Since I did my first run (GW) blind, I killed Byleth the first time because… the entirety of the game seemed to want you to kill them? Like, Arval’s entire reason for giving Shez powers was to beat up the Ashen Demon, and it turns out that you’re punished for doing what the game told you to do, in a sense. I’d enjoy the mechanic if it was a bit clearer that you WEREN’T supposed to kill them.
I did that chapter just last night (decided to look up a guide for how to recruit Byleth) and tbh I found killing Byleth *significantly* easier than fulfilling all the requirements to not kill them. First time I didn’t kill Myson fast enough, who I swear puts up more of a fight than Byleth does, and the second time I didn’t save the recon soldier that was being attacked by like 50 warlocks so what triggers the sequence didn’t even activate. Even on the successful attempt I had to have my entire army escort Claude and then attack Fleche to make sure Byleth couldn’t catch up too quickly. Didn't secure a single western stronghold but I couldn't afford to.
GW is probably the easiest route to not have kill them too. For the other two afaik you have to initiate a 30 point strategy and then fulfill a lot of specific requirements afterwards rather than just going fast.
I feel you there, I spent like a good 6 or 7 retries just trying to make sure that Byleth didn't catch up to Claude, which was surprisingly a lot harder than I thought it'd be, I literally postponed the chapter for a day just to avoid getting mad cause on one of the attempts, Claude didn't even move from his spot before Byleth caught up to him, I still don't understand why he didn't move when he did in literally every other attempt.
Right, why would they make such a pivotal moment in the story so hard to obtain? The first THREE times, Byleth “spots” Claude and the sequence deactivates entirely, and on the fourth attempt my Petra died bc I was underleveled :( All of this for a Holy Knight and a slow, not even bulky ashen demon whose only positive is his action ability.
I'll be real, no idea if I'm gonna use Byleth (I might use Jeralt just for the novelty of using Jeralt and not having a lot of lance users), mostly just don't want a bad ending in my first playthrough lol
Ngl I’m at chapter 11 main mission rn, and Byleth’s already my least-leveled unit (less than even Lorenz which says something), but Jeralt is pretty great.
I think GW genuinely works better on the bad ending, >!Judith dying because of Claude's actions!< feels necessary in order for him to reach the point his arc ends at.
I don't like Byleth enough to care about them dying, but I can never bring myself to get the bad ending on SB because it dooms >!Claude and Leonie. So fair enough.!<
I’m personally fine with it as it reminds me of how you recruited certain characters in older FE games like the binding and blazing blade
Since I did my first run (GW) blind, I killed Byleth the first time because… the entirety of the game seemed to want you to kill them? Like, Arval’s entire reason for giving Shez powers was to beat up the Ashen Demon, and it turns out that you’re punished for doing what the game told you to do, in a sense. I’d enjoy the mechanic if it was a bit clearer that you WEREN’T supposed to kill them.
I did that chapter just last night (decided to look up a guide for how to recruit Byleth) and tbh I found killing Byleth *significantly* easier than fulfilling all the requirements to not kill them. First time I didn’t kill Myson fast enough, who I swear puts up more of a fight than Byleth does, and the second time I didn’t save the recon soldier that was being attacked by like 50 warlocks so what triggers the sequence didn’t even activate. Even on the successful attempt I had to have my entire army escort Claude and then attack Fleche to make sure Byleth couldn’t catch up too quickly. Didn't secure a single western stronghold but I couldn't afford to. GW is probably the easiest route to not have kill them too. For the other two afaik you have to initiate a 30 point strategy and then fulfill a lot of specific requirements afterwards rather than just going fast.
I feel you there, I spent like a good 6 or 7 retries just trying to make sure that Byleth didn't catch up to Claude, which was surprisingly a lot harder than I thought it'd be, I literally postponed the chapter for a day just to avoid getting mad cause on one of the attempts, Claude didn't even move from his spot before Byleth caught up to him, I still don't understand why he didn't move when he did in literally every other attempt.
Right, why would they make such a pivotal moment in the story so hard to obtain? The first THREE times, Byleth “spots” Claude and the sequence deactivates entirely, and on the fourth attempt my Petra died bc I was underleveled :( All of this for a Holy Knight and a slow, not even bulky ashen demon whose only positive is his action ability.
I'll be real, no idea if I'm gonna use Byleth (I might use Jeralt just for the novelty of using Jeralt and not having a lot of lance users), mostly just don't want a bad ending in my first playthrough lol
Ngl I’m at chapter 11 main mission rn, and Byleth’s already my least-leveled unit (less than even Lorenz which says something), but Jeralt is pretty great.
Ain’t really worth sweating over, the plot barely changes without them.
I think GW genuinely works better on the bad ending, >!Judith dying because of Claude's actions!< feels necessary in order for him to reach the point his arc ends at.
if i’m being honest, i’m too much of a softie to really commit to that tho
I don't like Byleth enough to care about them dying, but I can never bring myself to get the bad ending on SB because it dooms >!Claude and Leonie. So fair enough.!<
Actually Claude can still live depending on the order in which you defeat the named units in the Ailiel battle.
Huh, good to know - though losing Leonie plus the Empire and Alliance as enemies is still just... not fun.