later on.

 

[Espurr]

Ah so they're not restricted to just the story. That should make things much easier then.

Level 20, Chan. The longer you wait(20 is the max level) the more chances you get to get some good stat growths. Your stats will likely end up lower if you upgrade at level 10 since you didn't level up as much as if you would if you upgraded at 20. I'm not completely sure what the Second Seal does though. I'm going to guess it's similar to a Master Seal though.

 

[Master Cat]

Ohh, so Level 20 is definitely the max, huh? My character reached level 20, but I thought that maybe it was limited just for that arc of the storyline. Like the max would increase after a certain point in the story or something. So I guess my character is ready to be upgraded then, hehe~ I upgraded Lissa when she was about level 12-13, so I guess I missed out a bit on those stat bonuses... Oh well. Better luck next time!

 

[Espurr]

Unless the cap changed 20 is the max level in the older games with a few exceptions. Since you leveled her up so early I wouldn't really recommend going on the offensive with her much once the other characters catch her in level since she'll likely be underpowered compared to them due to you upgrading her so early. Keep her as a healer and you should be fine however. Also how did you manage to get so far in just 1 night? o_o

 

[Mitsuki]

Jeez Chan, that was fast! I feel like a turtle now, haha.

'Kay, thanks for the tips, guys. I'm waiting to recruit more characters and see if there's certain ones I can stick with permanently.

I haven't downloaded the DLC yet. I suppose I should do that soon before they increase the price for Champions Pack. I do have a question about Bonus Box > Bonus Teams. Not sure what it is yet, but I summoned a few characters and they appeared on the map. I go to a location (particularly the one they're standing on) and it won't let me select "Shop" anywhere, just "Parley". Could be problematic if there's a bunch summoned (thus not letting me shop), so I guess I'll avoid this for now. What is it this Bonus Teams, anyway...? And can we make them disappear from the map without restarting?

 

[Master Cat]

Al & Mitsuki - I've been playing the game since yesterday afternoon, so maybe that's why it seems like I'm far along so quickly, lol. Plus, I've screwed up along the way with a few of the side quests and missed out on 1 or 2 extra playable characters... >D; Mehh. Anyhow, I still feel like some characters need to be a bit higher leveled, so I think I'm gonna re-play the two DLC maps that are currently available a few times until I feel more comfortable level-wise. I bought the Champions Pack, so hopefully the 3rd map in the series will be available sometime next week. ^^

Also, Mitsuki, I just checked out the "Bonus Teams" option you mentioned. After you click to "Parley" with them, you can just "Dismiss" them and they leave the World Map. It looks like you can re-summon them again should you ever want to buy items/weapons from them or recruit members from the team. Not sure if I care much to waste gold recruiting those members. I kinda like the characters you get through the storyline automatically. But mehh. The "Bonus Items" feature seems pretty cool. No strings attached or anything. I got a new weapon from it for free.

 

[Espurr]

The DLC better still be available by the time my game comes in or else I will rage. Stupid Nintendo and it's stupid delay. >.>

Take your time, Chan. The game is not going anywhere.

Oh right I thought of another important tip.

3. Always assume the worst case scenario. For example: If you engage an enemy with a 25% critical rate assume they will get the critical. If you engage an enemy with a 20% hit rate and if they can kill a character if they hit assume they will get hit. Take that into consideration before you engage the enemy units.

 

[Master Cat]

Oh, Al. In due time. Thanks for the tips though. I shall use them to my advantage.

I'm curious as to what everyone's avatar/character looks like, so maybe we can share 'em here? ^^ I don't think this is spoiling anything. Here's mine:

She's the one at the left. I tried to make her in the likeness of me.

 

[Mitsuki]

Okay gotcha, thanks Chan!

Here's mine:

Pic's bad quality. At first he had blue hair, but then I realized that a lot of the main characters have blue hair already. So now it's brown.

I'm on Chapter 5 now, and I'm having a hard time. xD I keep restarting the chapter whenever a character dies - adds more to the challenge. When do we start earning Gold? I hope after this Chapter's over...

 

[Master Cat]

Mitsuki Aww, your character is so cute<3 I wonder what the marriage part is like when you're a male character. As a female, mine was a bit... predictable. But in a good way! Mehh, I don't wanna spoil anything. x__x;

Also, it seems like you can earn tons of Gold by selling these items called "Bullions." ...Something like that. xD; Enemies drop them when you kill them in battle. Other than that, I guess you can sell extra weaponry or items to the Shops. :3

I think I'm going to start another save file on Hard/Classic Mode 'cause I wanna see how difficult it is. It sounds very frustrating, especially if you want to keep your whole arsenal of characters, which is something I'd want to do as well. xD

 

[Mitsuki]

I was planning on having the Avatar marry Cordelia. Apparently Cordelia can't marry Chrom, which is a shame. I guess Sumia is a good pair for Chrom though. (What is this, Harvest Moon?!) But yes, AvatarxCoredlia will make cute babies.

So what's your best team so far? I had to use Frederick on Chapter 5, there was absolutely no way I can get away unscathed without him there. (Although I'm not playing Classic Mode, I'm treating it like I am. I.e, restarting a save file if any of the characters die). He was only Level 2 though, but still stood out there in the battlefield. Currently here's my setup:

Chrom - sometimes paired up with Sumia and Avatar.
Avatar - usually by himself, though there was a scene at the Barracks where he and Miriel are getting along, romantic-wise. I have to fix this quickly. Oh Cordelia, where are you...
Lissa - Main healer for now. Maribelle is quite nice too, but I'll stick with Lissa.
Sumia - I might replace her with Cordelia soon.
Lon'qu - That Killing Edge is sweet. I think I'll stick with him too.
Vaike - Main axe killer. He's a pretty good tank too.
Virion - Very useful against the Wyvern riders on Chapter 5. Main archer and will probably stay that way (unless there's other cooler ones later).
Prince Marth (DLC) - Used him for Chapter 5. I still can't decide whether I should continue using him or what. Suggestions?
Stahl - I'm at a toss-up with him. I'll level him up in the DLC maps just in case.
Miriel - I stopped using her the past two chapters, but plan on getting back to her on Chapter 6. I need an offensive Mage. (Will there be any others, besides Ricken?)
Kellam - Only used him in a few chapters. Still plan on leveling him up, though it's a bit hard since he's kinda slow. Maybe if I have to change my strategy a little and in dire need of a good defense, I'll toss him out there. But for now, I need to focus on the others.


Those are the main ones so far. Since other characters will be coming along later (and probably better ones), it's kinda hard to part ways with them, but I'll worry about that later.


@Chanteru - Definitely go for Hard Mode. I wouldn't recommend Lunatic yet until you beat Hard Mode. Trust me, on Hard, you'll be restarting the file/chapter files like crazy. I think I restarted 15+ times with Chapter 5. You really have to intricately plan ahead and expect the enemies' moves and be able to stand your ground, or retreat if necessary (and if you do retreat, make sure the other characters behind you would be able to support themselves for a short time until you can get your defenses back up). It's fun though!

 

[Master Cat]

Well, it looks like we're using a pretty similar set-up, lol. I prefer Lissa > Maribelle, Sumia > Cordelia, and Ricken > Miriel. I incorporate Stahl and Virion from time to time. I try to let Frederick stay out of battles now unless the enemies' attack points are particularly high. Lon'qu is pretty badass. ;D There will be more mages in the chapters to come. I just stick with Ricken though. I leveled him a lot, so his stats are pretty good for me for the time being.

My avatar is actually married to Chrom now, but otherwise, I think Sumia would be a good fit for him. It seems pretty clear to me that she likes him, at least in some way! xD I'll try out Hard Mode and let everyone know the insanity that ensues.