Fire Emblem Discussion

[Kong Wen]

To tie both of your points together, Cyril can make a good dancer for the sole reason that he doesn't saddle any of your other characters with the role. With Aptitude, he has the best Spd, Dex, and Luck growths on the original Blue Lions roster. His Charm is bad, but Dancers only need that for Sword Dance (which you won't be using if you're refreshing) and... to become a Dancer in the first place.

[The Shoemaker]

Definitely agree with everything you said there Jordan. Honestly makes me think what's even the point of amplitude? It's just means his low growth rates are average growth rates. Does nothing to aid him in battle, and you can't pass it on to anyone else.

Ingrid has been a great flyer, and has miraculously been strength blessed. She's up there with my strongest characters strength wise. It would be nice if she could use Thoron though since my team is lacking in 3+ range attackers compared to my Black Eagles run. Initially I was backing off on the idea of making Sylvain a dancer because he's a good calvary unit, but at this point I have Dimitri and Leonie for that.

Cyril could be a good option, but I'm more likely to drop him since I'm competing for spots on the roster at this point.

Still undecided.

[Jordan]

Good point. Cyril sounds like a pretty good dancer actually. I overlooked that myself. Sylvain works out fine if you're sticking with the base Blue Lions roster. I'm going to be using Cyril when I eventually do another Golden Deer run or continue my original playthrough. Golden Deer was the first faction I picked, but I quit midway through after realizing I screwed up a lot with the monastery. If memory serves correctly, for plot related reasons Cyril has a lot of supports with their cast...

[Kong Wen]

Good point. Cyril sounds like a pretty good dancer actually. I overlooked that myself. Sylvain works out fine if you're sticking with the base Blue Lions roster.

Sylvain is definitely firmly on pace to be my dancer, unless he turns things around in the next couple chapters.

[Jordan]

I'm probably taking a break from the game for awhile as I am taking classes again and have a heavy work load. In all honesty, I was starting to get worn out with the game. I picked up Black Eagles for my new game+ playthrough, but mid-way through I started to regret it. I like Claude too much as a character, and enjoy the rest of the Golden Deer cast a lot more than the Eagles. There are a few exceptions to this. I think Raphael is incredibly cheesy with a one note personality that extends little beyond eating and being /fit/. Other characters like Claude and Marianne have a lot of soul behind them, though. Lorenz is pretty similar to Ferdinand and tends to bring to the forefront a lot of the political lore of Three Houses, even if he may seem silly at first glance. Also regarding Claude specifically...

Spoiler

I think he's a character that's particularly relevant to this generation of politics. He brings into focus issues related to universality vs. nationalism, immigration vs. anti-immigration and open borders vs. restriction. It actually sort of blows my mind that Fire Emblem decided to open this pandora's box, but my understanding of Claude is that his vision extends beyond Fodlan and toward a future which unites people from diverse countries. Whether you accept his ideals or like him as a character likely depends on whether you're a left-winger or right-winger. I adore him, so you can probably guess where I stand.

[Kong Wen]

In all honesty, I was starting to get worn out with the game. I picked up Black Eagles for my new game+ playthrough, but mid-way through I started to regret it.

After opening the game by playing through the "good" side of the Black Eagles path—

Spoiler

(i.e. rejecting Edelgard)

—starting a new game as the Blue Lions was a real eye-opener and a breath of fresh air. I'm looking forward to a Golden Deer run. And I don't mind Raphael. He's a simple man.

I am naturally unable to rocket through this game even on my second run, though. I'm still taking my time and being very thorough with everything. I may very well get tired of it before I can finish, but the more likely scenario is I'll get sucked into the post-jump story and then get worn out during the repeated first half of my third game.

[The Shoemaker]

I just made it to part 2 of my Blue Lions run. I'm shocked how much better the transition from part 1 to part 2 was handled in this story compared to Black Eagles.

Blue Lions Chapters 1-13 spoilers.

Spoiler

First of all, there was a cut scene in the Holy Tomb, of which there were none in the Black Eagles run. At the battle for Garag Mach there was a cut scene to finish the battle as well, something the black eagles were also missing. This cut scene was also a much better introduction to Lady Rhea as the Immaculate One, and it actually contextualized what happened to Byleth by showing him fall off a cliff. And then when you start part 2, you get another cut scene to introduce Dimitri again, that's three cut scenes Black Eagles was missing in this story intensive section.

On top of this, I also feel part 2 starts stronger in Blue Lions and does a much better job of reintroducing you to the characters mid-battle.

I also think earlier in part 1 favored the Blue Lions as well, as the conflicts with Lord Lonato and Miklan directly involve Ashe and Slyvain.

Also of note, throughout part 1 you get a sense of the relationship between Dimitri and Edelgard. I never knew they were siblings before this playthrough. While it's not as important for Edelgard's story, I do think it would have been good information to know when it came down to the climatic battle of Edelgard vs Dimitri.

I definitely don't think Black Eagles (alt route) is the best story to go with for the first playthrough, it just seems like you miss out on a lot. With that said, I am happy it's there, it's cool that it's a storyline you can peruse.

Playing through Blue Lions has definitely elevated my thoughts on the story of the game.

[Jordan]

I did a Fire Emblem sorter to rank my favorite characters from Three Houses.

Spoiler

I just made it to part 2 of my Blue Lions run. I'm shocked how much better the transition from part 1 to part 2 was handled in this story compared to Black Eagles.

I think the very first mission you get post-timeskip with them is actually one of my favorites from a narrative perspective. It was great the way they introduced all the Lions characters in that battle. Black Eagles have kind of a lazy transition by contrast.

[Kong Wen]

I think the very first mission you get post-timeskip with them is actually one of my favorites from a narrative perspective. It was great the way they introduced all the Lions characters in that battle. Black Eagles have kind of a lazy transition by contrast.

Lazy on the Edelgard path or the Church path?

Having not gotten there on my Kingdom run yet, I'm remembering the first mission on my Black Eagles run and it was a pretty emotionally stirring way to reintroduce almost all of the Eagles.

[The Shoemaker]

I think the very first mission you get post-timeskip with them is actually one of my favorites from a narrative perspective. It was great the way they introduced all the Lions characters in that battle. Black Eagles have kind of a lazy transition by contrast.

Lazy on the Edelgard path or the Church path?

Having not gotten there on my Kingdom run yet, I'm remembering the first mission on my Black Eagles run and it was a pretty emotionally stirring way to reintroduce almost all of the Eagles.

Sounds like the Church path all around had a better transition than the Edelgard route. In that route you're reintroduced to all the characters via dialogue before the first mission.