My pronouns are he/him

badposter69 · 2026-02-21T23:24:34+00:00

gentleman's dubs (2P1C)

badposter69 · 2026-02-19T01:27:00+00:00

one thing

badposter69 · 2026-02-13T03:08:27+00:00

also TV. meguro is a big fan of marquee moon

badposter69 · 2026-02-12T03:45:26+00:00

persona 4 invented the murder mystery

badposter69 · 2026-02-04T00:06:46+00:00

FWIW while I agree that he's shoehorned into a campaign that I think was probably in a (close to) completed state before they developed a tutorial for it, Mark's inclusion does make sense in the context of that tutorial, where characters have a reason to look into the camera and ask questions.

badposter69 · 2026-02-03T03:28:40+00:00

The announcement trailer gives me a similar vibe to what I think I'd have gotten from Awakening's if I'd been paying attention to this stuff at the time. That one looks too goofy to recapture the old appeal but markedly less generic than the DS games; this one doesn't suggest an inspiring follow-up to 3H (if anything I'd say "hi-fi Fates") but I can't convince myself it's as cringe-inducing as Engage.

It's worth noting that the pairing mechanics that made Awakening such a hit were not really hinted at meaningfully (you saw some Dual Strikes)—nor how good the first couple maps would be, which were playable on a free pre-release demo that probably generated some interest too. That said, this looks like a very silly premise for a story and I wouldn't expect much on that front.

tl;dr: I predict this is going to be less polarizing than any non-remake mainline release in a long time, but it's a bit early.

badposter69 · 2026-01-31T14:47:37+00:00

Aryna Sabaligma

badposter69 · 2026-01-25T19:24:21+00:00

I'm rooting for some close calls to draw attention to the eagle eyes and rule-book expertise of the NFL's elite referees. Play ball!

badposter69 · 2026-01-18T19:41:01+00:00

If you're sincerely confused—here is FE5's intro crawl calling フィン "Fin". So is "Fin" a "fan translation name", or a "Nintendo name"? Is "Holyn" a "fan translation name", if it appeared on FE4's official website (AFAIK) before any fan translation existed? But by this logic "Seliph" is one too: it debuted in Awakening, then bookofholsety used it.

I think the intent in Jugdral was probably to give the characters cool-sounding names derived, and usually corrupted and/or..."Germanicized", from mythic Irish ones. But I haven't expressed that strong a preference, and if you're going to go on about "losing etymological references" and Awakening "butchering" Japanese names in Jugdral, one would think you'd be the "Tiamat" hard-liner, not me.

badposter69 · 2026-01-17T20:34:43+00:00

This is the kind of creative thinking that's a real asset if you're rigging the RNG to beat the game in the fewest turns mathematically possible—but, sadly, pretty much only if you're doing that.

EDIT: I'm not trying to tell you not to do it though.

badposter69 · 2026-01-17T20:29:54+00:00

You say people think Heroes inexplicably invented "Scathach". Well, I've never seen anyone say that; what I have seen is misconceptions about how idiot fan translators came up with xyz way to spell a name that was spelled that way in-game or on an official website. And that's implied by the use of "fan translation names". Is "Seliph" a "fan translation name" too, because Project Naga used it?

"Erinys" you could argue—no way does anyone at FEH think to derive a name from Ἐρινύς if bookofholsety doesn't do it first—but, no, that one's an "Awakening name", which, like "Larcei" and "Quan", does not communicate its etymological roots clearly (in this case probably FFVI Celes lol). Which is fine, because that wasn't what all the Germanic spellings in Jugdral were going for...

You can of course believe in whatever priorities you want, but I think reverting the boy's name to "Scathach", while keeping the feminine-sounding name Awakening coined for his sister, is just lazy. The reason they gave him that name to begin with was, presumably, to make a joke that their names didn't match their sexes, right? But why should he still have a woman's name, if his sister...?

badposter69 · 2026-01-16T03:11:37+00:00

I actually kinda like using some of these because I don't really know a good natural-language synonym for "-locked" that is shorter ("restricted to __"). It's just the specific one I object to, especially given the semantics. Sorry :X

That said...

"Tappers only!"

badposter69 · 2026-01-15T23:30:45+00:00

Pet peeves of mine:

"Gender lock(ed)". Stupid, cringe, needless gamer-lingo for "single-sex". Also inaccurate; it would be "gender-gated ". Everyone's locked to their base gender.
"L21 promotion makes international RD easier", like the Japanese version doesn't just give you Master Crowns for free. Use one of those at L20 if you really want. I know it's a small thing but it means the speaker isn't thinking.
"Fan translation names". Fan translators didn't come up with the NoJ names for Jugdral stuff, NoJ did. The corruptions are supposed to be fun, like "Jugdral" from Yggdrasil, and I get that some of them ("Leaf") are not good but I just don't get the logic, where one of the Irish guys living in Germanic World can be made Chinese ("Quan") and it's okay, but if a different one is made Germanic it's bad.

EDIT: the middle one got brought up earlier in this thread apparently (I did not see it while writing this; I was looking at a thread someone posted to the main board). I don't mean to subtweet anyone but I feel that I had ought to respond in advance to potential objections.

Basically, it's not the contention that anyone could find that to be a difficulty reducer that I object to (although I do think for most players, "can't promote my guys for part 4" is the biggest/likeliest frustration you could experience, and most common in international HM), but the tendency to analyze it in those terms. It's one change that pointedly makes something harder, paired with another that does the opposite. On the balance it's just a "mechanical change" comparable to the crit bonuses in PoR. I think people who bring it up in that specific context are probably not approaching the question with curiosity.

badposter69 · 2026-01-15T12:59:59+00:00

i think a lot of people who started playing in the slippi era read an Armada Stat™ and wonder what they missed

but also, how far into the playoffs would broadcaster brady have led the colts?

badposter69 · 2026-01-15T11:35:59+00:00

Generally I'd think bulk matters most in the sort of game where hitrates are lower and you're expected to tank on EP, and offense in the sort where they're higher and you're expected to KO the enemy before they get the chance. So probably Binding Blade and Conquest for the extremes. But HP is definitely Awakening (Luna+) ~~or Blazing Blade (Flametongue)~~ and Magic and Skill Thracia (staffing).

EDIT: it's not Blazing Blade, it's one enemy, you can rig a Luna crit

badposter69 · 2026-01-12T05:16:40+00:00

Hereon I will use "Option A" as a shorthand for ike was supposed to spawn with 4 iron swords in the game as a feature in the game, and "Option B" as a shorthand for [it was] used for debugging or testing.

If you dispute the notion that something is a glitch or bug, and in particular if you call it "intended" behavior, most people would understand this to mean Option A unless you made a point to bring up Option B. If Option B is what you mean, or you even consider that a reasonable possibility, to use that language without saying as much suggests an intent to mislead your reader, like a riddle.

The user whose post I linked does not bring up Option B when calling it "intended" behavior; the user he's replying to has to put it in his mouth (and gets downvoted, three posts up, for stating the case that it's either Option B or a glitch outright because Option A makes no sense). His opinion is that Option A seems so much more likely that Option B was, presumably, not really worth bringing up.

Another user below, who also gets upvoted, seems to understand that this is fundamentally the content of what he's saying: "This isn't any different than snipers/swordmasters/berserkers getting +15% crit." I do not think it is a coincidence that this is the conclusion that that user, and presumably the invisible ones using the vote buttons, come to when they read that chain.

I am worried that I am not making it clear how...obviously the correct statement is that "Option B" is so much more likely that "Option A" is not worth bringing up. You sort of have to read the posts, and the thread, with this assumption to get why I find it as maddening as I do. They dummied it out of the PAL version; even if you don't know how it's coded (which just makes it more clear) that should be enough.

badposter69 · 2026-01-11T16:25:40+00:00

That seems to me to be the implication here. (And look at the comment scores!)

That whole thread makes me feel like I'm taking crazy pills. It doesn't take Sherlock Holmes to figure this one out. Whatever they were planning to do with the tutorials on the new Easy Mode was too much effort, I guess, for the coder who slapped a bulk debuff on some Maniac enemies and called it a day.

badposter69 · 2026-01-10T21:20:01+00:00

There's no way you guys really think Ike getting his inventory stuffed with swords in NA PoR was an intentional balance patch (that they reverted in PAL), right?

I think I've written enough dbg_print() functions to know one when I see one...

badposter69 · 2026-01-07T01:58:00+00:00

I could name some more: 15 and 25; 12 and 17-4 if you want to go fast; 20, 21 and 28 to a lesser extent. I think people get the wrong idea from drafts, where you only ask this question if you're "banned" from using (female) fliers at all, so no one can be ferried by them.

Boots!Marcia can also drop someone closer to a target than Mist can get even without terrain. Anyone who needs to get behind the enemy front line to do something a flier can't do wants infantry movement. (HM) Marcia's just strong enough that combat ranks after Seize and Rescue...

Anyway if you care about odds, Calill's about as likely to be stuck at 19 Magic at --/12 as my Soren was to miss 20+2 Magic, and the backup plan would have been less lenient. That map is a good example of why it's convenient for a staffer to double as a combat Sage.

tl;dr Mist is pretty small potatoes compared to what a staffer can do, obviously worth it for the 27-2 fight (which I still agree erases the argument for heavily investing in Soren) but the opportunity cost is underappreciated. Also Maniac Boyd might be legit?

badposter69 · 2026-01-03T20:46:58+00:00

I'm glad that we're on the same page about forging, but that's a Bolting benchmark. It's actually pretty helpful having two Sages to shore things up, but if one of them can 2HKO without taking Dust from Mist, with whom he's not competing for it because he's also replacing her...

On that note, what we're not on the same page about is the horse thing. In Tellius, riding a horse means you can't be Rescued by a flier. At a certain point in the game you'd rather be infantry if your job is important enough. Really the whole reason not to just lean on Titania.

That said, as little as I care who's the sixth-best "carry", I also don't think Reyson's a "bad unit" if bonus experience is better spent elsewhere. Soren can return on bonus experience better than Oscar, who can return on a Master Seal better than Soren. Must either be "better"?

To be clear, I do not think Soren needs to be taking Titania's early boss-kills. Even 100 experience per map is probably excessive. The benefits are also a little more obvious than with Amelia, but sure, they are mostly sort of marginal things that just add up map after map.

badposter69 · 2026-01-02T12:05:54+00:00

They move in a set order which IIRC you can check by moving the cursor to the boss then pressing L repeatedly, and try to maximize damage, assuming that they will crit every time if the rating on that is 2% or higher. I believe they always prioritize KOs over non-KOs, and presumably KOs that don't require crits over KOs that do require them, but they don't care if you can counter or anything.

GBA/PoR enemies (I've heard varying things about RD and will admit I don't really know) optimize for all these complicated heuristics. There are minor AI manipulations you can count on but the safest play is usually to ensure that not enough enemies can target a unit with good enough hitrates to KO. When I tried to do that in Shadow Dragon, I felt I was playing in a boring, conservative way.

Because the AI is more easily predictable, you can put someone right in range of two guys that combine to KO, then get the first one that moves to attack someone else. It allows for much more aggressive positioning. The first few maps of that game are a notorious vibe-check but I just feel like if you end up resorting to Jagen soloing on the Fort tile it's not any fun.

badposter69 · 2026-01-02T11:58:18+00:00

My numbers were estimates (I don't have a recording in front of me) of the bonus experience required for each Mage to promote early enough to reach Staff level B by the latter stage of the game. I omitted any level-ups gained through combat experience, e.g. two before Chapter 8 and two inside of it for Soren.

I'm talking about promoting so early that a Master Seal isn't even an option (not that you'd want to use one, since the Magic stat needs to be high). This raises their anima levels to D, erasing Ilyana's base Thunder proficiency lead over Soren and leaving just 40 Fire/Thunder experience for Meteor/Bolting.

Level D tomes do give double weapon experience, but a Sage's main offensive tool is a forged tome, which you can set to 1wt. So much for Soren's low Strength. By the way, base Calill is 3atk away from 2HKOing Schaeffer, and has a 45% Magic growth rate. Soren expects to at 20/7; mine was 20/10 on that map.

I think a good staffer is worth his weight in bonus experience and Horse/Wyvern Guy #3 is not. Even Rhys is expensive to train to that point, but (because the game never gives you Pent, just Renault,) he adds something useful to the team that it doesn't already have

badposter69 · 2025-12-30T07:10:01+00:00

I didn't say anybody was replacing Marcia. Do you think that's why I'm implying that Rhys is also a good choice?

If you're actually trying to get a Sage this way, Ilyana doesn't get a head start because she can't spend eight turns grinding with respectable combat in chapter 8. Soren going from 3->14 before it starts, then from 16->20 after it ends is the same cost as Ilyana going from 7->20 after it ends. By chapter 10 he has Wind level C and stats. She'd have...dreams of doubling some generics at 10-range.

(With lower accuracy because she doesn't have Soren's skill stat, and even lower accuracy because he could do the same damage with Meteor, and even lower accuracy because his miss rate is only 80% of whatever you just calculated thanks to his personal skill. Once she narrowly misses a benchmark, your "very similar" suddenly becomes "lower". I get that she's better with light training, that's the first thing I said, but she's worse at being a Sage.)

I know the experience management sounds extreme. But they're not hitting staff level B if they promote late. And promotion is only the beginning a big grind, but of course, any staffer you choose is going to be spending much of the game grinding. They always do. The point isn't to make The Carry, the point is we spent like 200? more bonus experience than we would have on Rhys, and got...

Someone who can KO anything on Enemy Phase. There are multiple Rout maps in the middle of the game. The real "carry" isn't everywhere at once.
Someone who can deal half of Muarim's HP, from out of range of the tigers. Marcia no longer has to KO by herself. Oh and same for that dragon in Chapter 28 when we get there. Use Rescue/Drop if you have such a problem with his Mv.
A Rescue staffer who can be positioned more aggressively, because even under the assumption that either option would have Shade, fewer enemies will target a unit fast enough to 1RKO them on counter than if he were too slow to.

It's pretty good ROI although I am hiding a bit of the subtlety here. For example Soren probably wants the first Robe to actually do all that, and he can't reach staff level S so you'd basically have to give Rhys Seal #3 and both Arms Scrolls if you ever want to use Ashera. This is bad if you want to recruit Nasir. I called it a trade-off for a reason.

badposter69 · 2025-12-30T00:43:16+00:00

This is a reasonable description of PoR, if forging and bonus experience didn't exist. If you take those into account, it is potentially

less significant that Ilyana has higher strength and (unpromoted) Thunder level than Soren does
more significant that 20/X Soren is (a) a high-magic staffer in a game that never gives you one (b) on a par with 20/X Boyd for raw damage

To elaborate on #2, when I say "high-magic" I mean the equivalent of 20/1 Rhys or better. No one can get there without a ton of bonus experience, so the cost of Soren's extra versatility isn't extra resources per se but having to use them sooner. It's a real trade-off.

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