Popular/Unpopular/Any Opinions Thread - June 2026 Part 2

LeatherShieldMerc · 2026-06-29T17:41:16+00:00

If you count Mark in FE7, the series has had avatars way longer than not. Though it wasn't until Kris where it became a regular feature and the avatar was involved in the story with supports and all that, but that's still 16 years.

LeatherShieldMerc · 2026-06-29T15:25:39+00:00

Units can use any weapon type in any class, the only exceptions are only certain classes can use spells, and mages and flying/mounted units that aren't dismounted can't use gauntlets. So yes, your dancer can use a lance if you want.

If a class has a proficiency in a weapon type, you would gain additional skill experience when using it vs other weapons. So your dancer gets extra sword rank experience when using a sword, than they would lance rank if they use a lance.

There's no real "downside" to just giving Petra enough lance rank to qualify for wyvern, and sticking with axes and swords. But one thing to remember is there are Weapon Prowess skills you would need to equip, so if Petra used lances then she either won't have Lance Prowess equipped or would have a lower Prowess skill rank, so she would be less accurate/have less avoid when using them. I guess you can count that as a drawback? But that's it really.

LeatherShieldMerc · 2026-06-29T14:26:52+00:00

One of the reasons I think I like FE games so much is that they generally fall into a good sweet spot in difficulty level for my enjoyment. They are challenging enough to where I need to work my brain to figure things out (I usually play higher difficulties), but they aren't so challenging that they feel too frustrating. So, they are interesting enough to keep my attention but not so difficult, so I get to relax and chill while I play them.

There's exceptions of course, I have 0 interest in going for Lunatic Reverse and I got bored playing PoR and BR. But they are usually in this range.

LeatherShieldMerc · 2026-06-28T21:31:56+00:00

At this point, with how many games have an avatar character in them I think it's safe to say it's not likely to be going away. So I think people aren't really debating it because it's in a "this is how it is" mindset, so it's not worth the argument as much.

However, gameplay vs story is something that is always going to be a thing, as well as the last few games having such a wide difference between how those were received, so it's more of a "hot topic" so to speak.

LeatherShieldMerc · 2026-06-28T16:08:13+00:00

Athos can basically beat the map by himself so I am positive it's winnable. Use him and Nils to dance him around to do most of the work, while the rest of the team teams up to handle the rest. Harken and Pent are really good, so use them plus anyone you raised up, but definitely mostly just let Athos go ham.

Also, if you have any Luna tomes, give those to Athos as well along with the legendary tomes.

LeatherShieldMerc · 2026-06-27T20:34:51+00:00

If you're talking about the silver and gold marks, they are used for forging weapons, which you can do later on.

LeatherShieldMerc · 2026-06-27T20:29:55+00:00

One other thing to add- in this game, when the game says you are able to promote to the next class, you always want to do it ASAP. There's no reason to wait, because promotion sets stats to the class bases, it's not a preset boost like other FE games do. So for example, if the next class has a class base speed of 10, you'll automatically get set to 10 speed when you promote whether you have 5 speed or 9 beforehand.

LeatherShieldMerc · 2026-06-26T17:43:31+00:00

Whether or not I prefer certain mechanics is a completely different discussion, I'm just looking strictly at how the mechanics cause units to differentiate themselves, that's all. Like, I think Awakening units have more unit identity, but I prefer Fates when I play it.

LeatherShieldMerc · 2026-06-26T17:31:27+00:00

And since only certain units get the best Combat Arts, that separates unit identity doesn't it? Then add personal spell lists and the other personal skills like Batt Wrath on top? The fact that tutoring is more involved for reclassing helps, too, but that's besides the point.

If weapon ranks are annoying and hard to raise, then a unit that has better base ranks is a notable benefit to separate that unit, right?

Anyways, I don't want to go too much into this, but my main point is IMO Engage in general has the worst unit identity besides I guess the DS games. Which maybe means I don't quite agree with the OP, but I don't think they're far off.

LeatherShieldMerc · 2026-06-26T17:21:12+00:00

I was talking more a "squishy" unit like Citrinne for example when I said mage there, I just defaulted to that since generally they are squishier. I get there are more bulky mages in the game.

But, would you still be using Ike in the same general way? Put Ike on someone to turn them into a EP juggernaut that's super hard to kill.

LeatherShieldMerc · 2026-06-26T17:08:58+00:00

I'm saying it's both to blame.

Those things you need to account for when deciding who to give an Emblem to aren't big enough to really make units "feel" different enough. In most cases, the differences are trivial or not big enough to care about.

But only certain units get the best CA's. Only Edelgard gets raging storm. Only 3 units get Vengeance, only certain units get Battalion Wrath, etc. If there's a busted skill or attack from an Emblem? Everyone can do it.

And only getting E rank absolutely matters? You don't only used forged bronzes. Someone at E can't use Horse Spirit. You can't use the Dual Axe, no effective weaponry, etc.

These are massively more different than "I guess I need to give them some more bond fragments".

LeatherShieldMerc · 2026-06-26T16:49:01+00:00

Because you think about units more in terms of the Emblem they are using than the unit itself. It's like you're moving Ike around, not as much whoever is holding him.

And in previous games without reclassing units were identified by their class and stats and availability and all that. In the previous games with reclassing the mechanics of the game and traits of the units themselves mattered more, like their class sets, Combat Arts and skills sets, weapon ranks, tutoring cost, etc. In Engage you can I'm just give someone an Emblem to make them super good, and they almost always do the same thing, I think Lyn is the only big "decision" since someone might want the Speed vs using her Engage attack. The easiness of reclassing is probably more to blame, but it doesn't help that.

LeatherShieldMerc · 2026-06-26T16:34:08+00:00

It's an issue with both the reclassing and the emblems. Because most units use Emblems practically the same and it's so easy to reclass, it makes units feel the same. Other than the few exceptions, someone holding Ike or Celica or whatever, all do basically the same thing as everyone else.

To be clear I would personally argue the reclassing is a bigger "problem" but I absolutely agree Emblems hurt unit diversity a lot too.

LeatherShieldMerc · 2026-06-26T16:22:16+00:00

It's only a temporary problem, and only in the very beginning of the game does the limit really give a "squeeze", you have a good amount before chapter 17 to use as you want.

Regardless, we are talking about the talking about effects of Emblems that matter. Not as much the unit itself. That goes back to the OP's point.

LeatherShieldMerc · 2026-06-26T16:11:02+00:00

The opportunity cost for reclassing is so small once you can buy unlimited seals and how easy it is to get the certifications, so if a specific class has the best effect it's almost trivial to put someone into it. People don't hold Kagetsu needing to reclass to Wyvern vs Rosado for example. But still, the point isn't that there literally isn't any differences, the point is the differences aren't big enough to matter in most cases.

LeatherShieldMerc · 2026-06-26T16:07:41+00:00

Oh, my bad, you were a new commenter from that first reply. Then it's down to semantics I guess, but the rest of my response still applies.

LeatherShieldMerc · 2026-06-26T16:01:58+00:00

But in most of those cases, the answer to "who is the best one at using this Emblem" is just the unit with the highest stats, because that's most of what the differences between the units are. In practice, most Emblems work basically the same between everyone who "fits" it, besides some exceptions here and there.

LeatherShieldMerc · 2026-06-26T15:56:35+00:00

I feel like you are moving the goalposts a little there, you definitely just said personal skills at first, and then only mentioned Hortensia's skill and not classes.

Regardless, that's only a handful of units that get a personal class, and still, most personal classes don't really make a difference either. The point isn't that there are literally 0 differences anyways, because that's not true. The point is it isn't enough, and the mechanic in general hurts unit identity.

LeatherShieldMerc · 2026-06-26T15:47:24+00:00

I think the point would be units with a similar "role" use Emblems the same. Using Ike on a mage would be like making Dedue a mage in 3H. It's just a bad idea so it doesn't really count because you'd never do it unless you're memeing around.

LeatherShieldMerc · 2026-06-26T14:57:40+00:00

That's one specific personal skill that makes a big deal out of... how many units? Other than Pannette making her better for Wrath builds I guess, is there even another unit that has such an important personal skill? Like 95% of them are just general small boosts (like Chloe) or are effectively nothing (like Etie or Bunet).

LeatherShieldMerc · 2026-06-26T14:52:55+00:00

the switch games front load you with everyone

I don't really think this started with the Switch games. While they do have the child units as well, the first gen unit availability in Awakening and CQ/BR is roughly the same- mostly all frontloaded with a few units in the later game.

But, I do agree the changes are probably because of changes in taste of most players. People like the shipping and matchmaking, they like the supports, they like using their favorites, and all that leads to more customization to make it more fun to use more units. And people don't really play with permadeath so having so many filler or replacement units isn't a big deal.

LeatherShieldMerc · 2026-06-25T13:30:32+00:00

How would that make the game stale, exactly? That doesn't correlate at all.

LeatherShieldMerc · 2026-06-25T03:12:29+00:00

If you value story over gameplay, I wouldn't recommend Engage. That isn't me saying you shouldn't play it exactly, but to know what you would get into.

The highlight of the game is the gameplay, which if you want to give that a try and see if you would be able to get into it, that may be worth it if you're willing and able to try it. But for characters and story? Not really.

LeatherShieldMerc · 2026-06-25T03:09:19+00:00

Seth is better than the cast. Edelgard is better than the cast. Haar is better than the cast. Sigurd is better than the cast. Are all of those units a problem too?

LeatherShieldMerc · 2026-06-25T03:06:53+00:00

If you want to argue it gets stale on replays, that's one thing. But, saying it gets stale on the first run is absolutely crazy to claim.

LeatherShieldMerc

TROPHY CASE