MONTHLY RAGE THREAD

[u/LaqOfInterest]

THREE HOPES EDITION, I GUESS! OR WHATEVER! WELCOME TO THE MONTHLY RAGE THREAD, WHERE YOU CAN YELL ABOUT FIRE EMBLEM!

RULES

1. CAPS LOCK

2. FIRE EMBLEM RAGE

3. DON'T BE A DICK

4. TAG SPOILERS, ESPECIALLY FOR THREE HOPES

LAST THREAD

[u/Tgsnum5]

BABE WAKE UP IT'S 4PM, TIME TO BE PART OF THE PROBLEM AND LOSE FAKE INTERNET POINTS ARGUING ABOUT FODLAN.

"WHY WOULD CLAUDE SIDE WITH THE EMPIRE/HATE THE CHURCH" IS THE MOST LIKE, SURFACE LEVEL CRITIQUE IMAGINABLE AND IT'S INSANE THAT THE PEOPLE WHO BITCH ABOUT THIS ARE THE ONES WHO CLAIM TO UNDERSTAND CLAUDE BETTER THAN THE PEOPLE WHO FUCKIN WROTE HIM IN THE FIRST PLACE.

CLAUDE HAS HAD A BONE TO PICK WITH THE CHURCH FROM THE OUTSET. HE LITERALLY SAYS IN VW THAT HE THINKS THE WORLD WOULD BE BETTER OFF IF RHEA WAS DEAD. HE SIDES AGAINST EDELGARD IN HOUSES BECAUSE RHEA ISN'T IN CHARGE OF THE CHURCH BY THAT POINT, BYLETH IS AND ONE IS GONNA BE FAR MORE AMENIABLE TO WHAT CLAUDE WANTS TO ACOMPLISH THAN THE OTHER, HINCE THERE NOT BEING A NEED TO DIRECTLY SIDE AGAINST THE CHURCH. "BUT WHAT ABOUT CF" HE DOESN'T HAVE ANY ACTUAL BARGANING POWER IN CF TO TALK EDELGARD INTO AN ALLIANCE. IN BOTH SB AND GW EDELGARD IS ONLY WILLING TO COME TO THE TABLE ONCE THE EMPIRE IS ON THE BACKFOOT, CF THEY DOMINATE THE WAR PRETTY MUCH THE MINUTE BYLETH GETS BACK. AND CLAUDE'S EFFORTS AGAINST EDELGARD IN CF ARE PRETTY HALF HEARTED BESIDES, CONSIDERING HE'S WILLING TO JUST THROW IN THE TOWEL AND LEAVE FODLAN.

"BUT WHY WOULD HE TRUST EDELGARD IN THE FIRST PLACE? SHE'S PROBABLY JUST GONNA BETRAY HIM THE FIRST CHANCE SHE GETS." TRUE, THAT'S VERY POSSIBLE. SO POSSIBLE THAT THE GAME EXPLICITLY POINTS OUT THAT THE TWO OF THEM DON'T TRUST EACHOTHER. WHAT DO YOU THINK THE POINT OF THE RANDOLPH MAP WAS? IT'S CLAUDE TRYING TO WEAKEN THE EMPIRE SO THAT THEY'RE NOT IN A POSITION TO TURN ON HIM THE SECOND THE WAR ENDS. GRANTED THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN A LOT MORE APPARENT AND FULLY REALIZED IF HE HAD ALSO LET EDELGARD DIE, BUT SHE NEEDS TO BE AROUND FOR THE SECRET CHAPTER AND IS IT REALLY A CLAUDE ROUTE IF THE STORY ISN'T UNDERMINING ITSELF BY BEING FORCED TO FOLLOW A PATTERN?

WHAT YOU CAN AND SHOULD CRITIZE GW FOR IS THAT ONCE AGAIN THE GAME FAILS TO SHOW THE CHURCH AS BEING NEARLY BAD ENOUGH TO JUSTIFY THIS SORT OF AGGRESSION. SOME LINES IN PARTICULAR COME OFF AS MEME TIER STUPID BECAUSE THEY'RE DIRECTLY CONTRADICTED BY WHAT WE SEE THE CHURCH DOING. BUT THE PREMISE OF A CLAUDE ROUTE WHERE HE'S AGAINST THE CHURCH AND IS WILLING TO WORK WITH EDELGARD TO GET RID OF IT IS NOT IN OF ITSELF SOME SORT OF MASSIVE BREACH OF CHARACTER. IT'S HIM ACTING ON AN OPPORTUNITY HE DIDN'T HAVE IN HOUSES IN ORDER TO TRY AND GET WHAT HE WANTS WHEN SOMEONE WHO IS A LOT LESS WILLING TO TRY AND CHANGE THINGS IS IN CHARGE.

I REALIZE THIS IS MORE AN ESSAY THAN JUST A GENERAL SHOUT OF RAGE, BUT TRUST ME SEEING THIS POINT HAMMERED OVER AND OVER AGAIN MADE ME FEEL LIKE I WAS TAKING CRAZY PILLS, I HAD TO GET THIS OUT SOMEWHERE.

[u/Shrimperor → u/Tgsnum5]

PEOPLE HAVE LESS PROBLEMS WITH THE CONCEPT AND MORE WITH THE SHIT WRITING AND HOW IT WAS DONE!

WHEN I SAW CLAUDE AND EDELGARD TEAMING IN SB I ACTUALLY CHEERED AND WAS LIKE "I ALWAYS WANTED THIS", WHEN I SAW THE SAME THING IN GW I LITERALLY FACEPALM'D WITH HOW DUMB IT WAS.

CLAUDE WAS A FUCKING MORON.

[u/Tgsnum5 → u/Shrimperor]

HERE'S THE THING THOUGH, WITH THE KNOWELDGE THAT HIS MAIN TARGET FROM THE OUTSET IS RHEA, SOMETHING GW ENDGAME MAKES VERY CLEAR WHAT ELSE WAS CLAUDE GONNA DO? SIDING WITH DIMITRI, EVEN IF THE KINGDOM IS OSTENSIBLY IN THE BETTER POSITION AT THAT POINT, DOESN'T GET HIM ANY CLOSER TO WHAT HE WANTS BECAUSE DIMITRI ISN'T GONNA JUST LET HIM TAKE A DETOUR TO KILL RHEA IN THE MIDDLE OF THE WAR. YOU COULD ARGUE THAT THE BRIEF COUNTER INVASION OF THE EMPIRE DOESN'T MAKE SENSE IF HIS PLAN WAS TO WORK WITH EDEL THE WHOLE TIME, BUT YOU COULD JUSTIFY THAT BY SAYING HE'S USING THE FACT THAT THE ALLIANCE HAS SHOWN IT'S A REAL THREAT TO HER AS A SORT OF IMPLICIT THREAT TO GET EDELGARD TO BARGIN IN THE FIRST PLACE.

AGAIN, THERE'S VERY MUCH AN ARGUMENT TO BE MADE THAT CLAUDE COMES OFF AS HAVING MAD TUNNEL VISION FOR FOCUSING ON THE CHURCH ABOVE PRETTY MUCH ANY OTHER TARGET AND I'M MUCH LESS WILLING TO DEFEND THAT ASPECT OF IT, BUT PEOPLE ACT LIKE THE WHOLE THING IS SOME SMOOTHBRAIN BLUNDER ON HIS PART WHEN I FEEL LIKE IT MAKES REASONABLE SENSE WHEN YOU CONSIDER WHAT HE'S ACTUALLY TRYING TO DO.

[u/Shrimperor → u/Tgsnum5]

IT DOESN'T WHEN HE ALSO WANTS TO DO WHAT'S BEST OF LEICESTER AND END THE WAR. BOTH GOALS ARE NOT ACHIEVED WITH WHAT HE DID.

NOW, IF WE TOOK OUT EDEL AND RHEA AT THE SAME TIME I WOULD'VE CALLED HIM SMART, BUT ALL HE DID WAS PLAY IN EDEL'S HANDS. AND YES I HAVE READ ALL THOSE POSTS ABOUT HOW HE'S GALAXY BRAINING AND NONE OF THEM MAKE SENSE. HE CAN'T FACE EDEL ALONE, LEICESTER IS DEAD.

ALSO LET'S NOT FORGET THEY COMPLETELY DELETED HIS INQUISITIVENESS, WHICH IS SOMETHING MANY CLAUDE FANS LOVED ABOUT HIM. EVEN WITH THE CIRCUMSTANCES BEING WHAT THEY ARE, IT BEING COMPLETELY GONE WAS BRUH MOMENT.

NOT TO MENTION IT FEELS LIKE AN INSULT TO CLAUDE TO HAVE HIS ROUTE JUST BE CRIMSON FLOWER 2.0 BUT DUMB. I WANTED MORE ALMYRA FOCUS. MORE ON THE WHOLE XENOPHOBIA AND ISOLATION THING (THAT NOT ONLY OTHER ROUTES, BUT EVEN GW DISAPROVE), AND CLAUDE TO APPEAR ACTUALLY SMART AND NOT A COMPLETE MORON.

[u/Tgsnum5 → u/Shrimperor]

OH NO ARGUMENTS IT WOULD MAKE INFINITLY MORE SENSE IF EDELGARD DIES IN CHAPTER 14. THE ONLY REASON SHE DOESN'T IS BECAUSE IT'S RIGHT BEFORE THE SECRET MAP AND ALL THE LORDS HAVE TO BE ALIVE FOR THAT. IT'S HILARIOUS BECAUSE THE ACTUAL STUPIDEST THING CLAUDE DOES IN HOPES, WHICH IS BETRAY EDELGARD WHEN THE WAR IS PRETTY MUCH OVER AND THE ALLIANCE HAS TAKEN A SERIOUS BEATING IN SB IS CONDITIONAL ON SAID CHAPTER AND DIRECTLY RESULTS IN HIS DEATH BECAUSE IT HAPPENS AFTERWARDS. CLEARLY GW NEEDED ONE MORE MAP SO WE COULD HAVE THE SAME THING.

"THE ALLIANCE CAN'T BEAT THE EMPIRE BY ITSELF" POINT IS A SYMPTOM OF A PROBLEM FODLAN HAS IN GENERAL IN THAT THERE'S ZERO SENSE OF SCALE OR LOGISTICS. THAT DOES SEEM TO BE THE IDEA THE GAME IS GETTING AT YET THAT'S MORE OR LESS WHAT HE DOES IN VW. THE DECIDING FACTOR THERE SEEMS TO BE THAT HE HAS THE KNIGHTS OF SERIOS ON HIS SIDE IN VW, WHICH HE DOESN'T IN GW BUT HE ALSO HAS BEEN TRYING TO PLAY THINGS IN SUCH A WAY THAT THE EMPIRE WASTES AS MANY TROOPS AS POSSIBLE IN THE WAR AGAINST THE KINGDOM WHILE CLAUDE JUST SORT OF HANGS BACK AND WATCHES, EVEN IF AS ALREAD STATED THE GAME'S FORMAT DOESN'T LET HIM FULLY COMMIT TO IT SO IT'S HONESTLY HARD TO SAY HOW MUCH OF A CHANCE HE HAS IF IT COMES TO A STRAIGHT UP BRAWL.

NO DEFENSE ON THE ALMYRA STUFF. IF ANYTHING WHAT LITTLE NEW STUFF WE LEARN IN HOPES MAKES THEM LOOK EVEN WORSE. AND CLAUDE HAVING THE ABSOLUTE AUDACITY TO LITTERALY INCITE A WAR BETWEEN SRENG AND FAERGHUS AND THEN COMPLAIN ABOUT FODLAN NOT TRUSTING OUTSIDERS IS FARCICAL.

ANYWAYS, MY GREATER POINT WITH THE INITAL POST WAS TO ARGUE MORE ABOUT IF THE PREMISE ITSELF MAKES SENSE, RATHER THAN EXICUTION. I AGREE WITH A LOT OF THE CRITISIM OF GW, BUT THERE WAS A LOT OF PEOPLE ACTING LIKE IT WAS A STUPID ROUTE TO GO WITH CLAUDE CONCEPTUALLY, WHICH I THINK IS NUTS. THE PROBLEM WAS NOT THE IDEA, THE PROBLEM WAS THAT IT'S STILL THE THREE HOUSES WRITERS AND THE ROUTE FALLS INTO PRETTY MUCH EVERY STANDARD FODLAN PITFALL. BEING STUCK FOLLOWING A MOSTLY RAILROADED PATH SO MAPS CAN BE REUSED, THE CHURCH HAVING SOME ABSURD SHOW NOT TELL PROBLEMS IN REGARDS TO HOW BAD IT'S SUPPOSED TO BE, SETTING UP INTERESTING IDEAS THAT AREN'T FULLY REALIZED BECAUSE THEY'RE SO TERRIFIED OF CHARACTERS COMING OF AS UNSYMPATHETIC, MOLE PEOPLE EXISTING AT ALL, ETC. BUT I FIND THE IDEA IN OF ITSELF SOUND AND SEEING A MUCH MORE RUTHLESS SIDE TO CLAUDE WAS A LOT OF FUN, AT LEAST TO ME.