#Fates may have been subpar storywise but Conquest had fantastic maps

[harusha]

Honestly, some of the Three Houses maps are kinda boring compared to Conquest and even Awakening, at least for Blue Lions. I get we’re running around the same continent, but I got tired of seeing the same field over and over again.

And it feels like I have to put everyone on horses or flying mounts or die of boredom from inching forward every few seconds...like Dedue is really lagging behind everyone else b/c he’s stuck in an unmounted armor class (his riding skill sucks and I’m not gonna raise Riding when it’s a bane). Like... I put almost literally everyone else on a horse/flying mount, and I only suffered during a certain chapter where you get sidelined by both opposing sides, and only b/c Golden Deer is full of archers.

And everyone is carrying around regular weapons which kinda sucks. I know it’s Normal, but it’s way too boring when everyone is carrying a Iron/Steel/Silver weapon when they could have things like Armorslayers and Levin Swords.

And the Mastery System combined w/ a chance based class change is honestly horrible, even with a Knowledge Gem boost. It’s 2 points per action, 4 w/ the gem, and Master class takes like 200 points. If you wanna juggle stat growths and abilities, it feels awful compared to the previous games.

I will be upping the difficulty in upcoming playthroughs but like...Normal shouldn’t be that bland imo...

And on the story itself, the four route split honestly both benefits and detracts from the experience. You get a ton of replay value, but it detracts from the story as a whole when the whole “Slither in the Dark” group runs off after like 2 chapters, and nothing really comes of it outside of a certain event unless you take Claude’s route. Or how you can’t get more answers/questions from Rhea unless you take the Church route and so forth.

I honestly feel like Fates did a better job in that department, not story-wise ofc but how each route felt self-contained enough to where it didnt make you question too much but still let you learn the bigger picture if you look at all 3 routes. Plus, a certain month is poorly integrated and disjointed. If I’m looking for someone b/c a student is missing, and I find the room, why should the month end immediately if I wanna see the story? And if I put it off, it detracts from the story b/c it doesnt make sense.

As a side note, I did end up hunting the other House’s students in a certain chapter with Byleth for their death/encounter quotes (and their tasty experience and drops). Honestly, I don’t care a lot for anyone outside of the native Blue Lions (and Lorenz+Linhardt). And I know that is very subjective and depends on how many supports you saw with them, but on one playthrough, you’re only gonna get so many supports unless you jank your own stats/gameplay.

And I get there’s 4 different routes, but if I have to play the game 2 or 3 times (for each House since Neutrals will follow you almost anywhere) to care for everyone, I feel as if there’s a problem. There should have been more obligatory idle events/cutscenes interspersed in the school year calendar to make the player feel more for killing them instead of relying almost entirely on the player not playing “optimally,” for lack of better word. As the calandar stands, it’s too empty imo outside of the occasional “do you wanna take part in feast day/choir day?” pop-up and the supports.

Plus, professor level points are awful on a first playthrough. I ended up fishing for like 5 hours to get an early Parthia forge... I just feel like the fish should be worth slightly more than what they are. Not 500 a pop, but a bit more.

#Fates may have been subpar storywise but Conquest had fantastic maps #it’ll feel better prob for new game+ b/c of the benefits but that doesnt account for first playthroughs and inpressions #three houses spoilers #you can get cross house supports but theyre harder b/c of the time limit #im almost done #i have 4 chapters left #i honestly feel obligated to bring those 2 with me to whatever house I end up in #im prob still gonna only care about the BL group on my other playthroughs outside of some standouts #and the irony of that being their abbriviation and having the most guys #but no native m/m romance is not lost on me